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Hi im building an Imperial fist army right now and its going well but I would like my army to be a little different than the vanilla look, although its perfectly ok I really want my army to feel like my own. Not just a copy and paste fist army. I had an idea of them been stationed on an ice planet, they are like the troops you send in when you want things done other than just combat. A group that has other tasks outside of combat when not at war.

The idea was that these guys are not only combat soldiers but engineers who can go out and set up outposts in different and harsh sectors before any main space marines bases are set up and that they have been stationed on an ice world to set up initial space marine mining operations and a presence on the planet. To help out and protect the civilian miners in this dangerous sector of space.

To do this I don't want to models to feel overpowered by conversion, just some nice touches here and there to sell the idea but im not sure how to do it. Im ok working with green stuff so thats not a problem but how to go about making it a reality and knowing how to apply it to my whole force is difficult. Somethings in the space marine army are easy to work with such as the Centurions as they already have large industrial drills they look the part, just get some frost texture on them and they will blend right in but what about the troops or vehicles such as a stormtallon for example how do I make that look like its been fitted for ice environment and perhaps heavy lifting.

How do I make them appear that they have been converted for use in icy conditions and also duel purpose in some mining operations. I was thinking of rigging or extra lights or something...I'm just not sure.
Im also having a problem getting a frost texture working on my models and troops.

some examples of the theme of industrial mining:



Good thing most mining gear is already yellow

For a frosted look try putting a bit of white & silver into a satin varnish & paint it on areas like boots & shoulders.

As for a more industrial look... try chain fists instead off power fists, grav guns, drills instead of chainswords.

Also try using the siege assault vanguard list.

If I were you I would think about which SM weapons already fit within your desired theme (such as the Siege drills on the centurions) and then try to find suitable alternatives for the weapons that do not fill your specifications.
I would consider each unit and what role in both combat and mining you want them to fill.
For example. Terminators could have drills instead of PF (CF already fit the bill as Red_Starrise mentioned) or a PF that looks as though it's designed for lifting/breaking rocks.
I also think additional lights on some of your models wouldn't look amiss.
Another suggestion might be if you're considering Dozer Blades on your vehicles. Having large buckets similar to bulldozers that look as though they can raise them up (so attached to the chassis of the vehicle by mechanical arms)
In terms of ranged weapons there are plasma cutters on servo-harnesses that are essentially plasma pistols so any model equipped with a plasma pistol could be modeled to be wielding a plasma cutter.
I don't wanna flood you with ideas as you need to figure out what you want for yourself but these are just some concepts to help you get the ideas flowing.
I hope this helps, and if you need more help figuring out how to represent certain weapons or wargear just ask

Peace