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This is part of my wider project for building my mechanised company of the 96th Armageddon Steel Legion.

To make the project a bit more manageable, and to get some of the models on the tabletop before the full force is complete, I figured working on a Kill team was a good place to start.

Apologies for gakky images, maybe at some point I will get a better picture set up.

So far, I have constructed a sniper and a spotter (which will form part of the same sniper special weapons squad in the overall force).

The sniper has a scope from the Scion hotshot lasgun, and a longer barrel from the Baneblade kit. I want to make two more snipers with the same rifle, which means I need two more Baenblades...



This shows a clearer shot of the sniper rifle conversion. The Scion scope fits onto the lasgun really neatly. I envisage this as something more like a DMR-style sniper in the vein of a Dragunov, rather than more of a "true" sniper like an L115, which is more like the long-lases with the longer barrels and heavier flash suppressors in role.


The spotter is converted from a missile launcher trooper, and has Cadian binoculars with an arm made from a tank crew gunner arm, a GSC neophyte glove, and Voss-pattern lasgun from the old IG vehicle upgrade sprue. The rubble is made from minced sprues and sand.



WIP of the plastic arm, and close-up of the rubble on the basing.I got the mincing idea from an old GW article on the Cities of Death terrain, and have been wanting to get hold of a mincer for nigh on 15 years... Finally did! This is the first time I have used the output


Here is the two together (assorted detritus and sneak peak of various metal Imperial Guard models in the background).



Since then, I have started work on a medic using the lascannon assistant trooper and a DKoK medipack. Nice simple conversion for this one.


I have some thoughts for a comms operator. The most accessible vox is the Cadian one, but it is bloody enormous and impractical for mechanised troopers. I really like the small DKoK vox, and I think that would make a lot of sense for troopers travelling in Chimeras- the potential short range of a smaller pack would also be no issue in conjunction with the powerful vox found on the company's Chimeras. The only downside is commiting myself to getting my hands on the 10 or so DKoK voxes I will need to complete the company I am building. Still, hasn't stopped me making such financially unwise decisions before (see sniper above ). I'm sure I could find a use for 100 Korpsmen, the DKoK also fought alongside the Steel Legion on Armageddon, and I am keen to build forces of many of the regiments present (see my on-hold Chem-dogs project for another example).

Some very clean conversions here and incredibly clean cuts. It's all going to look ace when its painted!

Just so you know you can get that longer barrel lasgun bit on bits sites or ebay without buying an entire baneblade.

Neat. That's a pretty crafty way to have fun with some of the great old sculpts without procuring a wallet-breaking amount of them

Thanks for the responses! Some of the cuts did take awhile, I managed to keep the Scion lasgun intact whilst removing the scope.

 ph34r wrote:
Just so you know you can get that longer barrel lasgun bit on bits sites or ebay without buying an entire baneblade.

Well yes... but I also would like a full Steel Fury company to support the Leman Russes




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 Sherrypie wrote:
Neat. That's a pretty crafty way to have fun with some of the great old sculpts without procuring a wallet-breaking amount of them

This is a very good point, and a great idea for anyone wanting to get into the metals now.

As it happens, I got most of my Steel Legion just as they were going out of production, when they were cheaper per model than the plastics! There is actually about a hundred of them on my desk awaiting building and painting (shown in the spoiler tag). I'm starting with Kill team as a way to get a playeable force early.



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Comms and medic converted and based today. Not a lot of work for these. I commited to the DKoK vox.

Cool conversions, looking forward to seeing more

These look fantastic, I always enjoy seeing people change up older kits.

Thanks for the reponses and kind words

More models built and based! Nearly reaching enough to be worth basecoating with ten constructed.

First up, a Sergeant with a power sword (upgraded from a terrible conversion I did ~10 years ago), with a holstered pistol. The blade is from the Cadian command squad. I have two of this sculpt, the other is staying unconverted.


More pics in spoiler:


Second is the, well, second-in-command, a Confidant (this model is a Sergeant in the wider army). Simple kitbash with a GSC bolt pistol. I plan to drill out the barrel once I find/replace my 1mm drill bit, I seem to have lost it.




Gunner with grenade launcher. Nothing special, simply added to the same basing theme as the others (mix of Sector Imperialis, Sector Mechanicus, and Necromunda bases to match the urban environments of the Imperium).



Finally, three basic troopers, again, merely based.







Next up is a straightforward Zealot build I am working on. Basically greebling up one of the troopers to show their faithful devotion.



I also need to rebase a plasma Gunner and complete a 4th trooper for the ancillary support option. That would give me all the easy options. I have a mediocre flamer conversion I built years ago that I plan to sharpen up once I get my mitts on a Catachan flamer rather than the butchered Cadian flamer currently glued on. The Catachan flamer is similar to the flamer in this piece of artwork:

That leaves the Bruiser, Hardened Veteran, Demolition expert, and Gunner with melta gun, plus (technically) another 9 troopers, although I'm never going to run a Sergeant and 13 basic troopers. I'm not sure if I'm feeling up to the melta conversion, but been having a lot of thoughts about how to build the other three.

Still, it is nice to hit enough to be able to play a game!

 Haighus wrote:

Spoiler:

Posted as an URL, because the 40k wiki seems to block embeds

Looks like the problem was everything after the .jpg in that URL, Haighus...

 Dysartes wrote:

 Haighus wrote:

Spoiler:

Posted as an URL, because the 40k wiki seems to block embeds

Looks like the problem was everything after the .jpg in that URL, Haighus...

Ahhh.... thanks for the heads-up!

Looks really good! Great to see the old Steel Legion sculpts getting some love.

That’s a serious weight of old guard! Some really neat conversions adding a lot of character to the minis. What’s the plan for the painting? Classic Steel Legion or something different?

Afrodactyl wrote:Looks really good! Great to see the old Steel Legion sculpts getting some love.

Thanks!

gobert wrote:That’s a serious weight of old guard! Some really neat conversions adding a lot of character to the minis. What’s the plan for the painting? Classic Steel Legion or something different?

Thanks! Yeah, I should probably try and get the pile on the scales at some point, see what it comes to...

Going for grubby classic Steel Legion, to match my tanks and Sentinels, and the handful of Steel Legion I have already painted. You can see one of my painted plasma gunners in the background of some pictures below, I will be rebasing that model to match the rest, and then will try to recreate that old scheme. The spoilered image is more-or-less everything I'd previously painted of my Steel Legion.


Completed some more troopers.

First up- a Bruiser. I ended up using the club from the DKoK Bruiser arm, and modified the reloading trooper by swapping the arm for a Sergeant's laspistol arm. I have ideas for the spare laspistol... I also stuck a Cadian lasgun powerpack onto the lasgun to "reload" it. I'm not sure if I am happy with the end result, may try to reposition it.




I have also built a Zealot- straightforward conversion by greebling up a trooper to have lots of iconography etc. I specifically chose the base with the Aquila to highlight this





Finally a group shot of three based troopers. I have now based one each of the 6 basic trooper sculpts, so I think that will be enough for my Killteam needs. Theoretically, I could run 13 troopers and a Sergeant, but I think that is unlikely.



I am working on a hardened veteran with the bionic arm, but I am not sure if I can make these pieces work in a coherent pose. May remove the hand holding the bayonet and see if I can get it holding the rifle.



That just leaves a demolition veteran! For now, I am out of superglue, so I'll probably work on some Kommandos for them to fight. These'll be more out-of-the-box.

Cool armoured contingent, and the troopers scheme will be good too. The bionic arm looks like it should work well enough with the lasgun

If your after the Catachan flamer what about the Catachan comm link as well?

Neat conversions looking forward to seeing more!

Love to see the classic models, looking forward to seeing them painted!

gobert wrote:Cool armoured contingent, and the troopers scheme will be good too. The bionic arm looks like it should work well enough with the lasgun

Thanks! I've done some fiddling with the bionic arm, and got a result I am happy with. See below.

The vast majority of my tanks have been built for my Steel Legion, although the ones in the pic above are the only painted ones... There are some more painted sentinels floating around but with incomplete bases (I have a company of ten armoured sentinels, 7 are painted).

Llamahead wrote:If your after the Catachan flamer what about the Catachan comm link as well?

I decided to go with the DKoK vox in the end, but the Catachan one was my second choice. I am planning to get a squad of Catachans soon, so I will pilfer the flamer.

Guardling wrote:Neat conversions looking forward to seeing more!

Thanks!

CadianSgtBob wrote:Love to see the classic models, looking forward to seeing them painted!

Thanks! Going to spray them once I've converted up the last couple. Demolitions expert and meltagunner to go, plus fixing my old flamer conversion. I am not sure if I have the right tools to take a crack at converting a meltagun at present (a rotary tool like a dremel would be ideal), so will probably start painting once I've finished building the demolition expert.

Speaking of progress, here is the completed hardened veteran!





Close up of the hand.


I have smoothed some edges since the photos, but overall really happy with the end result. I have plans for the removed sergeant arms...

I also threw together some Ork Kommandos for them to fight- this is all the models necessary for the Killteam tutorial in the starter set.

Great looking conversions, I love the Steel Legion sculpts but they are certainly lacking in variety.

I have a Proxon Micromot that I quite like. I've used it for my own Steel Legion to 'de-chunk' some of that excess metal in the casts, and to smooth out some rougher areas and fix details. It has adjustable speed and switching heads is really quick.

https://postimg.cc/gallery/btVnXx5

Nevermind the weird album layout. The unpainted mini is one I've worked on, showing just how much space is taken up by excess metal. There's a lot of that on these sculpts due to the one piece cast and tight posing.

The bionic arm looks cool, really neatly integrated. Hopefully we get to see some action pics when you play the tutorial

The thread awakes! This project is still ongoing, although a new job and house move in a different city interrupted things. Also got a new phone and struggling to get decent pics with the days so short, so these are the best I have so far.

A sergeant, 3 troopers with lasguns, a bruiser with lasgun and improvised club, and trooper with grenade launcher.

The helmet stripes refer to company a platoon markings, and will match the Chimera markings in the wider force. All of these are from red company, with 5 being from white platoon and the gunner from yellow platoon (the kill team is a hand-picked squad from across the company).



Also a bonus kommando from the OpFor.

Nearly got enough stuff painted for the tutorial now...

NowhereMan wrote:
Great looking conversions, I love the Steel Legion sculpts but they are certainly lacking in variety.

I have a Proxon Micromot that I quite like. I've used it for my own Steel Legion to 'de-chunk' some of that excess metal in the casts, and to smooth out some rougher areas and fix details. It has adjustable speed and switching heads is really quick.

https://postimg.cc/gallery/btVnXx5

Nevermind the weird album layout. The unpainted mini is one I've worked on, showing just how much space is taken up by excess metal. There's a lot of that on these sculpts due to the one piece cast and tight posing.

That looks like a good tool, need to look into that.

Great conversions there sire! Hope you're enjoying KillTeam, it's my fave 40K flavour ATM

 tauist wrote:
Great conversions there sire! Hope you're enjoying KillTeam, it's my fave 40K flavour ATM

Thanks! I've not actually had chance to play yet... I hope to rectify this in the new year at some point.



I have been toying with the idea of building one of my Steel Legion platoons as a recon unit with a bit more camo than the line units, suited to an urban environment. The sniper and spotter from my kill team would be drawn from this platoon (from the same sniper special weapons squad, which have sadly died a death in rules support). The platoon is still mechanised, so they are not going to be crawling around in ghilli suits.

So this is vaguely what I am trying to achieve:



This is the test model (behind the spoiler tag). I think it has turned out pretty well- if you compare it to the other scout I want to do this on in the background, the outline is much less distinctive. The goggles are up, so I have crafted the cover to hopefully look like it is poking out from underneath where the goggle strap has squished it.

The cap is not glued on, so it will be a bit tighter in the final version.

Makes me wonder if I should put some wrap over the sniper rifle. I don't want to obscure too much of the lovely detail though.



What are people's thoughts?



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Threw up some rubble for a small test, I like the effect (img spoilered).

Nice work on your Steel Legion, should be interesting to see them in camouflage if you do go that route!

 Guardling wrote:
Nice work on your Steel Legion, should be interesting to see them in camouflage if you do go that route!

Thanks! I'm not planning to go full camo for the recon troopers- I want them to still look like they got issued the same gear from the stores. But I will add more camo touches on the stuff that is easy for them to modify- the helmet caps and repainted gear. The underlying uniforms will be the same.

I am starting to get to the point where I am expanding beyond the Kill team for constructed models. Here is a converted lieutenant with laspistol and chainsword, using parts from the sergeant. I also added a shoulder pad in the style of some old artwork from 5th edition (see below), which conveniently covers the join between the arm and body. Overall, I am very happy with the result, it nicely changes the character from the stock model (which I also have). Images spoilered for size.



Some WIP images (behind spoiler tag), simple conversion overall:



Here is the old artwork in question. It also has the inspiration for the company-platoon helmet stripes I am using. It was in the 5th edition main rulebook.

Definitely admiring your commitment to converting an all metal OOP army.

And jealous of your mountains of unpainted metal.

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:
Definitely admiring your commitment to converting an all metal OOP army.

And jealous of your mountains of unpainted metal.

Hah! It does feel a little masochistic at this point. I'm still dreading the meltagun conversion... Speaking of which, some Catachan models are on order for the parts (also for some of the rest of my kaleidoscope of projects...).

Tis a labour of love. And hoarding.

There is now also a new Chimera. This will be one of the companies newer vehicles. I plan to have vehicles of a variety of ages to represent the easy access to replacement vehicles when fighting on Armageddon with the massive production facilities. My two painted Steel Legion Chimeras represent a newer vehicle similar to this one, and a battered veteran of the company with lots of field modifications and battle damage.

This is actually my first Chimera with the "new" hull type (my three previous are all the older kit), although I have built the hull before for my Deathstrike launcher. I opted for the hull heavy flamer from the old IG tank upgrade sprue as I like its larger, more pugnacious appearance.

Managed to get an old Griffon! Fairly reasonable price too. This will be detached from the 96th regiment's organic artillery company (which consists entirely of Griffons for close support- heavier artillery is supplied from dedicated artillery regiments like the 3rd Semtexian Bombardiers*).

Dry fit of crew:


The Steel Legion missile team fit perfectly as mortar crew, they will need very little conversion work.

Right, now for cleanup and fitting a crew.


*This will be coming at some point.

Cool stuff all around! Good to see some other regiments getting love. Looking forward to seeing more.