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Hello, i was thinking of buying this model:

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?catId=cat1140003&prodId=prod1140027a

But i rly hate that head. Is it possible to cut the head off with the following citadel tool without making it to hard to acomplish?:

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?catId=cat470006a&prodId=prod1095448

(if not, how do i remove the head + hair on the model without totally ruining it?)

And maybe replace the head with a female head from a fantasy model / a space marine helmet?

Regard
Serth

Interesting idea. TBH, I'd never even taken note of this model before because as soon as I see the head I didn't want it. I did a bit of investigating to see if anyone had converted this model like you said, but couldn't find anything, however I did find this.

http://www.heresy-online.net/forums/sprues/showphoto.php?photo=271&title=inquisitor-female-back&cat=1093

I didn't realize the hair extended down the back, so this means that good green stuff skills is a definite prerequisite of this job. Regardless of whether you could trim the hair, the locks that go down her back would need to be cut off and the coat and shoulder would need to be remade with GS.
If you have the GS skill, I would cut out the head, hair and locks, being careful not to damage the front armour. Reconstruct the cloak and smooth it all down, then find a suitable replacement head.

You'll want to use some sort of heavy duty clippers, something a little more durable than the GW ones. Check a hardware store or a Walmart near you.

After you cut off the offending head, you want to take some files and a hobby knife to the model to smooth out the edges. This is if the model is in metal

If its a Finecast model, you'll need to just use a hobby knife. Make sure its a smaller blade and really sharp. You may still need to file down the surfaces after cutting off the head.

What you need is a jewelers saw. And be prepared to rebuild any part around the neck or shoulders wih greenstuff.

You'd have to use a razor saw (or a hammer and chisel!) to get her head off, and even then you'll have to rebuild the cowl behind her head. Also, a SM helmet wouldn't look very well on that model.

masterdoobie wrote:
Interesting idea. TBH, I'd never even taken note of this model before because as soon as I see the head I didn't want it. I did a bit of investigating to see if anyone had converted this model like you said, but couldn't find anything, however I did find this.

http://www.heresy-online.net/forums/sprues/showphoto.php?photo=271&title=inquisitor-female-back&cat=1093

I didn't realize the hair extended down the back, so this means that good green stuff skills is a definite prerequisite of this job. Regardless of whether you could trim the hair, the locks that go down her back would need to be cut off and the coat and shoulder would need to be remade with GS.
If you have the GS skill, I would cut out the head, hair and locks, being careful not to damage the front armour. Reconstruct the cloak and smooth it all down, then find a suitable replacement head.

I painted this mini for a friend's SOB army, and it would not be a simple head swap. As was stated, you are going to have to deal with the hair, which is going to require a bit of dremal and file work. Now there isn't a lot of detail on the back, but you are going to have to re-construct the collar.

I'd put this at a mid-grade conversion. More then a head swap, but not fabricating new details out of green stuff.

I removed the head off of this eyesore:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_xoosGkBROvM/TJuh5o5Fu8I/AAAAAAAAANY/qZmAGT8wIoY/s1600/Archon.jpg

It was no small task. I tried using the GW clippers and the tip on one side broke off. After I butchered the head with what was left of my clippers I used a dremel to get the rest of the little stuff off and make a place for the other head.

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/10/11/420448_md-Archon%2C%20Dark%20Eldar%2C%20Eldar%2C%20Ulthwe.jpg

Hehe, im not soo good at working with greenstuff, so ill prolly wait with this till my friend whos alot better than me at this can do it for me!

Thanks for the help guys, i really appreciate it!

(Voxplayer, that looks alot better than the original Archon!)

Regards
Serth

Thanks, when I first saw that Archon all I could think of was a moaning grandma.

Hi mate, what i do with my metal minis to change the heads is find a very fine metal drill bit then make lots of small holes in the head and around the neck if you can . Then get a set of pillars then ease the head off. Then take a larger drill bit and drill directly dwn words from where the top of the head would have been this should clear out any left over bits of stray metal and give you a nice dip into which to set you new head. Hope this helps

The head removal would actually be fairly straitforward. A razor saw or jewlers saw (preferrably with the figure in a table vise) will easily cut away all the parts that protrude in front of or above the collar.

I would recommend against using clippers as they aren't as accurate with something this big, and you'll probably end up needing a razor saw anyway.

Then take a dremmel (or other motor tool) with a grinding bit and start grinding away the sections of the head inside the collar and the remains of the hair on the outside of the collar.

There doesn't seem to be alot of detail on the collar itself which looks rather smooth, so if you're careful with the dremel, and follow up with a bit of filing you might not even need much/any greenstuff.

If you've got a razor saw, motor tool and set of files, modfiying metal figures is a cinch.

I had this guy in metal:
http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?catId=cat660006a&prodId=prod1140075

I did this too him with a jewelers saw and jewelers drill.

You will be amazed what a dremel can do to metal. I used this on the dremel in order to remove excess metal after cutting the head off without ruining the dracula cloak . http://www.toolshouse.gr/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=6849&category_id=12&manufacturer_id=0&option=com_virtuemart&ref=bestprice.gr

Always were protective glasses when doing this kind of work .

 Capamaru wrote:
You will be amazed what a dremel can do to metal. I used this on the dremel in order to remove excess metal after cutting the head off without ruining the dracula cloak . http://www.toolshouse.gr/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=6849&category_id=12&manufacturer_id=0&option=com_virtuemart&ref=bestprice.gr

Always were protective glasses when doing this kind of work .

I use that bit also. It's really useful.

Also, I can't second the safety glasses enough! When dremmeling metal you'll feel the bits of hot metal hitting your skin. Not enough to hurt much or leave a mark, but just thinking about what one of those would do to your eyes is terrible.

Lastly, I highly recommend a corded motor tool. Cordless may be good for small things, but when when you start using it for bigger terrain projects, you'll find the greater power of the corded drill very welcome and the battery life of the cordless annoying.

I did a head swap on this model.


I clipped off the hair in the back, and used a razor saw to remove most of the original head. If you don't have a razor saw, sometimes a tough pair of clippers from a hardware store will work for brute force jobs like this. Next, I used a pin vise to drill a pilot hole in the neck, and used a hand drill to remove the neck and head remnants, while leaving the collar intact.

What head is that? Looks great on the model.

reps0l wrote:
What head is that? Looks great on the model.

It's from an Angel of Shadow by Reaper.

God, so glad the days of metal miniatures are far behind us. Converting twenty metal terminators to not have the same pose was a real pain in the chuff.

Why be glad when you can have FINECAST?

 Rainyday wrote:
I did a head swap on this model.
[url=http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/320886-Seraphim%2C%20Sisters%20Of%20Battle.html][img]http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/1/24/320886_sm-Seraphim%2C%20Sisters%20Of%20Battle.jpg[/img

I clipped off the hair in the back, and used a razor saw to remove most of the original head. If you don't have a razor saw, sometimes a tough pair of clippers from a hardware store will work for brute force jobs like this. Next, I used a pin vise to drill a pilot hole in the neck, and used a hand drill to remove the neck and head remnants, while leaving the collar intact.

Must resist urge to steal and make one for my army. >.>

That looks fantastic!