Rough Rider Standard Bearer Modification

Inspiration
Since I have been able to acquire enough arms with laspistols and chainswords, I have decided to modify this Rough Rider standard bearer.  I several of these, so I wanted to use some of them to make an assault Rough Rider.

Tools
The tools necessary for this modification are a razor saw, a modelling knife, a file, and a pin vice with appropriately sized bits.

Materials
You will need the Rough Rider standard bearer torso, the Rough Rider legs, the Cadian SGT laspistol arm and chainsword arm, some pinning wire, and some super glue.

The Modification
You will need to drill pinning holes into the torso and the legs so that you can pin them together.  Using a razor saw, you will need to remove the left arm of the standard bearer torso.  Using the file, make sure that the surface of the left shoulder is smooth so that the chainsword arm can be glued on well.  On the right arm, you will need to drill a hole that will accomodate the knob.  Once this is accomplished, you can glue the right arm on.  Attach the legs to the torso.

Rough Rider SGT Modification

Inspiration
Since the new Cadian Command miniatures were released, I wanted to update my Rough Riders.  I am only changing the arms from the older arms to the newer ones.

Tools
The tools necessary for this modification are a modeling knife and a pin vice with appropriately sized bits.

Materials
The materials necessary for this modification are the Rough Rider SGT torso, the Rough Rider legs, the right arm holding a bolt pistol, the left bionic arm with sword, some pinning wire, and some super glue.

The modification
The Rough Rider torso and legs must have pinning holes drilled into them.   Make sure that you get a good fit at the joint.  Since the arms are molded to fit a flat surface and the torso is cast with knobs at the shoulders, you must drill some holes into the arms so that they will fit over the knobs.  Once you have done that, you can glue the arms into place.

Note
In lieu of the original Rough Rider, you can carve some plastic mounted legs into Rough Rider legs and use a Cadian torso and head to make the modification

Squat Tank with Assault Cannon Conversion

Inspiration
The inspiration for a Squat Tank was that I did not think that the Squat trikes did not have enough punch, so I decided to make something that did.  A friend of mine, Mike, gave me one of the Pack Rat vehicles from G I Joe.  I thought that it was an interesting piece, but I had it for years before I finally had an idea.  The following is the conversion I made from the Rat Pack vehicle.

Tools
The tools you will need are a modeling knife, a razor saw, a rotary tool, and a file or files.

Materials
The materials you will need are the Rat Pack vehicle, the chair piece from Robotix, some plastic card, glue, a cupola from a Games Workshop 40k tank (or something similar), an assault cannon bit, a GW Dwarf miniature, an SM tank commander bit, and some of the icons from GW Dwarves.

 The Conversion
the photo at the left shows all of the pieces which are required.  As you can see, the Rat Pack vehicle was a small tracked rocket launcher system.  I did not need the rockets so I did not picture them.  You will however need the small tower that is part of the vehicle.  The Robotix seat piece is the black item at the top.  The remainder are bits from 40k tanks and the Dwarf bits needed to make the tank commander.
Take the Rat Pack tower piece and remove the bottom two rings...these will be used to connect the turret to the tank bottom.  Next, on the tank bottom, you will need to cut or file down the two small pieces that stick up on the left (when viewed from the front or top) so that the turret can turn freely.
Cut the seat part from the Robotix piece that is shown...this is the only part you will use from the Robotix piece.  Build up the seat piece with plastic card until you have the look of the turret on the left.  Drill a hole in the front of the turret, as shown, to insert the Assault Cannon bit.  As you can see from the photo, I have added a hammer striking anvil bit to the front of the turret.  Glue the cupola piece together and attach to the turret.  You may need to file down the ring at the bottom of the cupola so that the cupola can sit flush on the turret.
Take the Dwarf torso which you have chosen and scrape out the back so that the torso can be glued to the SM tank commanders legs.  I did it with a rotary tool, but it can be done with a modelling knife.  When the torso fits on the legs well, glue the two pieces together.  Make modification to the Dwarf commander by adding arms from the plastic Dwarf miniatures from Games Workshop and you are finished.  All that is remaining is for you to paint your Squat tank.

Grand Master of the Order of the Fiery Heart conversion

Inspiration
I had been collecting and painting miniatures since around 1970.  I enjoyed the miniatures a great deal, but my collection was somewhat aimless.  When I saw a miniature that I liked, I bought it without thought as to where it might fit in my collection.  My habits changed greatly with the publication of Warhammer Armies in 1988.  There was a lot of useful information in the book and the visual aspects of it increased my hopes of having some really nice miniatures.  One of the first images that really made me think of the possibilities of conversion was the painting on page 55 in the Empire section.  I really liked the helmet of the Grand Master of the Order of the Fiery Heart, so I decided to try to make a conversion.  I am updating my conversion to make use of some of the newer plastic bits that were available.  I had already reconverted my original Grand Master by using a Bretonnian Knight head from the box of plastic knights which was previously available.  It really does improve the miniature.

Tools
The tools necessary to make the conversion are a modeling knife, a razor saw, some sand paper, a pin vice and drill bits, files, and a razor saw.

Materials
The materials you will need for this conversion are a Knight torso, a Rampant Lion Knight Head, some pinning wire, either some small aluminum tubing and some plastic card or the sun shield from Marauder, and some glue (the type of glue needed depends on the bits which you are using for your conversion.


The conversion

First, remove the lion crest and the plug on the underside of the head cloth from the Knight head.  Second, remove the head from the Knight from the torso.  Using the modeling knife, carve the bottom of the Knight helmet to fit the torso.  Drill pinning holes into the helmet and the torso and pin the head to the torso.  Cut your new crest to fit the top of the helmet and glue on.

                                              Note

If you absolutely can not acquire some of the materials necessary to make the conversion, you can check with me.  I can check for availability from my collection.  You would be far better off if you can acquire the parts from an acquaintance, from eBay, or from one of the sites such as TMP or Bartertown.  Also, the right arm which I used for my original conversion was removed from the Citadel mounted Emperor miniature which was available in the late 1980s and 90s.

Making a Squat sniper

Inspiration
In 2008, I was looking at some auctions on eBay and I noticed an auction for "Squat Rangers".  I looked at the auction and noticed that the seller had taken some of the Dwarf miniatures from Battle for Skull Pass and turned them into Squats.  I tried to bid, but missed out, so I decided to make my own.

Tools
The tools you will need are a razor saw, a modelling knife, and a pin vice and drill bits.

Materials
The materials you will need are a Dwarf Thunderer miniature from Battle for Skull Pass, an Imperial Guard plastic helmet, an SM scope, and a Kroot rifle.

The Conversion

You will have to carefully carve away the helmet which the miniature has and shape the head to accept the Imperial Guard helmet.  Once that is accomplished, you will need to remove the gun which the Thunderer is cast with and work on the area where the Kroot rifle will be positioned.  The last thing is to cut down the Kroot rifle and glue it into place.

Note
I see a lot of gamers lamenting the fact that Citadel miniatures no longer produces Squat miniatures on the blogs and collectors sites.  There are still Dwarf miniatures being made, so you can fill the vacuum  by converting Dwarf miniatures

Adding a skirt to a Citadel Knights Panther

I felt that the mounted knights which Citadel Miniatures manufactured in the late 1980s looked a little flat after assembly.  After doing some research, I found in the Osprey Elite Series "Knights at Tournament" book that there were instances when the knights wore a surcoat underneath their armor that extended below the torso.  I decided to try to copy the effect to make the knight look better.

The tools you will need are compass or circle template, scribe, safety glasses, a cutting board, a file, old pair of scissors, and modeling knife.  I also used a burnisher but failed to include it in the picture.  The materials you will need are the miniature, some thin metal sheet (I will use thin copper sheet, but heavy aluminum or some other thin metal sheet will suffice), pinning wire, and some adhesive.  Please remember to do this safely.

Using the circular template and scribe, draw a circle in the thin metal sheet.  Cut the disc out of the metal sheet using the old pair of scissors and then cut out a pie-shaped segment out of the disc.  Once the pie-shaped segment is removed, shape the skirt onto the legs of the knight miniature.  You will have to remove the back part of the saddle that is cast on the legs.

 Assemble the horse and put your materials which you will use on the cutting board.  You should have a horse (the "Big Horse", which is no longer produced, is the best horse for this process), the torso and legs of the knight miniature, and the skirt.

Shape the skirt to the legs.  I used a burnisher to thin parts of the skirt.  Remember, the skirt is supposed to represent cloth.  Glue the skirt onto the lets.  File or carve the skirt so that it fits on the legs properly.

Place the legs on the horse and shape it further.  Make sure that the torso still fits well on the legs.  You may need to file the hole in the skirt so that it does not interfere with the torso fit on the legs.

Glue the torso onto the legs.  Make sure that there is no gap between the torso and the skirt.  If there is, fill it in with epoxy putty or something similar.  Continue to work on the look of the skirt by putting the miniature on the horse.

This is the miniature after I started painting it.  This really adds some nice character to your Empire Knightly Orders.

Swapping the head on a miniature

The first conversion  we will do is most likely the easiest.  As an example, we will take a Citadel Knights Panther miniature from the 1980s and replace it with a new plastic head from the Empire Knightly Orders box.

 The tools we will need are a razor saw, a pin vice with appropriate sized bits, and a modelling knife,  The materials we will use are the knight miniature, the plastic knight head, wire for pinning, and superglue or some other appropriate adhesive.






The first thing to do is to place a wire in the bottom of the torso of the Knights Panther miniature so that we can hold the miniature while we are working on it.  The next step is to remove the top or crest of the knight with a razor saw.

 Once that is accomplished, use the pin vice to drill down through the head of the knight.  Be careful not to drill into the torso of the miniature.






Using a modeling knife, remove the remainder of the head. Using a small bit in the pin vice, drill a pinning hole into the torso in the neck area.








Next, you will want to drill a pinning hole up through the neck area of the plastic head.  Pin the two parts together and glue the head into the torso.










I hope that this post will be helpful.

The name of the blog

Just a short message about the name of this blog.  I collect, convert, and paint fantasy and science fiction war gaming miniatures.  I tried to have a title that had science fiction and fantasy miniatures, but all of the titles that I tried were already taken.  I wanted to indicate that the blog was about science fiction and fantasy miniatures so I tried several titles and in the end, all I could come up with was "otherworld".  The "miniatures" part will be fairly clear.  The reason I chose "lab" was that I will be doing some conversions so the word seemed to fit.  There is probably a more apropos title that is available, but I could not find it.

Materials
Materials are things that you use in the process of basing and painting your miniatures. 

The miniatures themselves are a type of material.  There are a great number of manufacturers of miniatures and a large number of themes.  We will mainly be working on fantasy and science fiction miniatures, but the skills that you use in these projects will be applicable to most other miniatures in your collection.

Bases are another type of material.  You may have bought some miniatures with slotta bases.  Some of your miniatures are cast with integral, or cast on, bases.  Some of your miniatures may actually be well cast and have pins cast on the bottom of the miniature to glue to a base.  In order to get a standard base, I cut off the tabs on the slotta bases and file off the integral bases and replace them with an appropriately sized plastic disc or square.  Of course if the miniature is not cast with pins on the bottom, I have to use my pin vice to make holes in which I can glue my pins.

I use epoxy putty to put texture on many or my bases or do add detail to a miniature.  You can get epoxy putty from a variety of stores.  It normally comes in a two-part roll or strip that must be blended to a uniform color and cures over various periods of time.

On some of my bases, I use door screening material to easily give detail to the base.

You probably throw out good types of plastic weekly.  You can get good plastic from cookie trays (the clear thing that holds the cookies), fast food containers, and some blister or clam type containers of things that you purchase.  If you check the recycle emblem on the bottom or back of the container, tray, etc., and there is a 5 or a 6 in the triangle, then the plastic can be glued using Testors glue or something similar.

You also throw out good types of styrofoam every week.  Check the styrofoam that goes into your garbage before you throw it out.

A primer, a coating of paint that is porous, is put on the miniature on order for paint to adhere to it.  I normally use black primer, but it just comes down to preference.

There are many sorts of paints available.  Many of you probably buy the expensive hobby paints that are available in hobby stores or on line.  I have used some of them and I believe that they are a waste of money.  The difference between the results you can achieve with hobby paints and acrylic craft paints is probably non-existant.  I use regular craft paints and am quite satisfied with the results.

Inks are also a useful type of material.  You can buy inks at hobby stores.

Gesso, an artist medium, can also be used to create texture on bases.

Another helpful item is wire for pinning.  You can purchase brass wire in a variety of guages for pinning at most hobby stores.  I prefer to use the wire from plastic coated paper clips.  The steel is a little bit sturdier than the brass and it too comes in a variety of guages.

Basic Tools
Following is a selection of tools that are necessary to complete the projects that will be shown.

Safety glasses are an important tool that you should use when working on miniatures. It is very important that you take safety precautions when doing this type of work.　

There are many different types of modeling knife and a large variety of blades. It is best to use a modeling knife that has replaceable blades. Generally I use the modeling knife for lighter cutting, as the blades are not designed for heavier cutting. Make sure to have a supply of blades in order to keep the cutting edge sharp.

Clippers are used for a variety of tasks such as removing plastic parts from sprues to cutting sheet metal, plastic and wire.This is the most useful tool that you will have and you will probably use it on every project that you undertake.

Needle files come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. You can use them for a variety of tasks such as removing mold lines from metal or plastic miniatures, smoothing the material you are working with, or eliminating burs from metal or plastic. It is recommended that you have a variety of shapes for filing.

The pin vice is a small hand held vice that is designed to hold drill bits. Some pin vices come with a set chuck size and can only accommodate a small range of the drill bits while others come with different sized chucks which each can accommodate a small range of drill bits. The drill bits come in a variety of sizes and great care must be taken in using them, as they are quite fragile.

Pliers come in a variety of sizes and shapes. You will probably use different types of pliers in your projects.
You can find modeling saws in hobby stores or Do-it-yourself stores. It is very important to have a variety of blades, but the blades must be fine or very fine.

A razor saw is similar to a backsaw but the blade is very fine. Usually, there is a handle that the blade fits into. Razor saws can be bought in DIY stores, hobby stores, and department stores.A modeling saw is similar to a coping saw but the blade is very fine.

Tweezers are very important in working with miniatures. They come in a variety of types and sizes.

Files are larger versions of needle files. They come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and coarsenesses.
Sandpaper is a heavy paper coated on one side with coarse material. The grit of sandpaper is the fineness of the coarse material. You will most likely use a variety of grits of sandpaper.

A craft knife is a utility knife used to cut various materials. In many ways, a craft knife is much like a modeling knife, only bigger.

Usually metal rulers are made of stainless steel.A metal ruler is quite simply a ruler that is made of metal. You can buy metal rulers at hobby stores, DIY stores, and possibly get one free as an advertisement. The metal ruler that I use the most was a free advertisement from a printing company.

Sculpting tools are tools that you can use to sculpt epoxy putty and other materials. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes. You can purchase them at DIY stores and hobby stores.

Intro to the Otherworld Miniatures Lab

If you collect fantasy and scifi miniatures then you are at the right place.  On this blog, we will discuss tools of the trade, materials used, and ways to make improvements to the miniatures we have (or hope to get).  I hope that you will like the subjects covered here and will visit often.