Monday 3 July 2017

Back to basics - Hacking old lead like in the old days.


If you've ever read the little text at the top of his page, you might have guessed I'm a bit of a Jes Goodwin fan like many. Now the thing is, I started my journey into the hobby by buying chaos champions and warriors of his in 91 and although I did paint the first 2 as they were (with thick coats of enamels), I quickly tried to do my own conversions, inspired by the magnificent exemples in the books and magazines.
I don't have any of those conversions left since I repurposed all of them into later projects (sometimes several times) and I've grown into considering old lead like a thing to worship and treat with utter respect.
Now move a few years later, my friends and I had the chance to be given a litteral fistful of old champions and warriors at a con because we were "the Oldhammer guys" and would be likeley to know what to do with them...
And I realised I was still looking at them with the same eyes as 25+ years earlier...


Here's a view of them as displayed in the iconic red catalogue :

Picture from Solegends
With the sweet smell of Acetone and Dettol filling the air, my hands in gloves and face covered with a mask, I cautiously stripped the guys to make them new again. No late cast (nor recast) in white metal here, just soft old lead...


Then I just looked at each of them and worked on them one after the other. The aim being to make them fit for Rogue Trader and to make a crew with the guy I did in January.
The first that caught my eye was this heavily mutated chap with fly head, leg and arms. The leg looked way too much like that of a Genestealer to ignore the potential of a Slaanesh hybrid.
An hybrid head and a bolter immediatley made him look more fit for RT.


Now the second one was my favourite Slaanesh champion to start with. The 2 heads and tantacles are just classy so I tried to stay as true to the original as I could by just upping things to the grim darkness of the far future.


This one was fun too, it's obvisously a more feminine sculpt but the original is in a single plan. I therefore cut the crab arm and bent it forwards to give a bit more depth and bent the whip as well to make it 3 dimensionnal. A bolt pistol and bent head with gasmask  associated with a backpack make it a worthy leader I find.


Now this guy is cool too, I really like the chaos tome so wanted to keep it, a psyker would be a fun thing to have so a force halberd seemed fit for such a guy. Once again, I used an alternative head turned and bent a little to give a bit more dynamism and get rid of the "flat" pose"


Last but not least, there was this guy with crab arm and sword. very flat pose too but I realised a gun could probably turn him just enough to actually have more depth. It's the most simple conversion in terms of pieces (totally not in terms of modelling, believe me) but it's got a form of elegance I really like.


Of course I know cutting old lead is a thing that terrifies or sometimes enrages people but  I didremove all parts with care and kept them for future use.

It honestly was a very pleasant process. I had forgotten how easy it is to work with soft lead (almost as easy as with plastic) and I will have to struggle not to go on a conversion spree...
I'm waiting for a few parts to complete some of the models I need to paint before BOYL this summer so felt like going with the flow this WE. As soon as I get the parts though I'll have to rush like a maniac to comply with the "to do" list.
Wish me luck and get hacking !

43 comments:

  1. I wish they redid these old designs in an updated plastic version. Heresy! I will now go purge myself :-p

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    1. They still have that thing, don't they ? ^^

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  2. These are going to be such an iconic little warband once they are painted. I want a full history of each renegade and worthy name in the dark tongue please. I cannot wait to play a game against them.

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    1. You'll have it and a game Vs a Sensei band is just an awesome idea !

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  3. F*&king amazing!
    Don't think I'd dare to perform such experiment on my (oldschool) models...

    Cannot wait to see them painted!

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    1. Cannot wait to paint them really !

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    2. Me neither... I'm definitely torn between "these turned out really cool" and "OMG how could you!". But they did turn out looking great.

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  4. I love that combination of old and new parts. It just gives every miniature a whole new breath of life. Fucking brilliant!

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    1. It doesn't take much does it ? I really love mixing them, best of both worlds really.
      cheers mate.

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  5. Brilliant. I have some of these old Slaanesh champions myself. Not enough for an army but a war and like this might be a good idea.... yours are very inspirational.

    Forgive my ignorance, but where does the human head come from in the one with the spear?

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    1. Warbands are quick and easy most of the time and they can scratch itches you woudln't dare touching otherwise with an army.
      The spear guy's head is from one of the Dark Vengance cultist champions (guy with cloak and shotgun.

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  6. Hehehe, you have a spare lead penis now :DDD Please tell me there's a "dickhead" conversion in the offing.

    Top work mate, the best one for me is the rifle dude. Like he was sculpted to be holding a weapon with both arms. Top shelf :)

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    1. Cheers, I did realise I had to use that chubby somewhere !

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  7. Blimey, you've got such a good eye for how parts go together - the Genestealer/Slaneshi champion is brillinant, but this guy is so impressive because he's so effortless:

    https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dT9bbMYizB0/WVnuhRxn5-I/AAAAAAAAmxI/vD_aQFNvYMgpZNHR-NYiFUXPM5wY6KpVACKgBGAs/s1600/20170702_231740.jpg

    The posing's perfect.

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    1. Funny how it suits him right ? He was teh last I did and th eidea only struck me late. ^^
      Thanks !

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  8. These are so amazing. Probably my favorite old lead converted with new parts to date. It looks like I might get some of these after all and I just might have to do something similar to this.

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    1. You'd surely be one fit to do something great in this vein !

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    2. Thank you. I can't wait to see you paint these up.

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  9. Superb conversions, you have an eye for it. I'd be loathe to chop these old boys up myself, in truth, but you've really produced some wonderful new characters.

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    1. I can't wait to paint them and especially play with them !

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  10. Very impressive! The guy with the rifle is my favourite, but they're all very imaginative.

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    1. Funny how this guy seems to get people's vote !
      Thanks !

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  11. Man, theres no way in hell I could do what you did, but I must say that they look absolutely brilliant. Great work. Cast them up please!!!

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    1. I'm afraid they're uncastable now ! I'll paint them with care I promise. :)

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  12. Awesome job mate - these are brilliant! Very clever use of parts here, and I particularly like the way you have added depth. Superb!

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    1. It really was my intent as most sculpts are very flat despite their unquestionable excellence.

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  13. Very creative conversion work ... can't wait now to see how they all turn out.

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    1. I've just primed them yesterday so hopefully I shoul dbe able to have them done soon enough !

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  14. Always impressed with how easily you cut those old ones up, often making them even better than their original forms.

    You inspired me to do similarly to a certain extent. (And by that I mean no-where near as seamlessly as your own work.) Just need to get the energy to paint the bloody thing.

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    1. Energy comes from motivation I believe, some projects come from a long thought idea and they can be a bit overwhelming because you put so much into them and some others just flow from a "what if ?" like here. I usually try to go with the flow really !

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  15. Excellent work, and I can not wait to see them painted up. The Genestealer/fly is quite good, as is the rifleman, but really they all shine... modern components in this case really improving the old casts. (and again with the Skitarii bitz!)

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    1. Both bits fit together because they're already excellent to begin with but it's true none pulls the blanket too much.
      I'm eager to have this gang done !

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  16. Woooo! I love the vision you have for this kind of projects, the ability to see 'something else' when you look at the originals. Now to the brushes!

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    1. Yeras of playing Lego I guess ! Or perhaps not caring much and being confident !
      I've already started painting them yesterday !

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  17. Brave and accomplished work. I only have the nerve to do this sort of thing with already damaged lead. I'm always worried that modern plastics will be out of scale but this proves I'm wrong. Now where did I store those cultists?

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    1. Damaged lead is gold really, it lets you do that sort of work with no remorse whatsoever and gain confidence.
      Late human sized kits have fallen back to a very nice scale that fits just perfectly with older references really. It's a nice time to be into our hobby I reckon.

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  18. After my initially twitchyness at the thought of conversions. I think you have done a wonderful job.

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    1. It's all hidden under a base coat now, it's OK. ^^
      Thanks !

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  19. The guy with the rifle is absolutely brilliant! Can't wait to see him painted.

    I'm interested to see you glue sand to the base before priming – don't you find it comes off?

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    1. I glue sand before priming because I always paint bases first since it's the most dirty part (drybrushes and all). Priming it seals the sand once it's glued and since I generally spray white on top to get a pre lighting, I come back with a thinned layer of black on top that seals the sand even more. I've never had any problem so far so I just keep doing that. ^^

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  20. Amazing conversions - love the 'stealer guy! My favourite is the rifle carrying one. Keep converting - nothing is sacrosanct.

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    1. Nothing is, I fully agree ! The worst thing would be not t use them !

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