Grots review pt.1

Hello fellas, as promised, Storag continue to review grots from his converted squad and today's guests are this two scouts: 

This miniatures are very much alike in both their pose and solidity. There is little to tell about - It was hard to think of a way to alter them without massive cutting and re-sculpting I obviously wasn't ready for. Instead I used GS to make them unique outfits and replaced their weapons. 

The end look of this parts largely depended on pure luck and unintentional choices as my vision of what they should look like was very unclear. The main idea, however, was to make them look like they are wearing stongly weathered pieces of human military uniform and it seems that I succeeded somehow :)

Forgive me for such a small post but really there isn't much more to tell about this two. As always I'll gladly answer any questions =)
Farewell! 

Veteran Castor Finn

Romio is on air again and I begin this post with a kind of butt pain, that many modelers became accustomed to in resent time - a GW Fine Cast, which is more of a Fail Cast to me, though.

'Nuff said.

At first I had no intentions for modding any of the Sword Brethren from GW Fine Cast pack, but their poor quality forced me to. This one was the worst and therefor the first to be refined.
Unfortunately I haven't took a picture of this miniature as I got it, but here's one in his original shape, as he supposed to be:

-It's hug time!

It was my first acquaintance with Fine Cast products and I never expected them to be as they transpired. Leaving behind their less than moderate quality, their monolithic shape wad my primal concern. But my disappointment never last long, for where one see's loss another find's an opportunity. Bearing this in mind I made a decision to convert them into a command squad for my Blood Ravens Ravencross Company.

Our today's subject originally boasted a pair of lightning claws - a rather famous model, frequently seen on official images. Personally I find this weapon slightly ridiculous and clumsy looking due to their enormous size in comparison to the standard marine armor. Combined to the fact they usually come in pairs makes it almost impossible to posture their wearer in heroic way, suitable for Warhammer 40k universe.

Thus, I sliced off his right hand to get a room for customization, and blades on the left one to make a power fist as an obvious decision for such occasion. All in all, It took a lot of cleaning and fixing to remove all the manufacturing flaws and giving him a base cast for further modification.

First off, I made a Blood Raven symbol on his left shoulder, for he is Sword Brethren no more, and a good new pair of knee pads, as I hate his original legs shape:

He's almost as green as an Orc.

Second, I took a Bolt Pistol from the Black Templars upgrade kit as potential right hand weapon to pair his power fist. Even though this is a great looking gun, I found it rather boring and common for such an honored veteran, so an image of a compact flamer came to my mind. This was easily done by cutting off barrel and ammo clip from the pistol and gluing in a regular flamer's parts:

A hand toaster.

To finish the appearance I added a pouch, grenade and a purity seal on his right leg.

Here's some WIP pictures, as he was assembled:

Who's clumsy now, huh?

As a final stage a proper basement had to be made to posture the figurine in an epic way. To do so I had to reshape his left foot, as his original pose was kinda gawky, and glued it to some plastic scraps to imitate him stepping on a pile of stones.

Also a special name plate was added on the basement to represent his overall individuality.

And here he rises, observing the battlefield, prepeared to burn down everything to ashes:

-Who want some?

Thank you for reading and till next time. Keep your modelling knives sharp!

Sergeant Studdus

Yo, everyone! Romio is back with his new buddy!

He is old and grumpy. He likes no one and no one likes him, but everyone respects his vast experience. And he is studded. With studs. That's why i call him Studdus. Because of studs. Well, you got the idea ;) 

Also, he looks taller than your average Sergeant or Space Marine. 

Okay, enough with this silliness and let's cut to the chase. 

To make this Devastator Sergeant, I used just a lot of different parts, which are listed below: 

MK III Iron Armour legs and left shoulder pad; 

Torso, head and lantern from the Black Templars upgrade kit; 

Hands, Left shoulder pad, grenades, pouches and Auspex scanner from the Space Marine tactical squad box; 

Signum backpack from the SpaceMarines Devastators box; 

Umbra Ferrox pattern boltgun. 

I also used green stuff to remake his fingers to get a more realistic grip on the scanner.

Assembled for great deeds.

To embrace the idea of an army, consisting of exceptional individuals, I decided to place a decorative name plate on the base of each miniature I deem worthy of unique character. This label I made of green stuff:

His is worthy.

There he goes, through the sands, looking for the best shooting position for his devastative squad:

Hey, look, there's a tetris on my Auspex!

Well, I bid you farewell for now, folks. Stay tuned!