For me, it was probably the Airfix Roman Centurion. That figure was cast with the helmet crest running from ear to ear. To my child like mind, whose primary source was Hollywood, that did not look right. So, the crest was carefully sliced off with a razor blade and glued back on "the correct way' - i.e., running from the forehead to the back of the head. Of course, it was years later before I found out how wrong I was! #-o
What was your first figure (or vehicle) conversion?
My action man whose back melted over a fireally I'd lit to torture him a la the good guy in the cowboy film I'd watched.
First vehicle: Space Marine Rhino for first edition 40k. Did it as a recovery vehicle (damn, wish I still had that!)
Proper mini: mounted a hobbit covered in spiky armour (psychohobbit the base sprue said) on the back of a giant spider.
This chap.
(http://thumbs4.ebaystatic.com/d/l225/m/mnEYcKKnoZLOZXSUufFbtxQ.jpg)
One of Nick Lund's excellent Citadel ogres. I put a Millput cape on him. It was terrible, and fell off.
I stuck the mask of a Harlequin Jet bike on the front of a dinky BMW to create the Masked Avenger for Dark Future. That's the only conversion type thing I have ever done in 35 years
From the Airfix magazines, I seem to have created a lot of half headed figures. US cavalry to Scots Greys (bearskins are easier than crested helmets.)
I destroyed a Churchill turret, so made it into an ARK. Still got that somewhere.
Quote from: Fenton on 07 March 2015, 03:07:45 PM
That's the only conversion type thing I have ever done in 35 years
:o You surprise me! I thought we all started as figure hackers!
Quote from: Luddite on 07 March 2015, 03:04:57 PM
This chap.
(http://thumbs4.ebaystatic.com/d/l225/m/mnEYcKKnoZLOZXSUufFbtxQ.jpg)
One of Nick Lund's excellent Citadel ogres. I put a Millput cape on him. It was terrible, and fell off.
Oh, that takes me back. Had a load of hobgoblins by Nick Lund. Ah, happy days :)
Quote from: fsn on 07 March 2015, 03:10:03 PM
:o You surprise me! I thought we all started as figure hackers!
Sorry to disappoint I never had any interest in it.I never really liked building model kits either. Which is why I refuse to buy Perry,Warlord,Victrix plastics I know I would never build them
Not disappoint, but surprise. I'm with you on the whole converting, modelling thing, but sometimes, one needs to.
I tried my hand at sculpting from scratch, first.....Which in retrospect was a silly thing to do.
First models I converted, were some Marauder Dark (Witch ?) Elves...Which I turned into page 3 types.
Trish was very nice about it, and didn't seem at all concerned with what I'd done to her models.
Cheers - Phil
Who is Trish?
Sorry, Steve !....Trish Morrison (as was).....One of the Evil Empire's designers.....Pretty sure she's still there.
Cheers - Phil
Quote from: Techno on 07 March 2015, 04:09:25 PM
Sorry, Steve !....Trish Morrison (as was).....One of the Evil Empire's designers.....Pretty sure she's still there.
Cheers - Phil
Her witch elves were stunning; for the time they were ground breaking in their elegance.
I know this sounds "gushy" but they really were "that" good! :)
They looked better after I'd finished with them ;).....Especially the one with the whip !! =O =O =O =O
Cheers - Phil
From Airfix magazine in the late 60s, French WWI infantry into ACW zouaves and French Cuirassiers into Charleston Light Dragoons. Much plasticine and banana oil in evidence. Later moved on to converting US cavalry into 1st Virginia cavalry using parts from the RHA Napoleonic set.
Quote from: Techno on 07 March 2015, 05:08:46 PM
They looked better after I'd finished with them ;).....Especially the one with the whip !! =O =O =O =O
Cheers - Phil
I think Phil is having a moment :o
Quote from: Techno on 07 March 2015, 05:08:46 PM
They looked better after I'd finished with them ;).....Especially the one with the whip !! =O =O =O =O
Cheers - Phil
Sacrilege >:(
;D ;D ;D
Beelzebub has a spike he's sharpening just for you! :P
Quote from: Fenton on 07 March 2015, 05:19:36 PM
I think Phil is having a moment :o
They're in 'someone's' collection now....I just hope you never
ever find them ! ;D ;D ;D ;D
Cheers - Phil
Quote from: Techno on 07 March 2015, 05:37:01 PM
They're in 'someone's' collection now....I just hope you never ever find them ! ;D ;D ;D ;D
Cheers - Phil
I am going to
SCOUR Ebay.
No dark elf will be left unturned... ;)
First metal figure a Pendraken Mammoth. I remember having a pair of plastic ACW Gatling guns and doing a head swap to make them colonial.... Apart from adding weapons etc...not much else.
(http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc31/Maenoferren/Mammoth.jpg)[/URL
An after and before shot.....
[URL=http://s215.photobucket.com/user/Maenoferren/media/DSCF2505.jpg.html](http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc31/Maenoferren/DSCF2505.jpg) (http://s215.photobucket.com/user/Maenoferren/media/Mammoth.jpg.html)
Okay not the most advanced conversion ever....
Quote from: Maenoferren on 07 March 2015, 05:45:51 PM
First metal figure a Pendraken Mammoth. I remember having a pair of plastic ACW Gatling guns and doing a head swap to make them colonial.... Apart from adding weapons etc...not much else.
(http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc31/Maenoferren/Mammoth.jpg)[/URL
(http://s215.photobucket.com/user/Maenoferren/media/Mammoth.jpg.html)
Does bending qualify as a conversion? :)
I nearly chopped my finger off sawing this thing into bits... And I would say it looks different from the original... :D
No X rated depraved sculpts by Phil. But I did find this
Quote from: Maenoferren on 07 March 2015, 05:55:58 PM
I nearly chopped my finger off sawing this thing into bits... And I would say it looks different from the original... :D
;D ;D ;D
We've all done that ;D
Only kidding, good job. Better than my first shot :-[
Quote from: Techno on 07 March 2015, 05:08:46 PM
They looked better after I'd finished with them ;).....Especially the one with the whip !! =O =O =O =O
Cheers - Phil
I am reminded of Aly's Chaos Nuns (deemed unsuitable for production apparently) and the magician "Sam Fox" whose similarity to the Page 3 model of the same name was mainly down to their states of (un)dress :)
My first conversions were of the Airfix Robin Hood figures into Goths to fight my Romans.
I do remember converting Airfix figures into French Horse Grenadiers, then painting them with pink jackets, white bearskins and white trousers - not realising the uniform illustration I had was of a trumpeter!! :-[
The first that I can still remember (well, you know how it is!) fulfilled my need to create some British Napoleonic infantry to match my Airfix Highlanders. Even then, I knew that not all Brits went to war in skirts. So, the bodies, as any fule kno, could only come from the highlanders themselves. They were then chopped off below the gonads, and Airfix Union and Confederate infantry legs attached. The bonnet was sliced off, and replaced by a bit of sprue with a paper front and a tiny peak. I did 120 of these Frankenstein's monsters, and thought they were great. They fought nobly, but went to the great skip in the sky many decades ago :(
Mollinary
British heavy dragoons converted to King's German Legion heavy dragooons by covering the helmet with the vast fore and aft bicorn in plasticine. Didn't look to bad from a distance, being 6mm figures helped ;)
As with many others, Airfix US cavalry into French Chasseurs à Cheval by slicing off the hats and replacing them with shakos removed from spare French line infantry. Little paper coat-tails and a fresh paint-job completed the transformation. Sadly, the dark green paint I chose for the new uniforms turned out to be gloss. Oh, and my new light cavalry turned out considerably bulkier than Airfix's own cuirassiers.
Quote from: Hertsblue on 09 March 2015, 10:10:35 AM
As with many others, Airfix US cavalry into French Chasseurs à Cheval by slicing off the hats and replacing them with shakos removed from spare French line infantry. Little paper coat-tails and a fresh paint-job completed the transformation. Sadly, the dark green paint I chose for the new uniforms turned out to be gloss. Oh, and my new light cavalry turned out considerably bulkier than Airfix's own cuirassiers.
;D
Takes me back. I glossed most of my German infantry and couldn't work out why they looked stupid (paint job aside that is).
Anyone remember these? I inherited my dad's old paints in Airfix glass bottles:
(http://thumbsnap.com/s/2IPahGhu.jpg)
I do, though I'd forgotten about the glass bottles until I saw the picture!
I still have some Airfix M21, which I bought in bulk to do bases.
HATE enamel paint!
Quote from: getagrip on 09 March 2015, 10:18:56 AM
;D
Takes me back. I glossed most of my German infantry and couldn't work out why they looked stupid (paint job aside that is).
Anyone remember these? I inherited my dad's old paints in Airfix glass bottles:
(http://thumbsnap.com/s/2IPahGhu.jpg)
Yes, me too. After a few times of using you'd need a plumber's wrench to get the tops off. And the tins.... don't get me started on the tins!
Tins... ~X(
The tin on the right shows "exactly" why they were cr@p! Gunk, which meant it never closed properly, which meant it dried out or took on the consistency of paint porridge!
Wasn't cheap, either.
Quote from: FierceKitty on 09 March 2015, 10:38:43 AM
Wasn't cheap, either.
Flaming well wasn't; which was why, as a young teen, I ended trying to paint with gritty enamels. >:(
I reckon they probably cost (early 80's) the same as they do now, which, when you consider inflation, was outrageous.
I bless the day I discovered acrylics. It was some time in the mid-70s. My first acrylics were Colour Party, bought at a show in Leeds.
Using Airfix magazine articles on WW I Germans to convert the US Cavalry into lancers and the ACW artillery limber crew into Germans sitting on the front of a converted ACW gun into a 7.7 field gun. I used to heat up a darning needle over a candle and weld the horses hooves to the bases because no glue would work. Still got the needle, clears Vallejo bottle nozzle blockages now.
Gosh! I remember doing exactly the same thing.
Quote from: Subedai on 09 March 2015, 11:26:24 AM
Using Airfix magazine articles on WW I Germans to convert the US Cavalry into lancers and the ACW artillery limber crew into Germans sitting on the front of a converted ACW gun into a 7.7 field gun. I used to heat up a darning needle over a candle and weld the horses hooves to the bases because no glue would work. Still got the needle, clears Vallejo bottle nozzle blockages now.
You're right about those plastics; always had a weird greasy feel and nothing would stick!
Baaaaad old days!
I wouldn't go as far as to say they were bad. They were different in that if you wanted something, most of the time you had to do it yourself so in one respect it was an achievement and thus more rewarding. From my point of view, I read about wargaming in the early 60's and think those times were hard and I've no doubt that wargamers today, as in many other walks of like, think the same thing of the 70's and 80's. I think this is why I prefer to make my own terrain wherever possible because it adds another level to the whole hobby as opposed to just buying a model and painting it. That's just my thoughts on the matter.
Quote from: Subedai on 09 March 2015, 11:26:24 AM
Using Airfix magazine articles on WW I Germans to convert the US Cavalry into lancers and the ACW artillery limber crew into Germans sitting on the front of a converted ACW gun into a 7.7 field gun. I used to heat up a darning needle over a candle and weld the horses hooves to the bases because no glue would work. Still got the needle, clears Vallejo bottle nozzle blockages now.
I had a miniature electric soldering iron that did the job very quickly. Too quickly in some cases and went straight through the base.
Quote from: Hertsblue on 09 March 2015, 03:00:34 PM
I had a miniature electric soldering iron that did the job very quickly. Too quickly in some cases and went straight through the base.
Yep, got that t-shirt ;D
Been thinking what could have possibly been the first conversion 'I attempted'. The first one I seem to recall doing at the moment was some British Commandos, each box had ladders with commandos supposed to be scaling them, the only problem was the figures couldn't grip the uprights, so hey presto I melted the hands to go around the ladder uprights, remember I got into a bit of bother over it, I used my Dad's matches so as to melt them.
I think I must have been about 4 at the time - so understandable my parents reaction when they found out what I had done! :-[
I remember my brother 'finding' a box of matches when he was about 6. He managed to set a mountain on fire.
Here's a thought. When was the last time you used a box of matches? I honestly can't remember... :-\
We buy the extra long ones for when the gas hob decides it's not going to play today.
Every day. I have a candle burning at all times.
You have to in Runcorn.
Quote from: fsn on 10 March 2015, 10:05:53 AM
Every day. I have a candle burning at all times.
You have to in Runcorn.
;D ;D ;D
There is that ;)
Still can't remember when I used a match.
Quote from: Hertsblue on 10 March 2015, 09:58:54 AM
We buy the extra long ones for when the gas hob decides it's not going to play today.
People tend to use those long lighters these days don't they?
QuoteHere's a thought. When was the last time you used a box of matches? I honestly can't remember... Undecided
er everyday, solid fuel heating system.
Same reason as Ray.....Or to light the wood burner in the living room.
Cheers - Phil
Extra long for lighting my grill as the electric spark no longer functions.
Quote from: fsn on 10 March 2015, 10:05:53 AM
Every day. I have a candle burning at all times.
You have to in Runcorn.
Would have thought that was dangerous in Runcorn, after all it is an explosive atmosphere.
IanS ;)