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| "Boss, those Bratt fopps are the other side of the sump tanks. Better get the plasma coils warmed up!" |
The new Necromunda supplement, Gang War 3, came out a few days ago, and it looks like I'll be using my Tech gang as Van Saar in a new campaign at the end of the month. Having looked at the new House list, my bolter-armed fighters can't be in the starting line-up, nor can my champion with heavy stubber. I need to supplement my existing fighters with a few new ones. I plan to make a new leader with a combi lasgun/plasma gun and a funky Van Saar energy shield and some more lasgunners. I also wanted to make a new champion with plasma gun - actually finishing a conversion I had started alongside the other plasma gunner from a few weeks back.
My new champion, Orbison, gets a matching colour scheme to the rest of the Techs - stark white overalls with plenty of bionics. Orbison is also one of the techiest Techs around - not only is he sporting bionic limbs, but he's also got a nerdy pair of bionic eyes!
I kept the colours to the same limited palette - mainly white, black and metallic, with some flashes of orange and blue. Orbison's body armour got a sepia wash like the other higher-ranking fighters (I'm imagining it to be a superior alloy of some kind).
The figure is made from one of Roy Eastland's armless Tech sculpts. For whatever reason, unlike the other Eastland Techs, this figure was uncatalogued and is relatively uncommon.
I added a pair of new arms and a funky new plasma gun. The left arm was cobbled together from the lower section of a Forgeworld Space Marine character arm, while the upper portion is a Frankenstein mix of components, including a bead, plastic rod, paperclip wire, a ball bearing, greenstuff and flexible cabling.
Orbison's right arm includes a portion from an Orlock ganger, the servo claw from an old Techmarine backpack, and some greenstuff. I also added a holstered pistol using an old Confrontation gun and geenstuff.
Orbison's plasma gun is made from a Forgeworld volkite caliver with a pistol grip salvaged from my bits box. The stock is just plasticard cut to shape and with a groove cut into it for detail.
The conversion was actually a lengthy and convoluted process. I had real problems with the right arm due to the angles and the shape of the plasma gun. Happily some feedback from fresh pairs of eyes pointed out two critical areas for improvement - the angle of the wrist and the stock. Of course, Orbison probably can't fire his gun with that crude servo claw, but it does look cool!
*Post title courtesy of cheetor.
Another very cool conversion. I haven't seriously looked at Van Saar after one of the guys from Kublacon said something about playing Van Saar is for noobs. Funny how a random comment can inform ones opinion. I haven't really gone in for the newest release of Necro, as the people I play with either play the older rules or not at all. Is it significantly different this iteration? I've also played a bit of Shadow War, which seems quite a bit like Necromunda.
ReplyDeleteVan Saars were certainly a good pick under the old system due to their House weapons and easy access to key Tech skills. I've only played one game with their current fully-released incarnation - they are an excellent ranged gang, but somewhat lacking in combat. I'll be seeing how they fare in a campaign setting over the next few months.
DeleteShadow War is effectively a cut and paste version of the original version of Necromunda, with 40k units in place of the gangs. The new version of Necromunda is a familiar feeling but different game - some of the mechanics are similar to the previous edition, others work in an entirely different fashion. I really enjoy the new version of the game, and I suspect that by the end of the year we'll have all 6 major Houses and a comprehensive set of rules. That might be a good time to try and launch it with locally?
A lovely build and a fantastic paint job. The Tech Gang just keeps getting better - I particularly like the work that went into the bionic arm and the rifle. Nicely done!
ReplyDeleteThanks very much! This guy was the subject of a lot of prevarication - I knew I wanted him to be more than just a basic ganger, and I knew I wanted him to have a plasma gun. I also knew I wanted to avoid covering up the cool details on his front. It took quite a bit of thinking to end up with a nice looking pose that hit all of the criteria!
DeleteOff course he can shoot the gun, he's left handed !
ReplyDeletePainted up he looks almos flawless . Great Work
William
Thanks William! Of course he is left handed, that's perfect sense :D
DeleteAs a regular plasmagun user, he has learned to hold it in the lower grade, easier to repair/replace augmetic fist whenever possible.
DeleteDuring weapon operation he keeps a firm grip on the forward grip with his right servoclaw while applying brief measured trigger pulls with his left penta-digit analog manipulator.
I probably need to right a series of logic tests to roll through for each firing in order to fully appreciate all the technology being utilised :D
DeleteAnother great figure for your gang. That left arm turned out extremely well, seeming like an original arm, rather than something cobbled together from a (large!) list of bitz.
ReplyDeleteAnd the plasma rifle is well done too, he looks very casual holding it.
How does he shoot it? Wireless mind link of course!
For a long time the arm was a single length of plastic rod. I kept adding to it and it seemed to pay off.
DeleteWireless mind links? Why didn't I think of those!
He's a GW mini? He kinda looks like a Metal Magic sculpt, with all those tiny details, but I know he's not from that range....just looks a bit like it.
ReplyDeleteGreat conversion work mate! Thanks for the recipe list too, that's actually the thing i love reading the most when people do conversions/kitbashes :)
That's a clever little trick that I think I'll be stealing for future conversions too Axiom, the ball bearing. A futuristic looking addition that would also simplify the elbow connection.
He looks ace painted up too by the way :)
He's an oddity isn't he? Roy Eastland only did a handful of Citadel sculpts, and they were stacked full of those little details and all have those characteristic deeply creased faces.
DeleteI used the ball bearing simply from observing the Techs with sculpted bionic arms - they all seemed to have ball and socket joints, so it looks like Jes Goodwin and Mark Copplestone might have utilised ball bearings back in 1991 and 1992!
Fantastic conversion and paint job!
ReplyDeleteThanks Simon - glad you like him :)
DeleteYou're becoming a bit of a techs addict aren't you ?
ReplyDeleteThis guy is worth all the efforts, he even has this slight bit of Batou from GITS which is perfect.
I'm not sure I want to admit this, but I think that I'm a little obsessed with Techs at the moment!
DeleteI suspect it doesn't surprise you that I had to lookup Batou. But I can certainly see the resemblance :)
Nicely done! You wouldn't have noticed the mishmashed parts from the painting alone which goes to show you did a good work on both the conversion and painting.
ReplyDeleteThanks very much! He was on my WIP pile for a long time, with a lot of working through how to blend everything together, so I'm glad it all worked out :)
DeleteBrilliant work mate, great painting (as always), and such a cool conversion - thanks for the walk-through!
ReplyDeleteCheers Alex! I really should try and take more pics during the process, but I invariably forget or miss out a vital step!
DeleteHe just need to fire it with the other hand ;) Cool model
ReplyDeleteMaybe his left shoulder was tired? :D Thanks!
DeleteReally nice conversion, it looks convoluted in the WIP but looks like he was always meant to be sculpted this way when painted. Keep the techs coming!
ReplyDeleteThat's my overall ambition with these conversions - trying to make it as close as possible to look like a figure with no modifications at all. The paint really does put it together :)
DeleteYeah, getting primer on my conversions makes them feel more cohesive and makes me more confident in them.
DeleteIt's always nerve wracking up to that point though :)
DeleteThese old techs are some of my favorite figures in my collection, and it's great to see them customized and painted.
ReplyDeleteThanks! The Techs are some of my favourites as well. I think the Citadel and Marauder sculptors must have liked the concept as well - after all there are more Techs than any other Confrontation faction!
DeleteWow, I love the way you integrated all the bits and how good does he look as a whole piece. So cool!
ReplyDeleteThanks Suber! Glad he's integrated all together :)
DeleteVery nice conversion!
ReplyDeleteThanks Kym :)
DeleteSome slick conversion work there Axiom.
ReplyDeleteI didn't even know that Tech existed.
Thanks cheetor. He's an obscure one all right. A very characterful sculpt with it.
DeleteYour conversion work is really well integrated into the original torso. As I'm unfamiliar with the uncatalogued figure I was totally at a loss working out what you'd done until the WIP photos. It's a lovely gang, I hope to play against them one day.
ReplyDeleteThanks Curis! The fact that you couldn't ID what was added pretty much suggests I achieved my aims with the conversion.
DeleteI hope I can fulfil your wish to face off against them one day, really pleased you like them.
Of course both his arms are bionic, being a Plasma Gun toting nutjob. Probably has fired on overload setting at least 2 times too many, right?
ReplyDeleteEffin love this one. The conversion parts are wicked clever and he just oozes a STNG-Borg-like detached confidence.
I reckon you're right - plasma guns certainly are rather unpredictable! Glad you like him :)
DeleteGawd... What've I been missing out on since being away from my blog!?!
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome, it all comes together very nicely.
I can't seem to pull off bionics right, always ended up scrapping scratch builds part way through. But you've made that upper left arm look just right.