# AoBR ---> 2.5k CSM



## enieffac (Nov 24, 2008)

I started a thread regarding this project in the Modeling and Painting section, but have decided to start a proper project log to track my progress. I am converting the entire contents of the Assault on Black Reach box into a Chaos Space Marine army (yes, that means the orc half as well). I will also be heavily modifying a few heroscape figures to round out the army (or maybe I couldn't quite get to 2.5k without 9 extra models...) My final army list will be the following:

5 terminators -- chaos termies. all champions. 2 with pairs of lightning claws, one with heavy flamer, chainfist, nurgle icon, 2 with combi flamer, chainfists - 305pts

10 SMs-- chaos space marines. one captain with powerfist and twin link bolter. two with meltaguns, one with nurgle icon - 265pts (going to be upgraded by fabius bile)

20 orc boys-- 2 identical squads of 10 plague marines. champion w/ icon, powerfist, meltabombs. two with meltaguns. 300pts per squad

3x deftkopters -- 3x nurgle bikers. champion w/ powerfist and meltabombs. other two with meltaguns. one with nurgle icon. - 214pts

1x dreadnought-- chaos dreadnought w/ twin linked autocannon - 110pts

SM captain-- Fabius Bile (and 30pts to enhance the chaos space marines)

orc warboss -- DP w/ wings, warptime, mark of nurgle.

9x heroscape figs -- 9x khorne raptors. champion w/ pair of lightning claws and meltabomb, 2 with flamers - 265pts

5x orc nobs-- obliterators -375pts

=2499pts

I decided to use Fabius Bile and give the majority of my units nurgle icons because in my mind it's a natural match and also because converting orcs into nurgle units sounds a lot easier than the other options. Anyway... time for some pics of what I've done so far.

First up: Chaos Space Marine Captain
















Head is from a sprue in the Defiler box, twin link bolter and powerfist came off one of the terminators, the backpack is from a non-GW mini (blanking on what it's called). I will probably come back and do more to this figure eventually.

Chaos Space Marines








It's a start on this unit. 6 to go.

Terminators (the three with chainfists)
























The "chainfists" came from a few of the orc weapons (the powerfists that I removed are being used on figures elsewhere in the army) The shoulders are obviously orc heads (that's mighty putty. the TV adds are a load of lies). Two of these have combi flamers and one has a heavy flamer. I havn't done much work on my other two terminators because I havn't developed a satisfactory lightning claw.

Plague marines (I know you're only reading this to see how I'm trying to make orcs look like space marines, so here it is.)








I start by removing a lot of the upper torso with my scalpel. Then I use Sculpey to add armor. If anyone is interested, I can discuss Sculpey in depth later. I have almost half the orc boyz converted into plague marines at this point. I have come up with a semi-standardized armor design that looks pretty good to me. I'm planning to add cables of some kind to these guys before I'm done. Still no heads or backpacks tho... 

































































Chaos Dread
































I used pieces from a chaos defiler to replace the sarcophagus, scratch-built the close combat weapon arm (used some swords and random gun from my bits box on arm). The legs are from a mechwarrior figure (I think). And the light coming from the "eyes" and gun barrels is all from the same LED (the LED is physically located inside the arm joint).

Anyway... Thats what I've got so far. I figure I might be 20% done with the modeling at this point.


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## WoRLoKKeD (Apr 1, 2008)

My god, man. That is some amazing work! 
I can't wait to see the finished deal. have some rep!


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## Svartmetall (Jun 16, 2008)

_*applauds*_

Anything non-Chaos being turned to Chaos equates to win. Especially when at least some of it is in the service of Father Nurgle; I consider that to be eminently rep-worthy :biggrin:

For the planned cables you mention, I'd suggest a .032" gauge guitar 'A' string - it's a perfect fit for the default drill bit that comes with the GW pin vice, and looks just right size-wise on 28mm figures for augmetic/bionic/whatever cabling. I use those for most of my cabling work, occasionally resorting to the .054" gauge low 'B' string from one of my 7-string guitars if I need more massive/structural stuff.

Here's what a .032" gauge string looks like on a Chosen of Nurgle:









Another suggestion, this time about the Nurgle icons - rather than make the whole shoulderpad out of one bit of material and then score in the three circles, make small spheres and attach those to the shoulder area first in the appropriate pattern, then, once they've hardened, add the rest of the pad around it. I've found building it up this way tends to give a much more three-dimensional look to the finished pad, not least because it also allows you to make a textural contrast between smooth spheres and differentially-contoured surrounding gunk.

The best pic I could find at short notice to illustrate what I mean is this WIP pic of Vvornth, my first Nurgle Dreadnought - look at his right front armour:









If you want to go nuts for a Champion or some such, you can also make the icon out of horns or spikes:









And yes, I'd like to hear more about Sculpey; I've gotten reasonably familiar with Green Stuff, and have acquired some Magic Sculp and FIMO which will be being experimented with in due course, but any insights you can give about another potential modelling medium would certainly be appreciated.


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## enieffac (Nov 24, 2008)

*Regarding Sculpey*

Thanks for the tips and rep. I particularly like the "ball" mark of nurgle affect. (I made most of the ones in the pics with a ballpoint pen because it was available)

Sculpey comes in three general forms. Original Sculpey, Super Sculpy, and Sculpey III. All three of these products are a "stays soft until you bake it" material. The directions say 130C (275F) for 15minutes per 6mm (1/4 inch) to harden it. 

Original Sculpey is pure white and a very firm material. You need to squeeze/mash/mix this stuff before it becomes easily workable. You can "thin" sculpey by mixing in a few drops of oil. That also makes it a little sticky. An important consideration when working with this type is the air temperature(the others are softer so it shouldn't be an issue with them) Original Sculpey becomes significantly softer as it warms up (VERY hard at 60F, hard at 80F, soft at 100F) This stuff is less sticky than the other two types. 

Super Sculpey is a creamy/fleshy/tan sort of color. This version is softer and completely moldable right from the box. There are two downsides to Super Sculpey. First, because it isn't white, it messes with your colors a bit if you're blending different colors. Second, it's soft enough that avoiding fingerprints is a serious challenge. (I used super sculpey on some of the tanish orc armor)

Sculpey III: This stuff is all the colors. Mostly it's the same consistency as Super Sculpey, but some colors are more difficult to work with (black). It comes in small square blocks in various vibrant colors including some "pearlized" options (aka they added glitter). This stuff is not properly colorfast, so you might inadvertently color things, but this also means that it blends very well. I have not seen any changes in color due to baking, so what you see should be what you end up with. (I used sculpey III on the grey shoulderpad)

I normally mix Original and Super in a 50/50 mix because that gives me a material that is very easy to work with and doesn't mess up blended colors too much. Unbaked material will stick to anything that isn't wet. It appears to be impervious to water (will not get thin/mushy/slimy/dissolve/etc in water). Luckily, sculpey sticks to itself better than it sticks to anything else, so you can use your fingers or tools to work on small details without worrying about keeping everything wet. (for example: you can squish a blob of it into a 1mm thick sheet the size of your hand with your fingers and then hold it by one edge without it tearing) 

MOLDS.... yes, this stuff makes great molds using water as a lubricant. I have had good results from making a mold and then stretching and/or bending the mold prior to baking to make complex curves (curved wing feathers created from a set of straight lines etc). 

A note on baking. You can bake this stuff at MUCH higher temperatures and much shorter times. I don't recommend it, but at least it's possible. You can also safely add layers and re-bake an item multiple times (I think the most times I've had to bake a certain item is 12 times). You can also partially cure the material by under baking it if you want to harden it up a bit while keeping it workable (I don't recommend this option) If you over bake sculpey too much it turns a pinkish color. 

On my orcs, I added sculpey and then cooked them. This is a VERY RISKY option, because the necessary temperature is VERY close to the melting point of GW plastic. If you take a good look at the plastic parts on my plague marines, you can clearly see that some of them got too hot. (the bar between their feet is a good indicator for this issue) If you get plastic too hot, first it will begin to get soft, then the sharp edges will begin to soften. After that the plastic will swell a little bit. The only good thing about being near the melting point is that it makes repositioning arms/legs very easy. 

Hopefully some of the above is useful. If you have any specific questions about the stuff, I may have an answer.


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## NurglingStomper (Jan 31, 2009)

Holy shit man that's amazing! I like your dread a lot. Have some rep good sir.


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## MaidenManiac (Oct 2, 2008)

enieffac said:


> Plague marines (I know you're only reading this to see how I'm trying to make orcs look like space marines, so here it is.)
> Anyway... Thats what I've got so far. I figure I might be 20% done with the modeling at this point.


:laugh:
This is totally genious! Have a more then well deserved reward in repform:victory:


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## tastytaste (Mar 31, 2009)

Wow such a daunting task! I wish you the best of look cannot wait for updates!


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## enieffac (Nov 24, 2008)

Life got busy so no progress on this project for a while... but I have time again. So... I need some ideas for backpacks and heads for my orc marines...


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## hugor1 (May 6, 2008)

The easiest thing is to extent the normal marine backpacks' vents, for the head if you have spare skulls or anything of the sort, scultp over em or you can go on eBay for some helmets or even better pig iron helmets  keep it up!


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