Conversion & the new Boxed Set

[Caitsidhe]

While I happen to think the CSM models in the new boxed set look nice, I do have some issues with the setup. They were not done in a way that is friendly to conversion. They went out of their way, in fact, to make it a pain in the rear to give the Chosen different weapon configurations. It is almost as if they don't want you to take away the weird assortment of different weapons provided. This is unfortunate because that is not a very competitive configuration, nor likely to see much use. My preference for arms be so that I get to set the pose.

The Hellbrute, to a lesser degree, suffers from the same problem. My suspicion is that they would rather you buy the kits when rather than be frugal and just the boxed set, but that remains to be seen. The Chaos Lord really can't be converted easily at all. The Chosen can be done (well most of them) with a just bit of effort. The limited special edition model makes a GREAT interchangeable Chaos SC or HQ in general. The first thing you do is glue the body to the base and clip off that stuff that rises above the backpack. drill a small hole for the smallest magnet and glue one down in the head indention. Drill both the left and right arm joints with magnets of the same. The chosen ax makes an excellent Kharn arm and should be magnetized. Likewise cut the bump off the lower part of a standard Berserker head and replace with a magnet. A plasma pistol works fine to magnetize for the other arm. You get the idea. My suggest is a basic black with accents for the body and do the cloak to your preference. Ideally you are looking for a Black Legion, i.e. in the service of Abbadon look. Then when you swap heads out later your army is just there at Abbadon's bidding whether the despoiler is there or not. I have already done this to use that model for alternate conversions of Kharn and Ahriman (and generic HQ Lords and Sorcerers). The different color helms, arms, and weapons differentiate with basic black in a very effective way.

[magickbk]

It seems to me that it is part of their new method of making the starter set a contained story, and moderately balanced within itself rather than considering what you might do with it later as you expand your army. If anything, I'd say these models are easier to convert than other starter models because they aren't one piece slabs. When a model is holding an arm out from their body, you can always saw it off at the glove and replace it with something else, but when it is molded into their abdomen, you have to core out a section of torso and rebuild it. The last starter set to include full models, and not simple snap-fit ones, was the 3rd edition starter back in 1998. I think a lot of people complained about having to learn how to assemble annoying models such as the Land Speeder(which was always warped) before getting started, leading to the snap-fit stuff.

[wittdooley]

The Hellbrute, to a lesser degree, suffers from the same problem. My suspicion is that they would rather you buy the kits when rather than be frugal and just the boxed set, but that remains to be seen. The Chaos Lord really can't be converted easily at all. The Chosen can be done (well most of them) with a just bit of effort. The limited special edition model makes a GREAT interchangeable Chaos SC or HQ in general. The first thing you do is glue the body to the base and clip off that stuff that rises above the backpack. drill a small hole for the smallest magnet and glue one down in the head indention. Drill both the left and right arm joints with magnets of the same. The chosen ax makes an excellent Kharn arm and should be magnetized. Likewise cut the bump off the lower part of a standard Berserker head and replace with a magnet. A plasma pistol works fine to magnetize for the other arm. You get the idea. My suggest is a basic black with accents for the body and do the cloak to your preference. Ideally you are looking for a Black Legion, i.e. in the service of Abbadon look. Then when you swap heads out later your army is just there at Abbadon's bidding whether the despoiler is there or not. I have already done this to use that model for alternate conversions of Kharn and Ahriman (and generic HQ Lords and Sorcerers). The different color helms, arms, and weapons differentiate with basic black in a very effective way.

I love where your head is at here, but man...my time is more valuable to me than the amount of work you just detailed here. Maybe I'll just comission you to make me a new Kharn :D

[Caitsidhe]

I love where your head is at here, but man...my time is more valuable to me than the amount of work you just detailed here. Maybe I'll just comission you to make me a new Kharn :D

It saves you time in the long run. One expertly painted body with changeable heads and weapons gets you the option of lots of HQ or SC instead of one. :) But sure... I'll show you my work when I finish it and see if you like it.

[inquisitorsog]

The Hellbrute's right arm is easily modified to a plasma cannon or any other energy weapon. Just whack the barrels off and replace them.
For a reaper AC or TL bolter, you'd also need to clip the power cable and fit in an ammo feed. Those should be pretty basic conversions.

The left arm is a little more involved but a missile launcher at least shouldn't be much of an issue. Convering the right arm to a power fist may be difficult, but hardly impossible. There's plenty of conversion opportunity that I see.

The lord should take weapon swaps pretty easily, but you'd need to take the fore arm off of something else if you're doing them, not just the weapon and hand.

The DA models are far worse than the Chaos models in the kit other than the limited edition figure in terms of conversion in my opinion.