Thursday, August 13, 2015

Throwback Thursday: Centurions Terminator Conversions

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It's been a while since we visited the past, hasn't it?  Since we took a look at my Black Templar Assault Marines last time, I thought we'd go back to my Centurions Chapter once more.

The Centurions were a labor of love those 5 to 6 years ago when I started them, and while I should have done a series of feature articles on them before (yes, KrautScientist, I'm looking at you), at least I"m able to bring them back now as a part of the Throwback Thursday series.

This time I'm going to highlight the 5 Terminators I created for them, paying special attention to the conversion work on them rather than lump the painting into it as well.

I really and truly put heart and soul into this army when I started working on it.  I dug out history books on ancient Rome and Greece, ways they waged war and weapons used at the time.  Not to try and do a 100% historically accurate army, but to lend flavor and a richness of culture and feel to it.  It may have taken a year to complete, but it was well worth it.

I specifically chose to do this force as a Space Wolf Counts-As force because of two reasons:  Cavalry (which I'll get to in a later post), and the sheer amount of options I could have that would enable me to go crazy with conversions.  I went to town on the terminators in this regard.


Universally I wanted to give them a feeling of mobility and movement, so to me that meant removing the hunchback look of the armor completely.  I ended up dremeling out a channel for the neck, adding a gorget and stud work, with a little GS to smooth it all out for a finished torso once more.  Imparting a sense of movement also meant that I would be slicing and carving away plastic where the arms connected on both the bodies and the arms themselves, requiring me to pin them in place before resculpting most, if not all, of the soft armor joints.  This would allow for more dramatic and dynamic posing of the arms at the least.


I also would bring back  favorite head swap of mine for Terminators from the Fantasy (RIP) Chaos Warrior helmets, trimming them down and adding a dramatic horse hair plume from some 3rd party heads from Max Mini.  Continuing to borrow form that model range, I used the Chaos Knights shoulder pads instead of the standard Terminator ones, with some plasticard trim in the shape of leather banding.

The final elements of the conversions on the whole involved trimming tabards from Black Templar chest pieces to hang below their waists, custom-made lambda disks on their belts, and all kinds of bits and bobs to add more detail.  Finally, every one of the 5 would have a unique weapon option, from a sword to a spear, a hammer to an axe, and finally a pair of claws.


And the whole unit together…


You may be wondering where the skull-faced one is in the bunch.  The one from the center of the initial image?  Originally he was going to be a Lone Wolf from the codex.  One that was gladiatorial and out for blood.  He was so much fun to convert, using the skull helm from the Chaos Warriors, the cloak from the Chaos Terminator Lord, chains and skulls from Chaos Marauders, and so much more.  Unfortunately he never ended up in the army, though he went to live on as a Black Templar Terminator Captain in another army I painted on commission.  Here he is though, in the only pictures I have of him in his original iteration.


I hope everyone is enjoying this TBT series as much as I am visiting past projects.  Let me know in the comments below!

- Tim

10 comments:

  1. Sweet! They look fantastic. Do you still have this army?

    Also is the conversion side of 40k something you do not miss? I love Infinity but I really enjoy the breadth of conversion opportunities that 40k offers, which is not there in Infinity

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    1. Hey NafNaf!

      Glad you like em! I do actually still have this army, yes :) Though I haven't pulled them out of their case in years, I would be reluctant to sell them. I spent so much time on them... The thought has crossed my mind though. Mainly because they aren't seeing the light of day, and I know they could possibly be appreciated by someone else. I'm on the fence.

      You know...I can honestly say that yes, the conversion side of GW figures is something I do miss. It's so much easier to convert and kitbash with 40K than it is Infinity.

      ...easier, though, not impossible. Case in point: McMurrough. I'll be converting the new USArf Marine Dog Warrior into a custom McMurrough. I'll also be converting some new Yuan Yuans from Tomcat parts as well as other figures to be determined. I want to explore converting in Infinity, because you're right, I do indeed miss it. But is it gone completely? I'm not sure yet. It most definitely is harder though!

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  2. Beautiful work, man!

    I know it's always hard to let an army go - As mercenary as I am with my own stuff, I'll always suggest caution before selling off a beloved project. Seller's remorse is a bummer!

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    1. Seller's remorse is what I'm worried about the most with the limited time I have available for the hobby :( Glad you like these though my friend :)

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  3. That is such a beautiful army, it's obviously a labour of love is from the amount detail and thought gone into them. Plus they look mean as hell!

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    1. LOL! They do have a bit of a brutal look, don't they :)

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  4. I love the brutal beefcake nature of these guys. They just look like they are going to come in through the wall, even though the door is functional.

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    1. ...now that is an analogy I really like the sound of :)

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  5. You have certainly kept us waiting quite a while for a closer look at this army, but posts like this one show that it's been well worth the wait: These guys are spectacular and inspirational on so many levels: In addition to being a perfect realisation of your own army concept, they can also work as inspiration for various loyalist (Ultramarines and Minotaurs, obviously) and even traitor legions (I think there's some overlap with the gladiatorial aspect of the World Eaters, but arguably also with the Alpha Legion and Iron Warriors). Thanks so much for sharing!

    As for the question as to whether or not you should sell this army, I'd say keep it at all costs: A work of love like this shouldn't be pawned off, even if it doesn't see the light of day all that often. If you're even a bit like me, you would always second-guess the decision of selling them ever after ;)

    Anyway, it's stuff like this that makes me hope you'll return to the 41st millennium one day, if only for smallish projects like an Inquisitorial retinue ;)

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    1. I know I know. If there is anyone I need to apologize to for the wait it is most definitely you, my friend.

      The sad thing for me? I made these and finished them about a year or so before the Minotaur character from Forge World came out. Then they came out with all their accessories, and in the Badab War books... Made me a sad panda as it's darn near the same color scheme. I would have created them as Minotaurs if I had had that info, background and FW support for sure!!

      Keep it at all costs, eh? Your opinion matters to me and I'll definitely keep it under advisement :)

      I'll return, I promise :) I just need to find a box of the new AdMech Rangers in my budget is all. I've got plans!

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