Chaoswolf

Here's the official arrival/departure thread for round 8 of the Box of Goodwill. Remember, no chatter here, please. Do it here instead: http://forum.reapermini.com/index.php?/topic/85639-box-of-goodwill-round-8-picturechatter-thread/ Generic Fighter---sent 5/4 AHY79---arrived 5/6, sent 5/16 Pineapple---arrived 5/18, sent 5/22 3vil3lvis---arrived 5/25, ObiJohn27 Hungerfan Synistar Generic Fighter Clearman---sent 4/20 Crowley---arrived 4/22, sent 4/27 Dilvish the Deliverer---arrived 4/29, sent5/11 TripleH---arrived 5/13, sent 5/20 KangarooRex---arrived 5/22, Cassu Lidless Eye Sylverthorne Clearman Inarah---sent 4/19 Broonkah---arrived 4/22, sent 4/30 Gaming Dog---arrived 5/2, sent 5/10 Argentee--arrived 5/14, sent 5/17 Izzy Lobo---arrived 5/20 Kristof65 MattParody Fire Eyes Inarah PCKTLNT---sent 4/30 Mutilated Lips---arrived 5/4, sent 5/11 Warlady---arrived..., sent 5/23 Sanael Hiddenone32 Keianna Dr.Bob PCKTLNT Rob Dean---sent 4/29 Autumn Hare---arrived 5/2, sent 5/6 Ratmaster2000---arrived 5/8, sent 5/10 SGHawkins09---arrived 5/11, sent 5/17 Horned Turtle---arrived 5/21, Marc TGP Cygnwulf Rob Dean Guindyloo---sent 5/4 Chris Palmer---arrived 5/7, sent 5/13 Holk Diggity---arrived 5/15, sent 5/20 Samurai Jack McKenna35 Wyvernfire Buckyball Jodie Guindyloo Rat13---sent 4/23 Klarg1---arrived 4/25, sent 4/30 Pingo---arrived 5/4, sent 5/6 Talespinner---arrived..., sent 5/17 Morihalda---arrived 5/18, Disserma Marineal Rat13 Chaos Wolf---sent 4/27 Mad Jack---arrived 4/29, sent 5/20 Haldir---arrived 5/23, Corsair Glitterwolf Mini Dungeon Master Flit Chaos Wolf Have fun!!

A lot of times, I see people asking for advice on how to do a conversion, or expressing uncertainty about having the skills to do one. So, I decided to create (what I hope will be) a helpful topic to cover that area. I'm aiming this primarily at beginners, or those that 'don't think they can', but hopefully everyone will find something useful or interesting here. First off, let's dispel the 'I can't/I'm not good enough' myth. Nonsense! If you can operate simple mechanical devices, you have all the skills you need to perform simple conversions. It's easy and fun, all it takes is some practice. Just remember, you're going to want to practice on some inexpensive figures before you start in on anything really crazy. Bones figures are great for this. So, here's what you'll need: 1.A hobby knife with a new blade--new blades are easier to use, and safer. Caution: these are sharp, please be careful. 2.Some green stuff, or whatever type of sculpting putty you prefer. This will be used for filling gaps and/or sculpting new details. 3.Some victims volunteers figures you want to convert. In this case, I'm going to be using some Bones Goblins (remember the practice on inexpensive figures part?) for 2 reasons; they're cheap, and I have a horde of them and don't like having a bunch of clones on the table top. 4.Super Glue; the stuff in my picture is the best that I've found for working on Bones, and it's not too shabby on other materials, either. There are many other types out there; find the one that works the best for you. 5.Something to pin parts with; in this case I'm using paperclips. They're plenty strong enough for what I'll be doing. Again there are a lot of things you can use, go with what works for you. I use brass rod for bigger and/or metal miniatures; it's stronger. Not pictured: A razor saw for cutting metal figures. Mine is missing right now, but the one I use is made by X-Acto. 6. A drill and bits for making holes for pinning your figures. 7. A bits box. This is where you keep all of your spare parts for conversions. I've got around a dozen of these things, all full of weapons, shields, body parts, and all sorts of other things.If you buy a figure that has different head or weapon options, the pieces you decided not to use go into your bits box. Got a figure that you've already cut the head and both arms off of to use elsewhere? Keep it. You might want those boots for something next summer. Never throw anything away. Here we go! The first conversion will be a simple weapon swap; a spear into a halberd. Here, you can see I cut off the spear head in order to replace it with something else. This brings up a good rule: try to find a 'seam' to make your cuts at, if possible. Here, the 'seam' is where the head of the spear meets the shaft. Other good 'seams' are wrists, especially if there is a sleeve/gauntlet/wristband that will provide a guide for cutting and leave a nice flat space to attach the new part. Not quite as good of a seam here, mostly because the top of the hand/fist isn't entirely flat. It's still a very good spot to use for weapon swaps, though. (I'm sorry, I forgot to take pictures of these guys, but you can see them completed in the group pictures down below.) Now, let's do some shield swaps. This is the spear goblin. What I want you to notice here is that I was careful to cut the shield off in such a way that the straps were left intact on the goblins arm. Sure, you can just chop the shield off however you want to, but: a) you'll have to re-sculpt those straps, so why make extra work for yourself, and b) that shield might come in handy somewhere else. Never throw anything away. Here he is with his new shield: : This is he mace goblin; I couldn't get a decent shot with his shield removed. This shows the new shield in place. Note that I made certain to preserve the straps on the shield arm again. And from the front: 'Wait a minute!' I hear you cry, 'I just started this hobby 5 minutes ago, I don't have a bits box with lots of neat stuff in it for me to do conversions with' No problem, the next 2 are for you. These 2 goblins got a literal weapon swap. I cut the weapons off (again, I tried to do the cutting at a 'seam') of each figure and reattached them to the other figure. And here they are all glued back together: The sharp eyed among you will notice that the bottom of the spear is a slightly different color than the rest. I accidentally cut into the bottom portion when i was trying to clean up the points where it was attached to the figure.(See? I make mistakes, too. No matter, carry on! That's why we're practicing.) I used a little bit of modeling putty to smooth it out. These next 2 are actually the first 2 that I did, before it occurred to me to document the process for others, so I don't have in progress shots of them.They are included just to provide more examples of what can be done in a few minutes. You'll notice that these fellows have some green stuff on them. The goblin on the left has had his arm from the elbow down swapped with one from a pathfinder goblin. I made some wrappings out of GS to hide the join between the 2 parts. The goblin on the right had his shield and arm from the elbow down removed and the arm from the first goblin grafted on. The 2 parts did not align very well, so I gave him a chain mail sleeve from GS to hide the join. Detail of the added armor. And finally, here they are all together. Added weapon, swapped spear for mace,swapped shield, changed weapon tip pathfinder goblin arm, shield swap, weapon swap, swapped mace for spear Was this useful/helpful/informative for you? Is there anything I could do better? Is this something that you'd like to see me continue doing? Please note that I made this an open thread; I'm not the only person that does this, and I am by no means a master at it. If you've got some tips/tricks to add please do so. Step-by-step pictures of what you're working on would be great; I'm still learning, too! I hope that this inspires at least one person to give converting a try.

I'm ok with either way. Or both---pineapple runs things and if there's a severe issue, I can take the reins.

Welcome to the BoGW chatter thread for round 8! If there are any questions, hopefully you'll find the answer here: http://forum.reapermini.com/index.php?/topic/85638-box-of-goodwill-round-8-sign-up-thread/ For reference, here are the groups, with box starters in bold: Generic Fighter AHY79 Pineapple 3vil3lvis ObiJohn27 Hungerfan Synistar Generic Fighter Clearman Crowley Dilvish the Deliverer TripleH KangarooRex Cassu Lidless Eye Sylverthorne Clearman Inarah Broonkah Gaming Dog Argentee Izzy Lobo Kristof65 MattParody Fire Eyes Inarah PCKTLNT Mutilated Lips Warlady Sanael Hiddenone32 Keianna Dr.Bob PCKTLNT Rob Dean Autumn Hare Ratmaster2000 SGHawkins09 Horned Turtle Marc TGP Cygnwulf Rob Dean Guindyloo Chris Palmer Holk Diggity Samurai Jack McKenna35 Wyvernfire Buckyball Jodie Guindyloo Rat13 Klarg1 Pingo Talespinner Morihalda Disserma Marineal Rat13 Chaos Wolf Mad Jack Haldir Corsair Glitterwolf Mini Dungeon Master Flit Chaos Wolf Have fun!!

Be safe!! Seconded.

I had no idea what a hashtag (side rant---who came up with that dumb-arse term, anyway?) holiday was, so thank you for clarifying that. In order: No I don't drink much wine, and would have no idea what the 'proper' pairings are, so I don't have one. I like cheese.

Coke, too. I never believed that until I did it. I stopped drinking soda shortly after that. I also did the same thing with 'bug juice' (cool aid) in the Navy. Granted, I mixed a packet with a half bucket of water when it was meant to be mixed with a couple gallons of water, but after it dissolved a few layers of paint, corrosion and rust off some brass fittings and made them 'like new' shiny, I stopped drinking that, too.

@ManvsMini---I wouldn't worry about the kitty drinking some of your paint rinse water, one of mine did it a few times and she's perfectly fine. I mean, don't let 'em drink all they want, but a little bit once shouldn't do anything harmful.

...and now you have me wanting to play Diablo.

Hi there! Like Glitterwolf mentioned, the best way is to keep all of the spare parts that come with your figures. If you get a figure that has 2 head choices, the one you don't use goes into your bits box. The best way to get a bunch of stuff fast is to search eBay for 'warhammer bits lot' . This might be a little pricey, but every once in a while I see one that goes for 15-20 dollars for a decent sized bag of stuff. The thing to be aware of though, is that this stuff is used. You might end up with some stuff that has paint and/or glue on it, broken pieces, or things that are not immediately useful (I have several Games Workshop horses that come in 2 halves, but not the right halves to actually make a horse. I have kept them 'cause I might get the other half one day...). The other thing to keep in mind is by getting a whole bunch of stuff this way is that it's going to be random; if you're wanting parts for dwarves for example you may or may not get a whole lot that will be useful. It will get you a bunch of stuff fast, though. If you do go this route, sort through what you get, and put aside anything that you know you definitely don't want. Take all that stuff to your local gaming store and see if anyone is interested in trading with you. I run a community give-away here called the 'Box of Goodwill' (read all about it in the 'Mini Exchanges and Paint Contests' sub-forum). We're in the middle of round 8 right now, so you'd have to wait for round 9 to join up. The reason I mention it is that a lot of times people will put unwanted bits into the box, and those are free for the taking. No guarantees that every single box will have bits in it, but I know some do. If you go to Reapercon, Reaper has allowed convention goers to go to their factory to shop. You can go through all the figure bins and get all the sword hands, heads, and shields that you desire for the price of the metal itself (If I remember right, last year it was $7 per ounce. That might not sound too awesome, but you'd be surprised how much an ounce of sword arms and heads actually is.) Obviously this option is going to be rather expensive (tickets to the convention, and a hotel room unless you happen to live somewhere nearby), but it can't hurt to throw it out there. Unfortunately, I don't think Reaper is ever going to sell bags of miscasts, since they can just melt 'em down and recast them. The metal ones, anyway. They do have a bin at the factory for Bones miscasts that they'll sell for a buck or so a piece, but you can only get those in person. I hope that has helped you out at least a little bit. If you have more questions, please let me know.

I almost got rear-ended just now. I stopped to wait for the car in front of me to turn into his driveway, and I heard tires screeching from behind me. I glanced up to see the car behind me entirely too close to me, and the car behind them half off the road. There was a cell phone involved. Seeing that led to much swearing on my part. Not a great start to the weekend. Other than that, it's been a good day.

None. I haven't made a mess like that in a very long time. I do, however, keep a few pairs of my old Navy coveralls around for bigger jobs like painting a room or something.

That sounds appealing. I've seen a few bumble bees, but I've already seen waaay too many wasps. Those bar stewards can go burn in the fires of Hades.

I have. It's a really nice looking model. Too rich for my blood, though.

I can do mean, nasty, foul mouthed drill instructor! Probably not helpful, huh?

Random comedic statement.

No.

The Chaos Wastes

They don't want anyone there smarter than they are.

RIP

You expressed what I was getting at in a much better fashion. And yes, I was totally referring to the bolded part. Best put it to work. A bored demon can get awfully destructive . ETA---about mailboxes---both of my grandparents had mail slots in the door when I was growing up in New England. I don't think I've seen one in quite some time, though.

Sounds good to me. Let me know what the plan is so I can update the appropriate threads, please.

I'm not sure if admitting that I ran out of bacon will help my case or not.... Your dinner sounds pretty good, too. Chaste No, nope, nun-uh, no way.

I never understood the point of baby talk. You sound like an idiot. Are you trying to teach them to talk like an idiot? Just talk to them normally, using normal words. They'll learn faster. >jumps off soap box< Breakfast for dinner!! Blueberry pancakes, eggs and hash browns.

No to both. There's no point being scared of something you can't change. That dosn't mean that i don't take sensible precautions, though.