40K: DE Haemonculi on Skyboards Tutorial

In an under rated army, Haemonculi are one of the most under rated choices a player can take. With their Destructors, Haemonculi can wreak havoc on any race in the 40K universe. The main drawback to this weapon, however, is its short range. What the Haemonculi needed most was mobility. Enter the skyboard.

Why use a skyboard instead of a jetbike? Personal taste, mainly. I'd already converted an Archon on a jetbike and wanted to do something different. Plus, it simply would not do for the subservient Haemonculi to be riding around on something as nice as the Archon's chosen mode of transporation.

With the exception of some moderately difficult sculpting, this conversion was somewhat easier, but much more tedious and (to my dismay) hazardous to my fingers than the jetbike conversion was. It is not recommended for people just starting out in the wild world of model conversion.

Here are the parts and raw materials used for this conversion and their part numbers (where applicable):

• 2 x Babylon 5 Narn Ka'Toc Battle Destroyers
• 2 x Dark Eldar Haemonculi w/Destructor (011200301)
• Wych 7 w/Blaster (011200113)
• Sybarite 1 (011200201)
• Spiky Bitz from Dark Eldar Warrior Sprue(45-07)
• Citadel Modeling Epoxy Putty - "Green Stuff" (66-13)
• thin paper clip (for pinning)

Step 1: Using a thin bladed hacksaw, I cut across the torso of the half-finished (and already partialy converted) Haemonculi models just below the point on their belts and the Wyche & Sybarite just above the hips and lower abs.

Step 2a: The excess metal was cut/ground out from the under the Haemonculis' belts, leaving a concave area. This step takes forever and is greatly helped by using a Dremel rotary tool with shaped grinding tips - Eye protection is a must! Jewlers' hand files were also used. Don't be suprised if things break off at this stage - especially if they were the result of previous converting.

Step 2b: Once the upper torsos were finished, the tops of the legs were filed and shaped to fit into the smooth concave opening. It didn't half the time of the previous step, but at this point I was sick of removing metal.

Step 3: Once the legs fit to the underside of the torso, it's time to drill holes and add pins to the torso and the feet. Be VERY careful here - especially if you are using a Dremel! I wasn't paying attention and pushed through the legs of one model right into my thumb - it nearly came out the other side. Needless to say, I learned my lesson about paying close attention when using power tools (while watching TV, that is).

Step 4: Once the torso and legs are fitted and pinned, you can glue them together. I did not glue the bodies to the skyboards because I find it's much easier to paint them prior to gluing. You may also want to start replacing parts that broke off from all the cutting and grinding in the initial steps.

Step 5a: At this stage, it's time to add the tabards (made from greenstuff). This took some time, as I have really never used the Stuff for anything more than gap filling.

Step 5b: Rear shot showing the tabards pushed up under the belt of the torso. It was at this stage I pinned the arm that broke off earlier and filled the gap. NOTE: The bodies are not glued to the skyboards - I just photographed them that way to illustrate what I'm working towards (and it holds them upright nicely) .

Step 6: The last stage before painting is to add any further conversion details to the model. Since I had already partially converted the two Haemonculi when I first got them, I just basically re-glued bitz that had fallen off and filled the gaps with Green Stuff. Time for primer!

Note: This is an older article relocated from my website - I've since painted these two and hope to have some decent pics of them up soon.