Heldrake Conversion project

[Kaika87]

So what originally started out as a defiance against a model I initially didn't like combined with an unwillingness to shell out for its knifing price caused this conversion idea to be born. Necessity is the mother of invention after all, for varying definitions of "necessity." Since seeing the model in person, I have to attest it looks much better on a table than it does in GW's pictures, but I still wanted to go through with the conversion. I gathered up my parts and encountered some initial problems that led to me procrastinating on the project, but no more! I won't let a plastic dragon model beat me, and thus I make this thread to force me to stop procrastinating. And here is my jumping-off point:



So the breakdown of parts goes as such:

Main body: Heldrake
Head/Tail: Vampire Counts Zombie Dragon/Terrorgheist
Arms/Extra Tentacles: Maulerfiend
Wings: Tyranid Hive Tyrant
Baleflamer: Baal Predator Flamestorm Cannon

It seems straightforward enough, however the positioning of the wings is what was giving me headaches before. Just sliding them into place on the body behind the arms made for an awkward pose that didn't look at all convincing. I'd like to avoid cutting into the plates on the back of the drake, since I'm not sure how that would turn out, and it's a fairly irreversible step. Any tips anyone would have are welcome, including the consideration of different wings. Lately I've been looking at the WFB High/Dark Elf Dragon wings and wondering if they wouldn't work better, but I have no idea of the dimensions of those bits, particularly their length.

[Fizzybubela]

Nice! Warband?Legion?Khorne?Nurgle?Slaanesh?Tzeentch?

[Kaika87]

Nice! Warband?Legion?Khorne?Nurgle?Slaanesh?Tzeentch?

Gonna be for a Word Bearers force, so I'm trying to keep it nice and Undivided. Thinking about adding some armor plates along the neck and tail to counteract the undead look.

[Fizzybubela]

Sounds cool. You could addd some purity seals here and there.

[Kaika87]

Probably instead going to go for unholy text scrawled on the armor plates, actually.

[Fizzybubela]

That's an even better idea! What's going to go on the base?

[Kaika87]

Nothing special for the base really. The whole army will be based to an urban theme, probably using resin-cast bases. Basing is one of those aspects I lack talent in or patience for.

[Fizzybubela]

If you're looking for urban bases I know Anvil Industry does some really good ones.

[Kaika87]

Assembly day 1 update, with a snafu.





Assembly was going well overall, until I found a bit of a complication with the wings. I found a place for them and a way to position them that look cool, but they aren't able to support their weight.

See figure A), held up by an off-camera tool:
And Figure B), held up by greenstuff and a piece of sprue I was able to wedge in there:

I would greatly appreciate any suggestions on how to get these wings to support themselves properly.

[DWest]

You'll need some kind of heavy-duty pin to support those wings, it looks like. To do that, you'll need some approximation of the following:
-#18 wire nails
-Pin vice or handheld drill with a similar diameter drill bit to your pins.
-thin Sharpie-type marker
-Plenty of patience

I recommend the wire nails because they are hard steel, a wire or brass tube is liable to bend under the weight. Hold the wing in the desired position and draw a line across where the parts will join so that you have an alignment mark on both the wing and body. Drill out the wing-side first, then snip the head off the nail, glue the nail in place in the wing. When the glue is workably dry, line up the wing and body using your alignment mark, and press the nail into the spot where the wing will attach to give a guide hole. Drill the body hole, then slot the pin through the hole and glue in place, making sure to support both pieces as they cure so as not to overstress the joint.