Making a Ranger force...

[Shining Finger]

Hi everyone, I'm going to make an army based on Rangers and Pathfinders as Troops.
The thing is, I can't afford the finecast models, so I need to convert them.

I already have 60 Guardians unassembled (yes, I'm filling up the Troops slots with Rangers and Pathfinders), but I'm not sure what bits to use for the robes and sniper rifles... they don't have to be GW bits anyways.

Any ideas would be appreciated
Thanks!

[Sybrite]

you could try your hand and sculpting robes from greenstuff
as for sniper rifles, get some thin plasticard tubes to use as barrel extensions on the shuriken catapults (either replacing the barrels completely or shaving the wedge shape of them down and adding the tube for length - like a silencer/suppressor)

[Shining Finger]

Thank you for being the only one who replied =D
That just gave me the idea to get some tiny conical beads from crafts shop and use them as rifle barrels (because the barrels are just like brightlances; they're thicker on one end)

I'm not sure if I want to sculpt 60 robes from greenstuff though... hahaha...
I have to think of something else.

Thanks again =)

[Sybrite]

That just gave me the idea to get some tiny conical beads from crafts shop and use them as rifle barrels (because the barrels are just like brightlances; they're thicker on one end)

^ that's actaully a fantastic idea.

robes may or may not be that difficult to mass produce, you can knead and roll out a sheet and then cut several robes out at once to then fit to your models
depending on your skill and how fast you are, I'd say probably do this in batches of 5 to 10 robes to ensure the greenstuff is still plyable to fit, engrave detail, and then pose (wavy ripple effect for wind)

[Shining Finger]

Sheet! That's what I need! I'll try making the robes out of paper!!
Won't look as good as properly sculpted greenstuff, but I think it's going to be easier to work with and I can mass produce it easily.
Thanks again

[Novasry]

For the robes, look into the Wood Elf Line, they Glade guard and Glade Riders have some great cloaks which are separate from the models, so you could find them on ebay and bits sites.

[Shining Finger]

Ah yes, that's actually a great idea
I seriously considered using Glade Guards or Plague Monks bits (nothing graceful about the latter though)
Thank you for that. I'll see how I go with the paper robes... If I fail miserably, I'm just going to get Glade Guard models and stick elongated Shuriken Catapults and Guardian heads on them

[wookieplus]

Sheet! That's what I need! I'll try making the robes out of paper!!
Won't look as good as properly sculpted greenstuff, but I think it's going to be easier to work with and I can mass produce it easily.
Thanks again

I've tried this in the past, paper tends to crease rather than bend, although I suspect that if you used newspaper (which is a looser weave than normal paper) or even perhaps toilet paper or a tissue soaked in a slightly watered down PVA adhesive, you might be able to 'sculpt' the cloak onto the model. The advantage of this approach is that you can pre-cut cloaks to a standard shape, which will make them more consistent.

[Shining Finger]

Thank you for sharing your experience
I have lots of tissue and PVA glue. Will post the results once I tried them.