Miniature conversion refers to the practice of altering the appearance of a miniature or model so as to deviate from the standard version purchased in a boxed set.

This practice is quite common amongst hobbyists who play miniature wargames

Miniature wargaming

Miniature wargaming is a form of wargaming that incorporates miniature figures, miniature armor and modeled terrain as the main components of play...

 such as Games Workshop

Games Workshop

Games Workshop Group plc is a British game production and retailing company. Games Workshop has published the tabletop wargames Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer 40,000...

's The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game

The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game

The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game , and often referred to by players as Lord of the Rings, is a tabletop miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop . It is based on The Lord of the Rings film trilogy directed by Peter Jackson, and the book that inspired it, written by J. R. R...

, Warhammer Fantasy Battles and Warhammer 40,000

Warhammer 40,000

Warhammer 40,000 is a tabletop miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop, set in a dystopian science fantasy universe. Warhammer 40,000 was created by Rick Priestley in 1987 as the futuristic companion to Warhammer Fantasy Battle, sharing many game mechanics...

, as well as many of the other games produced by other games and miniature manufacturers. In these circumstances, conversions generally consist of combining parts of different models and modelling putty (such as Milliput

Milliput

Milliput is a UK-based brand of epoxy putty used by modellers, and also for household and restoration applications. Milliput comes in several different colours according to what it will be used for, and each package contains two separate bars, one of which is a hardener...

 or Kneadatite also known as "Green Stuff") to produce a new model with a unique appearance, which is generally a centrepiece of the player's collection

Collecting

The hobby of collecting includes seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever items are of interest to the individual collector. Some collectors are generalists, accumulating merchandise, or stamps from all countries of the world...

, representing a powerful character or monster, or similar.

One simple form of miniature conversion is known as "kitbashing

Kitbashing

Kitbashing or model bashing is a practice whereby a new scale model is created by taking pieces out of commercial kits. These pieces may be added to a custom project or to another kit. For professional modelmakers, kitbashing is popular to create concept models for detailing movie special effects...

", in which components of different kits are mixed to produce unique models. More complex conversions, however, often involve modifying the component parts, for instance by cutting or drilling.

Reasons for conversions

There are many reasons why a hobbyist might want to convert or "model" miniature figures. Hobbyists commonly use any combination of conversion techniques to provide figures of their own unique design, figures that are unavailable, or figures that are not covered by regular miniature wargame rules. Sometimes hobbyists are forced to convert their miniatures to stay in line with the rules for their army (e.g., weapon changes or mounting miniatures on steeds

Horse

The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...

).

Some people spend more time converting their miniatures than painting them or playing the actual game, and some hobbyists extensively convert every model in their army so that they can have a unique force. Some hobbyists will convert a model not for their army, but just as a way to clean out their "bits box" and to have fun. This allows the modeler to try out different (but similar) uniforms for different types of soldier, and to possibly show-case them to encourage this specific conversion. Some modelers (Online) will give instructions to converting specific types of figures.

Tools and materials

The most important tool used for conversions is a hobby or craft knife, usually with a sharp and narrow blade, allowing the hobbyist to get the blade into the deepest folds and creases of the miniature.

Modelling putty

There are many choices of putty for sculpting and converting miniature figures, such as Milliput

Milliput

Milliput is a UK-based brand of epoxy putty used by modellers, and also for household and restoration applications. Milliput comes in several different colours according to what it will be used for, and each package contains two separate bars, one of which is a hardener...

 and Greenstuff (Kneadite). Milliput is a two-part modelling epoxy putty, which is considered a good sculpting medium and is used by many professional miniature sculptors. Green stuff is another two-part epoxy putty, with blue and yellow components that turn green when mixed together. Both Milliput and Greenstuff must be allowed several hours to dry (although this can be sped up using a hot lamp).

Milliput is recommended for sculpting the frame of larger miniatures, as it dries hard and can be chiselled away with a knife afterwards if necessary. Greenstuff or 'Kneadatite', the putty sold in Games Workshop

Games Workshop

Games Workshop Group plc is a British game production and retailing company. Games Workshop has published the tabletop wargames Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer 40,000...

 stores, is softer and much stickier than Milliput. When fully dry it retains a degree of rubbery flexibility. Although initially much harder to work with, Greenstuff is a superior medium to Milliput for sculpting small miniatures such as 25mm figures, and is widely used by artists in that scale. In addition to sculpting, modelling putty can also be used to cover up any gaps left when using other tools to covert miniatures.

Repositioning and weapon swaps

Repositioning body parts such as the head, arms or torso of a miniature figure is one of the simplest types of conversion. Another simple technique is weapon swapping. Weapons can be taken from sprues or other miniatures and used to replace whatever weapon the converted miniature is holding to create any variety of distinctive commanders.

Conversions can also be used to give miniatures flag

Flag

A flag is a piece of fabric with a distinctive design that is usually rectangular and used as a symbol, as a signaling device, or decoration. The term flag is also used to refer to the graphic design employed by a flag, or to its depiction in another medium.The first flags were used to assist...

s, banner

Banner

A banner is a flag or other piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or other message. Banner-making is an ancient craft.The word derives from late Latin bandum, a cloth out of which a flag is made...

s or pennants

Pennon

A pennon was one of the principal three varieties of flags carried during the Middle Ages . Pennoncells and streamers or pendants are considered as minor varieties of this style of flag. The pennon is a flag resembling the guidon in shape, but only half the size...

 if desired. A banner can be added to a miniature bearing a pike

Pike (weapon)

A pike is a pole weapon, a very long thrusting spear used extensively by infantry both for attacks on enemy foot soldiers and as a counter-measure against cavalry assaults. Unlike many similar weapons, the pike is not intended to be thrown. Pikes were used regularly in European warfare from the...

 or spear

Spear

A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head.The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with bamboo spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastened to the shaft, such as flint, obsidian, iron, steel or...

, or a flagstaff can be made from a brass rod, which is quite rigid. In the latter case, any weapon the miniature is holding must be cut away and the fist drilled out to allow it hold the wire pole. The banner itself can be made from paper and painted with PVA glue

Polyvinyl acetate

Polyvinyl acetate, PVA, PVAc, poly, is a rubbery synthetic polymer with the formula n. It belongs to the polyvinyl esters family with the general formula -[RCOOCHCH2]-...

, which stiffens sufficiently as it dries. The banner is then glued to the pole and painted.

Head swaps

Head swaps are a very easy way for wargamers to create unique miniatures. As the name suggests, the head of one miniature is substituted for that of another. The hobbyist must take considerable care when removing the existing head of the miniature to be converted, both for safety and to ensure the best surface to place the new head upon. Most of the head is clipped off and anything left is filed or shaved away with a sharp craft knife. This ensures a smooth surface onto which the new head can be glued and pinned.

This technique is very useful for wargamers when making multiples of the same character to allow equipment to be chosen more easily to help tailor an army for different situations. Normally the head that is to be kept will be cut (normally sawn) from the body as low as possible to avoid damage, the recipient body will normally be decapitated higher up to preserve the torso. The two pieces will be filed to the right size and glued together, possible with the help of pins

Pinning (modelling)

Pinning is a technique used when assembling large or heavy model kits that involves drilling a hole in two pieces of the model to be joined, and using a "pin" to strengthen the bond when they are glued...

 for strength.

Weathering and shaving

Weathering is a widely popular family of conversions that many hobbyists practice. In its simplest form it is adding imperfection to make the model look "used". Common forms of weathering include everything from adding battle damage and creating men in non-standard attire for wargamers and military modellers to adding rust or dirt effects.

Shaving scale armour

Scale armour

Scale armour is an early form of armour sometimes erroneously called scale mail consisting of many individual small armour scales of various shapes attached to each other and to a backing of cloth or leather in overlapping rows. Scale armour was worn by warriors of many different cultures as well...

 off some miniatures can also be used to change their appearance significantly. A knife is used to alter carefully the clothing and armour sculpted onto to the miniature, or to shave off other features. The surface is then smoothed, and what was once armour can be painted as cloth to complete the conversion. Some items such as belts, bandoliers and straps can be shaven off without much difficulty, in order to achieve a different troop type.

Paint scheme

Not considered to be a conversion by some, it (If it is) is the simplest form of conversion, especially historically. If, for example a modeler would wish to achieve a troop from the same timeframe, but a different nation (Most suitably from 1600–1800, particularly the 18th century), they can simply paint it in the colours of the soldier, with very little accuracy flaws.

Pinning

Pinning is a technique used when assembling large or heavy model kits

Scale model

A scale model is a physical model, a representation or copy of an object that is larger or smaller than the actual size of the object, which seeks to maintain the relative proportions of the physical size of the original object. Very often the scale model is used as a guide to making the object in...

, and involves drilling a hole in two pieces of the model to be joined, and using a "pin" to strengthen the bond when they are glued. Pinning is a useful technique for reinforcing joints and is essential when making models from parts that were not designed to go together, such as a miniature conversion.

Sculpting

Some modelers, who are happy to go that far and have the material available, will remove and sculp certain parts of the figure.
This is easiest on small scales such as 1:72, and is usually motivated by lack of poses. For example, new arms may be sculpted on to turn an infantryman pose into an artilleryman pose, but a step like this is quite extravagant and most people who need to sculpt to convert will do so with small details such as buttons or chinstraps. Sometimes a figure is converted to improve its historical accuracy.

Bits boxes

Bits boxes are collections of spare bits and pieces of model kits left over from models that have options of multiple parts. The spelling "bitz" has been popularised by Games Workshop in recent years, reflecting Ork

Ork (Warhammer 40,000)

The Orks are a race from the fictional Warhammer 40,000 universe. They are described as being tall, muscular humanoids, with green skin and a penchant for violence. the orks live for war and constantly fight anything in sight, including each other...

 speech patterns in the various Games Workshop rulebooks, codices and official novels. Games Workshop also sells "bitz" and component parts separately, enabling enthusiasts to order parts of metal miniatures (shield

Shield

A shield is a type of personal armor, meant to intercept attacks, either by stopping projectiles such as arrows or redirecting a hit from a sword, mace or battle axe to the side of the shield-bearer....

s, crossbow

Crossbow

A crossbow is a weapon consisting of a bow mounted on a stock that shoots projectiles, often called bolts or quarrels. The medieval crossbow was called by many names, most of which derived from the word ballista, a torsion engine resembling a crossbow in appearance.Historically, crossbows played a...

s, sword

Sword

A sword is a bladed weapon used primarily for cutting or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the historical epoch or the geographical region under consideration...

s, etc.) to allow less expensive conversions. The sale of bitz has also become a significant market for independent online stores.

External links

• Conversions on the Games Workshop site
• What if Modelers
• Table Warfare Ltd Manufacturer of 25, 28 and 32mm Armatures