Shrike Conversion, base and shoulderpads



I'm finally done with the sub-assemblies and I've started work on putting all of the pieces together now. Actually the model is complete, but I wanted to show the last bit of work before I post the pics of the finished piece.


Building the base. My Client sent me some pics of what his army is based like so far so I could match Skrike's base to that. He used cork for his basing but I knew that I might have trouble attaching Skrike to cork given his pose... even if I did pin him. I elected to use Creative Paperclay and sculpt some similar shaped rocks to match the cork. This stuff air dries rock solid and I knew that it would hold the pin and the model without problems.


I've used this stuff before in a number of projects and it's what I prefer to use to bulk out bases and add height to them. I'm using it on the Bloodthirster Bloodbath project I'm doing right now too.

All I did was shape some pieces of clay and use a couple rocks to press indentions into the sides similar to what cork would have when broken apart. After I had my "layers," I let them dry completely before gluing them down to the base. With everything put together, I figured out where exactly I wanted Shirke and at what angle.

Then I cut a little bit away from the top rock piece. I drilled a hole down through the rocks and the base and another one up through Shrike's left foot into his lower leg. I used a short piece of floral wire to pin him to the base.

Once I had him glued in postion, I went back with a little bit of greenstuff and filled in under his left foot to stabilize the conection between him and the rocks. There's not much of a connection since I wanted him to look like he was jumping off so what was there had to count.

With the model attached to the base, I set out to add the last parts. The jump pack, head and shoulderpads.


I sculpted his left shoulderpad to match the model. I used the skull from a banner pole instead of trying to sculpt one that small for the center of the shoulderpad. All I needed to do was cut the face of the skull off and then trim a little bit of the bird's chest down so both pieces would glue together without trouble.


WIP shot of the scroll being added to the bottom

With the shoulderpad in place, I added the last bit of scroll work to the lower part of the shoulderpad. It wasn't too hard sculpting it on with the arm already glued in place.

his right shoulderpad is blank on the actual GW version but my Client asked for something "Raven Guard" to be added there that might help identify his rank. We opted for a larger Raven skull. This, combined with some freehand work will finish off his right side. The reason he will need to do some freehand is because of the clearance of the jump pack. Even after moving it slightly up on his back and trimming a tiny amount from the underside of the intake vents, there was still next to no room for anything more than the stock, blank shoulderpad.

His head went in place fairly easy. All that had to be done was to trim a little from the bottom of his neck so that I could reposition him looking forward instead of down at the ground.

The remainder of the base was textured with GW sand.
The next post in this series will be the last one and will have lots of large pics of the finished model.

My Project Link: Shrike Conversion


Ron, From the WarpIf you've got any questions about something in this post, shoot me a comment and I'll be glad to answer. Make sure to share your hobby tips and thoughts in the comments below!