Project: Obliterator Cult – Completed

Another commission from my Chaos playing client. This time he wants me to convert up 6 Chaos Obliterators using Chaos Terminators as the base model. (He really dislikes the GW versions.) As before, these need to be Nurgle themed. (Yes, I know that Obliterators are not aligned to any of the Chaos powers. He wants them to fit in with the rest of the force.)

So let’s take a look at the GW versions:

Ugly buggers, ain’t they? I’m not too keen on the models myself, plus I can see why you would want different looking figs if you are running 6 of them at once. There are a few elements on them that I do like, so I might try to replicate them on the new models. Time to start chopping!

As I always do, I start with the legs. Test fitting the legs on a spare base reveals something that I ran into when building my Deathwing Terminators. The stances for the “walking” or “standing” poses just don’t fill the base. In fact, they could still fit on a 25mm base. (Which is what the old school Termies came on.) The side by side comparison shows what they look like next to a built Terminator with a wider stance.

Looking up at the official minis, one of the things that I like is they have mass. They fill the base and actually hang over just a bit. They look like they belong on a 40mm base, not a 25mm. Time to see if I can help that along.

A couple of quick cuts with a razor saw and the thighs are easily removed. I’m not worried about the chainmail loincloth. I’ll either sculpt over it or add back on to it. All other side dangly details are cleaned off as well.

Now to rebuild the thighs. First off I drilled holes and added lengths of aluminum tubing to connect the lower legs to the hips. The angle is changing on the legs (making him taller and wider in the stance) so the feet will need to be modified. Those all will change anyway so it’s not a worry at this point.

I decided that since Obliterators modify/experiment on themselves that a bionic leg wouldn’t be out of the question. On went some pistons.

Now to fix the feet. The first thing I did was pull out a piece of fairly thick sheet styrene and trace the feet onto it. I cut out new soles for the feet. (Another thing I dig about the stock model is the hefty feet. They look almost Orky, which is probably why I like them. )

Some filing later and clipping off the toes of the existing feet and I’ll be able to build new stompy boots.

As you can see from the side views, he’s got a forward lean going on. I may or may not adjust that as I go on. Depends on how he shapes up.

This was a LOT of work for one model. I likely won’t go this route for all 6 of them. We’ll see how it goes. I do have a fairly hard deadline of shipping by November 4th, so speed is important.