Conversion therapy

One of my favourite things in this hobby is modding existing models. There is something very relaxing about planning and executing a nice clean conversion.
In another thread I began showcasing some of the alternative figures I'll be using for the official HQ expansion packs. In this thread I'll be plotting my painting progress through a big batch of previously converted models that I plan to use for HQ. These will be additional heroes, monsters etc that might get a run out in some of the fan-made quests. The whole lot is shown below, assembled on homemade bases and ready for painting.

These are figures that I've been slowly gathering from gaming events, model shops and online sellers. Much kudos will be given to any enthusiasts who can identify these models, as I am not even sure about most of them myself.
Stay tuned for regular updates.


A couple more here. Ogres from Against the Ogre Horde that I converted (quite badly) some years ago, and could now do with some TLC. In particular the sword arm of the ogre on the left needs extending in order to match his other arm, and the messy fellow on the right needs to have his bloody bib altered.

This is just a close up of the Wizard Hero from Advanced Heroquest, to show the home-made bases. Very simple (and cheap!), just a cardboard square cut to size as the bottom layer, then a thinner cardboard layer cut slightly smaller, and then both layers glued together. I think it matches the original HQ base design pretty well, once painted.

A close up of the converted dwarf hero, before painting (the model came with this paintjob when I got hold of it). The Hammer and shield was added by me, although I'm not sure yet whether I like this arrangement. Fingers crossed that this conversion makes the grade once painted.

This was a much more successful conversion, to my mind. It's a female barbarian character intended for the Frozen Horror quest pack, made using a plastic wood elf archer with added sword and shield. Unfortunately so far this model has proven very difficult to photograph, but I can assure you she looks bad ***!!!!

This is going to be a female elf for the Mage of the Mirror expansion. She has a plastic dark elf lower half and a metal elf top half (model currently unknown). I also added a plastic quiver and plan to model some boobs to make her look more feminine. Looking forward to see how this one paints up.

I intend to use these two characters for the same two expansions just listed; a barbarian elder and an elven Princess. Both of them have to be rescued in the official quests. Again, I am clueless about the origin of these metal models, having picked them out of in a random assortment at a games convention. The male looks a bit "cossacky", whilst the female might be an ancient greek, but I think they'll work as intended.

This was another fun conversion. A Warhammer 40,000 ork that I feel will make a great boss orc (i.e. Ulag or Grak) now that he has a replacement arm. Placed next to two standard HQ orcs as a size comparison.

Next up we have the mercenaries. The guy on the left a the conversion from a Warhammer halberdier. The shield and halberd were removed and a hole drilled ready for mercenary weapon insert. Any of the pieces of equipment shown below will fit this model now, just like the original HQ mercenary models!

Some more mercs. The two on the left were damaged Advanced Heroquest mercenaries that had their original weapons snapped off. The guy on the right is another Warhammer Empire halberdier (but a different model to the previous one shown, and not a conversion). The yellow and blue uniforms ties all these different soldiers together on the game-board.

These are the four heroes that I'll now be using for the Chronicles of Sir Ragnar quest pack. From left to right; Sneeks the scout, Sir Ragnar, Sarymoor the crossbowman and Garmin the Swordsman. All of them are conversions, except Sarymoor (a metal miniature). I've painted them to resemble a unified band of professional soldiers with a different colour scheme to the mercenaries. Sir Ragnar, one of the Emperor's most able lieutenants, is painted red, blue and yellow to show his command status over both these heroes and the mercs.

A close up of Sneeks and his commander.

I'll be using this converted figure for Grak, the Orc boss. In the US version of the game Grak was an orc wizard complete with spells and artefacts, whilst in the original UK version he was known only for being "Ulag's foul offspring..." It's the latter character that I have created here.

I decided that I wasn't happy with my previous attempt at Sir Ragnar as he was really squat and stumpy looking. I extended his legs and painted his hair and beard black in order to better match his incarcerated self on the left. I think they are quite a close match. Now I just need a model to represent the fallen, traitorous Ragnar who serves Morcar, and I'll have a complete set.

A variant of the Elf Hero, this is the model I'll use as my Ranger. He will have a trio of powerful new spells, which I'll cover in another post.

I believe this model is a plastic warhammer wood elf archer, to which I have just added a shield. The detail on the shield is shown below and is based on images of the Green Man from mythology and folklore.

The Dwarf Hero from Heroquest doesn't really lend itself to elaborate conversions, so I've opted for a simple arms swop.

I picture this guy captured in the moment of a brief rest, stealing himself just before he powers into action smashing monsters to bits with his lethal hammer...

This is one of the Heroes from Advanced Heroquest. I've been trying to get hold of these for a while and finally managed to pick up all 4 Heroes on the cheap. They were all in good condition except for this one - I had to add the plume, shield and an entire new sword arm (hence his inclusion on the conversion thread).

And the whole gang together;

Ye Olde Inn 2018 Christmas Exchange

I entered into the Christmas miniature exchange over at Ye Olde Inn for the first time this year. It's organised like a secret Santa, where the names of the participants are drawn randomly and you have to paint a Heroquest figure during November, and send it out to the person you drew in time for Christmas.
This year was the 7th incarnation of what is a really fun ideal, and a great way to give and receive a completely unique HQ model from another part of the world. Most of the mini's are customised in some way.


It turns out my name was drawn by Lestodante, a huge Heroquest fan from Italy. Here is the mini I received from him this week, in all its glory;



It's a very cool undead Chaos Sorcerer!!!!!
I've found that its really useful having different versions of Chaos Sorcerers, and this formidable looking creature will make a great boss for some of the side quests. It has been converted to make a truly unique HQ model.


Thanks Dante!!!


(I can't post the model that I sent out yet, or even the name of the recipient, as the Exchange rules are that it must all be secret until the gift is received.....I hope it arrives soon.)


Edit; below you can see the model I sent out. Recipient; Whitebeard in the USA. It's a converted orc that's supposed to look like one of the monsters on the Heroquest box (artwork shown). I had a lot of fun creating this character, and it took some willpower to give it away!

One year later and it's another Christmas exchange!

I was gifted this classic orc by billdask from Greece, a nicely painted fellow indeed. Not as exciting maybe as the undead chaos warlock I received last year but I welcome recruit to Morcar's armies, especially considering that we are getting closer and closer to playing the orc-fest that is Kellars Keep...

And this is my annual offering, this time to tasoe (yet another Greek member of Ye Olde Inn!). A converted chaos warrior and a bonus figure that#s supposed to depict the Eye of Chaos, a one-off quest for HQ published in White Dwarf many years ago.

A close up of the butcher. I was hoping that Tasoe would find it useful for his games, either for a doomguard, a boss, or just a variant for a normal chaos warrior.

From behind. The axe arm fitted like a charm, which was quite lucky really considering that it was originally from a mounted figure (chaos knight) and I had no plan B if things went wrong...

A closer shot of the Eye of Chaos. The original White Dwarf article described it as a glowing green skull on a red tentacled body, but I opted for this cluster of eyes instead. The model was originally a tyranid spore thingy from Warhammer 40K.

I had lots of fun again, and am already thinking about what to make for Christmas 2020!

Alternative expansion pack models

I recently converted and painted my own Ice Gremlins to use for the Frozen Horror expansion. It's a GW Goblin with added icy boulder, ice-shard weapon and blue-green skin tone, all designed to add a frosty feel to the icy little bugger.
The icycle weapon was just a piece of clear plastic sliced into a triangle and then lightly scored to give the appearance of depth.

There will be three gremlins in total, but the other two are yet to receive paint.
Not a great first photo but I'll be adding a few more soon a long with my other alternative models that I use for the expansions.


Update, two more sneaky gremlins added to the roster, and some of the other monsters that I'm planning to use for the Frozen Horror quest pack.; two Polar Warbears and a Yeti. The Frozen Horror itself is going to be a bit of surprise that will have to wait until I round to playing the quests.....

I picked up these two werewolves from my local hobby shop. They are Deepcuts models, and I think they are really useful for the Mage of the Mirror (The Elf quest pack). I've placed a hapless mercenary between the two monsters to give a size comparison. I plan to use the smaller werewolf on the left for when small heroes such as the Dwarf are affected by the curse, and the one on the right for large Heroes such as the Barbarian.

The Witch Lord cometh!!!! Shown facing Mentor himself, these wonderful figures were specially commissioned by the Italian collector Lestodante. There was also a 3rd model for Sir Ragnar, depicted in chains and perfect for the Rescue of Sir Ragnar quest. Fun fact; in the Italian version of Heroquest Sir Ragnar was renamed Sir Manfred.

These fellows would make for interesting additions for the Expansion quest. I plan to use the one on the left as an alternative Dwarf Hero for Kellar's Keep, seeing as he has updated weapons from the original Hero. The other one I might use as one of the many NPC characters that are scattered about the official and non-official quests.
They came from one of the first set of plastic miniatures released by Citadel, 'Warhammer Fantasy Regiments Boxed Set'; It featured a sprue with 6 bodies (Elf, Dark Elf, Orc, Goblin, Dwarf and Skaven) and 12 heads (2 for each race) that you could assemble to create your own models.

Here's a close up of my favourite of the two;

I've also been working on two versions for the female Elf Hero from the Elf Quest Pack. The official model is now hideously expensive, and IMO not that great a figure anyway, so I'll use these instead. First up I have a more sorcery orientated version, focusing on the strong magical feel of this expansion and the powerful new Elf spells. The model is by Deep Cuts.

My second female elf model will emphasize the more martial element of the game.

Edit; and here she is;

A model of two halves; metal torso (with some sculpting) and a plastic dark elf lower half. Plastic quiver added from a third (unknown) model.

A couple of better pics of Witchy (great model sculpted by Fabio Rizzo, commissioned especially for Heroquest by Lestodante);

Update on my Ice Goblins. The original conversions were only so-so, and I felt that I could do a lot better at making them look like the actual monsters in the expansion artwork. These guys now have more appropriate winter clothing, extending the existing garments and added white fur trim. Santa would be proud.