Dynamism and Conversion: How Small Changes can Yield Great Results

**So, I slated this to be published like 4 days ago and just now noticed that it never posted.  yay blogger.....ugh.  Well, better late than never.  Enjoy**

I love painting and converting models.  I hate the fact that after a while all models begin to look the same.  This is a sad unfortunate result of set molds and premade model pieces.  Basically, if all you do is assemble models as they are, you end up with a bunch of guys that ultimately look like some version of this:

courtesy of theshirtlist.com

That is why conversions are such a huge part of making an appealing looking army.  The idea of camouflage comes to mind.  Essentially, when things look the same, our eyes naturally pass over them.  That is why we easily kill deer (that and high power hunting rifles) and why Where's Waldo can be a challenge for some people. To that end, I really try to make each of my models a bit different from the last.  Luckily GW has gotten the idea that dynamic looking models rock and has been doing some wonderful things with its model kits lately, but older things need a few tweeks.  Enter my assault terminators.  I love terminators.  They are totally wicked.  I would hate to encounter one of these guys and be on the business end of a thunder hammer.  That said, for such a dynamic unit (whirlwinds of close combat death), the models are relatively static.  Thus, borrowing some inspiration from the Space Hulk terminators, I set out to remodel some of my assault terminators to make them a bit more dynamic.  Here is a unit of 5 that I had done.

Yeah, it's a crappy picture, but I basically sought to change arm positions so that each model look individualist and interesting. 

This guy is my favorite.  He is inspired by the awesome Space Hulk terminator, Brother Claudio.  Granted, my model isn't nearly as dynamic, but I think this stance shows a lot more dynamism than it previously did.  He looks like he is raising both claws in preparation to make an extremely Wolverine-like X-slash.  I pulled this look off by simply angling the arms and gluing them to hold them in place while I greenstuffed some of the gasketing that occurs at the joints of their armor.  As you can see, I have yet to paint the greenstuff, so it is easily recognizable. 

This guy is my next favorite.  He appears to me to be in the midst of parrying a blow for which storm shields are so famous and getting ready to reverse his hammer for a nasty upward swing. Again, I used a bit of greenstuff to extend the join where arm and torso meet to achieve a more dynamic pose.  

So why does this matter?  

If you are going to paint your models well. You want people to spend time looking at them. If every model looks like this ---------->

They are bound to be overlooked.  We don't want that, so changing things up a bit will get you noticed and this is a good thing if you attend tournaments with soft scores.  It doesn't take a lot of work either.  Try it out. 

Some other useful hobby articles involving basing:
Tutorial: How-to Rock Bases on the Cheap
Live Long and Prosper... Making Vulkan
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