Sister D'Ark and her retinue

The first family shots of shots of sister d'Ark and her retinue. Still just iPhone photos, but needs must when the Devil drives.
They are still awaiting basing. I have a commission pending with Fantascape for more Gothic Ruins bases. I'm looking forward to that. Sister d'Ark herself is off on the right converted from a Seraphim. The rest are converted from sister superior of one model or another.
In the second picture Sister d'Ark is more in focus.
Still worikng out the blue veined marble effect. I thing i am probably not adding enough layers.
The squad gets its first outing Tonight. I even have their drop pod assembled. I suspect drop pod deployment for sisters is a *really* bad idea but you have to try these things. Perhaps inferno ammo or blessed rounds would help in the all important deployment phase. Oh well. Find out tonight.

Conversions Old and New

Firstly I will start with an admission.  I shamelessly plunder the interwebs for inspiration when it comes to modelling.  Whn I find somthing I like I will save the Image for later.  When it comes to making a model, I will then go back through these images and seek inspiration.  Sometimes copying diresctly, sometimes combining serveral ideas into somthing new.
What I have found since comming back to Sisters of battle, is that the Soroitas blogging / website comunity that once existed, has gone.  Blown away on the hard realities of no real "new releases" since the first batch in 1997, and a series of difficult to play codexes, culminating in the disasterous 5th Edition White Dwarf codex (Which as it turns out is a good 6th Edition codex, intentional?).

So I have set out here to recify this.  This post will be to "Sowcase" (no I am not that good),  as many of my surviving conversions from over the years.  These conversions span a ten year period, with most of them being done pre 2004 and the un-inspiring re-release of sisters, which gave us Repentia (A genuine addition to the range) and Sister Imagifier1 and Sister Imagifier 2.  These like the other "new" battle sisters were horrible re-casts of someones conversion of two battle sisters, rather than new sculpts.  This process gave rise to horrible loss of detail across the model.

Anyhow here goes, first up, the very old:
Winged Canoness Circa 2003:

She started live as a Seraphim Superior, The legs are from an Eldar Swooping Hawk model, while the wings are from a Swooping Hawk Exarch.  the Surplice is Greenstuff.  This was one of the first conversions I did.  She gets no play now as Canonesses can no longer be equipt with Jump packs (and are generally crap when compared poiint for point with a Living Saint).

Next Up:
Seraphim Superior Circa 2003:

Done at the same time as the Winged Canoness, she is a Seraphim body, with Eldar bitz, The Wings are Swooping Hawk, and the Sword is Eldar (Can't remeber which model).  The arm is from a very old plastic guardian arm, with the surpluce sleeve resculpted in green stuff.  The one major Variation is that the Wings are now attached with pins and Greenstuff to a cut down Sisters Back Pack.  She also gets no play any more, as she is painted in a colour scheme I no longer use.


Then came the Witch Hunters Release in 2004.  I had bult up much anticipation, and when it came, it was disapointing.  The new Rhino's I have grown to love, but at the time, I did not like.  The Exorcist is a nice idea, but so impractical in so many ways.  The real horror was the new sisters models.  So I decided to have a go at creating my own new Models, starting with the Canoness


 Canoness Circa 2005:
 Canoness Aria Deus, is a Seraphim. Her feet were cut off and re-positioned so as to make her standing rather than waftey-floatey.  Her arms were replaced with a Demon Huter inquisitor models arms, making her then blessed weapon a Power Hammer

Her backpack is constructed from a Sister of Battle back pack with the balls cut off aand replaces with Swooking Hawk wings and fares over with greenstuff.  The Icon above her head used to be the Icon of the original, and by then oop Canoness.

To bling her up, some scrollwork was added to the backpack, she is standing on a Skull covered base and has two forgeworld servo-skulls circling her as wound markers.


These days she stands in as my Living Saint model, and goes to the table every time I play.  My regular oppositiuon have learned to hate her.





Around the Same time I decided to try and differentiate my Celestians:
 Celestian squad, To Battle! Circa 2005:
In General the Idea was to replace the ususal side balls on the power pack with a Skull from the Chaos Marine Backpack, then paint it gold.  The sister superior has since lost her back pack conversio, but had a waepon swap instead. So she is still included here.

Celestian Superior

 Her Storm bolter is a weapon swap from an old metal terminator Storm bolter.

 Then cam the Celestians.  These are all headswaps from the Sisters of Sigmar.  Not sure it really worked. Never mind.  They dont come out often.  Celetians were always a bit rubbish.  They are neither fish nor foul being equiped as shooty troops but given faith effects of assault.

Sister Celestian 1

Sister Celestian 2

Sister Celestian 3

Sister Celestian 4

 Sister Celestian 4 also has a Weapon swap.  I spent hours carefull carving out her bolter to be replaced with a storm bolter.

Sister Celestian 5

Sister Celestian 6

 Sister Celestian 6 is also has a Weapon swap. Bolter replaced with a storm bolter.

 Sister Celestian is also a Storm Bolter from Bolter, with the head swap from a Sister of Sigmar.  She has since been demoted to a Sister Superior with the Retributors.

The last model from this preiod is a Heavy Bolter Sister into a Sister Superior using hands from a Seraphim and a plastic space marine chainsword blade.  a popular conversion done elsewhere.  I have noticed recently that her chain blade has snapped after the pin ends, So it miught not be long till she has a date with the detol and a re-construction.

Sister Noviate / Priest.
 

 This is a Sister of Sigmar with the Canoness hand swap.  Done as part of a Mad Scheme to remove all men from the army.

Battle Sister Flamers Circa 2005

Not much here, the front of the flamers have been replaced with ones from the imperial guard flamers, and given a Pilot light.  Tubing was added to connect the flamer to the back pack.

Now for the latest stuff.
Dominion Superior 2012:

The very same Canoness who gave up her Icon for Aria Deus, gained a Chainblade from the new Canoness hand options sprue.  She now serves as a Dominion Sister superior with an anti charge, combi flamer.  First time ever I have seen a use for combi weapons.
Battle sister Imagifier 2012:

An old OOP banner bearer who had had her banner pole clipped off in the mists of time.  She had a Comms Relay added to do duty as a Similacrum Imperialis.

Retributor 2012:

The Head is non-gamesworkshop.  Its a wood elf head from I know not where.  The Reliquary on her power pack is from the Sisters of Battle tank sprue ( I Think)

Dominion Sister Infernus 2012:

Simple Weapon swap, bolter for Melta.  The melta is an old metal Space Marine Bikers Melta.

Sister Superior d'Ark: Relic Weapon no 1

This is one of he Relic weapons the retinue can carry. Based in a Multi melta Sister, with Canoness hands and the Axehead from a Marine Sanguinary guard. All held together by a pin fashioned from a paperclip.
She has been painted in a different style from the usual. She has been sprayed in layers, then I have low lighted with Nuln Oil wash, then retouching with white. Still not sure I like it.

Then the relic blade was masked and airbrushed with VMA: White, Ice blue, French blue, seablue. The mask was moved and the other side of the blade sprayed.

Sister Superior D'Ark: Retinue No2

This is a more comprehensive re-work of the figure. Starting with a sister superior with bolter and power weapon (who was an old banner bearer who lost her arm Years ago), I have removed the bolter and hand and replaced it with a power sword from the Canoness sprue. For the missing arm I used a paper clip armature and the Canoness bolt pistol and greave. Around this i have rush sculpted he sleeve of the surplice. Mainly because i am an idiot in a rush. I should have blocked it in then waited then added detail one layer at a time.

And Now Base Coated.  Done with Valejo Spray Primer Grey:

Aftter airbrushing VA:DeepSeaGreen, VMA:Light Grey; VMC:; VMC:White,   I have varied my normal Method of White, with the addtion of a GW: Nuln Oil wash at the end, then touch uu with brush applied, very thin VMA:White:

Sisters of D'Arc: Retinue No 1

I have started on the body guard of Sister D'Arc. In general they will be equiped with power weapons and bolt pistols. A few will get fancy relic blades I will crib from a Canoness model. The first Sister is a straight weapon swap on a helmeted Sister superior. She has a power weapon clipped frpm the hand of another sister superior which replaces the chain blade she is normally carrying. Her plasma pistol has also been clipped of and replaced by a space marine bolt pistol. The detail on the power sword blade was damaged when it was removed.
To cover this damage, I will be taking a mold of sister Celestine's trailing flowers and using green stuff to cover the damage

Third oath of moment

I, Commissar Harris of the Sisters of Battle, vow to Him on Holy Terra to paint and present at least 5 converted Sister Superiors with Power Weapons and Bolters and 2 Immolator/Exorcist conversions on or before the 31st of March, 2013. I promise to provide at least two WIP updates, preferably with pictures, in that time. I vow that if I should fail, I will provide the Bolter and Chainsword Librarium with an article and wear the Signature of Shame until my penitence period is done.

These sisters will form the basis of a special character and her retinue: Sister D'Arc. She will be used in an upcomming Armageddon campaign being run by my local club.
I plan to use the existing Sister superior models and for most of them it will be a weapon swap only, usually a bolter for a bolt pistol or a chainsword for a powersword. Some will require a more drastic chop. For these I will be using a Seraphim model. All will be unique even if from the same base model. The suad can do up to 10. But the hardest will be d'Arc herself, who i have not comitted to yet.
When not used for this they will be used as regular sister superiors
The exorcists will be Immolators with magnetic weapon mounts allowing missile pods to be added on the aide. These will come from a Valkyries missile pods with appropriate levels of sister bling added to jazz them up.
These will replace my two aging forgeworld models, ehich are in desarate need of renovation.

Aegis Defence Line

One area the codex seems deficient in is Anti-Air. Now I know there are several options to cover this off (Allies with AA, Forgeworld Fliers etc), However one of my regular opponents in particular has recently been demonstrating to me the value of an Aegis Defence line with a quad cannon attached. These are good not only if the opposition brings a flier, but fantastic against ground targets.

I dont realy want to just use the one out of the box and I'm not a fan of the "Wall of martyrs" kit. If it was modelled with dead eldar on the barricades I might consider it, but dead Cadians? I don't play Cadians. I play Adepta. I kill Eldar and Tau.

I ended up going with the Quantum Gothic walls.  I have painted them quickly to get them into games.  Eventually I will get them aged a bit more with rust streaks of the bolts.