Heresy-Era Salamanders: Techmarine Conversion

With my list changing from 1000 points of punch in the face, to a more fire support style, I added a Techmarine and Thunderfire Cannon. Over a year ago, I ordered a Rapier Laser Destroyer specifically to use as a Thunderfire Cannon in the future, along with a tong of other Resin Crack, and I was finally going to be able to do so! However, that kit isn't technically meant to be used for that purpose as it doesn't come with a Techmarine.

So I did what every converter worth their salt would do. I made one.

Back when I created the Centurions, I converted an Iron Priest on Thunderwolf mount that looked something like this:

I used the old Blood Angels Honor Guard Techmarine upper body, along with Sgt. Cronos' backpack to give him a Servo Arm. I was pretty pleased with this conversion…right up until I never used him in my list and he got tossed into a parts bin. The good news is that I didn't throw him out, and still had the parts! While I did clip off the servo clamp bit for my Tech Magos conversion, I still had the backpack and the body, which were the important bits.

The first thing I did was choose some MkII legs for him. I wanted a more grizzled look for him, and the older mark of armor fit with the over-lapping plates and bulkier feel. This particular set allowed me to give him a nice stance to use with the custom servo harness I was going to make for him.

Speaking of a more grizzled look, I decided he was going to be more machine than man. A Techmarine that the Mechanicus would approve of, and one that would give the impression of a marine who would do what it takes to get the job done, even when it comes to his own body. Because of his penchant for Ordinance and Artillery, not only would he have a full servo harness, he would have a servo arm that took the place of his own left arm! I made this from a metal arm for a Servitor, and a two-pronged portion of an Ork bit. At least I think that's where it came from.

A little cutting, pinning, and greenstuff, and it fits very nicely with a MkII Salamanders shoulder pad over it.

Next up was the Servo Harness itself. I felt it best to continue the use of Cronos' backpack, even though I was missing part of the servo arm, as it was scaled much better for this figure than the standard servo harness is. To help compact things, while still keeping him WYSIWYG, I took off the plasma cutter portion, cleaned up some unnecessary kibble and drilled up into it. This allowed me to literally just slide it down over the remnants of the old servo arm, creating a nice compact effect against the back.

I also clipped off the vent on the other side of the backpack and attached another servo arm to it, while at the same time using an old metal Iron Hands cybernetic arm that has a bolted attached to it. Like I said, more machine than man.

Finally, I needed the flamer servo arm to finish off the harness. This didn't require too much effort beyond some greenstuff and pinning wire.

Overall, with the stance of his legs and the direction of his helmet's facing, he's gained a very dynamic pose that most tech marines simply don't have.

Here he is primed grey, ready for paint. I like this because it really shows how well everything works together without the contrast of metal and resin. And yes, he's getting a drake-scale cloak as well.

I was originally going to include the Thunderfire Cannon conversion in this as well, but that would have turned this in to a small novel. I'll do that one next!!

- Tim