Finished - Two More Flash Gitz

I am really excited to have these two Flash Gitz finished especially the one on the right. Not only does this give me a total of 7 Gitz, but I am super-pleased with how one of them came out. 

This is a story about converting and how a single bit can get you thinking about building a whole mini around it. It all started with the cigar bit. As soon as I saw it, I knew that I had to use it. Initially, I wanted to use it for the Kaptain as he smoked and directed his Krew while a few Grots carry and fire his giant Snazz Gun. This proved far too complex to pull off so I settled with using it on a Git. 

At some point I knew that he would need an ashtray. I wanted him lazily gunning down Beakies or Umies while ashing to a hand made ashtray set on his gun. Since he was smoking with one hand, this dictated that there would need to be a handle on the gun. Also, I didn't think it would be stable enough with one hand on the gun and the shoulder strap to keep the ashtray from sliding off. Also, I wanted to have the gun resting on the ground to add the lazy factor. I had already used the "ground claw" looking gun mount so I opted for the bipod mount. 

I also wanted more of the Git's chest exposed on the mini as opposed to the other Gitz to draw the focus to his face and arm and add the laziness of the mini. This necessitated having him standing at a larger angle from his gun and not hold it so close to his chest. I had to trim part of where the arm and shoulder meet to get this angle. Easy enough and this is an old trip covered in old GW books and maybe even the 3rd Ed main book. 

Even with the 40mm base, it is crowded. The gun hangs off the edge and only one of the bipod feet was on the base. On the other model with the "ground claw" mount, I just hung it over and planned to glue to some sand to the bottom to cover it up. On the bipod, I didn't feel this was acceptable, so I broke a rule. I changed the shape and size of a base. The mini was already glued down, so I could not just mount him onto a 50mm base. What I did was cut a semi-circle into a 25mm base and glue it to the edge of the base. It is hardly perfect but it does draw attention and it is functional. 

Lastly is the ashtray. I am no expert in sculpting and anything that I do that looks good is complete luck. That is why I keep it simple. I rolled a ball of green stuff and smushed it flat. I used the end of a paintbrush to press a half sphere into the now disc. Then I cut cigar holders into the sides with the edge of a hobby knife. After letting it dry, I glued it downa nd painted it blue to contrast with the yellow gun and draw more attention.

Finished - Mega Armored Nob

I had a metal Meganob spare and decided to bang him out as a side project in the same colors as my Geoff Flash Gitz. My idea for the Nobz and Meganobz is to have them drawn from the biggest and baddest of all the Ork Klans. To that end, their color schemes are going to be all over the place. I am going to try to paint up a Nob for each unit if appropriate or a Meganob. Unfortunately, I only had the one Meganob to experiment on. I need to trade for some on Bartertown, but few people are trafficking in them. Those that are often offer incomplete minis which is no good for me. 

The plastic box is amazing but utterly insanely priced at $63 for 3 minis. Even at the standard 20-25% off retail plus shipping, that particular box is priced outside of my reach. 

Since it is going to be a while before another Meganob is Finished, I will have to value it. To replace the mini is a challenging prospect. eBay prices run $15 to and insane $25. I think that if I was patient that I could replace them for $15 each. The paint job is simple but worth $20 for me. I had to supply an extra bit from the Nob sprue because he was missing the Iron Gob. That is worth $5 to me for a total trade/replacement value of $40 for this mini. 

Finished - 4 Gunners for Battlewagon

The Battlewagon has two places in back for gunners and I made the front two doors into gunner spots with the addition of a little plasticard. That gives me emplacements for 4 gunners and the turret. That is all the extra Rokkit/Big Shootas that the Battlewagon will allow. 

I tried to make each of minis unique. I have wanted to do a "screaming two-handed Big Shoota" mini for a while now. While building him, I realized that no one, not even an Ork, could shoot a gun like that unsupported. That is not an issue when he can brace the gun on the side of the Battlewagon's side armor. If this mini was on foot, he would look silly and unrealistic. Normally, I am a fan of "silly and unrealistic" in my Ork army but the mini's pose looked stupid and that is never good. To avoid this stupidity, I magnetized a bipod for him. 

These minis cost me maybe $15 in bits and $20 for the painting. The converting is worth maybe $5. Total trade/replacement value is $40.

Finished - First Five Flash Gitz

A full unit finished! 

I am regretting somewhat painting the guns yellow. This unit was supposed to be Goffs and colored mostly black and silver. While painting the Battlewagon, I got the wild idea to paint the weapons yellow. That might have worked if these guys's guns were not the same size of the body. The effect is that, no matter how little yellow that I use in the rest of the model, the mini comes off as looking like a yellow mini. After discovering that, I tried to keep yellow to a minimum in future minis. 

The old metal classic Flash Gitling really sands out because he is smaller and has a sane-sized gun. My head-cannon for him is that he recently joined to replace a fallen Git. The little feller has not had enough time to amass a stash and reputation enough to build a really big and insane gun. 

Even though this is a Finished post, I am going to wait to make a full post until after I have finished all of the box including Badrukk. 

On the table now - The next 3 Flash Gits

After finishing the first two test Flash Gitz, I started work on the main body of the unit. I knew that I wanted to use the cyborg arm and leg and was struck by the idea of using them on the same guy as if he at one point had a really really bad day. I also did a little head swap to give that mini a more mechanical head from the Nobs sprue.