fbpx JOIN LOGIN JOIN

How To- Converting a Master of the Forge

Scott again! I have always liked the idea of a Master of the Forge led army, but I don’t care for the resin model.  I figured I’d see what I could do with an all plastic build.

Here’s a go at a Master with a Conversion Beamer, using parts from the Devastators box and the Marine Vehicle Accessory sprue.
I started with modest parts, a set of legs, a standard torso rear and a Tech front torso from the Marine vehicle sprue:
For the backpack I used the Devastator Sargent Backpack and the Missile Launcher backpack mech arm:
I trimmed off the vent and cleaned up the cut so it was level, I also cut off the skull on the pack face:

I glued the mech arm where the vent used to be, and glued the vent in the upper center of the pack:
I then trimmed off the very bottom of the pack with then little vents:
I wanted the pack to really look big and bulky, so I trimmed up a Plasma Gunner’s pack from the devastator sprue:

After some dry fitting I noticed the cable harness would be way off and would need to be bent into position.  I cut a notch in the backside of the fitting:

For the Beamer, I wanted it to be bulky and awkward.  In the early editions of 40k the Beamer looked like a Plasma Cannon, so that’s what I started with:
I trimmed off the end of the cannon and the little fuel nub on the top, then assembled:

The Beamer should look arcane and a bit over the top.  Instead of a barrel it needed an emitter.  I used the scanner dish off of the Vehicle sprue and a Necron bit I had in my bitz box.  Any bit would look good here, maybe the comms array or a lascannon bit.
I trimmed the back of the dish and glued it to the Plasma cannon:

Then I used the Lascannon scope in the top, trimming to fit:

Now I have this funny little gap between the cannon and the dish.  It’s not a big deal, but for me it’s an excuse to fit something else:

This’ll do nicely! Right off the Vehicle sprue:

After some trimming and shaving it was added to fill the gap. I also added a shackle the top to give the piece a little more weight.

 Beamer complete:

While the Beamer was setting, it was the body’s turn.  The backpack was attached to the body. At this point I added a tabard that can hang down behind the gun.  
I cheated a bit and used an Ork Nob tabard from my bits box, but one of the tabards from the devastator box would be great too.

Lastly I chose the Devastator Sergent’s Helmet and the Techmarine Shoulder pad from the Vehicle sprue.  I attached these after I glued the Beamer in place on the body:

For final assembly I used the Plasma Gunner’s left arm and ended up with a finished piece.
Here’s my take on an all plastic Master of the Forge:

At this point I may add extra stuff to bulk him out, maybe some stabilizing legs or something.
It’s your build, make it your own.
If you want to see more, check out my conversion blog at: http://conversionfanboy.blogspot.com/
Thanks everybody!

About the Author: ScottShoemaker