For this month’sModelling Workshopwe take a look at themany Empire plastickits now available. Wehanded loads of plasticframes to the Studio’sbest modellers, andtold them to go kit-bash crazy!

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Lords and HeroesYou can really go to town with your characters,but don’t feel constrained to just using the EmpireGeneral kit, as there are plenty of options acrossthe entire range.

When planning your conversions,the illustrations in Uniforms &Heraldry of the Empire are a great source of inspiration.

The head of this Talabheim Captain, by Neil Hodgson, istaken from the State Troopers kit and makes this hero looklike a seasoned veteran. The sword and arm with helmet arebits from the Knightly Orders kit.

For this Talabheim General, Neil Hodgson replaced the horse’screst with a banner top from theKnightly Orders kit. The cloak istaken from an Outrider, and addsa little extra volume to the model.The two shields from the StateTroopers frame have been addedto the steed and tie the model’sheraldry more closely to theprovince of Talabheim.

Mark Jones’ Middenheim General has a greatsword, madefrom the Empire General’s plastic sword, with some extrawork done around the hilt. The wolf cloak is taken from theKnights of the White Wolf frame.

Dom Murray’s HandgunnerMarksman has the body, legs,head and hat (hanging from hisbelt) from the new Greatsword kit.

The last of Dom’s models is madeup entirely from Greatsword parts.The banner is made from paper, thedesign taken from the new book.

The head of this model is from theEmpire Wizard kit, with the beardclipped off. The body and legs aretaken from the Greatswords set.

This officious-looking chap wasbased on a body from the Archerkit. The parchment is a Flagellantcomponent and the head is fromthe Greatswords frame.

The body of Nick Bayton’s HochlandCaptain is taken from the EmpireGeneral kit. The right arm and stockis from a Handgunner, with thebarrel of a long rifle spliced on.

Another of Dom’s models, thisCaptain was made largely fromthe Pistolier kit. The legs aretaken from the Militia kit.

With the new releases out thismonth, the Empire has moreplastic components at its

disposal than ever before. If you’re amodeller – and let’s face it, if you’re ahobbyist then odds on you are – then theEmpire army is a dream come true forconverting and customising your models.

The Empire has never been just ‘thehuman army’ in Warhammer. The mixtureof tradition, technology and magic makethe lands and armies of this nation asbizarre and peculiar as any of the otherraces. This is what makes them excitingboth from a background and modellingpoint of view. The Uniform & Heraldrybook distils and captures some of thismadness but, as the book’s authors havealready explained elsewhere, it would bean impossible task to describe everyeccentricity and oddity in the Empire.

What the book does is provideinspiration, both for the painter and,especially, the modeller. The backgroundpassages, drawings, and heraldic symbolson display can be transferred to your armyto personalise your collection. The wealthof plastic frames makes this job eveneasier, as well as a joy to do.

In this article we’ve let some well-known modellers with an affinity for theEmpire go a bit crazy; their only brief wasto use bits from the Empire plastic range.Here’s what they’ve come up with.

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Regiments You don’t have to stop at converting charactermodels; the kits offer enough scope to customiseevery model in your army.

The Wolfenburg Twice-Bolds were made byChad Mierzwa, mainly using parts from theGreatswords and Archer kits. The bodies andarms are from the Greatsword frame. Theheads are a mix of White Wolf parts from theKnightly Orders kit, and the new Archers. Thecloaks also come from the White Wolf frame.

This is a very simple conversion byChris Peach. Nearly every component istaken from the Pistolier frame, the onlyexception being the head, which is fromthe Greatsword Champion. Chris haspainted up the model as a BögenhafenPistolier. Bögenhafeners are famous fortheir wealth, so the long plume on thehat gives the model a lavish, effete look.

Nick Bayton’s ReiklandCrossbowmen were created bycombining Greatsword bodieswith Crossbowmen arms. Forthe heads a mixture of Archer,Greatsword and State Trooperparts were used.

This Nordland Free Company was createdusing a mix of parts from the Archer,Greatsword and Flagellant kits. AsNordland is a coastal state, Chris wantedto give them a slightly nautical feel; hencethe inclusion of eye patches, anchortattoos and even a sea chart pinned to theback of one model.

These Hochland Handgunnerswere painted by Mark Jones. Theyuse Archer heads and bodies. Theright arms and weapons comefrom the Handgunners kit, whilethe shield arms from the StateTroops complete the figure.

This Marksman was made entirelyfrom the Archer frame. Levelling thebow at a horizontal angledifferentiates the unit champion fromthe rest of the Archers. The sheathedsword hanging from his belt alsoadds extra detail.

In the army list Knights can bearmed with a great weapon insteadof a lance. Here Nick hasrepresented this by simplyreplacing the Knight’s torso fora Greatsword body, headand weapon.

Pete Riordan built this Middenlandchampion using a body from a StateTrooper, a Flagellant head and thearms from the White Wolf frame.

Chris Peach has been busy,this time building theseHalberdiers and paintingthem in the colours ofOstermark. He usedGreatsword bodies, halberdsfrom the State Troops kit,and Pistolier heads to givethem a very distinctive look.

This OutriderChampion is astraight mix ofGreatsword andOutrider components.Note the laurels onthe horse’s chest.

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The crest is made from a StateTroops banner top, with extrafeathers added.

DAVE ANDREWSDave really is an exemplar when it comesto Empire modelling. Here are just a fewexamples of his work.

The command group really is amix of components formedtogether to create a bespoke rankof soldiers. Legs from an Empireartillery crew have largely beenused with bodies from the EmpireMilitia kits, and some even olderplastic bits that have beenunearthed from Dave’s toweringplastic frame pile (see opposite).

Dave’s Halberdiers hail fromTalabecland. They carry a verystriking banner depicting anhourglass, painted in freehand byDave. The hourglass is a verypertinent icon that’s often seen as aheraldic device in banners, onshields and as charms dangling frombelts throughout the Empire. As asymbol it’s generally seen torepresent change or even death.

Dave decided to showHelmut charging with alance, and thus scratch-builta sheathed Runefang.

The body is taken from theKnightly Orders kit.

The shield is scratch-builtfrom plasticard to provide aflat surface for painting.

The Knight’s standard polewas made from plasticard rodcut to fit.

The streamers flowingfrom the Knight’shelmet were made withthin plasticard.

Dave used a tiny bitof Green Stuff toseamlessly blend thebeast pelt onto theback of this Knight’sshoulders.

This model, built using components from the Empire General and other kits,represents the missing Elector Count of Talabecland, Helmut Feuerbach. He isdepicted here as he was when he rode out to battle the forces of Chaos – abattle from which he has not yet returned.

These knights have been builtmainly from the Pistoliers andKnightly Orders frames. There area few other details worthy of note.The crests on their helmets are allbanner tops from the State Troopsframes and the griffon shield isactually a piece of ornamentaldetail from the WarhammerFortified Manor House.

Dave has painted the knights toride together as one unit, histhinking is that they are not allfrom the same order but a groupof disparate and dispossessedknights and noble’s sons, whohave found solace riding together.

Frame MountainDave is a master modeller with aparticular talent for creating and paintingEmpire soldiers. As you can see from thisphoto, his work area is just a mound offrames from which he takes componentsand combines them into the great-lookingmodels, of which just a few are shownhere. Dave doesn’t tend to work with aplan or certain aim in mind – he simplycombs through his large plastics pile,taking bits from frames he likes andcoming up with the models as he goes.

For more Empireconversions check

out our website

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MIKE ANDERSONMike has a real passion for creating elegant, converted singleEmpire miniatures and then painting them up. Recently, he’sstarted to convert models for a whole army, each one worthy of a place in one of his single figure dioramas.

Empire Wizards

Mike envisaged this unit as a group of surly, war-weary soldiers. Toemphasise this he’s mixedState Troops parts withGreatswords to turn theminto hardened veterans.There are also a few Archerheads in there, too.

Militia Warband Mike based this warbandaround the character of aStirland Vampire Hunter.His favourite model is theWarrior Priest, which wasbuilt from a Flagellant,with a Greatsword’s armand breastplate, and ahigh collar from the BattleWizard frame. The rest aremostly made from Archerswith Greatsword heads.The Sergeant’s head isfrom a Wizard, with aGreatsword’s helm.

When kit-bashing, you don’t have to stick to frames from your own army.These Battle Wizards are great examples, using bitz taken from Wood Elvesand even Vampire Counts. These models were converted especiallyfor our Battle Wizard painting contest next month, whichpromises to be a bit special! Stay tuned.

Sergeant Vampire Hunter

Keith Robertson’sAmber Wizard

Neil Green’sGrey Wizard

Mike Anderson’s Jade Wizard

The Vampire Hunter’s Followers

Knights Panther on foot Scout Captain Warrior Priest

See these fullypainted in next

month’s White Dwarf

This grizzled veteran is seekinghis fortune in the City of theDamned. This is a fairly simpleconversion with a scenic base.The model is brought to life bythe details, such as the signpostand the hidden wyrdstone.

This brilliantly paintedGreatsword is an almoststraight build from the kit.There are three very subtleconversions: the pennantfrom the sword is taken fromanother component on theGreatsword frame; the largefeather has been culled fromthe champion’s hat; whilethe eye patch was madefrom Green Stuff.