Models converted and painted by Ty Finocchiaro. Click any image for a larger view.

Ty Finocchiaro: This first group of Neophytes sport a more medieval look — which, in my opinion, is very much in line with the Black Templars' imagery. This look was pretty easy to achieve by combining a Scout sprue with the Bretonnian Men-at-Arms sprue (Item #99380203002). Just using the many different heads from the Bretonnians is enough to distinguish your Neophytes from the standard Scout.

Still, I went a step further and butchered a few of the Bretonnian bodies by hacking them in half at the waist. The Bretonnian legs and Scout torso meet up nicely with a bit of trimming. You might need some minor putty work to bridge the gap, but nothing major. If you attempt this conversion, be sure to put bunches of gear (grenades, holsters, and the like from the Scout sprue) around the model's waist to bulk out the Neophyte a bit. In the end, these skirted legs and medieval heads look pretty dang cool when you put the paintbrush down at the end of the night.

Models converted and painted by Ty Finocchiaro. Click any image for a larger view.

Helmets became my next obsession. I still hold to the fact that if I were a Neophyte or Space Marine Scout in the 41st millennium, I'd want a helmet to protect my precious head. No matter how hard the other Neophytes laughed at me, I'd wear a helmet. (Wear your helmets, kids.) The Chaos Warrior sprue (Items #99380201014 & #99380201015) was my first and last stop, as those heads just plain look mean — though a bit too evil with the horns. So, I carefully shaved off the horns and filled in a few breathing slits with putty to smooth the outside of the helmet and tone down the Chaos look. Once I had a couple of these helmets under my belt, I noticed the rest of the Chaos Warrior sprue sitting there with all those nasty blunt weapons. Eh, why not? Who says you always have to use chainswords, huh?

In order to incorporate these weapons, I needed to clean them up a bit by removing the Chaos-type arrows and such. After the weapons were ready, a bit of arm repositioning, putty work, and hand swaps had to be performed to make 'em fit. With some perseverance, my work paid off. These guys are by far my favourite group of conversions shown here — they really look like they mean business. Plus, the flat areas on the helmets provide the opportunity to do some cool stuff with Black Templars iconography and such when it's time to paint the models.

Next: More Neophtye Conversions
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