Miniature conversion using green stuff

Woo-hoo ... I managed to finally complete my first miniature conversion as well as use Game Workshop's green stuff for the very first time. Taking them for what they are i.e. maiden attempts, I am fairly happy with the results and it gives me the confidence to do better next time. As a start, I decided to try something not too ambitious and limited my conversions to simple modifications. For now, I plan to place this fallen Ultramarine on the same base as the Word Bearers Helbrute that I am painting.

No guts no glory - intestines were sculpted in a slightly enlarged size to simulate bloating (Nurgle at work here)

Realised that I had no decals for the Ultramaring tactical symbol so that had to be drawn free-hand

Shot through the primary heart while armour show signs of battle damage

Why a fallen Ultramarine for the mini-conversion project?
Well, the idea behind this mini-conversion was to have a victim for my Word Bearers Helbrute and what better Adeptus Astartes chapter to use than the Ultramarines. Granted that the Helbrute is carrying a multi-melta but the story behind the unfortunate soldier is that he was shot through his primary heart by a Word Bearers Space Marine and as his secondary heart tried to cope, he lay down on the rocks to recover. Who happens to trudge by but a Helbrute who decides to gut him with his power first. So there you have it, a fallen Ultramarine who is at death's door (if not through it).

This particular Ultramarine's blue armour is slightly darker than what I usually paint my boys in blue - the direct result of having a heavy wash of Badab Black to portray a battle-worn armour. Other battle damage effects that I tried to include were scratch marks from bolter rounds and blood splatter. His head is not totally inclined as his secondary heart has not completely given in yet.

First try at using Green Stuff

A warm-up before sculpting the actual green stuff

As this was my first experience at using the green stuff, I decided to practice first by using a rubber mastic adhesive or more commonly known as Blu-Tack. In this case, I used Selley's Ezy-Tack which was white instead of the traditional pale blue colour. I guess the muscle memory gained from a childhood spent playing plasticine was still intact as I managed to shape the re-usable adhesive without fumbling too much. For this project, I used the smallest sculpting tool in my set of cheap plastic tools.  

Green stuff for miniature conversion

Of course the adhesive is different from the green stuff in two key areas:
(a) It is less sticky; and
(b) It is softer than the green stuff. 

Nonetheless, it gave me the chance to test out my ideas before settling on the final result that you see on the left i.e. some leg armour to reposition the foot; some bloated intestines and the stump of his torn-off arm.

Based on my experience, the biggest thing to note about using the green stuff is to always keep it moist while sculpting. Don't worry about getting it too wet, just keep dabbing water on the green stuff as you sculpt to prevent them from sticking to your hands.  

Just to be sure, I left the green stuff to cure over night before spraying a white undercoat on the whole miniature prior to painting it. Well that's it for this post, thanks for reading and happy hobbying!