Reaper Duke Gerard Conversion Part 1

I came across this Reaper miniature and thought it would make a nice character figure for a friend who is starting a Blood Angels army. I have a small Space Marine force painted in Dark Angels Green myself, so I decided to get one for myself too.

The figure comes in 4 pieces plus a 25mm square base. The hands are moulded to the shield and the axe.

Being a Crusader, the figure had cross motifs sculpted onto the shoulder pads and hip plates - I filed these off because my own Space Marines chapter did not feature a cross motif, and I also cut off the bits of rivets which did not make sense on a Space Marine armour (I know, I know...). I then cut the tab off and drilled a hole in the right foot, so I could mount the figure on a scenic resin base.

A Space Marine bolter arm cut off at the wrist provided the sci-fi flavour for the figure - this particular arm came from a Blood Angels bitz lot, so I had to slice the blood drop motifs off. I drilled a hole in the hand to fit a pin, and also drilled through the muzzle and the flash-suppressor holes. I had picked a bolter with sling.

This is what the figure looks like primed and dry-fitted together.

Viewed from a slightly oblique angle, you can see how the way the cape and sling are sculpted and the way the figure is positioned on the resin rock base give it a dynamic pose.