John Sandars was one of the early pioneers of both figure and vehicle conversions, and as mentioned his subject was mainly WW2, and especially British and Commonwealth forces in the Western Desert. He worked in various scales, but if you wish to see what was possible in 1/76 with a very limited range of almost-entirely Airfix figures and kits (as was the case in the early to mid 1970s) then look up the Airfix Magazine Guide No 20 on the '8th Army'. This small book is packed full of notes, illustrations and photos of the numerous 8th Army conversions that he undertook to create a comprehensive battle order for most types of unit in the 8th Army. Even now, with a massively greater range of models and figures, it is inspirational to see what he was able to do.

John Sandars died tragically young, but had he lived longer he would undoubtedly become one of the most renowned ever modellers of WW2 British and Commonwealth subjects.

Have a look at this link if you are interested:

http://vintagewargaming.blogspot.com/2009/04/john-sandars.html

Thank you Minuteman, that is about all I found from him online - well worth a look.

I find I learn more from conversions of very old (Airfix 8th Army 1st version) 1/76 figures than from conversions in other scales. For some reason, transferring techniques from another scale just does not work well for me.

Kim, the Boer figures seem a good basis for "scruffy" looking SCW milita / infantry and artillery troops. I bought the Strelets "Long Tom" gun set for exactly that purpose.

I have also used the odd Confederate (after a headswap) as well; weaponry was very different 70+ years after the ACW but images of foot soldiers with blanket rolls are "iconical" for both conflicts. The sets you mentioned have poses that work for 20th century conflicts as well.

Conversions are a great way to do something fun while having to stay indoors whether because of winter weather or other things.

I feel head swops give so much variety and are fairly easy to do. Some with different head gear and others simply by turning a Cavalryman's head looking off in a different direction. Here is a link of my AWI head swops, mostly Airfix giving me British with 3 different types of headgear, some different wagons and artillery, too. Link:

http://www.hat72.com/Othr8/Clay04P.html


Here is another link of my Giant/Hong Kong Copies of Britains Swoppets, maybe the first plastic figures intended for conversions or swops:

http://www.hat72.com/Othr7/Clay08P.html


Actually, I would enjoy Strelets including a couple of or a few extra heads with different headgear in their sets as a kind of bonus to give me more poses. I would be more likely to buy extra boxes to make a different looking army. Such as my AWI figures having 3 types of headgear.

Pa, to give you some ideas or inspiration for your SCW or SJW you might try checking some of BUM's set's pictures on Google Images. They have been very creative using existing sets to make new sets. They have made many short-run limited production sets not found in any catalogues I can find.

BTW, my links above are postings from years ago still found on Google Images using what are now considered "Vintage/Classic" figures mostly out of production these days and never intended to promote any particular brand name. Hope it's OK.

Have fun - GC

GC, time for a confession. I have ever since admiring your Swoppets and been wondering how on earth do you manage to carve a peg out of one figure that - and that is the point - fits snuggly into a cavity you drilled into another figur's half?

I think I asked this before on the "other" forum but without images this will probably remain beyond me.

When trying this I see myself having 50% waste _plus_ failures. That's why I use pegs for my headswaps.

Good morning, Pa. You are absolutely correct. If you try to recreate 1/72 in the actual Swoppet style, you'll in most cases have to use 2 figures to get 1 because of the one-piece head with peg. However, when I bought my Hong Kong Copies of I suppose pantographed down Swoppets (Giant Brand), there were plenty of poorly formed figures. To make them useful, they become "spare parts." It would be too expensive and too time consuming to build a whole army of these guys. But that's part of the passion of this hobby, whether painting or converting, just having a little challenging fun! I'm sure someone else could do it better than me and with more economy in mind. For me, if by sharing a few pics of the end product is enjoyable to other hobbiests also, then that makes it all the more rewarding. :innocent:

It certainly is, so many thanks again GC!

Just want you to know, Pa, I did rifle thru my old digital pics and couldn't find anything new that was worth posting that is earth-shaking and current. I'm afraid my best work is in the links I posted above. Nothing any more revealing. OK, cheers!

Ironsides, GC, thank you for posting the links / images. Apologies for the delay. Regards, Pa