Converting Obliterators

Introduction

The idea to do this is actually very old. Once upon a time I used a lot of Obliterators in a local tournament. I borrowed the models; saw how well they did; and decided to get some. At the time, we only had the old Finecast models which were a) resin b) horribly expensive. I decided to convert some. Of course with real life knocking out the hobby side of things for a while, it all remained a fanciful idea. When Shadowspear came out and we finally got updated models, I was disheartened to see that the models had grown to be humongous. I left everything half baked... Now as I started on my Chaos Marines, I decided on finishing these lads as well.

Base parts

Acquire Terminators from eBay. The worse painted the better as they would be the cheapest. Strip the paint.

Notice that there is 10 of them - I originally envisioned 9 converted Obliterators. As I bought the Chaos half of the Shadowspear boxset, the point is now moot.

Acquire plasma cannon wielding Devastators from eBay. Chaos Marines don't have a use for them. Again, strip the paint.

Base assembly

The base "chassis" for the Obliterators is a Terminator body.

Continue with a plasma cannon right arm: a Deathwing plasma cannon in plastic and a Devastator plasma cannon in metal - that one needed some green stuff to be attached properly. 

Then a storm shield left arm, without the storm shield obviously. 

Instead of the original Terminator heads, I attached Aggressor heads. They look more technologically fused, with the masks and the wires and conducts. (Turns out, I nailed the new Obliterator esthetic.)

Adding bits

I started with a flamer hand on the right (remember twin linked heavy flamers?).

Then added more techno-doodads. The more wires, the better.

Linked one doodad to an Imperial Guard flamer tank mounted on the back.

Fleshy growths

Refer to the green stuff tutorial. I applied this anywhere I had to mask anything, such as the aquila on the chest...

... any unseemly joints between bits...

 ... and hands.

Same for the other guy.

Shotgun arms

Stick a blob of green stuff in the empty space in the flamer hand (where the Aggressor's gauntlets would go) and insert two clipped off Astartes shotguns.

Bases

Remember that Obliterators are huge now? I had originally left these guys on their 40mm Terminator bases, but of course that had to go. I cut them off, drilled their legs, inserted rods, and pinned them to 50mm bases, such that they were at eye level with the new Obliterators. Let's just say they had a lot of ground to recover.

I took inspiration from the rebased Chaos Space Marines and glued some statues/Sector Imperialis bits as if they were standing on them. Super glue gel helps a lot when placing bits at angles.

Then I roughly filled out the space with putty.

After it dried, I pumped in a lot of UHU glue. When that dried, another layer of putty.

Repeat once more. This time I filled out the bases to the rim, and all the little space beneath their legs. Now they're standing on rubble, interspersed with fallen statues and debris.