Many classic Warhammer 40K units began life as one-off conversions and EPIC Scale-ups. Here are some of our favorites.
Today Warhammer 40k is all about the quality. Nottingham kicks out some of the greatest miniatures in the world at a breakneck pace. But it wasn’t always like this. There was a time that the beating heart of the hobby was conversions. Back in the 80s and 90s a great many of the Grimdark’s now-famous units started life with a hobbyist with a good idea and some time on their hands, or even a licensed third party in an entirely different country.
Here are just a few we will list with their original incarnation to compare to their official GW kit, and when they came along;
Land Raider
Yes, the first Land Raider in the Rogue Trader book was a one-off. It would be replaced with the original plastic kit in short order, but if you look close you can see quite a bit of difference.
The Rogue Trader scratch built original.
GW’s original plastic Land Raider.
And it’s most recent Land Raider Proteus Explorator reinvention.
Whirlwind
The original was built off the plastic Rhino and a bunch of bits, including a square 40mm base.
Maybe the most creative use for the underside of a base…
Spartan Assault Tank
Here’s an interesting one. The Spartan was originally based on the Land Raider and Rhino kits. It was an open-topped Terminator transport. If would disappear for decades before being revived by Forge World, and now as a modern plastic for the 2022 Horus Heresy game!
A total 40K oddball, and long forgotten, until Forge World dusted it off and reinvented the old girl.
30 years on, the family resemblance is clear.
Wave Serpent
Here’s a real oddball for the Aeldari fans. The Wave Serpent was first designed in EPIC and had a completely different aesthetic than the modern design. It was made available to 40K players as a resin Armorcast model for several years before GW redesigned it based on the Falcon chassis. You can still find the resin ones on eBay and they are great conversation starters – also door stops.
The resin Armorcast one was a direct scale-up of the EPIC original.
The completely resigned modern one.
Falcon
The other oddball for the Aeldari fans. The Falcon was first designed in EPIC and like the above Wave Serpent, had a completely different aesthetic than the modern design. It was made available to 40K players as a resin Armorcast model for several years before GW redesigned it. You can still find the resin Falcon on eBay where they continue to confound modern Eldar collectors.
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The resin Armorcast one was a direct scale-up of the EPIC original.
The completely resigned modern one.
Deodorant Grav-Attack Speeder
Ahh, the Rogue Trader classic. This Marine vehicle was scratch built in the late 1980s and waited decades for its homage reinvention as the 30K Javelin Speeder by Forge World.
Ork Battlewagon
Yet another short-lived Armorcast job. For decades if you wanted an Ork Battlewagon, you converted it out whatever you could get your hands on. Much, much later the official plastic kit freed Meks across the world from having to loot every big transport in their armies.
For a while – this was the Cadillac of any Ork player’s collection.
Quite a wait, but well worth it.
Praetorian Guard
This range was originally made from sets of converted Mordians used to recreate this enormous Massacre at Big Toof River at Canada Games Day 1997. The models were such a hit, GW put them into production, and they have been part of 40K canon ever since. Who knew pith helmets were such a hit?
That’s a lot of conversions… but even more Orks.
Ahh, perhaps my favorite “lost metal regiment”… nah, it’s Tallarn.
Ghaz (& Grotsnik)
Yes, we’ve already talked about the 30 year history of Ghaz, but his humble roots began as a conversion by Andy Chambers back in 1991.
Getting the gang back together. One more thing to thank Andy Chambers for.
Several years later, the first official Ghaz miniature would arrive.
Thirty years on, we see that modern Ghaz proves the old adage that “big things have small beginnings.”
~There are many more – but which one is your favorite?
Dad, Gamer, Publisher, Pilot, Texan. All games all the time since junior-high.
I started BoLS Interactive in 2006. I’m a lifelong tabletop & RPG gaming enthusiast, and internet publisher working to entertain and inform my readers every day.
I’ve been playing RPGs and Tabletop Games since the 1970s. I’m been playing and covering Warhammer and Warhammer 40K for over 35 years.