Turning ww2 yanks into sci-fi troops

[Aethelwulf]

Does anyone think it would work to turn these https://eu.warlordgames.com/products/us-marines-plastic-box-set into sci-fi troops similar to these https://www.games-workshop.com/en-WW/Imperial-Guard-Catachan-Jungle-Fighters

[commissarmoody]

Yes, but are you talking about turning them into Rambo's? Or just useing them in a sci-fi setting?

[Aethelwulf]

Turning them into Ramboish figures and using them in a sci-fi setting.

[commissarmoody]

I think the hard part is finding a bunch of bandana wearing heads that will fit the figs.. 
I'll have to think on this

[Cat]

Plastic helmets are a pretty easy carve down into bandanas with a small curved blade.

[Aethelwulf]

Plastic helmets are a pretty easy carve down into bandanas with a small curved blade.

Will have to give it a try

[dadlamassu]

Unless you already have the WW2 Americans you might have a look at the Wargames Atlantic "SpaceNam" figures.  Not my period so do not know if they match for size.   https://wargamesatlantic.com/products/spacenam

[eilif]

The Spacenam figures are great figs for the subject matter and affordably priced but they are quite large compared to "true" scale historic figs.  They will size up well against GW figs but are going to look like giants next to Warlord WW2.

Are you planning on buying alternate weapons for the Warlord figs?   Victoria minis does some nice lasguns that are slim enough to look good on historical figures.  However, you'd probably be spending more than just buying the SpaceNam figs.

[Aethelwulf]

Unless you already have the WW2 Americans you might have a look at the Wargames Atlantic "SpaceNam" figures.  Not my period so do not know if they match for size.   https://wargamesatlantic.com/products/spacenam

I do already have them.

[Aethelwulf]

The Spacenam figures are great figs for the subject matter and affordably priced but they are quite large compared to "true" scale historic figs.  They will size up well against GW figs but are going to look like giants next to Warlord WW2.

Are you planning on buying alternate weapons for the Warlord figs?   Victoria minis does some nice lasguns that are slim enough to look good on historical figures.  However, you'd probably be spending more than just buying the SpaceNam figs.

I wont be buying weapons, I have some of these https://eu.warlordgames.com/products/concord-strike-squad-support-drones which I can get some weapons from, and then I will probably just turn the yanks weapons into sci-fi looking guns.

[bvandewalker]

Well that's an interesting thought, I have picked up several Boltaction infantry sets pretty much just to turn them into SciFi troops and fill the bit box.

Overall they do work pretty well in that regard and many of the bodies work with Wargames Atlantic Death Fields and GW Cadian parts. o  I would not class them as "true life historical scale" but more of a useful "hodpog scale", particularly  once you view them as a spare part sprues since some parts do work great with 28mm Historical proportion scale kits, while others don't, and still others seem like different model true scales like the older loose grease guns that could fit in with Tamiya 1/35 weapons (in fact it looks almost exactly the same ).

Now that said I don't think a Rambo like Catachan are exactly doable with the Warlord USMC set at least not with out lots of tricky knife work and green stuff (cause those Mr. Universe beefcake muscles ) or buying parts from 3 or 4 different kits (it might work if one sources arms from RGD Satyer kit but one would still need the SciFi bits from elsewhere and the end result might be a lot of funky poses). I would just buy the Reptilian Overlord kit from Wargames Atlantic or the Catachan themselves if I want a lot of Rando Rambos on the table.

However a more down to Earth 1960's-90's Jungle Guerrilla Fighter style SciFi combatants (you know like the mooks from the Rambo films and Metal Gear Solid games except with cooler guns) would likely be pretty easy to make out of the WW2 USMC box, I would consider picking up one of the Ironcore kits Wargames Atlantic is redoing to source weapons and other SciFi bits since they come with a ton of gun options and would work double as the heavy infantry option.     

[Aethelwulf]

I'm not going to give them bandanas, its too difficult, anyway what kind of hydrocephalic moron goes into battle without a helmet.

[eilif]

If you're not going to bandana them and they're all wearing shirts and helmets, you've kind of abandoned the Catachan Rambo look, so maybe learn towards the space Vietnam look of Aliens colonial Marines and 90s Cadians (albeit without body armor)

Perhaps give them whatever sci Fi weapons you want and then chop up the WW2 weapons to make techy bits to attach to their helmets and packs.

[Daeothar]

One thing that I've found works really well is to make sure the paintscheme is quite different from the original.

So give them grey fatigues, or red. Or turquoise. Add a big stripe of a contrasting colour to their helmets, and/or big numbers. Another nice addition is some sort of weird, colourful camouflage pattern.

Alternatively, giving them blue skin (like Rogue Trooper) or another interesting colour, like bright green (Old Man's War) might also be an option.

And then you're going to have to look at changing out the barrels on the guns. Not even the whole weapons mind; just add a funky front end with an easily reproduceable bit that looks pewpew and you're golden...

[eilif]

... have to look at changing out the barrels on the guns. Not even the whole weapons mind; just add a funky front end with an easily reproduceable bit that looks pewpew and you're golden...

That's a very good point.  In the tradition of Star Wars prop builders, often all you need to make sci-fi weapons out of historical ones, is to trim or replace a barrel, remove a magazine, add a scope or other detail, etc.

On historical minis this sometimes looks even better than replacing them with sci-fi weapons that are often (though not always) oversized on more realistically proportioned miniatures.