Converting Toys to 28mm Sci-Fi

[Homebrew Dave]

Hello all, this is my first post here.  I've been a lurker for a few months and have finished a few projects I'd like to show.  I'm no great modeler or painter (or photographer!) but here's a taste at what I've done to save money purchasing miniatures.


This is from a Dollar Store toy set called "Victorious Mission" that includes an assortment of plastic vehicles and parts.



After adding thin plasticard and some bits from old 40k sprues.


Somebody here posted some awesome looking MARS Heroes action figure models he'd painted up.  I have a ton of those I scavenged from Dollar General and converted them to Confederate Marine Bots.

I have some more too.  I found 144 plastic miniature sci fi figs that are just shy of 28mm that work great on the table top.  I got all of them for about $2.00 from a vending machine company.  Glued some Pig Iron rifles, backpacks and bits on them too.  I'll post them as I get things in my workbench cave better organized.  

[Homebrew Dave]

This was .99 from Dollar General.  I cut off the antennae and glued the head back on upside down.  Hot glue-gunned some joints and repainted it Confed Marine grey with Army Painter.  After getting it on the right base, it'll be a Confed Heavy Tactical Bot.



This is the before pic still in the package.

[Roebeast45]

You seem to have better dollar store stuff than I do. Good work on them ,they fit right in with the minis.

[Homebrew Dave]

Another Victorious Mission toy.  The turret is from a cheap Mighty Wheels toy tank.  Gatling is from a discount Transformers toy.  End result is a Confed Mobile Command Center.  Confederate Marine officers and techs operate bots and drone units as well as assist in coordinating battlefield ops from it. 

[Onebigriver]

You've got and done some amazing stuff there.

[G2]

These all look really nice. From the photos, I wouldn't have been able to tell they were all cheap toys. Job well done.

[Achilles]

Those are brilliant! Well done.

I think scavenging is becoming a lost art in this hobby. Kids these days expect a kit for everything... they should be out rummaging Junk sales looking to make their own!

[inkwell]

Nice work! I have a couple of the same sets and I thought the Jeep was a bit too big.Maybe not?

[Mako]

Love the LAV toy!

Is Victorious Mission a brand name?

I've never heard of it before, but it looks very nice as is, and the added turret and gatling make it look even better.

[Homebrew Dave]

Love the LAV toy!

Is Victorious Mission a brand name?

I've never heard of it before, but it looks very nice as is, and the added turret and gatling make it look even better.

Well, I believe it's just brand name used by one of hundreds of toy manufacturers from China.  "New Ray" used to be the brand that made or sold these.  Recently it's been the Vicorious Mission box, usually found in larger Dollar General stores.

BTW, thanks all for the props!  I get alot of cool ideas from this forum for my wargaming group. 

[zizi666]

Like the others before me said : nice work on those conversions.
Now if only we had a eurostore that carried those cool cheap toys here in Belgium 

[Homebrew Dave]

Like the others before me said : nice work on those conversions.
Now if only we had a eurostore that carried those cool cheap toys here in Belgium  

What about second hand stores that sell used toys, kitchen gadgets, clothing, etc ?  I've scored some sweet stuff from Salvation Army stores and yard sales.  I'm currently starting work on a massive Neo-Sov drop ship that I bought for $1.99 from a second hand store in town.

[zizi666]

What about second hand stores that sell used toys, kitchen gadgets, clothing, etc ?  I've scored some sweet stuff from Salvation Army stores and yard sales.  I'm currently starting work on a massive Neo-Sov drop ship that I bought for $1.99 from a second hand store in town.

Not much of those around here. There's a "kringloopwinkel" (recycling store) but in general we're better off with genuine toy stores. They often carry cheaper toys, but still, cool stuff for 1 or 2$ (€ in our case) is hard to find.

[Geudens]

There's a "kringloopwinkel" (recycling store) but in general we're better off with genuine toy stores. They often carry cheaper toys, but still, cool stuff for 1 or 2$ (€ in our case) is hard to find.

I have to disagree, or perhaps I'm just plain lucky...  I live 40 klicks from Ghent and over the last year I have been able to buy (amongst loads of other stuff  ) 5 of the above pictured vehicle in Kringloopwinkels and on flea markets, never more than 1.5 Euro apiece.  5 is enough for me, so I stopped buying them.  I must add I stop at every Kringloopwinkel I come across and visit at least 2 major flea markets (+ 200 vendors, free entrance) a month during summer.  If this is of interest to you, have a look at http://www.wattedoen.be/ .  You can find all flea markets in Flanders there, but be selective: visit only the ones with +200 stands to make it worthwhile.  Best do this as from May-June, during winter there is little activity.

[zizi666]

I have to disagree, or perhaps I'm just plain lucky...  I live 40 klicks from Ghent and over the last year I have been able to buy (amongst loads of other stuff  ) 5 of the above pictured vehicle in Kringloopwinkels and on flea markets, never more than 1.5 Euro apiece.  5 is enough for me, so I stopped buying them.  I must add I stop at every Kringloopwinkel I come across and visit at least 2 major flea markets (+ 200 vendors, free entrance) a month during summer.  If this is of interest to you, have a look at http://www.wattedoen.be/ .  You can find all flea markets in Flanders there, but be selective: visit only the ones with +200 stands to make it worthwhile.  Best do this as from May-June, during winter there is little activity.

Hey Geudens,
Flea markets can be interesting, except for their dates. I'm a weekend (nightshift) worker and most flea markets are on sundays.
Just 150m down the road is St.-Jacobsplein, there's a flea market every friday, saturday and sundaymorning. times when I mostly sleep.
Managed to have a look only 2 weeks ago (slight case of sleep deprivation) but what was on offer wasn't interesting at all