How I dealt with the terribly limited model options for Acolytes in the 40k Genestealer Cults
I started with the 12 acolyte models from the Deathwatch Overkill set. They are all just armed with autopistols. So at best I could make two 6-model squads with them on their own since I need the minimum number of Troop units. The current rules say that you can have two models with heavy weapons for every three without, so eight models with heavy saws would be ideal to add. The GW acolyte box is $40 for only five more models, but only one of each heavy weapon (saw, cutter, laser) is included. So I would need many boxes just to max out on heavy weapons, and even then it would be a compromise since I would need twice as many to use only saws for my maxed out heavy choices.
I don’t need tournament legal models, but I want to play with models that at least look like what they are meant to be. Doesn’t need to be perfect, just good enough. Buying the actual models is out of my reach, so what to do?
I have an FDM 3D printer, but it’s not great at miniatures unless they have been designed for FDM printers, and even then a resin printer would blow them out of the water. I started with printing just saws to add to my existing models, but they never really fit well. I could have made permanent conversions, but I didn’t want to mess with the DWO models that much. I found 3D designs for acolyte bodies, arms, and saws but I knew that they wouldn’t print well at all. So I hacked them up, mixed and matched them, merged parts together, and ended up with something better. Hybrids are pretty forgiving when it comes to scaling hands and arms, I would not be able to do this well for human-like models. Blender is a horrific mess to learn, but Microsoft’s 3D Builder is pretty good if you are just manipulating existing objects or building from basic shapes. Several redos later (resized, one leg never printed properly, extraneous detail, too many supports, fingers too narrow to print, head too small, etc) and I got something that would print one single-piece model well enough in around 100 minutes if I added a brim or raft.
Here’s a partially painted one
Adding eight of these guys to my previous twelve puts me up to 20 models with maxed out heavy saws. Well, due to experimentation and failed prints I had a few pieces that I was able to salvage into usable models using greenstuff, so only four of the additions are the final design.
After giving them an undercoat spray, my 3D printed models merged into the proper unit very well - at tabletop distance you can’t tell at all. As you get closer you first notice the hands, then the weapon, then the head, and you have to be very close to notice the body (the one part I could have bought easily for this case). It’s making me re-evaluate my decision on FDM printed models being unsuitable for this purpose, but that’s only because I already have that type of printer. The small extra expense for a resin printer still makes it much more worth it for printing miniatures, and you don’t have to worry much about the files being hard to print. GW is making it harder to find the files for many units so if you see a file you like then you should grab it before it goes. My son is glad he got the files for the Astraeus super heavy tank before they vanished - a decent $6 approximation of a $360 model, he’ll probably never use it, only took two weeks to print… I don’t plan to print any more for my own army, I make the big stuff out of cardboard.
I’m going to try out using the printed acolytes in my army with the proper acolyte models as two units of five, and one unit of ten.
On a side note, I also added a fifth Abberant to the 4 DWO unit by printing out a small model of Abomination (I think he is the bad guy from a Hulk movie) and sticking a genestealer head on him. I’m calling him a hypermorph to make up for why he looks a bit different to the others (only two arms, no weapon, but he does have the absurd muscularity).
With these small additions, I can get a battleforged 900pt list from the Deathwatch Overkill models that hopefully isn’t too horrible to play. Another 700 pts can be added in cardboard tanks without changing anything other than the detachment size, although it’s probably not optimal. I’m sure I can swing a few hundred extra points than my opponent anyway due to GSC being considered underpowered as long as I don’t win too often.
