Miniature conversion

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A "conversion kit" released exclusively with Battle Games in Middle Earth magazine; since the end of the magazine, it has been made available on the Games Workshop website.

Miniature conversion refers to the practice of altering the appearance of a miniature or model so as to deviate from the standard version purchased in a boxed set.

This practice is quite common amongst hobbyists who play miniature wargames such as The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game, Warhammer Fantasy Battles and Warhammer 40,000, as well as many of the other games produced by Games Workshop. In these circumstances, conversions generally consist of combining "bitz" and modelling putty (known as "Green Stuff") to produce a new model with a unique appearance, which is generally a centrepiece of the player's collection, representing a powerful character or monster, or similar.

Some hobbyists convert (model) their miniatures for pure enjoyment, whereas sometimes they are forced to convert their miniatures to stay in line with the rules for their army (e.g., weapon changes, mounting miniatures on steeds) Some people spend more time converting their miniatures than painting them, and some hobbyists extensively convert every model in their army so that they can have a unique force. Some hobbyists will convert a model not for their army, but just as a way to clean out their "bitz box" and to have fun.

1 Bitz
2 Licensing
3 See also
4 Sources
5 External links

[edit] Bitz

"Bitz" is the name given to spare bits and pieces of model kits; they are most often left over from models that have options of multiple parts, and they also can be bought separately by mail order for use in altering or building models. The particular spelling of bitz has derived from the written expression of Ork speech patterns in the various Games Workshop rulebooks, codices and official novels (though before Games Workshop, other miniature wargames simply referred to them with the conventional spelling "bits").

Many amateur and semi-professional modellers have large collections of bitz (commonly called bitz boxes). These are made up of leftover parts from boxsets and models with multiple options, occasionally supplemented by impulse purchases and specific parts acquired for a particular conversion idea. Recently, Games Workshop added a new service to The Lord of the Rings SBG, enabling enthusiasts to order parts of metal miniatures (shields, crossbows, swords, etc) to allow less expensive conversions. [1]

[edit] Licensing

There are some subtleties to the use of bitz in conversions that are not apparent to the naked eye. For example, due to the licensing agreements between New Line Cinema and Games Workshop, pieces of models for The Lord of the Rings SBG are not allowed to be combined with other GW model lines for official tournaments or Golden Demon awards. The same is true for pieces from other manufacturers.