Conversion Corner - Adam's Jetpack Drop Troops using Games Workshop Kasrkin™

It's time for more Conversions! Staffer Adam has created an Imperial drop troop squad inspired by the Harakoni Warhawks™ using Games Workshop's™ recently released Kasrkin™ for the base body sculpts, and combining them with multiple resin parts from our Regiments range!

Making the Harakoni Warhawks has always been a challenging task, but with the release of the new Kasrkin™ Killteam box set, there is finally a good base sculpt to build from!

Building each plastic Kasrkin™ body up to the legs and torso stage is the base for each trooper. The most important feature of the Warhawks is their jetpack, and our Tech Jetpack is a pretty good approximation of the style.

By removing the need for the power cable from the backpack, I was also free to swap out both the weapons and the arms -- a good thing, because I wanted to create my own version of the more high-tech looking Lasrifle that the Harakoni Warhawks are commonly depicted with. Taking our Phase Rifle, I started by removing most of the rail, and then replaced it with the elevated version from our G36 Rifles. This was a tricky bit of conversion work, but by clipping away the main body of the gun and then carefully filing the remaining rail down, I was able to make a consistent conversion across the entire squad.

The arms needed to hold the rifles were the High-Tech Drop Trooper arms, but I could have equally gone with Armoured arms, and in fact, I did use the Armoured arms for one of my Heavy weapon choices. In particular, I wanted to use the drop beacon from the Command Pack, which I gave to the most mobile looking sculpt -- I imagine them running forward to set the beacon up in the best position as fast as possible, the better to call in reinforcements quickly and accurately!

Finally, to give each squadmate a little more bulk, I added Marine Shoulderpads to every trooper. This gives them all a little more weight, and emulates GWs style a little better. Got to have those oversized shoulderpads!

Another key difference between the standard storm trooper and the Warhawks is their more "modern" looking helmets. I opted to swap out the regular helmet with our High-Tech Recon Helmets, which I think, better fit for the look I was going for. The addition of some of the sculpts with NODs is a plus too!

For the specialists, I wanted to keep everything looking High-Tech, and in that vein, I selected the GL32 for the squad's specialist weapon. For a heavy weapon, I was torn between using one of the Man-Portable heavy weapon options; the Airburst Grenade Launcher with those Armoured arms I mentioned above, or a Longbow Missile Launcher, which continued the use of the High-Tech arm style. In the end, I decided to make both! The chest needed a bit of material trimmed back for the Airburst Grenade Launcher's right arm to sit neatly, but it was a very easy modification.

The Sergeant features a few 3D printed parts, specifically the Mega Powered Punch Fist from our Heavy Drop Troop Infantry STL set, as well as the heavy energy pistol. As a final touch, I gave the squad commander a unique shoulder pad from a spare Eagle Shoulderpad.

Want us to release cast-resin versions of this punch fist? Let us know in the comments!

His second in command is equipped with a Smart Pistol, held in a two-handed grip, also from the High-Tech command sprue. I really like this pose in particular!

And that's it! I'm really pleased with how the squad has come together, and how the conversion stays true to my original inspiration.

Let us know what you think in the comments!