Stealth Crisis!!
Okay, if you've been playing along at home, you'll know that I've been planning a new army. You may also know that I've narrowed down the field of possibilities and finally decided to play Tau. You may also know that while I like the way the Crisis Suit works for the Tau, I really don't like the models. They look a little too much like bad anime robots for my taste. On the other hand, I quite like the looks of the new XV25 Stealth Suit. I decided that I'd pick up the new Stealth suits and use them as Crisis Suits. Obviously, simply using one model as another isn't a terribly bright idea, since it can easily confuse an opponent as to what they are, which violates both the principle of Wysiwyg AND my sense of fair play. For starters, I decided that I couldn't actually use any Stealth Suits as Stealth Suits (or I'd have to use the old XV15 model instead) to cut down on confusion. That's only part of the battle, however. Even though most players will be able to see that I'm using them in HQ positions as well as Elites, and with different weapons and wargear modeled on them, it's not enough. I decided that I'd need to do some dynamic conversions to them to emulate some of the cooler Crisis models I've seen as well as their general purpose in battle. (Stealths hide, Crisis Suits really don't) I planned on making various flying poses for them, as well as doing some scenic bases. (Part of the point of this army is for me to improve my painting and converting techniques, so all this fits right in.) In any case, this article is not about those conversions.

Panic, Panic! (Shhh!)
Okay, panic stealthily then. I asked for some of the models for Christmas and I received them. When I got them, however, I made a discovery. Even the new, larger, XV25 Stealth Suits are markedly smaller than XV8 Crisis Suits! I could see it when I pulled them out, though I didn't have a Crisis model to compare with. So I went down to the nearest Games-Workshop store to have a look. Yup, the XV25 Stealths come up to about the shoulder of an XV8 Crisis Suit. Well, that was going to make things awkward. I wanted them to be as close to Crisis Suits as possible without using those models. Having smaller battlesuits wouldn't help matters. I didn't want to just pony up and buy the Crisis Suits, so I had to come up with another plan. Later that night it came to me: I'm already going to be doing some conversions, why not convert them to be bigger?

Bits and Pieces
Okay, so I had a look at the parts and put one together for quick reference. (A few tiny dabs of glue were enough to hold it together without making it too hard to pull apart later. You can also use blue-tac or other sticky gum or clay to hold a model temporarily, but I didn't have any to hand.) Given that the Crisis model is taller than the Stealth Suit, and it is very boxy and barrel-chested, I knew I'd have to make them both taller and wider. Looking at the parts, I came up with an idea. I could basically use the borders where one part fit into another to add small spacers. I had seen this method used a long time ago on Warpshadow. There, a member was increasing the size (I believe he referred to it as 'Biggerizing') of a Genestealer to be used as a Broodlord, as he didn't like the Broodlord model. He basically added little bits here and there, rather than making only one or two large chunks of the model. I decided that I could adopt this strategy fairly easily. Partially, it would be less noticeable by putting it in the borders between parts, and partly it would be easier to sculpt a few details on a several small sections than it would be to cover one large section with detail. Thus, the mad scheme was born! (Okay, it was really just a plan, but a mad scheme sounds cooler, work with me alright?) To that end, I ordered some Apoxie Sculpt. I've heard of this for a while, with very good reviews from some excellent modellers and sculptors. It's very similar to green stuff (Blue Stuff? Grey Stuff? whatever, the Kneadatite modeling compound) and they both harden as they dry. That means you don't have to bake them in an oven and you don't have to worry about them shrinking as they dry either. You can sculpt in details while they are still pliable (working time of 1-3 hours) then sand, drill, saw them after they have cured for 24 hours. I ordered the Silver-Grey color as it is pretty close to the color of the sprue material Games-Workshop uses, and I figured that it'd be easier to make it look the same under paint if it was roughly the same color.

A colossus with feet of clay
(10pts if you get that reference!) Okay, starting at the bottom. I added a chunk of Apoxie Sculpt to the bottom of each foot. Initially, I tried to sculpt it right away, but it was too pliable at that point and would simply squish out the details when I put the model down or went to work on the other foot. After this happened, I let it sit for a little while and harden slightly. I waited for about 15 minutes, then went back and tried again. This time was much easier. I carved an extension of the 'toes' of the Tau Hoof-foot, then carved out the back and underside where the Apoxie Sculpt had squished out. Finally, I cut off and smoothed down the rounded edges of the hoof. I let each set of feet cure a bit longer before I messed with them again, to make sure that I wouldn't ruin all my sculpting work while holding the model for another stage.

Let's do some Ab work!
Moving up from the feet, we get to the abdomen. The model is split a little above the belt, with sort of a ball and socket joint. I basically put a little cap on the ball and went on to the next step, giving it time to harden slightly before I put it together and did any sculpting. The purpose of this was to raise the height of the model a little bit more, without having a large chunk of model that I'd have to free-hand sculpt details onto. Once it was slightly hardened and I had pressed the two halves of the model together, I sculpted a second 'belt' for the model, just a little bigger and bulkier. I think they make pretty good ammo boxes and pouch equivalents, myself.

The Third Phase of Expansion
Next up (literally) is the upper torso and head. This is split vertically instead of horizontally. I added spacers in between here to give the model a wider appearance from the front. Given the boxy shape of the Crisis Suits and the chunky nature of Tau armor, I figured that this would be a great place to emphasize that these aren't standard Stealth Suits. I rolled a long 'snake' of the Apoxie Sculpt and cut off bits of it, pressing it into one side of the upper torso. Then I pressed the two sides together gently. This let the rounded epoxy protrude a little bit from the surface of the model. I then trimmed it and set it aside to harden a little. Once it had hardened a bit, I came back to it and pressed it so that it was flat and had sort of a rounded-square profile. Then I went down the length of it and cut little gaps in it, reforming the sides to keep them straight. In this way I got a whole series of boxy segments that give it a more heavily armored appearance and further the Heavy Battlesuit (as opposed to Stealth Suit) theme.

The right tools for the job
A quick note on the tools I used. I used the edges of a hobby knife (as well as my fingers) to shape the Apoxie Sculpt. The blade is sharp and the point is good for most detail work. The edge of the blade is also effective for pushing it or flattening it or holding it in place. I remembered reading somewhere that water is very important when working with Green Stuff (Kneadatite) so when I noticed the Apoxie Sculpt sticking to my fingers and the hobby knife, I grabbed some water and dipped my fingers or the blade in it frequently. This made it _much_ easier to work with. As I mentioned previously, it also made it much easier to work with the Apoxie Sculpt if I let it harden for a little while before I did much to it other than get it in place. It starts out fairly mushy, like a light modeling clay. While this is good for placing it, it makes it very easy for it to take fingerprint impressions or simply get squished when the model is turned in the hand or placed down on the table. After it hardens for 10-15 minutes, it is still malleable, but it takes a small amount of effort to work it, which means that the work is less likely to get undone. Generally the way I passed the 15 minutes was by going on to another model or doing the next step on a part not connected to the one that was hardening. (For example, I did the feet on the first one, followed by the feet on the other two. Then I went and put the torso connector on each of them. Then I let them all sit while I put the sculpting medium on each of the upper torsoes. At that point I could go back and work with the feet.)

First Contact
Here is a picture of the first model I did in this way. I originally intended it as a test-model to make sure the concept was sound, but then I got impatient and did the other two in that pack as well.

Now even Beefier!
After looking at how they turned out, I decided that they weren't as big as I wanted them to be. In addition, I decided that my sculpting skill was up to handling larger expansion sections without messing them up. With this in mind, I tried to use roughly twice as much sculpting medium as I did previously, to increase the size difference between my models and standard Stealth Suits. Here is the (for now) final result. You may notice that it has no arms and no head. That is intentional. Stealths carry a single weapon, Crisis Suits carry 2-3, so I'll be making some conversions for the arms. I will probably also do something for the head, though I'm not sure precisely what at this point. You may also note that the models are on 25mm bases, not the 40mm bases that Crisis Suits normally occupy. I have a whole bag of those bases, and I intend to use them, but for right now I just want the models to be standing on something. Finally, they will of course have to be dynamically posed and some of them will be flying. Yet another reason why the models aren't finished. I want to make sure the basic concept is correct before I get too far into it.

Side by Side
Here is a comparison between the original StealthCrisis suit I made and the newer one. When you look at the size difference, keep in mind that the smaller one is still larger than the basic Stealth Suit. (In fact, it's approximately as much larger than the basic Stealth Suit as the 2nd suit is bigger than it.) I don't plan on redoing the old ones, I'll just try to fit them in somewhere. I still like the look of the old ones, they just aren't quite as beefy as I want. Later if I decide that it actually looks bad, I'll redo them, but they'll stay as-is for now.

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