Venom Conversion
Okay, so the new Dark Eldar codex came out and it was wicked cool. One of the cooler things was the introduction of the Venom, a 5-space Grav-transport with serious firepower and speed. Problem is, there are no models for it. That means that anyone that wants to use one has to make their own.

Most of the people that I've seen posting Venom models base theirs off of the Eldar Vyper. That's a $30 model that I don't have. Not only that, but I'd have to buy the model and _then_ convert it to actually be able to carry models. That's a lot of money and work.

I found a really, really cool conversion online for a Venom. It was based on a Vyper, and used the front half of a Dark Eldar Raider as the (troop-carrying) back. Let me say that again. They bought $65 or so in models, cut them up and stuck them together. Another one used the same idea but used the back half of the Raider instead. Buy 2 Vypers and 1 Raider and you can make 2 Venoms for only $95 or so. That's way too expensive for this Archon, so I knew I had to find a better option.

I studied the new Reaver Jetbikes and I had an idea. What if I used the bodies of 2 jetbikes to support a frame between them that would hold the pilot and the troops. Something like the P-38 Lightning of WWII.

Imagine the main bodies of the two jetbikes being where
the engines are on this plane, and the Jetbike rider and
his cockpit/cowling are where the cockpit is, with the area
between the three and behind the pilot being a
platform. That was my first Venom conversion idea.

Using that method, I would be able to make 3 Venoms for every two boxes of Reaver Jetbikes. Still a lot of work, but much less money. I don't have a lot of money to put into this hobby right now, so I expect to have to work more to make up for it. That I can do.

So then I put together one of my Reavers, and let it sit on my desk for a while. While I typed or played games or whatever, it was there in my peripheral vision. After a while, I decided that I might be able to essentially convert a Reaver into a Vyper. Some extensions of the cowling and winglets would just about do it. That would let me convert a Venom from a single Reaver. Much more economical, and closer to the one blurry drawing in the Codex!

I did a mock-up with pieces of cardstock (3x5 cards are very handy to have around) to see what it would look like. I was pleased with the results and went to get my Apoxie Sculpt (fantastic stuff, order it online from avesstudio.com. Seriously, I'll wait.) Unfortunately, the last time I'd ordered, I'd managed to order the wrong stuff, so I was delayed from doing this last week. I quickly rectified the situation (anybody need some two-part epoxy paste?) and got busy.

I wasn't sure about the size, so I made some extensions to the winglets and added a small platform at the back. At this point, it would hold 5 models, though it looked pretty crowded. I got out my old Raiders for comparison. It actually wasn't too far off of their size, which made me feel pretty good. There was still something that didn't quite please me, but I didn't know what it was.

I was shifting pieces around while getting pictures, and I happened to lay the paper cowling pieces in front of the winglets. They formed sort of a continuous curve from the winglets, ending in prongs just past the nose of the Reaver. Something clicked. It actually looked kind of like the front of the Wave Serpent! I quickly made up some more Apoxie Sculpt and added the forward-swept ends to the winglets. This looks way better to me.

It's looking a little flat right now, so I'll need to add some height to it, I think. I'll almost certainly give it either a larger dorsal fin or a bigger keel. I may also be adding some sort of railing around the back and sides of the winglets, but I'm not sure on that part yet. Finally, I'll definitely have to either pick up or manufacture some guns, because these babies have _firepower_ that can't be explained by the wimpy little gun on it right now!

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