The Croes Nest - Converting a HOT34 Wvyern

The idea for this special conversion really came from the fact that I had a HOT34 Wyvern sitting on my work desk. This flying beastie was there as I had used it for an illustration project as a reference. Whilst rummaging through the many spare parts trays and bags I have lying around, I came across a Mounted Elf female general from the HOT8 Elf Command pack. As these things go, I saw the possibilities instantly and the idea for the Elf Dragonrider General was born.

HOT34 Conversion front view

HOT34 Conversion rear view

My dragon rider was damaged as the head of the axe she was carrying had broken off in my bits box. But that wasn't a very big problem and in fact I was going to remove it anyway. It was just a matter of taking a pin vice to the now empty hand, and drilling a hole all the way through where the axe handle would have been. Using a piece of wire, I fashioned a lance shaft. I used bits cut from a lenght of thin brass tube for detail, some modelling putty for the lance tip and glued on banners that were cut from heavy paper. The banners were then soaked in superglue to make them rigid and sturdy.

In all, a relatively simple conversion on the rider which was then mounted directly onto the neck of the Wyvern.  There was no need for major work there was by a great coincidence the neck of the beast is the same girth as the horse the rider was meant for. The rider was then glued on to the neck/shoulders part of the wyvern and small gaps were filled with modelling putty.  

In terms of others trying this small project out at home one might even want to use a HOT42 Elf Lance Knight rider or a HOT43 Elf Spear Knight rider instead, for greater simplicity. These would not need any alteration to the riders to make a complete master of the Wyvern.  A general or simply a knight.  One Wyvern or a flight of them depending on the mood and plan of the wargamer.

HOT34 Conversion side view

The Wvyern has a very sturdy integral base so mounting it onto a standard size HOTT base was straight forward and then with a mix of sand and small rock fragments the base was given its terrain scree.  

The next part of this article will be along in a few days once the model is painted up and has time to dry.  We will be linking this up to the HOT34 page on the website giving an option for you to get the parts to make a version of this build yourself at home.

Thanks for Reading.

SC