Converting Undead Horses

By Anthony Karl Erdelji

Games Workshop's undead horse model is not a great model, but with a little conversion work you can make them come alive (HA!). Here's a few conversion tips to add a bit of life to your undead mounted units.

Shorten the tails

The tails on the GW undead horse are way too long to represent the tail of a living horse. Cut off about half of the tail. Then trim or file the new end of the tail so it ends in a blunt point. Not only does this look more realistic, but it also makes it easier to line up rows of mounted units without the longer tails getting in the way.

Ribs, anyone?

It would be hard to imagine a dozen horse skeletons running about without bits of bone falling or breaking off. The ribs are a good place to model some wear and tear. By using a hobby knife or a pair of clippers its a simple matter to cut off or bend some ribs. This is a simple conversion that adds a bit of flair to the horse.

A new position

By bending some of the necks, tails, or legs to make the horse rearing up is an excellent way to add variety to a unit. Since these horses are plastic its a simple process to heat up the plastic and bend it into a new position. (CAUTION!!! FIRE IS HOT!!!). Hold the area you want to bend about 4 inches over a lit candle. Keep the piece moving as not to scorch it. After about ten seconds the heated area should begin to bend. Immediately remove it from the heat and bend it into the new position. Hold it in the new position for about ten seconds as the plastic cools and your done. This works well for bending the necks or tails of the horse. 

To make the horse rear up, make a cut below the right hoof at the base. If you don't, the leg bone of the horse will bow at an unnatural angle. Then after heating and bending the horse, glue the right leg back onto the base.

If you don't have a candle or are not old enough to play with fire, try using a heated hair dryer instead.

A little meat on the bones

Perhaps you don't want your skeleton horses clean of all their flesh and muscle they use to have. To add some flesh use epoxy putty. Mix equal parts of epoxy putty and let it harden for a half an hour. Then press a small amount of putty wherever you like. Use a hobby knife to make small tears along the edges of the putty. You can to just a few patches of flesh, or if you feel adventurous you can cover almost the entire horse with putty and make a zombie horse.

All done

It took me a little over an hour to convert twelve horses and about two more hours to paint them. In that short amount of time I created a completely original unit of undead horses that will stand out on the battlefield.