Our gaming group uses the old Star Wars miniatures heavily in our Edge of the Empire campaign. It took a little while to get used to using them as placeholders for the narrative game as opposed to driving game mechanics such as movement. But we've come to love the narrative approach, while still embracing the visual miniatures can bring to the game.

To that end, my character is a Rodian Big Game Hunter who just acquired a Czerka Arm Model 38 Sharpshooter's Rifle. While this is very exciting, finding a miniature to represent my character has proved a bit challenging. This is what I had to choose from:

The Rodian Hunt Master and Rodian Raider were the only two that held anything other than pistols, and neither carried anything near large enough to represent this huge slug-throwing rifle. So, while we were playing one evening, I started to tinker with the Rodian Raider, using some household items I had on hand:

The result was something, that while not worthy of mention in scratch-builder circles, will add tons of enjoyment to the game for me:

Has anyone else customized minis to better suit their characters?

Using the IA minis, I've done a little repositoning and I swapped the lightsabers on Diala and Vader out for colored acrylic rod. There's a fellow on the IA boards named Agis who's done some really great customization; you can find his thread here. His Elite Trandoshan Wookie-hunter (about halfway down page 2) is particularly nice.

Headswaps, addition of backpacks/pouches/grenades, weapon swaps, rebasing, etc. are all pretty common in the wargaming genre, especially with Games Workshop products. It's really just a matter of how far you're willing to go. PM me if you'd like some recommendations. Best wishes & good luck!

Wow, Agis did some amazing stuff! I really like the terminals and crates he made for Imperial Assault.

But I am looking for something a mere mortal can accomplish, which is why I've stuck with the old pre-painted Star Wars minis and very simply mods. I have to live within my capabilities...

Wow, Agis did some amazing stuff! I really like the terminals and crates he made for Imperial Assault.

But I am looking for something a mere mortal can accomplish, which is why I've stuck with the old pre-painted Star Wars minis and very simply mods. I have to live within my capabilities...

His painting is certainly extraordinary, but the conversions are relatively easy (not taking anything away from Mr. Neugebauer). Many of the kits he used, such as the aforementioned Games Workshop products, and a variety of other wargaming kits come on plastic sprues with separate pouches, backpacks, weapons, etc. It would be relatively easy to take a WotC or IA mini and put a holstered pistol on it, or swap the weapon out for something different. Here are some pics of Games Workshop minis that I customized with plasticard (sheet styrene) knives, weapons from other GW products, or pieces from a 35mm WWII British weapon kit.

Now, the GW kits are meant to be modular & easily posable, but the WotC and IA minis can achieve similar results with some practice & patience.