This modeling article shows you how to put together a Razorback based on existing miniatures. While a simple conversion (especially compared to last week's Bearhunter), it looks fantastic on the tabletop (not to mention being deadly)! This model was built and painted by Phillipe Leclerc, whose work you can see in Montreal-area game stores.

Vehicle Name: Razorback
Affiliation: all Northern armies (mostly United Mercantile Federation)
Battlefield Role: General Purpose Trooper
Background & Game Stats: Northern Vehicle Compendium 1, page 136
Required Components: Peacemaker Razorback, Assault Hunter, Weapon Pack 1 (Opt.)
Additional Material Required: none
Scale: 1/144 (12mm wargaming)
Modeler: Phillipe Leclerc

Carefully clean up all the pieces before assembly. Most of the conversion is based on the Peacemaker, with the Assault Hunter as a source of parts. Use the arms of the Hunter instead of the Peacemaker's; they are molded together, holding the Snub Cannon, so they might require a little work to fit properly. Put the Peacemaker's arms and the rest of the Hunter in the bit box.

Look in the Weapon Pack to locate the Pack Gun (it's the rectangular piece). Glue it on the hip or rear armor plate (this wasn't done on the model shown here, though). This isn't absolutely necessary but it matches the standard weapon load listed in the Northern Vehicle Compendium 1.

Place the Gear on the base in an interesting posture. Glue some sand or flock to the base to give it a ground texture. An old paintbrush and carpenter's glue make the work fairly easy: spread the glue around the figure, then sprinkle fine sand or flock evenly, shaking out the excess after a few minutes. Once this is thoroughly dry, a second coat of highly diluted glue can go on top to lock down any errant grain of sand. Glue on any additional accessories (spare parts, ammo clips, scenery items, ruins) and give the entire model a coat of primer paint.

Paint the model using the same base color as the rest of your Heavy Gear forces. In this case, the Gear was painted in two shades of brown; no camouflage was used, to make sure the shape and volumes would show well. The sensor and details were then added with a fine paintbrush. The ground was painted brown, then several sand tones were drybrushed over it. Though this was not done here, flock and lichen can be used to create more complex scenery for the base.