Marvel: Crisis Protocol – Hobby Transmission – Symbiote Rhino Conversion

Something sinister is stirring in the Spider-Foes Starter Set. In today’s transmission, Creative Director Dallas Kemp lets the Symbiote loose, twisting Rhino into a monstrous new form. What happens when unstoppable muscle meets alien hunger? Let’s find out!

With the release of the Spider-Foes Starter Set, I got super inspired to add another fun conversion to my ever-growing collection of Marvel: Crisis Protocol miniatures. I thought taking one of the super cool Spider-Foes and giving it a nice Symbiote treatment would be a lot of fun to try. After looking through the pack, my heart was set on Rhino. This large and imposing foe just begged to be amped up in cool factor with a sick conversion and paint job. I set out with the planning process and made some decisions early to make the conversion smoother, such as deciding to leave the eyes unsculpted and the symbol a thing to free hand. With the initial plan in place, it was time to start cutting!!!

The first thing I did was build out the Rhino miniature but leave off the face of Aleksei. This is where the mouth of the Symbiote was going to end up and so the face was unneeded. I then took some hobby nipper and a hobby blade and cut out quite a bit of space to facilitate the mouth.

Next, I searched my bits for something to base the tongue off of. Fortunately, some spare Hela flames did the trick with a bit of shaving and trimming.

I had not planned well for the teeth. So it took a few attempts to figure out how to approach them. I tried sculpting them, but my skills with the hobby putty were not up to that task. Instead, I ripped sections of triangular putty out and chopped some wooden tooth picks into shards to give me a small tooth-looking material to work with. Look close…they are small! I glued the bits into the mouth with a small dab of super glue to ensure the fit and a full set of chompers.

Next was the part I felt way more confident in. Sculpting out the head. This was a simple thin layer of hobby putty pushed around to fill out the round head of a Symbiote. Then I flattened the areas with the sculpting tool where the eyes would be painted. I also decided to slightly sharpen the horns at this point to make it more terrifying. After the initial layer was dry, I added the lips with small sausages of putty.

The final touch was to add Symbiote goop to the mini. Once again to the bits pile!! I found the Symbiote elements from an Agent Venom…now what will I do with him??? And the bits from the starter set Spider-Man. I attached these to the back of Rhino and at the point where his fist meets the pavement (cool album name)!

I did decide at this point, I thought I was done, to sharpen the nails on the left hand with a bit of filing and extra sprue from clipping him off. A little putty was used to blend the sprue to the hand and voila! A completed Symbiote Rhino!!!

Here he is all painted up. I went with a nice blue highlight and a plum/red undertone to give him life. I freehanded on the eyes and the symbol, which I messed up a few times. But, by painting in thin layers I was able to adjust any stray line that I did not enjoy.

Hope you enjoy the conversion and maybe you will find yourself inspired to convert one of your own 🙂

Now…do I make a whole roster based on this idea…….

From the streets of New York to the tabletop, the Spider-Foes Starter Set opens up endless ways to customize your collection. Whether you’re painting your first miniature or crafting your own Symbiote-fueled villain, imagination is your greatest superpower.

Until next time, Atomic Mass Games Transmissions, signing off!