Does anyone have any experience of converting the (in my view, rather hopeless) model of Gimli you get in the MoM set? I think moving the arms might do some good, but any other ideas would be welcome.

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If I had a spare one I'd convert him into a King's Champion. I think it would be pretty good.

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though i lack skill in convertions, i converted my MoM gimli into a bannar bearer (because i didnt feel like buying one). I just sniped off the right axe, repositioned the arm at the elbow and stuck on a banner i had kept from a WHFB set that i never used. His arms are in the right position to make it look proper and the way he holds the axe in his other hand looks realistic. Give him a different paint job and maybe some green stuff if you know how to work with it (i sadly do not) and you have a completly new dwarf!

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Well, I've never actually seen the model in person - just pictures - but I'd say that the main limitation to what you can do with this one is dependent on your level of conversion skills. What I would do is this:

First, take off both arms at the elbow.
Clip off both axes. Set aside the one that looks more like his walking-stick axe from the movie (I can't tell which that is) and put the other into your bitz box.
Cut off the fingers and thumbs of both hands. This is going to take a while to do without tearing things up, but preserving the gauntlet plates will be worth it.
Drill holes into the middle of each arm segment so that they can be pinned back on.
Sculpt open hands onto both forearms. See ebob's articles for this and be sure to take your time - this will easily be the slowest part of the whole project. You can use a hobby knife to distinguish the fingers from each other, but you've got to be patient in order to do it without smushing up the other side of the hand. Sculpt the thumbs on after the rest of each hand is in place.
Pin the arms back onto the model so that they're layered on top of each other, palms facing down.
Take the axe you set aside. Sculpt any extra handle shaft you need to the bottom, and place it blade out under Gimli's hands.

This will give you a pose like he's waiting patiently while Gandalf & Aragorn decide on the group's next action - maybe chatting with his pointy-eared friend.

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