Converting GW Landraider into a Spartan - Anyone?

[Anvilarium]

I was just wondering if anyone has had any luck converting a normal GW Landraider into a Spartan.

 

Going by this picture, I think the conversion is certainly possible:

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n64/UrzaTRi/7DBB5768-AACB-4CF2-B1A7-B9824855874D-6506-00000B3574571357_zpsd2fa46d9.jpg

 

From what I can see, I would need to do the following:

 

• Extend the Assault Ramp forwards by an inch or two (plasticard)
• Convert the tank treads so that they are 'chunkier' and run over the top of the tank (as per the picture)
• Convert the Lascannon Sponsons so that they are Quad-Linked Lascannons instead of Twin-Linked.

 

I was wondering if anyone had attempted this, and how successful they were?

 

[Grotsmasha]

I'm in the process, but have decided to go with a modernized approach rather than faithfully recreate the FW version. As a LR Spartan is longer, I've grafted two LR kits together (adding in a third side door) and left tha assault hatch as standard. Having thought about it, I'm considering using either a Rhino or Storm Raven to create the extended hatch next time. Field the quad cannons I've combined some razorback cannons onto the regular sponsons, some fiddling was required. I'm currently in the process of putting the finishing touches on my Ceramite armour .

 

I'll need to edit in pics, as I'm on my phone.

 

Cheers,

Jono

 

http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y464/Grotsmasha/IMAG0225_zps20a52b41.jpg

 

http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y464/Grotsmasha/IMAG0226_zps4a22fc14.jpg

[No Foes Remain]

That looks pretty awesome, brother, it does look like a modern Spartan. Would love to see a step-by-step tutorial of it.

[Grotsmasha]

That looks pretty awesome, brother, it does look like a modern Spartan. Would love to see a step-by-step tutorial of it.

The chassis is fairly basic.

1- Do the outside tracks and inside tracks separately.

2- Grab your hobby saw, and on one LR kit choose and mark a spot between the doors, make sure your line is vertically straight and cut. On your second kit, make your spot just behind the rear door (approximately equivalent to your first cut) then cut.

3- Now repeat with your inside tracks. Your cuts DO NOT need to line up with the cuts on the outside tracks as wherever you cut, you'll be removing the the same amount of LR.

4- The floor was fairly straight forward. Towards the front there's a moulded bracing, I cut infront of it (you'll need to trim some of the bracing off on the edges for it to fit into the groove later) then measured the second piece to fit the groove, then kept it straight with an 1" wide strip of plasticard on the underside and glued it into the slot.

 

It's at this point I got ahead of myself and forgot about painting the interior.

 

TBC once I get home and can take some pics.

 

Cheers,

Jono

[No Foes Remain]

Cool, thanks. You got me thinking that my Astral Claws might need one of these....

[Bannus]

Looking at the Spartan, it is definitely longer and wider than a normal Land Raider. I think that using Baneblade tracks would be an easy way to widen the hull, but adding to the length would be a bit tricky. I think that adding a full "third section" to the middle might be a bit too much (someone can probably provide approx. dimensions), but adding an insert about 1 1/2" might be enough. Who knows - maybe doing a downsizing conversion of a Baneblade might be easier as a base.

[Grotsmasha]

Having Banblade tracks at home (I'm referring to the entire assembly rather than the actual links) don't give that distinctive LR appearence, but using the actual links would be a great way to add width to the track sections, especially if you did do them all the way around without the top piece being covered......may try this for my second one......hmmmmm

 

Cheers,

Jono

[Anvilarium]

Looking at the Spartan, it is definitely longer and wider than a normal Land Raider. I think that using Baneblade tracks would be an easy way to widen the hull, but adding to the length would be a bit tricky. I think that adding a full "third section" to the middle might be a bit too much (someone can probably provide approx. dimensions), but adding an insert about 1 1/2" might be enough. Who knows - maybe doing a downsizing conversion of a Baneblade might be easier as a base.

 

Hi Bannus! Good to see a brother Iron Hand in this discussion!

 

A friend of mine was good enough to send me a side by side comparison photo of his standard GW Landraider vs a Spartan:

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n64/UrzaTRi/IMG_2951_zpse007457e.jpg

 

As you can see, there isn't as huge a difference as one might expect! Bearing in mind that the tank tread sections of the two aren't perfectly lined up in the photo, I'd say there there is only about half an inch between them. Putting the extended Assault Ramp to one side for a second, it looks to me as though most of the extra length cones from the fact that the tank treads on the Spartan are a slightly different shape at the rear:

 

http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/Images/Product/AlternativeFW/xlarge/spartan1.jpg

 

If I removed the existing treads and the tread covers across the top, and then installed a new set of new treads (possibly Baneblade tracks), I think they would be fairly similar. The only other requirement would be to fabricate a new 'extended' Assault Ramp which sticks out of the front of the tank as per the Spartan.

 

I think I could easily achieve this with Plasticard, and magnetise the whole section so that I could swap it out for a Cerberus/Typhon front end.

 

Other than that, it would just be a case of adding new sponsons.

[Gurth]

I'd say your easiest option is probably to build the the Land Raider's hull and saw it in half between the door openings. Then lengthen the model by adding some kind of spacer a few centimetres long and filling the gaps with plastic card. Then add details and other modifications to taste

If you'd go the route of taking two Land Raiders like Grotsmasha did, you're only a little cheaper off than buying the Forge World kit in the first place …

[Grotsmasha]

I'd say your easiest option is probably to build the the Land Raider's hull and saw it in half between the door openings. Then lengthen the model by adding some kind of spacer a few centimetres long and filling the gaps with plastic card. Then add details and other modifications to taste

If you'd go the route of taking two Land Raiders like Grotsmasha did, you're only a little cheaper off than buying the Forge World kit in the first place …

I live in Oz, it's almost 1/2 price to get the 2x LRs as bits vs buying a FW Spartan. In regards to the size, I was going off FW pic of it next to a Proteus, I didn't realise they were shorter than a regular LR.

In regards to the tracks, Machinator here on the B&C has an eBay store that sells exactly what you're after, I believe it's called Blood and Skulls Industy.

http://stores.ebay.com.au/Blood-and-Skulls-Industry?_rdc=1

Cheers,

Jono

[Anvilarium]

In regards to the tracks, Machinator here on the B&C has an eBay store that sells exactly what you're after, I believe it's called Blood and Skulls Industy.

 

http://stores.ebay.com.au/Blood-and-Skulls-Industry?_rdc=1

 

Cheers,

Jono

 

I've seen those and they do look fantastic. However you'd need between 4 and 6 sets of Machinator's tracks to do both tracks on a Landraider.

I'll have to wait a while until I can afford them! :D

[Grotsmasha]

So it turns out Chapter House Studios still does it's 22B LR conversion kit, which with the centered turret and older style sponsons will help get a more 'Ancient Relic' feel for a Spartan. I've ordered one and when all my bits come in I'll kick off a proper tutorial. I really do like how imposing my conversion is and my make the new one the same size, purely for consistency within my conversions. Today on eBay is was $30AU/$26USD for bare bone LR tracks and Chassis as bits. So even if you wanted to add less than a full doors length, the tracks at least are relatively inexpensive ($15AU).

 

Cheers,

Jono

[Gurth]

I live in Oz, it's almost 1/2 price to get the 2x LRs as bits vs buying a FW Spartan.

That would be a good reason to do it your way Here in the Netherlands, it'd be £98 +15% postage for the Spartan, which makes €134 at current exchange rates, while a single Land Raider is €60. I can't speak for everyone, but I'd consider the €14 a fairly good alternative to the effort involved in mashing two Land Raiders together

[Kaedes Nex]

Good info, Urza (nice name, too, a REAL planeswalker), but I just wanted to point out that isn't a GW Land Raider, it's a Forge World "MkIIb" Land Raider, so if you guys are trying to get a size measurement, I'd do it from hull to hull because your Land Raider may have a different width due to having GW sponsons instead of the Mk IIb ones.

[Anvilarium]

Thanks, but the hull on the MKIIb Landraider is the same as the GW Landraider. I know because I've got one! :-) The only difference is the sponsons, which I'm planning to remove anyway.

[Anvilarium]

So it turns out Chapter House Studios still does it's 22B LR conversion kit, which with the centered turret and older style sponsons will help get a more 'Ancient Relic' feel for a Spartan.

 

It's a damn shame that Chapterhouse don't sell the centred turret section separately. If they did I'd order one straight away!!

[Major_Gilbear]

 

So it turns out Chapter House Studios still does it's 22B LR conversion kit, which with the centered turret and older style sponsons will help get a more 'Ancient Relic' feel for a Spartan.

 

It's a damn shame that Chapterhouse don't sell the centred turret section separately. If they did I'd order one straight away!!

 

Why don't you email them? I know a lot of garage-kit providers do the casting and packing in-house, and can therefore accommodate requests like these. If you like their stuff, it's worth asking them! :)

[Machinator]

In regards to the tracks, Machinator here on the B&C has an eBay store that sells exactly what you're after, I believe it's called Blood and Skulls Industy.

http://stores.ebay.com.au/Blood-and-Skulls-Industry?_rdc=1

Cheers,

Jono

I've seen those and they do look fantastic. However you'd need between 4 and 6 sets of Machinator's tracks to do both tracks on a Landraider.

I'll have to wait a while until I can afford them!

Nah, three sets should do. I'd recommend the Liberator Pattern 1.0s: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Liberator-Pattern-1-0-Tank-Treads-40-/251270625901?pt=Games_US&hash=item3a80e57a6d#ht_720wt_1120

[Anvilarium]

Nah, three sets should do. I'd recommend the Liberator Pattern 1.0s: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Liberator-Pattern-1-0-Tank-Treads-40-/251270625901?pt=Games_US&hash=item3a80e57a6d#ht_720wt_1120

 

Hi Machinator!

 

I thought that the Liberator Pattern 0 Treads looked a bit more like the treads on the FW Landraider Proteus/Spartan as they aren't quite as wide as the Liberator 1.0s.

 

Can you confirm how many sets of Liberator Pattern 0 Treads I would need to run all the way around both track units on a standard GW Landraider?

[Machinator]

 

Nah, three sets should do. I'd recommend the Liberator Pattern 1.0s: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Liberator-Pattern-1-0-Tank-Treads-40-/251270625901?pt=Games_US&hash=item3a80e57a6d#ht_720wt_1120

 

Hi Machinator!

 

I thought that the Liberator Pattern 0 Treads looked a bit more like the treads on the FW Landraider Proteus/Spartan as they aren't quite as wide as the Liberator 1.0s.

 

Can you confirm how many sets of Liberator Pattern 0 Treads I would need to run all the way around both track units on a standard GW Landraider?

You would need three of them as well.  The Pattern 1.0s are wider then the 0s but the length is about the same.

 

The reason I suggested the 1.0s is that they might look better with the added length of the Spartan.  I believe the tracks on the FW version are 3/4 of an inch wide, which is wider then the 5/8 of the Pattern 0s.

 

For reference here's one I did with the Pattern 1.0s: http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/231337-mk1-land-raideror-mk15/

[The_Chaplain]

 

So it turns out Chapter House Studios still does it's 22B LR conversion kit, which with the centered turret and older style sponsons will help get a more 'Ancient Relic' feel for a Spartan.

 

It's a damn shame that Chapterhouse don't sell the centred turret section separately. If they did I'd order one straight away!!

I'd order one for every freaking land raider I ever planned on making.  I love the concept of the centralized turret- conceptually it provides a better arc of fire than having it mounted to the side. That said, looking forward to your tutorial grotsmasha.

 

As for the assault ramp, the only idea I can think of is the traditional take a rhino and slap the rear of that bad boy onto the land raider mouth and convert it into the modified ramp.  Not the prettiest conversion, granted, but gets the job done.

[Grotsmasha]

As for the assault ramp, the only idea I can think of is the traditional take a rhino and slap the rear of that bad boy onto the land raider mouth and convert it into the modified ramp.  Not the prettiest conversion, granted, but gets the job done.

I've been thinking on that, and perhaps the rear hatch of the Storm Raven would be a suitable candidate. I'll be looking into it when all my bits arrive.

 

Cheers,

Jono

[The_Chaplain]

 

As for the assault ramp, the only idea I can think of is the traditional take a rhino and slap the rear of that bad boy onto the land raider mouth and convert it into the modified ramp.  Not the prettiest conversion, granted, but gets the job done.

I've been thinking on that, and perhaps the rear hatch of the Storm Raven would be a suitable candidate. I'll be looking into it when all my bits arrive.

 

Cheers,

Jono

The rear hatch on a stormraven is not exactly close to the width on a landraiders assault ramp doors; 1.26'' compared to 1.49'' roughly. The actual hatch the stormraven rear hatch has is a width of 2.1''.  Quite a bit of plasticard work and gap filling would be involved whatever route you take.

[Grotsmasha]

I was thinking the entire rear end of the SR, top, bottom, sides. I've got CHS SR ext kit coming too, I'll see how it all fits.

[Brother Morgan]

I used Machinator's treads and the Chapterhouse Iconclast Central Land Raider turret when I was making my Spartan last year:

This shows a size comparison with another of my "wrong way around" LR's. It looks a lot larger than a normal sized LR and should allow the 25 SM to fit inside comfortably. I've added plasticard at the front to finish that view (apart from a few rivets to be completed towards the end of the build).

I originally intended to use the Chapethouse Iconclast sponson, but after dry fitting it, I didn't think it fitted my idea of what the Spartan should look like. So I haven't finished the sides as of yet.

This shows how much longer my Spartan is to a normal LR.

I never got round to finishing this model - too many other projects side tracked me.

Have a look in My Land Raider Variants in my signature below for more shots (The Spartan is towards the end of page 7)

Regards, Brother Morgan.