SM Land Raider assembly. Please help... :)

[StraightSilver]

Hi guys,

 

So despite having 3 Space Marine armies on the go, and having been in the hobby for more than 25 years I have never actually had the pleasure of building a Space Marine Land raider before (unless you count the original Rogue Trader one).

 

However this weekend I attempted a Land Raider Crusader for the first time.

 

I did all the things you are supposed to do, read through the instructions several times, dry fitted etc.

 

It all went very well, didn't have any problems until I attempted to fit the top plate of the hull.

 

I was sure that the track and hull sections were assembled correctly, and everything looked fine but I just could not get that top plate to fit.

 

Unfortunately I got so frustrated with the bloomin thing that I managed to get it to fit for the most part and went ahead and glued it in place but now I am having problems.

 

It simply won't glue in places, I have tried using clamps, and changing from liquid poly to super glue to no avail.

 

Because I have used liquid poly cement it is going to be almost impossible to correct it unfortunately so this is mainly to ask people if they have had similar problems in the past and whether or not they have any advice for future reference?

 

A colleague suggested that I should have cut a mil or two off the engine plate that sticks up slightly from the hull (if you know what I mean), the one that can be seen from the passenger compartment with the mechanicus logo on it. Would that have helped?

 

Also there are areas on the top plate that are quite clearly meant to align on the side of the hull when in palce, but on mine they really don't....

 

Have I just made a right pig's ear of it or has anybody else had problems with this bit?

[Olgerth Istaarn]

I had problems fitting the LR together as well, gaps galore. I ended up greenstuffing them, putting some sandable putty over the GS once it dried, and sanding it.

[Dragons Malice]

I built mine a long time ago but I remember having trouble getting it to fit flush. I think I trimmed the fore mentioned engine plate and got it to work.

[Elric the Silvercoat]

I have noticed it only with the Land Raider Crusader/Redeemer kit the normal Land Raider kit fit flush and perfect for me. I have just lived with it myself. But if you every want to make the Crusader/Redeemer I would say get a normal Land Raider and the Crusader/Redeemer upgrade spure.

[Brother Valerius]

I would say you had a bad kit. I've built both a standard Land Raider and a Redeemer (which was from the Crusader/Redeemer kit), and both were really, really easy to assemble. By far the easiest tank assembly I've ever had, in fact... Rhinos tend to give me trouble, but these were so easy to put together. Given how good my experience was, seems like you got shafted to me.

[Razblood]

I have the original Crusader kit (With the Annoying metal bits ;) )

 

Only problem I had with the hull was with the top plate, just above the left track to the rear which seemed to be warped.

 

I glued the raider together and then cut the section that was warped away from the hull, straightened it and pinned it. Then filled the small gap left from where I'd cut with GS.

 

It does seem like a common problem with the Crusader kit having dodgy top plates.

 

Hope you manage to sort it.

 

Maybe try some really tight elastic bands while the poly cement cures?

[Lorenzen]

ive built multiple land raider kits, the top plate of the raider should fit together with ease if all the parts are properly cleaned up, and then its just a matter of holding down the edges of the piece (the parts that cover the tracks, with elastic bands and the such until your glue is fully dried.

 

if you have pics of the problem we would be able to tell you how difficult it will be to fix.. as a 1mm gap here and there isnt exactly difficult to fill with miliput and sand down flush.

[darth_giles]

I haven't had that problem with either of my LRs, but I have it all the time with Rhinos. Looks like the best answer is to just fill the gaps with GS and be done with it.

[thade]

My top plate didn't fit because it was bent. What I ended up doing was being liberal with glue and weighting it down with a stack of text books over night until I was SURE it was dry. Man, was that frustrating, haha. <3

 

GL!

[striker8]

I've built close to 20 LR's and from the description it's an issue with the engine interior peice and the slanted part the external engine parts attach to but without seeing it first hand there can be others. If you can get it apart look to make sure the back two pieces are aligned correctly, the external part should butt against the floor and the internal part should sit level against the floor and the beveled back edge should be against the the rear piece. Also take a close look at the top blade of the interior piece for bit's of sprue you didn't trim well enough. When you asseble the top also trystarting from the back and sliding to the front, it makes it easier to set the interior engine blade into the top plate.

 

Minor warpage is common and shows up with the fenders not wanting to sit flat, they'll look a bit twisted. Fixing this requires clamping. Get some glue under the fender edge and clamp it down and let it sit for a day.

 

Anyone who envisions assembling more than a few vehicles really should invest in a number of small spring clamps, and a 6" quick clamp or two. I think I paid a total of $5 for mine a few years ago at Harbor Frieght

 

I'm also going to wish you luck on those metal Hurrican Bolters, I did one 10 years ago and refused to do another metal one after that. A bit of advise, pin every piece you can, dry fit constantly, Or if you can afford it buy the plastic upgrade kit it will save your sanity.