GreyCrow Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 Hey guys ! I'm soon to acquire a Predator, and while it is based on the Rhino chassis, I always felt it was awkward that the front armour looked the same, even though it's AV13 or AV11. Any inspiration to make a custom reinforced front armour ? Thanks ! Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/293876-predator-reinforced-front-armour/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
NovemberIX Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 Chapter house makes a replacement front plate that's supposed to look more armored. I'm sure the sam effect could be had using strips of plasticard. FW does have the rhino/predator reinforced armor kit as well. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/293876-predator-reinforced-front-armour/#findComment-3747696 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knight of the Raven Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 It's not necessarily more armored, but the predator Baal has a different front plate. So does the hunter/stalker.The front plate of Forge World's AV13 Deimos rhino chassis (predator, whirlwind scorpius) is different from the AV11 as well. It's the only one that checks 'thicker plating' as opposed to 'different.' Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/293876-predator-reinforced-front-armour/#findComment-3747765 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warsmith Aznable Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 I'm making my own Deimos pattern Predator conversion, and one if the easier parts was making an old style reinforced front from plasticard. My WIP CSM thread I my signature should have those pictures on the last page, if you're interested. EDIT: I've not put up the comprehensive WIP on it yet, but if you like I can upload those related to the front armour here later tonight or tomorrow. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/293876-predator-reinforced-front-armour/#findComment-3749664 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redrandy93 Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 max, can you post the photos so we can see what you did? Thanks Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/293876-predator-reinforced-front-armour/#findComment-3750905 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warsmith Aznable Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 Here are some of the WIPs showing the construction of the front armour. Instead of building off the provided front armour I discarded it and cut a rectangle of plasticard to fit in its place: I cut out some bits of paper in the approximate shape of the top and bottom plates and trimmed them until I achieved the appropriate angle and ratio, or rather what I thought was appropriate based on looking at pictures of originals online. Then I used those as a pattern for the plasticard. Once the plasticard was cut out I used blue tack to hold them together so I could see if everything was fitting right to the base piece: Once I was satisfied I was doing the right thing I went ahead and used green stuff: Note how the test fit looks better... I left it overnight for the putty to dry so I could work with it, then I took it off the tank chassis and traced the open ends to make the sides of the armour, then cut the pieces out of plasticard, trimming them to fit: Then I cut up the original armoured visor to get the reinforced vision slits out of it: Then I mashed more hobby putty into the gaps of the front armour and attached the side pieces, using a knife and a Dremel to smooth the transition. There's no pictures of this part because it's the type of jiggering that has to be specific to what you've done and how you do things. I trimmed one of the vision slits into a fairly even rectangle and glued it to the front piece. Then I made an enormous spherical turret that I was ultimately unhappy with, but is in the only picture I currently have to show how the front armour has all gone together: I'm still working on the turret. I've lowered the profile and covered the whole thing in a layer of putty to protect it which I will sand smooth before attaching the cupola, power pack, and breach to mount the plasma destructor. But all that will happen after the ETL is over. I hope this helps anybody who wants to make their own "old style" front plate for a Predator. When I'm done with my whole project I am going to have a complete blog entry for the entire process. It's been a fun build so far! Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/293876-predator-reinforced-front-armour/#findComment-3751017 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyaenidae Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 Very cool, Max! I love what you've done there. To be honest, I just cheat and buy Baal front plates off of Ebay... :sweat: Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/293876-predator-reinforced-front-armour/#findComment-3753174 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brother-Chaplain Kage Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 Very cool, Max! I love what you've done there. To be honest, I just cheat and buy Baal front plates off of Ebay... Very clever. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/293876-predator-reinforced-front-armour/#findComment-3753251 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warsmith Aznable Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 Very cool, Max! I love what you've done there. To be honest, I just cheat and buy Baal front plates off of Ebay... :sweat: Also good! I'm doing a Relic Predator, so I really wanted to get the older generation model look (without having to pay a ton for a resin upgrade kit!) Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/293876-predator-reinforced-front-armour/#findComment-3753360 Share on other sites More sharing options...
SW1 Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 I'm rescuing 20+ old plastic kits I really messed up when I was younger. I'll put up some WIP pics once the ETL has got out of the way. Trying to work out a way they can all be rhinos/razorbacks/preds with the use of magnets. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/293876-predator-reinforced-front-armour/#findComment-3754530 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subtle Discord Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 Now, I might be Chaos worshiping traitorous scum, but I would absolutely second the idea of getting some styrene and learning some skills that can be used to do so much more. Give a person a fish and they eat for a day, teach a person how to fish and they eat for life, and all that good stuff. Giving a Predator proper AV 13 front armour is a great project to dabble with some plastic. Some of my early motivation was to make some Extra Armour that was both really extra and serious armour. http://i1080.photobucket.com/albums/j332/SubtleDiscord/2014%20WIP%20Photos/Chaos_Predator_01.jpg Those around B&C who know me, know that I'm a bit masochistic, and I can take things just a little bit farther than many people would; but it illustrates just how far it can be taken if you so choose. Everything on this over-the-top Predator is hand-cut styrene plastic. Even simple little details like the barrels added to the gaping mouths are easy enough to do once you gain confidence, and add nicely to the final look. A simple selection of plastic; 1mm Sheet and 0.5mm Sheet for armour plates and detailing, 1mm Rod and 0.75mm Rod to make rivets, some sharp #11 Razor blades, some good 'Thin' brush-on plastic glue, and a bit of GreenStuff, and you can create some amazing things. That's almost all I used in the above pictures. Once you start learning the skills, future conversions and ideas can be more ambitious as you try new things thanks to your new skill-set. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/293876-predator-reinforced-front-armour/#findComment-3755327 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grand Master Laertes Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 Maybe I am a little bit late, but I hope this can help nonetheless. To represent the harder frontal armour of the Predator I use the doors of the upper hatch of the Rhino, which give it a sturdier, even if somewhat less realistic, appearance. http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/DSCN0764_zpsabae9d53.jpghttp://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/DSCN0765_zps6f247f9e.jpg Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/293876-predator-reinforced-front-armour/#findComment-3768745 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaeron Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 Laertes, that's brilliant - looks great! Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/293876-predator-reinforced-front-armour/#findComment-3768757 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jolemai Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 Aye, that's really simple and looks great! Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/293876-predator-reinforced-front-armour/#findComment-3768760 Share on other sites More sharing options...
SW1 Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 Maybe I am a little bit late, but I hope this can help nonetheless. To represent the harder frontal armour of the Predator I use the doors of the upper hatch of the Rhino, which give it a sturdier, even if somewhat less realistic, appearance. http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/DSCN0764_zpsabae9d53.jpg http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/DSCN0765_zps6f247f9e.jpg This just gives such a solid look for minimal effort. Really well done on a cracking kit batch. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/293876-predator-reinforced-front-armour/#findComment-3769222 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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