Contemptor Assault Cannon Construction

[The Yncarne]

Does anybody have any tips or suggestions on assembling the assault cannon for use on the Contemptor? 

 

I'm having difficulties with ensuring straight lines. The pieces just don't have much place to 'rest' in either the ends of the barrel.

 

Does the bit that joins two barrels get placed towards the ammo feed or the exit end of the barrel?

 

Any help?

[Grotsmasha]

Having struggled through this bastard of a design, my advice is to pin the arm end under each barrel, then while your super glue is still fresh force the cap end into place. For my second one, I said :cuss it and trimmed the barrels from a Ven Dreads kit to fit .

 

Cheers,

Jono

[The Yncarne]

Thanks Grotsmasha. I'll see if I can do that with my two hands.

 

I was going to look for some burst cannons and see if they were the right scale.

[Kilofix]

I had to build mine using Green Stuff initially, piece by piece - letting each dry before assembling the next. Then slathering Super Glue on top of it all after. :P

 

Don't try to assemble too much at one go.

[Jamafore]

I just ended up cutting the barrels off a punisher cannon that I had ordered for another project and went with those

[Slips]

Oh boy, hearing about how much of a hard time y'all have been having, I'm kinda happy that I bought the Auto-Cannons and will use them as Counts-as.

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

While I love the weapon profile, I think the model looks very clunky and overly large like pretty much every gun in 40k. A rotary cannon of that size probably couldn't be controlled even by a dreadnought. The A-10 Thunderbolt has a 30mm rotary cannon on it and the size of the barrels on this thing would probably be something like 90-100mm.

 

Which is insane.

 

Also, the rounds visible in the ammo can on the back end are tiny in comparison to the barrels. I'd go with a something different if I were to give a Contemptor a Kheres.

[Lucien Eilam]

I'm having difficulties with ensuring straight lines. The pieces just don't have much place to 'rest' in either the ends of the barrel.

 

Does the bit that joins two barrels get placed towards the ammo feed or the exit end of the barrel?

 

Any help?

 

Fill a cup with boiling water and straighten the barrels in that before you start. Warped resin will make this frustrating or impossible.

 

The "joined" end of the barrel sections is the rear. Glue all of those in place first. There are shallow depressions inside the barrel shroud to align them, which you're not going to be able to see when you starting filling that space with barrels, but you should be able to do it by feel. Wait until the glue is completely dry.

 

If you got it right this far, it's practically impossible to screw the rest up.

 

You now have six loose barrels pointing forward. Put a tiny drop of glue on the end of each one, then align the front section with as many barrels as you can, and wiggle it left and right until the depressions sort of "catch" any that are stray. Again, let it dry.

 

Dry fit the rail that goes underneath - I find it's usually 1-2mm too long and needs trimming slightly (very slightly - measure twice, cut once). There shouldn't be a gap at the front. When you're sure it'll fit, glue it in place.

 

If you can't feel the barrels catching in the depressions, I'd suggest finding somebody with more sensitive fingers to help you. It's key to the whole procedure.

[Ion]

It's been a while but I don't remember having much of a problem with the contemptor kheres.

 

Maybe I got lucky.

[The Yncarne]

Lucien Eilam's advice is pretty good. Unfortunately, I did it backwards, but still got a decent result. Only one of my barrels isn't in the perfect spot, but it'll do.

 

Thanks for all of the suggestions. B&C is a great resource!