Bigger is better!

Captain MAGpie's Raptor Predator Turret

A Games Workshop Predator Turret Conversion

+ With the link to the 3D print files +

Anyone there?

The stock Predator turret is too small!

There, I said it.

But it really is. I love the angles, I like the look, I hate the size. It just does not seem right, appearing almost comical on top of the Rhino. If it was an unmanned turret on top of an Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) as we see in many real life examples, or even one with a small 20mm cannon, sure, why not, but this is the turret of a Main Battle Tank (MBT), carrying armament that defines that role. So... no, its going to be larger, and likely contain 2, possibly 3 men. Loader, Gunner and Commander. Though, if it has an auto-loader or has weapons that don't require loading (Laz-cannon etc), that role becomes moot.


So the solution. Without making it too big, I wanted to make it feel at least a little more MBT, but retain the angles best I can. Looking at modern MBT's such as the Leopard and Abrams, gave me the basis of my design that still retained the nice angles.

M1A2 Abrams MBT

And so, the Raptor was born.

So now, with a long lost STC in hand (we don’t discuss where those were obtained), the boys of the Magpie’s Space Marine Chapter went to a friendly local forgeworld engineering firm and commissioned a prototype for trails. They came up with several variant that could be fitted into the same turret designs by only replacing the gun-mantle. It was a Mars-dream.

The tutorial

1) What you will need for: the template

You will need:

• The Template (Provided below)
• Cardboard
• Printer (Or a ruler and a lot of time)
• Fine-Point marker

STC - "Raptor" Predator Turret MK I and MK II

I recommend printing the template on cardboard, scaling it so that the grey reference block is 25mm (1 inch) when printed out, then cutting the shapes out with a pair of scissors and transferring the shapes to your Styrene Plasticard with a fine-point marker.

Additionally, cut the one you want to build of paper first, and make a paper-craft fit first, just to test for scaling.

Paper Mock-up 5.2

2) What you will need for: both types

• 0.5mm flat Styrene Platsticard sheet
• 1mm flat Styrene Plasticard sheet
• 8.7mm dia Styrene tube (Only if you are making the gun mantle as well)
• 3mm Styrene rod (Only if you are making the gun mantle as well)
• Putty such as Green Stuff or Milliput (Optional, but I advise using this. So much easier)
• A VERY sharp hobby knife
• A fine-point marker
• Metal Ruler
• Glue (I'll level with you. Use an extra thin solvent type glue here. It just makes life so much simpler. I use Tamiya Extra Thin, and believe me, you will have a hard time convincing me to use anything else. I almost feel that I should be wearing welding goggles when I use this stuff with ABS/Styrene.)
• Sharp Cutters
• Files and sanding paper (Fine)
• A pin-vice or similar drilling.. drill
• Patience and a first aid kit... (just trust me -_- )

Turret Steps: 1 to 7
Gun Mantle steps:  8 to 12

Step 1 - Template

Print the template onto cardboard and cut it out with scissors or a knife.

Step 2 - Transfer and cut

Transfer the shapes to your plasticard using a fine-point marker, and cut them out using a knife.

IMPORTANT: For the turret, because of the relative small sizes of each individual piece

• The grey parts are cut from 0.5mm plasticard
• The green parts are cut from 1mm plasticard for added strength
• The yellow part is for trimming to ensure fit of the mantle. DON'T CUT IT YET!
• The blue I will come to, but 0.5mm if you want to use it

Grey and Blue cut from 0.5mm
Green from 1mm

PS: You don't need to cut the bottom ring out, and the top one is possibly also optional, depending on that you want to do with the hatch etc.

ALSO, they are slightly smaller than they should be on the template, to cover any... bloopers.

Step 3 - Glue the roof

The easy step, glue the turret, starting with the roof section, and the very back, middle panel. Make sure it centered, as it will guide the rest of the panels. If not perfect, no worries. Putty and sanding paper solves any gaps.

I will explain how to make the mantle lower down.
Can you see the putty inside? Yip, even I goof.
Putty, file, fixed ;)

IMPORTANT: DO NOT Glue the 1mm bottom plate yet. You can however glue the very rear bottom plate for strength if you choose.

Step 4 - Test fit the chosen gun mantle

You can use any GW bit, or use the provided template to make your own. Trim the yellow section now to ensure a good fit. You can leave this until the gun is in as well.

Step 5 - Gun Mantle pivot-point and front-down plate

Ok, the Blue bit.
Firstly, make sure your bottom plate is handy and ready.
Secondly, I strongly recommend using putty here for the whole thing and ignoring the tiny triangle you cut earlier. You will thank me later.

Right, so for this, instead of building a pivot-point for the gun, I stuffed the left and right of the turret where the gun needs to be mounted, with the gun in place, with putty.

I used Milliput, GreenStuff etc will work just as well.

This made for a PERFECTLY fitting pivot for the gun and after sanding the blue parts were no longer needed as the putty formed those walls.

So, firstly: Roll 2 roughly equally sized balls of putty, and place the gun mantle in is position. You will manipulate it manually, so don’t worry about sticking it down. You need it lose. Don't glue the putty!

Roll 2 roughly equally sized balls of putty

Next. while the putty is still soft, use the bottom section to “form” the putty to ensure the putty does not require unnecessary sanding. (Basically just squeeze the bottom plate down onto the putty until it is flush with the walls.)

Flatten the putty with the bottom plate. Don't glue it yet.

Less sanding. See.

Leave the putty to cure. Once cured, remove the two pieces and sand down for smoothness, especially the back area on the inside of the turret. Glue back in place. Remember, at this point you need to glue it in place with the gun mantle. Last chance to make sure you got everything right as its not coming out again. So make sure that yellow "You need to trim this" bit is trimmed, filled and the right size.

Leave to Cure.

Step 6 - Glue the bottom plate

Last thing is to glue the bottom plate in place, and wait for everything to cure. Then sand and Viola! Gun-Mantle and turret done :D Well, almost. The mounting ring remains :D

Perfect angle, and no need to tress bout mounting the gun

Step 7 - Mounting Ring

Basically, the ring is made of 2 strips of Plasticard, cut and sized inside the mounting bracket (Roof of the predator with the hole in it) This is fairly simple, but takes a bit of time as the glue needs to be perfectly cured.
Once cured, just remove from the roof (Please be careful not to glue it to the roof part) sand it smooth on both sides and glue to the turret. I usually add a vertical bar as well, for magnetizing.


Please note that the hole in the turret bottom section is purposefully smaller on the template than
needed, to make sure you have room to play. You don't have to even cut it out.

Careful! Don't glue it to the roof!

Step 8 - Cut the Gun Mantle Pivot-Points

Don’t worry about cutting perfectly. File will do the work once assembled.

Use a knife in combination with a plastic cutter to make it easier

Step 9 - Cut the Gun Mantle Upper and Lowe plates

Cut a piece of tube as well. It wont be visible, but it strengthens the build.

I cut enough for 2 here. Don't be alarmed.

Step 10 - Glue the plates

Use the Pivot-Plate as a reference for the angle.

Step 11 -  Assemble the parts

Once the mantle is assembled, file the two Pivot-plates to conform to the shape of the tube.
Not photographed and optional, but after this step, fill the 2 gaps between the support tube and the upper and lower mantle plate with 2 thin strips of Plasticard or putty.

One done, one ready for assembly.

Step 12 - Drill, clean, mount

Drill the Pivot-Rod holes and glue the rod in place. Cut so that about 3mm sticks out either side.

Just about done now. Just stay with me!

And done. You made it.

3D Print Files by Daeowar

If you have access to a 3D printer or do not quite feel up to the task of cutting the card, the incredibly talented Daeowar has created 3D printable files and has kindly provided them for free use on his Thinksverse page. They can be found at: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3753062

3D Print Files by Myself

They can be found at: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4432368

RAPTOR!

Hope you enjoyed it. And as always, I would LOVE to see you take on the template. Post up picks or links to your creations.

Captain MAGpie,
Styrene Addict