What you call my nose?

Captain MAGpie's ANGRY Pike-Nosed Predator!

A Games Workshop "Angry" Predator Conversion

Not Angry. Just VERY Disappointed

When I set off with this project, it was on the backdrop of my Raptor Predator Turret. The shape of the Rhino was just not quite what I thought a Main Battle Tank (MBT) should look like. Granted, the Rhino, which is the basic chassis for pretty much every Space Marine Vehicle ever isn't, in fact, an MBT. It is in fact, an Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC). Here is where several real life differences come in. Armament, firepower, speed, mobility, carrying capacity, all these things make the design of those 2 fundamentally different pieces of kit, VERY... well, different. In the Grim Dark, the boys on Mars tend to be a bit lazy with design looking for all-in-one solutions in most cases. Granted, this is great for gaming on a budget, as a single model can be several different units straight out of the box. So, I am fine with that. In fact, quite happy, because, guys like me with too much time and plasticard on hand, love this!

So, I wanted a MBT look.

I considered what could be done. Well, as said above, first thing I ditched was the turret. It was simply too small. It looked comical, almost, and then it had the audacity of actually having a hatch where a Space Marine can pop out of. No, just no. Gun, or Space Marine. There is no room for both those in the stock turret. So the Raptor was born.

I was still not happy. The faceplate of the Rhino was just NOT MBT enough. So enters the Soviet WWII and Cold War Era Heavy tanks such as the IS3's and IS7's. I love the glacis plate under those fellows, and the pike nose is just something else. So that was where I started.

IS3

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 2 designs! One, with a very thick lower glacis plate (Promptly stolen by the Angry Space Marines upon completion. The Magpie's let it slide citing health reasons.), and a second with pretty much the same armor all round that gave a smoother finish.

The tutorial 

First, what you will need.

The list will be in 3, (1) the template, then (2) what you will need for both styles of nose plate, and (3) the last bit is for the plate with the thick glacis plate. It will also be the one I make in the tutorial.

1) What you will need for: the template

STC - Pike-Nose Rhino Front Plate
Upper images for tracing onto the plasticard, the bottom
ones are for paper-craft fitting before you start cutting. (LARGE SIZE)

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 plasticard with a fine-point marker. The green shapes are for the smooth design, the blue is for the design that has the thick glacis plate.

Additionally, cut the bottom versions out and make a paper-craft fit first, just to test for scaling.

  
You will need:

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

 2)  What you will need for: both types

We got everything you need...

You will need:

• 1 x Rhino chassis by Games Workshop (fits any Rhino derived vehicle)
• 0.5mm flat Styrene Platsticard sheet
• 1mm flat Styrene Plasticard sheet
• 0.75mm x 4.8mm Styrene strip (Optional. You can cut these pieces from the sheet as well. Just easier with a strip)
• 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)
• Patience and a first aid kit... (just trust me -_- )

Glacis Plate left, smooth style right

3) What you will need for: the glacis plate

Glasis Plate style

For the Style with the Thick Lower Glacis plate, you will need in addition to everything above, a 3mm thick plasticard sheet or rod. I used a rod and just glue tree pieces together to achieve the desired breadth, but you can cut from a sheet as well. I just did not have one.

You will need:

• 3mm Styrene Plasticard rod or flat sheet

Right, so lets get into it

Step 1 - Template

Print the template onto cardboard and cut it out with scissors or a knife. I don't judge.

Step 2 - Transfer and cut

Transfer the shapes to your plasticard using a fine-point marker,

Marking the template on the plasticard

and cut them out using a knife. This time I will judge if you still have the scissors with you.

Yip, I did that for a reason

NOTE: Be sure to cut the 0.5mm pieces and the 1mm pieces on the corresponding plasti-sheets. The picture just shows the 0.5mm pieces at this point and the lower plate cleverly cropped partially out. Its cause I goofed. Don't judge.

Step 3 - Glacis plate

Ok, now, above I have shown the pieces for the "smooth" face-plate. If you are going for that, skip to Step 4.
If you are going for the extra touch, then you will need the thick glacis plate. So, next either use the template and cut the bottom plate from the 3mm card, or glue 3 rods of 44mm length together like I did. (Like I stated above, I only did this because I ran out of 3mm sheets. But its an option.)

Cut 3 pieces, 44mm length

Glue them together, wait for the glue to cure,
and mark the template

Cut to size. HINT: Cut slightly bigger and file
down to size is far better than cutting too small
and having to scrap

Because of the angle at which the plate sits against the hull, you will need to file the back of it to match the angle. Just file and test fit until the plate lines up with the angled bottom plate of the rhino. Takes a bit of time but its worth the effort.

File the back side of the plate until it lines up nicely.

Flame-Cut

As a VERY final and optional step, you can give the glacis plate a flame cut look, but running your hobby knife several times over the front edge of the plate. Once painted, this looks very convincing.

Flame-cut look made easy

I went ahead an cut out the armoured plates that will go on top of the nose in the meantime.

All plates cut

NOTE: The lower thin plate is optional if you use the thick glacis plate. I did however find it easier to glue the nose together with the thin pieces, than glue the whole thing down on to the bottom plate, but you don't technically need it.

Step 4 - Test fit!

Seriously, when you cutting shapes yourself, you need to do this. I goof all the time, so take my word for it. Just use some tape and test fit it. Slightly to big can be filed, too small is an issue. Not the end of the world, but needs to be fixed.

Make sure.

Pictured below, you can see I tested both styles. If its not fitting perfectly, that's fine. Still needs to be glued and shaped. As long as it resembles what you are planning without needing to be forced into a position, you are golden.

Test fit 101: TAPE!

Note the small gap right at the corner where the
bottom, front and rhino track plate meet?
We will fix that later.

Dude, what happened to your face?
You should see the other guy...

Step 5 - Glue it

This is fairly easy. I start with the bottom plate (not the thick one, the thin 0.5mm one) and just lay it down flat. Then I stand the 2 front plate up against it, holding them together with tape. Now I just touch the areas I need to weld with my glue, and due to the nature of the extra thin glue I use, it just flows in and welds together. It cures in about 30 seconds to pretty damn solid state... The glue does dissolves paint though (solvent after all) and you can see a lot of my cutting board's colours on the glued shapes. -_- This is fine. Sanding paper and paint solves this.

Step 6 - Test fit... again

When everything is cured, test fit again. Just to be sure.

Test-fit satisfaction

Step 7 - Sides
Ok, this is again an option. You can do the plate without this step by slightly reducing the length of the bottom plate, thereby reducing the front-plate angle or slope. This will then ensure the plate drops low enough to prevent opening on the sides (like picture 1 and 2 in step 4 shows), specifically where the plate protrude form the front, and over the indents over the tracks. I however wanted the plate to be at the exact (approximate) angle of the slope on the tracks. This meant that there would be gaps.

To solve this, use the 0.75mm x 4.8mm strip (can be thinner as well, really. Its just to close a gap) and measure it to fit snugly in the angle between the front-plate and the bottom glacis. Also, you will need to cut it at an angle to fit in between the rhino body. No need for exact here. Just filling gaps.

Strip cut to fit in the angle between the front
and bottom plate, and at an angle to fit
into the gap between the rhino body and
nose-plate.

Strips in place.

No gaps and a perfect slope. Just how I like it.

Once the glue is cured, just smooth it out with sanding paper or a file and you are golden.

Step 8 - View ports

A simple, but easy to screw up step. Cutting the view-ports.
Firstly, just mark on of the armour plates out. Just one for now. I use the following measurement, but you can adjust to taste:

• 3mm from middle and top.
• 4mm from track side
• 7mm drop on middle side
• 3mm drop on track side

Marking the view-port.

Now cut. Take your time and work carefully. Several shallow cuts gets you there and keeps you out of the emergency room.

Port cut out.

File to make sure you have all the sides nice and straight.

Flipped over, filed and smoothed. Looking good.

Flip it over and mark the other panel using the cut plate as a template.

Use the first cut as a template for the second.

Cut and smooth out the second one. I have found that the flip sides tend to look better, so I literally flip both over, and that becomes my front sides.

And done. View-ports cut.

Step 9 - Glue the plates into position
Yeah, its that simple. Just glue the plates into possession. (I have already drilled holes for the rivets. This is to taste and method. I find this method easiest for me.)

Why so serious?

Ready to be riveted.

NOTE: I glued the top triangular plate into place with the face test-fitted on the rhino. I moved it all the way back to the roof plate on the rhino to make the transition smoother and add some nice angles to that area.

Drops right into place. Perfect.
I need coffee...

Step 10 - Make the Port-glare covers

I provided a template for the roof of the glare covers, but this is largely based on the size and shape of your view ports, and the slope of your front plate. Use the template as a basis for the design, but make sure it fits your specific plate before gluing it.

To make it easier for myself, I cut the covers from a single piece already at the right angle.

Once you got those cover in place, you are done. Paint that thing now!

 Not Angry... just passionately disappointed...

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