Duckhunter 9000

Captain MAGpie's "Hailstorm" Stalker AA Turret

A Games Workshop Stalker Alternative

I see it! I see it!

I was never truly taken by the Stalker. The independent guns, although novel, was weird to me. That, combined with the fact that the weapons platform is only equipped with on tracking system made me cringe. I guess one gun will be tracked and fired by the Machine Spirit while the other will just be manually operated by a crew member. Accounts for the poor accuracy I guess.

You missed...

So how to fix that? Well, either have an additional tracking system, and per definitions, fire-control system, or just a more logical single target fire platform, such as the Flakpanzer Gepard.

Flakpanzer Gepard

Of course, no manner of praying to the God Emperor will make the Humble Rhino look like anything but an Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC), but, we can try but only our best.
So to the drawing-board I went, and essentially, I came up with a turret that was very similar to the Flakpanzer, that could fit the 2 guns normally found on the Stalker.
Looking closer, I notes that those guns, where EXACTLY the guns found on the nose of a Stormhawk Interceptor.

Light Bulb!

Not that you need to, since the guns on the Stalker kit is already more than adequate, but if you have built a Stormtalon (or 4) you may just have those guns lying around, and then all you need is a rhino and you got yourself a Stalker. I also experimented with some other ideas. Fixing 2 rocket pods to the turret to make an alternative Wirlwind for example.

Certainly has potential...

I guess, it would have been more sensible to use the larger rockets to maintain the anti-aircraft feel. Meh, I wanted just to see.

Ok, lets get into the build.

The tutorial

1) What you will need for: the template

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

MK I Cyclone is slightly "taller" and looks bulkier for a "fuller" look or on a larger chassis.

MK II is "Shorter" but sacrifice a teeny weeny bit on gun movement.

I recommend printing the template on cardboard, scaling it so that the yellow 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.

To make life easier, cut all the green sections from 0.5mm Plasticard. The blue sections are decorative armour plates and you can cut those from thinker sheets, and customise them to your like. I used 1mm and it looked pretty good.

Additionally, print and cut a test turret from paper first, and make a paper-craft version just to test for scaling. There is a lot of cutting in this build, so making a fitting or printer scaling mistake will be frustrating. Also, you may "scale" it to your liking at this point, making it either bigger or smaller.

What you will need for: "Cyclone" Stalker Turret

• 1 x Stalker kit from Games Workshop
• 0.5mm flat Styrene Plasticard Sheet
• 1mm flat Styrene plasticard sheet
• 3.2mm x 6.3mm Styrene Strip
• 8mm Styrene Tube (Optional)
• Putty such as Green Stuff or Milliput (Optional, but I advise using this. So much easier to hide bloopers)
• 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

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. This is probably the hardest part of this build and requires the most attention.

Important! Remember to gut the green parts from 0.5mm sheet and the blue parts from 1mm or thicker.

The build, once cut, is fairly simple. So once everything is cut, the hard part is over!

Hard Part Over!

Step 3 - Front-section

The whole build is pretty simple. It really is just a matter of getting everything in the right place. Where to start, is with the base plate, and front two angled plates. Once they are in place, you have a guide for the rest. 

Front angled plates attached to the base plate, and the "box" attached to the angled plates,
using the plates as a positioning reference.

Just another angle. All set for the next part.

Attach the face-angles plate, and the upper strips to close the holes.
While this cures, bend the half-round shape as shown. I used the square piece just to help. Would have been easier with a round item. Such as, say a knife -_- Sometimes braining is hard.

Drop the half-round in place, and glue.

Trim access and file smooth.

Step 4 - Mid and Rear Sections

I went a litttle ahead of myself and already assembled them while I waited for the glue to cure on the front section. They are straight forward and dead easy thouhj. Attach them now to the front section.

Mid and rear section attached.

Rear view point.

Step 5 - Bottom plate

To support the bottom plate, I attached two 3.2mm strips of styrene in line with parallel parts of the plate in the rear. I cut them waayyy too long, but this was not a problem, as I just trimmed it later. 

Skis added...:D Too long, but will trim to size.

Attach the bottom plate now, and attache the side angled plates. This is a bit of fir-cut-file, as they may not line up perfectly depending on how well you cut, card thickness, etc. 

Bottom plate and side angled plates added.

Step 6 - Gun-Rings

Now you are ready for some of the final work. The gun-rings are decorative, and not required, but they do look nice. Likewise, making the guns able to move up and down, isnt technically required either, so you may choose simply to affix the guns. In that case, skip the next part.

Should you however choose to make the guns movable and have all the decorative, measure and drill the holes for the tube to run through like I did, or don't bother and just glue the guns in place. I like mine being able to move up or down. Fix the gun-rings now, using the drilled holes to line them up. The hole diameter need to correspond the tube (in my case, 8mm) you are using.

Hols drilled, rings fixed.
Noticed my cut wasn't perfect on the half-round, and added a round strip to hide my skillz.

Step 7 - Accessorise

Pretty much done with the turret. Now just cut those armour plates to taste and accessorise the turret.

Plates cut.

And accessorised.

All the angles... I have them.

Step 7 - Armament

I used 2 Nos-cannons that comes with the Stormhawk, but the guns that come with the Stalker kit, will be ideal. Either way, this part is pretty much to taste, and, well, as you saw above, even missile pods will work :D

  You see that dot in the sky? Lets see it up close.

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

Captain MAGpie,
Styrene Addict