Friday 7 January 2011

Hydra Conversion - with punisher cannons! (1)


Hey everyone, after a crazy holiday period at work, i have finally had time to do some modelling and subsequent blogging.  Since Venerable and I are both heading to the X-Legion 1750 point tournament in February i have realised i need to seriously get on with the building of the remaining units i need for my army.  most obviously lacking were four Hydra Flak Tanks.  while i already had two, the hulls were shared with my two Manticores meaning i couldn't use both at the same time.   this had to be sorted.

the motivation for the way I've built my Hydras is partly financial (they only cost about £28 to build, including shipping) and partly because i love the forge world punisher cannons and just wanted to use some on a tank!

today I'm going to do a step by step guide on the construction of the hydra hulls.  this hull conversion is very simple and can actually be used for a variety of converted tanks including Manticores, variant Chimeras, and maybe even Deathstrikes. 







the first step is to build the chimera kit to this point.

 then take the top part of the hull and saw the triangular sections off.  it is very important that the cuts are as straight as possible and completely level.  stick these in their usual place on the hull.

now cut a section of thick plasticard to form the base of the roof. glue it down at the same time as gluing on the rear door.  don't use the inside part of the door, and make sure you cut or file the inside of the door flat before you glue it.


the next step is a little more fiddly.  the three vertical side parts of the roof section have now been added.  make sure the angles at the front are 45 degrees or the tank will look slightly odd.  the small sections of square tubing are there for strength.  while using tabs of very thin plasticard works for smaller builds (see the next part of this conversion guide), i find this technique useful for larger areas.




the sloping plate at the front of the roof has now been added.  this was made simply by gluing a piece of the chimera kit to a section of plasticard.  this is optional, as a piece of plsaticard would do fine.


the roof is slightly more complex.  start by cutting two sections of plasticard to fit.  one is simply plain white 1mm plasticard, the other is textured.  glue them together.


using a drill, make a small hole where you want the turret to swivel.  enlarge it to the same size as whatever magnet you are using using a craft knife.  to do this simply twist the knife in the hole until enough is scraped off.  you can see the magnet next to the hole.



on the underside of the roof, stick a small section of plasticard over the hole and glue the magnet in place.  the roof can now be glued on.


and that's it! obviously details like stowage and smoke launchers can be added to taste.

next week I'll go through the construction of the turret.   comments are, as always, most welcome.

12 comments:

  1. Fantastic work bro..far more complex than my humble efforts and far superior... bet it took longer though lol...mine are basecoated too bitch! ;)

    The race is on! 5 weeks out!

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  2. actually all four only took me a few hours to build, a lot less than i had feared.

    i think that race is going to be rather one sided :)

    the thing that really sucks is i just realised i am short of two predator heavy bolter sponsons. they each come in two parts and i need one side for the hydras and one for the Vendetta. ebay time i guess :P

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  3. I think I have some. I'll look tomorrow and if you text me your address I'll jiffy bag them for you mate...

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  4. Looking good matey.

    First off though, stop making me want to do a guard army, I own enough tanks as it is (or can you ever really?).

    Second, you make it look so simple, I think your creating really great guides for plasti-card use. Some of the guides I've seen create such crazy shapes and sizes that they beg to be messed up. Good work on that part Andy.

    (P.S I'll book a table for 7:30 next week, did you want to put 1750 on a table if you can make it?)

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  5. thanks Venerable :) that would make life a LOT easier.

    @Bully i'll be there, and 1750 it is. might have a to proxy a Vendetta though if thats ok.

    as for the guide, i'm glad you found it simple and inspring. this really was supposed to be an example of just how easy it is to work with plasticard. i was actually thinking of doing a tutorial on the basics of using it. stuff like measuring, cutting, sticking, and the different methods of doing each. i know it would have helped me out.

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  6. thats a great idea Atreides. Plasti-Guide would be a wicked resource for us to have...

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  7. @atreides - would be awesome mate - I think something like that would be great, literally where to start, what you need to measure on the model etc..

    Now to work on my 1750 list! (Actually pretty easy, either add Libby + baal or libby + another RAS squad lol).

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  8. Oh and absolutely no issue about proxy mate, you have to imagine the odd gun on the sides of my tanks anyway lol

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  9. Excellent guide, tbh. Tempting to build some myself...Now if only I could *afford* them...

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  10. Even the 'cheap' solution myself and Atreides have put up are pretty expensive...it is a wicked guide though...

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  11. I think Imperial Guard are going to start appearing in my "basket" on the GW site again .. damn you Atreides.

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  12. Oh, man: I'm glad someone's done this.

    I mooted the use of those punisher cannon on hydras on Col. Corbane's site a few months back, and would've loved to have tried...but I really couldn't have done it justice like you have: these models are brilliant!

    Love the chassis conversion too, mate - genius simplicity!

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