[The Gunslinger]

Hey everyone

As some of you may seen, i have entered this months conversion competition with my tank hybrid.
I will be attempting to combine a Leman Russ with a vindicator to make a much more bulkier looking tank. I am really not a fan of the Rhino chassis so i am going to use the tracks etc from the Leman Russ instead.

I have started this thread to show the step by step of the construction, just in case anyone wants to recreate the end result themselves. Plus im sure i will definitely end up needing some advice as the project gets going.

So here is the start of the project:

Both tanks i have had for a while, in fact the Demolisher is very very old, dating from my very first foray into warhammer whilst i was in primary school. So it has been painted many times, so i am going to have to paint strip the sections im using before i get really into construction. However im really happy im still able to use parts of this model that i have had for years

Thanks for looking and stay tuned for progress.

Cheers,

The Gunslinger

 

[The Gunslinger]

So as the title would suggest, anyone who wanted to reproduce this would need a leman russ and vindicator kit. Now if you were starting from scratch you would have the benefit of being able to work on things from fresh. Unfortunately i do not have that luxury.

As i said earlier my Demolisher is many years old, and was put together by a much younger and less modelling savvy version of myself, so there are lots of problems with it. Mainly, the tracks do not match up right, leaving gaps, so i have had to rip apart the track sections and correct the problem to start with.

But once that was done, i had two tracks that would work fine. Like i said i still wanted to paint strip these at some point, but for now, here:

 

[Iraqiel]

I like where this is going, looking forward to seeing more progress!

 

[The Gunslinger]

Edit: Thanks mate, must have posted this bit whilst you posted yours.

So the original plan to take the base plate of the rhino and stick it in-between the two russ track sections so i cut the parts that fit into the rhino chassis.

However i realised that that would make the tank far to narrow and would leave gaps in the hull. So i am going to make the inside part of the rhino and then stick that to the russ' tracks, like so:

Of course there are those annoying doors etc that means the outside isnt flat so i had to remove them.
First i cut the sections out with a knife:

Then clipped off what was left on the other side:

Before sanding it down so it was nice and smooth:

 

[Dakingofchaos]

This looks interesting, look forward to the end result.

 

[The Gunslinger]

Thanks guys for the support.

So after getting the rhino section ready, i had to cut away the part on the russ' tracks that connect up to the tank so that it was smooth aswell:

so the plan is for the rhino section to sit on top of the bolts that hold the wheels in place like so:

and line up with the hull on the front:

 

[SwedeMarine]

This is getting more and more interesting.

 

[fatmantis]

yes very..looking forward to the end

 

[Iraqiel]

I can see this being very 1940s panzerjager style, looking great so far!

 

[ItsPug]

This looks like the beginning of a very good conversion. I'll be keeping an eye on this. Keep up the good work!

 

[The Gunslinger]

Thanks for the interest guys, appreciate it.

I have assembled the main vindicator section:

The idea is for it to sit on top of the tracks like so:

Im then going to use the track guards from the russ to fit around the vindi's armour.

I have also began work on a new barrel for the demolisher cannon using the barrel from a Defiler:

Let me know what you think.

 

[ItsPug]

I had the image in my head of the gun being at the from of the tracks, but reversing the tracks looks so much better.

 

[The Gunslinger]

yea i like it that way, kinda looks like a mini land raider, so looks marine ish without having to use the rhino chassis.

 

[The Gunslinger]

So after dry fighting the parts together there is a gap at the back between the plating, so i need to put this part back into play:

However i do not want the tracks armour, so cutting that off.

and sanding it down leaving me with this:

Which will then come together like so:

I still havent glued anything together yet, i want to stick the side platings to the tracks before i assemble the inside of the rhino, and i cant do that until i get some more detol to strip the paint off the tracks. So this may be as far as i get for a couple of days.

 

[The Gunslinger]

So i was thinking about cutting away some of the armour plating so i could fit in some deathguard rhino doors, like so:

What do you all think? good idea/bad idea?

Cheers

 

[SwedeMarine]

is it for a traitor regiment of guard?

 

[The Gunslinger]

is it for a traitor regiment of guard?

No its going to be a vindicator in my death guard army.

 

[ItsPug]

I'm not struck on the idea of a door that high up the side of the vehicle, it just seems a little off to me. I would have suggested brass etch but IIRC forgeworld dont do any for nurgle, only for death guard.

 

[SwedeMarine]

it fits if you make it as an armor panel instead of a door.

 

[The Gunslinger]

Yea i was going to cut the hinges off and just have it as a armour panel. Have some extra death guard doors so thought i might use it for this.