Iron Falcons - Predator (Walker Conversion) Part 2
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Sponsons & Top Hatch
Ensure that the mating surface of each sponson is filed level so that when it is glued to the body side it is flush with the recessed access door.
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The top surface of each sponson should line up with the top surface of the body. Take an access hatch from a Marine vehicle accessories sprue and carefully remove the locating collar from the underside of it with a modeling saw or similar.
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File or sand the underside completely flat then attach to the top of the model. Add the door halves to complete the look.
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Engine
The engine is probably the easiest bit of the entire model. I used the old metal Dreadnought engine (simply because I had it lying around). Alternatives are the plastic Dreadnought engine or the plastic Sentinel engine. If you are using plastics, no problem, just glue it in place on the rear of the body. If you are using a metal component I would advise pinning it first before super gluing it in place.
If you are unfamiliar with pinning techniques check out my tutorial on it.
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Cockpit & Banner
To complete the body of the model we just need to finish the cockpit. As you can see from the photo's, at the moment you can see daylight through gaps in the cockpit sides.
To cure this take some rough measurements for the cockpit interior then try a small rectangular piece of 0.8mm styrene sheet as an insert. You will need to keep trimming the insert to fit correctly. Once the rectangle fits you can remove the excess material so that the final shape looks similar to the ones I made in photo 3.
Glue the inserts in place and finally, glue the vehicle banner to the front of the hull.
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Legs
Start by removing the detail from the underside of the Sentinel cockpit base...I used a knife to pare off the detail then filed it flat by rubbing it in a circular motion on a piece of abrasive paper.
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Glue the upper and lower Sentinal cockpit base halves together. Once dry attach the legs and feet and position on the base in your desired pose. Run liquid poly into the hip and ankle joints of the legs and similarly under the feet of the model...hold in position for a minute or so then leave to dry.
Finally, build a vehicle spotlight from the accessories sprue, remove the base and glue the spotlight inverted to the underside of the cockpit.
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Leg Armour
The leg armour is basically made from 2 large triangles, 2 smaller triangles and a rectangle. The whole thing can be made from 1.5mm/.060" sheet styrene. The original models I built a number of years ago made use of the rear hull door from the original Rhino model. I used them again for this project so that all my models match.
If you wish to use these (and you have a couple spare) make cuts along the lines shown.
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Cut away the end piece...this will give you a triangle 23mm x 11mm...this is the size you will need to produce if you are using sheet styrene and you will need 4 of them.
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You will also need to make 4 smaller triangles for the rear of the leg armour. These need to be 12.5mm x 7.5mm.
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Make two rectangles 13mm x 7.5mm. Take two of the large triangles and as you did with the canopy sides, file a 45 degree chamfer on the 23mm long edges and attach to the rectangle long edges as shown in the second photo. Do this for both leg armour components.
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Make the open distance between the two sides 16mm. I have found the easiest way to do this is to place the pieces between two heavy objects set the correct distance apart. Run liquid poly down the join between the rectangle and the triangles to make it slightly loose and place the pieces between the heavy objects...they will then settle to the correct dimensions and dry in that position.
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Take the 4 smaller triangles and again chamfer them but this time on the Hypotenuse edge. Glue them in place as shown in the photo's.
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Once the leg armour is dry attach it to the lower leg section shown in the photo's.
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Pilot
I used an old MKII metal Landspeeder Pilot as the pilot for this model. Don't worry if you can't get hold of one as I will show you how to make a plastic pilot as well.
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Metal Pilot
All the vehicles in my army (with the exception of bikes and attack bikes) are not only looked after by Techmarines but are also piloted or driven by them. Throughout my army each Techmarine has the Adeptus Mechanicus symbol on his right shoulder guard. As the metal pilot already has a plain shoulder guard the first thing I needed to do was remove it.
Cypher's Top Tip:good:
Before sawing a metal model lightly rub a candle over both sides of your model saw...this will prevent jamming as the metal of the blade and model heat up through friction.
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I marked out the area to cut as in the photo. I decided it would be easier to cut the inside of the pad away first then snip the shoulder guard trim off and grind down any excess with my Dremel.
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Having succeeded in getting a good fit of the new shoulder pad I removed the controls from the Sentinel pilots hands and adapted them to fit the Space Marines hands. I used a Marine Chainsword arm with the sword removed for the pilots left arm.
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It's worth noting that it took a fair bit of grinding and filing of the pilots left side to get the arm and shoulder guard to sit correctly. I also had to keep test fitting the canopy to make sure it would sit correctly with the pilot in place.
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Plastic Pilot
I appreciate that not everyone will want a metal pilot or indeed be able to get hold of one. There are other possible options, maybe using the gunner from the plastic Attack Bike, or, if you have one, the plastic Storm Raven pilot. I haven't tried either of these options so they are merely suggestions.
What I did do though was use an old Marine I had floating around to make a pilot and I am going to take you through those steps now.
The first thing to do is cut the body away and remove the legs from the pelvis section (1) then remove any of the joint that may be left (2 & 3).
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2
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3
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Next make the torso (4) and remove any protrusions (5) so that it will sit flat against the seat back.
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5
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Glue the torso and pelvis together (6) and use the gunner hands from the Marine vehicle accessories sprue for the pilots arms (7). Add the helmet and shoulder guards and leave to dry.
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Because of the gunners hands I had to remove the scanner from the canopy so it would fit properly (8 - 10).
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The next thing to do is the glue the legs back to the pelvis in a position that will look both convincing and allow the model to sit properly. For this demonstration I actually cut the lower part of the legs off completely and tentatively glued the legs in an approximate position (11).
I then sat the model in the cockpit whilst the glue was still wet (12), being careful to make sure no glue was on the part of the legs touching the seat. This did two things...ensured the pilot would sit correctly and provided a ready made jig whilst the legs dried in place.
11
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12
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The remaining photo's show different angles of how the legs were glued in place. As this was just a rough demo I didn't bother filling in the gaps with greenstuff and to be honest with the pilot in place it was difficult to see any gaps. The only really noticeable thing was the missing feet but these could easily be disguised by extending the canopy covering further back if required.
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Putting It All Together
The last thing to do is put the whole thing together. Apply glue to the points on the body and the legs shown. Hold the two sections in place (I wrapped string around the two till the glue dried).
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Glue the sponson weapons of your choice together and attach them to the sponsons. Sit the pilot in place but don't glue him there until you have painted the cockpit and pilot!
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Finally add the cockpit canopy! I didn't bother to model a hinge onto the canopy front but I always envisioned it would lift up to allow the Marine pilot to enter properly from a gantry.
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Putting It All Together
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Cypher
Sponsons & Top Hatch
Ensure that the mating surface of each sponson is filed level so that when it is glued to the body side it is flush with the recessed access door.
The top surface of each sponson should line up with the top surface of the body. Take an access hatch from a Marine vehicle accessories sprue and carefully remove the locating collar from the underside of it with a modeling saw or similar.
File or sand the underside completely flat then attach to the top of the model. Add the door halves to complete the look.
Engine
The engine is probably the easiest bit of the entire model. I used the old metal Dreadnought engine (simply because I had it lying around). Alternatives are the plastic Dreadnought engine or the plastic Sentinel engine. If you are using plastics, no problem, just glue it in place on the rear of the body. If you are using a metal component I would advise pinning it first before super gluing it in place.
If you are unfamiliar with pinning techniques check out my tutorial on it.
Cockpit & Banner
To complete the body of the model we just need to finish the cockpit. As you can see from the photo's, at the moment you can see daylight through gaps in the cockpit sides.
To cure this take some rough measurements for the cockpit interior then try a small rectangular piece of 0.8mm styrene sheet as an insert. You will need to keep trimming the insert to fit correctly. Once the rectangle fits you can remove the excess material so that the final shape looks similar to the ones I made in photo 3.
Glue the inserts in place and finally, glue the vehicle banner to the front of the hull.
Legs
Start by removing the detail from the underside of the Sentinel cockpit base...I used a knife to pare off the detail then filed it flat by rubbing it in a circular motion on a piece of abrasive paper.
Glue the upper and lower Sentinal cockpit base halves together. Once dry attach the legs and feet and position on the base in your desired pose. Run liquid poly into the hip and ankle joints of the legs and similarly under the feet of the model...hold in position for a minute or so then leave to dry.
Finally, build a vehicle spotlight from the accessories sprue, remove the base and glue the spotlight inverted to the underside of the cockpit.
Leg Armour
The leg armour is basically made from 2 large triangles, 2 smaller triangles and a rectangle. The whole thing can be made from 1.5mm/.060" sheet styrene. The original models I built a number of years ago made use of the rear hull door from the original Rhino model. I used them again for this project so that all my models match.
If you wish to use these (and you have a couple spare) make cuts along the lines shown.
Cut away the end piece...this will give you a triangle 23mm x 11mm...this is the size you will need to produce if you are using sheet styrene and you will need 4 of them.
You will also need to make 4 smaller triangles for the rear of the leg armour. These need to be 12.5mm x 7.5mm.
Make two rectangles 13mm x 7.5mm. Take two of the large triangles and as you did with the canopy sides, file a 45 degree chamfer on the 23mm long edges and attach to the rectangle long edges as shown in the second photo. Do this for both leg armour components.
Make the open distance between the two sides 16mm. I have found the easiest way to do this is to place the pieces between two heavy objects set the correct distance apart. Run liquid poly down the join between the rectangle and the triangles to make it slightly loose and place the pieces between the heavy objects...they will then settle to the correct dimensions and dry in that position.
Take the 4 smaller triangles and again chamfer them but this time on the Hypotenuse edge. Glue them in place as shown in the photo's.
Once the leg armour is dry attach it to the lower leg section shown in the photo's.
Pilot
I used an old MKII metal Landspeeder Pilot as the pilot for this model. Don't worry if you can't get hold of one as I will show you how to make a plastic pilot as well.
Metal Pilot
All the vehicles in my army (with the exception of bikes and attack bikes) are not only looked after by Techmarines but are also piloted or driven by them. Throughout my army each Techmarine has the Adeptus Mechanicus symbol on his right shoulder guard. As the metal pilot already has a plain shoulder guard the first thing I needed to do was remove it.
Cypher's Top Tip:good:
Before sawing a metal model lightly rub a candle over both sides of your model saw...this will prevent jamming as the metal of the blade and model heat up through friction.
I marked out the area to cut as in the photo. I decided it would be easier to cut the inside of the pad away first then snip the shoulder guard trim off and grind down any excess with my Dremel.
Having succeeded in getting a good fit of the new shoulder pad I removed the controls from the Sentinel pilots hands and adapted them to fit the Space Marines hands. I used a Marine Chainsword arm with the sword removed for the pilots left arm.
It's worth noting that it took a fair bit of grinding and filing of the pilots left side to get the arm and shoulder guard to sit correctly. I also had to keep test fitting the canopy to make sure it would sit correctly with the pilot in place.
Plastic Pilot
I appreciate that not everyone will want a metal pilot or indeed be able to get hold of one. There are other possible options, maybe using the gunner from the plastic Attack Bike, or, if you have one, the plastic Storm Raven pilot. I haven't tried either of these options so they are merely suggestions.
What I did do though was use an old Marine I had floating around to make a pilot and I am going to take you through those steps now.
The first thing to do is cut the body away and remove the legs from the pelvis section (1) then remove any of the joint that may be left (2 & 3).
1
3
Next make the torso (4) and remove any protrusions (5) so that it will sit flat against the seat back.
4
Glue the torso and pelvis together (6) and use the gunner hands from the Marine vehicle accessories sprue for the pilots arms (7). Add the helmet and shoulder guards and leave to dry.
6
Because of the gunners hands I had to remove the scanner from the canopy so it would fit properly (8 - 10).
8
10
The next thing to do is the glue the legs back to the pelvis in a position that will look both convincing and allow the model to sit properly. For this demonstration I actually cut the lower part of the legs off completely and tentatively glued the legs in an approximate position (11).
I then sat the model in the cockpit whilst the glue was still wet (12), being careful to make sure no glue was on the part of the legs touching the seat. This did two things...ensured the pilot would sit correctly and provided a ready made jig whilst the legs dried in place.
11
The remaining photo's show different angles of how the legs were glued in place. As this was just a rough demo I didn't bother filling in the gaps with greenstuff and to be honest with the pilot in place it was difficult to see any gaps. The only really noticeable thing was the missing feet but these could easily be disguised by extending the canopy covering further back if required.
Putting It All Together
The last thing to do is put the whole thing together. Apply glue to the points on the body and the legs shown. Hold the two sections in place (I wrapped string around the two till the glue dried).
Glue the sponson weapons of your choice together and attach them to the sponsons. Sit the pilot in place but don't glue him there until you have painted the cockpit and pilot!
Finally add the cockpit canopy! I didn't bother to model a hinge onto the canopy front but I always envisioned it would lift up to allow the Marine pilot to enter properly from a gantry.
Putting It All Together
Cypher
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