Space Marine Rhino Chassis part 1

Welcome back to Scratch Built 40k.  Today we will begin the Space Marine Rhino scratch build tutorial.  When this tutorial series is completed you will have a vehicle which can easily be modified to represent a basic Rhino, Razorback, Whirlwind, Predator, or even a Vindicator.  I use InstantMold for a few of the pieces to save time but if you don't have access to it or the parts being duplicated there will be instructions for those pieces (though obviously less detailed).  So with that all said, on to the tutorial!

Materials Needed:
For Sale sign (found at Wal-Mart, hardware stores, etc)
3/16" thick Posterboard (that stuff with Styrofoam inside and thin cardboard on both sides)

Tools Needed:
Strait edged ruler (preferably metal and containing a right angle)
Hobby knife
Super glue or hot glue


Here are the templates for the major pieces of the project, cut from the materials indicated.  If the template sizes indicated aren't matching up to that you print (which has been happening to me sometimes), you may need to mess with the sizes in a paint program.  All the sizes, though, have been made to scale in Paint.net.

First, you will want to cut each of thee pieces from the materials indicated.  Any right angles are made easier by using a triangle ruler.  This will help prevent future mistakes and keep the tank from having a wobbly effect.

Next, gather the wheel well pieces.  From the posterboard cut 2 pieces which are the same length as the plasticard piece but 3/8" shorter from top to bottom.  Using either super glue or hot glue assemble the pieces as show in the image below.  The posterboard pieces will allow for the wheel rims to sit nicely in the wheel well when we get to that step.

Taking a second wheel well piece, glue so that it matches the other side.  Duplicate this effect with the other two wheel well pieces so that the two sides match up.

Now that you have your two wheel wells put together, gather the two posterboard pieces.  Take the piece labeled as the top and cut a 45 degree angle into one of the shorter sides.  The top one you will glue along the edge of the wheel rim with the angled side overhanging past the back edge. You may wish to use 2 pieces of posterboard which measure 1" by 2" to provide for structural support as I have done here.

Glue the other wheel rim in place so that it is flush with the first side you glued.  Next glue the bottom in place so that it has an even distance from the front and back of the wheel rim (this should be almost non-existent).  Taking the front bottom piece glue into place so the long edge is even with the posterboards bottom edge.  Match the front angled piece so it connects the bottom front with the top (it's ok if there is a little overhang- simply trim this using your hobby knife).  Do the same at the back of the vehicle frame.

Next add the wheel well detail pieces to the sides of the vehicle.  Measure carefully the width of the wheel rims with the plasticard attached and cut strips of plasticard which will run the length of the vehicle's wheel frames.  Starting at the front angled part of the wheel well, glue the plasticard in place, following all the way to the back of the vehicle.  At each of the bends, gently score the plasticard with your hobby knife to allow the plastic to bend without breaking apart.  At the very back of the vehicle cut the piece so that it only overhangs about halfway (1/4") down to leave room for the wheel track.  Do the same on the other side.

Using the left over from those plasticard strips (you saved that, right?) add pieces to the front and back just like it appears in the image above.  Now sand all of the edges so that they appear rounded.

Well, this is going to conclude the first tutorial part of this vehicle.  Next week I will go over how to make the wheels, tank treads, front visor, side exhaust ports, rivets, and the top and side doors and hatches.  Till then, happy scratch building!

Chaos Dreadclaw Tutorial 4

Welcome to the final installment of the Dreadclaw tutorial.  This one is a doozy, so lets get right on it!  When you finish this tutorial, the Dreadclaw will look something like this:

So on to the tutorial!


Materials:
Plasticard
Wire
Bic pen
Cardstock

Tools:
Hobby knife
Cutting mat
White glue
Hand drill with small copper tube

Last image from Dreadclaw Tutorial 3:

Using the template provided below, cut the plasticard to make 8 pieces of trim.  Using the white glue, position the trim pieces over the bottom areas.

Take a sheet of plasticard and place it on the bottom portion of the dreadclaw, tracing out the bottom shape.  Cut the piece out and cut a hole in the center the same size as the hole in the hatch.  Glue the hatch into place using the super glue.  Finally, glue the bottom piece into place so it looks like the image below.

Using a pen casing (preferably a soft plastic which resembles the plasticard), cut the tube to make 8 pieces which are 3/8" wide.

Using the piece cut from the center of the template on this page, super glue the tubes to the middle of each piece.

This is a good place to create a design to give your Dreadclaw some flair.  For mine, I cut each piece to look like this:

Glue these into the spaces opened from the template on this page.  Next cut 16 rectangle pieces which are 1/4" by 3/8".  In a circular pattern, glue them in a circular pattern around the hatch as it appears below:

Next cut 8 squares which measure 7/8" by 3/4".  These will be used to surround the top area as seen below.

After completing this part, use the bottom template to cut 4 pieces out of the plasticard and attach to the corners of the top area still exposed.

Use the super glue to put these into place.

Now, take the copper tube and sharpen  it.  Place the tube into the hand drill and secure it.  We will be able to use this tool to make our rivets from the plasticard (and there will be a lot of them!).

Place the rivets on the trim areas of the Dreadclaw.

Using the cardstock , cut a circle which is 1 3/4" wide.  Cut another 4 pieces of the pen casing, this time angle one side of each one.

Using your wire, braid together 3 strands roughly 12" long.  Cut this strand into 4 pieces.

Superglue the pen casings to oppose each other and angling the high point inward.  Arrange the wires in a pattern of your choosing.

Glue this piece to the top, inner area of the Dreadclaw as shown below.

Now sit back and admire your craftsmanship!  The nice thing about Chaos models is they lend well to added pieces, so if you have ideas for added bits, feel free.

Chaos Dreadclaw Tutorial 2

Welcome back scratch building enthusiasts!  I hope you have your hobby knives ready.  Last week we finished up with our Dreadclaw looking like this:

Lets waste no time and get right to it then!

Materials:
Plasticard (For Sale signs)
Cardstock

Tools:
Super glue
Hobby knife
Cutting mat
Straight metal ruler
Scotch tape
Hot glue gun

Begin by taking the 4 wall shapes set aside earlier.  Starting with one side, align it with the top and bottom portions of the previous piece we put together.  Hold these in place for now using the scotch tape.  Then place the opposite side in place using the same technique as before.

Now place the third wall in place.  The reasoning for this is to ensure the drop pod isn't leaning heavily to one side.  Using the glue gun, glue these into place.  Finish this step by gluing the fourth wall into place.

Using your hobby knife cut away any of the excess tape on the outside and the inside of the drop pod.

Set that bit to the side and use the following template to make 8 pieces of each image.  This will serve to be the trim for the leg pieces of the Dreadclaw.

After completed, glue the trim pieces to the legs.  When you are finished, it will look like this:

Now take the other piece on the template and glue it to the leg piece just like it appears in the image below:

 Now we can set those aside (we do that a lot, eh?) and go back to the medium sized octagon we cut out in the first part of the tutorial.  Direction in the center cut a hole with a diameter (from one side of a circle to another) of 2 1/4".

Using the medium octagonal template cut a piece from the plasticard.  This time, cut a circle in the direct center that is 2".  Glue the two pieces together.

Now grab the next template available.

Cut 5 pieces using this template out of the Plasticard.  Glue the 5 pieces together in a circular pattern so that the piece looks like the below image and glue it to the piece of Cardstock.  This can be very tricky, so be careful!

This will be the bottom hatch of the Dreadclaw. 

While people won't generally see this portion of the model, it's always nice to add all the effects we can for completeness sake.

Well, I think that is enough to keep people busy over a weekend.  It certainly took me long enough to cut the trim for the leg pieces out!  Next week we will attach the bottom walls of the Dreadclaw, attach the hatch, and do the trip pieces for the walls. 

Take care everyone and have a great weekend!

Another Wednesday diversion

Yet another of my previous scratch build projects.  This is a Warhound Titan using the template which is popular on the internet.  I admit there is a lot that could have been done to make this a bit snazzier, but I still love the skulls all over the place and the improvised collar.

I plan to someday build Warhound titans which exemplify each of the 4 chaos gods and the traitor legions which represent them.  Since these are projects which take about a month to complete, they tend to take a back seat until the various armies I am completing are in their finishing stages!

If any of my readers have their own scratch built projects, whether it is terrain, large Apocalypse vehicles, or even something as simple as a conversion model, feel free to link to it in the comments section!  Consider this an open conversion thread :)

Chaos Dreadclaw Tutorial part 1

Welcome back folks for another Scratchbuilt 40k tutorial series!  This time we tackle the Dreadclaw, a model available through Forge World for about $140.  Estimated cost of the final Dreadclaw project- $6.  Lets get started, shall we?

Materials this part:
Cardstock  (20" by 30", 3/16" thickness for $2)
Plasticard (For Sale signs, 15" by 20" and 1/32" thickness for $2.22)
Wooden dowel rod (3/16" diameter will do), 4 1/16" long

Tools:
Scissors
Hobby cutting knife
Self healing cutting mat
Metal straight edge ruler
Hot glue gun
Hand drill

Beginning with these templates, cut the octagonal shapes out and apply the template to the cardstock.  Using your ruler and hobby knife, carefully cut each piece out of the cardstock and set aside.

Next cut the leg template out of the following template and place on the cardstock.  Again, carefully cut 4 leg pieces out of the cardstock.

Using the above images Front Panel template on the plasticard, cut 8 pieces out.  These will make up the majority of the Dreadclaw's sides.  After cutting out all these pieces, you should have a variety that looks like this (I kept the wall pieces in pairs of 2.  You don't have to do this, but I find it is easier):

Taking your largest hexagonal piece, turn it so a pair of points are at the top and bottom of your view.  Cut the piece in half and again as shown in the image below.

Spread these pieces apart from each other, leaving a gap 1/4" between them.  You may want to tape them using clear tape.  Be sure, however, to leave a clearance from the 4 points of 1/2".  This will be explained later (I promise!)

Cut a small scrap piece to place in the center of the 4 pieces, connecting them.  Using your hot glue gun, glue it into place, again leaving over 1/4" from the tips for the gaps.

Take one of the smallest octagonal pieces and again cut from the 4 corners to make the shape just like the one above.  Leave the 1/4 inch gap between the pieces, but there is no need to be worried about the distance from the tip.  Take the second hexagonal piece and glue it onto the 4 pieces as follows:

Drill a hole in the center of each of the hexagons (not the middle sized one still untouched).  Take the dowel rod and glue it to the bottom hexagon.  Place, but do not glue, the top piece into the top of the dowel rod.

 
This set up will be the basis for the Dreadclaw and give us a building block to work off of.

Well, that's it for today's tutorial on the Chaos Space Marine Dreadclaw.  Join me Friday for the next installment!

Memorial day- no tutorial dern it!

Despite not having a tutorial ready for today (had some pottery glazing to do for the wife and then felt no desire to be cutting things up), I decided to share with you all the images I took of the finished Blight Drones, Rhinos, and Vindicator.

I think I the effects turned out perfectly and love the paint scheme underneath showing through in all the right areas.