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I think it would be neat to convert a First Edition Rhino to use the Third Edition Predator turret and sponsons. It ssems like it'd make the model easier to magnetize and store, and, if nothing else, removing all the extra weight by not using the OOP metal turrets would make them less prone to certain kinds of accidents. Plus, I think it would look pretty darn cool!

Here's the thing: I can't tell just by looking at the pictures of the sprues if I would need parts from the Rhino IIc sprues (especially the side access doors!) to make the sponsons function or not, and, since all my tanks are First Edition, I have zero experience with the newer models in Real Life. I had planned on buying a Baal Predator and either selling or trading off the leftover Rhino sprues, but if I have to get pieces off them to make this work, that could make this more trouble (and more expensive!) than it's worth.

Could someone out there in the Grim Dark Future of the 41st Millennium who has built a newer Predator advise me on the feasibility of this?

The rhino sprues are completely separate from the sponson and turret sprues. It looks like you don't get the standard marine accessory sprue, so the rhino would be missing a couple hatches- there are enough that come with tanks that they're not hard to replace, but you might need to trade/sell for a little less.

spiralingcadaver wrote:The rhino sprues are completely separate from the sponson and turret sprues. It looks like you don't get the standard marine accessory sprue, so the rhino would be missing a couple hatches- there are enough that come with tanks that they're not hard to replace, but you might need to trade/sell for a little less.

Thanks, spiralingcadaver. Not ever having owned any of the later kits, I wasn't sure how necessary any of the sprues in there would be. The older kits always included everything you needed to build a Rhino, even if you wouldn't use all those parts by making one of the four previous Predator versions out of it.

Ugh. I've been considering this conversion for quite some time, and I'm glad I never invested any money in, as I couldn't be sure how it would look...

... until today, when I saw this hideous beast on eBay. This is not worth one of my precious OOP Rhino chassis to attempt!

That is an abomination...

Turret's too big for those proportions.

I've seen worse. That is at least fixable. Would take some time and effort but it could be made into a half decent model. If it went cheap enough, like in the 5 dollar range, I would take a crack at fixing it.

s_o_r_r_o_w wrote:Turret's too big for those proportions.

That's my beef with this too, s_o_r_r_o_w. See, the old Destructor model had a fairly large turret, but because the bottom of the turret is flush with the hull, it doesn't look out of place.



Additionally, it comes with a special plate that fits over the top of the hull that positions the turret right about in the center of the body. That plastic plate came on a sprue specific to the Mk I Predator, never to be offered again.

The new turret looks like it would hang out over the sides of the hull of the old model. The new Rhino hull is broader, and I suspect this wouldn't be a problem mounting the turret to it.

Your blue monster looks to me as if it is on the Razorback plate--or, given the size of the turret ring, perhaps the Whirlwind mount.

Can anyone measure the width of their modern predator turret? It could be an awkward angle (though I suspect that it will prove too wide).

The width of the center hull section of the First Edition Rhino is about an inch and a half. The problem with the ugly blue monstrosity I posted above is partly the width of the turret (it looks like more than that), and partly its placement using the old Razorback plate. Here's a top-down view of three First Edition Rhino-based vehicles:


[ Click to Enlarge ]

The plastic plate on the Predator Destructor (left) positions the turret about the middle of the hull. Additionally, its dome shape means the bottom is flush with the hull, so it doesn't look out of place. As I mentioned above, this piece was plastic, and only came on a special Predator sprue that you added to the contents of a Rhino kit. This plate would be my first pick, but I think I'd have to design myself a facsimile if I wanted to emulate the earliest design; it's going to be hard to find one like this that doesn't also come with all the other pieces to make a Predator!

The metal plate on the Annihilator (middle) positions the turret near the front of the hull. There's no swapping this one around - it's the front, or nothing. The same piece comes with the later versions of the Destructor and the Baal Predator, which included metal turrets and the metal universal sponsons.

The Razorback plate (right) fits over the back hatch of the Rhino. You can flip it around to move the turret further back toward the rear of the vehicle, but I thought it looked more natural this way. Still, it's a good half inch behind the vehicle's mid point. This looks like the plate in use on the blue beast, above.

The First Edition Whirlwind plate is similar to the Razorback plate. It lacks the small nubbly embellishments, but the large central hole is in about the same position as the rotator ring for the Razorback turret. Unlike the Predator plate, it does not have a lip. Instead, the Whirlwind's gunner extends below the hole into the body of the hull to provide stability.