Building a Rhino
I put together the Rhino from the Space Marines Mega Force box last night. Here is my build notes:
First, there are so may options! What kind of vehicle to build a Rhino or a Razorback? Where should I put the gun? Hatch open or closed? Space Marine out almost all the way, or just head and shoulders? Helmet or no? Instead of being another overwhelming process, it’s actually quite fun. It’s freedom to build as I like it.
First step, cutting out and cleaning up the pieces.
It’s not bad at this point. There are some large pieces on two of the sprues and some smaller optional pieces on the smaller sprue. I left the smaller optional pieces on the sprue, so that I can decide what I want to do later.
The instructions were helpful, but it felt a bit like putting together an Ikea bookshelf. No words, just pictures.
I’d say the entire process was pretty straight forward, with only one or two head scratching moments. Putting the tracks on for instance. There is a method for getting it right. The “notch” on the side where it contacts the wheels is off center, pushing the track to one side. Make sure you’re track is pushed to the outside of the wheels.
The entire process is pretty simple if you follow the instructions. The two sides get built first, then attached to the bottom piece.
There is piece on the inside of the Rhino that is a interior bulk head door with some pretty cool details. If I attached the top section, there would be no real way of painting the inside correctly. So, I left it off for now. I build the Rhino in two pieces. Top and bottom. Once I have it all painted, then I’ll glue the top down.
The top section is pretty straight forward, until you get to the hatch options. The hatch comes in a few configurations. There are two holes in the top section. Both are filled with some bits. On the left, I put in a hatch that I thought was cool, but I glued it in upside down (d’oh!). The right side I wanted to have the Space Marine hanging out shooting the weapon. This also lead another option. You can build the Marine so that he’s standing out of the hatch were his legs are visible, or you can sink him in a bit where just his shoulders are out. I thought the standing way out was a bit much, so I opted for the more sunk in version.
With all the bits and pieces together, the build is finished. I can’t wait to see it all painted up and put together more permanently.
December 18th, 2009 at 5:35 pm
I actually just picked up a space marine battleforce today, after getting back into 40k from skipping both 4th and 5th edition, assembled the rhino tonight as well!
December 20th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
Cool! Keep me posted on your build process, I’d like to see how quickly you get your Mega Force built and painted. I did a Predator Tank last night, I’ll post pictures soon.
December 20th, 2009 at 5:58 pm
Ah, went with the marines. Just to warn you, if you’re not aware of it already, be prepared to fight Space Marines for the most part.
December 20th, 2009 at 9:07 pm
Space Marines are my first army so far. I have two started kits for Imperial Guard, an Ork Mega Force and a few kits of some Space Wolves as well. I plan to play a lot of games at home, so I am building some opponent armies as well.