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hey gang.
i've been setting around bored after having shoulder surgery, and i decided to finish a project i started. i know the biggest complaint is the size of the autocannons. but the "fluff" i'm going with is either it's a "drop" Hydra or a feild conversion made out of what was available. i'd really like to hear if people would be upset about me using this in games. it is made up from all GW parts and it's clearly armed with quad autocannons. i also made the quad autocannon removable to eventually try making a Manticore.
i appreciate any feedback.

Looks fine to me, barring the lack of a larger turret with a radar 'dish' in it.

Well it depends what context when you say if size matters...
But yeah, its a good conversion, I wouldn't say you needed to bulk it out or anything.

Kanluwen wrote:
"Looks fine to me, barring the lack of a larger turret with a radar 'dish' in it. "

i was thinking about adding a "spotlight", but didn't in the end. it's not the same as a radar dish though.

Well I dunno. You could always say it's an infrared spotlight that paints the target for the autotracking mechanism.

Heck, the Germans in WWII and a few US/UK tanks during the Cold War used infrared spotlights as ways to highlight targets without the normal downsides of a spotlight.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
OOH! Idea!

If you have the parts from the Imperial Guard tank accessory sprue, outfit the standing body with the pointing arm from the Heavy Weapons teams and a pair of binoculars, and have him standing on the roof of the vehicle as a spotter!

I think using the turret is perfectly fine to represent Hydra ( i know plenty of people that does this and everyone is happy / fine about it )

If someone brings up the size issue , just tell him there is no need to over compensate size xD

Yea looks pretty good. Just shoot the nae sayers

Those work perfectly. I wouldn't change a thing. Nicely done

if you're feeling brave, razor saw of one barrel between the flash hider and the bit attached to the under side (anyone know what that's supposed to be??).
Take it bits to a good model shop - they should have plastic & brass tubing.
Test-fit to find a snug fit & hey-presto an easy way to extend barrels.
I would go for brass & pick up a pipe cut from a plumbing store to cut the rods to the right size & square - they just need a bit of filing to clean up the ends where the cutter pushes in the rod slightly.

I've added the Eagle corner sections from the Cities of Death sprues to the back of each pair of cannons, just to give it a bit more bulk. Other than that there are no problems with it at all, and to the any sayers, the stats for the quads are similar and the addition of extra sights can only help

I think it's fine for casual gaming and definitely can't be confused with anything else on the table.

If you're worried about how 'real' (like that's not a loaded term in 40k...) it looks I would definitely follow Bubber's suggestion about lengthening the autocannon barrels. The weapon is supposed to be double the range of a regular autocannon and that's not really depicted in your model quite yet. Some kind of target tracker would be nice, but there's nothing that says it has to be a radar or anything of the sort. Some techno-gubbins on the tank itself could fit the bill just fine.

Again, it's totally fine the way it is, but you've got all sorts of directions you could expand upon it if you feel the desire.

DoW

bubber wrote:if you're feeling brave, razor saw of one barrel between the flash hider and the bit attached to the under side (anyone know what that's supposed to be??).

Recoil piston, I believe.

It's absolutely acceptable for any gaming situation, there's no possible confusion re what it is and it's all GW bits. If anyone whines about the 'standard' autocannon, just say the extra range is achieved via special ammunition.

Re making it a 'better' model if you really want to:
- yes, a spot of barrel lengthening (as suggested by others) wouldn't hurt, if you have easy access to styrene tubing.
- there's a radar dish on the Apocalypse mini-sprue which would be perfect for this model
- some sort of shield for the turret (probably attached to the guns) would look good, not sure how easy it would be to build though...

hey, thanks for all the feedback. i really appreciate it. i'm pretty much done with it as far as barrel length goes. i like the idea of adding a "radar" type device. the problem is i'm not sure where i'd mount the damn thing! there's not really enough room on or near the turret. the back plate is about the only place with enough room. i "blue tacked" a search light and a Space Marine radar dish on. see the new pics. what do you all thing about the addition? better or was the original version better?
@ Clang:
do you mean the radar dish with the eagle bit? the IG com bit from the Apocalypse sprue?

the searchlight looks a little tacked on (haha get it, tacked on? I kill myself). Puns aside, I do feel it looks a tad out of place. I'm likely going to just put mine on the cupola where they go on regular chimeras.

I am, however, curious what bits you used to flesh out the rest of the hull? Like the rear hatch replacement, as well as the sloping piece in front of the turret.

Turret is fine. The Aegis Autocannon battery is a popular way to convert hydras. The search light looks fine where it is sort of like the old WWII anti aircraft batteris where they would shine lights into the sky to see.

"I am, however, curious what bits you used to flesh out the rest of the hull? Like the rear hatch replacement, as well as the sloping piece in front of the turret. "

all of the hull pieces are from the new Hellhound kit. the sloped piece is a left over piece not used in the kit. the rear hatch is the rear hatch with the top 1/3 sawed off.
the only problem with mounting the search light on the hatch is it puts it in the line of fire.
like so:

I still like it man. It's looking great.

I do still suggest having a spotter on the roof pointing

Yes, I meant the 'eagle' radar dish from the Apocalypse sprue. Is the round hatch glued on? The 'eagle' radar dish has a round base designed to fit a hatch hole - although then it would potentially interfere with the cannon, as you've already found with putting the searchlight on the hatch. Or alternatively the radar dish could be added to the top of the gun mount?

Having both a searchlight and a radar dish probably would be too crowded on such a minimalist turret.

As Kanluwen suggest, a spotter on the roof could be good, if you like the low-tech look. I think there's room enough for him to stand on the hull front without hitting the cannon.

alarmingrick wrote: all of the hull pieces are from the new Hellhound kit.

It's funny, I started assembling my new hellhound kit literally right after posting that, imagine my surprise when I see those very bitz I was pondering

I'm trying to decide if I want to base my Hydras off the hellhound like you did, or use the chimera. The chimera is a tad cheaper and you get the rapidly vanishing accessory kit, but the rear of the hellhound is pretty much perfect for the Hydra's setup. I was pondering having the hydra turret come up out of the opened hatch doors on a chimera, looking like they would remove the barrels and lower it inside the chassis for long-term transport. Dunno if it would actually look right in practice, however

I see what you mean about the searchlight, it probably should find a home on the turret; have you tried mounting it on a side? On top it just makes the turret assembly look too tall and narrow from the front to me.

"The chimera is a tad cheaper ..."

do a search on (F)Ebay for "40k Hellound". you'll bring up kits, but also bits. i pieced together enough bits to make 2 of them for less than $20(USD) each. i found it was cheaper to buy the Aegis gunline kits though. the damn turrets alone were selling for almost as much as the whole kit.

Dude that's fine. I mean the one I made was bigger, but that was only down to my own personal taste.

SPAAG tanks have really varied barrel sizes, so "fluff-wide", don't sweat it. When I was making both my Manti and my Hydras I did a lot of research into AFVs, and actually found the FW (and subsequently my one) Hydras to be really inaccurate and silly-looking, comapred to their IRL equivalents.

Yours looks just like the Chinese type 95, which was a look I was considering, but the dakka convinced me otherwise



Theres also the Russian ZSU, which is similar in size:


Dude, it's cooool. If anyone moans, just give them a bit of nerdrage and that should sort the situation right out

again, i really appreciate the input more than you can know. i've decided against the spot light and added the little radar dish(see new pics). i promised a friend a couple of more "behind the scenes" pics.

Looks good to me, I agree the small radar dish looks fine. Now looking forward to seeing you make all the other turrets

Rick, I said it over PM, but this is just the most simple and elegant way of making a quick'n'easy Hydra I've seen to date. Screw Forge World, I will be copying you!!!

One question thought... did you need to magnetise it?

Also, if you have them, all Razorback-style turrets will fit in that Planetstrike turret bit. You could mount the Sensor array from the Bastion there, the Icarus Lascannon or even the TL-Assault Cannon from the Redeemer there.

If you want vehicle kits to saw up and modify, eBay usually has plenty of built kits which go for about half the retail price as long as they aren't advertised as "well painted".

Thinking about the turret, you could saw the two sideways trunnions, add some thick plastic rod to space the gun assemblies out sideways, and mount the searchlight or radar dish in the middle.

Looks pretty great to me.

Nice, clean conversion.

I wouldn't see a problem with it.

Cheers,

Jack.

all the input and encouragement is greatly appreciated!

"Screw Forge World"

exactly! by the time i shell out the cash, straighten out the resin, assmble and paint their Hydra, i could make about 4 of these to 2 of theirs.

"One question thought... did you need to magnetise it?"

no. i mainly did it to allow for a possible Manticore upgrade down the road. i also did it for storage/transporting reasons because of it's height. it's kinda of tall.

bubber wrote:if you're feeling brave, razor saw of one barrel between the flash hider and the bit attached to the under side (anyone know what that's supposed to be??).
Take it bits to a good model shop - they should have plastic & brass tubing.
Test-fit to find a snug fit & hey-presto an easy way to extend barrels.
I would go for brass & pick up a pipe cut from a plumbing store to cut the rods to the right size & square - they just need a bit of filing to clean up the ends where the cutter pushes in the rod slightly.

The above would be an easy fix, but it looks pretty awesome as it is and I would have no problem with you fielding it...

Rick, I've been thinking about this thread quite a bit--and something hit me while I was going through the Squadron catalog I got yesterday.



Now, how's THAT for an out of the way radar system? It's a set of upgrade parts for a Stryker kit, and relatively(compared to Forge World ) cheap, at $11.42 per set(it's supposed to be some four different radomes, IED detection parts, etc). Add in that, currently, they're running a 25% off(which expires Saturday at midnight)--you might be able to get enough to outfit a whole battery of Hydras for around $30