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So, I set out on what I thought would be an easy tank reclaimation project off eBay. Turned out to not be so easy. I misjudged and ended up with something that was even worse than how it appears in the photo. On top of that, it was apparently assembled using a metric butt-ton of Testor's model glue. It had run everywhere and many of the panels were warped. Nothing was worse than where the front armor glued into the top armor. It was just one huge glob of glue instead of a joint.

This is what we started with:



I soaked it in Super Clean for almost a week and still the paint was barely coming off, turning out to be some sort of strong enamel. Probably Testor's as well. With hours of filing and working at it, this is what I ended up with for parts:




I turned to the forums, got a ton of great advice, but in the end I did have to replace a few bits, noticably the roof and front glacis. As you can see here, I tried to cut out the hatches and the terrible drive, but it just made it worse and there's a river of glue down the front.



So, in the end, I replaced what I had to and now I've finished painting it. In honor of its long, rough journey this is easily the most weathered vehicle/model in my Dark Angels army and Old Ironsides still stands strong. Without further ado:









Please feel free to toss me any feedback you can. I am really proud of how it turned out, but I know there are always ways to improve. Considering how it started, I'm hoping this Rhino enjoys its new home and clothing a lot better than its old ones.

Many, many gold stars! This looks great and unique!

I like your smoke launchers. Also I'm sure you are well aware BUT I gotta say it or someone else will lol. The door is on backwards . The paint looks really good on black. Good restore also!

This transformation had me at the edge of my seat, I was half expecting it to be as smooth as a brick with what you started with, very nice job!

Nice job fixing that rhino

Kal-El wrote:
I like your smoke launchers. Also I'm sure you are well aware BUT I gotta say it or someone else will lol. The door is on backwards . The paint looks really good on black. Good restore also!

I know! It's held in by the Testor's model glue the original owner put it together with. I have no idea what he was thinking with the assembly. There was literally no way to pull it out without destroying the model. So it is in as it is. My story is that it's a kludged repair by the Techmarine after the door was ripped off by genestealers (see all the scratch marks around it?).

You should be very proud of yourself for this! Well done
Even if it was a standard kit I'd still say it came out great
you've saved that poor rhino
Luckily for me, I play orks, my saving is called looting, muuuuch easier to do haha

Oh dear! What did you have to search to find that thing?

 TheAngrySquig wrote:
Oh dear! What did you have to search to find that thing?

I believe the search line I put into eBay was:

+purgatory +hell +rhino +ishtar

Really, it was one of the cheaper used Rhinos that I saw with an OBO on it and I was able to get the guy down a few bucks from listed. I thought I had a steal, but I misjudged it. When I had it in my hands it was sooooo much worse than the pictures. They do not do the amount of awfulness justice.

Amazing job! I can only wish to be able to pull off that miracle! Very well done!

Another model saved!!! Love that you did this. At my shop I am know for saving the lost and ruined crap that the new kids start on.

That's pretty amazing. You definitely brought that rhino back from the brink. Nice work!

The Machine God would be proud. The rhino looks great now.

Seriously; you brought that poor old box back to life.

I applaud your ability to see potential in your plastic.

Very, very good. That poor Rhino was little more than a source of spare parts or a perhaps a ruined piece of vehicle terrain. However you have done really well with it and it looks really good now, many freshly painted new Rhinos don't look that good. I like to see old models being rescued from the horrors of the ebay and given some love and returned to health.

Thanks for the feedback to those that have posted it.

This won't be my last reclamation project. If I can fix this one and the Predator I did previously up and have them come out looking very presentable, then I'm tempted to go after the big prizes -- a Land Raider or a Super Heavy for my IG. Those would be some true challenges.

I got some crappy rhinos you might be interested in Rolf.

Lots of work to bring it back from the dead. I would have been tempted to cover up the bad spots with metal chunks and call it looted, in fact that is what I would have done!
Good job.

Pics are gone.

seanm222 wrote:
Pics are gone.

Bah. I reorganized my Photobucket. Fixed.

Great work! I love salvaging job lots from eBay, and I love seeing other people do it as well!

That looks amazing, I'm glad you were able to restore it into the service of the emperor

Really nice save!

Is that seriously the same rhino? Cause it looks crazy good compared to how it started out. Grats on a really good job done.

The machine spirit is calmed, and is no longer in pain, good job! doing somthing similar to a ravaged Monolith

Clsaac that is pretty dam sick.....Many kudo's to you my friend

And THAT is how you make a Silk Purse out of a Sow's Ear!

Well done.

Nice job saving this one from the garbage can of despair.
Regarding the door...use some card stock and GS to fill the gaps and cover the gratings. You wont have all the greebly details of the door, but it will give you a flat surface to place a chapter symbol, unfurled scroll, or a small shrine to break up the panelling.

very nice recovery effort! while this story does have a happy ending, this is exactly why I stay away from buying used kudos for sticking with it and making a great model out of a mess, though.

Yeah, wow.

I wouldn't have touched that Rhino on Ebay unless it was in single digits, and maybe not even then just because of estimated work to retrieve, lol.

You did some impressive work on it.