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Hi all

I've been looking to kit-bash up a Whirlwind using either Kromlech, Shapeway or similar 'whirlwind' type missile launchers. Can you use a Rhino as the base, or am I better off using a Razorback? As I am new to kit-bashing, I plan to get the models cheap second hand, and as Rhinos are usually cheaper that is the way I was leaning, but most of the kits seem to suggest that you start with a Razorback.

Advice, opinions and tips appreciated

The Razorback has a turret ring you can repurpose for the whirlwind. Ideally A fully glued together rhino would need some kind of turret ring gubbins to merge the launchers with the hull. You could simply glue the launcher to the top hatch but it would probably be noticable.

Ah.... that makes sense now. So, are there any kits that you are aware of that are made for a Rhino rather than Razorback? i.e. that are made with a turret ring as part of the kit?

Cheers!

 Flinty wrote:
The Razorback has a turret ring you can repurpose for the whirlwind. Ideally A fully glued together rhino would need some kind of turret ring gubbins to merge the launchers with the hull. You could simply glue the launcher to the top hatch but it would probably be noticable.

So, I've built several vehicles with interchangeable top plates for Predators, Whirlwinds, etc.

If I recall, my Kromlech "Scorpius" style launchers shipped with top plates and turret rings...which weirdly didn't fit the Rhino (perhaps on purpose so they had plausible deniability about their purpose?). I ended up using the plastic turret ring pieces I had on hand. I don't even know where I sourced the plastic ones from - I think eBay.

Here's a pic of the kits:


They definitely had top-plates included, but they didn't fit - though I can't remember which dimension was off.

I ended up just using the plastic ones, but they fit perfectly:

I bought one of Kromlech's early missile launcher turret upgrades in resin that came with the replacement top plate for the Rhino hull. It worked well enough, but I got a better fit by using the Razorback top plate with the resin turret. So I'd say use the resin plates if you're starting with the Rhino kit, and the Razorback plates if you have them (I'd always but a Razor over a Rhino anyway).

See them in the back row here:

Rhino, Razorback , Whirlwind and Predator are all the exact same kit for the hull, the only difference is when you build the main hull you choose either to use the 2 doors on top for the Rhino or you choose the single plate with a hole in it (circled in yellow below) if you're building any of the other 3 tanks. If you buy a Razorback kit, it's the Rhino kit with an extra added sprue that is turret itself. The Whirlwind kit is a Rhino with the missile launcher turret as a separate sprue, and the Predator is a Rhino with the turret & sponsons as a separate sprue, but the "turret ring" Flinty spoke of is included with the base Rhino kit. All of those kits are designed for the turrets to fit into that same turret ring top plate, and most of the 3rd party ones are also specifically designed to fit that same ring, but it looks like the Kromleck kits also include their own top-plate.

If you have an unbuilt Rhino, you can leave the top plate unglued and then when you play the doors or top-plate just drop into place, or you can get fancy and use magnets to magnetize the plates or the turrets (tons of guides online if you google "magnetized razorback"

Yeah...any Rhino-chassis vehicle, if you're not magnetizing or leaving hatches to run them as: Rhino/Razorback/Whirlwind/Predator...you're wasting money.

I even built a Vindicator style gun housing and run my Rhino chassis vehicles as anything I want.

Thanks so much for all your replies, they were really useful