Magnetized and Electrified Rhino

[cfx]

Magnetized and Electrified Rhino: LIghted up!

Hi everyone!

I've been a long-time lurker on this forum, but besides from posting a few pictures on the main page I've never contributed on this fantastic site. When I started my first WH40K Rhino I thought it was time to finally share my progress here.

I started this project with quite a massive research on what other people have done to tune and paint their Rhinos. Unfortunately I din't save the links, so I can't tell you the original sources. After going through my idea collection I decided to go for Ultramarines and electrify my Rhino with LED lights and use a lot of magnets to make the optional parts interchangeable.

I started by hinging the side doors with thin wire. I followed this very good article (http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/index.php?autocom=ineo&showarticle=160) to make them openable.

The same technique was used for the top hatches. Additionally I added handles to the two halves of the hatch from the same thin wire.

Also the large main hatch-doors received handles and hinges. The hinges were done slightly different here because the hinges are in four and not three parts.

 

[wargamer43210]

Cool! I've tried hinging mine before and it has not worked out well. Thanks for the link! I'll be giving it another go!

I can't wait to see the led work.

 

[cassar]

coolio, you certainley arent afraid of doing some fiddly tinkering thats for sure i 'd need the hubble telescope to see that small lol

 

[freakinacage]

looking good so far!

 

[Chrome]

coolio, you certainley arent afraid of doing some fiddly tinkering thats for sure i 'd need the hubble telescope to see that small lol

That's just your age speaking cassar!

Looking like a great start!
If you're looking for more inspiration check out my old thread The never-ending Stormblade

 

[DannyBoy2k]

The Never-Ending STOOORM-BLAAAAAAADE...dada dee dada dee dada deeeeee.
What?

As for the Rhino, I shall keep track of this one. Will look interesting, I'm sure.

 

[cfx]

Thanks for the support.
@Chrome: I already know your thread and maybe you'll recognize one or the other idea

I worked a bit on the front panel. Cut out the windows and replaced the with some plastic from a blister pack. That leaves me the option to light the interior of the cockpit as well.

Further I added two 1mm diameter magnets at the inner edge of the window frame and on the corner of the additional window armour (I don't know how to call that). I hope you can see them on the picture. This allows me to hold the additional armour in the open or closed position.

The same principle was also used on the side doors to keep the closed, although the hinges are already a bit tight and keep it more or less in position. But better safe than sorry

By the way: Naturally I also drilled out the holes on the exhaust pipes. And the cutout on the top edge is for the wiring of the LED lights. I'm going to show you pictures of this soon.

 

[cassar]

That's just your age speaking cassar!

Looking like a great start!
If you're looking for more inspiration check out my old thread The never-ending Stormblade

cheeky beggar! lol. seems like you have some serious competition here chrome. tell me cfx does this thing come fully loaded, cd player leather seats etc lol no really well done

 

[DannyBoy2k]

Corinthian leather, Cd-stacker, and DVD with monitors in the transport space. Oh, and 20" rims with spinners.

 

[cfx]

I see there are already very "creative" ideas coming

I used some more magnets on the small hatch to keep it in place for both sides. As you can see from the many holes I had to fill with greenstuff I tried several positions for the magnets and the one in the center was the only one which worked.

With another magnet on the other side (needs a second one because you want the same polarity!) u can also attach the rocket launcher.

I just drilled a hole in the center of the base, so the magnet on the hatch fits in there. With a second magnet in the base of the rocket launcher its keeps a tight grip.

The two drivers were also equipped with magnets to allow swapping of the torsos and heads. In order to put the gunner in and out of the hatch the arms were also equipped with magnets to make them removeable. I placed another magnet in the center of the bolter handle so the bolter can be attached to the gunner.

To keep the drivers/gunners in place two small (1mm) magnets were placed on the rim.

They match with another pair of magnets on the underside of the hatches. The larger two magnets are supposed to hold the hatch to the frame of the rhino.

On the last picture you can see where I placed the magnet on the bolter. Now I can choose to either attach the empty handle or let the bolter be fired by the gunner.

Next I'm doing the wiring for my LEDs ...

 

[daddyo]

you want the opposite polarity for the magnets, otherwise all those pretty little bits you worked so hard on will fly off and hide in the carpet for the cat to find and eat.

(don't ask how i know about the cat...)

good work on the grab handles and such. all my 1/35 armor gets that treatment.

 

[cfx]

I have all the lights in my Rhino wired up. I have two 3mm white LEDs as head lights. I simply drilled out the plastic ones and glued in the LEDs. A white 5mm LED serves as searchlight. Since the 5mm LED is a bit too long I had to file it down a bit so it would fit. The cables go through the base of the searchlight into the cockpit of the Rhino. The "cage" for the searchlight was built from thin wire.

As you can see I also light the two small position lights besides the headlights. I also drilled them out and used one yellow SMD LED which covers both of them.

The cockpit is lighted by two red SMD LEDs at the front. By putting the at the front I hope to create a red glow in the cockpit and at the same time hide the cables in the back by the glow of the light. As you can see there are quite a lot of wires there. Maybe for a next model I'll try to find even smaller wire.

Finally the loading area is also lighted by four red SMD LEDs. I like this touch of "jump lights" or "emergency lights" like on a plane or submarine.

I'm powering this from a 4V thin cell which I got somwhere in my electronic box. Originally I wanted to use a 9V block but It doesent fit in the cockpit for about 2mm. The 4V battery makes wiring relatively simple. Since the LEDs all take about 2Vs I wired them in pairs exxept for the large one in the searchlight. This one got the full 4V. As you can see on the picture I have a double switch which I glued under one of the hatches. The internal lights are on one circuit and the external on the other. In the other hatch you can see the counterpart to the magnets in the small hatch. It's simply a piece of sprue with a magnet placed in it, but it does the job of keeping the hatch in place.

I placed some largeer magnets at several points on the inside of the hull to serve as counterpart to the magnets in the smoke launchers and the radar dish. By that means I can also freely interchange the on the top of my Rhino. (After the photo I added another magnet at the back because I found out that the radar dish also looks cool back there.)

Next I will start painting the interior of my Rhino...

 

[Chrome]

you want the opposite polarity for the magnets, otherwise all those pretty little bits you worked so hard on will fly off and hide in the carpet for the cat to find and eat.

(don't ask how i know about the cat...)

good work on the grab handles and such. all my 1/35 armor gets that treatment.

That's why he put two magnets with the same polarity side faced outwards, to make sure they are opposite to the details' magnet's polarity and fit no matter what side of the hatch is faced up.

 

[nix]

Looks like you're building a bomb. I mean, a really impressive rhino-looking bomb.

 

[COG]

very nice job
i want to see it lit up
its gonna be a lead magnet (< ha) with so much lights.
also nice job with the wiring looks very neat

 

[cassar]

you're going to have to be careful with the wiring when it comes to assembly, you may have to cut grooves for it in the side pannel compartments but very nice job... dont suppose you could pop over here and install some lights in my hall??

 

[cfx]

That's why he put two magnets with the same polarity side faced outwards, to make sure they are opposite to the details' magnet's polarity and fit no matter what side of the hatch is faced up.

Exactly, I think I forgot to mention that. The magnets have to be thin so the repelling forces are not that strong. A bit of super glue keeps them in place.

@Cassar: Yes, in fact I had to cut out four groves which you can see on the next photographs. Two on the top of the back wall and two larger in the side panels in the cockpit. But since they won't be visible this is no big deal.

Let's continue with the update: After my easter holidays I finally found some time to continue with my rhino. I started painting the interior. As you can see I added some leftover weapons from a tactical squad on the walls. (I have to admit that this is also an idea I found on the web)

I also painted the inside of the side doors.

I'm still finishing the back wall with the computer terminal. How do you like it?

 

[cfx]

Yesterday I managed to finish the back wall of the troop compartment. I tried a little freehand of an imperial eagle on the door since the decals were too large. I've sketched it with a pencil and then coloured it with chaos black. The computer console is maybe a bit too much with all those shiny and colourful buttons, I but I kind of got into it and could'nt stop

Ahh, just saw on the photo that there's still stome black shining through where I had to correct on the eagle. I'll fix that with some more layers of bleached bone.

By the way you can also see the two groves I had to cut out in order to fit the cables for the interior lighting through.

 

[cfx]

I tried to paint my first larger freehand on the backdoor of the rhino. It seemed to be an ideal spot for it since it was flat and could be painted individually. I liked the banner from the second company so I copied it to the right size and transfered it with pencil to the door. The colouring was then the difficult task, especialy to get the image as symmetrical as possible.

Any tips for improvement would be appreciated.

 

[COG]

i cant add anything useful
very nice
reminds me of the old school ultra look
needs more red bits lol

oh love the flashy buttons from the last post