This Weeks WIPs – Relic Predator Conversions

by Novus

A few months back I added a couple of Relic Predators (a great Imperial Armor unit) to my army and they have turned out to be a boost in firepower for my Chaos Space Marine force.  I took the Rhinos that have done nothing but give my opponent First Blood and converted them up to what you see here.




Kitted out with a front AV of 13 and Plasma Destructors (S7 AP2 Blast, Heavy 3) they are very potent against MEQ and Terminators.  The Plasma Destructors you see here I made with a VEX-040 Tentacle Maker, some Styrene tubing, and a couple of small plastic boxes I had laying around.

Once again I didn’t think to take pics until after I finished the damned things.  I’ll work up a tutorial soon.



I wanted them to look a little different from standard Predators so they are easy to pick out should I decide to use a standard one in-game.  This lead me to replace the top hatch/turret socket with the Bastion part that you mount the Quad or Icarus on.   They have a much more distinct profile now and are easy to differentiate.



I’ve done all of the airbrush work and have started to move on to the detail stuff.  Once that is done, I’ll seal it and then go in with the weathering pigments and seal it one final time.



The pitting was accomplished using a Dremel Stylus and various drill bits and grinding heads.



I wanted these things to look Olde and revered, they are Relics after all, so I tried to put enough pitting on to get that across without overdoing it (hopefully).  The hatches I wanted to look merely dirty, not rusted, because I’d like them to look like they are made from precious metals (and therefore impervious to normal oxidation) looted during 10,000 years of conquest.  I haven’t finished them yet which is why they are still very shiny.



One of the turrets I got at a bits swap event for a couple of Meltaguns.  It was trashed: too much glue, big gaps, and a gun mount with the guns broken off and glued in place!  I think I made that trash into treasure.



The “bruised metal” effect I found by accident.  Basically, it’s 3 shades of GW Scorched Brown laid down in smaller and smaller patches with the lightest shade biggest/first.



The gouges in the hull at the front, front quarter panels, and on the bottom of the stacks were done using a fine file run at a very shallow angle in parallel to the top of the hull.  I was trying to simulate these things dragging across battlefield debris like broken re-bar and tank traps.

I still have a lot more work to do, but so far, I’m pretty pleased.

Happy bashing!