Modeling Workshop

Today we will learn how to make a Adeptus Arbitus rhino. Now, understandably, an Arbitus rhino doesn't necessarily have to be some special tank, it can just be a normal rhino. But what fun is that? Even if you decide not to use this as a rhino, I'll be including a datafax here to use it as a new tank, The Arbitus Mauler. So use it however you like, or don't use it at all. But I think you will like the technique I've used here to build this tank.

I'll start with the hull. The first thing I did is take one of the hull sections, and chop the little L's off the back of it. Lay this piece to the side, for later work. Now take the other hull section, and chop the L's off as well. Cut out the little window divider in the back end, and then cut down the model, along the sides of the window, extending the window all the way to the floor of the hull. Now what you need is a piece of thin plastic sheet that is approximately the same thickness as the rhino plastic.

Take the plastic and cut a piece that will extend from the bottom of the angle on the hull, to where it would meet a piece of plastic going straight down from the top. Cut this piece out and place it to the side. Now take another piece of plastic and make a triangle that will fit onto the end to square the end off. You will need two of these. Finally make a back piece to finish it all up.

You now need to make all these pieces fit together nicely. If you look closely at the back hull of the rhino, you can see how at the bottom, it curves inward slightly. When you make the back end squared off, it's best to follow the curve as best as possible, to keep it from looking wierd and boxy. I started with the sides, this gives me a map for the other pieces once they are in place. What I did was hold the triangle up to the side, and gently shave it as close as possible. Finally, I sanded the pieces together until they were the right shape and size. You may find that you have to go back and forth sanding the various pieces alternately until you achieve the desired result. Next do the bottom, starting by cutting it down into a slight V shape along the sides. I achieved this by using a ruler to mark where the curve should follow. Gently cut and sand the part until it fits together with the two sides.

The best thing to do now is to assemble the bottom and side pieces onto the hull. Place the sides on so they are flush, starting with the right side, and glue it in place on the inside of the hull. (Its important to glue on the inside and not the outside, you will see why later). Next, glue the bottom onto the hull. Make sure you have the side lined up with the side you have already glued into place. If there is a small gap somewhere, dont worry about it. Let this dry thoroughly. Now glue on the other side piece, making sure to glue on the inside of the hull.

Now, you need to sand all these edges smooth, and sand the back down so that it is even and flat. Now place the back piece up against this, and cut and sand it to fit over the back. Glue it on when you think it's ready to go on, and let it dry completely. Once you are satisfied it is totally dry, you need to layer the inside with glue heavily. This will keep the structure solid when you begin sanding at it. I think it's best if you use a cyano-acrylate glue for this project. Once I had the back assembled, I tried the top on to make sure it still fits on, if not, sand as necessary. Sand the edges down to a round edge. If there are any gaps, fill them up with glue and sand them smooth. I used a 500 grit sandpaper to do this. Adding glue to the outside and sanding will allow you to smooth out any areas where your joint may otherwise show through. When you are fully done sanding you should not be able to see any joints at all.

Now take the other hull piece you set aside initially. Shave the round hump off the front of the hull, and cut the two nodules that the door fits onto off. and the area smooth and set it on top of the rest of the hull. Do not glue it just yet. You need to make the back compartment. Take your sheet plastic and cut two sides, a front and a back. Place them inside the hull to fit them, and shave the sides as necessary to achieve a gapless fit. You will notice the sides of the old window in the bottom of the hull provide a perfect guide for placing the insides of the rear compartment, and coincidentally, they make it perfectly straight. Once you have these pieces cut down and trimmed up, you need to cut a bottom. Use the top hole as a guide and sand it down from there. It's a lot easier to glue the hull together at this point, and using a long tip on your glue, glue the pieces together on the inside of the hull, so no unsightly glue remains in your compartment, its very hard to sand in there. If you need to fill any gaps up, take a crappy brush, and kiss it goodbye. Use this brush to brush glue along the inside joints of the compartment.

Next, cut a square of plastic to provide a base for your turret, and cover up the access holes. Bevel the edges smooth with sandpaper, but dont glue it on yet. Cut a half moon shaped piece of plastic, and smooth its edges until it is nice and round. Now cut a pice of plastic to go all the way around the front of the half moon, and finally a peice for the back.

In the long wrap-around piece, cut a slit in the center where your turret gun will go. Make sure to test the gun, as once this is in place there really is no going back, short of redoing it. Glue the back piece to the long piece at a 90 degree angle and allow it to dry totally. Reinforce this bond with a horde of glue, applied in layers, allowing to dry completely. You can now bend this piece smoothly around so that you can glue it together at the other end. Make sure the bend is smooth, and does not crease or break. Hold it in place until it completely dries, and reinforce the glue as necessary. When it has dried, take the half moon, and fit it to the top of the turret assembly. You will most likely need to cut and sand the moon to fit the bend of your turret, but you can to some degree change the bend. Once the two pieces match, glue the top onto the turret, and reinforce this with a lot of glue. You don't want this thing popping apart on its own. Once it's totally dry, sand it all down to a smooth rounded finish.

If you want your gun to rotate, you can drill a small hole in the base of it, and glue a tiny rod to the square of plastic you previously beveled. Remember to put it together before you glue the turret on however. Or you can just glue it all in place. Either way, glue the turret onto the square, and the square onto the hull. Your hull is now complete.

To finish your rhino, all you need to do is assemble as normal. I used some marine bolters shaved up and glued to the insides of the doors to make storm bolters on the sides. To put the windows on the back of the rhino, you need to sand down the extrusion on the back so the whole thing sits flush with the back. The windows were designed to be mounted into a hole, and its eaiser to sand them down then to cut holes in the back of your creation. Now just assemble the rhino, attatch the bulldozer blade, and paint it up.

Voila! You have an Adeptus Arbitus Rhino!

This can also be used as a gorgon, it matches the epic vehicle quite closely, I however use it as my Adeptus Arbitus Mauler.

Tim Rightnour