Rhino conversions

I like magnets.

Possibly too much.

Still, the possiilities a set of magnets, a bottle of super-glue and some appropriately size drills open up are well worth thinking about.

If you consider that most armies in Warhammer 40,000 really only have two tanks in them (unless you're eldar or Tau, in which case you only have one) and that all the different variants of those tanks are built around the same chassis, then you have to wonder "I would like a Rhino, a Whirlwind and a Razorback in my army. Do I really have to buy three different tanks?"

The answer is - if you're prepared to drill, glue and cut your models up a bit, "No!".

Here's a model that I built recently from an old Rhino chassis I got from ebay. I bought a few extra bits from an on-line "bits" store and the whirlwind launcher from ebay. With the addition of some judiciously placed magnets and a few bits & bobs I Wombled from around the house I now have a Rhino (actually three Rhinos, but I'm only showing one here. You can see the others on my Space Marines blog in their Rhino configuration) which can be a Rhino, Whirlwind or Razorback as whim takes me. In Razorback form, it can sport flamers, assault-cannon or heavy bolters. All the bits just clip on and off thanks to the magic of magnets.

If you're careful with your approach, then even your chassis-type doesn't need to be consistent. One of my Rhinos is the first-edition model type which is smaller in all dimensions than the one pictured by up to 1cm, but I've managed to ensure that the same parts can be used on all chassis.
The "Wombling" I mentioned earlier is best seen in the bottom-right picture. In that picture you can clearly see a metallic "ring" with a fluted "turret" in it. The "ring" came out of the neck of a squash-bottle. The "turret" is a lid from an essential-oil bottle. The message here is that if you keep your eyes peeled, you will find all manner of useful widgets to use in your conversion projects. Not everything has to come out of the kit.

You are only limited by your imagination in this arena. The usual limitation of "cost" ceases largely to be a problem.