142 - Alternative Hydra Turrets
So GW have released the new Hydra/Wyvern double kit. It look's quite nice, you can easily make both kits and it fits well with the rest of the range, albeit with that curved gun shield looking a little out of place when compared to some of the blockier tanks. However, I have one big problem with the kit - why on earth is the turret open topped!?
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| Image used without permission |
I do like the face that you can see the screens and other gizmos, but I would have liked the option of having an enclosed turret. Of course you can always try to kitbash one and there have been a couple of effort's going around. But what if you on't want to kitbash it? What if you want something different? Well I thought that rather than having a massive rant, I would scour the internet and try and find some decent Hydra alternatives. Oh and you can't just go and buy the ForgeWorld version as it's not available any more!
Before I start showing pictures, I want to say that I haven't actually bought any of these kits or seen them in the flesh. This is literally just some different options that are available. Also all of the pictures were used without permission.
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| Forge Planet's Centurion Weapon System |
First up is Forge Planet's Centurion Weapon System, which can be found here. This kit will cost you $29.95 plus $8.00 postage to the UK, which works out at about £23. The Centurion looks like it should fit on to the back of a half built Chimera, and looks to be a pretty decent bit of hardware.
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| Max Mini's AA Gun Turret |
Your next option is Max Mini's AA Gun Turret, which you can look at here. This gun turret will set you back €27.00 and an additional €5.00 to €10.50 for UK delivery. This is about £27.00 to £30.00. This turret looks very similar to the original FW Hydra, which isn't a bad thing. Unfortunately you don't get anything to help attach it to a Chimera. You do get a platform for using it as an emplacement though.
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| Puppets War's new Cerberus AT Turret |
Puppets War have just released their new Cerberus AT Turret (here), replacing the open version that they used to do. This time you'll have to spend €15.00 plus €4.99 for postage to the UK. So you are looking at around £16.00 - not bad. You get a funky looking turret which doesn't look overly complicated, plus a bunker base. There is also Puppets War cool system where they have magnet holes pre drilled so you can probably add any of their weapons options to this turret. The only downside is I'm not sure how easy this would be to add to a Chimera, but I imagine the bunker should just cover up the top hatch.
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| Puppets War's Gatling Turret Mk II |
Sticking with Puppets War is the Gatling Turret Mk II, which you can see here. This is the cheapest option and will set you back €10.00 for the kit and €4.99 for UK delivery. This is about £12.00. What you get is a very low profile turret and bunker base, which like the Cerberus should hopefully fit to the top of a Chimera.
I have emailed Puppets War to see if they've tried this. Again you get the pre drilled magnet holes so you can buy different weapons and try out different load outs. They do a grenade launcher system which could double up as the Wyvern mortars.
So there are some alternative Hydra kits. I hope that people have found this useful and feel free to share any others that you may have found in the comments section. Thanks for reading!
3 comments:
If you pick up the puppet war turret, please post some photos! It's hard finding photos of their turrets on various GW vehicles.
I've thought about using that exact model you posted as a razorback turret, as I feel the GW solution looks so...weedy.
I want my tanks to look like tanks!
i love Hydras so much, but the price used to be stupid, so about 5 years ago i made these, super cheap.
http://sanguinesons.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/hydra-conversion-with-punisher-cannons.html
http://sanguinesons.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/hydra-conversion-with-punisher-cannons_10.html
not sure how you are with plasticard, but this is a good place to start as they were pretty straightforward builds.
@ Greg - I am considering my options but I will definitely post some photos of whatever I get.
@ Atreides - ooh they are some nice conversions. I may try them as well/instead. I've done a few setback Chimera's so I'm relatively happy with conversion work.
@ Frothing Muppet - you'll have to grab it and finish it up! Let us know if you do.
Cheers for the comments everyone.
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