1/35 G6 Rhino

[NAMBiohazard]

South African wheeled artillery

[NAMBiohazard]

So here is my entry into the build



All info to be posted soon as I am still collecting some notes on its history....

Watch this space.......

[fly1ngdutchm4n]

Sweeeeeet!
Nice entry, never seen that vehicle before.... Awesome thing

[Rammit]

Trust the South Africans to come up with something as biblically scary as that...

[rodrant]

Nice...look something out of a Sci-Fi movie

Curious to see some details on this Rhino , never knew this .

[Yevgeny]

Wow, this does look like a rhino a bit. Cool choice.

[Tiger131]

wow that looks like it should be in the terminator films cool looking choice

[NAMBiohazard]

G6 Rhino
155mm SELF-PROPELLED GUN-HOWITZER

The G6 is an indigenous South African selp-propelled artillery platform utilizing a three-axle, six-wheeled, heavily armored system mounting a modified version of the G5 cannon. The G6 is an agile super-range weapon that forms the backbone of a fully integrated and flexible artillery system. It was developed and refined primarily to support rapidly advancing mechanised infantry and armoured divisions. THE G6 "Rhino" is also referred to as the "GV6 Rhino" in the South African National Defense Force nomenclature.

The first prototype of the G6 Rhino was completed in 1981 and shown for the first time in public in September 1982. By late 1986, four complete G6s had been built plus one additional turret. Of these four, two can be considered as prototypes and two advanced development vehicles, for they incorporated many improvements as the result of user trials and changes in operational requirements. The first production G6s were completed during 1988, with Denel being the prime contractor. The G6 Rhino howitzer was the first vehicle of this type with a full autonomous laying and navigation capability.





The G6 Rhino is fitted with a 155-mm gun-howitzer, developed from the G5 towed gun-howitzer and additionally fitted with semi-automatic loading system and fume extractor.
as can be seen here is a G5 towed gun next to a G6 Rhino.



The G6 is fully compatible with NATO standard 155-mm ammunition and has a direct fire range of 3000 meters (using a Frag-HE round). Used together with the specially developed modular charge ammunition system, the 45-calibre gun provides accurate coverage of a target zone of more than 1000 square kilometres, without change of position. 45 rounds are carried on board. The onboard gyro-controlled navigation and automatic laying systems enable the gun to be brought into action independently within 60 seconds of stopping and it can move off 30 seconds after firing, thus presenting an elusive target. The G6 is equipped with an electronically controlled hydraulic flick rammer that provides an initial rate of fire of 3 rounds per minute.

High mobility is ensured by the permanent six-wheel drive purpose-built vehicle, powered by an air-cooled diesel engine through a six-speed automatic gearbox. The maximum speed of the G6 is 85 km/h. The rigid chassis is actually divided into two parts, a driver’s/engine compartment and a crew compartment. In order to distribute its weight and to maintain mobility over sand and soft terrain, the G6 employs large 21x25 run-flat tires. All-independent torsion bar suspension, differential locks and on-the-move tyre inflation system (optional) offer superior traction and high levels of crew comfort. The driver controls a central tire-inflation system to vary the ground pressure. The system can also be used to maintain some degree of tire pressure in case of air leakage from small punctures. A 45-hp (34 kw) Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) provides power for turret operations, recharging the batteries, and the driver/crew compartment air conditioning system.

The armoured turret and hull provide protection against small arms fire, shell splinters, landmine explosions. The frontal 60° arc provides protection against 20-mm type ammunition. Additionally, the shape and armor thickness of the chassis hull allows it to withstand at least three mine detonations (against TM46 antitank landmine or equivalent) before being immobilized. Separate fire extinguishing systems can be fitted in the turret and engine compartment. A ventilation system or BC protection and air conditioning can be provided. The separation of the driver/engine compartment from the crew compartment also facilitates survival against mines. The connection between the two is perforated with blowout holes to direct the force of the blast upwards, away from any personnel compartments. The separation also allows the driver to be beyond the detonation point before the mine is activated. The driver also has bullet-resistant glass windows that can be further protected by armored shutters, although it limits him to the use of a periscopic viewing port. The vehicle commander has limited steering and braking capability if the driver becomes a casualty. The crew compartment has four firing ports (two each side) so the crew can engage targets without exposing themselves to return fire. A wide range of optional subsystems is available to increase the efficiency of the G6 and its crew.
They include the following:
- Inertial navigation and laying or back-up laying systems
- Night vision equipment
- Barrel cooling and thermal warning systems
- Fire control computer interface
- Muzzle velocity analyzer
- Explosion control for fuel tanks

Dimensions with turret
Length, 9,2 m hull; 10.33 gun forward
Width, 3,4 m; Height, 3,8 m

Armament: One 155mm 45 calibre gun, one 7.62mm or 12.7mm machine gun and 2 x 4 81 mm grenade launchers.

Armor: Protection against small arms firing and shell splinters, armoured floor to increase protection against land mines.

Accessories: Day/night vision, NB protection system, laser range finder, land navigation system and autonomous laying system.

Crew: 6

Weight: 47,000 kg in combat condition

Speed: 90 km/h maximum on road

Range: 700 km on road

I will try to add more pictures with every update as there is so much of them I want to share

[NAMBiohazard]

OK..... So now for the model kit

The model is from BaxMod Models, based in South Africa. It is a 1/35th scale resin model with PE...
Since I started building models again I had my eye on building some South African armor as it so unique to the rest of the world.





The instructions looks to be a bit vague but I know someone who build one so he will have to be my reference for where I get stuck








As can bee seen here in this picture........there is allot of cleaning up for me in this build






The wheels looks great, but there not the correct ones as can be seen in most of the pictures of the Rhino on the web.
The reason for this is the set in the kit is actually the tires used for road travel over long distances, or so I've been told

This kit is gonna be my first in resin, so I hope its gonna come out OK, as it cost me a fortune

Thank you
Any comments and questions welcome

[Russ72]

Good looking kit Bjorn. I look forward to seeing it come together.

[UKguyInUSA]

That's a menacing looking machine, enjoy building her and good luck!

[kiwigav]

Thats one mean looking machine man good luck on the build

[NAMBiohazard]

Hey you all

So I've been working on the G6 for the past week now and honestly not much has been done.
There is first of the sawing off of all the poring blocks attached to the individual parts. Since this is a resin kit...... no sprues

Then there is all the repair of the damaged parts from the molding process.

So here is a couple of pictures to show the progress...


The hull, dry fitted not glued yet as my sawing was quite skew before I got a proper saw..


As can be seen here, there is still allot of filling to do between the top part of the hull and the bottom piece.


Some detail needed to be replaced as the detail was not correctly molded and bubbles formed

Also creating more gaps to fill



I added styrene strips to strengthen the joint between the breach and the pivoting part for the main gun


The drivers compartment came together very nice and minor work needed to be done, still need to add a piece of styrene for the back and the seat


Added some of the detail for the turret interior but all the interior wall still needs to be added.

So.........That's my progress up to now

Please leave comments and questions......if you have any

[Russ72]

Considering the amount of Cut/Trim/Sand, that's some good progress.

[felisbarcinonensis]

Great progress mate!

[JayCub]

Looks awesome, and one to follow, there always seems to be mixed standards with resin kits, once you have a goodone its a joy to build
Tom

[Deacon]

I hadn't even heard of this vehicle!

Looking forward to this coming together.

[garywintin]

whoa... now this is something interesting .. never knew there is a Resin kit for this .. must have put quit a hole in your wallet

[NAMBiohazard]

Yeh Gary.....
Sorry for the late reply, I would not say its cheap and there is allot of fixing involved and some inaccuracies.
But I've loved this vehicle since I can remember and when I saw there was a kit for it.....HAD TO HAVE IT!!!!!!!

So allot has been done but struggling to get some pictures up.....(bad internet)
But for now here is a clip of the latest version of this vehicle..........enjoy
[youtube]xDw97V61lLg[/youtube]

[gustavlekstal]

You are putting in some extra tlc on this one. Great work.

[NAMBiohazard]

Ok so here is a long awaited update......

Up to now its been a real struggle for me to build this kit. I would not blame it on the kit and parts but more in my lack of knowledge and proper filler to build this kit.

I have mounted on the suspension arms and shocks for the rear wheels. The front arms are also mounted but I have not yet mounted its shocks cause there are some kind of torsion arms behind the
wheel I the drawing are not the best and I cant seem to find a picture showing them.






sorry for the over exposed pictures

All the big parts have been built and still ALLOT OF cleanup required here and there......





Drivers compartment





AND JUST FOR THE FUN OF IT => G6 RHINO COMPARED TO A CHINESE 152mm TYPE 83 HOWITZER




Thank you

[Gav0909]

Ok so I have been after this kit for ages to go into my SPG collection. You may be getting a PM sometime about helping me get a hold of one!

As for the kit, looks like a bit of work, but for such a cool vehicle, and the only kit available for it, it seems to be worth it.

Looking forward to seeing this progress, was a big fan of your Type 83.

[Tiger131]

Looks a beast next to the other kit..and nice work as well

[Yevgeny]

You making a good progress
The other model look great btw

[ForbesHutton]

That's a really interesting and unique subject. I may have to get one of those kits myself if I get back on an artillery kick. As I recall, Canadian Gerald Bull was involved in improving the gun.

How fast does the Chinese SPG go that it needs airbrakes?

[UKguyInUSA]

That's a big interesting looking beast

[ForbesHutton]

Takom is about to release: