The Poor Man's Sniper Squad

Welcome back! This time I've got another example of how to save money with your Space Marines. This time, I needed to turn a team of 5 Snipers and 5 Scouts into 10 Snipers. Because, honestly, who the hell brings scouts without sniper rifles? Don't answer that. This idea comes to you in part by my good friend Eric over at The Midnight Shift.

First, we'll need a bolter, or any spare guns you have that will look like the base for sniper rifle. After a year of purchasing SMs, I have more bolters than I know what to do with:


Next you'll want to steal some plasticard tubes from your friend, Eric. I couldn't find the actual sizes anywhere, so we'll go with the measurements of small and a little-bigger-than-small. I took a normal sniper rifle to compare the size to the tubes:


They should be able to fit inside one another like so:


Cut them into smaller sizes to your liking:


If you'd like a simple scope, cut an even smaller piece. For this one, I smooshed it a smidge because I think it looks neato:


If you'd like a more sophisticated scope, I found a simple bolt pistol scope works nicely. Just cut that sucker off:


Let's go back to the bolter, or w/e gun you've used yourself as a replacement and cut off the barrel:


Next find a "small" drill bit that is the same size as your "small" plasticard tube. This drill bit should be smaller than the width of your replacement gun, however:


Now drill into your bolter with that bit and be as parallel as you can be for your new barrel:


Now, slip the barrel into the hole. Say aloud, "That's what she said." Glue this in place if it's too loose:


Slip the end of the barrel on and glue as needed:


And, you're done! Add some flare however you'd like. Toss on different scope ideas, play with the barrel some, etc. Here's some of my finished work: