Modeling: Lock, Stock and Four Smoking Barrels

We all got the same idea as soon as we saw the quad cannon in the Aegis Defense Line: Hydras and Mortis Dreads! Quickly hobbyists began cutting, sawing, trimming and constructing to create modifications to the Aegis and bend those lovely quad cannons to their will, but everyone forgot one thing. The barrels are too short and wimpy for what we wanted to do with it. So how do you go from stock to rock without flying past cool and landing at cartoon? That's where I come in.