# Blackadder's Thunderhawk Project



## Blackadder

Wait! I don't have a Thunderhawk thread on this forum? This will never do.

But the whole thing may be moot as there is a lot of speculation in the Яussian community about a release of a Plastic Thunderhawk.

This photo is in the latest issue of WD. 










Can anyone post a larger image?

Anyway Eventually I shall have to resume building my over-sized T'hawk just to complete it as it is already in a fairly advanced state.

http://i.imgur.com/30Wgy.jpg 









http://i.imgur.com/hkgm3.jpg 









http://i.imgur.com/O94R1.jpg 









and now I am about to be upstaged by GW but wait?

There are significant similarities between that GW T'hawk and mine.....

Could I get them on © infringements? XD


----------



## spanner94ezekiel

*squeals with excitement*

I needn't think you should worry about a plastic Thunderhawk - it's largely been debunked as false, seeing as that pic is a resin Thunderhawk from FW, featured a while back in a White Dwarf article. <Thread>

Looking forward to seeing this progress.


----------



## Magpie_Oz

It is beyond my feeble understanding how you can make such incredible detail on your plasticard works of art there BA.

As for copyrights, pretty sure GW/FW are well ahead of you on that front. 

Can't wait to see the finished product.


----------



## Blackadder

The copyright remark was just a joke..........

First we'll start with where I am on the overall T'hawk. It's been a year since I worked on this so it will take me a bit of time to come up to speed. 

http://i.imgur.com/KiICIfS.jpg 









http://i.imgur.com/uDhEYKI.jpg 









As I recall I was working on the retractable landing gear so that will be a good place to start.................


----------



## Blackadder

RETRACTABLE NOSE LANDING GEAR

Started on the nose gear retractable landing gear today. I want a fully movable gear that retracts and extends and there is a very limited space between the gear bay and the floor of the cargo bay. The big issue is the collapsible oleo strut which acts as a shock absorber when the aircraft lands. I lost a couple of hours sleep the past few nights coming up with a workable design.

We'll see how it works out.........................

http://i.imgur.com/DXEJoqL.jpg 










http://i.imgur.com/M6BLTGj.jpg 










http://i.imgur.com/GZNXRuZ.jpg 










http://i.imgur.com/DdRGWVj.jpg 










http://i.imgur.com/7BE7gdz.jpg


----------



## Battman

Looks good well done would like to see it painted up when your done.


----------



## Blackadder

There you see I've come back to this refreshed with new ideas and a firmer grasp on modeling techniques and not afraid to go 'where' a year ago I would have feared to tread..............

http://i.imgur.com/568HB4O.jpg 










http://i.imgur.com/5t0yd9m.jpg 









This may actually work!


----------



## Chaosftw

This project is certainly a commitment! love the progress so far. It looks like it is coming together quite nicely!

If I may ask, what has been the most difficult part of putting that ship together?

Cheers,
Chaosftw


----------



## dirty-dog-

i recall seeing this a while ago, back to subscribing then


----------



## Blackadder

The most difficult part was making the camber in the wings and gluing on the leading edge while maintaining the camber. I literally had to build the wing inside out in a space less than a centimeter (3/8 of an inch) chord of the wing . The wing camber section is 20 cm long and has a stepped back in the cut out area adjacent to the engine. 

The Retractable Nose Gear Cylinder Shock Strut Mechanism

Below is the system I came up with to allow the nose gear to retract and still compress when the weight of the model is on the extended foot plate.

This will allow the foot plate to extend forward to act as the nose gear bay door as in the original model but still be the landing foot pad when the gear is deployed. 

The mechanism works but I still need to get the length right and I may need weaker springs. I'll have to see when the gear is installed in the model.

The components manufactured................
http://i.imgur.com/UHAqKgB.jpg 









the components partially assembled................
http://i.imgur.com/zAshg9i.jpg 









The shock strut in full extention.............
http://i.imgur.com/xUUvXWB.jpg 









Compressing the shock strut allows 1.5 cm of travel...........
http://i.imgur.com/X5sPaE5.jpg


----------



## Blackadder

*Nose Gear Retract Cylinder* 

The way I look at it is a good way to improve engineering skills is to push your limits.

The nose gear piston attach point is in place, now for the cylinder and trunnions............

http://i.imgur.com/gRY64zh.jpg 







* 

Of course building toy fantasy aircraft may not be high on your priorities. *


----------



## heretical by nature

Wow this is amazing, I'm jealous, wish I could make plasticard models this well :O


----------



## Blackadder

Nose Gear Installed Temporary

The nose gear mount plate is temporarily taped in place to see what the gear extension looks like. The foot plate is just attached with loose fitting plastic bushings.........

In the side view below the gear strut is canted forward but it can be set to vertical, I still ambivalent about that, I should have taken a vertical image position.

http://i.imgur.com/qQafiEF.jpg 









Dang! the bushing slipped out when I was setting the pose. There is too much gear well showing in the cargo bay. I'll have toshim up the exterior reinforcement plate.

http://i.imgur.com/WLkfaDw.jpg 









A quarter view just because it looked good to me. Note the negative dihedral to the wings. The attach bolts are loose...............

http://i.imgur.com/Qe0lnjC.jpg 









Now that the gear is satisfactory I disassemble it to show the components.........


----------



## shelman

This is superb. Be proud of yourself when (or if!!) this is done! I can only imagine the patience this takes!


----------



## Blackadder

Below is the nose landing gear removed from the gear well shown in the completely collapsed condition. The shock strut (oleo strut) is completely compressed so it will fit into the well. I am in the process of adding the gear well detail at the moment. Where does the time go.............


http://i.imgur.com/SmISksz.jpg 









Here we see all the nose gear components including the foot pad and gear well reinforcement panels on the left. The lock pin forward of the foot pad, the gear well itself at the right rear. Forward of that is the shock strut and retract cylinder with their associate trunnion pins.

http://i.imgur.com/NsCl05l.jpg 









Here is the assembled nose gear showing the shock strut in collapsed position and the exterior of the well showing the axle sleeves for the trunnion pins that lock the gear trunions in place but allow them to swivel.

http://i.imgur.com/8QcmyX2.jpg 









Front view of the nose gear assembled with the shock strut in full extension and the retract cylinder in full extension and foot pad attached.

http://i.imgur.com/IfYIiRg.jpg


----------



## Blackadder

Barely had room for the light module bitz on the foot pad although everything else fitted with room to spare. still have so detailing to do on th top surface of the landing pad and the tread on the underside. but I am winding down for today and considered it time for an update. 
http://i.imgur.com/qatEePo.jpg









Still can't make up my mind whether to cant the gear forward or make it vertical. 
http://i.imgur.com/k4tFtCO.jpg 









The detail inside the gear well is pretty much complete but I still need rivets etc on the reinforcing framework.


----------



## Blackadder

Taking the TDA's observation to heart I decided to incline the nose gear angle for a more streamline profile and less extreme angle for the nose cargo ramp. Now that I have established that area I can start on the retractable main gear.

http://i.imgur.com/5ziIiAJ.jpg









http://i.imgur.com/dfd3sjh.jpg


----------



## Sangus Bane

How much time did you spent on this again?

Bloody nice work, hoping to see more soon.


----------



## iamtheeviltwin

Between this and your Titan thread I just have to say your modelling skills are inspiring.


----------



## Blackadder

This is one of the sections that I attribute my shelving the project for a year. I was satisfied with neither FW landing gear nor the 3D rendering.

The FW model didn't appear to be functional in that the gear would never fit into the well given the actuating cylinder and trunnion placement; the whole design just wasn't workable. Likewise the 3D model showed a ridiculously minuscule gear. Too small!

I managed to achieve a good compromise (IMHO) increasing the size of the landing pad by twice the area and changing where the gear is actually stowed. Unfortunately at the expense of internal storage area but hey it's a military vehicle so a gear cylinder in the living area isn't offensive to yer average crewman. 


http://i.imgur.com/FeDZYQH.jpg 










http://i.imgur.com/wQGCxN5.jpg










http://i.imgur.com/fNhFPLA.jpg


----------



## Blackadder

Revamp of the retract mechanism

I've tried all ways to get these to operate and there's only so much crap you can cram into a specific space. I've eliminated the trunnion axis and the shock strut and still no go. I guess that's why the aeronautical engineers get the big bucks. although the L1011 and DC-10 were total fiascoes for the airline industry............ 

pictures to follow............... 

I took a few days off to lick my wounds. 

Now I believe I have come up with a solution...

BTW I consider having an actual plan of what I am attempting to do cheating. XD

http://i.imgur.com/GEzOXJW.jpg 









http://i.imgur.com/Ri23OTH.jpg 









http://i.imgur.com/kpDofFf.jpg


----------



## Vorlon

Blackadder, the Primarch of Plasticard!!


----------



## Blackadder

Thunderhawk Exhaust Cones

Normally I don't use bottle caps and such on my models because thats what they look like but I couldn't pass these up at least for a tryout.

http://i.imgur.com/otMVwKe.jpg









The ribbing is perfect using every third segment for a stringer and dividing the cone into thirds along it's length worked out perfectly

http://i.imgur.com/FUAbBUe.jpg










Now where did the Blackadder find such perfect items you may ask? Well it's Shoprite brand Fruny Green Mouthwash bottle caps from the half gallon economy size and as an added bonus I now have a lifetime supply of the stuff.

http://i.imgur.com/jJHuO7i.jpg


----------



## Jacobite

Stunning work as always.


----------



## Blackadder

It's Starting to Grow on Me

When I first saw the Thunderhawk quite a few years ago I thought it was the most ridiculous looking transport vehicle ever conceived. but these new iterations have transformed the initial abomination into a hulking brute that actually seems almost airworthy.

Even the engines seem of a size adequate to propel said craft through the welkin.

http://i.imgur.com/nXaWZpd.jpg









These exhaust cones have a lot to them besides being just a nozzle for it seems there is a setup for afterburners at least in the Inquisitor images.

http://i.imgur.com/MvyaKlg.jpg









My big problem now is not being reminded how much they look like peach baskets.......

http://i.imgur.com/pKybQdQ.jpg


----------



## Blackadder

Afterburner Injector Housings

Below are the beginnings of the Afterburner Injector Housings.

I started with strips of sheet styrene about 15 inches long and wrapped around a cylinder of require diameter (in this case a toothpick dispenser) and wrapped around three times to give the housing the requisite thickness for a solid foundation.

http://i.imgur.com/bJwIjF5.jpg









After the glue on the cylinder is dried I beveled the incerted edge and scored the inner surface of the exhaust nozzle to get a good glue bond and glued the housing into the exhaust cone.

Once dried the housings will be ready for detailing.


----------



## Blackadder

Fitting the Right Wing Engine Exhaust Cone

Anyone following my threads knows I rarely follow any preconceived plan of execution so when something works out this well I am flabbergasted.

The Fruny Green Mouthwash bottle caps worked out perfectly both in diameter and length (I always felt the exhaust cone in the background image and in the 3D rendering were too long to be aesthetically pleasing) but a little cutting with the Dremel rasp carved out a clean bed for the ejector housing base.

Here we see the wing separated into its 3 major components (Excepting the nose cowl) They are Wing Root and engine assembly, Wing and Exhaust cone:

http://i.imgur.com/mCbRHJZ.jpg









And the assembled components dry fitted;

http://i.imgur.com/pgfxESu.jpg









I never glue anything together until I'm 100% sure it works..........


----------



## Blackadder

Serendipity Rears its Ugly Head

Don't hate me because I'm lucky.

Back when I was building the engines in order to bulk up the adjacent wing surfaces I applied box beams to either side of the engines. I had forgotten about them so when I cut into the ends of the engine cowl I found these ready made receptacles for removable stringers attached to the exhaust cones.

http://i.imgur.com/6kchHzJ.jpg 









A little care in aligning the plug in stringers and there are plug in exhaust components so access to the battery operated LED lighting.

By pressing on the lens of the flashlight activates the pushbutton switch at the base of the light allowing it to be turned on and off without removal.

http://i.imgur.com/2siqcih.jpg









Now it only remains to colour the cones to glow superheated when the light is activated to simulate afterburners.

http://i.imgur.com/1VFha00.jpg


----------



## Dorns Legacy

What The Fudge!!!!!!!

Blackadder stirkes back with another totes amazeballs project, nuff luff for you sir.
Give my regards to Baldirck


----------



## Blackadder

How Many Blades?

After viewing a number of intake fan assemblies of Thunderhawks I have decided on 16 blades; the reason being expediency.

Were I to go more and readily divide the fan by 4 the next logical number of blades would not be 20 but 24. 20 is out because of the necessity of dividing each quarter of the disk into five blades. Since the disk is only 25 mm in diameter the chances increase having different width blades regardless how sharp your pencil/ scribe may be. 24 blades though easier to calculate also increases the margin for error.

If memory serves an L1011 Rolls Royce engine has around 32 blades but those blades are close to a meter long (From the center of the hub) and that is a much larger aircraft than the Thunderhawk is purported to be.


----------



## Blackadder

Fan Manufacture an Easier Way for Larger Fans

16 blades seems the best for while easy to fit accurately on a disk it is busy enough to simulate an intake fan especially if the cuts are made on an angle to augment the illusion of a fan.

For that reason I have selected styrene 1,0 MM thick.

I began by dividing the disc into quarters:

http://i.imgur.com/0X8BhzN.jpg









and then into 16 segments the ends of the blades coincidentally worked out to 5,0 mm wide.

I then glued a small hub to the center of the disc to act as a guide for the inner end of the cut (To prevent the blades from being cut off completely.):

http://i.imgur.com/NkfqUMw.jpg









Employing my chisel blade I cut into each segment at approximately a 45° angle so the edges of the blades appear to overlap.

http://i.imgur.com/CruF7Ux.jpg









After all the cuts were made I glued a small disc to the back of the fan to reinforce the axis point and with needle nose pliers twisted the blades to give a fan like appearance.


----------



## Blackadder

A Mélange of Ideas

There are so many different styles of nose cowls for this model most of them wrong but some good points to most as well.

I am picking and choosing that which takes my fancy from each.

The image below shows some interesting features and an out right wrong namely the fan too close to the front of the cowl.

http://i.imgur.com/cbp0I6R.jpg









What purpose the flaps are on the outer circumference of the cowl is unknown but they are an interesting feature and therefor included.

http://i.imgur.com/99f2s6f.jpg


----------



## Jacobite

Amazing and crazy at the same time.


----------



## Old Man78

Aaaggghhhhhhhhh, your talent disgusts me at this stage, warlord titans baneblade tanks and now I look at this, fantastic work as usual, and rep of course, but could you spit in an envelope and mail it to me, maybe your talent is contagious!


----------



## Blackadder

Ewwwh! Unsanitary Oldman huh Loved you in Bram Stoker's Darcula, Beethoven; Batman not so much.


----------



## Old Man78

Blackadder said:


> Ewwwh! Unsanitary Oldman huh Loved you in Bram Stoker's Darcula, Beethoven; Batman not so much.


yeah batman not my best work


----------



## Blackadder

The Model I Love to Hate

It's no secret I am not enamoured with the Thunderhawk but when I see this engine 10 inches /250 MM long I have to admit it's growing on me. The nose cowl is roughed in and mounted and the overall look is pure sex. I can't wait to start detailing these engines...............

http://i.imgur.com/4s6Rfiu.jpg









http://i.imgur.com/Fv5oQ3T.jpg









http://i.imgur.com/kVTfSCH.jpg









http://i.imgur.com/KldKt1B.jpg









http://i.imgur.com/6ZDBR90.jpg


----------



## Blackadder

The Model I Love to Hate

It's no secret I am not enamoured with the Thunderhawk but when I see this engine 10 inches /250 MM long I have to admit it's growing on me. The nose cowl is roughed in and mounted and the overall look is pure sex. I can't wait to start detailing these engines...............

http://i.imgur.com/4s6Rfiu.jpg









http://i.imgur.com/Fv5oQ3T.jpg









http://i.imgur.com/kVTfSCH.jpg









http://i.imgur.com/KldKt1B.jpg









http://i.imgur.com/6ZDBR90.jpg 










I know my model is a bit larger than the FW original but out of curiosity what is the length of the FW wing engine nose and exhaust cowls included?


----------



## Blackadder

The More I Watch the Avengers the More it Seems Absurd

Watched 'The Avengers' for the third time last night using it as a backdrop for the tedious snaking of the afterburner piping on the three exhaust cones.

Honestly I can't see how this movie got the critical acclaim it almost universally received. 

Anyway I am very close to finishing that task; mebbe I'll watch the equally ludicrous Thor tonight and finish it up tonight.

http://i.imgur.com/dl3flKg.jpg









http://i.imgur.com/kevrXfL.jpg









The beauty of watching such a movie in the process of performing mindless endeavours is both tasks being equally boring the two activities cancel each other out and before I knew it was bedtime. HA!


----------



## Blackadder

The More I Watch the Avengers the More it Seems Absurd

Watched 'The Avengers' for the third time last night using it as a backdrop for the tedious snaking of the afterburner piping on the three exhaust cones.

Honestly I can't see how this movie got the critical acclaim it almost universally received. 

Anyway I am very close to finishing that task; mebbe I'll watch the equally ludicrous Thor tonight and finish it up tonight.

http://i.imgur.com/dl3flKg.jpg









http://i.imgur.com/kevrXfL.jpg









The beauty of watching such a movie in the process of performing mindless endeavours is both tasks being equally boring the two activities cancel each other out and before I knew it was bedtime. HA!


----------



## Blackadder

Exhaust Mounted

Yeah everyone is tired of the same beaten horse but I wanted to see what the engines looked like attached to the fusilage.

http://i.imgur.com/5cUIYeH.jpg









http://i.imgur.com/STrKyrr.jpg









http://i.imgur.com/brPibM6.jpg









Not bad for gov'ment work.............


----------



## Blackadder

The Fearful Symmetry

I forgot the front view and side view which displays the symmetry of this monster but truth be know regarding length and wingspan this vehicle is about the same size as the smallest passenger jets say a DC9-30 or a three holer B727 100 series.

http://www.aviastar.org/pictures/usa/mcdonnel_dc-9_1.gif

Even my version which would be designated a "stretch" is no bigger than a B727 200 series.

http://www.aviationexplorer.com/Various_Aircraft/Boeing_727_3_View_Schematic_Chart.jpg


http://i.imgur.com/Ky07wvp.jpg









http://i.imgur.com/0sEAALF.jpg









http://i.imgur.com/7DDNhZx.jpg


----------



## Blackadder

Rivets Gaah!

Rivets, the bane of scratch building but it has to be done so heres my relatively painless method of applying rivets.

I chose 0.035 inch/0,88 mm styrene rod for my cowl rivets and securing the rivets with Ambroid PROWELD thin liquid cement.

All the tools necessary are visible in the image below and I cannot stress too much to use a NEW # 11 blade in your 1/4 inch Xacto handle.

http://i.imgur.com/JqXhjpj.jpg









After you have scribed a pencil line on the work Use your chisel blade to cut a supply of rivet disk (usually 10 or 15 pieces)

Using the tip of the # 11 blade pick up the rivet and while holding the ready rivet take your cement brush and put a dot of cement on the work piece and slightly press the rivet disk to the work holding it in place for a few seconds.

Continue procedure ad nauseam.

After the glue is dried use the steel emery board to dress the rivets to the required height.


----------



## Blackadder

Vertical Stabilizer At Last

A bit of departure from my usual building technique; I could conceive of no reason to make the tail as a separate modular assembly I probably won't be removing it for any reason and it is a simple assembly.

I'm starting from a light weight but sturdy framework slightly modifying where it attaches to the engine exhaust due to my taking what I consider the best ideas of the two 3D versions I am working from.

Although I intend to add a movable rudder (not present in the background wallpaper) and taper the control surface to the trailing edge. but the first order is to get the proportion correct.

http://i.imgur.com/jmisk1V.jpg


----------



## Blackadder

Vertical Stabilizer Interior

This seems like a good way to build a rudder system. At any rate its rather strong and with the exo-armour should withstand regular usage.

The extra long rod is the rudder hinge axis and the cut out forward of the rod will house the counterweight hinge extensions.

http://i.imgur.com/7ivZ50x.jpg









The rear angle looks good but the front appears to be more extreme

http://i.imgur.com/KKlcXA2.jpg


----------



## Blackadder

Vertical Stabilizer Sheeted

I sheeted the vertical stabilizer with 0.030 inch styrene because I want to add an airfoil to the surface. The notches are cut out and framed and the rudder axis threaded through the bushings.

http://i.imgur.com/2Hrrb7t.jpg









Next I cut out the superfluous material I used for a trueness guide to insure the slots were parallel and would not bind when the rudder went through its travel extremes:

http://i.imgur.com/HlkrfxF.jpg









The final step of the sheathing and dressing the slots for homogeneity and I was ready to build the rudder core

http://i.imgur.com/oR1XPKE.jpg


----------



## Blackadder

The Rudder Core

The vertical stabilizer and the rudder are heavily armoured for some reason which predisposes the need for counterweights I suppose.

Therefor to make the rudder not appear too bulky requires a thin and strong internal structure.

I opted for a center 5/32 inch tube for the rudder axis with a 0.080 inch rod for the axle. This gave me a strong hinge point to build on. I reinforced the axis with a styrene "I" beam and affixed a 0.250 X 0.060 inch strip for the basic structure.

I then sheathed the ruder with 0.030 inch styrene for the < shape and overall rudder lateral length.

So the entire rudder core is only 5/32 inch thick and extremely strong for the base material.

I did pretty much the same for the leading edge counterweight extensions and clamped them so they all were on the same parallel to the rudder core.

http://i.imgur.com/UNBGVHe.jpg


----------



## Blackadder

The Rudder Fitting

So as you can see the rudder is very thin at this point and once the armour sheathing is installed there will be the core sandwiched between layers of external skin elimating weak glue joints in critical axle areas........ (I hope)

http://i.imgur.com/pZuXwBy.jpg









Once dried the rudder is mounted for fit and the tolerances are very tight through the extreme movement of the rudder travel.

http://i.imgur.com/lcnNb7f.jpg









http://i.imgur.com/6d0Jroq.jpg


----------



## Blackadder

Thanks,

Armour Detail on Tail:

about half done on the vertical stabilizer detail. Things are starting to shape up. The rudder has about fifteen to twenty degrees of arc left stop to right stop so that should be adequate. I hope to be installing the rear vents and panels tomorrow.

http://i.imgur.com/O6bUR5C.jpg









In this above view you may be able to discern that the stabilizer tapers slightly towards the leading edge.

http://i.imgur.com/BHEUfQ1.jpg


----------



## Blackadder

Thanks,

Armour Detail on Tail:

about half done on the vertical stabilizer detail. Things are starting to shape up. The rudder has about fifteen to twenty degrees of arc left stop to right stop so that should be adequate. I hope to be installing the rear vents and panels tomorrow.

http://i.imgur.com/O6bUR5C.jpg









In this above view you may be able to discern that the stabilizer tapers slightly towards the leading edge.

http://i.imgur.com/BHEUfQ1.jpg


----------



## The_Werewolf_Arngeirr

its looking amazing so far, cant wait to see it finished.


----------



## Blackadder

Thanks,

Vertical Stabilizer Assembly

Is pretty much done. Rivets are outsized yeah I know it but they go with the clunky motif of the model.

In the foreground of the image below is the rudder assembly that shows the multiple layers of construction:

http://i.imgur.com/WJBeC0j.jpg









Rudder mounted and at full right rudder position:

http://i.imgur.com/tQHJZiO.jpg


----------



## neferhet

k: keep it going man!


----------



## Blackadder

Volcano Cannon

Time to address the most ill conceived appendage ever to be affixed to an aircraft hull. To my mind a Volcano weapon is a line of sight plasma/energy beam so mounting it on the top of a fuselage would necessitate the vehicle having to be diving to utilize the weapon on a ground based target, right or am I missing something?

Granted it may be useful in air to air combat or shooting at targets when landed but it seems like a FW denizen just looked in the bitz box and said "Hey why not stick one of these on the dimmed thing to fill that big empty space on top?"

http://i.imgur.com/LHAncPq.jpg 









Fortunately I happen to have spare one in my bitz box as well the problem now is do I use it or scratch build it.


----------



## ntaw

Blackadder said:


> To my mind a Volcano weapon is a line of sight plasma/energy beam so mounting it on the top of a fuselage would necessitate the vehicle having to be diving to utilize the weapon on a ground based target, right or am I missing something?


Yup. You expect GW to think about things like that! :laugh:

Crazy good quality work man.


----------



## Blackadder

The Interminable Thunderhawk Vents

Its not that I have forgotten the Thunderhawk but the tedium of making the vent grills is wearing me down and I needed the Reaver diversion to keep intact what little sanity is left to me.

http://i.imgur.com/REu0C7Z.jpg 









http://i.imgur.com/qU5rbLL.jpg 









Bibblebibblebibblebibblebibble........................


----------



## neferhet

Sanity is for the weak


----------



## Blackadder

Vents Finally Done

After a week of knee surgery convalescence I finally got my groove back and finished the vent slats. Not up to my usual standard but they are in a position that I can readily replace them if I get ambitious.

The main gun superstructure should go together quickly now that these labor intense objects are completed.

http://i.imgur.com/JcsFVWZ.jpg


----------



## neferhet

Hope your knee has recovered well. What happened? (if i may ask)
those vents are maniacally awesome!


----------



## Blackadder

I crushed and shredded my meniscus cartilage in the right knee to a point where I could not arise without the aid of a handhold and a good deal of crunching sounds emanating from the joint. This has been getting steady worse over the years and I felt it a good time to address the problem after the Summer peak thinking I could use the recovery time to work full bore on the various projects. I figured wrong as I had no ambition to work in the subsequent post op period.


----------



## Blackadder

Superstructure Continues:

If there is a roundabout way to do things leave it to the Blackadder to pursue that course.

The superstructure seems a straightforward trapezoidal structure with nothing out of the ordinary to complicate building it until I decided the perpendicular sides should cant in a few degrees at the top and the three armour plates on either side likewise. This adds a taper to the structure's sides much as the columns curve slightly on the Parthenon to give a better illusion of straightness. Were the sides perfectly perpendicular they would appear to flair at the top.

I also changed the angle of the rear vent panel because my T'hawk is much longer than the original and therefore can be more streamline...... (? Really, Streamline?)

The overall effect is longer, lower and wider than the FW model and even the 3D rendering is slightly blockier.

I hope I don't come to regret these departures......... 


http://i.imgur.com/aDLrvCg.jpg 










http://i.imgur.com/d9Ekz6j.jpg


----------



## Blackadder

Simple Trunnion Mount for Cannon

For those of us with childish bents that have to have moving parts on their models a simple trunnion mount for the main cannon on the T'hawk. 

Starting with a reinforced 7/16 tube with an 3/8 tube sleeve inserted for strength I bored a 3/16th diameter hole through the exact dead center of the tube to mount the barrel core.

http://i.imgur.com/DzsSh0s.jpg 









Using 2 x 6 mm scrap strips for the trunnion mounts in the superstructure clamped in place with clothes pins overnight gave me a strong base to mount the trunnions.

http://i.imgur.com/YXQQDKO.jpg 









With the barrel mount trunnions in place in the slot I'm ready to seal the forward end of the mount to capture the elevation assembly for a simple and effective cannon mount elevation system.

http://i.imgur.com/jfO9HW2.jpg


----------



## Blackadder

Green Stuff, Certainly Not!

When I make a bad seam as I have just done I feel its important to demonstrate how I remedy the mistake.

http://i.imgur.com/FXw7EYx.jpg 









Now Green Stuff I understand is unreasonable costly and I have never purchased a tube and styrene is readily repairable; first I clean the bad seam so an inlay can be inserted:

http://i.imgur.com/rusfoJ5.jpg 









I then take a wisp of scrap styrene (Sorry for the blurred image) and slide it into the seam:

http://i.imgur.com/aq8pTx2.jpg 









Apply a drop of liquid styrene cement (I use Ambroid ProWeld Thin Cement) and allow to dry for a minute.

File off the excess and you're done:

http://i.imgur.com/yDlKDMa.jpg


----------



## Blackadder

Range Finder Component

I guess the rectangular box on top of the superstructure is some sort of range finder and since the ones included with the sponson mounted lascannons on the Landraider are physically too small I had to scratch a larger one. 

Fortunately the Leman Russ fenders are approximately the size required so I used the smallest for the 'Finder.

http://i.imgur.com/diH9vs8.jpg 









I used a Jerry can for the interior and a set of binoculars for the range lenses and am dressing the skin to simulate the surface of the item in the 3D image below

http://i.imgur.com/FXw7EYx.jpg


----------



## Blackadder

The Risk of Too Much Coverage

The Main gun superstructure was surprisingly easy to build considering how much I put off building it......... Jeez Blackadder that main cannon looks awfully tiny?

Right now the above wing armour is sketched in which should give a bit of a boost to the verisimilitude of the project. 

http://i.imgur.com/VWnMSIr.jpg


----------



## Blackadder

Hull Armour

Heavier and Heavier, this model has slabs of simulated armour that causes serious doubt on the ability to actually remain in the air. Engines powerful as they may be eventually reach a point of diminishing returns. Slabs of armour 4 cm thick and covering 10's of square meters of coverage. That said the new armour surely looks cool. 

http://i.imgur.com/ey73N3i.jpg 









I vacillate on liking this model to incredulity whether it has any chance of airworthiness

http://i.imgur.com/7LnDZqx.jpg


----------



## Blackadder

Free Raised Letters for Your Models

I scraped these off the mouthwash caps when I built the T'hawk's exhaust cones.

Perfect raised letters (excuse the shaking of the camera in the photo); I cut these off with the chisel tool in the picture but a razor would do as well. 

Of course you are limited to the common letters embossed on the caps of products and prescription drug containers but with judicious editing names etc can be worked out.......

http://i.imgur.com/HDHABhX.jpg


----------



## Blackadder

The Flying Turbo Laser Spar

The hull trunnion mounts are simple now that I have addressed myself to the fabrication. The only problem is that the wing as I have it situated is about 13 mm too far forward. A simple matter to correct but a good learning experience for me. Don't apply detail until all the basic structure is completed.

http://i.imgur.com/KzQSzEG.jpg 










http://i.imgur.com/UQCNriJ.jpg 









The most amazing thing about this mistake is it brings the wing trailing edge back to the original projected position when I first laid out the model.


----------



## Blackadder

The Flying Laser Spar:

Now that the hinge points are established on the hull I can make an estimate on the placement of the Turbo Laser flying spar mount. This structure was added to the FW design to no doubt support the heavy moment of the wing as no amount of gluing could prevent the wings from falling off or drooping on the FW model. Even my wings lightly built as they are suffer from excessive tip droop with my temporary attach screws.

Anyway I guessed at the placement of the wings on the fuselage and for some reason doubted my placement and mounted them 13 mm further than my original guess. Now I have to reposition them further back the same 13 mm.

The Flying Spar core structure I guesstimated to be 145 mm long from hinge point to wing cradle the excess being cut off when the Lasers are manufactured. I placed the width at 35 mm which seems a judicious size to build on and 2.5 mm thick which gives me a nice slot to mount the Turbolasers. 

http://i.imgur.com/ck138sv.jpg









All this will begin to make more sense once the spars are mounted on the hinge trunnion, least wise I hope as I am totally making this up as I proceed..........


----------



## Blackadder

Flying Lascannon Strut:

Surprisingly the proportions appear okay and when the wing is positioned aft about a centimeter the strut should fall about mid camber (of course ''camber'' isn't something that concerned engineers in the far distant future but we won't go there.)

http://i.imgur.com/GfpJUvo.jpg









The tubing seems to provide enough friction to maintain the position in "Attack" and "Stowed" mode but I'll double sleeve the tubes just to provide for wear. 

http://i.imgur.com/41URWSj.jpg


----------



## stuff

Your projects never fail to amaze me. The detail is just astounding.


----------



## Blackadder

Thanks,

TurboLaser Struts 1

My old drafting table has seen better days. Since the advent of digital drafting it has been employed as a styrene cutting board instead.

Right now it is a convenient place to image the T'hawk as the model has become too big to readily display on conventional furniture.

http://i.imgur.com/RoDb5QE.jpg









Detailing the struts started with the root camber although "camber" is not the correct word to describe the bowing of the flight surface as it is symmetrical top and underside. Camber technically would refer to an asymmetry between top and bottom curves. Anyway I like the "camber" because it adds interest to otherwise boring flat surfaces with minimal effort.

http://i.imgur.com/oW9Sv3R.jpg









The struts in the stowed position as in the conventional FW original take on a less dynamic demeanor (IMHO) now that I see them in the attack mode. Those of you with FW T'hawks might want to try this configuration for a change from the ordinary.

http://i.imgur.com/RJVMlvc.jpg


----------



## Blackadder

Turbo Struts Continues:

Trying the struts out for fit everything seems in order to mount at least temporarily the Lasers so I can get an approximation where to put the tip saddles. 

http://i.imgur.com/AIuz4Ot.jpg









With the struts in the attack position this thing really give a thrilling aspect to the T'hawk concept.............. I'm starting to like this model.

http://i.imgur.com/dySV1XK.jpg









(Note to self; install stops to limit degree of travel for the struts.)

The obligatory little guy for scale comparison. This ship is huge.

http://i.imgur.com/8efdRtY.jpg


----------



## Blackadder

Turbo Struts Continues:

Trying the struts out for fit everything seems in order to mount at least temporarily the Lasers so I can get an approximation where to put the tip saddles. 

http://i.imgur.com/AIuz4Ot.jpg









With the struts in the attack position this thing really give a thrilling aspect to the T'hawk concept.............. I'm starting to like this model.

http://i.imgur.com/dySV1XK.jpg









(Note to self; install stops to limit degree of travel for the struts.)

The obligatory little guy for scale comparison. This ship is huge.

http://i.imgur.com/8efdRtY.jpg


----------



## KjellThorngaard

MAn o man, that is freakin' huge and awesome. Love the "lock s-folis in attack position" shot.


----------



## Blackadder

Thunderhawk Gun Ship Ball Turret:

It seems my procrastination has paid off. By slacking the pace of progression I find I have an interesting appendage to incorporate into the hull. Whereas the forward cargo bay has two side egress doors I am considering replacing them with the new FW Ball Turret weapons. These should not be too difficult to fabricate from scratch and should make for an interesting amendment to this vehicle.


----------



## Blackadder

ThunderHawk The Resurrection:

After a six month hiatus I have been shamed into bringing this project to the fore once again.

Starting where I left off with a few new ideas we'll begin with the flying Lascannon airfoils. It strikes me that the Thunderhawk is actually a biplane.

Nothing really to see as most of the work is only detail but I'll keep you abreast of the developments.

http://i.imgur.com/TESoKFb.jpg









Considering this model is made of styrene these foils are surprisingly heavy so the straps I am installing now will actually serve to supply friction to keep these wings in the attack position otherwise they would droop under their own weight.

http://i.imgur.com/WTMQTO9.jpg


----------



## Zion

So how much shame will you need to finish it? 

Seriously though, I always love a good scratch build project, I look forward to seeing how this unfold.


----------



## Blackadder

Figure of speech, I have no shame................

What the F???

I guess it pays to procrastinate; I began with renewed vigor on this project obtaining inspiration from both the 3D rendering and the FW model so this effort will be a compilation of a few Thunderhawk versions including the Video game model.

http://i.imgur.com/7SpklaY.jpg









One thing that surprised me is the scale of the bitz that I know are on the FW model that look minuscule on this model.

Granted my version is not bound by cost and shipping weight and is not notoriously undersized as GW and FW models tend to be. MY T'hawk is 26 inches long whereas the FW version is 19.5 but I was so amazed at the discrepancy that I had to check the FW images to be sure I had the correct bit(z) 

http://i.imgur.com/pQUXo1v.jpg


----------



## Zion

GW models also put their vehicles at a smaller scale than Infantry models due to a decision back during Rogue Trader that it shouldn't take 2 turns to walk from the back of a Rhino to the front. So all the vehicles since have been smaller than they should be for the scale of the infantry models.


----------



## Blackadder

I did not know that, 

Pause and Reflect:

Time to step back and see where we are proportion-wise.

Mounting the Flying Lascannons struts shows me I must extend the wing roots about 13 MM which will increase the wingspan about one inch. The Lascannon length is okay so that can be detailed today.










The overall length of the T'hawk is 26 inches, 7 inches longer than the FW version and I am hard pressed to find a place to photograph the entire model.

http://i.imgur.com/k9Xxgjy.jpg









Likewise the front view; with the struts in the stowed position it looks very much like the 3D image.

http://i.imgur.com/nhIFBJ5.jpg









With the struts deployed it has a decidedly menacing appeal.

http://i.imgur.com/Ap7umoC.jpg









This model is starting to grow on me; mebbe I should work on it more often.............


----------



## Zion

Blackadder said:


> I did not know that,


I only learned about it in the last year when reading some deposition stuff from Jes Goodwin about the design of the Space Marine (like the backpack supposed to invoke the kind of look of a backpack with a bedroll on top in it's shape to invoke the feeling of a soldier who has all their gear everywhere they go and they're ready to be there a long time and handle anything while they're there for instance) and the size of the Rhino (which carries over to other vehicles too).

And it looks like it's coming along nicely.

And I still say that Imperial vehicles don't "fly" they just fall in an arc parallel with the ground.


----------



## Blackadder

A Couple of Building Hints:

I am frequently asked for building plans and templates and I ruefully have to answer there are none. I work strictly off of computer images I find on the 'net. For this model I have largely to thank an artist on 'Deviant Art' for these fabulous 3D imagings. Of course I do not copy his work strictly but also incorporate the best of the FW T'hawk, the T'hawk from the video game trailer and some original thoughts of my own especially when it comes to making movable parts.

http://i.imgur.com/uzMW7Oi.jpg









The other tip is a bit more prosaic but at least I can feel better about being able to share information......

http://i.imgur.com/NwKolGN.jpg









I needed a spacer jig for the rings around the Laser Barrel so I fashioned this in less than a minute and had a rude but effective spacing tool 1,0 MM thick.

http://i.imgur.com/9OQySAw.jpg


----------



## Blackadder

Arcane Lascannons and Fist Sized Rivets:

Good, at least the rivets show in both these images, I'm trying a new method of making rivets; in this case the rivets are 0.035 inch styrene rod and shaved to about 0.010 thousandths thick ideally. I can install about six rivets per minute so the 128 rivets per strut (top and bottom) should only take about 20 minutes but actually because of the tedium took about an hour and a half.

http://i.imgur.com/MyjH3rP.jpg









It strikes me that the rivets small as they are are in scale about the size of a fist which would look rather silly on an actual aircraft but my tired old eyes can't deal with anything smaller. I remember with Lucie I actually installed quite a few 0.020 thousandths rivets and at the time 35 thousandths rivets were a cakewalk.

http://i.imgur.com/y5yGZUs.jpg









The other new feature in the images are the Lascannons which are quite the same as on the FW model Baneblade sponsons turrets but scaled up about ten fold. The increased size gives the futuristic weapon a toylike quality but perhaps some more detail will perk them up a tad....


----------



## Blackadder

Too Dumb To Walk and Chew Gum:

Well it's not often that a person can demonstrate his stupidity on an International scale but I've managed.

Anyone can present their work on a forum as flawless but not much is to be learned from that; it is also necessary to publicize your errors so new modelers won't be discourage if their efforts are not acceptable on first go. 

All the while I've been building these struts the thought has continually crossed my mind I have to seal the crude ends of the camber. So blithely ignoring these subliminal messages I proceeded to add more and more detail until now the omission is so glaringly apparent that my conscious mind also perceives it. 

So below to the right is the strut with the rude end end exposed and to the left is the end seamed with 0.010 strips that still need to be dressed:

http://i.imgur.com/v5w0ocG.jpg









Good enough is not in my lexicon so I will bite the bullet and rectify the omission.

http://i.imgur.com/UzD03Af.jpg









Not being one to throw away an opportunity that can demonstrate my maxim, "Good enough is never good enough." I'll do the penance and seal the ends and sand away the surplus so the next time these sections are seen the mistake will be rectified.

http://i.imgur.com/6lD4PY6.jpg









Besides, a touch of humility is good for the soul.


----------



## Blackadder

The Cockpit and Canopy:

I only have a few major components to go on this model; the cockpit and canopy, the horizontal stabilizer, the two canard wings, Volcano cannon, and cockpit interior.... whoops and the twin ball turrets, maybe not so few after all.

Below are the six walls and the floor of the cockpit ready for assembly.

http://i.imgur.com/LGg4pr0.jpg









The cockpit recess and the 3D image in the background I am using for inspiration.

http://i.imgur.com/PnL1iP1.jpg









The cockpit walls glued together with angle styrene and 6,3 MM strips used for corner reinforcement and gussets ready to slide into place.

http://i.imgur.com/6v81sHH.jpg









The cockpit walls and canopy will be a removable modular construction and the floor a separate unit for ease of dis-assembly for detailing and painting. the whole will plug in snugly without the need to be glued into place.

http://i.imgur.com/0pmBhx2.jpg









With the cockpit walls established I am ready for the exterior bezel that moulds the canopy to the fuselage.

http://i.imgur.com/1Yj941i.jpg


----------



## Blackadder

Cockpit Flange:

This is coming along so quickly it's hard to believe how much I begrudge devoting time to this model. I'd much prefer working on the Reaver project which I plan to pick up again tomorrow. 

The cockpit rough work is just about completed and I am ready to start framing the canopy.

http://i.imgur.com/mVblXDh.jpg









It really paid off giving the time to make precision cuts etc because the plug in cockpit wall slide in well like they were made for it. 

http://i.imgur.com/HU3q9fH.jpg









I am a lazy fellow and I hate filing and sanding filler so making things fit properly in the first place pays dividends in the long run. 

http://i.imgur.com/u3WVP9j.jpg









The apron in front of the cockpit needed to be extended over the bonnet.

http://i.imgur.com/RaKm5NU.jpg









and it still needs about another 3.0 MM extension so the windscreen will have the proper angle but it's enough for now.

http://i.imgur.com/LvDV57M.jpg


----------



## Blackadder

Canopy:

Hard to believe such a simple structure would be so hard to duplicate.

I suppose I should have done a drawing to get the angles and proportions right instead of extrapolating from the screen in fact as I write this I'm thinking, "Why didn't I do a drawing????" 

http://i.imgur.com/fd7UclF.jpg









Well we'll see where dead reckoning takes us and it is a reasonable facsimile so much the better otherwise, "Back to the drawing board."

http://i.imgur.com/Tp6kgMj.jpg









I took these images rather more for my benefit than any sense of beneficence because I need a 2 dimensional image to see what this construct looks like so far. 

It's difficult to get proportions right on a 3D object when working from a 2D image. Yeah a drawing would have been better....

http://i.imgur.com/Z8U8bBH.jpg









Another problem is the next step because there is a certain amount of fudging when 3D art is presented. What looks correct on a flat projection does not translate always into an actual object. (At least in my experience.....)

http://i.imgur.com/M2mT22a.jpg









The angled facets of the triangular side windows I have doubts about because I think the glass (perspex) will be bent to make the real object representation. something the artist needn't be concerned about.


----------



## Blackadder

Canopy Alteration:

I don't like either the FW canopy or the 3D version but I lean more toward the 3D version.

http://i.imgur.com/EFF5kSB.jpg









It seems to me that the framework around the windows should be as narrow as possible but I mustn't let my prejudices alter the look of the T'hawk too much.

http://i.imgur.com/9ebv197.jpg









Anyway the steps that I deem necessary to frame the canopy should make it clear how it was done 

Or not.


----------



## Zion

Looks like it's coming along nicely! :so_happy:


----------



## Blackadder

When working with these tiny angles the utmost care must exercised to get everything as accurate as possible or the frame will look lopsided and sloppy.

I am going the provide an in depth account of my procedures (for better or worse) so as to provide a guide for those attempting similar work.


Limit of Visibility:

To cut the lower sill of the side windows requires a lot of pure guesswork. I have no tools that can measure the tiny compound angles required to reproduce the sill strip which in it's rectangular form is 1,0 X 2,5 MM/0.040 X 0.100 inches. 

The strip on the right lower corner already shaped........

http://i.imgur.com/s5nEZni.jpg









I beveled the edge of the strip by drawing it's length across the blade of the 'Utility knife' at what my best guess is the correct angle. Then I pared back the rear edge of the window frame on the base piece to correspond to the adjusted width if the sill strip. that cut is almost perpendicular to the frame of the after cabin. I then cut a compound angle to accommodate both the front slope of the cockpit and the cant of the side window frame and glued in place. I repeated the procedure for the other side. 

http://i.imgur.com/qWr7qjk.jpg









After gluing both side sills in place I adjusted both the converging angles and the cant angles of the frame by eye as no tool is small enough to measure the angle.

http://i.imgur.com/c3RHQFw.jpg


----------



## Blackadder

Reinforcing the Roof Frame:

Ostensibly I will be building the side and roof frame without support and from very thin material besides. To reinforce the joints I glued two scraps of quarter millimeter/ one one hundredths strip styrene as an internal gusset.

http://i.imgur.com/Sl4xBj7.jpg









This will give solid support for the roof frames until the canted side frames can be assembled.

http://i.imgur.com/9I9Z8C0.jpg









In addition the gussets will supply support once the construction is completed so the cabin will not have weak joints holding it together. 

At least, that is the plan.


----------



## Blackadder

The Best of Intentions:

I started this tutorial with the best of intentions but I went too far too quickly and forgot to take interim images. Since I last posted I next cut and installed the two windscreen panels and roughed in the gusset supports for the angled roof frames.

http://i.imgur.com/vL9IJQt.jpg









I installed the side window canted frame on the left side but left the right side window undone to show the underlying work.

First a few images showing the 3D model in relation to the foreground model. The copy while not perfect is satisfactory.

http://i.imgur.com/M79w4lP.jpg









The cockpit remains removable which makes it easy to work on otherwise I would have had to make the roof section separate and installed it in one piece which may or may not have been easier but perhaps the fit wouldn't have as good.

http://i.imgur.com/yBSOT2r.jpg









The two front windscreens are measured in a ratio of 2 to 1 approximately. I'll see have that looks but I have the option of increasing the width toward the centerline which I believe would look better.

http://i.imgur.com/wbzBF8I.jpg









The top view shows the modified moon roof with slightly longer front panes which give a more streamlined appearance to the canopy.

http://i.imgur.com/jyU1B58.jpg









Streamlined? Really BA?


----------



## Varakir

Just dropping in to say you are quite simply fantastic.

Wish i could evoke some constructive feedback but this is just on a whole other level of hobby compared to what i'm used to - absolutely amazing work :victory:


----------



## Blackadder

Thanks,

Ready For Final Detail:

I put the final frame pieces on last night, gave every joint a thin brush of Ambroid ProWeld Plastic Welder and let dry.

This morning accomplished a basic sanding to meld the seams and the basic cockpit canopy is done.

http://i.imgur.com/mJobNNH.jpg









I have to add the detail still but that's for another day.

http://i.imgur.com/UADZHDa.jpg









The front windscreen still seems like the panels should be bigger.

http://i.imgur.com/AMnmlwm.jpg









Everything else is satisfactory.

http://i.imgur.com/VjdrUWq.jpg









There is still the rear Cupola to make.

http://i.imgur.com/THcpbEv.jpg









Onward to the horizontal stabilizer..................


----------



## Blackadder

Shake Your Tail Feather:

Well I don't want the tail to shake but I do want it removable because during transport anything that sticks out is libel to damage. A slide in horizontal stabilizer seems the way to go.

I began by making the rails the stab (shortened for convenience) will ride on as it slides into place.

I used 0.080 X 0.100 inch / 2,0 MM X 2,5 MM strips for the rails giving the robustness to stand dozens of assemblies without undue wear.

http://i.imgur.com/062B6K5.jpg 









The tail horizontal plane measures 8.0 inches by 3.0 inches 202,0 MM by 75 MM by my calculations and the core is 1,0 MM/0.040 inch thick sheet styrene. I give these measurement so it can be compared to a FW model as I have no idea what the FW product relate-able size is. 

http://i.imgur.com/iJqkpNd.jpg









Another view of the rails that engage the vertical stab rails.

http://i.imgur.com/rq4X6NI.jpg









The basic tail slid into place and secure. A simple solution to a vexing problem.

http://i.imgur.com/J67tvdT.jpg


----------



## Jacobite

Amazing as always!


----------



## Wookiepelt

The detailing you add to this build is simply staggering! Amazing work!!!


----------



## Iraqiel

Looks like my bought one but lighter and better!


----------



## Blackadder

Iraqiel said:


> Looks like my bought one but lighter and better!


What I was interested in was the overall span and the length of the 'chord'* on the FW model.

*Chord:


----------



## Blackadder

That Layered Look:

The first impulse is to cut the tail from thick styrene but it's better to use three layers for many reasons:

First it is nigh impossible to cut through 3,0 MM styrene with any degree of accuracy especially with hand held hobby tools. I try to limit my sheet material to 1,0 MM thick or less.

Second it's easier to modify your work should inspiration seize your labors as in my case where I have decided to add 'camber' to the stabilizer which will give it a more satisfying profile. 

http://i.imgur.com/ToxFEEG.jpg









Plus the construction will be stronger.

http://i.imgur.com/f9Um0XC.jpg


----------



## Blackadder

Horizontal Stabilizer:

The basic airfoil for the horizontal stabilizer is roughed out and ready for the final sanding and detail
This is the front:

http://i.imgur.com/lC4DmWh.jpg









The backward orientation of the 'stab' continually confused me and I had to keep reminding myself, "This is the front and this is the back." but it all went together pretty well.

This is the back:

http://i.imgur.com/19Aq3yI.jpg









This is the bottom:

http://i.imgur.com/xZQDGLp.jpg









And this is the top:

http://i.imgur.com/Z5L29ke.jpg


----------



## Moriouce

Your work seems to have no roof for awesomness! Truly inspirational to the smallest detail. 

I'll be looking closly at your projects when time comes to build my own super heavy.


----------



## Iraqiel

Good sir you certainly don't mess around - I would like to attend a model creation masterclass of yours if you were ever in the country.

It appears that these are a bit outdated now, sorry about that. Nonetheless:
Tail Fin




Blackadder said:


> What I was interested in was the overall span and the length of the 'chord'* on the FW model.
> 
> *Chord:


t = 1.55 cm or 0.6"
c = 3.8cm or 1.495" - noting that unlike an aerodynamic shape such as in the diagram, the thunderhawk has a rhomboid-of-sorts stuck on the end of the fin. The top rear corner trails by 1mm behind the bottom rear corner, as you can see.



And it seems you have it already, but here is the tip relative to the fin for thickness:


In case it helps, here is the aileron:



t = 0.75cm at the front and 1cm at the rear, or 0.295" and 0.39".
c = 2.8cm or 1.1"

All parts broken off just to assist with your inquiry. 

...

Just kidding, but I wish I'd had locktite when I put this together in 2009 (I'd been in the hobby for a year and thought that the GW stuff was sufficient). Revitalisation due once my battlefoam case for it arrives!


----------



## Blackadder

Thanks very much for the information I really appreciate the effort.

Hope all goes well with the restoration............

Time To Take Stock: 

http://i.imgur.com/JjLof0a.jpg









http://i.imgur.com/nzrqBfn.jpg









http://i.imgur.com/X720kiz.jpg









http://i.imgur.com/9UFzJpz.jpg









http://i.imgur.com/tOaIniR.jpg









All the charm of a brick.....


----------



## Iraqiel

To paraphrase American Dad - "A brick that could kill you..."

Looking good, nearly got the complete mean machine there! Going to do the underwing heavy bolters and sponson heavy bolters via bits or your white card as well?


----------



## Blackadder

Iraqiel said:


> To paraphrase American Dad - "A brick that could kill you..."
> 
> Looking good, nearly got the complete mean machine there! Going to do the underwing heavy bolters and sponson heavy bolters via bits or your white card as well?


Hopefully I can find the 'bitz'.

You Saw the T'Hawk Coming; Now She's Going.........

Just think with the information contained on this thread you too could be in possession of a true scale T'Hawk; all it takes is therapy sessions once a week and a notification to your local Constabulary of an unstable resident in the district.

Laser spars stowed:

http://i.imgur.com/BU8DK29.jpg









http://i.imgur.com/vkRp8ty.jpg









http://i.imgur.com/nNoEIg2.jpg









Did I ever mention that the exhaust cones are made from Shoprite brand Mouth Wash Caps........... 

http://i.imgur.com/PxiKPZM.jpg









BTW note the segmented end on the center engine exhaust. Where do you suppose such a ready made item comes from? As I sit back enjoying my well earned Martini I can only tell you a clue is in this post.


----------



## Blackadder

Ball turrets:










I'm out on a limb starting this with an image of table tennis balls but I am going to try to use these for a basis to model the turrets. I want mine to open the same as the FW original:










So we'll see together where this will lead.

The balls are 1.5 inches in diameter (39 MM). First does anyone know the diameter of the Raven Turret? Just curious is all because I think this is a good size for the T'hawk.........


----------



## Iraqiel

Are you planning to put them under the aileron? Sorry, I'd help out but my ravens are inaccessible right now.


----------



## Blackadder

Iraqiel said:


> Are you planning to put them under the aileron? Sorry, I'd help out but my ravens are inaccessible right now.


No, the cargo doors abaft the canard vanes are ready made for the ball turrets. The forward heavy bolters are those such as on the FW original.


----------



## Blackadder

Well I had to play 'Dad' and help my daughter to move into haer new apartment today but before that a bit of work on the turret. I have confirmed by an unusually reliable source that the turret ball is slight ly more than 1.5 inches 38,0 MM

in daimeter precisely my estimation but nice to have verification.

Anyway wrapping the ball with 0.5 MM styrene gives me a gun race of 1.6 inches perfect for the Thunderhawk.

http://i.imgur.com/ocVvFab.jpg









http://i.imgur.com/QP1pjpW.jpg









With the gum bands removed there appears a good start for this interesting modification.

http://i.imgur.com/iYZm1ka.jpg







.


----------



## Blackadder

Ball Turrets Two:

Reinforced center axis installed, Rotation axle installed sides flattened to receive gun mount axles.

http://i.imgur.com/m4wxHTJ.jpg









Not much more to say until the gun mount is built.


----------



## Blackadder

Conduit Collars:

You always have to be on the look out for interesting bits of scrap such as the subject of this post; conduit collars.

It would be pretty tedious to make collars to ring the penetration points where the large electrical conduits enter the housings; in this case the Reaver head jowls. Leaving these plain give an unfinished look to the area besides the more detail the better.

http://i.imgur.com/HyMYDR5.jpg









Fortunately I have had this idea for quite a few years and have mentioned it before but it doesn't hurt to re-introduce it.

http://i.imgur.com/EYrG2lv.jpg









When you cut large holes in styrene using wood hole augers you get these nicely shaped rings that are roundly beveled inside and out but usually get swept away with the refuse. These make dandy collars with a minimum of cleaning and sanding.

http://i.imgur.com/VayG0C3.jpg









The image above shows the collars glued in place before the final cleaning and I believe they add a nice touch to an ordinarily bland area.

I have used these extensively on most of my models even as just tchotchke decorations.


----------



## Blackadder

The Man Who Do Too Much:

Previously I demonstrated and suggested an easy way to add detail to projects by utilizing scrap discs left over from drilling holes in styrene. That offering apparently fell on fallow ground other than to generate not a few replies that I "mistakenly"  posted either triplicates or on the wrong thread entirely; Ha! I just felt that the information applied equally to all my scratch projects.

That intentional ''blanket'' suggestion was a precursor to the current project where I am attempting to recreate the FW "Ball Turret" for my Thunderhawk.

Making the turret operable may have been a bit too ambitious at least for the way I conceptualized the assembly. 

http://i.imgur.com/jTxQqXe.jpg









(BTW I am not aware whether the FW Ball Turret functions on all three operational (axēs) parameters?)

Anyway employing the scrap discs to supply two of the three axēs I needed now only address the rotational axle.
http://i.imgur.com/vowHL34.jpg









I'm sorry to say I'm not at all pleased with the overall result which appears to me too cumbersome.

http://i.imgur.com/Vm344XV.jpg









Especially the straps that append the training axle to the targeting race.


----------



## Blackadder

Foam Core! The Bane Of My Existence:

Once again I have come to regret the folly of using foam core poster board for a quick and easy and inexpensive way to frame a model.

It's alright for some; rational people secure in their competence that they will not change that which is satisfactory. But for a neurotic like me who is dissatisfied with completion and goes to extraordinary lengths to forestall that eventuality foam is a bad way to go. 

Here we see the first inroads into cutting a socket fo the future ball mount. The yellowed area is resin applied to foam board to secure the styrene skin to the poster board frame.

http://i.imgur.com/1WhabJW.jpg









So what time have I saved when I have now to build the cargo bay inside out now to install the ball turret module.

The left side with the ball temporary mounted in the cutout for scale.

http://i.imgur.com/ar6z0pJ.jpg









There seems ample room for the entire module and a fairly uncluttered field of fire for this weapon with 'interrupters' installed to prevent shooting off the still to be fabricated canards and the wings and the engines.

http://i.imgur.com/ATnvi3L.jpg









A closeup of the accordion boot fabricate from a bendable soda straw for the recoil-less AA gun barrel.

http://i.imgur.com/VcXrXYY.jpg


----------



## Blackadder

Not a Padded Cell:

Not yet anyway but working on it. I might just as well go for broke and install that cargo bay interior I've had in the back of my mind some time. Ever since I first saw these ball turrets.

http://i.imgur.com/ewQWvLj.jpg









After gutting the foam from all but the ceiling of the forward bay and flight deck I find I have room to spare for all the goodies including the interior LEDs lighting.

I don't think I need go any further back into the structure because that would necessitate tearing out the wing roots and the landing gear housings and seriously compromise the entire structure of the aft superstructure; no that would be really bad.........

http://i.imgur.com/4pulBDL.jpg









Anyway the cargo bay and ball turrets have a lot to keep me occupied for quite some time.

http://i.imgur.com/N5NLR5i.jpg









This interior shoot shows the inner space looking forward to the cargo door opening.


----------



## Jacobite

Oh awesome so you are more going with the Fire Raptor style turret? Nice!


----------



## Blackadder

Beefing Up The Bevel Ring:

Looking at the Raven image below you can see that the gun mount ring immediately surrounding the turret itself is beveled on the inner rim.

http://i.imgur.com/g4gEc0x.jpg









Since I rarely use 2,0 MM styrene especially precision holes the best way is IMHO is to sandwich flexible 2,0 MM strips between 1,0 MM gluing and clamping to hold the strip to the backing.

http://i.imgur.com/xmjlYrr.jpg









Since the bevel is quite thick a second strip is required as seen below.

http://i.imgur.com/L3ZOzxg.jpg


----------



## Blackadder

The Thunderhawk Has Balls:

Just a dry run to see how everything fits. I have to open up the bevel a bit but the overall look is pretty good. The size seem alright not too small and not too big.

http://i.imgur.com/xMPXppf.jpg









It's going to take some time to get use to how much the turret protrudes from the mount; once I enlarge the bevel I may recess the ball a few millimeters.

http://i.imgur.com/9ee05Vo.jpg









The next few images just display the range of movement of the turret:

http://i.imgur.com/uZu3lWD.jpg









http://i.imgur.com/eQUkzfw.jpg









http://i.imgur.com/u4cJTVj.jpg









And these last show the bevel before I smooth the surface.

http://i.imgur.com/MuDxchG.jpg









http://i.imgur.com/q2itwZ1.jpg


----------



## morfangdakka

This a great demonstration of plasticard work which has inspired my next project of total plasticard construction. I think I will need you on speed dial when I run into problems. I have learned a lot just watching your threads.


----------



## Blackadder

Ask any question you'd like, I'll be more than happy to help out; after all that is what these threads are all about.

The Effort We Make:

I seem to be putting too much effort into a model I'm not all that enthused of working on but I have to keep reminding myself that I'm doing this for my son. Ha! He started this over seven years ago when he had just entered High School and this year he will be graduating College. 

Anyway His kids might appreciate it.

Here is the T'hawk with Ball Turrets in place resting on it's nose gear

(Note the nose gear shock strut compressed with the gear deployed and the weight of the model resting on it.) I'm rather proud of that accomplishment. Actually, I'd forgotten I made that. 

http://i.imgur.com/d0x5XIl.jpg









Here is the front view showing how much it protrudes from the side of the ship 

http://i.imgur.com/slMcDxJ.jpg









The temporary aligning straps are visible in this image but once the gun barrels are completed they will not be necessary.

Below we see a bottom view with the retractable landing gear exposed in the stowed position and the protrusion of the Ball Turret from the side is acceptable.

http://i.imgur.com/efvrSm4.jpg









And again the retractable Landing gear this time in the deployed position with the landing pad (removed for clarity) in the foreground.

http://i.imgur.com/angCcgB.jpg









Just for those readers inquiring about the landing gears.


----------



## InkedDnA

Looking awesome man, looking forward to seeing more updates!


----------



## Stormxlr

Thunderhawk was always my favorite project among all others that you've done. Warlord Titan is beyond comparison for skill and amount of detail but, I don't know this one just attracts me. Maybe it is because this one is the first ive seen when i started researching scratch building. 

I've done some work myself,so far Ive made only 2 models which I dint finish :/ 1 Rhino which needs tank tracks made for it and Land Speeder Tempest half way done. Still pretty proud of my accomplishments so far though, since Ive been into wargaming since last summer  
I am planning to build a bunch of Rhinos since it gets very expensive buying ~ 9 tanks.

I had some questions about working with plasticard and scratchbuilding in general. 
What thickness plasticard do you use for making tanks I think i was using 2mm one for the structure and .5mm for details. 

What do you use to cut the card, a big Xcato knife or a hobby knife/scalpel ? 
Also do you use templates? Like Eli Patoroch ones for papperhammer. 
Lastly did you ever use ABS plastic sheets instead of Plasticard? Coz thats actually what I use since I have easier access to that.

Cheers, good luck with your projects


----------



## Blackadder

Stormxlr said:


> Thunderhawk was always my favorite project among all others that you've done. Warlord Titan is beyond comparison for skill and amount of detail but, I don't know this one just attracts me. Maybe it is because this one is the first ive seen when i started researching scratch building.
> 
> I've done some work myself,so far Ive made only 2 models which I dint finish :/ 1 Rhino which needs tank tracks made for it and Land Speeder Tempest half way done. Still pretty proud of my accomplishments so far though, since Ive been into wargaming since last summer
> I am planning to build a bunch of Rhinos since it gets very expensive buying ~ 9 tanks.
> 
> I had some questions about working with plasticard and scratchbuilding in general.
> What thickness plasticard do you use for making tanks I think i was using 2mm one for the structure and .5mm for details.


I don't know anything about cutting ABS but the styrene I use is 1,0 MM thick because it cuts easier and even with tanks you only need the thickness where it shows; i.e. fender ends, armour flanges, etc. there you can laminate two 1,0 MM pieces say sheet and a strip of 1,0 MM to make it look thicker. You can also use scrap in place of the strip. I try to avoid 2,0 MM styrene sheets as much as possible because it's just too difficult to cut.



> What do you use to cut the card, a big Xcato knife or a hobby knife/scalpel ?


I'm going to append my stock answer to this question at the end of this reply..........** but specifically I use a Stanley Retractable Blade Utility knife; see below................



> Also do you use templates? Like Eli Patoroch ones for papperhammer.


Most templates I've seen are possibly alright to get you the sizes you might need but they are not detailed enough for my taste. I prefer to work off the computer screen images I have found on the web. In your case it should be relatively simple to take measurements off of a GW Rhino; perhaps you could borrow one?



> Lastly did you ever use ABS plastic sheets instead of Plasticard? Coz thats actually what I use since I have easier access to that.


I bought some ABS unknowingly when I built my first Warhound. It was a disaster because I couldn't find glue that would hold. If you can find the glue go for it.

**


> How are you getting such clean cut lines when you cut the plasticard?


Ah, that is the question I am asked most often and the answer cannot be repeated too many times because I think it the singular most important ability to achieve when anyone sets out to scratch build.


Regarding tools I don't use anything special. Aside from what you see here I do have a Dremel cordless, a cheap electric scroll saw, and a desk top belt sander all of which are rarely used.

http://i.imgur.com/pIJjy.jpg










*The main cutting tool I use is the retractable blade Stanley utility knife and I do have a see through plastic 12 inch scale to take measurements off of my LCD monitor.*

I have two computer programs that allow me to scale the images and magnify them; ACDSee 14 and ULead Photo Impact 13 Editor.

*The biggest problem new scratchers have is using the wrong cutting tool. Craft cutting tools such as Xacto knives are useful and I have two pictured above, these are for fine detail work not for basic cutting and shaping.*

As stated previously the Stanley Utility knife is the single most important tool in your inventory; it doesn't have to be of that manufacturer but of this type.










Small plastic handle snap off blade retractable knives of the type shown below are useless for hobby work, the blade wobbles in the grip and you are more likely to injure yourself that to do any decent cutting with a tool of this type.










In addition you will probably require:

* A steel straight edge, sanding blocks (coarse and medium grit), and single cut 'farmers' file are used to get straight clean cuts and crisp 90° edges. You'll never get that with a 1/4 inch Xacto knife.*

*Another trick is score and snap; using the utility knife and straight edge score a line on the sheet plastic then a second to deepen the cut ( make additional passes for thicker sheets) then snap the sheet at the score line.*

*Always make two or more shallow cuts instead of trying to cut through with a single pass.

Dress your edges with the file and sanding blocks.*

This should get you started, please ask for any clarification on the above.

As for detail, its hard to explain but my feeling is "More is better." A good supply of scrap styrene and bitz is essential and just try to duplicate what you see. Practice is the catch word here, there is no shortcut to experience and I am still learning myself.

Regarding the clothes pins I reverse the wood jaws in the spring for better clamping and I do have quite a few likewise with the modeling bar clamps. They are cheap here, I don't know if they are in New Zealand but you can order them on line from Amazon or Harbor Freight for about $2 bucks each:

http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch...lt?q=bar+clamps


----------



## Stormxlr

Great, thanks  I will get something similar to Stanley Utility knife ive been using a hobby knife but they just dont have enough "weight" behind them for easy clean cuts. 

Regarding gluing the ABS plastic, I have no idea what the glue that I am using is, but it works amazingly! It melts the abs plastic upon contact and dries within ~10 seconds or less. It has water consistency,no smell and no color, also it slowly (very slowly) evaporates even if it is completely sealed. So far I have not found what else it works on but I spilled it a lot and it never started to melt anything else. Its great that it melts the plastic together rather than gluing it, allows me to position with minimal contact between two surfaces.

Do you not find it a bit annoying to measure of the screen all the time? 
The templates Patoroch makes are not amazingly detailed since they are made for paper, but they work great when you just use them to make the main structure,armor plates and external parts. A plus is that they are scaled 1:1 with GW models so you dont need to worry about that.

What i do is print em out in black and white, cut out the parts i need, overlay them on plastic sheet and cut along the template  As easy as it gets, then add layers of armor plates and details.


----------



## Blackadder

An Engineering Tour de Farce:

Well I went blithefully ahead this week end whilst others were at play so the actual construction of the canard vanes went unrecorded.

Suffice it to say it was pretty much the same as the horizontal stabilizer albeit a tad smaller.

http://i.imgur.com/gqLmPOw.jpg









My Canards and tail plane structure is larger than both the 3D rendering and the FW model in relative size to the fuselage as my model is a bit more robust than either.

http://i.imgur.com/pTdALDG.jpg









Once the Canard fixed guns are in place the extra length will be masked.


----------



## Blackadder

Whoops wrong thread.............


----------



## Blackadder

Came The Dawning!

Let it not be said that Blackadder doesn't need a safe dropped on him.......

This morning I have come to the realization that, "All the major components for the Thunderhawk are built!!!!!"

Sooooo all that is left is the 'dessert'; the detail if you will.

Now The Blackadder loves to do detail and the more obscure the better so therefore I shall be starting on the underbelly first. (The interior and the wheel wells being already done.

http://i.imgur.com/55J1jMx.jpg









http://i.imgur.com/IC8sLnU.jpg









The above images show the barren underbelly as I left it a year or so ago and whilst I am about it I also need to strengthen the wing mounting so they don't droop and incorporate the mount into the underbelly detail as well.


----------



## Wookiepelt

Ooooo... time for us all to be be shockingly WOWed by your attention to the little details!!! Seriously Blackadder, I'm really looking forward to seeing what you'll be doing here!


----------



## Blackadder

Simple Round Louvered Vents:

A simple way to make the round louvered vents shown below.....










http://i.imgur.com/BeUYTOF.jpg









1. Glue thin rods or square stock to a piece of scrap thin sheeting. in this case I need 12 louvered vents 3/8 inch dia. and I used 0.025 inch rod for the grill.

2. I used thin ProWeld cement to adhere the rods to the 0.015 scrap sheet; when the glue began to gell I separated the rods with my finger nail to achieve consistent spacing.

3. Once I had sufficient louvers (In this case six.) I gave the assembly a final dose of cement to insure the rods will not come loose during the subsequent operations.

4. I then cut the proper sized squares of grill in this case 5/16 inch squares and glued them on to 5/16 inch tubing.

5. Once dried I rough trimmed the square grills to a vaguely round shape with the nail clippers shown and finished rounding the grill (Still attached to the 5/16th tubing.) with the sanding block shown.

6. After rounding the grill I separated the grill from the tube with the utility knife shown.

7. I cut a slim disk of 3/8 inch tube for the outer rim of the vent with the razor saw shown and sanded the rough edges with the sanding block. Shown again....

http://i.imgur.com/Bj6DJ7R.jpg









8. I glued the grill disk into the 3/8 inch tube housing and allowed to dry. 

9. I glued the assembly to the precut fan panel for mounting on the underside of the T'hawk wing.


----------



## Blackadder

Louvers Continued:

After the glue has dried I sand down the rim to 2,0 MM and affix the vents to the underside of the wing roots.


http://i.imgur.com/BgwEFzk.jpg


----------



## Iraqiel

Dear Blackadder - please apprentice me or run a workshop on scratchbuilding for a week or two in a few years when I can come to the States. 

Loving your progress so far!


----------



## Blackadder

Thanks, 

Never Ending Rivets:

I hate starting rivets because then rivets need to be applied everywhere. Unfortunately copious skull sized rivets are part and parcel endemic to 40K vehicles.

http://i.imgur.com/Us4Cid7.jpg









Now huge protruding rivets cannot help the minimally aerodynamic properties of any aircraft but I suppose what's a little more parasite drag to the flying (sic) brick called the Thunderhawk.

http://i.imgur.com/SshVWu5.jpg


----------



## Jacobite

As always I am stunned by the level of detail you put into your work!


----------



## Blackadder

Thanks for the reply,

The Unlikely Weapon:

Once again I must acquiesce to convention and add the ungainly Volcano cannon to my model; after all what is a Thunderhawk without this unseemly appendage?

Starting with the largest diameter tubing I have 13 MM (Half inch) I found I was short 3 MM in diameter of the Shadow Sword cannon's 16,0 MM maximum diameter. 

Grabbing a page from my previous work on my scratchbuilt Warhound's ankles (Actually the 'instep' but we won't quibble,) I applied split half in sleeves to the basic core tubing to flesh out the diameter to 16,0 MM.

http://i.imgur.com/T378TNu.jpg









To add interest to the overall barrel I opted to step the diameter toward the muzzle.

http://i.imgur.com/SYiSxZe.jpg









Naturally when sleeving the barrel there is produced a gap which I filled with inserts cut from scrap half inch tubing.


----------



## Blackadder

Just an FYI:

A progress report more than anything. 

I am frequently asked how the details are made for these models.

Plasticard comes in such a wealth of shapes and sizes that actual shaping is a rare event. 

Breaking the subject down to basic components is the way to go in scratch building.

Here we have the basic gun barrel stepped down a bit more in my version than in the original about a quarter millimeter but it should n't be a problem.

Evergreen tubing has the marvelous property of snugly telescoping the various sizes. I'm not sure any other manufacturers have that capability.

http://i.imgur.com/TspW4aW.jpg 









Here the muzzle is just about complete and the breech will have to be built up with a few layers of 0.020 inch sheet styrene.

Note the sheet styrene glued to the breech ready to be wrapped and glued to bulk up the breech end.

The barrel bands were attached in a similar fashion.


----------



## Blackadder

Exposing Myself:

Before I get too far along I figured I'd better explain the processes that got me to this point. Of course if it all doesn't work out I will be just setting myself up for an embarrassing _volte-face._ 

Employing the telescoping ability of the 'Evergreen' tubing I made reasonable facsimiles of the complex muzzle components. 

http://i.imgur.com/UsBUgv0.jpg









Right now I am in the process of duplicating the flash suppressor housing if that is what it is; naturally true to form I opted to make it 'inside out' or 'from the outside in' depending on your perspective.

http://i.imgur.com/sg2itP8.jpg









Never the less, all so far seems to be going well.


----------



## Blackadder

Blackadder and the Lost Weekend:

In spite of unfortunate necessary commitments I still manages to cobble together a reasonable facsimile of a Volcano cannon although the photo image reveals some barely acceptable flaws that board on intolerable.

http://i.imgur.com/WwzSN64.jpg









I'm rather pleased at the muzzle which was quite unnecessarily a cause for trepidation but the breech detail doesn't quite make the grade being too bulky and crude.

I'm hoping the addition of the rest of the appurtenances will bring the breech together and not promulge* a rebuild.

http://i.imgur.com/07f0BzY.jpg









*I love it when I confound the 'Spell checker' Ha!


----------



## Blackadder

Fear of Flying:

I sometimes wonder when I embark on these projects what is my actual motivation.

Certainly I have great difficulty bringing each to completion. Granted Lucie is pretty much complete and the Warlord lacks only electronics and final painting.

The Tyranid army is going well, I have to practice more with my washes technique.

The Reaver project is stalled sadly because of lack of inspiration.

This Thunderhawk progress seems to be monopolizing all my work time this past week and I am greatly surprised and pleased with this my current work.

The Volcano Cannon has been a thorn in my side because I lacked the confidence to scratch build the fine detail. 

http://i.imgur.com/6uqRMhK.jpg









Well today for the first time I installed the completed cannon on its carriage mount and it fits the role satisfactorily.

Although appearing slightly smaller than the FW T'hawk's gun I think it suits the scale better overall. (It is in point of fact slightly longer than the FW cannon.)

http://i.imgur.com/ut86H4q.jpg









The trunnion mount affords a full range of elevation if that is actually necessary for a line of sight weapon.

http://i.imgur.com/MKxKfST.jpg









This side view shows the scale of the Volcano cannon in relation to my outsized Thunderhawk that I measured today at 750 MM / 29 inches; ten inches longer than the FW original.

http://i.imgur.com/Raixekz.jpg


----------



## Blackadder

Look Ma, No Dihedral:

Ever since I started this model the one thing that has vexed me was the droopy wings. Unfortunately I could have nipped the problem in the bud by installing a proper wing spar in the first place as does virtually every aircraft since the dawn of aviation and considering my background in aviation you would think I would have known better. Alas No!

So finally over the weekend I addressed the issue since all the delicate detail work is done and liable to costly damage from an errant drill bit or slip. Let it never be said that The Blackadder has not cornered the market on outright stupidity. 

http://i.imgur.com/jCIeaQi.jpg









Anyway from the image above you can see everything went swimmingly and with only a few more grey hairs I now have installed a rugged wing spar that removes all the negative Dihedral from the model and ties the wings to the fusilage secure enough for active transport if needs be but also allows for disassembly should the occasion arise.

http://i.imgur.com/JIIwG5O.jpg









I have always maintained the the reason for the FW flying Lascannon struts were to support the wings from drooping on their T'hawk model because they also did not allow for the wing weight as well, so my stupidity is in good company.

http://i.imgur.com/fvWocZ5.jpg









I need to install stops on my strut travel.

http://i.imgur.com/0tcGnuh.jpg









Here we see the disassembled outer wings with the 1/4 inch aluminum rod installed to strengthen the wing structure. Drilling a twelve inch long contiguous hole through the wings and fuselage taxed all my limited abilities.

http://i.imgur.com/tQ4pkLs.jpg









I really need to straighten up my work room!


----------



## Iraqiel

Looking so very good. i think i may have to do this as well next time a wing falls off my forgeworld thunderhawk.


----------



## Blackadder

Ouch!

Wingtips are a Drag:

Air spilling off the tip of a wing creates drag and lowers fuel economy so many modern aircraft have funny looking winglets on their tips to cut down on the wingtip vortices.

None are as strange looking as the constructions attached to the tips of the Thunderhawk. It seems the designers have gone out of their way to destroy anything vaguely resembling a lifting surface.

Below is my version of these tips liberally borrowing from half a dozen different 3D and Model designs.

http://i.imgur.com/m8hY7Jp.jpg









I made the tips detachable by installing six 3,0 MM magnets on each wingtip so the fragile stingers won't continually have to be replaced.

http://i.imgur.com/Gdo7dDg.jpg









http://i.imgur.com/1yLVDAz.jpg









This pretty much spells finished to the wing detail although I may scribe lines to simulate flush panels if I feel the detail is too sparse.

http://i.imgur.com/jVQoRKw.jpg


----------



## Blackadder

Sounds like a plan................

A Bit of a Recap:

Just a recap to bring the detailing up to present before I add the final necessary components namely the deploy-able air-brake panels to the aft fuselage.

All the other major detail is completed including the yet-to-be-installed landing gear and ball turrets; it's just a matter of attaching them during the priming episode. Yes I am that close to applying pigment to this work after four years of intermittent effort.

Below, the frontal view shown 'The Albatross' in unnatural light where she looks much cleaner than her aged yellowed styrene appears in person. 

http://i.imgur.com/IQXL1ZI.jpg









There is still a bit of side details including the hull number and Aquila to be synthesized and installed.

Below, the rear quarter showing the air-brake panel interior visible and the wing spoiler cavities which is an interesting feature unprecedented in actual aircraft:

http://i.imgur.com/H5TxZNe.jpg









Note the size of this model dwarfs my 26 inch steel scale. She is actually longer than my Warlord is tall.

And the side view in pretty much flight configuration nose up attitude as the poorly designed L-1011 and DC-10 were wont to fly. 

http://i.imgur.com/IgclCxl.jpg









The fact that I now refer to her as 'she' signifies I have finally accepted her into my fold.


----------



## Blackadder

Air Brake Panels:

Cutting the slots in the air brake panels would be tedious except for one of the specialty items in the 'Evergreen' inventory.

http://i.imgur.com/xKIAf3e.jpg









To get the proper spacing of the six slots I used 'O' gauge boxcar siding available from 'Evergreen'.

http://i.imgur.com/qgm6onY.jpg









There it was a simple matter of scribing and punching out rectangular slots. 

http://i.imgur.com/eUHG00d.jpg










After reinforcing the back side and angle of the panel I installed the right side panel this morning; 

http://i.imgur.com/QIz5paz.jpg









the left side held in reserve until I photo'ed them for the blog.


----------



## Blackadder

111?

Well the airbrakes are installed and are deploy-able but they are so laughably small as to appear ridiculous. How deploying such small panel can have any perceptible effect on slowing this flying brick outhouse is ludicrous. 

http://i.imgur.com/QbS9CIn.jpg









But they are on the original so they are on my model as well.

http://i.imgur.com/muE2Xti.jpg









The left side airbrake still needs to be adjusted.

http://i.imgur.com/wIQrLQj.jpg









The right side airbrake works easily

http://i.imgur.com/kkN2khg.jpg









In case you were wondering about the title of this post 111 is the hull number of this craft.

Yeah if you think I chose this number because it was easiest to make you are probably right.

http://i.imgur.com/Az9rWVp.jpg









Meanwhile the interminable detailing proceeds.


----------



## Blackadder

Way Too Much Effort:

I'm putting too much effort into a model I wasn't that enthused about in the first place.

But in for a penny as the saying goes.

There are some beautiful colour 3D renderings of T'hawks available and of all this is by far my favorite.

http://i.imgur.com/9V6NhiQ.jpg









The rendering actually makes a T'hawk plausible and real.

http://i.imgur.com/ZreDRQV.jpg









BTW this is the colour scheme I've decided on so anyone know what chapter is this please?
So since I am committed to finishing this model I may as well duplicate it the whole way and revamp the nose cowl/door.

http://i.imgur.com/278Y6Hz.jpg









So since I am committed to finishing this model I may as well duplicate it the whole way and revamp the nose cowl/door.

The front end of the 3D looks so much more brutal than the FW design..... Brutal is good....

http://i.imgur.com/Hq9Njxc.jpg









This is an Lord Inquisitor insignia?

http://i.imgur.com/kGMvnUt.jpg









These wings are a be-atch to make..............

http://i.imgur.com/lWN8GIP.jpg


----------



## Blackadder

Cargo Door Take Two:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxJXrrTqJfI

In the video above the convoluted door opening procedure is a amazing tour de force but infinitely impractical plus the mechanism prevents large pieces of equipment from egress or ingress. My solution employs the brutal beauty of this door in comparison to the rather bland FW door/ramp but offers a more practical solution without the incredible monkey motion plus I can still release the Rhino........

http://i.imgur.com/UHKGo3G.jpg









It necessitated cutting back the locking detents and modifying the upper locks.

http://i.imgur.com/Aj8hWsW.jpg









The opening is actually larger which will faciltate the embarking and debarking of the larger equipment from the caverness cargo bay.

http://i.imgur.com/gw1oMB3.jpg









Finally a redundant image just because it came out so well with the prototype image in the background.

http://i.imgur.com/e4fUo8q.jpg


----------



## SwedeMarine

Impressive work as Always BA. Keep it up!


----------



## Iraqiel

Man i need to subscribe to keep pace with your progress! That is a lord inquisitor render i think, the paint scheme is grey knights chapter as is the insignia, if you google there are a few very good painf jobs of these guys and their thunderhawks floating about.


----------



## neferhet

This is impressive....almost there, man , almost there!


----------



## Tha Tall One

I would almost believe you'd be able to make it actually fly, though your commentary suggests otherwise. This is truly awe-inspiring. The detail is amazing.


----------



## Blackadder

Thanks for the reply,

That's What I'm Talk'n 'bout:

Yeah this looks a lot better to me. Granted it departs from the classic T'hawk look but considering the newest additions to the transport navy fleet it's about time for a T'hawk face lift. 

http://i.imgur.com/Geaz295.jpg









The old locking mechanism is still in play so it doesn't change the internal configuration and now I have space for the fold away cargo ramps for tracked and wheeled vehicles, the dentations should house the hinges nicely. A problem I could not resolve with the old style door.

http://i.imgur.com/QcI379p.jpg









Of course with the one step forward resolved there is also a one step back. The forward door and nose cowl should act as an ablative heat shield for atmospheric entry, so how to justify the decorative cut outs on either side of the door. surely all those surface angles and pockets would serve to hold and intensify the heat of re-entry causing great strain on the door mechanism. Just saying so you know I am aware of the quandary 

http://i.imgur.com/oBEllJ8.jpg









H*ll, I just build the D*mned things; I haven't the vaguest what makes 'em go.


----------



## Iraqiel

Blackadder said:


> H*ll, I just build the D*mned things; I haven't the vaguest what makes 'em go.


Why, Big Mekk Blackadder, what makes them go is the power of suspension of disbelief!


----------



## Moriouce

I guess 'the emperor protects'


----------



## Blackadder

Suspension of disbelief only works in Hollywood Science and US politics.

Thunderhawks have to work...........

Witness:

Shades of Past Work:

Last year in April I decided I wanted operating retractable landing gear on this beastie, the problem was Forge World did not allow room in their model for the gear in the stowed position; especially the nose gear which as designed by FW would have taken up a significant percentage of the forward cargo bay. My dilemma was compounded by the mechanically impossible retract cylinder mechanism represented on the FW model.

BTW I totally discounted the 3D rendering gear altogether. Besides being mechanically unsound the gear pads were way too small. 

Below is the nose landing gear removed from the gear well shown in the completely collapsed condition. The shock strut (oleo strut) is completely compressed so it will fit into the well. I am in the process of adding the gear well detail at the moment. Where does the time go.............


http://i.imgur.com/SmISksz.jpg









Here we see all the nose gear components including the foot pad and gear well reinforcement panels on the left. The lock pin forward of the foot pad, the gear well itself at the right rear. Forward of that is the shock strut and retract cylinder with their associate trunnion pins.

http://i.imgur.com/NsCl05l.jpg









Here is the assembled nose gear showing the shock strut in collapsed position and the exterior of the well showing the axle sleeves for the trunnion pins that lock the gear trunions in place but allow them to swivel.

http://i.imgur.com/8QcmyX2.jpg









Front view of the nose gear assembled with the shock strut in full extension and the retract cylinder in full extension and foot pad attached.

http://i.imgur.com/IfYIiRg.jpg


----------



## Blackadder

Mounting the Landing Gear:

The heretofore unmounted landing gears have been held on back burner until today. I have many pieces including the forward cargo bay interior that are ready to install so much of the work to be done is done just not installed. 

http://i.imgur.com/a3s1YVL.jpg









I have made so many modifications since the inception of this project it would have been prohibitive to disassemble and modify prematurely mounted parts.

http://i.imgur.com/MBE3p4m.jpg









I shall continue to only tack some parts into place so the model can be disassembled for painting. 

Looks like I'll be able to sling a LandRaider under the belly after all; that and a Rhino in the cargo bay will make this a formidable addition an army.....

G*D I cannot believe I am actually considering painting this finally.


----------



## Iraqiel

Bravo, sir. Bravo.


----------



## Tugger

Mind blown.


----------



## Blackadder

Thanks for the replies,

The Nose Gear Continues:

The following chronicles the manufacture of the nose gear: 

I barely had room for the light module bitz on the foot pad although everything else fitted with room to spare. still have so detailing to do on th top surface of the landing pad and the tread on the underside. but I am winding down for today and considered it time for an update. 
http://i.imgur.com/qatEePo.jpg









Still can't make up my mind whether to cant the gear forward or make it vertical. 
http://i.imgur.com/k4tFtCO.jpg 









The detail inside the gear well is pretty much complete but I still need rivets etc on the reinforcing framework.


----------



## Blackadder

She's Got Leggs:

Okay the landing gear is installed, the nose gear at this time can retract but not the main gear. There seems no problem that even un-reinforced the spindly struts can support the massive weight of the model, 3 kilo of styrene.

http://i.imgur.com/aCVHZDR.jpg









Now that I have length of the struts established I can go ahead and beef up the main struts and make them retractable. I also need to design torque links so the pads do not swivel.

http://i.imgur.com/c4wBfv2.jpg









The front landing pad has a spring loaded strut extension which facilitates stowing so the pad can lock in when retracted.

http://i.imgur.com/qeEr64X.jpg









Here we see the ground clearance allows for a belly hung LandRaider even though I have been apprised T'hawk transports do not carry LandRaiders.

http://i.imgur.com/DbzoHBX.jpg









http://i.imgur.com/gRcuOxW.jpg









The forward cargo maw can comfortably disgorge an 'slick' Rhino (Sorry, the only Rhino I have is a cripple Chaos model) with plenty of headroom and side room to spare.

http://i.imgur.com/wKxHFc5.jpg









The ramp angle is a bit too extreme which will have to be remedied with fold-able ramp extension tracks.

http://i.imgur.com/QW7zeKz.jpg


----------



## SwedeMarine

Blackadder said:


> The forward cargo maw can comfortably disgorge an 'slick' Rhino (Sorry, the only Rhino I have is a cripple Chaos model) with plenty of headroom and side room to spare.
> 
> http://i.imgur.com/wKxHFc5.jpg
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The ramp angle is a bit too extreme which will have to be remedied with fold-able ramp extension tracks.
> 
> http://i.imgur.com/QW7zeKz.jpg


Not necessarily. Did you account for the "weight" of the aircraft as it settles down? they ramp will be much more level with the ground with the weight of the aircraft on the landing gear. might require some interesting modeling but you wouldn't have to do the ramps. Or if you could weigh it down so it settles naturally.


----------



## Blackadder

SwedeMarine said:


> Not necessarily. Did you account for the "weight" of the aircraft as it settles down? they ramp will be much more level with the ground with the weight of the aircraft on the landing gear. might require some interesting modeling but you wouldn't have to do the ramps. Or if you could weigh it down so it settles naturally.


Initially when I built the nose gear I was limited in the space I had to make a retractable nose gear and still allow for large vehicle containment. I utilized the strongest spring available for the shock strut and the compression was adequate for the then weight of the forward cargo compartment. Naturally a spring cannot take the place of a air/oleo strut where you could just add air (nitrogen) to compensate for excess mass. As it is right now there is not a spring available commercially to compensate for the mass of the forward vehicle moment so the strut is completely compressed already. Were this a real A/C this could be compensated for by increasing the air pressure in the strut; as it is right now there is not a spring available to make this a reality. 

That I know of that is...............


----------



## Iraqiel

Actually, the transporter does carry land raiders but has no armament, whilst the gunship variant can't take a landraider. Yours, i think, deserves to be the best of both.


----------



## Blackadder

Thanks for the reply...........

Slimming Facets?

One of the features that really did it for me on the 3D model was the beveled edges of the forward fuselage. Somehow it relieved the boxlike appearance of the FW prototype and particularly on my over-sized model lent a slimming appearance to the overall model.

Not so with the rounding front heat shield; I still have to work on that................. 

http://i.imgur.com/tttZ1WX.jpg









I took a few of the same shot to show the relief of the facets of which I believe came out rather satisfactory.

http://i.imgur.com/vMkIioN.jpg









I know I'm gonna get some heat on my rendering of the Heat Shields from T'hawk purists.

http://i.imgur.com/mG4cwi8.jpg









I just have to dress these curves............

http://i.imgur.com/yToRUwD.jpg









Egad! Curves on a T'hawk?

Blasphemy!


----------



## Blackadder

Thanksgiving Week:

Well I've received orders from the 'Top' aka Ms BA that I have to clean up my mess because company's coming and my room, "My Room!" looks a mess and she'll be ashamed if any one is brought in there Yada, yada, yada......... Of course I'll be bringing people in to look at my pastime pursuits so I'm complying. 

First order is to get all the models in one piece because, I know what it looks like when in pieces but hardly anyone else would so I gathered all the Thunderhawk pieces from the various corners of the room and assembled them and waddaya know I think its time start painting. 

First off sorry about the flash in the first image because it the only one that shows the ball turrets.

http://i.imgur.com/sbDssF2.jpg









The high level front view shows the various ages of the styrene because this model has taken an inordinate amount of time to produce and the older styrene has yellowed. 

Note in the foreground the interior walls that when wired will finally be glued into place. I built those walls over four years ago; Gad!

http://i.imgur.com/dP9MYPz.jpg









Still to be done is to beef up the main landing gear struts but that shouldn't affect painting. also note the various shades of greasy hand yellowing chronicling the various stages of building over the years. 

http://i.imgur.com/WR52vfi.jpg









This calls for another martini; Skoal!


----------



## Iraqiel

Congratulations on such fine work, I hope you enjoy showing it off and are appropriately accoladed!


----------



## Blackadder

Dawn of the Green Screen:

At the behest of one of my readers I have attempted to add a bit of sophistication to my images; namely a 'green screen' so he/they can add a proper background my otherwise tawdry efforts in photography.

http://i.imgur.com/Sescs2b.jpg









I still haven't ironed out all the wrinkles (groan!) in the overall background but for a first effort it does the job.

http://i.imgur.com/gzjynN3.jpg









To celebrate this new excursion into picture taking I'm resuming work on the Thunderhawk whilst taking an well earned break for work on the Reaver

http://i.imgur.com/0Ki6P3y.jpg









Today I will address the spindle shank main landing gear to see if I can beef it up and make it retractable.

That and finish up the little bit of exterior detail left to do.


----------



## neferhet

It's ready to get painted, i daresay! Most excellent work, man!


----------



## Blackadder

Volcano Cannon Elevation Boot

It's the little things you forget that bite you on the arse every time.

I built the Volcano Cannon and the housing quite some time ago and beefed up the trunnion yesterday, slipped the ole cannon onto the shaft and "Lo!" there's a ruddy great gap behind the cannon that has to be filled or the install will look like crap.

http://i.imgur.com/rjIhz4c.jpg









Well I started making the cover/boot and glued it on and then thought, I should share this with my readers because it's a common enough problem and at least this will be my solution for what it's worth.

So I affixed a sheet of thin styrene to the breach of the cannon...............

http://i.imgur.com/M2Qn12P.jpg









And slid the barrel onto the elevating plug.............

http://i.imgur.com/sMdGCcp.jpg









So now when the cannon is raised the thin sheet of styrene disappears into the turret housing without an unsightly cloth boot.

http://i.imgur.com/DRe9XcW.jpg









Now all needs be done is decorate the sheet and install slide tracks and curved races for the sheet to run on.


----------



## Blackadder

Boots and Struts

Not bad for a days work, thankfully it was too hot to work outside; no Spring this year.

Anyway the boot is roughed in just some rivet detail and some bits and panels for under the cannon to add.

http://i.imgur.com/9NjUWWo.jpg









cannon in the stowed position shows the spine detail of the boot.

http://i.imgur.com/EK9LQct.jpg










Eye Candy: 

Moving on to the landing gear the new strut sleeves give sufficient bulk to the gear and the foot pad leveling cylinder adds enough complexity to stimulate the eye. 

http://i.imgur.com/p6eFBpm.jpg









The leveling cylinder also stabilizes the foot pad so it can't twist round in the strut sleeve and it provides enough friction to keep the foot pad secure when the model is lifted.

The landing gear still looks rather plain, it needs some hydraulic hoses sensor cables and strut reinforcements to perk it up

Likewise with the nose gear.....

http://i.imgur.com/OWmqyxB.jpg


----------



## Blackadder

Just a Song Er (a few images )

before I start applying paint for this beasty so it can be seen the finishing details and yes I cheated and sprung for a few etched Aquilas. Of course I can make Aquilas but making this many, this size, and all the same size was just beyond even my patience; God I want this painted and out of the queue so badly, I'm so sick of this Thunderhawk project; damn near 6 years on the process.

So anyway the Profile:

http://i.imgur.com/5VTQnB0.jpg









The Quarter View:

http://i.imgur.com/DhMuuay.jpg









Front View: 

http://i.imgur.com/7a6zGLs.jpg










In attack position:
(Yeah the canards are not glue on due to painting considerations.)
http://i.imgur.com/PNrQPCy.jpg









And a bird's eye view:

http://i.imgur.com/jIrLvcY.jpg









And Damn I forgot a rear view................


----------



## DaisyDuke

That is outstanding!


----------



## Blackadder

Thank you,

Thunderhawk Exploded View:

I was advised gently by a reader that the rear of the vehicle seemed lacking in detail so I poured over the images again and found easily over a hundred rivets and bits I had previously overlooked so it has held up the painting process until today..........

Bottom view of basic hull and components:

http://i.imgur.com/XsuOMZ4.jpg









The image above shows all the components removed for painting which simplifies the the process plus it makes the model more amendable should I decide to add modifications.

Note above that there is easy access to the forward cargo bay and that the interior walls have yet to be installed so I can wire in the lighting easily. The nose landing gear panel slides out for access to the interior and was such a tight fit I'd forgotten it was removable until this morning.

Side view of the basic hull and components:

http://i.imgur.com/66PXt7R.jpg









All the components you see here are held in place with 4 deck screws, slide in pockets, a twelve inch long rig pin to keep the wings from drooping and lots of rare earth magnets. The whole model can be disassembled as you see it at anytime after the construction is completed.


----------



## Iraqiel

Fantastic work Blackadder, that's definitely worthy of a Martini and a slap on the back... though not in that order. Going grey or silver for the main colour?


----------



## Blackadder

I really like this one:



















Can these be seen? I often wonder if my links are visible.....

Thunderhawk Landing Video


----------



## Blackadder

Cosmetics?

I'm going to try an experiment in colouring the Thunderhawk. I had satisfactory results coating my Warlord with dry pigment dust over flat black which gave an aged and weathered look instantly to the surface and the powder clung to the matte black finish so it does not come off on when handling.

To get the finish I want on the Thunderhawk I am going to utilize a similar approach. This time with dry mineral powder cosmetic make up over grey flat primer. I have ordered a cadmium yellow/green cosmetic from Amazon; $5.77 plus free shipping and have painted the hull a flat grey.










I'm hoping this technique will give me a thin weathered streaked and mottled appearance visible in the images I posted in the above article. If so it will open an avenue heretofore unexplored (at least by me) in model finishing.


----------



## Blackadder

Done and Yet Not Done:

So I painted the prime on the hull after stripping off all the removable parts and I keep finding detail I've missed probably because there was so much scribbling on the parts I confused it with hard detail. I added dozens on new bits of rivets and panels and trim to the hull and am now working on intensifying the detail on the wing/engine root; a project I had either forgotten or ignored but anyway this morning at 2:30 AM the way to accomplish this detail came to me and it is now 4:00 AM as I write and the preliminary pieces are glued into place ready for the finish of the modification when I reawaken later this morning at a more reasonable hour.

Pictures Later:


----------



## Iraqiel

Cripes, that's true commitment! The grey/red is good, I like your decision. Very interested to see how the cadmium dry pigment goes, I brush painted my forgeworld one and it was plenty streaky...


----------



## Blackadder

I admire you ability to brush paint large surfaces, I would be hard pressed to do a decent job.........

In Her Prime:

After six years in the making the Thunderhawk is finally in her prime. The end cap tensioners for the flying Laser struts are still drying and I hope the Cadmium pigment arrives tomorrow so with any luck I'll begin colouring her this week 

http://i.imgur.com/zbksp2U.jpg









It's been a long painstaking process to reach this point but the ship has finally grown on me and I perceive a certain charm to the ugly brute after all.

http://i.imgur.com/nF9P1YG.jpg









The gun turrets still need a bit of work before painting and I may rebuild them; I haven't decided.

http://i.imgur.com/cf5diwP.jpg









And finally the rear view which is often neglected during my picture taking.......

http://i.imgur.com/XHrGvRZ.jpg


----------



## Roganzar

That is amazing!


----------



## Blackadder

Thanks,

It's a good thing I took images of the Thunderhawk in grey because you can't see any detail with it painted black.

This weekend will see the beginning of the paint process and I still haven't come to grips with the ball turrets. 

http://i.imgur.com/deOpbP2.jpg









That shouldn't be a problem although my camera still cannot seem to focus and that is quite serious. I'd really hate to have to replace my trusty Kodak DC290. Anyone have any suggestions?


----------



## Blackadder

Instant Silvering and Patina:

Anything that can save me time and give good results is aces in my book; here is a simple way to give a metallic luster to your bare metal surfaces...........

http://i.imgur.com/mrYkflk.jpg









This might not be up to standard for PRO painters but for a mere mortal such as me it yields adequate results and it's fast, did I mention it was fast? and it's economical; I probably won't be able to use all the aluminum powder I have; '3 ounces', in my lifetime.

http://i.imgur.com/MltxCOI.jpg









The entire engine and the wing root used just the powder that was stuck to the lid rim of the jar.

First I applied some really cheap flat black aerosol paint (Walmart generic $0.99 cents @ standard spray can)and let dry overnight.

Then with index finger I applied and rubbed in a bit of the powder and brushed it smooth and into the crevasses with a brush which took all of a minute or two to do the cowl and exhaust. and that's it; no drying time; you're finished.

A couple more minutes to do the engine body......

Then I took the pictures.


----------



## Stormxlr

Anyone mentiined you need some true scale marines to go with that Thawk?


----------



## Blackadder

What are truescale Marines?


----------



## Dorns Legacy

Blackadder said:


> What are truescale Marines?


Remodeled minis that resize the marines to be at a better scale to imp guards and other minis.......

It puts the marines at the correct scale as dictated by the lore of the WH40k universe and imho they should of been this size to begin with


----------



## Blackadder

Dorns Legacy said:


> Remodeled minis that resize the marines to be at a better scale to imp guards and other minis.......
> 
> It puts the marines at the correct scale as dictated by the lore of the WH40k universe and imho they should of been this size to begin with


So Space Marines are nine feet tall?

I'm gonna need a bigger plane.


----------



## Dorns Legacy

pretty much yeah, they stand a full head and shoulders above an average height human while Primarchs are about twice the height of a human.


----------



## Blackadder

Thunderhawk Cockpit:

Time to resume the Thunderhawk; most of the exterior detail is finished so I'm beginning with the interior furnishings starting with the cockpit.

My cockpit will not be as extensive as the FW version as I didn't have images of the interior prior to building the hull so what will be represented is the area directly below the canopy










Hard to believe they pilot these things in full combat regalia


----------



## Blackadder

Balled Up Turret:

Likewise my first attempt at making a viable set of ball turrets turned out to be a disaster.

What I was seeking is a rotating ball turret as seen below

http://i.imgur.com/KXnF7Eq.jpg









but with fully trainable guns and I believe the FW version doesn't have that capability.


http://i.imgur.com/jTxQqXe.jpg









http://i.imgur.com/vowHL34.jpg









http://i.imgur.com/Vm344XV.jpg










http://i.imgur.com/d0x5XIl.jpg










http://i.imgur.com/slMcDxJ.jpg


----------



## Blackadder

This Time We're Serious:

Okay time to separate the men from the boys...... I've yet to find an easy way to replicate spheres but it seems I never learn to stop trying. This latest fiasco involved substituting a pingpong ball for nittygritty hard work and planning and as per usual it didn't work so back to square one. The saving grace of employing the P.P.ball is I did manage to get a viable scale for the ball turret which seems to be right for a vehicle of this size.

http://i.imgur.com/x0kMvQV.jpg









To recap, what I am attempting to do is make a fully operational (as far as movement potential; Egad!) turret with guns that depress and elevate as a real ball turret would do so using the p.p.ball as a size guide I figure a centimeter would be correct for the swiveling elevation/depression cycle and the standard rim will suffice for the rotation.

This will hopefully be made clearer in the subsequent posts......... or fail utter-ably whichever the case may be.

It's all new ground to me, this one.

Oh, and BTW the new cockpit seats are to the background right; just saying............


----------



## Blackadder

Flogging a Dead Horse:

I'm forging ahead with the original ball turrets in spite of designing a set after the FW version so some of my work is original at least. 

http://i.imgur.com/2SfjlVB.jpg









I don't know if the FW turret guns are elevate-able but mine are so therein lies the difference in appearance.


----------



## Old Man78

Stellar old boy stellar. Also where did you get the aluminum powder?


----------



## Old Man78

Sorry more brain picking about the powder, what specification is it if any, most of what I see on internet is rather grey looking, it looks great on your engines but Id be wary of buying this stuff online due to domestic terrorism issues on my little island


----------



## Blackadder

Oldman78 said:


> Stellar old boy stellar. Also where did you get the aluminum powder?


I bought it at Siperstein's Paint store about twenty years ago. It was used to make silver gilding on picture frames. I also bought copper, brass, and gold. A little goes a longgggg way.


----------



## Old Man78

Fantastic, thank you as always. I also have a bottle of Kraken rum on the way to me for Christmas, so I'll be that recipe you shared, have a Merry Christmas my friend


----------



## Blackadder

Fuzzy Images

You wouldn't think I have a SOTArt Cannon digital SLR camera judging by these fuzzy images but I still prefer my 20 year old Kodak 290 for some reason.....

http://i.imgur.com/lxMF3kh.jpg









Anyway the ball turrets are proceeding apace shown here in different stages of completion.

http://i.imgur.com/b7Fgwg7.jpg









Any questions you have on what I am doing or how I am doing it I'll be glad to answer....

http://i.imgur.com/vrug9og.jpg









Hmmm, the above image doesn't bear close inspection; left gun sight is a bit cattywampus....

http://i.imgur.com/5FtnXci.jpg


----------



## Blackadder

What Am I Missing?

For the life of me I cannot figure out how these guns can elevate. With the rectangular view port and mount plate it seems that the gun mount shield (Plate between the guns) when the guns are elevated will interfere with the viewport and vise versa. If the side hemispheres only rotate upward then the viewport is not looking where the guns aim plus the entry hatch miss aligns. Or alternately it's just another FW bollock-up in the design department and it just looks good and can't function. 


http://i.imgur.com/KXnF7Eq.jpg









Anyway here's mine with out detail as yet but fully functional at least regarding movement.

http://i.imgur.com/HayxArK.jpg









Anyone who has this turret, can you post some images of what the turret looks like in the full elevated and full depressed configuration...

Thx.


----------



## ntaw

Blackadder said:


> Or alternately it's just another FW bollock-up in the design department and it just looks good and can't function.


I feel like this is it. I've played against Fire Raptors and never noticed their guns swiveling up much at all. One could surmise that the ship would roll to the left or right in flight to accommodate though, yeah?

Great work by the way. I'm often watching but don't have much critical info to add beyond constant praise. Keep being awesome!


----------



## Blackadder

ntaw said:


> I feel like this is it. I've played against Fire Raptors and never noticed their guns swiveling up much at all. One could surmise that the ship would roll to the left or right in flight to accommodate though, yeah?
> 
> Great work by the way. I'm often watching but don't have much critical info to add beyond constant praise. Keep being awesome!


Yeah, I finally found a decent image of the instructions parts sheet I managed to discern the FW method. It looks pretty flimsy and subject to a high rate of failure so I'm not surprised owners of the Fire Raptor don't play around with moving the turret too much according to other replies I've received but it does allow for the full range of required movement. Whether I employ it or not depends if I'm able to beef it up substantially.


----------



## Blackadder

Best I Can Do:

Try as I might this is the best range of elevation I can come up with using ping pong balls.

http://i.imgur.com/oHyIRWt.jpg









http://i.imgur.com/6LhhtNS.jpg









The front view is satisfactory so now for the detail:

http://i.imgur.com/VBchYxf.jpg


----------



## ntaw

Hilariously, the Fire Raptors I have seen have all been fake-cast and not the real thing now that I think of it. 

You've gone above and beyond in your attempts to make it swivel decently, but I don't think you really need to go further. You've done it better than they have by the looks of it!


----------



## Blackadder

ntaw said:


> Hilariously, the Fire Raptors I have seen have all been fake-cast and not the real thing now that I think of it.
> 
> You've gone above and beyond in your attempts to make it swivel decently, but I don't think you really need to go further. You've done it better than they have by the looks of it!


fake-cast???????


----------



## ntaw

Overseas fake castings of GW products. *Not that I am recommending them or anything*, but there are pretty on point copies out there for around 30% of the normal price. The resin is often very brittle and sometimes things can be funny but some people are willing to deal with the potential miscasts to save the money.


----------



## Blackadder

Final Bits of Fluff:

Okay with these final bits of fluff the exterior of the T'hawk is just about done. I daresay there might just be a couple of negligible items such as Turbo laser strut cradles et cetera but nothing that would preclude my painting the exterior. This has been a good year for me as most of my long term projects have reached fruition.

http://i.imgur.com/HGgpiBl.jpg









I decided to keep the ping-pong ball turrets as they are and add the view port and paraphernalia to the elevation race plate. The upper end of the elevation is in need of restriction so the canard wings won't get shot off in the heat of battle. 

Now all needs be done is the interior of the cockpit and installing the interior of the forward cargo bay.

No I haven't decided whether to add the auto-fire dual bolters on either side of the nose abaft the front cargo door.


----------



## Blackadder

Irrevocable Painted Primer Grey:

Before the fatal black paint

http://i.imgur.com/ACrlxv4.jpg









with a rare rear view that will not be seen once installed.


----------



## Blackadder

Some Dumb Disney Movie:

A pair of Wall-E esque homemade twin bolters round out the forward armament slated for the Thunderhawk. 

http://i.imgur.com/DryLZcN.jpg









Now whether I actually cut the holes in the fuselage to accommodate these hefty trainable beauties remains to be seen. 

http://i.imgur.com/Ax66nBm.jpg









I was scrounging around in my bitz box and came up with enough material to make my own version of the FW T'hawk bolter armament.

http://i.imgur.com/fAJ32IM.jpg









The sighting unit above the bolter array reminded me of the cutesy robot in some dumb Disney movie


----------



## Old Man78

Was it "short circuit" Johnny 5 is alive! The bolters look great, nice kit bashing


----------



## Blackadder

Oldman78 said:


> Was it "short circuit" Johnny 5 is alive! The bolters look great, nice kit bashing


No, Wall-E:

https://www.google.com/search?q=Wal...iI7KAhUIVyYKHagwDqsQ_AUIBygB&biw=1536&bih=729


----------



## Tyriks

Blackadder, all of your work makes me envious! I enjoy seeing your work (especially on this) but I also love reading your engineering synopses of what the problem is and what you're doing to fix it. Great work!


----------



## Blackadder

Tyriks said:


> Blackadder, all of your work makes me envious! I enjoy seeing your work (especially on this) but I also love reading your engineering synopses of what the problem is and what you're doing to fix it. Great work!


Wow "Engineering synopses" I like the sound of that; thank you for the compliment.

https://sites.google.com/site/resum...-impressive-synopsis-for-engineering-projects

So much so that I had to look it up and lo, there is such a site. Ha!


----------



## Blackadder

The Cockpit Interior

Stage one in the development...........

http://i.imgur.com/LVfjOkG.jpg


----------



## Blackadder

Servo Assist?

Having worked in the commercial aviation industry for a good portion of my adult life up to and including 747 jumbo jets I've yet to see control columns as robust as these on the Thunderhawk so my supposition is that the servo assists are actually in the control columns. Cumbersome but viable I suppose.

http://i.imgur.com/vDZeIvU.jpg









I was hoping that the cockpit paraphenalia would disguise the fact that the pilots had no legs (being actually Rhino machinegunners) but no such luck.

http://i.imgur.com/nrm8cS8.jpg









So I need a rational as to why they are lower extremity deficient.........

http://i.imgur.com/2PVM0zQ.jpg


----------



## Tyriks

Could you make them look like servitors? SM have a ban on AI so they use human minds as machines all the time. Could make them look like part of the ship.


----------



## Old Man78

@Blackadder, you could use the premise of wounded marines, no longer able for front line service, but not badly wounded enough to be interned in a dreadnought, being used to pilot crafts such as the thunderhawk.


----------



## Roganzar

Oldman78 said:


> @Blackadder, you could use the premise of wounded marines, no longer able for front line service, but not badly wounded enough to be interned in a dreadnought, being used to pilot crafts such as the thunderhawk.


I think that would work for you Blackadder. Also, exactly what I thought of when I read the leg problem.


----------



## Blackadder

The Misery Compromise

After a futile attempt to garner a set of legs from my bitz box I settled on purchasing a landspeeder cockpit on ebay. What strikes me the most is the near miss I made regarding the scale of the cockpit accoutrements 

http://i.imgur.com/PHXWcja.jpg









With very little adjustments at all it will be child's play to reassemble the cockpit with gen-u-wine FW artifacts; a source of great personal satisfaction to me.

http://i.imgur.com/UVyp8Hc.jpg









While I have the cockpit in pieces perhaps I'll indulge myself in a bit of pre-assembly painting....

http://i.imgur.com/BLflkqk.jpg









Whoops but first I'd better file down the sprue attachment residue :blush:


----------



## Blackadder

Department of Redundancy Department:

Enough Blackadder enough! Too many images of virtually the same thing but ahh; subtly not......

Micro variations that only I can perceive are happening and rather than a flurry of un recorded activity I'll bore you with incessant detailed updates. 

http://i.imgur.com/DjW59Jh.jpg









The new cockpit revamped from the old fits much better under the canopy and the figures will be seen better duplicating the FW version....

http://i.imgur.com/hpu304M.jpg









The straight on shot reveals the fit of the landspeeder crew is a dead on duplicate of the resin original.

http://i.imgur.com/Fahfwsg.jpg


----------



## Old Man78

You'll never bore us with detail, it is why we love your plogs!


----------



## DelvarusThePitFighter

You are a perfectionist beyond most. We admire your work. Keep it up.


----------



## Blackadder

Rule of the Incredibly Small:

I seem to be going to a lot of trouble with an interior that no one will be able to appreciate fully but there is a bit of fun in testing my limits besides which I wasn't even aware that FW included all this detail in their cockpit before I began researching it.

http://i.imgur.com/EeS6h17.jpg









This first image overexposed as it is tries to give a hint of the just finished center and side consoles.

This next image show the detail better; I tried to replicate the FW center control panel to varying degrees of success.....

http://i.imgur.com/vRpZBHi.jpg









This next shot is more like itshowing the computer monitors and control buttons....

http://i.imgur.com/ojwFLpQ.jpg









Over the shoulder view where I will be applying paper green cutouts for the cockpit displays.

http://i.imgur.com/1iZWvnQ.jpg









Finally, a front end shot showing the beautifully details pilot seats that no one gets to see after the crew is glued in.

http://i.imgur.com/3lde8zD.jpg









I may just magnetize their little bottoms


----------



## Blackadder

First Try:

Today was my first attempt to paint heads and faces so after reviewed 'Buy Painted's' tutorial:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erDncOZiihc

and discovering it's gonna cost a lot of money to get all these one shot paint vials I decided to mix my own out of the paint I had on hand.

http://i.imgur.com/l3jGDyE.jpg









So I started with Vallejo Model Air 71.112 Sand for the flesh base.

and then applied a Violet wash made out of Game Color 'Royal Purple' 16 and 'Warlord Purple' 72014

The head in the cockpit is a practice head from my bitz box that is pretty beat up and had a coat of Testors Enamel.

http://i.imgur.com/Gu4hl5s.jpg









For ease of painting and to allow for the backrest detail to be seen I magnetized the upper torsos so the can be removed readily.

http://i.imgur.com/lzhOFiD.jpg









The heads when finished will be mounted on wire and plugged into the neck recess.


----------



## Blackadder

The Futurama Head Museum:

"A life of quiet dignity;"

These in the first image aren't completed but perhaps shows the intermediate stage of the paint process.

http://i.imgur.com/nNX5joc.jpg









These in the image below are a bit further along.....

http://i.imgur.com/bOWxSS2.jpg


----------



## Blackadder

Front Row Redux:

Try as I might I cannot get decent images of the front row, this is the best I can do...........

http://i.imgur.com/7StnvaW.jpg









The head in the middle has part of the skull exposed and the head on the far right; has most of the skull damged and covered with a partial metal prosthesis.


http://i.imgur.com/cMZ9tR5.jpg


----------



## Blackadder

Derelict Marines:

Probably everyone has them and on a whim I decided to try to salvage these abused figures so gathering the worst of them I managed to cobble together fifteen and of these I painted five flat black.

http://i.imgur.com/JXlhjDn.jpg









I then gave them a light brushing of aluminum powder to see if it was worth pursuing the project further; it was.

These little guys have taken on a new lease on life and when I finish adding the arms and armament they will serve as the nucleus of my marine company.

http://i.imgur.com/KB3vOcI.jpg









These ten others below needed a lot more work missing bases and jetpacks, heads and torsos but these to will get TLC and a brand new paint job to boot.

http://i.imgur.com/xx04EmA.jpg









http://i.imgur.com/aumMbJA.jpg









I can then start on the other hundred or so that are not in such bad condition.


----------



## Old Man78

A whole company! Hats off sir, that is a major feat in itself let alone combined with your other works!


----------



## Blackadder

Panorama:

I'm not lyin' to ya I hate painting, anything I can do to expedite the procedure I'll go for so when I arrived at this Technique if you can call it that I went for it and I share it with you take it or leave it. 

http://i.imgur.com/OxiwARk.jpg









Basically it's spray paint every thing with 'El cheapo 0.99 ¢ a can Walmart flat black enamel and dry brush aluminum powder on it. 

http://i.imgur.com/ISyIRmg.jpg









In all it averages out to about five minutes effort per figure no lie; so the results aren't Pro painter quality but I could devote an hours labor per piece and not come upwith anything half as good.

http://i.imgur.com/D4i5j02.jpg









These figures are/were literally GARBAGE and anyone in their right mind would have tossed them so I had nothing to lose for the attempt. 

http://i.imgur.com/aYy4PAe.jpg









Naturally I plan to augment the basic work with a bit of colour here and there; purity seals glowing eyes etc and of course paint the bases....

http://i.imgur.com/jTCmX83.jpg









but where else are you gonna get such an acceptable return for such a bit little effort; just FYI........take it or leave it.


----------



## ntaw

I'll never knock a simple but complete paint job. Some of my models aren't painted even this far :laugh:

It would be easy enough to go back and add a contrasting colour to weapons so they stand out in the unit a bit more if that's to suit.


----------



## Blackadder

The beauty of this technique doesn't readily come through in these photos as the camera indicated there wasn't enough light; hence the camera over compensated and everything is almost a homogeneous silver. There are in fact very deep shadows and shaded areas that augment the the colour gradation from pure black to mirror-like silver. The digital camera blends this into an almost featureless silver. My next batch I'll apply less aluminum so the difference can be more readily perceived.


----------



## Blackadder

Exercise in Green and Graphite:

I wanted my marines to be more in keeping with what I perceive to be a viable colour scheme for combat troops but still giving a nod to the garish propensities of the 40K genera; therefore I coloured my troops with OD green and graphite literally powdered graphite. 

http://i.imgur.com/3KeQcNf.jpg









After spray painting flat black 0.99 cent a can black flat primer I brushed in graphite pigment and achieved in my estimation a realistic military patine on both the armour and the weapons. 

http://i.imgur.com/vjqe8IM.jpg









Painting the shoulders and the gauntlets were the most time consuming part of this project so far but I still have the accent colours to add.

http://i.imgur.com/vxlBVHS.jpg


----------



## Blackadder

Errand of Mercy:

In my practicing to paint the Thunderhawk I experimented with the colours I've chosen on some derelict Dread's; two plastic and one metal which were sorely abused in their time. I found these in my son's junk box (their from his friends, he paints much better than these were plus someone converted the metal one to a Chaos...)

Anyhow after repairing and stripping the coarse paint-jobs I rebuilt the Dread's and painted the weapons and greaves OD green over flat black and then drybrushed on some graphite powder....

http://i.imgur.com/IFIMqpQ.jpg









I then highlighted the bas relief insignia with Vallejo gold.

Now here's the beauty of using dry graphite highlighting; whilst painting on the gold there were occasions when I smudged some gold on areas I didn't want picked out in that colour; I simply pencil eradicated the indiscretion with a sharpened 2 HB pencil. 

Plus the dry graphite highlights the detail wonderfully with an incredibly minimum of effort.


----------



## Blackadder

Cockpit Detailed:

Seems the depth of field is too fine for my camera; I can't seem to get a good image of the crew in the cockpit......

http://i.imgur.com/j1kxER2.jpg









No excuse for this next one, just a poor photographer....

The guy in the foreground is too ugly, anyway I like the guy with the broken nose in the right seat; puts me in mind of my old drill Sargent 

http://i.imgur.com/kxXXCVO.jpg









This image is a bit better it shows the steering yoke mechanism which is unlike any AC I ever worked on but I guess the genetically enhanced SM don't need fly by wire or hydraulic assist to steer a T'hawk 

http://i.imgur.com/chPhDqB.jpg









Much better image but the pudgy faced guy in the Capt'n seat seems a bit out of focus.

http://i.imgur.com/Nm32iex.jpg









Cockpit seat is a bit tilted in this side view before I install mounting magnets...

http://i.imgur.com/2c9ZO9H.jpg









And finally the cockpit flight panel before I install the video flight displays (EICAS) engine-indicating and crew-alerting system (EICAS) is an integrated system used in modern aircraft to provide aircraft crew with aircraft engines and other systems instrumentation and crew annunciations.

http://i.imgur.com/t1tBZ4C.jpg









Seems to be a distinct minimum of instrumentation

for a re-entry vehicle but I guess those plugs in the backs of their heads provide data directly to the brain synapses.


----------



## Blackadder

E.I.C.A.S. Instrumentation:

As mentioned above computer monitor instrumentation was 'state of the art' when I left the aircraft field replacing the 'mechanical ribbon' instrument found in older aircraft such as the Lockheed L1011 (Gad, what a POS!)

Anyway the FAA said that the monitor displays could be used as the primary instrumentation so long as there were a discrete component instrument as a secondary back up.

http://i.imgur.com/t1tBZ4C.jpg









In the far flung future that craven conditional; isn't, er wasn't, er won't, er will not have been necessary.

Seen below I attempted to duplicate the EICAS displays with images I downloaded from google,

https://www.google.com/search?q=eic...ved=0ahUKEwjfj5PRyuPKAhWKOz4KHcajBLkQ_AUIBigB

printing them at greatly reduced sizes and cutting them out and pasting the instruments on the four blank displays.....

http://i.imgur.com/f2UWD6S.jpg









A simple yet effective way to duplicate vehicle gauge and annunciator panels.


----------



## DelvarusThePitFighter

Is the head with the broken nose belonging to the 'Zhufor' model from FW?


----------



## Blackadder

I don't know, it was included in the 'Raptor' model bitz.


----------



## Blackadder

Umpity Ump Cadians:

I've taken on the task to get all my ground troops up and operational meaning break them down hopefully at the glue seams (not always successfully I might add) scrap and clean off the glue seam residue and whatever paint can be removed I have come up with about fifty Space Marines and about eighty Cadians plus an untold number of Chaos Marines and assorted denizens. anyway the Marines are pretty much done and two days ago I started on the Cadians.

I practiced on some metal Cadians from the year one and needless to say the work was tedious but I managed to get them to come out halfway decent but I suck at picture taking so the images didn't come out too good; 

http://i.imgur.com/l9XRRKt.jpg









this being the best of a bad lot:

http://i.imgur.com/9hS0wU1.jpg









So graduating to the plastic Cadian assault squad I came across this interesting discovery......

http://i.imgur.com/712KZVv.jpg









I'm always on the lookout for anything to break the tedium of repetition and this I think will come in handy; note the brush on the center of the last image; you wouldn't think such a huge flat tipped brush would serve for fin detailed work but this is what I discovered mainly by accident. I got called away and this flat tipped brush hardened with Agrax Earthshade wash, Rather than soak the brush to soften it I figured that applying paint with the stiff brush would gradually soften until the hairs were flexible again. Imagine my surprise that the stiff edge was ideal for applying paint to seams where say the 'pants meet the boot top' or the 'sleeve meets the gun barrel.' When the tip of the brush softens that you cannot get a fine demarcated line just squeeze the excess paint off the brush between your fingers and let the paint dry to harden the bristles.

Has anyone ever heard of this trick before?

BTW None of the soldiers in these pictures are finished, I'm only about halfway through the process of detailing and washing.


----------



## Blackadder

VIPER ARV:

Gotta get a couple of these for my Cadian company:



















http://theminiaturespage.com/news/1490387090


----------



## Blackadder

100+ Reclaimed Cadians:

Well here is the fruits of a week or so's labor; 100 repaired and renovated and basically painted Cadians. 

http://i.imgur.com/YKULkTh.jpg









These sets do not include the 20 metal Cadians I painted last month.

http://i.imgur.com/hFfMhNc.jpg









It's amazing how good these images came out.

For colour I spray painted the entire set with flat black and brush painted the tunics and trousers with Vallejo 'Model Air' Khaki Brown and my own special concoction of armour green of Citadel 'Death World Forest and Vallejo 'Model Color' Luftwaffe Camo Green 50/50. Flesh I painted Vallejo Model Air 'Sand'.

http://i.imgur.com/zTdtfp8.jpg









After Painting I washed with Citadel 'Shade' Agrax Earthshade.

http://i.imgur.com/lmpQOjp.jpg









Now I have to learn how to apply decals.......


----------



## Old Man78

Your eyes must be melting after all that!


----------



## wide_ocean

I compliment you on your amazing modeling skills. This is the most impressive WIP log I've come across.

For decals, I can roughly point out the process. It's easy:

1. Cut them out as precisely as the decal itself allows. If it gets too fidgety, leave some of the area around the actual decal content on. Visually, this is fairly easy to camouflage later.

2. If size allows, I like to put the decal into a teaspoon half filled with water. Make sure you push it past the water's surface tension so that it is completely submerged.

3. After 15 or so seconds (depending on the decal), touch it carefully with a plier. If it has soaked long enough, it will come off very easily. 

4. Before applying the decal, moisten the surface it should adhere to very thinly and as evenly as possible with a brush. This will attract the decal instantly to the surface and, ideally, evenly so.

5. Gently take the decal with pincers, pinching it as far from its center as possible, so that you have as much area as possible that will instantly be sucked onto the surface, and just lay it onto its intended area. This step allows little correction once the decal is on, so before you release it from the pliers, make sure you are satisfied with its position.

6. Depending on the surface itself, you can try to gently even out bumps on the decal with a dry brush, but (ideally) this necessity should not arise to begin with.

7. After the decal is dry, you can decide whether it has a consistent look or not. I find that the borders are sometimes too abrupt and that the material is way too glossy. What I basically do is paint over the whole surface of the decal, with the same colors of the decal. If you have parts of transfer film visible, cover them with the underlying color. Make sure your decal is completely dry when doing this, and that your paint is not too wet.

Basically, I always completely paint over decals, using them simply as outline template for the brush, this gives a certain freehand effect, for people way too cack-handed to actually freehand something, like me.

Keep the posts coming.


----------



## Blackadder

Thanks for the detailed reply,

Bovine Space Marines!

What next, Pigs in space? I was rummaging through the abandon materials I inherited and came across these humongous Space Marines standing half again taller than the usual SM grunt. On painting them I noticed decidedly bovine features.

http://i.imgur.com/QT3UDV3.jpg









http://i.imgur.com/DNgGpoN.jpg









The armour is quite elegant with compact jump packs but who thought cow faces would look good? What chapter are these; I can't find them with google.


----------



## Tyriks

Those look to me like regular old Terminator models.


----------



## Blackadder

Boring:

Yeah that's what my son says, all my painting motifs are boring but having been in the military there is very little garishness in current military attire; I can only assume what holds today will hold in the far flung future, at least in some chapters.

http://i.imgur.com/fdnOHIh.jpg









All my Space Marines, Cadians, and heavy equipment will sport this green and graphite with gold trim sparsely applied which seems satisfactory to me.

The Lackluster Blackadder


----------



## Blackadder

Robed Space Marines:

This next entry is ten robed Space Marines.

Google doesn't help much and my first inclination is to paint the robes my mixture of green and burnish the armour with graphite powder....

http://i.imgur.com/8zTaFfw.jpg









but I also have a notion to paint the robes crimson à la the Monty Python Inquisitioners.

http://i.imgur.com/5LokJ3x.jpg









The pieces came with the jump packs seen here but the google images show regular jump packs In either case it would seem the exhausts and the robes to prove mutually exclusive.

http://i.imgur.com/RL8Vftb.jpg









I thought instead to mount mechanical arms packs and convert them into a Space Marine faction of Tech Priests.

What if any is the presidence for this?


----------



## Blackadder

No One Expects the Spanish Inquisition:

Yeah I've about worn that title out and truth be known I've about had it with reclaiming these various chapters and disciplines of troop figures but since I am on a roll I might as well stick it out until they are all completed and reasonably painted.

I embarked on this sub segment of my model building because I had nothing to put in my Thunderhawk or to display around my various Titans for scale purposes and since I shall not be actually playing any of these pieces many will be just scenery on the display platforms.

Anyway I left off with these robed SM which I thought to convert to Teck priests but instead I've decided to show them as the were originally intended.

Below are the completed figures with their base coats applied:

http://i.imgur.com/xoobRyj.jpg









I'm not pleased with the coil glow on the Phasers but we'll see how it looks with the wash applied; detailing is yet to be done on any of these figures.

http://i.imgur.com/87zQagW.jpg









These figures will likely be displayed on my Warlord gantry so they won't need bases. Whether SM troops are reasonably deployed in Maintenance facilities is subject to speculation.

http://i.imgur.com/xXmoCCJ.jpg









Another possible mistake is the outlandishly huge shoulder armour as I did not have the originals; I had to scrounge for enough to just to complete the set so the shoulders came from various different chapters which may be off putting to 40K purists but..........

Waddaya gonna do?


----------



## Old Man78

Your army, your way, surely that is the point of being commander in chief of little plastic minions. Keep the work coming brother, we love you for it. Hopefully this month I shall be adding substantially to my own long running joke of but aptly named project log!


----------



## Blackadder

Provide a link to that "Projects Log", I can't find it.


----------



## Old Man78

http://www.heresy-online.net/forums/showthread.php?t=148362 I believe you have seen it before old boy but here you go


----------



## Blackadder

Forward Bolters

Well after much soul searching I finally conceded that front firing bolters are not redundant on Thunderhawk as the ball turrets sport turbolasers. So placement of the turret mounts is pretty much ordained by the 3D drawing as nestled up to the froward belt armour.

http://i.imgur.com/ZtpGwX3.jpg









Yeah Blackadder, you leave this thread hanging for months and you show up with one measly image.


----------



## Iraqiel

More dakka can't hurt, for sure. The forward bolters are a classic look for the thunderhawk too.

The detailing on your side panel there looks excellent, much better than the FW model even.


----------



## Blackadder

Forward Bolters:

Since my Thunderhawk is outsized I have elected to use Landraider sponsons.

Cutting and placing these sponsons had best be left for the end of the detailing as they have to fit right in the proper position. I was lucky in that with virtually no planning on my part the sponson fit as if I HAD PLANNED IT ALL ALONG?

After drilling the corner holes I used an Xacto keyhole saw to cut between the corner holes.

http://i.imgur.com/YzZ9TrJ.jpg









I then pared the excess styrene to the penciled lines and filed the hole carefully for a snug fit of the sponson inner flange....

http://i.imgur.com/X1xZA6s.jpg









The plugs fit snugly; better than I expected.

http://i.imgur.com/rkPaVjT.jpg


----------



## Blackadder

I just had an inspiration to make these removable so I can replace them with other weapons or just leave the hull opening sealed with a plug door as in the 3D image.....

http://i.imgur.com/VosDIww.jpg









Ahhhh to be young and have a choice.


----------



## Blackadder

Plug In Weapons:

At the risk of belaboring the obvious I offer my mechanism for quick change weapons. in the image below I have mounted my Bolter assembly with a sliding bolt lock assembly where you slide out the upper and lower bolts to remove the bolter mount. A simple yet effective solution.

http://i.imgur.com/87Fey7N.jpg









Below is the unit removed with one bolt in place and the other removed.

http://i.imgur.com/GfwcBIL.jpg









Pardon the blurred images please...........


----------



## Old Man78

That is brilliant, myself I'd have just magnetized it. Alternately would you consider trying slot and drop approach


----------



## Blackadder

*Magnets! *


----------



## Blackadder

Forward Cargo Interior:

One of the first things (in my optimism) I built for this model was the interior lo these many years ago so yesterday I began adapting the floor and walls to fit the amended exterior.

http://i.imgur.com/nV9G0z8.jpg









First I had to cut out the floor to accommodate the nose gear housing which worked out rather well as the front reinforcing stringers gave sufficient height to clear the majority of the housing.

http://i.imgur.com/dGpclmx.jpg









On further inspection of the interior it seems I have room for a few Space Marines on the upper level of the superstructure if the marines can stand and be suspended by a system of beams and hangers; wouldn't that be a rip

Of course I will have the interior lighting to show off the upper gallery.


----------



## Blackadder

Space Marine Transport Rail

I'm looking to add two rows side by side of Space marines to the interior of my T'hawk. I plan that they will be suspended standing upright from an overhead conveyor system as the most efficient system for transporting these soldiers seeing as they are virtually self-contained one man tanks. I seem to recall an image or sketch of such a device but cannot lay my hands on it. Does anyone have a copy or a source for this image? 

Below is what I have so far found which while sufficient for my purposes aren't quite what I have in mind:

http://i.imgur.com/FDNN9TD.jpg









I wish I had this image when I was building my T'hawk, it would have made my guesswork that much easier....

http://i.imgur.com/OVnjuyo.jpg









This image isn't actually 40K Space Marines but it does get the point across.


----------



## jin

i am sorry that i had not seen this thread earlier.
some absolutely stunning work.


----------



## Blackadder

Welcome aboard..........

Cargo Ramp:

I've finally addressed the issue of the front cargo ramp. this is a problem that has vexed me from day one of this project; how to cram a functioning mechanism into the tiny space available without compromising the exterior aspect of the model......

http://i.imgur.com/zjEoCKR.jpg









Above we see the model as she exists today with some of the exterior detail as yet to be installed.

And here is the open maw of the beast with my new hinge assembly installed; Whoohoo! it works!

http://i.imgur.com/STMLuiP.jpg









Now to show the mechanics of the rather simple device......

http://i.imgur.com/5r02hwx.jpg









The piano-style hinge is 3/32 evergreen tubing cut into three pieces with two 0.060 by 0.250 inch tongue straps welded to the tubing and reinforced with 0.020 gussets.

A brass wire provides the hinge pin.

The assembly slides out for ease of maintenance and repair as the device may be quite flimsy....

http://i.imgur.com/5r02hwx.jpg









With the ramp entirely removed the detail of the hinge points is readily seen.

http://i.imgur.com/usLHIG3.jpg









Also note the cargo floor can be slid forward to facilitate reassembly. 

The underside of the floor showing the tongue receptacles.

http://i.imgur.com/AtOIFyH.jpg









Finally the flexibility of the hinges

http://i.imgur.com/i8ChPiI.jpg


----------



## Iraqiel

Ingenious design. Rather brilliant.


----------



## Roganzar

Wow! That's really ingenious and well designed.


----------



## Blackadder

Thank you,

The Best Laid Plans

Of mice and men ofttimes go awry. I had intended for this transport to have the capability to disgorge a Rhino but it seems the interior panels have taken up too much clearance

http://i.imgur.com/8aJ8Wju.jpg









Not to worry I have an alternate plan (A cunning plan mayhaps Mr. B?)

http://i.imgur.com/vj7VHrx.jpg









My initial intent was to have clam-shell doors à la C124 and assault ramp to accommodate the width of a slick Rhino but I put that aside until I had a good idea of the interior panels requirements. That project is still on the table.


----------



## Blackadder

Inside Out:

Or how not to build an interior.

My ambition has exceeded my good sense as when I started this project I gave little thought to so extravagant an interior. Now I am reaping the benefit of my lack of forethought.


http://i.imgur.com/YmvRf7b.jpg









Fortunately I have ample panels to access the interior for modification and upgrade

BTW the image above shows the basic nascent Space Marine harness device to safe transport to the planet to be modularly installed into the upper gallery rectangular receptacles shown in the background. This would in fact be the whole length of the upper gallery but for my purposes just the front hanger will be seen.

See, I'm not completely crazy................


----------



## Blackadder

There Is No Joy In Mudville:

No, I've tried quite a few different pigments and airbrush combinations on various scrap and even on the T'hawk itself 'Horrors! ' and I have found nothing I like better than powdered Aluminum and powdered Graphite hand rubbed into Flat Black Primer so after much soul searching I'm committing to Gray Knights colour scheme and an all metal finish to my Hawk.

after about fifteen minutes of of application I feel I made the correct decision, nothing brings out the detail of this model like hand rubbed Aluminium. Note the flat black front and tail still yet to have the aluminum applied.........

http://i.imgur.com/zHWLfsR.jpg









Of course there will be Gray Knights red accents and lots more colours 

http://i.imgur.com/278Y6Hz.jpg









But this is the look I am going for so the next time you see this it will be completely pewter hued.


----------



## Kreuger

Looking good sir Adder.


----------



## Iraqiel

I have never even owned powder pigments, but they do intrigue me. Can you wash over them once applied, or only after sealed? Although looking again at that picture, I think they may have sufficient depth just in themselves...


----------



## Blackadder

Iraqiel said:


> I have never even owned powder pigments, but they do intrigue me. Can you wash over them once applied, or only after sealed? Although looking again at that picture, I think they may have sufficient depth just in themselves...


The aluminium powder (it's finely divided metal not a pigment) is worked into the flat primer matte finish and looks like a sheet of metal more so in person than in photographs. after working in the powder and then dry brushing the excess into the recesses between raised panels it give a relief of highlights and shadow similar to washes but more natural to my eye. I haven't found the necessity for shades and washes as yet but I shall do some experimentation when I do the interior. As with my warlord the metallic finish is quite realistic on it's own without the need for shading. (IMHO):wink:


----------



## Blackadder

Pewter Thunderhawk: (Grey Knights colours still to come.)

Oh Gawd, finally for the first time completely together after six years in the making, my very own scratchbuilt version of the Thunderhawk. At 26 inches long and fully articulated; weapons, wings, and landing gear; it's most gratifying to be able to present this effort.



There are a few production glitches:



All three gears need to be lock indexed to keep from swiveling.



The rear shock struts need to be spring loaded to take the weight without collapsing.



The rear floor of the forward cargo bay needs to be locked down. 



The interior is too sparsely furnished and needs to be finished, the rough poster board edges will never do. 



The ball turrets need mount brackets.



and of course the interior lighting.

The loading ramp needs an extension to make the disembark angle less extreme...........

but all told a most gratifying moment to see this for the first time assembled in her full glory.

Martini time; Skoal!


----------



## Kreuger

That is a very impressive sight! Considering that imperial tanks treads wrap up the front and back, the gangway isn't that unreasonable.


----------



## Old Man78

Outstanding! !!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## Blackadder

Blackadder's Fun and Games

Perhaps I should stick to what I know but this was kind of fun:

http://i.imgur.com/3ho5SiV.jpg









http://i.imgur.com/0nxv2lI.jpg


----------



## Blackadder

Afterburners:

http://i.imgur.com/CfOefUp.jpg









Yeah, well yer just play'n round now Blackadder.


----------



## Old Man78

To paraphrase General Patton "......Blackadder you magnificent bast#@d!....."


----------



## Blackadder

I've been busy of late tiling my bath but I had to express a thanks for all the replies. I'll be doing some painting (on the model) today and with hope a proper update later this week.


----------



## Iraqiel

Fantastic work mate, looking great!


----------



## Blackadder

Iraqiel said:


> Check out my Imperial Guard Battle-Group-in-the-making as it slowly takes form! Located just here:
> http://www.heresy-online.net/forums/...my&army_id=705


Left a note What is the source of the three story tower on the left side of your battle board?


----------



## Iraqiel

Thanks for the view, and comment!

Those images are getting old now, they are between 2 and 4 years old. The tower is actually two GW bastion kits stacked - sorry to be boring! The kit is still available and costs only as much as some of the new single miniature kits do these days...

https://www.games-workshop.com/en-AU/Imperial-Bastion


----------



## Blackadder

Lipstick On A Pig:

Ugly as a Warthog most definitely and I finally found my antique can of Krylon 'Rust' Primer this past week; now I can begin painting the detail. 

http://i.imgur.com/ieicdiW.jpg









So with the masking tape removed it's a bit of a letdown 

http://i.imgur.com/PbRwGBh.jpg









I plan to activate my airbrush later this weekend and see what I can do to perk these images up.

http://i.imgur.com/24VkScj.jpg


----------



## Blackadder

The Assault Door Lacks Panache:

It seems I've been too conservative embellishing the front door. Besides the ho-hum paint job the loading ramp is rather bleak so it's back to the drawing board to try to perk up this dismal effort; in point of fact the whole nose of this work is pretty bland.

http://i.imgur.com/mz1DS4K.jpg









Whom I kidding; I don't have a drawing board but instead.... 

Eureka! I've found it while contemplating my next iteration of the loading ramp I've just thought of how I can extend the ramp to make the egress more user friendly.

http://i.imgur.com/rCpQ0mj.jpg









And the paint erosion needs to be toned down a tad as well.


----------



## Blackadder

Assault Door Redux:

Oh yes much more business like. I had to fake the sensor units on the doors as the images I have are pretty vague

http://i.imgur.com/z3g96SS.jpg









and there is only one that I can discern on the left side of the nose. 

http://i.imgur.com/FKT7rhZ.jpg









The right one is a pure fabrication I put in just for artistic balance.

http://i.imgur.com/UhDAP3f.jpg









More painting to come but I had to see how this would look before I continue.


----------



## Blackadder

Done!

http://i.imgur.com/SrSitmH.jpg









http://i.imgur.com/52YbS5j.jpg









http://i.imgur.com/bQVmzUW.jpg









http://i.imgur.com/FMtF4C4.jpg









http://i.imgur.com/xtXxPLr.jpg


----------



## Old Man78

Tastey stuff, real tastey! You continue to inspire, of course it begs the question, what is next?!


----------



## Kreuger

Brilliant as always! 

Your fabrication continues to be an inspiration. I look forward to your future projects.


----------



## Blackadder

Surprisingly I did not get one thumbs down on my choice of colour scheme.


----------



## Blackadder

Basic Painting 101

http://i.imgur.com/swLBYoo.jpg









Years ago when I began this project in my naivete I thought the Thunderhawk was able to transport a Land Raider. I did not know the FW model was too small to have that capability. So my son and I based our model on the size of a Land Raider slung beneath the seeming cutout in the belly that ideally fit the tracked APC to the flying APC.

http://i.imgur.com/8iuvZwz.jpg









Today I began painting the Land Beastie after a preliminary assembly used a light gray spray primer to paint the interior which was fast and easy (took about five minutes)

http://i.imgur.com/MqQk07e.jpg









I heartly recommend doing your base coating with cheap spray paint as opposed to expensive GW Citadel paints as so many are wont to do. $0.99 cents a can at Walmart, fast drying and plus it provides a durable base coat for your more expensive detailing acrylics.

http://i.imgur.com/YMHcX3J.jpg









So here we have the Land Raider neatly tucked up under the the Thunderhawk albeit in it's slick mode as I used most of the armament on the Thunderhawk......whoops!


----------



## Old Man78

Are you aware of the transporter version of the thunderhawk, specifically designed to carry either x1 land raider or x2 rhino apc?


----------



## Blackadder

Yeah but that came out a bit after we were committed to building our outsized T'hawk.

'sides our T'hawk can carry a Land Raider and a Rhino; no pikers we.....


----------



## Old Man78

Well I do love your thawk, the way a rhino/razorback can disembark like a proper t.a.l.o, is very "real world".


----------



## Blackadder

Oldman78 said:


> Well I do love your thawk, the way a rhino/razorback can disembark like a proper t.a.l.o, is very "real world".


Okay I give up What's a "t.a.l.o"?


----------



## Old Man78

Blackadder said:


> Okay I give up What's a "t.a.l.o"?


Tactical Air Landing Operations, old boy, many variants of it, but the one I'm familiar with is landing x2 C130 Hercules briefly, and disembarking light armoured vehicles or heavily armed jeeps and infantry while the aircraft is still moving to seize an airfield or other target, while the aircraft fly to safety! Well worth a Google or you tube


----------



## Blackadder

I googled the hell out of it and came up with bupkis.


----------



## Old Man78

Same here cant find anything either, now I know I didnt hallucinate my time in the military (I have photos) and yes I'm in them!


----------



## Blackadder

Yeah I know someone building a Land Raider is about as exciting as watching ice melt but I'll try to make it interesting.

After spray painting the interior gray I proceeded to apply a coat of black primer to the exterior of the hull.

http://i.imgur.com/CCzhHnP.jpg









http://i.imgur.com/GEaYXHB.jpg









I left as many parts as I could removable; I had no idea Land Raiders were so complex. Seems like they're built like a house of cards and the front loading door is a masterpiece of engineering, kudos to that. I'll have to keep that trick in mind for a future scratch project.

http://i.imgur.com/1Y68Vrn.jpg









After the paint dried I began applying the Grey Knights Aluminum Metallic powder.

http://i.imgur.com/oA4LMgu.jpg









http://i.imgur.com/1fN59uS.jpg









So you're telling me Blackadder that after all that we're gray again.....


----------



## shaantitus

Holy shit man, I went away for a couple of years and you are still at it. Your work never ceases to amaze me with its precision. It also inspires. Carry on.


----------



## Blackadder

shaantitus said:


> Holy shit man, I went away for a couple of years and you are still at it. Your work never ceases to amaze me with its precision. It also inspires. Carry on.


Ha! a couple of years that's a good one but I don't work exclusively on the Thunderhawk you know; I have done half a dozen other more interesting projects in the interim as well.


----------



## shaantitus

Blackadder said:


> Ha! a couple of years that's a good one but I don't work exclusively on the Thunderhawk you know; I have done half a dozen other more interesting projects in the interim as well.


Don't take that to mean you are still working on the thunderhawk, I was referring to your work in general, and the standard and quantity thereof. If there is one fixture of heresy online, it is the standard and quantity of your work.


----------



## jin

Blackadder said:


> Yeah I know someone build a Land Raider is about as exciting as watching ice melt but I'll try to make it interesting.
> 
> After spray painting the interior gray I proceeded to apply a coat of black primer to the exterior of the hull.
> 
> I left as many parts as I could removable; I had no idea Land Raiders were so complex. Seems like they're built like a house of cards and the front loading door is a masterpiece of engineering, kudos to that. I'll have to keep that trick in mind for a future scratch project.
> 
> After the paint dried I began applying the Grey Knights Aluminum Metallic powder.
> 
> So you're telling me Blackadder that after all that we're gray again.....


I absolutely loved building the Land Raider Crusader. Still, my favorite model.


----------



## Blackadder

Fifteen Minute Paint Job:

Sidetracked as I've been with the election primaries I've missed working on my Landraider so today I bit the bullet and painted er coloured up the whole tank less the armament which is still in the mail from Australia.

Granted I did have the whole tank primed with flat black but swear to Gawd it took fifteen to twenty minutes to paint er colour up this tank and no drying time. Of course there are pro-painters that can fault this tyro effort but you cannot beat the speed of the result.

So here's a few views you might find interesting:

http://i.imgur.com/o6c0MZU.jpg









http://i.imgur.com/Zf19C0v.jpg









http://i.imgur.com/aavguV7.jpg









http://i.imgur.com/Xe74ERw.jpg









Yeah that's copper powder I put on the track as an experiment. I've had the stuff lying about for years and decided to give it a go.


----------



## Old Man78

What do you use to stop the powder rubbing off? Just matt varnish? The copper looks good, but I'll have to see it better on a larger screen, just my low spec phone available at the moment


----------



## Blackadder

Oldman78 said:


> What do you use to stop the powder rubbing off? Just matt varnish? The copper looks good, but I'll have to see it better on a larger screen, just my low spec phone available at the moment


Thanks for the reply. The powder is rubbed into the flat paint by hand or brush and is permanent until you wash it off with soap and water. Handling seems to more firmly ingrain the powder instead of removing it. I've handed the models for hours with no significant removal of the finish. I haven't tried a varnish to fix the powder as yet there hasn't been a need.

Have a second look:

Fifteen Minute Paint Job Part two:

BTW the shadows on the model are in the finish, it isn't the lighting and I still have to brush off the excess metal dust. 

http://i.imgur.com/m5M1OnU.jpg









Sorry for the shaky image I haven't mastered the art of the selfie.

http://i.imgur.com/3ua7Z3m.jpg









Or the two handed hover for that matter.....

http://i.imgur.com/dNivmeH.jpg









That's a little better....

http://i.imgur.com/ZUxyP6w.jpg









and blew it again........sorry


----------



## jin

those are excellent results at four times the time.
bet it took longer to take and post the photos.
thanks for the hard work!
looking forward to the weaponization.


----------



## Blackadder

Fifteen Minute Paint Job Part Three:

Last night I masked of the entire tank and sprayed the front end with rust primer. The masking took the better part of an hour but the painting but a couple of minutes............

http://i.imgur.com/ygbyuSF.jpg









Kyrlon Rust Primer is no longer made which is a pity because it provides a deep base for reds and oranges so when dry brushing on these colours the primer provides shadow.

http://i.imgur.com/tLt7SkI.jpg


----------



## jin

that thing screams "racing stripe!"


----------



## Blackadder

Phoenix Rising:

From ashes This little Rhino was painted red and forgotten. I primed it in black and rubbed in aluminum powder.

http://i.imgur.com/Hdn4dA1.jpg









http://i.imgur.com/OGcqvdl.jpg









http://i.imgur.com/RU671qU.jpg


----------



## Blackadder

The Case of the Missing Stancheon Shield:

As if I didn't have enough to do I cannot find the Lascannon cover shield so after an exhaustive search I decided to build one......

http://i.imgur.com/xSyYRAO.jpg









These photos reveal it's still a bit rough around the edges.

http://i.imgur.com/1WlIxmv.jpg


----------



## Svartmetall

Really liking the metallic; have you tried the Rust-O-Leum spray paints? They have a really nice metallicity (if that's a word) to them but also stay reasonably thin and don't obscure detail at all.


----------



## Blackadder

Rhino Revisited:

Work has pretty much been stalled due to working on the new bath but I did manage to sneak in some painting when no one was looking.....

http://i.imgur.com/IjM58ca.jpg









In the scrap box I found some Rhino accessories and a vintage four bogie GW Rhino which astounded me because of it's size and simplicity; we'll go into that at a later date.

Meanwhile the current Rhino is beginning to look pretty good (IMHO) and the ugly little cuss is growing on me.

http://i.imgur.com/lAzWWFJ.jpg









Some day I'll get around to applying decals.

http://i.imgur.com/SrRITDi.jpg









After I learn how to do it that is.


----------



## Blackadder

It's Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas:

I was in the mall the other day and wandered into a store I've not seen before called 'Big Lots' They had these marvelous seed type LED Christmas lights:

http://i.imgur.com/PRFimZr.jpg









Prewired and ready to be installed in your model project, in this case my never ending Thunderhawk Project:

http://i.imgur.com/kpd3JDc.jpg









Striping down the fuselage and just jamming about half the bulbs into the forward cargo bay shows me they will provide sufficient light to illuminate the interior and taking so little space to be readily hidden behind the thin walls and ceiling of the bay

http://i.imgur.com/mbIGFHU.jpg









Threading the lights though the hull will require a bit of effort but the savings of time manufacturing the circuit is worth the $5 cost of the string. 

http://i.imgur.com/oyDEKjA.jpg









They come in Cool White, (Shown) Warm White and Multicoloured .... I may buy the multicoloured string and splice colours in strategic areas of the model.

I can't wait to install some of these in my Warlord Titan.


----------



## Blackadder

Ceiling Panel and Lenses

last night it came to me how to employ these marvelous lights. I had hoped for more conventional LEDs' but the circuitry behind the ceiling panel was quite restricted if I was to have adequate clearance for a Slick Rhino in the cargo bay. These seed Leds were just the ticket but how to mount them???

I began with a sheet of 0.030 inch styrene cut to fit the ceiling... initially I posited 18 lights to illuminate the bay interior and drilled two rows of nine per side but I hit upon some scrap plastic interesting shapes in the form of dispossible contact lens containers. Slightly fogged thes container vials provide interesting shapes, just the thing for a set of 40K light fixtures plus they diffuse the light.......

http://i.imgur.com/1Au7mJT.jpg









With the holes drilled for the sockets to mount the LEDs and a dry trial run I think these will work out nicely.

http://i.imgur.com/RnPExOp.jpg


----------



## Blackadder

Tripping the Lights Fantastic:

This is coming out 'way better than I expected. It's amazing how much light these little diodes generate.

The image below shows three stages of construction with the finished light assembly in the foreground. I used Testors' Clear Parts Cement to glue the LED to the ceiling panel and I just dropped the lens blister over the foreground LED to show what I have in mind once all the LEDs are installed

http://i.imgur.com/bVbGO1Z.jpg









Below is a close up of the LED and the lens blister.

http://i.imgur.com/YPrr1sq.jpg









Once the panel is completed the raised rim around the lens blister will be painted to give a purpose to the structure that is a buttress frame member and to give protection for the lens in the cargo hold.


----------



## Blackadder

Trial Bay Lighting:

Awright before anyone points it out, I know the ceiling is hanging down on the left side....

This is just a trial to determine of the lighting is adequate which it is and then some. The camera lens picks up a lot more light than is apparent in person and the lenses defuse the harshness of the LEDs just about right.

http://i.imgur.com/XkfhAgs.jpg









Close up of the ceiling shows 14 LEDs is sufficient to illuminate the entire bay

http://i.imgur.com/0ux5OhC.jpg









My entry gewgaws which I thought too 'busy' actually look plain and uninspired in the cold light.

http://i.imgur.com/EPY036F.jpg









I need to perk them up quite a bit plus the walls further back in the bay now that it is illuminated.

http://i.imgur.com/75oqQQ9.jpg


----------



## Blackadder

My New Photo Studio:

Is too small for the Thunderhawk! I converted my closet in the den to a paint booth / photo studio and the first thing I use it for is too big to fit. Gaaah!

http://i.imgur.com/y5A36Bb.jpg









Well it's not really a problem as I can just extend the table but I gotta start making smaller models. Not likely.

http://i.imgur.com/tboQoDQ.jpg









So the real reason for the post is an update on the interior cargo lighting before I disassemble the model for the rest of the lighting installation.

http://i.imgur.com/r4YkTAG.jpg









I sorely need more interior detail

http://i.imgur.com/4AiRFpw.jpg









and a vehicle

http://i.imgur.com/RMYUpkc.jpg









Next up Cockpit Lighting.


----------



## Old Man78

I just can't think of any more ways to praise your work, it is simply great stuff


----------



## Blackadder

Thanks for the reply,

How Not To Build a Thunderhawk:

Or at least How Not To Make the Same Mistakes I Did 

Below is my solution to mount the craft on a pedestal base using 1/2 inch rods to provide relatively innocuous levity. 

http://i.imgur.com/qupV6A4.jpg









The problem being I have to do all this work inside out without damaging the already finished exterior. It pays to plan ahead.....

http://i.imgur.com/TMdsvZf.jpg









After drilling an oversized hole I glued in a sleeve to receive the transparent rod. As an added refinement I plan now to finish the upper gallery with Lighting and Space Marines ready to deploy; all this accomplished in the inside out manner previously mentioned. Heh, heh, heh! (He laughs maniacally.......)

The rest of the images probably need no explanation as it just duplicates forward the work described above.

http://i.imgur.com/GOslGZ4.jpg









http://i.imgur.com/7XEbumj.jpg









http://i.imgur.com/3e6O9nd.jpg









However there is one more surprise in store for followers of these interminable thread addenda Heh,heh.heh!


----------



## Blackadder

Cure For a Rainy Day:

OMG every thing is coming up Roses. Purists may baulk at a Thunderhawk Transport carrying a Landraider but I've wanted this every since I first laid eyes on a T'hawk. The shape of the fwd cargo compartment fairly screams for that configuration. Since my T'hawk is so much larger than the basic FW version it can easily fit a Landraider in the notch space between the wings.

http://i.imgur.com/4ltc13W.jpg









Finally the center of balance for the model is right where the transparent rod pierces the Landraider forward turret so everything is falling into place with a minimum of alteration to the APC just a 1/2 inch hole aft of the bulkhead. Tada! 

Martini Time Skoal!


----------



## Blackadder

Best Laid Plans:

Oft time Gang aft agley"......... Brought My T'hawk to a show last week and on returning home in the wee hours put it on a shelf for a couple of days.

I finally got around to getting the interior of the cargo compartment sorted out and began the retro fitting of the inner walls when I discovered one of the Ball turrets missing????? well for the past couple of days I've torn my workshop apart and traced all my steps repeatedly to no avail, it's just gone so, biting the bullet, I resigned myself to making another one using the remaining one for a guide;

http://i.imgur.com/eB8R5ZR.jpg









What infernal luck.... and I was going to glue the turret mounts in place too just this past week.


----------



## Svartmetall

That shot of the 'Hawk fuselage with the suspended Land Raider has got me really sold on this - the LR looks like just the right proportional size for a heavy payload item. Looks awesome


----------



## Blackadder

Thanks for the reply,

You Can't Go Home Again:

Well for what it's worth I've tried to duplicate my work of last year but the inspiration seems sorely lacking. Whilst this is a reasonable facsimile it cannot match the caliber of the original. 

http://i.imgur.com/QlH2QZ4.jpg









I'm about to apply the finishing detail but this is at best a tawdry effort. 

I still hold out hope for finding the original.


----------



## Chaosftw

This-is-CRAZY! absolutely insane! looking really good though! the lights and the added land raider to the underbelly is a really nice touch!


----------



## Blackadder

Thanks, due to a malware attack I lost track of my many forums. this is one I managed to recover.


----------



## Blackadder

Ready to Paint...........

Finally

http://i.imgur.com/4TPmRON.jpg


----------



## Blackadder

First Assembly:

The New Ball Turret mounted in place with the interior walls . Rear cargo bay bulkhead does not fit well at all. Ceiling locking panel functions well. In all for a first assembly I am quite pleased.

http://i.imgur.com/GTsTeMW.jpg










Exterior port side view of Ball Turret (original)looks okay but interior ceiling is pushing down on canard wing root so it has dihedral. Needs to be adjusted.

http://i.imgur.com/a1mMAUO.jpg









Starboard side (new) ball turret functions well but is not of the same quality as the original .

http://i.imgur.com/BGdVgIG.jpg










Closeup reveals crudeness of work. My heart wasn't into making this replacement for the missing ball turret, I still hold out hopes of finding it.

http://i.imgur.com/hG6kcWM.jpg










The original ball turret is so much better.

http://i.imgur.com/59MPZrJ.jpg









Hey I can take a selfie with this camera, I don't know what I did to do this but in view of the image I'm not likely to do it again. ..... The Blackadder is looking old.

http://i.imgur.com/1iFpeLH.jpg









Showing where the rework lies.

http://i.imgur.com/x3EsfvS.jpg









Likewise on the right side and the Interior walls look too bare.

http://i.imgur.com/o2SbPsq.jpg









Exterior bottom view

http://i.imgur.com/XQLvGpz.jpg









Hope I didn't damage your computer with the selfie. Ha!


----------

