# Caestus Assault Ram Build Log



## Wookiepelt (Jan 29, 2013)

And so the challenge begins...

Having been warned that taking on a Forgeworld build was tempting fate, I took on the challenge and got hold for two flyers that would be suitable for our Space Wolves army, namely the Caestus Assault Ram and the Storm Eagle. Obviously having never built a Forgeworld model before, I elected to start with the simpler one. So this log will now chart the ups and downs of the Caestus Assault Ram build!

For those who don't know this model, its a monster of a flyer based on her stats. This is one from the Imperial Armour Aeronautica (Pgs 30-31). She's a hovering vehicle, flyer & tank (Armour-13,13,11,3HP) with a transport capacity of 10 with the Misericorde so is not affected by the Bulky special rule, i.e. she can deliver 10 Terminators on demand and they can proceed to assault after the ramming move! Oh... forgot to add that prior to the ramming and payload delivery, she would have had fired her Heavy 1, S8, AP1, 18" range, Large Blast Magna-Melta and two Heavy 4, S6, AP4, Twin-linked Blast Firefury Missile Battery! All that for 275 points!!! Now you know why we HAD to have her!

OK, enough stats waffling here. On to the project itself...


First up, I spent the whole Sunday afternoon cutting, de-burring, and tidying up as best as I could all 22 pieces that would eventually make up the model. This was then subjected to the mandatory fairy liquid scrub-down to get rid of all the resin release agent that is still coated on all the components. Here's the result of the day's cutting and washing.












After that, I started a trial assembly of the starboard Nacelle as it was regularly highlighted online that there were major Assault Ramp alignment issues with this particular side. True to form, the bottom hole for the ramp on the starboard Nacelle top piece was a good 2mm higher than it should be. This resulted in a cocked ramp when it was put together. So it was simple case of extending the hole down by 2mm with the dremel tool and filling out the rest with green-stuff. So this is what I've ended up with:











With that done, I've now primed the 4 nacelle components (on the inside only) for painting/detailing before I assemble it all up. 










So this is where we stand at the moment. I'll update with more progress on this as I continue with this challenge... watch this space! :wink:


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## Dave T Hobbit (Dec 3, 2009)

Have you made any progress?


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## Wookiepelt (Jan 29, 2013)

Some progress made (internal painting only) but kinda stuck at the moment as I'm trying to figure out how to include some small LEDs for internal "lights"! Think I've worked out a solution but needs some tinkering to see if works...


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## VixusKragov (Feb 21, 2012)

Looks like a very interesting project. make sure to post pictures, show us what you're up to. I'll definitely be watching out for them.


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## Wookiepelt (Jan 29, 2013)

VixusKragov said:


> Looks like a very interesting project. make sure to post pictures, show us what you're up to. I'll definitely be watching out for them.


Will definitely post pics of this as I work out how I'm going to get the "electrical" circuit done between the two nacelles without having wires all over the shop! I'm currently toying with a possible solution using conductive paint and tiny SMDs.


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## Wookiepelt (Jan 29, 2013)

*Nacelle Internal Lighting Circuit*

Here is the basic circuit diagram for the proposed lighting circuit, complete with a on-off-on switch to allow for switching from normal operational "Yellow" to tactical "Red" lighting.











The bulk of the "wiring" will be done with the electrically-conductive paint from Bare Conductive, including the contact points between the three main pieces; namely the left and right nacelles and the central main body. The hard bit will be planning out the cavity that I'll have to drill/file/hack out of the solid resin main body to house the batteries and switch, and followed-up with the concealment of it all after that!

All electronic components and conductive paint are expected to arrive next week. Unfortunately I'm gonna be away most of the week till Sunday so this won't get worked on till the following week.


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## Wookiepelt (Jan 29, 2013)

*Success!!!*

After a bit of "trial and error" tinkering with the Bare Conductive paint and realising that it resulted in very high resistance to the current flow, I needed to modify the original circuit wiring philosophy. Good thing was that I could do away with having resistors in the circuit. Bad thing was that I needed to incorporate a wire/conductive-paint mix in the wiring arrangement!










So here's a quick run through of the "Experiment" with the right Nacelle...

First up, the original resin lighting needed to be carefully cut out to receive the 2mm x 1.25mm x 0.8mm sized surface-mounted Light Emitting Diode (SMD).



















Next, the Red & Yellow SMDs were super-glued into position and the wiring plus Bare Conductive paint connections were done.




















... and then I said, "Let there be light!"

*Standard Operational Yellow Lighting*



















*Tactical Assault Red Lighting*



















*Red & Yellow Lighting as a test case for running 4 SMDs on the single 9V battery*


















So there we have it, lit nacelles on the Caestus Assault Ram. Now to get on with the second nacelle and the control switch in the main body... Slowly but surely, I'm getting there!


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## neferhet (Oct 24, 2012)

Seem good! The lights are awesome! I'm waiting to see this done


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## Khorne's Fist (Jul 18, 2008)

This is a pretty ambitious project. Looking forward to seeing the finished results.


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## alasdair (Jun 11, 2009)

This is looking fantastic so far! I love projects like this.


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## Tawa (Jan 10, 2010)

Keep up the grand work! 

This is looking like one hell of a project :so_happy:


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## Wookiepelt (Jan 29, 2013)

Thanks guys. Still loads to figure out and more resin drilling/cutting/hacking to go before the Adeptus Mechanicus is signing this baby fit to wreck havoc across the Imperium! :laugh:

PS: There will be a break for the next 5 days as we're off to Venice to visit the Sis-in-law and her new baby daughter. Will get back to building again next week...


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## Jacobite (Jan 26, 2007)

Lighting inside a FW vechile? You crazy. but good crazy


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## Wookiepelt (Jan 29, 2013)

ARGH!!! SMDs are not lighting up properly!!! Need to go into trouble-shooting mode... Hmm... :read:... :dunno:... :scratchhead:


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## Kreuger (Aug 30, 2010)

Uh oh. keep us posted.


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