# FW Thunderhawk Gunship Project Log



## cruor angelus silicis (Jan 13, 2010)

A few months ago, I put up a poll asking whether you'd get a Thunderhawk Gunship or a Mars Pattern Warhound Titan. The results of the poll was a clear win for the Titan.

After months of indecision and procrastination, I've decided to go against the poll and get a Thunderhawk as a centre piece for my near 10000 point Blood angel army. It's one of those models that I've always wanted since I was younger and now I'm a grown up with well paid job I can afford one.

The order went in today so hopefully get it next week. Will be posting lots of pictures of my progress throughout the build until painted and complete.

Next update will be the unboxing on its glorious arrival.


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## Djinn24 (Jan 12, 2008)

Looking forward to seeing the beast!


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## Varakir (Sep 2, 2009)

I like the titans, a lot, but for an SM army i think the gunship is the way to go.

Really looking forward to seeing this progress :victory:


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## RocketOgre (Jun 3, 2011)

Subscribed! Looking forward to this.


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## Bayonet (Aug 13, 2010)

REALLY looking forward to seeing this one. I'll be following this closely.


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## Disciple_of_Ezekiel (May 23, 2010)

Ohhhh nice! Good luck with this project, Ive always wanted a Thunderhawk myself for my Dark Angels, maybe one day.


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## Midge913 (Oct 21, 2010)

Awesome! I look forward to following along with your progress.


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## Medic Marine (Jun 28, 2009)

HA! Fight the poll! I love it. Great work getting a Thunderhawk, sweet model. Look forward to this log!


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## cruor angelus silicis (Jan 13, 2010)

After a long 2 weeks, I have finally had the email saying that she has been dispatched from Forgeworld today. It's coming by courier so fingers crossed for a delivery before the weekend and an unboxing ceremony with lots of pics to come!


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## cruor angelus silicis (Jan 13, 2010)

*FW Thunderhawk Gunship Project Log - It begins! (with pics)*

She arrived today! 2 weeks from ordering to delivery so am pretty impressed. I have to tell you I'm quite excited. Have not been this excited about a 'miniature' for a long time.

I had a bit of a spend at Forgeworld and purcahsed the following:

Etched brass Blood Angel symbols
Phobos pattern bolters
Red Scorpion verterans upgrade pack (for some troop conversion work)
Blood Angel Terminator shoulder pads
Terminator Land Raider doors
Land Raider Prometheus complete kit
Blood Angels MKIIB Land Raider 
and the Thunderhawk

The rest of the stuff is cool but this is about the Thunderhawk so onto my first thoughts.

First impressions are Wow! I'm really impressed with it. Hardly any mould lines but masses of excess resin to remove but that's to be expected. All the casts look really good, I will spend the evening going through all the smaller bags to make sure it's all in order. At first look though, nothing looks particularly warped or out of shape. We will see what the close inspection brings.

The instructions look good too, 5 pages going through the recommended order of assembly - Cockpit, Interior, Under carriage, Fuselage and Exterior. 

The pictures are really good but there seems to be dozens and dozens of bits and they are not all covered in the instructions, there's no list of components either which would be nice but I suppose the fun for the 'advanced modeller' is to work it out for yourself!

They even include a certificate sanctioning the bird to serve the chapter which is a nice touch.

Right then, off to scrutinize all the components!


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## Djinn24 (Jan 12, 2008)

Love the smell of resin in the morning  Nothing quite like it. FW resin has a certain scent to it as well (I think its the plasticrack additive they put in).


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## Midge913 (Oct 21, 2010)

Sweet! I look forward to watching this bad boy progress mate!


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## cruor angelus silicis (Jan 13, 2010)

I've been through all the components tonight and they are all present and correct. The instructions are actually very good and all of the components are mentioned in the instructions which at first glance did not seem the case (thumbs up to FW).

There's some warpage (a lot less than I had expected though) on some of the flat panel bulkheads but nothing that can't be rectified with some hot water.

No miscasts at all and some very minimal gap filling required.

Here's some more pics of the main wings (top and bottom) and the main body from both sides (still some major resin feeds to remove as you can see).

Then we're onto the first section I'm going to start cleaning up. This is the cockpit and pilots with a couple of bulkheads and computer panels. 

Once this is done, I will got through the rest of the components, clean them up and dry fit them and gap fill where necessary before moving on.

The plan is to paint the interior that will potentially be seen once completed, so will be doing many sub assemblies and painting them before moving on.

I'm also hoping to magnetize some aspects of the ship. It has 2 main weapons, the turbo laser and the battle canon which I want to make interchangeable. Also the two wing mounted heavy bolters so that they can rotate. Will proabably magnetize the six helfire missiles too.

So far so good, but now I have a lengthy appointment with my razorsaw, dremel, sanding blocks and copious amounts of washing up liquid to clean off the release agent!


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## cruor angelus silicis (Jan 13, 2010)

The clean up has commenced.

I've removed the excess resin from the main hull. This comes in 4 parts, the lower deck/hull, the rear upper hull, the forward upper hull and the nose of the ship.

Everything attaches to this structure so have made sure it's all squared up and not warped before dry fitting everything else to it.

The first bag of parts is the main cockpit, the 2 pilots, their arms and control columns and a couple of bulkheads for the cockpit area.

There is also some stairs for the lower deck going to the upper deck, a ladder that goes on the lower decks wall and a gun rack full of bolters for the troops to grab as they disembark from the thunderhawk.

This has all been cleaned and straightened now.

I'm goin to do a bag at a time, remove excess resin and flash and then straighten any parts that require it.

Once all that is done, I'll do a massvie dry fit of most parts making sure everything fits together nicely before starting to prime parts for painting.


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## Legiomortis (Jun 11, 2011)

Looking great so far really cant wait to see that bad boy all together.


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## Djinn24 (Jan 12, 2008)

Did you pick up Blood Angle doors for this bad boy as well?


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## cruor angelus silicis (Jan 13, 2010)

djinn24 said:


> Did you pick up Blood Angle doors for this bad boy as well?


It comes with chapter specific doors of your choice and I actually bought the Imperial Eagles Thunderhawk. I really like those doors.

I picked up the Blood Angel doors too but I'm not sure if I like them. I suppose I have lots of time to decide which ones to use or will maybe magnetize the doors so I can swap them out as I want to.

I also picked up the Blood Angels etched brass which I've used before and like alot, if I use the Imperial Eagles doors, I will used BA etched brass to Blood Angel up the Thunderhawk.


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## Djinn24 (Jan 12, 2008)

Very nice!


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## cruor angelus silicis (Jan 13, 2010)

Onto the next lot of components.

I am still in the process of getting all main structure components square and level, lots of boiling water baths at the moment to make sure everything has a really flush fit.

Today on the cleaning and de warping bench are the rear fuselage, the front ramp and ramp hinges, the cockpit canopy, the doors and the air brakes which you can have open or closed depending on the look you're going for. I haven't decided yet. There are also various comms units and sensors too. Almost forgot, there is the main weapon mount too, which is the very upper stage of the Thunderhawk.

I have also started to magnetize the Thunderhawk. I have put a magnet into the main weapon mount structure and magnets into each of the main weapons, the turbo laser and the battle cannon. Am really pleased with how this came out. Ten minutes work and you have interchangeable weapons - nice!

It's all going pretty well at the moment, I'm trying not to rush it. I'm breaking it all down into manageable sections as the amount of prep in excess resin removal, de flashing, washing, de-warping is very time consuming - she'll be worth it though.


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## Kobrakai (Jul 25, 2008)

All this thread makes me want to do is buy a Thunderhawk!  My poor bank account.

In all seriousness that is a superb model, I really must get one as it really is such a incredible centre peice to any collection.

I will be following this thread carefully, all the best with it!


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## cruor angelus silicis (Jan 13, 2010)

Kobrakai said:


> All this thread makes me want to do is buy a Thunderhawk!  My poor bank account.
> 
> In all seriousness that is a superb model, I really must get one as it really is such a incredible centre peice to any collection.
> 
> I will be following this thread carefully, all the best with it!


Thanks!

It really is a sweet model.

I was worried about miscasts before I got it and hearing stories that the mold FW use for it is atleast 100 years old and next to useless caused some anxiety but it really is a quality bit of kit. 

The casts are great and I don't think it supposed to go together easily like a plastic kit. It's the biggest 40K modelling undertaking I've let myself in for and all the washing, boiling water baths and clean up is part of the experience/fun (or that's what I'm telling myself).

All in all, so far, it is going together nicely and fairly easily, she's just going to take some time.

I can see work is going to get in the way of this build!


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## Midge913 (Oct 21, 2010)

Nice work so far mate! Good call on the magnets that will be well worth the time.


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## Bubblematrix (Jun 4, 2009)

Thats one nice big chunk of resin there 

Looks like a fun model to put together, looking forward to seeing the results.

How do you intend to mount it? if at all?


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## cruor angelus silicis (Jan 13, 2010)

Bubblematrix said:


> Thats one nice big chunk of resin there
> 
> Looks like a fun model to put together, looking forward to seeing the results.
> 
> How do you intend to mount it? if at all?


Mount it? I like her but not that much! :biggrin:

I've actually got a 40K Battlescape piece of terrain that's been laying around for ages, still in the box. 

Was thinking of attaching it to a nice big base and making some sort of mini battle taking place between my Blood Angels and some Chaos marines with what would be the chaos rhino just having been bombed by the Thunderhawk.

Would have the Thunderhawk 'flying' over the base and terrain courstesy of some sort of rod/stand fixture coming up from the base. That would mean drilling a hole into the base of the thunderhawk though unless I can think of a better solution.

The wife thinks I should suspend it from the ceiling - I'm not too sure about that one.


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## spanner94ezekiel (Jan 6, 2011)

Use it as a way of flying snacks across the room :laugh:


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## cruor angelus silicis (Jan 13, 2010)

Next up the main wings, attack wings, rudder, tail plane and front canards.

I've just removed the excess resin so far with this lot. They still need washing to remove any release agent and a bit of filing to ensure the ailerons and elevators fit properly.

Instead of washing these components tonight, I've been playing with magnets again.

I've installed some magnets on the underside of the main wings.

I then installed some magnets on the hard points that hold the hellstrike missiles and now we have removeable missiles. 

I've only done the one wing so far. It came out pretty good though.


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## elmir (Apr 14, 2011)

Awesome idea, and I admire your assembly patience. I don't have that... I'd love to actually paint on of these someday, but the idea of having to assemble such a monstrosity is too daunting. Good log about your progress though. It'll be very helpfull for anybody who buys a thunderhawk in the future.


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## Bayonet (Aug 13, 2010)

This is just porn...

Loving the Bird! I noticed with the cockpit it had a piece with some Bolters racked up without Magazines fitted - nice touch! 

Keep it up, you're doing a great job.


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## Svartmetall (Jun 16, 2008)

cruor angelus silicis said:


> ...hearing stories that the mold FW use for it is at least 100 years old


It is _not_ 100 years old. 

I've seen that mould in the flesh; the hieroglyphics on the side clearly mark it out as being from the early Sixth Dynasty period, possibly the reign of Nefer. This would make it ~4,200 years old; sadly the arcane quasi-matter that is FW resin is impervious to radio-carbon dating, however, so I can't give you a more exact age than that.


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## cruor angelus silicis (Jan 13, 2010)

elmir said:


> Awesome idea, and I admire your assembly patience. I don't have that... I'd love to actually paint on of these someday, but the idea of having to assemble such a monstrosity is too daunting. Good log about your progress though. It'll be very helpfull for anybody who buys a thunderhawk in the future.


Thanks for your kind words, the painting of it is a little daunting to me. I think I might be keeping it at a nice slow pace to hold off on the painting for a while. The airbrush is certainly going to get a workout. 

I'm a pretty confident model builder and though my painting skills are decent, I hope I do it justice!

Though I think the patience is a good idea. I'd hate to chop a bit off or mess something up horribly. Measure twice, cut once or so they say. Am measuring more than twice on this!



Bayonet said:


> This is just porn...
> 
> Loving the Bird! I noticed with the cockpit it had a piece with some Bolters racked up without Magazines fitted - nice touch!
> 
> Keep it up, you're doing a great job.


Thanks! There's loads of little touches like that on the interior that once it's built, you'll never see again! There's even an inner ceiling section with loads of detail on it which I'll be painting that will be impossible to see once it's all glued together.



Svartmetall said:


> It is _not_ 100 years old.
> 
> I've seen that mould in the flesh; the hieroglyphics on the side clearly mark it out as being from the early Sixth Dynasty period, possibly the reign of Nefer. This would make it ~4,200 years old; sadly the arcane quasi-matter that is FW resin is impervious to radio-carbon dating, however, so I can't give you a more exact age than that.


He's a funny guy! :rofl:
Am really impressed with it to be honest. It's a heck of a sculpt, the work that's gone into designing and making it is genius.


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## cruor angelus silicis (Jan 13, 2010)

I finished work early today so have been busy cleaning components and de-warping things.

I've cleaned up all the wing components from my last update, they are all sorted now and have been straightened.

I've also magnetized the other wing so I have 6 removeable hellstrike missiles now.

The next batch of components that have been clipped from the excess resin and cleaned up and washed are the smaller weapons the Thunderhawk has in its arsenal.

First up, the 6 hellstrike missiles and hardpoints.

Next, the 2 twin linked heavy bolters that sit under the main wings.

Lastly, there are 2 more twin linked heavy bolters that sit up front, forward of the front canards.

I think I'm developing an obssession with magnets. I have installed some magnets into the recesses of the main wings and on the backside of the wing heavy bolter mount. This allows me to have these bolters secure but able to rotate if need be.

I've got one bag of components left that need sorting - will be having a look at that tonight.


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## cruor angelus silicis (Jan 13, 2010)

The last bag of components are done.

Here we have the right, left and front landing pads, landing legs and leg pistons. There are also 2 landing leg doors. You can have these open or closed with the legs ready for a landing or not.

Then there is the 2 engine intake sections and 3 engine exhausts.

Finally, various symbols to personalise the Thunderhawk.

Now everything has been clipped, sawed, cleaned, filed, sanded and straighthened up, I'm going to wash everything again. The sink is too small so am going to do it in the bath tub (when the wife's out).

Once that is done, I will dry fit everything to make sure it all flush and nice fitting before tackling the assembly.


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## cruor angelus silicis (Jan 13, 2010)

Obviously the cockpit canopy had to be magnetized so I have added magnets to the inner cockpit section and on the top of the forward fuselage. Then put some magnets on the inside of the cockpit canopy itself.

I have recessed all the magnets to ensure a flush fit. I have dry fitted the forward section to show you all the idea.

One removeable cockpit canopy!

That's all for the magnetization I think, it's all turned out pretty nicely and am pleased with it. I can't see anything else on the Thunderhawk that could be magnetized easily so onto a final wash, then assembly.


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## Midge913 (Oct 21, 2010)

Looking very cool mate! Taking this much time for prep and cleaning will definitely make things look that much better in the end. Keep up the good work man!


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## cruor angelus silicis (Jan 13, 2010)

Midge913 said:


> Looking very cool mate! Taking this much time for prep and cleaning will definitely make things look that much better in the end. Keep up the good work man!



Thanks!

I've done a final hot water bath this morning to get the nose section straightened up, it looked wonky in the last set of pics. Now she fits a treat and the cockpit canopy fits really well too.

One final cleaning bath to go for all the components to make sure all the release agent is off before I start assembly.


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## Djinn24 (Jan 12, 2008)

Are the wings goig to be removable?


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## cruor angelus silicis (Jan 13, 2010)

djinn24 said:


> Are the wings goig to be removable?


I hadn't thought of that to be honest. Regarding the wings, the only thought I had was what sort of expoxy to use and what I'd use to pin them.

Mmmm, now you've got me thinking - maybe some sort of bolt/unbolt system. Though I wont be transporting it much so I'm not sure yet.


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## cruor angelus silicis (Jan 13, 2010)

It's been a week since I received the Thunderhawk and it's finally ready for assembly - I knew work was going to get in the way of buillding it!!

I've done a final wash of all the components to ensure all the release agent is gone.

I've put a pic up of every single one of the components drying, as you can see there's a fair few but nice and manageable at the same time.

I've also been working on a base for the bird. I've got a 13" by 10.5" board and I've got some threaded rod going through it. I'm going to make a scenario out of the GW Battlescape on the board with the Thunderhawk flying over. The Thunderhawk fits pretty nicely and it will be a nice break of something different to work on when I go mad painting all the red.

Assembly will start tomorrow night.


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## Midge913 (Oct 21, 2010)

Looking really great dude! I am really excited to see this thing get some paint!


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## shaantitus (Aug 3, 2009)

Big project and a lot of money tied up in that. Must be pretty daunting. I admire your patience with the prep, something that I have problems with but which will surely pay off. Rep for having the balls to give it a go.


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## Djinn24 (Jan 12, 2008)

More up close pics of the rod system and the mounting system please. I want to see it a bit better.

The reason I say to make the wings removable, is with resin the heavy parts will rewarp with age and the wings and guns are the heaviest parts.

If you do decide to attach them I would use a semi thick pin about 1/2 in in each piece, I over do it so I would put 3 in.


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## Disciple_of_Ezekiel (May 23, 2010)

WoW, that's alot of freaking parts man. Sometimes it can feel like a daunting task I'm sure, but at the same time very very exciting. 

Great minds most think alike, cause I had planned on using the battlescape terrain piece as well for my Marauder Destroyer. 

Well none the less, your project should turn out pretty awesome, best of luck!

Regards,
DoE


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## cruor angelus silicis (Jan 13, 2010)

Midge913 said:


> Looking really great dude! I am really excited to see this thing get some paint!


Thanks! It's been a long time coming, am working out now what to make sub assemblies and paint before starting to glue major components together. Will have more of an idea over the weekend.




shaantitus said:


> Big project and a lot of money tied up in that. Must be pretty daunting. I admire your patience with the prep, something that I have problems with but which will surely pay off. Rep for having the balls to give it a go.


Thanks for the rep! You're right, it is a lot of money and am enjoying every bit of cleaning it and dry fitting it and now putting it together.



Disciple_of_Ezekiel said:


> WoW, that's alot of freaking parts man. Sometimes it can feel like a daunting task I'm sure, but at the same time very very exciting.
> 
> Great minds most think alike, cause I had planned on using the battlescape terrain piece as well for my Marauder Destroyer.
> 
> ...


I really like that Battlescape, I think it'll look pretty cool once I've sorted the top of my base out.


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## cruor angelus silicis (Jan 13, 2010)

djinn24 said:


> More up close pics of the rod system and the mounting system please. I want to see it a bit better.
> 
> The reason I say to make the wings removable, is with resin the heavy parts will rewarp with age and the wings and guns are the heaviest parts.
> 
> If you do decide to attach them I would use a semi thick pin about 1/2 in in each piece, I over do it so I would put 3 in.



More pics of the rod system. Nothing very clever here but it works. It's not 100% if I'm going to use this yet, we'll see if I have any more bright ideas while I'm building and painting it.

Anyway, components are a 13" by 10.5" base. I like the moulding around the bottom and will attach the Battlescape to it and make the wood on the top disappear with various basing materials and scenery.

Next 3 large washers, 6 nuts and a 12" section of M6 threaded rod.

Goes together easily and will glue it all together if I decide to use it. I've recessed the washer and nut on the bottom so the base sits flat.

I have drilled a hole in the bottom of the Thunderhawk and the 3 nuts and washer on the top of the threaded rod keep her nice and stable - it works like a little platform.


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## Djinn24 (Jan 12, 2008)

Very nice, I figured that is what you did, I did something simular on the Phantom I am working on.

I would almost just leave the rod as is and not glue it, that way you can replace it if is become damaged, easier to handle and store.

Haha you should make a swivel and fold wing mechanism like aircraft carrier jets have for the thunderhawk


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## Muffinman (Aug 31, 2009)

Man reading your thread has made me want to buy a thunderhawk :ireful2:

I'm gonna be following this project closely, can't wait to see it all painted up!


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## cruor angelus silicis (Jan 13, 2010)

Muffinman said:


> Man reading your thread has made me want to buy a thunderhawk :ireful2:
> 
> I'm gonna be following this project closely, can't wait to see it all painted up!


Get one!!! You wont regret it!

Have started to make up some of the sub assemblies that I'll paint before gluing it all together. I've also made a start on the painting.

Am going to get the cockpit and pilots painted up first. Have primed them and started some base coats first. I'll then start the process of painting all of the sub assemblies. Onwards!


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## Djinn24 (Jan 12, 2008)

Keep it up! Looking great so far. I am selling a majority of my marines but still keeping about 3k points for my Soul Drinker force. This makes me want one for that.


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## cruor angelus silicis (Jan 13, 2010)

djinn24 said:


> Keep it up! Looking great so far. I am selling a majority of my marines but still keeping about 3k points for my Soul Drinker force. This makes me want one for that.


I'd love to see what you do with one! Your work is bloody fantastic, quite inspiring at times. I'll keep that in mind while I'm painting this beast. I think it's going to take some time!


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## Djinn24 (Jan 12, 2008)

My motivation level is at nil, between being on crutches and my foot killing me I really have not wanted to do much of anything but lay in bed.


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## cruor angelus silicis (Jan 13, 2010)

djinn24 said:


> My motivation level is at nil, between being on crutches and my foot killing me I really have not wanted to do much of anything but lay in bed.


You'll get there in the end. That Titan is such a beast to paint there's bound to be times that you never want to see the thing again. It is a heck of an undertaking to be proud of.


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## cruor angelus silicis (Jan 13, 2010)

The sub assemblies are all pretty much done now and the painting has begun.

I've started with the cockpit section and have not put 100% time, attention or detail into it for close scrutiny. So what do I do, put pics up on here for you all to closely scrutinize!! :shok:

The reason for the lack of time spent on it is that you wont be able to see the majority of it once its completed and glued together but I wanted to paint all aspects of the Thunderhawk to some degree, just so I know it's all been painted (no bare resin on this bird). The main work will be on the body of the beast.

Next up for paint will be the lower hull interior.


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## Disciple_of_Ezekiel (May 23, 2010)

cruor angelus silicis said:


> I've started with the cockpit section and have not put 100% time, attention or detail into it for close scrutiny. So what do I do, put pics up on here for you all to closely scrutinize!! :shok:


I don't know what your talking about but it looks f*[email protected]'n awesome so far man!

Have some + Rep for a great start!

Regards,
DoE


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## Djinn24 (Jan 12, 2008)

Your killing this project!


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## Midge913 (Oct 21, 2010)

Wooohoooo! Painted pics! Looking really great so far bud! I don't know what you are taling about as far as the attention to detail is concerned as so far it looks fantastic. The monitors all look very cool and the contrast they provide to the steel is very nice. Keep up the good work!


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## cruor angelus silicis (Jan 13, 2010)

Thanks for all the kind words, it's much appreciated and spurs me on! 

Next up is the lower hull interior done in the same sort of vain as the cockpit section. Again, once the project is completed, you will hardly see any of it!

I did have thoughts of doing the whole Forgeworld style vehicle interior of airbrushing Komando Khaki over Chaos Black then Skull white over that and then doing paint chip effects - then I thought again!!

It would have looked very cool but it would have taken much more time than what I actually did and like I keep saying, all these interior pieces will be either so difficult or impossible to see once finished.

The first picture is a ceiling piece that is in the main fuselage, once glued in, it'll never been seen again - makes me chuckle.

Next I'll mask off all the interior pieces I've painted and start the exterior paint. I've started spraying all exterior pieces with Chaos Black - am a fan of this and like the way it covers. Next will be a coat of Army Painter Dragon Red, keeping some aspects of the black showing in the recesses, will hopefully get a nice shading effect.

I'll see what it looks like then and see where I'm going from there. I did purchase a fair few pot of Blood Red for the airbrush for the next coat. Some colour experiments might be prudent before proceeding.


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## cruor angelus silicis (Jan 13, 2010)

The Thunderhawk is progressing well.

I've glued all the internal pieces into the Thunderhawk and glued the uppper and lower fuselage together making it one structure. The tail plane is on as is the rear engine exhaust.

I've masked off the front section that's already painted and have primed the whole thing black. I'll be going in next with a red primer, leaving the black in the recesses. 

After that I'll be test fitting the wings and getting them glued and pinned (they weigh nearly a pound a piece). Then airbrushing it up to the colour I want it to be and redoing any black so I can proceed with painting the engine details, weapons etc.


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## Midge913 (Oct 21, 2010)

Progressing nicely. I am really starting to feel the anticipation of seeing the finished piece:good:


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## Djinn24 (Jan 12, 2008)

Dude that is coming along very awesome like, I really want to see the outside get done.


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## cruor angelus silicis (Jan 13, 2010)

Just a quick update.

I've started to make the Thunderhawk red!

You will have noticed that I have attached the nose piece now too.


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## Midge913 (Oct 21, 2010)

Sweeeeeeet! I am really enjoying watching this thing come together. I look forward to the next update.


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## Disciple_of_Ezekiel (May 23, 2010)

Dude your killing this thing!


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## cruor angelus silicis (Jan 13, 2010)

Wings are glued on and pinned.

I've used 2 ton epoxy and pinned each wing in 4 places.

As an aside, my other hobby is high powered rocketry and I've used the same epoxy to attach rocket fins to airframes and then sent said rocket to 8000 feet at a velocity of just over mach 1 - so am hoping it will hold a 10oz wing on a static model (well static apart from flying it round the room making jet noises!).


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## Midge913 (Oct 21, 2010)

Looking great! You are really making quick progress with this thing. It has been an absolute joy to watch this project progress.... and quite frankly made me jealous as hell that I can't afford one of my own. Good job and keep on pluggin' away!


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## cruor angelus silicis (Jan 13, 2010)

Midge913 said:


> Looking great! You are really making quick progress with this thing. It has been an absolute joy to watch this project progress.... and quite frankly made me jealous as hell that I can't afford one of my own. Good job and keep on pluggin' away!


Thanks dude. It's only been just over 2 weeks with a week of that prepping and washing the thing. It really is a nice kit to put together. Really minimal filling of gaps and that's only because I'm a bit fussy. I could have gotten away with not doing any filling.

I think now the work will start. All the main components are on now. All I have left in the bags not primed are the 4 heavy bolters and 6 missiles.

Am working a lot this week or have husband/father duties so I don't think I'll be able to have a good aribrush session with it until next weekend. I will be painting up the 2 main weapons and sorting out all the secondary weapons too.


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## cruor angelus silicis (Jan 13, 2010)

Have had a really busy week in work hence that severe lack of updates.

The pictures are not really showing what it looks like in real life unfortunately.

After the prime of chaos black and dragon red, I airbrushed certain areas with devlan mud a couple of times. After that, a couple of coats of blood red followed by about three coats of baal red wash all through the airbrush.

Now, I'm building the colour back to what I want it to be with various reds.

I've also made a start on the base. As I've said before, it will be a battlescape piece of terrain with the thunderhawk flying over it.


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## Firefighter X (Apr 21, 2010)

So big, so red, so well done, so....expensive.. I'm jealous. I want one for my World Eaters.. Damn Forgeworld for not making Chaos Thunderhawks.

Great stuff.

FFX


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## Midge913 (Oct 21, 2010)

Looking Good! I think that base is going to turn out looking really cool!


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## Kobrakai (Jul 25, 2008)

This is looking very special indeed. 

Looking forward to the finished article!. Have some rep for all your hard work!


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## cruor angelus silicis (Jan 13, 2010)

Firefighter X said:


> So big, so red, so well done, so....expensive.. I'm jealous. I want one for my World Eaters.. Damn Forgeworld for not making Chaos Thunderhawks.
> 
> Great stuff.
> 
> FFX


It is very red, I was thinking about doing something to break it up a bit but I think once all the other parts are painted and the engines are done and all the weapons are on it'll look pretty sweet. You should get one and make it corrupted by Chaos. A Chaos Thunderhawk would be very cool.



Midge913 said:


> Looking Good! I think that base is going to turn out looking really cool!


Thanks! I do have high hopes for the base, I'm thinking it's looking better in my head than it's going to in real life - we shall see.



Kobrakai said:


> This is looking very special indeed.
> 
> Looking forward to the finished article!. Have some rep for all your hard work!


Thanks for the rep dude!


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## Disciple_of_Ezekiel (May 23, 2010)

Keep plucking away at it CAS, ya I took the lazy way out for saying your name...LOL!

As for the Rhino on the base, do you plan on making it a Chaos one? That's what I plan on doing for mine with my Marauder. It would seem a little strange with it destroying a brother chapters Rhino.


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## Djinn24 (Jan 12, 2008)

That thing is look awesome as hell. Keep up the great work.


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## cruor angelus silicis (Jan 13, 2010)

Disciple_of_Ezekiel said:


> Keep plucking away at it CAS, ya I took the lazy way out for saying your name...LOL!
> 
> As for the Rhino on the base, do you plan on making it a Chaos one? That's what I plan on doing for mine with my Marauder. It would seem a little strange with it destroying a brother chapters Rhino.


For sure, I was going to do an old rusted out rhino that looks like it been there for months but I'm leaning towards the freshly destroyed look.



djinn24 said:


> That thing is look awesome as hell. Keep up the great work.


Thanks! It's taking much longer than expected though. You know what I'm talking about what with your Eldar Titan build!


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## Disciple_of_Ezekiel (May 23, 2010)

I think a freshly destroyed rhino will look more badass as if it just got jacked by the Thunderhawk!

At least thats my opinion and plans for whenever I get around to mine.


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## cruor angelus silicis (Jan 13, 2010)

Have been painting all the peripheral parts for the Thunderhawk and have them safely stowed away until they are needed for the completed ship.

Up first are the 3 landing pads, 6 hellstrike missiles, the 4 twin linked heavy bolters, the targetting scopes for the tops of the forward bolters and a magnetised antenna/aerial which can be fitted to the side of the Tunderhawk.

Next external and internal pics of the magnetised cockpit. I still have the clear platstic sheet to cut up and use for window pieces.

Then we have the Turbo laser and the Battle cannon.

Finally, a bit more work on the base. I've sleeved the threaded rod with a piece of iron pipe and have painted it matt black and varnished it to make it look a bit nicer. The battlescape is glued to the base and I've started to build up the base with brown ballast. Once dry, I'll prime it and see what it looks like. I still have the side of the rhino to attach.


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## Disciple_of_Ezekiel (May 23, 2010)

That cockpit is super sexy!


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## cruor angelus silicis (Jan 13, 2010)

Have started to paint the details of the Thunderhawk. Am starting with the larger areas. Am concentrating on the engines at the moment. Also a little bit more work on the base.


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## Kobrakai (Jul 25, 2008)

Still coming together really splendidly, keep it up your doing so well!

It's great to see your taking the extra time and painting it seperately, aswell as making a scenic base which looks top notch!

Looking forward to some more photos as usual!


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## Midge913 (Oct 21, 2010)

Looking good! I can't wait to see this guy done!


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## cruor angelus silicis (Jan 13, 2010)

Time for the next update.

Engines are well on the way to being finished, as are the lascannons on the attack wings.

Am painting up all the aquila's to be a gold colour and will start on the smaller details over the weekend.

Then it will be on to weathering. I still haven't decided how much to rough her up. It will probably be some subtle black soot type weathering around the engines and some grime/grease in the landing gears.

Have started a little bit of weathering on the front section, creating some bare metal effects but dont want to go mad.


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## Disciple_of_Ezekiel (May 23, 2010)

Did you use a sepia/devlan mud wash for the engine intakes and lascannon heat marks?

Ohhhh...

Two words, "Bad-Ass"


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## cruor angelus silicis (Jan 13, 2010)

Thanks dude.

And yes, you got it. Started with the metallic base and built up the level of washes with devlan mud and the sepia. 

The engine exhausts on the other hand, started out with a base of deneb stone, then kommando khaki then many wahses of devlan mud and leviathan purple.


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## cruor angelus silicis (Jan 13, 2010)

Have had a bit of a marathon session on the Thunderhawk today and tonight and have some more picture updates.

So you'll see that the forward heavy bolters are now attached and that under the wings we have the hellstrike missiles and more heavy bolters. All of the under wing weapons are magnetised for removal or repositioning in the case of the bolters.

I have named the gunship 'Vindicta' or Vengeance. I originally wanted to call her 'Swift Vengeance' but it looked pretty bad as I had to make it so small to fit so had to shorten it.

Have glazed the cockpit too.

Will get some more pics up tomorrow once the varnish has dried.


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## Djinn24 (Jan 12, 2008)

I have to say i am impressed with how smooth you got the red to look. Shows you paid attention to your resin.


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## shaantitus (Aug 3, 2009)

I have missed this one for a week or so and the progress is mind boggling. She looks truly magnificent. Money well spent indeed.


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## cruor angelus silicis (Jan 13, 2010)

djinn24 said:


> I have to say i am impressed with how smooth you got the red to look. Shows you paid attention to your resin.


Thanks! The whole body of the ship is airbrushed. I've painted larger vehicles before with a brush and I always end up with brush strokes which I did not want with this project. It went on really nicely but like you say, most of it is in the preparation which then makes the painting easier.



shaantitus said:


> I have missed this one for a week or so and the progress is mind boggling. She looks truly magnificent. Money well spent indeed.


Thanks very much. I really pleased with it.

So more pics now the varnish has dried.

As mentioned in the previous post, I used the plastic sheet to glaze the cockpit windows.

Then we have all the magnetised bits.

It's come out pretty decent, I could keep going on it for weeks adding extra details and things but it's at a stage now where I'm happy to say it's finished or there abouts.

Will get the base done now but am in no rush as the Thunderhawk stands quite nicely on the landing pads.


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## Disciple_of_Ezekiel (May 23, 2010)

Dead sexy Sir! She looks better without the flash as the flash seems to drowned out the colors.


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## cruor angelus silicis (Jan 13, 2010)

Disciple_of_Ezekiel said:


> Dead sexy Sir! She looks better without the flash as the flash seems to drowned out the colors.


You're right there, the flash does make it look bright red which it actually isn't. If it ever stops raining here and the sun comes out, I'll put some pics up in natural light to show what it looks like in reality.


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## Midge913 (Oct 21, 2010)

Very nice work indeed! That thing is going to look fantastic on the table as a wonderful centerpiece for your army...... well it and the titan of course


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## Pigsnout23 (Jul 5, 2011)

Awesome! Great job and thanks for sharing.


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## Disciple_of_Ezekiel (May 23, 2010)

Well CAS, since your other post said she is done and I think she looks BADASS, you get some + REP for me Sir!


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## Doelago (Nov 29, 2009)

Throne of Terra! That Thunderhawk would make any Blood Angels Captain proud!


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## Kaiden (Apr 1, 2010)

Looks amazing mate.


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Fantastic mini. Well executed and well painted. I like the detailing and the time you took to magnetize the weaps. +rep for you!


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## cruor angelus silicis (Jan 13, 2010)

Kaiden said:


> Looks amazing mate.


Thanks dude!



KjellThorngaard said:


> Fantastic mini. Well executed and well painted. I like the detailing and the time you took to magnetize the weaps. +rep for you!


It was a labour of love but well worth it, cheers for the rep!


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## jaysen (Jul 7, 2011)

I've been wanting a Thunderhawk for years. I've been holding out, thinking they'll eventually make a cheaper plastic model. I might just have to break down and get one from FW. 

Cruor, great job! It's a lot of work painting one of these behemoths, I'm sure. I still haven't completed my warhound.


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## cruor angelus silicis (Jan 13, 2010)

Have finally got round to putting a video up of the Thunderhawk!


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