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Well, an unexpected bonus arrived despite the bad economy. So, I could invest it wisely to grow for better days...

... or I could buy a Thunderhawk!

After studying how to assemble FW models copiously and assuring myself I could handle it (we'll see), I ordered it late last Wednesday night. There was no wait; it shipped 12 hours later and arrived Monday. I also put in the Chaplain Dreadnought and IA:Apocalypse since you have to take advantage of the free shipping, you know, that justifies it. Also, the drop in the exchange rate from $2 per GBP to $1.50 (my rate) made it seem like a sale.

I'm making a Black Templars Thunderhawk in honor of my mediocrity with them on the battlefield... of course they're better in 5th edition. Surely their new transport will inspire them ... er me!

On the weekend I went out to various stores and picked up needed supplies:
* Small hacksaw... couldn't find a jeweler's saw but it worked fine.
* Epoxy glue... although superglue should work fine
* Clorox All Natural Cleaner ... equivalent of Simple Green for cleaning release agent
* Cheap toothbrush ... for cleaning off release agent
* Breathing masks ... I was warned about resin dust
* Rust-oleum car primer ... recommended for sealing resin

This is in addition to tools I have: files, craft knife, sprue cutter, pin vise etc.

I'm off from work all week with extra vacation time that I was going to use to work on an Eldar army. Somehow I hope to squeeze that in next week. There's an Apocalypse event coming up that I hope to have the 'hawk ready for. I won't have its final paint job done, but since it's Black Templars the paint job will be primarily black and just sprayed on.

The 'hawk arrived in a big bag containing multiple parts sealed in smaller bags (see picture) and cushioned with bubble foam. The wings were wrapped in foam paper.

There were some small broken elements. One was a heavy bolter shield which was glueable. Small protusions on the nose were also broken, one into three tiny pieces, so I didn't fix it... it shouldn't be too noticeable. If you get a FW model, grab every tiny piece of resin in the bag because it may be a broken element.

The gray resin is visually the same as GW plastic. The exception were the wings which had a crystalline release agent visible. Resin definitely feels different than plastic... it's more brittle.

The smell of resin dust is like very potent super glue (e.g. Goop). But I admit I didn't resort to the face mask, although it's probably a good idea.

The first step was to sort the components and make sure they were all accounted for (see picture). They were, and at this point it's difficult to determine what some parts are for, but you get familiar with the pieces as you go. The instructions aren't super detailed. I would have liked close ups of the areas that contain smaller components.

Next it's time to remove gates, vents and flash from the model. The sprue cutter is the key tool, but the files, craft knife and saw are also needed. Most gates are cylindrical spurs on the edges of a piece. Resin is more brittle than plastic, so when you clip one off it will go flying away. A wise person would wear safety glasses, I just closed my eyes. The saw is for gates too big for the sprue cutter. And there is plenty of filing to do. I only found one air bubble, and it's definitely not visible.

After this it was time for the pieces to take a dip in a mix of water and the natural cleaner. After soaking for 15 min. they get a scrub with a toothbrush to remove the release agent, which makes paint and glue not stick. Like I said, the only visible agent was on the wings, but I scrubbed everything to be safe.

Resin can be warped after manufacturing. I had about three warped pieces (see picture). The recommended method is to soak in hot tap water for 1 min, bend and repeat. I had to take this further. I heated water on a stove to a bit past touchable heat. I removed it from the heat and soaked the piece for about 3 minutes. It finally started to work when the water was steaming a little, and the resin actually felt a little warm. Then I bent it past true and held it for a bit and it started to bend back. With this technique be careful to avoid scalding. The other online advice is to use a hair dryer (I didn't try it).

The cockpit and transport bay (nose) need to be painted before the rest of the model. I assembled these with superglue Tuesday before calling it a night.

Wednesday morning arrived and it was time to prime the cockpit, nose, and lower fuselage. I'd never used car primer before. It went on smelly but fine. Then I sprayed on Krylon Fusion Satin Black which will be the body color. It may be a bit shiny so I will use Matte Finish to dull it down.

Time to paint the cockpit and interior. Much of the available interior won't be seen after assembly. An enterprising modeler could perhaps keep his 'hawk together with magnets and open up to show the interior. I just the interior a metal coat. The main aspect of the cockpit is the pilots of course. I got them painted up fairly simply--I'm going for an overall impression, not uber-detailed. The pilots don't really have true SM shoulder pads. The BT transfers were a bit too big, but from the angle you see the pilots at they looked fine.

Now it was time to assemble the nose, cockpit and lower fuselage. Here's where I fully realized something that was becoming more apparent: RESIN NEVER FITS. :( Yep it's going to take some filing, test fitting and more filing. I'm also learning to shave off thin slices of resin with the sprue cutters--might be faster than filing.

In the evening I glued the BT doors on--no problem. I then worked a bit out of order by fitting the ailerons etc. into the wings (file, test, file).

I apologize for my phone camera quality. I am planning to get a better camera but didn't want to rush the purchase.

I'll be back at it Saturday. Thanks for reading this massive tome.

awsome pics and writeup, can't wait for the next half of your assembly.

A very interesting article thus far - I look forward to the next steps.

Bloody hell, though, that looks like a lot of work. =/

Looks like you're making fine progress. I myself have an Arvus Lighter on my workspace, which is going slower, but that's because I'm slightly paranoid and am pinning the heck out of the model.

Thanks for the photos, hope you upload many more! I'm always interested to see well-documented FW build-ups.

You are making me want to keep mine now...

Thanks for the comments!

And a post-Thanksgiving thanks to Forge World for the great model. I griped a little about the resin but overall it is clearly one of the world's finest models.

I did a little work on Thursday gluing the elevators etc. to the wings, before heading off to eat turkey.

Then today, first I assembled the two pieces of the upper fuselage. This took a moderate amount of filing to get the fit right. I also glued the rear section that the rear exhaust attaches to; this went right on.

Then I turned it over and assembled the landing gear. I made sure to check carefully that each pad is level with the others. But I will let them dry overnight and we'll see how level it comes out tomorrow.

Next I worked on the wings. Each wing has a separate turbine in the front and exhaust in the rear. I did a lot of filing on the engine portion to get a clean fit on these pieces.

Below are a few pictures of the progress.

Progress should be steady. There isn't TOO much more assembly to do.

is there ceiling detail in the upper fuselage half?

jep'ray wrote:is there ceiling detail in the upper fuselage half?

I think so. You won't see it once it's assembled.

I turned the 'hawk over today and one landing gear came unglued. So I decided to make my first attempt at pinning. It's pretty simple; I drilled a hole with the pin vise into the gear. I snipped a bit of paper clip for the pin, then painted the end of the pin red. Touching the pin to the base showed where to drill the other hole. Then glue is applied for a strong hold.

However, the 'hawk isn't sitting level at the moment. I'll probably yank the other rear gear and try to pin it level.

I also pinned the "canards" (front wings), attached the turbo laser and battery (with pin), and attached the rear exhaust.

Only two big assembly steps remain: the wings which I'll pin, and the rudder assembly.

Below are some pictures.

Pinning's an important technique - learn it, love it! Your hawk's looking pretty good.

Well, progress this evening was a bit slow.

First I yanked and pinned the other rear landing gear. However there was no way to make it level (yet). The pad, already glued to the piston, isn't at quite the right angle. One solution might be to add thin strips of plasticard to the pad until it levels out.

Then the first wing proved challenging. I tried to use three pins, but getting them all to line up was too much. It also needed some filing, and it took me a while to figure out what to file. I got one wing on with the epoxy glue--that should be a pretty strong hold. But then most of my time had flown.

I also attached the front heavy bolters.

I'll show a picture (+ more) with my next post.

Well the day for the final push for assembly arrived. I unintentionally awoke early and started working on it before work. I was just going to file the second wing to fit, but ended up actually gluing it on. It only took 30 min., much less than the other wing.

In the evening I had to adjust one of the attack (small) wings to line up better with the main wing. I had to glue it to the body in not exactly the right place, but now it is more symmetrical with the other wing. I'd recommend test fitting more thoroughly if you're working on this or similar models.

I then reattached the turbo-laser, attached the rudder, and attached misc. bits like the sensor on the laser. Whew!

The only unattached parts are the bomb pylons. I have rare earth magnets en route and want to try out magnetized bombs.

I applied green stuff in two areas: a gap between the upper and lower fuselages, and a gap where the left wing joins the body. There are some gaps and uneven lines elsewhere, but I remind myself that it will painted black and not too noticeable.

Also, the weight of the wings has leveled out the 'hawk more. However it could still use a small booster on one landing pad.

I'll tackle priming and basic painting next week. Advanced painting won't occur till next month.

Here are some pictures.

Zygomax wrote:... or I could buy a Thunderhawk!....I ordered it late last Wednesday night. There was no wait; it shipped 12 hours later and arrived Monday.

Wow, completely different experience than I. Can't wait to pick up one of these.

Awesome blog so far.

This has ensured that if I ever buy one of these beasts I'll be getting someone else to assemble it for me on commission.

Looks great - cant wait to get one to complete my army!

I am jealous...but not envious. Jealous that you have a hawk and I don't, but I don't envy you for all the work you have to put into it!!

keep it going and let us know how the APOC game works out!

It's Prime Time!

(Sorry couldn't help it.)

It was time to go out to the garage and put out some spray paint.

You'll see in my previous pictures that the lower fuselage and nose were already primed. I'm not sure why I did the outside of these parts before the rest of the 'hawk, as it would have to be done again.

Nothing too fancy to say here: I masked off the cockpit and sprayed the hawk, first with the gray car primer, then with the black Satin Krylon Fusion. I also primed my Chaplain Dreadnought and Jump Pack Chaplain.

While waiting for the hawk to dry, I made some "cloud puffs" to use for the Blind Barrage Apocalypse Asset. Ah, the simplicity of cotton swabs glued to bases: can't beat it.

I also worked on magnetizing the missiles. I have 1/8" rare earth magnets--this is the first time I've tried them. I clipped out a portion of the missile and glued the magnet. I then clipped out a portion of each pylon and glued a magnet. Then I discovered something I'd overlooked: polarity! Some of the magnets are pushing each other away. I'll work on fixing it tomorrow. I hand primed the masked-off cockpit instead.

I have a better camera now so hopefully the pictures below will be better.

I just love when you get the point of your first base coat on an impressive model. I almost left my Titan primer black because it looked so cool.

yeah, your chaplain dread looks like a great model too. keep working on it!!

how did your first APOC thunderhawk match go?

Hmm, need to learn more about my camera's focus.

The Apocalypse match is this Saturday. For the Emperor!

Its wounderful, now give it much more DAKKA!

And we're back...

Well I am learning that even a "basic" paintjob on a model as large as this is a time-consuming process (as I suspected).

But to back up to Wednesday, the Thunderhawk "Transporter" arrived. No, not another FW model*, but the custom case I got to carry the sizeable model. The dimensions of the hawk were a bit too big for even an ArmyTransport Division. So I found http://www.casefoam.com that sells foam-padded professional transportation cases. I REALLY should have called (I did e-mail--no reply) to discuss how the foam worked to get the dimensions right. I opened the massive and looked at solid foam instead of cube foam--but I suspected this. However the foam in is in 1-inch sheets so it will be easy to cut when the time comes. There is a one-inch lining of foam on all sides, and the lid is full to its edge with eggshell foam. To my RELIEF the hawk fits perfectly--see below. The case is quite heavy-duty--I could start to feel that I'd receive the Hobbyist Overkill Award, but looking at other modeling blogs I'm probably not there yet. FYI it's a Case Matrix ATA case: 22" x 20" x 12".

So for the past two evenings I've been having fun with Boltgun Metal, first on the underside. There are big areas like engines, plus all the little rivets and hull doohickeys (Mechanicus term) to paint. I also used Adeptus Battlegrey on the piping. The larger areas got a wash with Badab Black--my first time using a Citadel wash. It's thinner than ink, so it takes a couple coats usually. But you don't have to worry about getting a water mix right.

I finished (for now!) the underside, got the larger areas on the top, and did half of the rivets etc. on one side before calling it a night. (I was starting to think that Boltgun Metal was an actual entity that hated me.) Just one more night--I'll have to see what I can accomplish, hopefully it will be presentable.

Thanks for the comments.

* It will be a while before I attempt another model this large.

That´s beginning to look very good, wit ha model like the thunderhawk I don´t think you should be too concerned with the "presentable" bit, since everyone will be too busy going ooh and aah, ogling your FW model.

Also, if there are derisive remarks, you know where the beasts first shot lands.....

Good job on staying with it, and seeing it through, I´m sure I´d have gone insane while painting something that large.

I like your choice of transport, I reckon you can get an excellent fit there, and the specs those professional cases are made should give ample security.

Again, thanks for the comments!

Here is the Apocalypse battle report: http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/0/224812.page

There are some pictures of the Thunderhawk there. I will hold off on more pictures till next year when I can do more painting and learn my camera better.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!