Hi guys,

With all the rumors about a future lander for the Blood Angels I had to jump the gun and create my own. After reading over the codex and seeing what it can do it was a no brainer.

Anyway, I took mostly a brand new Valk and some parts left over from a Baneblade conversion. I also used a whole bunch of card stock and small bits. I really did not have a direction on the original idea other than knowing the stat line.

I knew the weapon load out and some important facts about the flyer.

1. It comes in fast and hot from outer orbit. That means I needed to make sure that all my weapons and wing placement was set in a way that it would not melt on entry. That is my main reason for flipping the wings and putting the heat shield panels under the body. I also made sure to mount all my weapons on top to protect various parts on landing.

2. I also knew that this bad boy can carry 1 dread and 2 squads so I built out the body and made a carry arm system on the back area. My thoughts on this would be that it would come in hot and heavy. The heat shields would take the blast keeping the dread safe by the angle is came in at. Then it would release the dread a few feet off the ground ready for battle.

Well, that's at least what I imagin. I'm still a ways off since I have not really added details that will really make it pop. Those along with some green stuff work is getting done over the next couple of days. I should have some finished pics and the start of the paint job by this weekend.

My hope is to have it ready for Adepticon so we can display it at the show.

Hope you guys like it.

Romeo
Battle Foam
Protecting Your Army

looks great!

That looks great can't wait to see the finished product when it's painted

That's basically perfect.

Wow thats really good. I cant wait to see it finished! Keep this going!

fantastic!

Wow.

I love it. Truly an incredible kitbash.

It's certainly great execution. I'm not a huge fan of the design, though. It reminds me of the designs for the next generation space planes or what NASA was once designing to be the replacement to the Space Shuttle (which, if that's the look you were going for, you definitely got it). Personally, I think the design looks too tubby and stubby, for my tastes, but my hat's off to you for coming up with a design that you can replicate! I know I'm trying to figure out a way to use my Valks to turn them into Storm Ravens.

Very interesting Romeo. I like the design overall and the Dread carry system is pretty cool.

It looks... big. Won't that be a PITA on the game table?

Well there goes the idea of me using a valk as a "Counts as" now that I've seen this I need to make something anywhere near as awesome to use instead. Great job.

Did you put magnets on the dread carrier? Wow, great thinking.

Yes, I used little earth magnets. Its kinda cool because if you have the dread sitting on a table and you fly the Storm Raven over him he actually gets sucked up onto the magnets. Its totally nerdy cool.

Romeo

Looks a tad...... obese(I guess that's the new politically correct term). But very good job!

Wow... very nice concept and good execution! I like the missile rack on top especially, it looks great!

I'm thinking that the 'official' model might not be as cool as this one - nice job!

Excellent execution!

So how much you selling them for?

Lol, not really building it to sell it. I just like scrach building vehicles and waiting to see how close I get to the true release.

I did the Stormlord tank scratch build about 10 months before it launched and when GW released it I was almost dead on.

I may do a drawing for it once the real one comes out. Maybe get names at Adepticon or something.

Who knows.

Thanks

Where are you going to put the mounting for the flying base?

It reminds me of the next-gen space shuttle concepts, too, although part of that is probably due to the white/grey contrasting areas. And this isn't a bad thing- the whole point is that this thing is designed to come down from orbit hot and fast

I like it a lot! The only thing that strikes me as odd is the way the dreadnought is lying down (and the arms holding it look like about the only flimsy thing on here... I certainly wouldn't want to be held up by those things coming through the atmosphere). I'm not sure how else I would position it, though.

Looks awesome . I dig it .

... ... Absolutely Amazing...

The Malicious Mushroom

Once its all finished I'll see how it balances and I'll add the plug that goes on the Valks. I left plenty of room under it so I could mount the stand.

It should look cool once its all painted up.

That is certainly awesome, no doubt about it.

Mark my words... the BA 'flyer' will be a Thunderhawk. The codex description fits it to a T.

Love it.

Alright, who fed the Valkyrie after midnight? Looks cool, do they really want us to scratch build these without even a description of what they look like?

I'm not too keen on the idea of a dread riding it like a garbage truck, and I would have put the deployment doors in the front like a land raider.

Still, it rocks and has me thinking of picking up a valk..

I like it it will be interesting to see what the offical one is, although i have heard that GW might not make a kit but FW will

Fantastic job, with the only possible nitpick being the way the dreadnought is positioned. I think having it hanging feet down would make more sense, and from the rules about inflicting a S4 hit on the rear of the dread if the storm raven explodes, I'd assume it's facing away from the ship. So it's like parachuting from the back of it when deployed, and the facing would make sense given what its trajectory would be.

Also, you may want to redesign the underside of it a bit to represent the forward opening assault ramp, also as per rules/description in the codex. I've been struggling with how to best represent that myself, and I think one possible solution is to build an assymmetrical ship with the cockpit to one side, and the transport compartment and ramp next to it. So like a Star Wars/Trek shuttle/space ship rather than an atmospheric jet. But what you have here is great.

That's called taking the initiative, son. I could use ten more guys like you.

Terminus,

I tried exactly what your talking about when I did the first build out. I was originally going to use the large arms and just put magnets on the sides of the Dred. What I found with that set up was that he looked really weird hanging off the back there. Almost like he would be causing drag on the bird and cause it to fly weird. The same thing with the engines. I mounted them at an angle to give the impression that the Raven would be coming down at an angle just like the space shuttle and not like a normal aircraft.

The assault ramp is something that I am kinda still looking at. I may add something to the bottom to give the impression that it would be there, but I can't really make a functional version with this layout.

For anyone wondering I really was going for a wide body look. I just hate it when models are designed with sizing issues. I can't imagine being those sad marines in power armour fitting with 11 other guys inside a rhino body. Tight would be an understatment.

Should have more pics later tomorrow.

Romeo

You should be given money from GW for doing designer work for them. This looks great, I like the size of it. It looks like it could carry a lot of troops and gear.

One idea I've been throwing around for building this vehicle (not that I'll ever move it to the active part of my to do list) is to have a sort of katamaran design with two transport bodies and the dread suspended between them.

Sgt Diablo wrote:Terminus,

I tried exactly what your talking about when I did the first build out. I was originally going to use the large arms and just put magnets on the sides of the Dred. What I found with that set up was that he looked really weird hanging off the back there. Almost like he would be causing drag on the bird and cause it to fly weird. The same thing with the engines. I mounted them at an angle to give the impression that the Raven would be coming down at an angle just like the space shuttle and not like a normal aircraft.

Makes sense. Well, at least place the dreadnought facing down. That way it still makes sense that the blast from the ship would sear its back, and it still makes visual sense for deployment.

The assault ramp is something that I am kinda still looking at. I may add something to the bottom to give the impression that it would be there, but I can't really make a functional version with this layout.

I think it's feasible. The book states you use the base of the transport to deploy models, not any feature on the model itself. Just say the entire transport compartment floor drops out on a hinge (much like on large cargo planes, except forward rather than backward), since this thing IS designed to deploy jump troops. Based on the size of the model, the stand would be somewhere in the center of the large crew portion, so deploying troops from the front of the base should be no problem.

I do think the thing should have VTOL engines in addition to primary thrusters, which would make that sort of deployment feasible (otherwise dropping the ramp would tear the ass of the plane off ).

Awsome.

A+

I can't wait to see this hotness with some red all over it. That way it can go fasta!

What about just cutting a thunderhawk in half? That was my first thought, an overhanging cockpit with an assault ramp below, maybe like Firefly.

oni wrote:That is certainly awesome, no doubt about it.

Mark my words... the BA 'flyer' will be a Thunderhawk. The codex description fits it to a T.

You know the codex is out, right?

It is really awesome, I just want to see some blood angels iconography to it, that's just me I could just be a spanker, but who knows.

That's insane.

Will you paint it up soon please ?

Cheers,

Jack.

This looks absolutely ace! Incredible scratchbuilding skills!

Looks awesome Romeo!!!!!

Amazing build! The Dreadnought magnets are friggin' awesome!

that is AMAZING! they even have all the guns down!


where do the troops let out?

wow looks great! reminds me of the Space Shuttle in Avatar

Very impressive work Romeo, I've been conjuring up some images of what the real thing might look like and this comes pretty close to what was in my head! Great job!

Tungstenmonkey - You are totally on it. I just saw Avatar a few weeks back and that was the first thing I though about also.

I just finished the final details today and will prime in the morning. Waiting for the green stuff to harden. Look for it fully painted by Monday morning.

that looks amazing, makes me want to start using plasticard to scratch build some stuff!

However, when i look at it, i cant help but see it painted green, with a big 2 on the front....something like thunderbird 2!

Sgt Diablo wrote: Its totally nerdy cool.

That is the best part in my book. So many people completely miss this aspect of the hobby.

Glad to see another gamer that loves the game, and GREAT job on the Storm Raven. It looks AMAZING.

Must see it painted!

I dig it! Very well executed. My only concern is that the tail looks a bit under-dimensioned. I just wish these things weren't BA exclusive. :(

Love it

Wow... is all I can really say.

Ok, so I'm done with the build and the primer and paint are down. I know about the red being a gloss not a matt. That will be addressed later when the dipping and paint officialy gets started. Let me know what you guys think of the overall final look.

I should have it painted by tomorrow and ready for Adepticon.

Thank for all the kind words

Romeo

hot damn that looks great! My only issue is with the tail, they seem a bit weedy for a bulky orbital drop ship like this. But thats such a minor thing when you see a cool model like this.

this more than the blood angels rules makes me want to make a BA army. cheers.

How will you be using it at Adepticon?

MasterSlowPoke. Not really playing with it. We are Battle Foam so we have our normal vendor booth and all the scratch build stuff I have is coming. Just something cool to add to the fun of our booth. Other then that I'll just use it for pick up games in the future.

Romeo

That..... is utterly sexy. I'll buy three (yes, i know your not selling it)

Keep posting more painting pics.. also post ya adapticon pictures of it and everything else in that matter.

Uhhh, that looks like it'll fit the right amount of models, so clearly it doesn't fit with the rest of the gw transports. throw it out. start over.

Ps. i love it.

Very nice. Coudl you make me one?

Sgt Diablo: I think you have found a new line of work :-)

Looks like a smaller version of the shuttle in Avatar. Really like the initiaive. I was thinking of the LR with Valk wings, but this looks good too.

This is epic. Can't wait to see the finished version.

*joygasm*

If the gee-dub version (if/when it ever appears) looks better than this one, I'll be darn surprised.

I was shocked when i see this such of beauty you've made. i want ONE!!!

Sgt Diablo wrote:MasterSlowPoke. Not really playing with it. We are Battle Foam so we have our normal vendor booth and all the scratch build stuff I have is coming. Just something cool to add to the fun of our booth. Other then that I'll just use it for pick up games in the future.

Romeo

Can you guys jack the prices down a bit on your battlefoam? I calculated it would cost me in the neighborhood of $300 to get a storage and transport system for my IG from you guys. :(

Can't wait to see it in person at Adepticon, Romeo.

I'll try not to steal it!

Ok guys, just finisher her up. Thanks for all the kind words. We are bringing this baby and a bunch of my other scratch built stuff to adepticon for you guys to see. Please stop by our booth for cool discounts on Battle Foam stuff and to check out this killer bird.

Romeo
Battle Foam
Protecting Your Army

That is grate! Well done! You set the standard for any Storm Raven conversion!

//Edge

Fraggin" beautiful.....well done!

Really well designed. Simple and very clever. The Dreadnought arms in the back are just such a sweet touch.

Hi Guys,

I do have a question for you fellas. I'm looking for some stuff called tanex, or tanx or something of that name. It is used for mold lines or making the plastic soft. I ran into some problems in some areas on the build that could have helped if I had this stuff. I know it comes in a small 2 oz jar but I can't find it at any of the local hobby shops. Any web sites would be great if you guys had them.

Thanks

Romeo, try the hobby shop down on Gilbert and Baseline, they probably have it.

If they don't, I know for a fact that Hobby Depot (Mill and Southern) and Roy's Train World (Country Club and Southern) both have it.

They must be out at Hobby Lobby. I just went by there the other day. I'll try Roy's but if they are out, do you know of a site that sells it or what the official name is?

Thanks

Romeo

I must admit for the most part I love it. I'm not big on where the heavy bolters are, me personally I think they may be a better place for them.

I like the wing set up, but Im curious about how it could look with the downward swept wings.

Sgt Diablo wrote:They must be out at Hobby Lobby. I just went by there the other day. I'll try Roy's but if they are out, do you know of a site that sells it or what the official name is?

Thanks

Romeo

Hobby Lobby doesn't stock it.

Now that is an awesome piece of work. I am not a fan of the deviant Chapters, but it is concepts like this that sway my thinking. Russ's Wolves are still just slobbering 'Nid bait, but the BA look nice again.

That looks awesome. It will draw a quite abit of interest.

BrotherStynier, I looked at that myself and really did not like the wings the Valk way. It looked to much like a fat Valk. I guess it still kinda looks like a fat Valk now but with its wings up. LOL, Anyway I also built it this way considering the amount of force the entry coming in would be on the wings. If they had been swept down they would probably rip right off the thing and explode. Not that anything in 40K makes any sense. (grot bomb anyone)

Thanks for the kind words guys.

Romeo

I'll take your word for it, like I said I do like the wings the way they are, almost makes it feel as though its dropping in at a high speed and its the velocity bending them.

Also when I first looked at the model I thought it looked like the offspring of the Valk and a Land Speeder, I think you caught the Imperial and Space Marine designs very well.

Sgt Diablo wrote:Hi Guys,

I do have a question for you fellas. I'm looking for some stuff called tanex, or tanx or something of that name. It is used for mold lines or making the plastic soft. I ran into some problems in some areas on the build that could have helped if I had this stuff. I know it comes in a small 2 oz jar but I can't find it at any of the local hobby shops. Any web sites would be great if you guys had them.

Thanks

The stuff you're thinking of is Ten-x you can also get Ambroid's Pro-Weld (which I prefer), and Plastistruct's Solvent. I've heard Taimiya Thin glue works as well.
Basically any brush-on glue usually does the job.

I know you want to display the finished model at your booth at Adepticon, but for those of us who won't be attending...

Pics, please!
Eventually?

It's finished? Where are the finished photos?

I have to say firstly you have mad plasticard skills, and secondly you have mad painting skills. Very profesional looking.

That's ridiculous Romeo!!! Awesome work man. I'm hoping I see that down at Empire sometime!!!

jabbakahut wrote:It's finished? Where are the finished photos?

Page one yo.

BrotherStynier wrote:

jabbakahut wrote:It's finished? Where are the finished photos?

Page one yo.

Oh, hey! Didn't think to go back to p. 1 to look.

That is a beautiful piece of work!

Sir you are a surgeon with the hobby knife and unbridaled imagination

Stunning model Romeo - I'll come by the booth on Friday and swipe it

One quick question - is it game legal? IIRC from looking through the Codex (very quickly - last week) the "flying shoebox" has 4 access points. Your model only appears to have 3.

Very nice! Although, like the Valkyrie, it's so awesome I foresee a model being released in a few months. o.O

That is a sick build my friend. Don't like that the dread travels lying down. I'm sure its quite luxurious. Kinda like flying to Australia on Quantas. But I don't think the entombed ever-living corpse will care that much.

All said and done, EPIC

That's the best variant I've seen yet. Kudos.

Very impressive, You should cast that and sell the copies, you'd make a killing.

A billion times better than my idea to slap some wings on a land raider and call it a day. LOL ;-D

KaloranSLC wrote:

BrotherStynier wrote:

jabbakahut wrote:It's finished? Where are the finished photos?

Page one yo.

Oh, hey! Didn't think to go back to p. 1 to look.

That is a beautiful piece of work!

Beautiful? All it is is primed on page one, I didn't realize that was the final. Weak I say.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Wait a sec, there are photos there that I missed somehow? Nevermind, sorry! It does look frackin cool

Maj.Winters wrote:That is a sick build my friend. Don't like that the dread travels lying down. I'm sure its quite luxurious. Kinda like flying to Australia on Quantas. But I don't think the entombed ever-living corpse will care that much.

All said and done, EPIC

I have to admit, and i may be getting just a tad off topic, but all i could think of after reading that was "Can a dreadnought get up if it gets knocked onto its back?"

Its the turtle of the 41st Millennium


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Should probably add that the model looks sweet

Very Nice. Just wondering if you had plans to 'scorch' the underside of the wings and belly?

If not fair enough, it is a excellent model both modeling and painting wise.

Congrats on your work

Amazing work man, keep it up, and it looks like you breezed through it in about 3 days. I'm sure it took you longer, but wow.

Hah quality, as a kid back in the early 80's I had one of these:



Reminds me so much of that, though it could just be the way it scoops up the dread on two rails out the back. Either way cheers for bringing back my childhood

That actually looks very professional, like something GWS should make *hint hint*.

Very well done. But I don't like the angles. Imperial vehicles are more squared and boxy. That front end doesn't look like it belongs on an Adeptus Astartes vehicle.

-Logic

I'd rather have something that looks like it could fly than a brick with wings.

I rather like the lifting body style approach. Looks a lot like the various spaceplane designs that get kicked about.

Nice work, sir.

I really do like this. A lot.

I don't think it's what GW's version will look like, but it should.

Phazer

this is really great. Good and beefy. I can't wait to run something myself!

Very nice.

Chamleoneyes wrote:Very impressive, You should cast that and sell the copies, you'd make a killing.

A billion times better than my idea to slap some wings on a land raider and call it a day. LOL ;-D

what he said, cast it parts, and sell it.

Very impressed. Some nice work.

Do you by any chance have a guide of how to make that? as well as the cut outs for the plasticard? also its so amazing it brings a tear to my eye =p :')

SO much better than the LR/valk cut and shunt jobs! Excellent work, can't wait to see it finished

Probably the most amazing conversion I've seen in a while...

I'd just be pissed when the GW art team finally release an image of it :-/

They get a LANDER now! I really picked the wrong chapter.

lol looks much more Space Mariney with the paint and as an added bonus it goes faster that your usual lander because as we all know and has been scientifically proven that the red ones go fasta

scOttfree - dude, why did you not post that earlier. I would have totally built it like that. That thing is so cool. I looked up a few NASA shuttles but that pic never came up.

Anyway, that thing is cool, and thanks for the kind words

Romeo
Battle Foam
Protecting Your Army

I really like what you did with the cockpit, but I'm not sure about the dread mount. How would it land?

Owain wrote:I really like what you did with the cockpit, but I'm not sure about the dread mount. How would it land?

Ya i was wondering the same thing. would the polls at the feet give first allowing gravity to do the rest or does it grab the dread and position it upright? still a really cool storm raven!

I love you're build, though I got some funny point outs. 1. Great drink! root beer ftw! and 2.. that finished picture shows that you have 2 land raiders deepstriking in the background careful due to they are assaulting that computer

I've nothing constructive to add here, so I'm reduced to echoing the praise of all the others so far. This is phenomenal.

Best storm raven yet, i take my hat off to you sir...

Very fine, do you have a exactly top-down picture I could use for making a Vassal 40k Sprite?

nice build, but it looks a tad bit bulky, also the codex says there is one ramp in front, one on each side, and one in the rear, interesting to see no front ramp here. but to each his own, I chose to scratch build one, build is still in progress though.

So, the GW stormraven has been released, and I can firmly say kudos to you. Never mind the chibi-hawk, this is a thing of beauty.

Plenty of other places to discuss this.

Some quite new and up to date!