The mythical beast of 40k, the plastic Thunderhawk has a new possible sighting, the last page of the latest White Dwarf. This definitely is a Thunderhawk, or something similar, but the question is..... is it the that magical creature we have been searching for?
The roar of engines, the recoil of cannons, that is where the true joy of battle lies
Well, it definitely is not a Stormraven, and at first glance has a different look than the Forgeworld varieties we currently have. With an apocalypse updated 6th edition release sitting ahead of us, anything is possible. I will let the speculation and conspiracies begin.
A huge thanks to the Wolfspider for sending this in from his own copy of April's White Dwarf
Compel wrote: I... think it's just the forgeworld model. Even things like the heavy bolters ammo hoppers are the same.
Then again, that doesn't say much - after all, look at the Valkyrie.
Yeah, all the little details match up to me. The trio of indents and the 'nibs' either side of the canopy, the sticky-up bits behind the canopy, all sorts suggests it's the same to me.
I was really excited when I saw this thread!
So I went and got my Thunderhawk off of the dining room table and held it in one hand next to the monitor. I see no noticeable difference between the Forge World Thunderhawk and the one that is pictured.
I really hope this is true but I cannot see any evidence that it is.
This would be amazing were it true. Knowing GW it is not and is simply the FW model. On that note, didn't they say that they were no longer going to be making current FW kits in plastic?
I don't think that is a plastic model. If it was it would have a clear canopy, no?
Probably a new update to flyer rules that will make the recently released DftS obsolete. So you know, you have to buy another limited print rules adendum.
Devils advocate: there could became plastic thunderhawk and the one in the pic could be the forgeworld one. GW still uses forgeworld piranhas in their studio tau army.
Trasvi wrote: Devils advocate: there could became plastic thunderhawk and the one in the pic could be the forgeworld one. GW still uses forgeworld piranhas in their studio tau army.
But then the back-page still isn't used for previews any more.
Trasvi wrote: Devils advocate: there could became plastic thunderhawk and the one in the pic could be the forgeworld one. GW still uses forgeworld piranhas in their studio tau army.
Devils Advocate: There could be a plastic ANYTHING and they just aren't showing us the pictures.
A plastic Thunderhawk for my 10k roughly of marines would probably get me to buy my first GW model in years. The GW total in my sig is basically new codex releases for existing armies, paints, and a second hand gamesday model.
GW doesn't want to make money from producing one of the most sought after large models. Just like they didn't want to make money off drop pods, thunder wolves, eldar wave serpents.. the list continues (Until people had all their alternate models).
Forgeworld couldn't be selling more than a few dozen thunderhawks per year at the $600 pricepoint. At least it would seem so given the rarity of the model. Warhound titans seem to be their most popular big ticket items. Even readers seem to be more common than thunderhawks.
If eh made a plastic model at 1/3 of the cost it would still run $200.00. Is that a. Price that people wild be willing to pay?
BrotherVord wrote: Forgeworld couldn't be selling more than a few dozen thunderhawks per year at the $600 pricepoint. At least it would seem so given the rarity of the model. Warhound titans seem to be their most popular big ticket items. Even readers seem to be more common than thunderhawks.
If eh made a plastic model at 1/3 of the cost it would still run $200.00. Is that a. Price that people wild be willing to pay?
Yeah, not at this point b/c I'm not that active w/ 40k, but a $200 THawk would be high on my list of stuff to buy, while the $600 model in the category of "I could never justify a $600 toy space ship to myself"
However, yeah, I think the OP just got too excited about a thunderhawk picture.
I remember the WD when that giant metal beast came out...
The burden of proof is more on the believers than the FW advocates, since everyone with a FW one that has posted in both threads has already given very good evidence that it's the FW model.
Burden of Proof is a fallacy in which the burden of proof is placed on the wrong side. Another version occurs when a lack of evidence for side A is taken to be evidence for side B in cases in which the burden of proof actually rests on side B. A common name for this is an Appeal to Ignorance. This sort of reasoning typically has the following form:
Claim X is presented by side A and the burden of proof actually rests on side B.
Side B claims that X is false because there is no proof for X.
In many situations, one side has the burden of proof resting on it. This side is obligated to provide evidence for its position. The claim of the other side, the one that does not bear the burden of proof, is assumed to be true unless proven otherwise. The difficulty in such cases is determining which side, if any, the burden of proof rests on. In many cases, settling this issue can be a matter of significant debate. In some cases the burden of proof is set by the situation. For example, in American law a person is assumed to be innocent until proven guilty (hence the burden of proof is on the prosecution). As another example, in debate the burden of proof is placed on the affirmative team. As a final example, in most cases the burden of proof rests on those who claim something exists (such as Bigfoot, psychic powers, universals, and sense data).
Examples of Burden of Proof
Bill: "I think that we should invest more money in expanding the interstate system."
Jill: "I think that would be a bad idea, considering the state of the treasury."
Bill: "How can anyone be against highway improvements?"
Bill: "I think that some people have psychic powers."
Jill: "What is your proof?"
Bill: "No one has been able to prove that people do not have psychic powers."
"You cannot prove that God does not exist, so He does."
Prove it is. You make the assertion you must provide evidence to back it up.
BrotherVord wrote: Forgeworld couldn't be selling more than a few dozen thunderhawks per year at the $600 pricepoint. At least it would seem so given the rarity of the model. Warhound titans seem to be their most popular big ticket items. Even readers seem to be more common than thunderhawks.
If eh made a plastic model at 1/3 of the cost it would still run $200.00. Is that a. Price that people wild be willing to pay?
For something nearly twice the size of the baneblade? I'd buy 2, maybe 3.
As for why Titans are more popular, I do have one minor answer to that- Titans can stand just fine, Thunderhawks need a fairly heavy duty flying stand of some sort to use them.
theninjabadger wrote: If it is real thats stupid marines 3 flyers, tau 2 crons 2 orks 3, DA 2, chaos 1,deldar 1, eldar none
Superheavy Flier- look at superheavy kits so far: IG 2, Orks 1, everyone else, including marines, 0.
Plus a thunderhawk kit could be used easily by 8 armies:
SM BT BA DA SW GK CSM Orks
The FW model would be the basis of the Plastic, if there is to be one.
Hell, it could be the same mold, or a copy of the mold that FW uses. Sure the mold might be made of different material, one for Resin and one for whatever GW would cast it in. I doubt the mold would be made any differently than the FW mold.
So of course a plastic version made by GW would look just like, if not exactly like, the FW one.
The 'parting shot' on the last page of each WD (since the WD overhaul) has not been a preview of anything upcoming, but rather just a 'cool' looking picture.
As others have pointed out in this thread, the #1 way you know that this is not a plastic Thunderhawk is because the canopy is not clear plastic, which is something all the SM flyers have in common.
The FW model would be the basis of the Plastic, if there is to be one.
Hell, it could be the same mold, or a copy of the mold that FW uses. Sure the mold might be made of different material, one for Resin and one for whatever GW would cast it in. I doubt the mold would be made any differently than the FW mold.
So of course a plastic version made by GW would look just like, if not exactly like, the FW one.
Why reinvent the wheel and all that.
Because a plastic version of the Thunderhawk would have to be wildly different (mould-wise) to accommodate the restrictions of plastic casting. There is literally no way they could simply use the FW mould and somehow utilize it for plastic. They are two completely different processes.
The age of the FW Baneblade vs. the newer Baneblade wouldn't play a factor in it at all either right?
@ Yak - painting the canopy would never occour either right?
I'd point to some anecdotal evidence concerning 3 types of molds I've had made for 3 types of materials made to cast the same parts in different materials, but that wouldn't give me any tread on these forums. Despite the fact the same CAD model was used for each.
I'm in the camp of "I'll believe it when I see it."
I'm saying the outright dismissal that it isn't plastic based on observations of a cropped shot in the back of a magazine is kind of silly.
1) The blacked out canopy - this could just have been done for the photo, or someone just blacked out the window.
The canopy looks clear to me, it's just the angle of the light is such that it's reflecting instead of passing through. Look at the other fliers in the picture and it makes sense.
2) The light at the end of the wing beside the heavy bolters. - Though that might just be because the forgeworld photos aren't the right angle.
You mean the landing light slightly inboard of the heavy bolters? That's on the forge world kit, you can clearly see it on the images in the FW site.
As far as I can see it's identical to the FW one so therefore the safe bet is that it IS the FW one and not a plastic one.
This is not a plastic Thunderhawk. It's obviously a Storm Raven with the Chapter house upgrade kit :p
In all honesty it wouldn't surprise me that they would do more plastic super heavy kits, especially if Apocalypse is getting updated/rereleased this summer, but I'll believe it when I see it.
If GW were to release a Plastic Thunderhawk soon, would they give us a sneak peek to raise interest?
That said, this pic is indeed in WD April. It shows all rivets the FW model has. And I wouldn't completely rule out a Plastic Thunderhawk sometime in the future, even with the rumoured Apocalypse supplement in June/July. But then GW still wouldn't show the plastic Thunderhawk more than a week early.
BTW theAmbit over at faeit212 found the exact same model on a GW Apocalypse display 2008 (5 years ago), and there hasn't been a plastic Thunderhawk release since then
TalonZahn wrote: I doubt the mold would be made any differently than the FW mold.
So of course a plastic version made by GW would look just like, if not exactly like, the FW one.
Except that precedent says otherwise. Even the Valkyrie, which duplicated the original FW kit instead of redesigning it like the Shadowsword/Baneblade had subtle differences and you can look at a picture of them side by side and tell which is which. If every single detail on the Thunderhawk is exactly like the FW kit, and you can't find even a single difference between the two, it's the FW kit.
What is your point? I'm not trollilng. I'm just honestly not following you.
If the only thing that you can use a thunderhawk in is apocalypse, and that picture is appearing in the April addition of White Dwarf, then maybe they are teasing the new version of Apocalypse?
Last month's parting shot was a hive tyrant and some thunderwolf calvary. Bearing pretty much no relation to whats going on this month. So I'm going to say 99% this means nothing.
Goresaw wrote: Last month's parting shot was a hive tyrant and some thunderwolf calvary. Bearing pretty much no relation to whats going on this month. So I'm going to say 99% this means nothing.
Every single 'parting shot' since WD was updated has had absolutely no bearing on anything upcoming. They are simply cool looking photos.
Dr. What wrote: Whether it's real or not, I simply posted what I saw.
You called the topic "Plastic Thunderhawk Sighted!" So you actually saw a plastic Thunderhawk? No doubt? No question mark in the title necessary?
Blind trust in proven questionable rumour sources will lead to confusion and disappointment of dakka readers, with some of them expressing their disappointment.
theninjabadger wrote: If it is real thats stupid marines 3 flyers, tau 2 crons 2 orks 3, DA 2, chaos 1,deldar 1, eldar none
LOL, yeah... it's not like the marines sell better as a group than all other armies combined or anything, right?
just gonna add this bit too, WHO CARES IF MARINES HAVE ANOTHER FLYER that they cant field in normal games of 40k..... i dont think its a concern, its not gonna be Mainstream 40k in plastic or in resin or metal..... you wont see more of them cos not enough people play apoc for it to REALLY matter....
When I went into my local GW to get my WD, the first thing the manager started going on about was this picture and that it definatly wasn't resin. He have anyother details.
Don't listen to redshirts. They knows nothing more then we do. He was most likely trying to excite you into a frenzy so you would forget what you were doing and drop your wallet into the till.
smUrfsrUs wrote: He's a black shirt, we only have a one man store.
Redshirt/Blackshirt. It's six of one, half a dozen of another. If he was by himself then he probably was trying to get you to drop your wallet in the till.
I asked the manager at their NYC store and he told me that its not coming out in plastic. Its just a random Kool pic with the Thunderhawk in it. Well, we can still dream.
NYPetey88 wrote: I asked the manager at their NYC store and he told me that its not coming out in plastic. Its just a random Kool pic with the Thunderhawk in it. Well, we can still dream.
Anything said in a store by any worker or manager or anything of the sort is completely and utterly worthless. They know no more than we do and often less.
Trasvi wrote: Devils advocate: there could became plastic thunderhawk and the one in the pic could be the forgeworld one. GW still uses forgeworld piranhas in their studio tau army.
Devils Advocate: There could be a plastic ANYTHING and they just aren't showing us the pictures.
GW's magical way of buisiness don't let on your making something new let someone leak news and allow it to be found on a forum like dakka, only to have people having pictures months before a scheduled release. if it is another Apoc release then i could see this as being the new "stompa" apoc release. otherwise i'm doubtful it is anything but GW hinting at a update addenum for the APOC/Planetstrike expansions.
Snrub wrote: Don't listen to redshirts. They knows nothing more then we do. He was most likely trying to excite you into a frenzy so you would forget what you were doing and drop your wallet into the till.
If they come out with a plastic Thunderhawk I will drop my wallet into the till!
Commander Cain wrote: This would be amazing were it true. Knowing GW it is not and is simply the FW model. On that note, didn't they say that they were no longer going to be making current FW kits in plastic?
yeah, but this is plain nonsense. If it was selling well enough... they'd be fools not to.
pretre wrote: This has been pretty much debunked in the 40k release schedule thread. It is a FW thunderhawk.
Damn you guys, getting my hackles up for nothing. Plastic Thunderhawks are like the plastic Sisters of Battle - they're just trolling us at this point.
For the record, they could easily make one, anime resin model kits range from $150-$2000. The various wings and engine pods could be "flippable" so they could repeat the sprue, and so could the landing gear. And they could break it up into smaller boxes or make it Mail Order only so they don't get hit by returns.
There's a guy selling styrofoam titans for $300 as a garage kit, they could easily make a kit like this.
chris_valera wrote: Damn you guys, getting my hackles up for nothing. Plastic Thunderhawks are like the plastic Sisters of Battle - they're just trolling us at this point.
Wasn't me who claimed that. Give your thanks to Natfka who posts everything sounding like a rumour and the OP copying it without asking questions
Edit: Breaking News on Faeit212: The Thunderhawk might actually be the old Forge World model : http://natfka.blogspot.de/2013/03/thunderhawk-found-is-this-our-gunship.html Watch us tomorrow, when we reveal that Hastings made up all his rumours ... and the day after tomorrow, when we present anonymous posts from reliable sources contradicting this rumour
Really, i think GW is owned and operated by Jokaeros. Do you know why ?
Well, now or this teaser is just a "guerrilla marketing" strategy to mount hype or a web marketing cover poll...
Because almost every power armored player wants one, and not just wants they will buy regardless the price....
what is the sense to have a Baneblade as a plastic kit and not a Thunderhawk ?
So, please, Jokaero Boss, let us have a plastic thunderhawk.
Really, i think GW is owned and operated by Jokaeros. Do you know why ?
Because it feels like management has been flinging poo at customers for years? Or because it feels like corporate decisions are made in a random d6 fashion like the Jokaero ability roll?
Ippi77 wrote: Well, now or this teaser is just a "guerrilla marketing" strategy to mount hype or a web marketing cover poll...
How do you figure? They've put this same Thunderhawk in pictures previously and nothing has come of it, least of all a plastic Thunderhawk kit. Still, every time they (GW) take a picture with the Thunderhawk in it, a rumor thread like this one pops up. So, since this is neither news nor rumor can we get this closed or at least moved to one of the discussion forums?
I tell you, I'm really losing faith in the people posting on Dakka.
My other half bought me a FW thunderhawk for Christmas... After the amazing shock my freshest thoughts were "watch the bastards make a plastic kit now!"
Automatically Appended Next Post: My other half bought me a FW thunderhawk for Christmas... After the amazing shock my freshest thoughts were "watch the bastards make a plastic kit now!"
TalonZahn wrote: I doubt the mold would be made any differently than the FW mold.
So of course a plastic version made by GW would look just like, if not exactly like, the FW one.
Except that precedent says otherwise. Even the Valkyrie, which duplicated the original FW kit instead of redesigning it like the Shadowsword/Baneblade had subtle differences and you can look at a picture of them side by side and tell which is which. If every single detail on the Thunderhawk is exactly like the FW kit, and you can't find even a single difference between the two, it's the FW kit.
I remember back when the whole 'Summer of Flyers' rumor silliness was floating around, there was all the sound and the fury flaring up around a WD picture which showed a Dark Angels' thunderhawk, and how flamey people got insisting that it HAD to be a plastic model, because of X, Y, and Z microscopic differences that picture showed, and the primary reason they were convinced it was plastic: the guy in the picture was holding it in one hand, and it was absolutely unpossible that anyone could ever hold a resin thunderhawk one handed.
And then there was the plastic warhound that was 'guaranteed' to be part of the initial release of apocalypse, because when photos leaked showing warhounds on the table, if you blew it up to ten times normal size, squinted just right, and turned off the lights, you would totally see the 'massive' differences between it and the resin FW model that totally proved its plastitude.
When people want to believe something, they'll invent whatever evidence they need to back themselves up.
I remember back when the whole 'Summer of Flyers' rumor silliness was floating around, there was all the sound and the fury flaring up around a WD picture which showed a Dark Angels' thunderhawk, and how flamey people got insisting that it HAD to be a plastic model, because of X, Y, and Z microscopic differences that picture showed, and the primary reason they were convinced it was plastic: the guy in the picture was holding it in one hand, and it was absolutely unpossible that anyone could ever hold a resin thunderhawk one handed.
And then there was the plastic warhound that was 'guaranteed' to be part of the initial release of apocalypse, because when photos leaked showing warhounds on the table, if you blew it up to ten times normal size, squinted just right, and turned off the lights, you would totally see the 'massive' differences between it and the resin FW model that totally proved its plastitude.
When people want to believe something, they'll invent whatever evidence they need to back themselves up.
This sums up the entire subject.
A plastic thunderhawk would be great, but even in my short time on Dakka I've seen a fair few of these threads pop up each one filled with people guaranteeing that a plastic that a plastic thunderhawk would be out soon, so until there is a picture of the box it's probably not happening.
Looking at the Forgeworld Thunderhawk & this picture, there is a world of differences. See photos and compare. The major difference is the gun. The skull & eagle were added to the FW model (not part of the mold), so the absence of them on plastic isn't key... The paint job on the "plastic" seems like a GW staff job VS the higher paint job of the FW resin model....
There is no difference. The gun on the FW kit has two options: turbolaser and battlecannon. The one on the FW website happens to be built with the battlecannon, but the turbolaser parts are included in the kit and identical to the one in the WD picture. Example:
krazynadechukr wrote: Looking at the Forgeworld Thunderhawk & this picture, there is a world of differences. See photos and compare.
If showing this Thunderhawk model is an indication of a Plastic Thunderhawk soon ... and we have seen this exact studio model 5 years ago in a WD pic, then we should have a Plastic Thunderhawk for 5 years now. So ...
I don't think GW could sit on a secret like a plastic Thunderhawk for long, even if they only thought about producing one. As much as I would like one, I just can't picture them doing it. Still it's nice to dream.
don't let on your making something new let someone leak news and allow it to be found on a forum like dakka, only to have people having pictures months before a scheduled release. if it is another 
