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Obviously I'm not building right now, but things are still happening... The engines have been painted, as have all the cannons with a semi-drybrush of Bolt Gun Metal (honest) over the black undercoat. I'll post pics soon after I paint/ mask some more.

Thanks for reading

Oh no! I hope it isn't serious and you recover soon!

Thanks Gwyn, I'm good....

I'm painting it instead. I still need to do the interior but I've done a lot of painting on the outside... This will have enough paint on it for 12 Rhinos!! That's nuts!!


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I've painted the roof, the wing tops (the underside will be a different colour) and the side turrets. I still need to paint the main hull and attach the boosters... I don't want to paint the hull as I have to work on the inside of it... but we'll see. Pics to follow

Is there such a thing as having too many Aquilae on a model?
Is there a point where it becomes ridiculous? The drop Pod gives you the option of 5, but the Knight titan only gives you 1. Land Raiders and Rhinos only have 1, The Imperial aircraft (Dark Talon etc) have 1 but the Forgeworld Thunderhawk has 7 while the original metal Thumderhawk had 3.

I ask because I intend for this Thunderhawk to have at least 4 (though 1 will be inside than therefore not be seen unless the door opened), but I could have as many as 17 on the outer hull.
Is that too many?

you can never have enough

17 sounds like a good start.

Remember that the Land Raider and Rhino both have aquilas on the treads to stamp them into the very earth they crush.

So I would say, no, too much is never enough.

inmygravenimage wrote: you can never have enough

Kid_Kyoto wrote:17 sounds like a good start.

Remember that the Land Raider and Rhino both have aquilas on the treads to stamp them into the very earth they crush.

So I would say, no, too much is never enough.

That's a good point... I forgot about that

Right... 17 Aquilae and counting

Thank you

Right... big post coming...

According to LordWynne's post in Heliodore's thread, this would be a MKIII Thunderhawk. due to the fact it carries 2 Rhinos... when I first conceived building it (have I said this before?) the image I had in mind was described in the (now heretical) novel "Space Marine" by Ian Watson. He describes vehicles and troops side by side in the same bay. That would be far too big a build, but using the same scale parameters that GW used in producing a Rhino that can fit 10 marines, I believe the build I've done fits the bill.

I base coated the entire Thunderhawk- including the hull...I haven't added any of the Aquilae I mentioned in the previous posts, nor have I added the boosters or any detail. The underside has not been painted at all. I have added a couple of extra layers of paint (black, bolt gun metal and a wash of Nulan oil) to the side turrets (which you can't really see!)

The roof in the pictures isn't secured, the missiles in their bays aren't secured (so if they look out of line it's because they're balanced in their cradles) and the turrets and wings aren't fixed in place. It's all dry fitted together. I still intend to copy Blackadder's build and put lights and other details inside.
The base coat has highlighted all the areas that need further attention... The forward hull turrets, made from milk bottle tops, read "store upright after opening" I need to give them a coat of PVA and then repaint them. The gaps in the hull which were almost invisible whilst building it now appear glaring. I can see a lot more sanding and painting in this afore it's completion.

Obviously further detail painting needs doing on the directional (Lego) thrusters the underside and wings and the whole thing will eventually need (after everything else has been completed) a tonne of weathering!

Quite a bit left to do... but it's on the way

Pictures for now... The Brick (please forgive some of the blurry photographs. I will take better ones in time.)




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P.S. Foam wings were not the way to go- I should have built them with a skeletal frame like Blackadder's Titan.

Looking good, I love that you have period accurate rhinos to go with it

Looks amazing, true to the original flying castle but with some modern details. Can't wait to see more.

Thank you both. I'm glad you like it

I'm crafting Rogue Trader Land Raider doors for the hull behind the forward turrets and working out other details for the hull... pictures will follow soon.

Looks excellent, and those are some sexy rockets

Thank you kindly... The detail work is where it's going to be... I've been sanding the hull to improve the look progress is ongoing

Have any of you guys had wher you're happilly moving a long with something and then during a pause you look at it and you say "hmmmm.... I could do that instead..." (whatever "that" may be) and you end up making more work for yourself becaue you had "an idea". That's where I am.... I'm now building interior that may or may not be seen!

I understand completely, the roof is removable right?

 Guardling wrote:
I understand completely, the roof is removable right?

It's not designed to be.... The build was supposed to be just a bigger version of the brick. I suppose once I decided to make it big enough to hold Rhinos that changed,, but I never really put too much thought into it. When I started this thread and the build, I figured it would be a five minute build like all of my armour conversions. But it keeps changing. I will be adding lights to illuminate the vehicle bay and the the little bit of interior that I'm doing, but in doing so I have to enclose the lights into the roof. I'll have to see how it works out. The first thought is to seal the whole thing up. We'll see if that's still an option and how these lights work with the limited interior that I'm building

I ripped it apart.

Having seen the works of Blackadder and JohnnyHell, among others, I have decided that my builds are like the assemblings of children. If I want to hold my head up in here I have to do a little better.

The basic hull I'm keeping but I will be adding a lot- both inside and out- to make this better than it currently is and worthy of being in this group and on this forum.

When I reassemble it, you probably won't notice any difference- but there will be changes.

Sorry everyone but it's your own fault... you shouldn't be such good builders.
I'm off to buy some plasticard and some new blades

Shame to hear, but if it's what makes you happy.
Just remember even though those guys are amazing, they were, to use your analogy, children once.
In all likelihood they started off gluing cardboard to a deodorant stick and calling it a landspeeder...

And it's fine to be the child anyway, we get to witness your first steps, your first bike ride etc..

Well, you have to trust your instincts on this. It's ok to be critical. I'm sure it'll be fantastic.

Thanks guys for your input- I appreciate the feedback.


I've started the reconstruction.
The front door was a little wonky and that's been straightened, and the sanding work I had planned has gotten underway.
I was originally going to cover the hull in a very thin plasticard, but instead decided to just fill in the grooves of the movement trays and sand the beejeezus out of it. It seems to have been a better option. It's pretty smooth to the touch now... but not very green anymore.

Pictures will follow.

Out of curiosity... I have asked this question before but no-one answered, the ornate "windows" along the hull... do you think they're actually windows or just ornate decoration on the hull?

Ornate decoration, I think. There's something similar on the AI one but it just seems to be more crinkly goodness.

Thanks. That's cool. I won't cut them out, but leave them as they are.

So having taken it apart again- mainly so I can get into the interior, I thought I'd work on the exterior first. I've been sanding like nobody's business. The outside is smooth now. I'll undercoat it before I repaint it... That will also help hide the grooves. This is the port side... I've still got the starboard side and aft to do and once those are done, I'll be working on the inside next...

I love seeing a cool build like this, the ornate gothic design on top looks brilliant. It looks like an absolute beast.

Thanks Olthanon

Just for a "head's up", I have been busy sourcing and collecting stuff for the inside of the Thunderhawk... It's about to get VERY busy in there! I have lights, gangways, lifts, cables, chains, consoles, observation ports, marines and servitors... as well as the 2 Rhinos all ready to be crammed in the bay. I haven't in vested in it yet but I'm considering obtaining some Mechanicum sets for an engine... Only considering it.

The roof will [b]not[/b] be removable. As I'm adding lights- it will be sealed. That being said, when the main door is open, you should be able to see everything inside... well... about 90% of it.

I will post pictures when I start the internal upgrades, but I need to buy more plasticard first.


At the moment, I'm working on my 57th, 58th and 59th tanks to keep me busy. My 60th and final tank will be built after I complete the Thunderhawk.

So I think I speak for everyone when I say that we want to see the 60 tanks! That’s a phenomenal volume of hardware.

Loving the plans for upgrading the flying brick, I love that you’ll be able to fit 2 rhinos in there even with all the extra bits. What lights are you using? I’m after one for a Land Raider but I have zero clue what to buy/do!

Thanks for the reply gobert

 gobert wrote:
So I think I speak for everyone when I say that we want to see the 60 tanks! That’s a phenomenal volume of hardware.

It turned out to be more than I was intending to build... but then I kept having ideas. I've hinted at it before but I have an Oldhammer 40K army, so every one of my tanks is from the Rogue Trader era. A few have the odd modern part or accessory but for the most part they are original at their core with most conversions respecting the tank. One other thing- most tanks were built years ago and they're at a different skill level. That doesn't mean they're bad... just they could be better. I still like them. one day I might tidy them up.
I fully intend to post a picture but there are still 4 tanks in construction- not including number 60. I hope to have them finished soon as I'm excited about no.60. She's going to be big.

Loving the plans for upgrading the flying brick, I love that you’ll be able to fit 2 rhinos in there even with all the extra bits. What lights are you using? I’m after one for a Land Raider but I have zero clue what to buy/do!

Thank you. I took a leaf out of Blackadder's book. He used bright white Christmas lights. https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/900/372703.page
I didn't see his thread till the season had passed, so that wasn't an option for me, but I found my lights here:

https://minimumworld.com/

They're a doll house supplier and I've used them before many moons ago for other diorama's I've built. I have 8 warm lights on a string and it lights up my bay and control room fine (or it will do when it's all attached). There are also single bulbs attached to string (which can be hidden) that would illuminate a Land Raider's interior easily. I hope this helps and Thanks again for your interest in my build.

Just letting you guys know the delay is because I ran out of supplies... X-Acto blades, drill bits. plasticard... I hope to be resupplied in a couple of days...and if the cuts on my fingers are healed enough I'll get back to posting updates

Hi- this is a quick message on my phone to test the lights for the interior of the main bay. The control room will also be lit, but this is just a test. I will adding walkways next...

Oh wow, that's worked a treat