Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Here is my slightly modded GW drop pod for a dread. Nothing fancy, just take out two fins and extend the door width a little bit so that they actually touch when closing. It actually looks like it could hold a Dreadnaught and is tons cheaper than the Forgeworld dread drop pod.






And here is all of the armor I currently have painted up put together. Still one razorback and another drop pod to go.

Very neat painting and a good conversion too. Bright red and yellow are tough to paint cleanly but you seem to have it sorted

Does the job. I'm not entirely sold on the layout of the fins, but it at least gives him enough room to get in and out.

Nice conversion. I looked at the FW pod as well but i just went lazy and use a standard pod instead.

I'm with insaniak. The layout makes sense for allowing the dread to get in and out, but A) the fins don't make sense for the whole "stable descent at ludicrous speeds" thing and B) minor details aside, basic bilateral symmetry does wonders for a vehicle model, especially those as regular and blocky as the SM's. It's a very well executed conversion, technically, and the paintjob is nice and clean, but it just looks off to my eye and I know it's the asymmetrical fins.

A good symetical design would have been a square blocks with four fins or a hexagon with three fins.

But that would have required a ton of work and I was just not that motivated.

This was cheap and easy, and no one can complain about WYSIWYG or LOS issues on a Dreadnaught drop pod.

I am happy you all like the paint job, thanks for the comments.

Nice paintwork. Shaping up to be a very nice looking army.

I like how the paint job turned out.

Very cool, although IRL that wouldn't work, as the sporadicness of the fins would make it wobbly while dropping. Sorry for being the technical one. Again, very cool paint job and conversion.

His design actually IS symetric...
top down view of the petals
\ /
--*--

top down view of the fins

|
O
/ \

A bit too clean for my tastes but the work can definately be seen on these pieces, good job.

Jayden63 wrote:no one can complain about WYSIWYG or LOS issues on a Dreadnaught drop pod.

There's bound to be someone who may complain about it but you shouldn't worry about it.

Nice conversion, love the clean paint jobs. Keep it up!

Valk

Jayden63 wrote:Here is my slightly modded GW drop pod for a dread. Nothing fancy, just take out two fins and extend the door width a little bit so that they actually touch when closing. It actually looks like it could hold a Dreadnaught and is tons cheaper than the Forgeworld dread drop pod.






And here is all of the armor I currently have painted up put together. Still one razorback and another drop pod to go.

very nice the painting is very clean and crisp=)

Nice work! Any shots before painting? Would like to see how the fins were extended,

I think its turned out great! ive always been a fan of the brighter colours with the space wolfs

Bad Kravus! No block-text-quoting for you!

Can't say I like the conversion, looks to asymmetrical.

Looks good. You worked with the model GW provides and made a functioning conversion.

Very appealing paint scheme.

johnstewartjohn wrote:Nice work! Any shots before painting? Would like to see how the fins were extended,

Sadly no. It wasn't difficult. I just green stuffed the notches in the base where the missing fins are. Green stuffed in the unused slots on the turbo fan, and filled in all five slots on the base where the passenger restraints are.

Then I applied 1/8" plasticard rails to matched sides of four of the fins to take up the spacing that is usually occupied by the fins. CAreful sanding/filing down to match the contours of the door and there you go.

It really wasn't all that hard.

It's plenty symmtrical! Give us a top down shot or a shot from the middle fin to vindicate this!

I like it. Plain and simple, and recognizeable. If you put it out on the table, 98% of people are going to be able to tell that it is a drop pod for a dread. I mean, you will always have your 2% who can't tell a Land Raider from a rock...

Also, my compliments on your crisp yellows, there. Very nice.

Thanks for all the support on my paint scheme. I'm really happy with it and like how it brings back the older feel that Space Wolves had back in the beginning.

Ok, time for a quick biology or art lesson.

The normal drop pod has what is called Radial Symmetry.



What that mean is if you take even sized slices from the center (like a pizza) all the pieces are the same.

My Dreadnaught Drop Pod has what is called Bilateral Symmetry, or planer symmetry, or left/right symmetry.



If you cut the unit in half, the right and left sides mirror each other. All normal aircraft, space shuttles, human bodies, etc. follow this type of symmetry.

Is the design good enough for an orbital lander? Who the hell knows, but when your universe has a spider legged tank with a deamon torso and head on it, does physics really matter at this point?

Yes, the physics matters even moreso:

http://nitessine.wordpress.com/2008/05/19/argumentum-ad-fireballum/

I really like it.You should make a tuorial with pics.

@ Nurglitch: that's an excellent article you linked. Agree 100%!

@OP: I think it's the original camera angles that make the 'pod look a little 'off'. The overhead shot shows it off to its best effect, I think. Nice work.

Nurglitch wrote:Yes, the physics matters even moreso:

http://nitessine.wordpress.com/2008/05/19/argumentum-ad-fireballum/

The space shuttle is not radial symetrical, yet it comes down from orbit all the time. There are ways to make it work, even satisfying the needed physics for those who care about such things. Heck the lack of two fins could be compensated by having stronger than necessary maneuvering thrusters on the one single stand out fin.

Jayden63:

I'm pretty sure the Space Shuttle glides back down to Earth on its wings, rather than plummeting straight down tail-first. I'm not a rocket scientist though.

Yes it does. It is a glider when coming down to earth.

The drop pod clearly has some advanced-as-hell technology that protects what comes down inside it from the impact with the planet. With spaceships able to travel through the warp and psychic powers, I think we can explain away the effects of a slightly asymmetrical drop pod.

On the other hand, this kind of makes me want to model my drop pods with three evenly space fins.

It is the year fourty freakin thousand! They have cyborgs that dispense toilet paper and psykics that adjuste the physics of prune juice for a creamy after taste and a bunch of 8foot tall 500 year old warrior virgins that spit acid and grow crystal shells when they happen to find themselves lost in space and you guys are bitching about how a drop pod may land on a planet? If we wanted to get realistic we would be playing some game that revolves around media congomerates trying to sell other races heavily breasted soft drink commercials and sex encrusted tooth paste ads with the occasional break to sooth the revenue with some reality show paid for by the beer company that owned the rights to the venues the band that the theme music is done by is playing at this season because Capitalism lends to more power than any rocket propelled rifle will ever.

But really, the drop pods look great. I may have to jack the idea as, like you said the Forge World pods are stupid expensive.

That sounds pretty fun! And it shall be called: "Corporate wars 40k"