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Hey, I didn't feel I had enough projects on the go, so I decided to start another. The plan is to make a drop ship for my Pigmen Mercenaries. This is a little mock up I made, to get an idea on how to make it. The front area with the gap, will be cockpit. Window on bottom, top, and sides (you can kind of see the pencil mark where I indicated glass. The "Opening" where the pigmen disembark will be the open part on the bottom front part of the ship. Wing design is still up in the air, and those were tossed on quick to complete the demo.

That model was made from the loads of .020" sheet styrene i have. I recently bought a bunch of .060" sheet styrene, which the finished model will be made out of.

If anyone has any thoughts, idea, or tips, they would be greatly appreciated. I am also curious if i should scale it down or not. I believe I may, so it fits nicely into the case I made for them, but am not sure if I should. BTW, i put one of my Pigmen Mercs beside it for scaling purposes. It is the size of an Ork Nob.

I think I may scrap that design, if I find or think of a design that tickles my fancy. This here is supposed to be a commandeered cargo ship.

If it were my design I'd add something to the top. It's too flat... and, excuse the crudeness, quite phallic shaped because of it.

Like it though! Looking forward to seeing where you take it.

It reminds me of the starship troopers dropship. Which is a good thing.

Apothocary wrote:If it were my design I'd add something to the top. It's too flat... and, excuse the crudeness, quite phallic shaped because of it.

Like it though! Looking forward to seeing where you take it.

LOL, didn't notice that. The design was going to include chamfers and a raised platform on the top.

Skippy wrote:It reminds me of the starship troopers dropship. Which is a good thing.

Yeah, I saw that again the other day. Great movie.

This design will be extended more at the rear with a cargo bay, the bottom will have a similar design to the top. The front will be a little bit longer to make room for a cockpit.

Skippy wrote:It reminds me of the starship troopers dropship. Which is a good thing.

The sensible part of me hates those. A huge square box hanging under them...that would have such a horrible aerodynamic signature and create such drag it would never fly...and dont even get me started on the likelihood of burning up on atmospheric entry.

Of course the same goes for most scifi ships...guess we just have to figure shields or futuristic materials solve the problem.

Mad4Minis wrote:and dont even get me started on the likelihood of burning up on atmospheric entry.

Nah, just make sure you remember your training and you will make it back alive.

Mad4Minis wrote:
Of course the same goes for most scifi ships...guess we just have to figure shields or futuristic materials solve the problem.

I just assume all Imperial flying machines have a teardrop shaped powerfield around them.

It helps me sleep at night.

Here is an update with the ship. The hulls shape is done, the engines are done, and the cockpit is under construction. I am going to have to do a little bit of greenstuff work to deal with some cockpit gaps. I put a quick pencil line to show where I am going to make the "glass". I am going to make the cockpits "glass" an opaque one, to simplify. The far side of the cockpit needs to be filled finished, and the bottom of the cockpit needs to be joined to the hull.

Shots of the rear ramp?

Its looking quite like my idea of a 40k Guard drop ship, clunky, but with enough grit in it to fling itself headlong at the enemy without a care. An armoured cockpit would be a nice addition-though I doubt the creators were really caring about the pilot's safety when they designed it (or rather put whatever scraps of the original plans that they could find back together), there's always a load more coming in behind it. I'd avoid too many fins or stabalisors (well maybe a pair of small ones at the back) just to make it look more like the blunt instrument that it is.

Oh and these things don't get shields (or at least if they do they're terrible), at least based on the ridiculous death rates that you read about during air drops in the fluff. Too costly for a one way trip. ^^

The rear ramp is yet to be completed. I am definitely intending on making one, though I'm not sure what I should do with the inside. I too also like the simply and clunky design. I imagine those engines making tremendous noise, and seeing the ship barreling across a battlefield. I am not planning on having too many fins, if any at all. I am still trying to think of different ways to add detail to the outside. I am thinking I may score "metal plate" pattern onto it, or even gluing on thinner plasticard onto the thick plasticard hull.

Also I am planning on magnetizing the engines onto it. And possibly weapons.

Also, just to point out, its these guys that are gonna be piloting the ship.

Update.

Here is the basic structure of the drop ship assembled. The engines are magnetized to the hull. The rear hatch is going to be completed later, when I decide/figure out how I am going to do it. The gaps in the cockpit will be tastefully greenstuffed to make it look better. I already have a good idea of how I am going to take care of that.

I am also still trying to think of how I am going to make a metal plate pattern on the existing plastic, as well as several other features I am going to include.