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.

Well, I want an Avenger Strike Fighter, but I don't want to have to make a Forgeworld order. (Shipping and the actual cost of the model is out of the question right now). So I decided to kitbash an Avenger out of a Valkyrie as I have see others do in the internet. I got the dimensions from a nice guy on the forums and picked up my Valkyrie kit and went to it.

Here it is after one day of work:



Still a lot of plasti-card and green stuff work but I think it is coming along well.

That's pretty cool...

I think the engines would look better if they were shortened to be closer to the width of the wings, though.


I'll be interested to see how it looks finished...

Not that it's a hugely effective weapon, but it does have a rear facing AA mount heavy stubber that yours is missing.

Good catch!

Today I had to remove one side and adjust it, the fuselage was a bit lopsided. Also started the green stuff work. Will post an update when I get a little more done.

Honestly, it needs a lot of work to be a good model. Right now it looks like exactly what it is: a bunch of Valkyrie parts glued into roughly the same shape as the Avenger. Things like the wingtip engines (which no longer function the way you've built it), the circle bits above the rear cockpit, etc, need to go. And the engines could probably use some modification so they're not so obviously Valkyrie parts.

Good input and I'll see what I can do. I want it to look like it's own thing and not a junkyard job of Valkyrie parts.

UPDATE: I have shortened the engines and removed the wingtip engines as suggested and reworked the wings to improve the profile. Also I have begun gap filling and adding detail.

Coming together nicely.

Started work on the engines, fixed the crooked tail and magnetized the wings for the missiles.

The wings were a bit skinny, so I added some width to them. More green stuff work.

How is it looking? Less like a Valkyrie junkyard?

I'm not sold on the GS work on the engines. Aside from that it's looking great. I just don't know that they needed it since they have decent detail to begin with.

Definitely looking a lot less like a re-arranged valk. I really like the wing extensions, and the 2-tone look especially. If you could carry that through to the painting, it'd be pretty slick.

Bedazzled:



Primed:



Painted:



I'll post more when I can get some decent light. I am thinking I will call it done till I decide what markings (decals) to put on it.

It's DONE! I applied the decals and painted the Hellstrike missiles. I took it outside to get some good pictures.

Looks nice. Quite a bit of work to get to that point.

Out of pure curiosity, can you post the dinentions here?

While the end product has come a long way from the original, I feel that some of your sculpting work was detrimental to the overall quality of the model.

The most obvious section is the engines. With that much greenstuff, it's easy to let the additions remain curved and come off looking like pillows or something. It's a pet peeve of mine and an aesthetic I really dislike. I realize that some historical aircraft had similar curved engines, but I'd much prefer a sharp edge.

A suggestion would be to use short round segments of pipe (PVC?) in place of the greenstuff, or use a right angle/straight edge to make sure you didn't end up with a domed surface. The same goes for a few of your other segments; they don't feel rigid and blocky enough to look like "imperial" aircraft.

Do the engine coverings add that much do you think? I'm not sold, but I guess it makes sense?

Over all, a conversion I would not mind playing against, but is rather obviously a money saver rather than a creative addition to an army.

Ether wrote:

Over all, a conversion I would not mind playing against, but is rather obviously a money saver rather than a creative addition to an army.

While I hate to echo someone else, and I hate even more to nitpick someone else's modeling, as mine is totally awful, the cockpit is very obviously that of a Valkyrie rather than an Avenger.

I couldn't put my finger on it earlier, what was throwing me off so much about it, but that's it. The engines look fine in my opinion but I think you could have easily used half the cockpit or cut and rearranged the struts and glass panels to make the canopy look much more like that of the Avenger.

Overrall a really cool piece that I would love to play against though and your resourcefulness is to be admired

I appreciate your honesty and input, but I believe it is a creative addition to the army because it does NOT look too much like an Avenger Strike Fighter. What is creative about copying something?

It's come an immense distance from where you started, you should be very proud.

 SQRT(-2) wrote:
I appreciate your honesty and input, but I believe it is a creative addition to the army because it does NOT look too much like an Avenger Strike Fighter. What is creative about copying something?

Personally I don't really like the Valkyrie canopy to being with, so it's a bit of a weak point with me, but other than that it looks awesome. Really like it.

Personally I would have made a new tail from plasticard because the Valkyrie one looks a bit odd on anything other than a twin boom design, but that's just me. I do really like your main wing though and how you integrated the engines.

I would suggest if you plan on making more swapping to a different modelling putty like milliput, it sands a lot easier and allows you to get really smooth surfaces with sharp edges that are hard to achieve with greenstuff.

Ether wrote:
With that much greenstuff, it's easy to let the additions remain curved and come off looking like pillows or something.

This. You really need to work on getting sharper edges on your greenstuff work. There's just too much contrast between the pillow-like greenstuff bits and the hard edges of everything else.

as said above, looks great! My only issue is the valkrie canopy, not a huge problem, but looks a little bit oversized in comparison to the strike fighter, a valkrie is a huge models, and the strike fighter (from what I have seen) is not as large, and frankly not deserving a giant cockpit.

gummyofallbears wrote:
as said above, looks great! My only issue is the valkrie canopy, not a huge problem, but looks a little bit oversized in comparison to the strike fighter, a valkrie is a huge models, and the strike fighter (from what I have seen) is not as large, and frankly not deserving a giant cockpit.

This is wrong. I have both models and the Avenger's cockpit area is slightly larger than the one on the Valkyrie. And the whole model is roughly the same size in terms of length and wingspan, it's just not as bulky as the Valkyrie and its huge transport compartment.

 Peregrine wrote:

gummyofallbears wrote:
as said above, looks great! My only issue is the valkrie canopy, not a huge problem, but looks a little bit oversized in comparison to the strike fighter, a valkrie is a huge models, and the strike fighter (from what I have seen) is not as large, and frankly not deserving a giant cockpit.

This is wrong. I have both models and the Avenger's cockpit area is slightly larger than the one on the Valkyrie. And the whole model is roughly the same size in terms of length and wingspan, it's just not as bulky as the Valkyrie and its huge transport compartment.

I think it's probably that the Valk canopy is mounted further forward on this model and the way it protrudes out instead of sitting flush like the Avenger makes it look larger and/or more prominent.