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I agree with Medium of Death, this really does look a lot better than the official model, it just seems so much more 'right'.


I mentioned earlier the mini folding blades. These are actually by a company called Rolson but as you can see they are very similar to the Stanley knife (which I also have a folding version of, but a standard size one, probably one of the best purchases I have ever made) but these are about half the size.

The Effort We Make:

I seem to be putting too much effort into a model I'm not all that enthused of working on but I have to keep reminding myself that I'm doing this for my son. Ha! He started this over seven years ago when he had just entered High School and this year he will be graduating College.

Anyway His kids might appreciate it.

Here is the T'hawk with Ball Turrets in place resting on it's nose gear

(Note the nose gear shock strut compressed with the gear deployed and the weight of the model resting on it.) I'm rather proud of that accomplishment. Actually, I'd forgotten I made that.

http://i.imgur.com/d0x5XIl.jpg


Here is the front view showing how much it protrudes from the side of the ship

http://i.imgur.com/slMcDxJ.jpg


The temporary aligning straps are visible in this image but once the gun barrels are completed they will not be necessary.

Below we see a bottom view with the retractable landing gear exposed in the stowed position and the protrusion of the Ball Turret from the side is acceptable.

http://i.imgur.com/efvrSm4.jpg


And again the retractable Landing gear this time in the deployed position with the landing pad (removed for clarity) in the foreground.

http://i.imgur.com/angCcgB.jpg


Just for those readers inquiring about the landing gears.

Seriously, the mind boggles at just how much detail you've put into this; I hope your son appreciates the effort! ;P

Compared to the overall size of the Thunderhawk those ball turrets look fine, very efficient in fact.

I'm extremely proud of my nose gear rendering as the actual mechanism occupies only 12,0 MM of space so therefore only protrudes 5,0 MM into the cargo bay floor. I always wondered what the FW model deployed landing strut looked like in the interior of the cargo bay.



An Engineering Tour de Farce:

Well I went blithefully ahead this week end whilst others were at play so the actual construction of the canard vanes went unrecorded.

Suffice it to say it was pretty much the same as the horizontal stabilizer albeit a tad smaller.

http://i.imgur.com/gqLmPOw.jpg


My Canards and tail plane structure is larger than both the 3D rendering and the FW model in relative size to the fuselage as my model is a bit more robust than either.

http://i.imgur.com/pTdALDG.jpg


Once the Canard fixed guns are in place the extra length will be masked.

I was looking at some of the really old Epic Thunderhawks and somehow ended up looking at one of the old metal 28mm Thunderhawks GW produced many years ago (they go for silly money on eBay) and those models really do show their age. Your model however has a much more pleasing look and the dimensions just work. It reminds me of seeing the 'new' Land Raider kit when it was unveiled in White Dwarf, it was just light years ahead of previous kits in design and look and seeing your progress with this Thunderhawk feels the same way to me.

How does the landing gear protrusion affect access; if we were to assume that the protrusion were present in a real life version of the Thunderhawk? Is that a feature you think works as it is or will you hide it?

I just want to throw in my adulation here--your engineering, perseverance, resourcefulness and skill leave me awe-struck.

Here I was, feeling proud of myself for having built a little fuel depot last night out of plywood and styrofoam...

Absolutely amazing!

Love seeing your plasticard wizardry. If only your son had a chaos army, then we might get to see you tackle the allmighty banelord titan.

Sorry for the delay.........

My son does have a Chaos Army but a Banelord is far down my to-do list although I have given some thought to the project and will probably base the Banelord on the FW Decimator which just screams Warlord sized stature to me.

(BTW I won't be articulating anymore titans. The mechanics just take up too much time.)


Now to business:

Came The Dawning!

Let it not be said that Blackadder doesn't need a safe dropped on him.......

This morning I have come to the realization that "all the major components for the Thunderhawk are built!!!!!"

Sooooo all that is left is the 'dessert'; the detail if you will.

Now The Blackadder loves to do detail and the more obscure the better so therefore I shall be starting on the underbelly first. (The interior and the wheel wells being already done.

http://i.imgur.com/55J1jMx.jpg


http://i.imgur.com/IC8sLnU.jpg


The above images show the barren underbelly as I left it a year or so ago and whilst I am about it I also need to strengthen the wing mounting so they don't droop and incorporate the mount into the underbelly detail as well.

Amazing detail as usual! Truly one of the best scratchbuilders on the web

Thanks Gomez, wow, "one of the best" as if all my hats weren't too tight already!

Simple Round Louvered Vents:

A simple way to make the round louvered vents shown below.....



http://i.imgur.com/BeUYTOF.jpg


1. Glue thin rods or square stock to a piece of scrap thin sheeting. in this case I need 12 louvered vents 3/8 inch dia. and I used 0.025 inch rod for the grill.

2. I used thin ProWeld cement to adhere the rods to the 0.015 scrap sheet; when the glue began to gell I separated the rods with my finger nail to achieve consistent spacing.

3. Once I had sufficient louvers (In this case six.) I gave the assembly a final dose of cement to insure the rods will not come loose during the subsequent operations.

4. I then cut the proper sized squares of grill in this case 5/16 inch squares and glued them on to 5/16 inch tubing.

5. Once dried I rough trimmed the square grills to a vaguely round shape with the nail clippers shown and finished rounding the grill (Still attached to the 5/16th tubing.) with the sanding block shown.

6. After rounding the grill I separated the grill from the tube with the utility knife shown.

7. I cut a slim disk of 3/8 inch tube for the outer rim of the vent with the razor saw shown and sanded the rough edges with the sanding block. Shown again....

http://i.imgur.com/Bj6DJ7R.jpg


8. I glued the grill disk into the 3/8 inch tube housing and allowed to dry.

9. I glued the assembly to the precut fan panel for mounting on the underside of the T'hawk wing.




Automatically Appended Next Post:
Louvers Continued:

After the glue has dried I sand down the rim to 2,0 MM and affix the vents to the underside of the wing roots.


http://i.imgur.com/BgwEFzk.jpg

Outstanding stuff Blackadder. Good guide for making louvers too- will refer back to it in the future.

Nothing but admiration for all of this work! Truely great effort! IMHO those ball turrets look spot on! Really nice addition!

If the emperor had not banned all religion i would kneel at the alter of Blackadder!

A true inspiration to all scratchers!!

Thanks, I'll be passing the collection plate for donations.

Never Ending Rivets:

I hate starting rivets because then rivets need to be applied everywhere. Unfortunately copious skull sized rivets are part and parcel endemic to 40K vehicles.

http://i.imgur.com/Us4Cid7.jpg


Now huge protruding rivets cannot help the minimally aerodynamic properties of any aircraft but I suppose what's a little more parasite drag to the flying (sic) brick called the Thunderhawk.

http://i.imgur.com/SshVWu5.jpg

You see rivets, and think non-Areodynamics. Too bad you are unaware of the fact that rivets in 0K are all anti-gravity devices that help to kee he marine ships aloft. Don't get me started on the skull shaped ones.

Brick that's more like a cinder block.


That level of attention to detail makes me feel inadequate
BTW how much does that puppy weight so far?

Love the Work. It would be cool if you could figure out how to have a Land Raider model or 2 rhinos attach to the bottom of it.

Actually it can carry a Rhino in the forward cargo bay; it's that much bigger than the standard FW model.

The Unlikely Weapon:

Once again I must acquiesce to convention and add the ungainly Volcano cannon to my model; after all what is a Thunderhawk without this unseemly appendage?

Starting with the largest diameter tubing I have 13 MM (Half inch) I found I was short 3 MM in diameter of the Shadow Sword cannon's 16,0 MM maximum diameter.

Grabbing a page from my previous work on my scratchbuilt Warhound's ankles (Actually the 'instep' but we won't quibble,) I applied split half in sleeves to the basic core tubing to flesh out the diameter to 16,0 MM.

http://i.imgur.com/T378TNu.jpg


To add interest to the overall barrel I opted to step the diameter toward the muzzle.

http://i.imgur.com/SYiSxZe.jpg


Naturally when sleeving the barrel there is produced a gap which I filled with inserts cut from scrap half inch tubing.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Just an FYI:

A progress report more than anything.

I am frequently asked how the details are made for these models.

Plasticard comes in such a wealth of shapes and sizes that actual shaping is a rare event.

Breaking the subject down to basic components is the way to go in scratch building.

Here we have the basic gun barrel stepped down a bit more in my version than in the original about a quarter millimeter but it should n't be a problem.

Evergreen tubing has the marvelous property of snugly telescoping the various sizes. I'm not sure any other manufacturers have that capability.

http://i.imgur.com/TspW4aW.jpg


Here the muzzle is just about complete and the breech will have to be built up with a few layers of 0.020 inch sheet styrene.

Note the sheet styrene glued to the breech ready to be wrapped and glued to bulk up the breech end.

The barrel bands were attached in a similar fashion.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
AUTO APPEND

MOST ANNOYING!

Those louvered vents are awesome.

Welcome back Jabba, it's been six months since you posted anything............

All is well I hope.

Exposing Myself:

Before I get too far along I figured I'd better explain the processes that got me to this point. Of course if it all doesn't work out I will be just setting myself up for an embarrassing volte-face.

Employing the telescoping ability of the 'Evergreen' tubing I made reasonable facsimiles of the complex muzzle components.

http://i.imgur.com/UsBUgv0.jpg


Right now I am in the process of duplicating the flash suppressor housing if that is what it is; naturally true to form I opted to make it 'inside out' or 'from the outside in' depending on your perspective.

http://i.imgur.com/sg2itP8.jpg


Never the less, all so far seems to be going well.

Blackadder and the Lost Weekend:

In spite of unfortunate necessary commitments I still manages to cobble together a reasonable facsimile of a Volcano cannon although the photo image reveals some barely acceptable flaws that board on intolerable.

http://i.imgur.com/WwzSN64.jpg


I'm rather pleased at the muzzle which was quite unnecessarily a cause for trepidation but the breech detail doesn't quite make the grade being too bulky and crude.

I'm hoping the addition of the rest of the appurtenances will bring the breech together and not promulge* a rebuild.

http://i.imgur.com/07f0BzY.jpg


*I love it when I confound the 'Spell checker' Ha!

If there's flaws they don't jump out to me. Once you add your brilliant rivets to the piece any mista.......customization will be overlooked by people more retentive than I am.

Thanks for the Auto append interruption,

Fear of Flying:

I sometimes wonder when I embark on these projects what is my actual motivation.

Certainly I have great difficulty bringing each to completion. Granted Lucie is pretty much complete and the Warlord lacks only electronics and final painting.

The Tyranid army is going well, I have to practice more with my washes technique.

The Reaver project is stalled sadly because of lack of inspiration.

This Thunderhawk progress seems to be monopolizing all my work time this past week and I am greatly surprised and pleased with this my current work.

The Volcano Cannon has been a thorn in my side because I lacked the confidence to scratch build the fine detail.

http://i.imgur.com/6uqRMhK.jpg


Well today for the first time I installed the completed cannon on its carriage mount and it fits the role satisfactorily.

Although appearing slightly smaller than the FW T'hawk's gun I think it suits the scale better overall. (It is in point of fact slightly longer than the FW cannon.)

http://i.imgur.com/ut86H4q.jpg


The trunnion mount affords a full range of elevation if that is actually necessary for a line of sight weapon.

http://i.imgur.com/MKxKfST.jpg


This side view shows the scale of the Volcano cannon in relation to my outsized Thunderhawk that I measured today at 750 MM / 29 inches; ten inches longer than the FW original.

http://i.imgur.com/Raixekz.jpg

Thanks for this Blackadder - I'd been wondering how to go about the cannon on my version and now I have some closeup shots to work with

Let me know what else you need..........

 The_Blackadder wrote:
Thanks for the Auto append interruption,

I sometimes wonder when I embark on these projects what is my actual motivation.

(It is in point of fact slightly longer than the FW cannon.)
[/IMG]

its all about bragging rights in the end .

Seriously though I keep forgetting how big you were building this baby to be. FW makes center pieces, Blackadder makes master pieces.

Funny my son also called this a center piece; is that how these are used in a game, as a focal point instead of a game piece; I have no clue of the mechanics of the games?

Look Ma, No Dihedral:

Ever since I started this model the one thing that has vexed me was the droopy wings. Unfortunately I could have nipped the problem in the bud by installing a proper wing spar in the first place as does virtually every aircraft since the dawn of aviation and considering my background in aviation you would think I would have known better. Alas No!

So finally over the weekend I addressed the issue since all the delicate detail work is done and liable to costly damage from an errant drill bit or slip. Let it never be said that The Blackadder has not cornered the market on outright stupidity.

http://i.imgur.com/jCIeaQi.jpg


Anyway from the image above you can see everything went swimmingly and with only a few more grey hairs I now have installed a rugged wing spar that removes all the negative Dihedral from the model and ties the wings to the fusilage secure enough for active transport if needs be but also allows for disassembly should the occasion arise.

http://i.imgur.com/JIIwG5O.jpg


I have always maintained the the reason for the FW flying Lascannon struts were to support the wings from drooping on their T'hawk model because they also did not allow for the wing weight as well, so my stupidity is in good company.

http://i.imgur.com/fvWocZ5.jpg


I need to install stops on my strut travel.

http://i.imgur.com/0tcGnuh.jpg


Here we see the disassembled outer wings with the 1/4 inch aluminum rod installed to strengthen the wing structure. Drilling a twelve inch long contiguous hole through the wings and fuselage taxed all my limited abilities.

http://i.imgur.com/tQ4pkLs.jpg


I really need to straighten up my work room!

I want to see it with the ball turrets in place please . Congrats that the wing work went smoothly .

The_Blackadder wrote:Let me know what else you need..........

Thanks, at the moment I could do with some spare time... Will give you a shout though when I do get back to the T-hawk

Theophony wrote:I want to see it with the ball turrets in place please . Congrats that the wing work went smoothly .

Yeah, show us your balls

Wingtips are a Drag:

Air spilling off the tip of a wing creates drag and lowers fuel economy so many modern aircraft have funny looking winglets on their tips to cut down on the wingtip vortices.

None are as strange looking as the constructions attached to the tips of the Thunderhawk. It seems the designers have gone out of their way to destroy anything vaguely resembling a lifting surface.

Below is my version of these tips liberally borrowing from half a dozen different 3D and Model designs.

http://i.imgur.com/m8hY7Jp.jpg


I made the tips detachable by installing six 3,0 MM magnets on each wingtip so the fragile stingers won't continually have to be replaced.

http://i.imgur.com/Gdo7dDg.jpg


http://i.imgur.com/1yLVDAz.jpg


This pretty much spells finished to the wing detail although I may scribe lines to simulate flush panels if I feel the detail is too sparse.

http://i.imgur.com/jVQoRKw.jpg

I love magnets, great use to avoid a broken piece!