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Nym468's Scratchbuilt Thunderhawk


Nym468

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First off I have to say thank you to Brother Christopher and Blackadder. This will be a long project, heck it took me three days to figure out the scaling and geometry in order to just cut out the base structure. Inspired by Brother Christopher and the paper templates he found somewhere on the web I started out giving that a try but the few pieces I cut out just didn't seem right and the templates were extremely hard to follow.

I've been following the Blackadder's progress on his Thunderhawk for a while now. Using the same 3-D renderings he used (thank you whoever you are that put them up on the web) I started doing some of the scaling for the model. Hours and hours later playing with photoshop I was able to get the dimensions to what I wanted. Like Blackadder's mine will be able to transport a rhino or razorback in the cargo bay. The comparisons between his and mine stop there, I'm going to try to give this thing as much detailing as I can but he is in a whole other league.

This is just a test fit of the base fuselage components held together by sewing needles. The components are foamcore, I'm planning on skinning the bird with styrene and slowly build the armor up in layers.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7343/10398244543_59b27f83af_c.jpg

As you can see in the background, photoshop is still open as I work out the armor and geometry. I guess my middle school teacher was right, I would need to use a lot of math in the future.

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3772/10398244353_65273a3926_c.jpg

Easily fits a rhino with enough headroom to toss in a razorback instead. The small gaps in between the bottom plate and sidewalls won't be there once everything is glued (the sewing needles don't have enough strength to hold it together. Given the dimensions in the renderings it appears that the top and bottom plates angle inward at different angles. The geometry on these suckers was a severe pain in censored.gif .

C & C's always welcome.

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I'm planning on using magnets for it. It'll make detailing the interior and painting easier. I'm not sure about a dread, I'll have to give it a try. As for Predators/Vindicators/Hunters etc I have no idea.

 

It just seemed silly that the forge world model probably couldn't realistically hold thirty guys (I know I know scaling is not GW/FW's forte.

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Well it seems my last update got lost with the server downtime.  I am going to be layering the armor down one side to ensure everything works before working my way down the opposite side.  I finished up the armor on one side of the nose including an inner skin for future detailing.

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3669/10471162565_38d9dfb7d1_c.jpg

In the above photo is the layered armor of the nose section.  The lower photo has all the layers (detailing later).  The upper photo is the opposite side with only the outer skin .3mm.

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3734/10471359243_1171865821_c.jpg

This is the top section of the nose with its skin and upper level armor.   The lower level was also added (though not pictured).

 

I also skinned the front portion of the main fuselage and will begin on the armor layers tonight.

 

Using the 3D renderings I'm laying out the various layers of armor and then taking measurements off the images and then converting them to the proper scale before cutting them out.  Its extremely time consuming but will make the opposite side go together much faster having all the measurements ready to go.

 

In my original post I mentioned that the complex angles needed to create the front ramp opening would have to be clamped together when glueing has been revised.  After skinning the sides of the nose I realized what little flex existed in the foamcore is completely gone.  This has resulted in the need to redo the dimensions and angles of the lower deck of the nose as well as the ramp itself. 

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Well progress on the armor has ground to a halt as I've run out of plasticard.  I did manage to cut out the majority of the armor layers for the side of the fuselage. 

 

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3683/10567702866_c564a68860_c.jpg

 

Here is the first layer of armor overlaying the base skin with the second layer laying on top of it.  The sections are not glued down yet as I haven't cut the final section out yet.  Hopefully I'll get to it this weekend.  The door opening is the size of a Land Raider door and the long narrow opening is for the front wing to slide through and be properly secured.

 

I'm going to start cutting out the revised ramp and lower nose foamcore and hopefully update this post before bed. 

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Well we have success.  I cut out the new ramp and lower nose section and they fit exactly as I intended.  I don't have to force any of the sections into position.  I also layed down the treadplate and edging on the inside of the ramp.

 

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2826/10570227415_5dafef52d2_c.jpg

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  • 3 months later...

Well progress on the thunderhawk has restarted.  I decided after I can out of plasticard I decided that I would finish up all the models and figures I had left over.  For those that have seen my hall of honor that has been an extremely long project.  Then halfway through finishing everything up I decided I would repaint the bases of all the models to a dark grey, which took even longer. 

 

For anyone thinking about undertaking this monstrosity be warned.  To say this thing is a bear is the understatement of the century.  As the thunderhawk has grown I’ve realized the huge project it will be to paint and fully assemble.

 

First up, the nose section; all armor layers have been attached, tread plating on the ramp, inner nose and deck.  The front ramp is attached via a round tube installed on the ramp and a smaller one running through it and then through the side sections of the nose.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7434/12829880313_785b492b7b_c.jpg

 

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3691/12829813285_97bec27260_c.jpg

 

The ramp in the up position; the gap around the upper edge is due to the lap of tensile strength in the tape.

 

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3714/12830230414_68e0008be4_c.jpg

 

Inside the nose.


http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2874/12829814925_f1f819e45c_c.jpg

 

The front side section of the fuselage.  All armor layers have been attached.  Further detailing will be added later including a side hatch.

 

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3692/12829815445_6779701d41_c.jpg

 

The underside of the nose and front section of the fuselage. The landing gear was built in the up position. 

 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7366/12829882683_9b1a031eae_c.jpg

 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7391/12829880973_f479005518_c.jpg

 

The cockpit.  This thing was a bear to figure out and assemble.  Some top detailing needs to be done.  The “glass” will have to be added later after painting thus necessitating that the cockpit roof not be attached yet.

 

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3699/12829814015_55b10d638b_c.jpg

 

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3814/12829814155_7ca2433b93_c.jpg


http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2847/12829814485_447a986e60_c.jpg

 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7432/12829883173_e200dbcdcf_c.jpg

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Nice work mate :) I understand kind of atleast the pain of changing your mind on basing half way though an army... But I'm not crazy enough to try and make a thunder hawk xD though I'm glad someone is. It's coming along wonderfully
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  • 9 months later...

Well the latest update is a sad one, we were having some work done on the house and the workers were moving some furniture and crushed the thunderhawk after knocking it off the shelf. I had the entire main fuselage skinned, small front winglets attached and cockpit built. The entire thing was a wreck and completely destroyed.

 

However, the good news is I have restarted the build, albeit a smaller Forge World sized build. Having worked through a lot of the first build this one is going a lot smoother, I've learned a lot, and refined my build process. One of the major revisions I've made is not using foamcore for the skeleton of the beast. I'm going to be using mostly plasticsard sheets sandwiching plastic square rods for the edging. This has proven to be a much easier medium to work with and has taken away some of the glaring missteps I made previously.

 

Photos coming tomorrow.

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Well the latest update is a sad one, we were having some work done on the house and the workers were moving some furniture and crushed the thunderhawk after knocking it off the shelf. I had the entire main fuselage skinned, small front winglets attached and cockpit built. The entire thing was a wreck and completely destroyed.

 

However, the good news is I have restarted the build, albeit a smaller Forge World sized build. Having worked through a lot of the first build this one is going a lot smoother, I've learned a lot, and refined my build process. One of the major revisions I've made is not using foamcore for the skeleton of the beast. I'm going to be using mostly plasticsard sheets sandwiching plastic square rods for the edging. This has proven to be a much easier medium to work with and has taken away some of the glaring missteps I made previously.

 

Photos coming tomorrow.

 

After more projects then I can remember being side-railed by... erm... 'oops moments" it's become an interest of mine as to how people recover from them. The important part about it is that you learn from the oops and move on to continue the project.

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Nice work there. Ambitious and inspiring, I cant wait to see  more. I have built two foamcore thunderhawks in the past but failed to really capture the surface details that make the ship come alive. The skin work you are doing  really gets the  eye drawn in.  Good Luck.

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  • 1 year later...

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