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[WIP] (H.E.R.C.) - MT/Elysian/Cadian Air Cav Strike Force


Audemus

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Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee ohmy.png wub.png

I used a razor saw for my Tau Tiger Shark AX-1-0 which had the same large blocks of resin attached. Just remember not to throw them away as they come in useful as tank traps (Dragons teeth), walls and general bits on your bases and terrain.

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Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee ohmy.png wub.png

I used a razor saw for my Tau Tiger Shark AX-1-0 which had the same large blocks of resin attached. Just remember not to throw them away as they come in useful as tank traps (Dragons teeth), walls and general bits on your bases and terrain.

I went a bit industrial on this using a The Torch Sawzall in a Milwaukee Jab Saw rubber grip, I also snagged this file and it was a life saver on the huge piece. I've removed all of the flash from the large pieces now and the little pieces I should be able to do with my clippers and hobby knife. Dry fitting is solid, the wings have maybe 2 cm of space on a short half inch portion that Green Stuff should take care of without any issues. One of the wings has a slight bend to it but I should be able to address that with hot water and easing it back into the correct place as well.

All in all it could have been much worse, I was able to knock out all of the primary ship pieces in about an hour and a half out on my porch to avoid the resin dust then I swept it back up and went on my way. I will say using a large dry brush as a part cleaner after sawing was extremely helpful because at times it was hard to even see where I was cutting due to the dust building up.

A bit nervous about not pinning the wings but I wasn't able to get a hold of the brass wiring and it's a holiday weekend, so I may just put off the wings until next week. Really depends on how the rest of the plane goes together! Thanks for the heads up on the saw, getting the equipment may have been a bit pricey but the saw has replaceable blades and the file is solid as hell so I don't think I'll need to buy anything in the future.

Side Note: It took more than one saw blade to complete the job. The first saw lost all of its teeth one part from the finish line...these mold blocks are insane!

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You have to get that in a battle report. I cannot wait. I have a B-19 model set aside for conversion into one of those and I have always wanted to see how that worked in the field.

 

Everybody has such cool and diverse projects lately. Its a wonderful time to be in the barracks.

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You have to get that in a battle report. I cannot wait. I have a B-19 model set aside for conversion into one of those and I have always wanted to see how that worked in the field.

Everybody has such cool and diverse projects lately. Its a wonderful time to be in the barracks.

Oh it will definitely be in a battle report! I made the order for the H.E.R.C. standard guardsmen earlier this week as well, as they will be necessary in terms of force org to see the Marauder and the Hellhammer in the field.

http://i.imgur.com/mEpRlsX.png

I'm thinking about just getting the Cadian Defence force box set since it appears to be available with a substantial discount from some retailers. That order will setup the 2 10 man squads with rebreathers, some of their special weapon guys, and then the standalone heads I can use on the Heavy Weapon Teams. The Chimera/Leman would be nice options to add in anyways and from what I can see the entire Defence Force contents add up to over $200 and I found a place with it for $140. The command squad would most likely go to waste but eventually I could make them a standard command squad and work them into the ground mechanized force of H.E.R.C.

As to the Marauder Destroyer...after an extended period with a scrubber after letting them soak, I can now say that every piece has been cleaned of flash, scrubbed of mold release, and tomorrow I'm going to be plotting the way I want to paint it. I'm a little displeased with the windshield, after making a boat load of Valkyries and a Vulture, as it's just a flimsy piece of clear plastic that I guess I'm expected to cut for each window. The instructions for this plane are the most hilarious things I've ever seen...it's a piece of paper, front and back, labeling a few components. That's it! biggrin.png

I guess they figure after you've been sitting there for two days cleaning the parts you'll probably figure out how they go together...which wouldn't be entire wrong but even some rudimentary build order would be welcome with arms wide. Ah well, I'll get through it!

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I think the painting gods accepted your brush sacrifices msn-wink.gif Great stuff, I'm looking forward to seeing your next large model being finished to the same standard thumbsup.gif

I am actually sitting here next to the body of the aircraft waiting for the tail section to dry. It's amazing how badly they line up, I'll be addressing it with Green Stuff once my Loctite Ultra Control Gel dries...it takes forever but it's the best glue I've found for working with resin.

What I learned with the Valkyrie is that I need to compartmentalize my paint jobs so I will probably completely paint the wings before they ever touch the craft. I've already dry fit them and know where the two spots are that will need green stuff as well. The nose guns and the nose itself will probably be painted separately and then combined on to the main ship once I finish the pilot and navigator. The last thing I will probably deal with is the ball gunner because there's just no reason to rush him into place when paint could potentially mar the final look of the gun.

I'm still not comfortable with the canopy for the cockpit and ball gunner though, it's little more than a slice from one of those paper sleeves that has a slight bit of thickness to it. Whoah, light bulb! If anyone has attempted the following and it ended in disaster please let me know...what do you guys think about using those clear hard paper protectors as a material to cut for the canopy glass instead of the wobbly stuff FW sent? I imagine if I get some heavy duty scissors and pencil sketch the windows I can create the canopy and then slide the entire thing in like you do in the Valkyrie.

Please let me know what you guys think because the idea is sounding like a solution to one of the problems I continually read about (Windows falling in) on other Marauder build posts.

The hellhammer looks great and I am in awe and very jealous of the Marauder. Need more pictures!

You going to have the wings removable for storage/transport?

Thanks for the compliment and I'll try to get some in progress build pictures up in just a bit, GF is sick and I'm just trying to do low impact stuff...the photo tent is umm rather bright! cool.png

As to the wings, if they were like the Valkyrie, I would say yes...but unfortunately that's not the case. The wings don't socket into anything and will require green stuff to clean up the side that is flush to the hull, so I don't know how I could really magnetize them since the green stuff hardening is going to reinforce the glue and the joint itself. It has crossed my mind that moving this thing is going to be a nightmare but I managed to get 4 Valkyries and an Imperial Knight to my local store using cloth cubby drawers a week ago, so I think I can manage it.

I knew this clean up process would be intensive but it's been two days now and I'm just now getting around to gluing things together. My intent is to have the wings, engines, hellfire missiles painted tomorrow and then I'm going to tackle the pilot/navigator section as well. It's an extremely complicated little area but after taking the time on the Valkyries, I can't really skimp on the Marauder. At least I know the color scheme going in!

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Per my above post, the following is the first set of items to be primed.  I'll be doing that when I wake up tomorrow as I wanted to ensure that everything has dried properly.  I'll most likely be priming the pilot/navigator and the cockpit since I need to paint them all individually before putting them together.  It does look like there is a gap between the cockpit portion of the hull and the tail portion but I've seen it in other peoples shots too so I'm just going to green stuff it when I put them together and use my paint brush to prime that portion. 

 

http://i.imgur.com/1yiNfTM.png

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Ah thats a pain that it needs green stuff.

 

Is there a waybyou can get it to fit and then apply a protective layer so it won't stick but will allow you to mould the green stuff? Maybe vaseline or foil etc?

 

As for the windows, the thicker plastic would probably work so ling as you don't then have to bend it much after shaping it. The only other problem is if it has enough material to stick too. Any chance of pics to help visualise and aid?

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Ah thats a pain that it needs green stuff.

Is there a waybyou can get it to fit and then apply a protective layer so it won't stick but will allow you to mould the green stuff? Maybe vaseline or foil etc?

As for the windows, the thicker plastic would probably work so ling as you don't then have to bend it much after shaping it. The only other problem is if it has enough material to stick too. Any chance of pics to help visualise and aid?

Yeah, if you look around though you'll see that is oddly normal for this model. There are some parts that are just horrible though; for instance, where you see the green stuff at the tail of the plane...what you don't see is the fact the tail section is literally like 3 cm to small to fit the back of the plane. I had to create a downward grade slope to smooth the transition and avoid a jagged step being left there.

Tomorrow I'll get a picture of the cockpit canopy, I'm planning on shaping the entire canopy prior to putting it into the resin. I'm fairly certain I can do that and I'll have plenty of material to test with as well, since they make the sleeves for an entire sheet of paper and I'll be cutting the sides off to make two full sheets of plastic. I also got my Cadian Defence Force ordered and have to say it's the first purchase I've made where I felt like I was getting a steal on the price of the models.

Prices from the GW Site:

Chimera (x1) - $37.25

Leman Russ (x1) - $49.50

Cadian Heavy Weapon Squad (x1) - $39.50

Cadian Command Squad (x1) - $25

Cadian Shock Troops (x2) - $58

Total: $209.25

Yet there are multiple vendors on sites like Amazon that are selling the box set for $130-144. Hell, it may be the only box set that GW itself sells that is actually a deal and not just priced identical to the models within (I'm looking at you Skitarii group sets) as they have the defence force up for $165.

I must admit to being a bit baffled feeling like I'm not getting fleeced ordering a big box set but there you have it...the world never ceases to amaze! tongue.png

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Status Update:

 

The most time consuming part of this project has been completed...I think!  The internal cockpit piece is entirely done and pictured below as well as the four engines to be attached under the wings. 

 

Note: I place green in the visor to show the internal lighting on the crew's face as well as to semi-represent a visor as every one is supposed to be entirely buttoned up.  The crew come as one piece though so I just made do with painting them in like I've done on my Valkyrie pilots as well.

 

Marauder Destroyer - Internal Cockpit - Side 1

 

http://i.imgur.com/lfBDOWr.png

 

 

Marauder Destroyer - Internal Cockpit - Side 2

 

http://i.imgur.com/zQlMAnk.png

 

Marauder Destroyer - Internal Cockpit - Top View

 

http://i.imgur.com/vcHwseZ.png

 

 

Marauder Destroyer - Internal Cockpit - Engines

 

http://i.imgur.com/FQHRcpS.png

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This is looking immense already. Very impressed with your speedy work.

 

 

Thanks for the compliment!  I'm trying to keep the pace up without rushing anything, as I ordered this plane primarily for a GW Anniversary Store Contest.  It will be the first time I've ever put anything competitively out there and since I've only been painting again since April of this year, previously I stopped in 2001, I'm hoping to that the bird is a hit.

 

Speaking of...I completed the nose section just now and got some pictures of it for you guys!

 

I almost skipped the wires but decided I would go ahead and give them a shot.  I'm really glad I did as the blue wire with the metal runners provides a really nice contrast to the right side of the nose.  When I was cleaning things I didn't notice that a large number of my auto cannons arrived with their sights damaged, it's mildly annoying but I don't think it's a show stopper.

 

Marauder Destroyer - Nose Section - 1

 

http://i.imgur.com/xJ2hPo0.png

 

 

Marauder Destroyer - Nose Section - 2

 

http://i.imgur.com/6dv0Eh1.png

 

 

Marauder Destroyer - Nose Section - 3

 

http://i.imgur.com/AQnAMjx.png

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Coming along very nicely and quick too biggrin.png How long before its finished?

I'd say no later than the end of the weekend and that's being generous. I have to go pick up some more primer at the store because the damn thing ate an entire fresh can and I was still not able to prime everything! Most of the items that didn't get primed are the smaller components. I've read about people pinning the wings but when I look at them I can't help but think that pinning would reduce the structural integrity of the wing itself due to how thin it is. The last thing I want is the resin cracking up or down due to some pressure, I can deal with re-gluing but not repairing the resin itself.

I've opted to use my diamond grit porcelain tile file to generate an extremely textured surface on both contact points to allow the Loctite Ultra Control Gel to really create a bond, as opposed to just gluing two smooth surfaces together. So far across the body of the plane that has worked like a charm and I can just hope it works on the wings as well. Once the wings are done, I'll attach the engines and then work on the hellfires and their mounts (which really don't seem to fit well) and go from there. The resin missiles seem a bit delicate to me so I'm using all of the excess hellfires from my Valkyrie kits instead; they'll be lighter and less prone to wear and tear.

The very last thing I'll be doing is the ball gunner, if only because he easily drops right into socket on top of the plane and can be put off to the end without causing issues. I'm also still waiting on the base to show up from Dragonforge, I was told it was being worked on on August 26th but he's so backed up in orders I can only cross my fingers and hope he finishes it in time.

Once completed though there's no rest for the weary as I have to sprint for my Armies on Parade design. Since it is limited to 2x2' in measurement, I'm going to go with the Forgeworld Imperial Stronghold as the base for the project.

http://i.imgur.com/Laif4uA.jpg?1

Once I get it put together and if I'm still feeling up to it, I'm going to try creating a plexiglass/acrylic platform using acrylic rods drilled into the board and then create a fake cloud cover on the platform with the Marauder (depending on just how heavy it ends up being) flying above cloud cover and two Valkyries diving toward the entrenched H.E.R.C. forces suspended by fishing wire that I'll loop through some small holes in the plexiglass platform.

I'll admit it's a bit over the top but the idea kind of stuck after I came up with it and I confirmed with the store manager there is no height limit for the competition beyond the ceiling of the store so I'm clear in that regard too. If you guys have any thoughts or just want to tell me I'm insane, please do!

Mock Up that I tossed together, this is rough so be kind:

http://i.imgur.com/d6KHmJ8.png

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The nose is looking good as said. The wires do standout too.

Effective colourscheme too.

What have you got forbthe base then?

The armies on parade idea is immense!!

This is the base with the flight stand in it, 200 mm round base pre-drilled:

http://i.imgur.com/va35JSh.jpg

This is the same size base without the extra thickness for the flight stand:

http://i.imgur.com/kZc61PW.jpg

I always wondered if anyone had bought those bases tongue.png Your plan sounds quite audacious and would look amazing if it works. There's only one way to find out! biggrin.png

I'm thinking it might take 24 inches of space to get the two Valkyries to look correct so I'll probably order 8 of the 12 inch (3/4th diameter) acrylic rods and then pin them together before gluing them. If I reverse the socket point to create the hole on the board it should give it the needed stability. This could work or end up in a horrific collapse so I'm going to have to wait and see how the rod for the Marauder looks before really settling in on the idea. In the meantime I've been studying some cotton ball cloud sites to get an idea how to build it up around the platform.

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Well, I haven't updated with my progress yet because things have been picking up.  I've got some work to do but I've moved from parts being done to the primary components of the plane being done and assembled; that deserves an update in my opinion!

 

http://i.imgur.com/z6yRr0e.png

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Wow that is looking amazing! Massive respect for your painting ability!

Thank you! This model has really taxed my building skills because the pieces simply will not fit together normally, so I did my best to paint it up nice to over come the issues I encountered with the model itself.

Looks like it will dominate the sky which is only fitting smile.png Hope we can see it finished in all its splendour soon thumbsup.gif

My pledge was that you will see it done this weekend which, as you will see below, I have followed through on! cool.png

Had a look at all your pics.

Most impressed, your Marauder looks fantastic.

I'm going to follow this, really inspirational.

Thank you very much for the kind words! The Marauder Destroyer is now complete, sans the windshield as Target did not have the hard paper sleeves for me to try my project with. I'm off to Office Depot in the next day or so but I wasn't going to let that stop me as the entire model fits together whether it's present or not!

So, without a flight stand as it hasn't arrived yet, I present the Marauder Destroyer.

...and starting Monday I begin knocking out Hostile Environment Cadian Guard and put in an order for the Imperial Strongpoint to prepare for Armies on Parade!

Marauder Destroyer - Front

http://i.imgur.com/zPOg5eA.png

Marauder Destroyer - Diagonal

http://i.imgur.com/mMT8sVC.png

Marauder Destroyer - Side

http://i.imgur.com/esShfhZ.png

Marauder Destroyer - Back

http://i.imgur.com/2gwZak7.png

Marauder Destroyer - Birds Eye View

http://i.imgur.com/MkN6vw0.png

Marauder Destroyer - Ball Turret Gunner

http://i.imgur.com/91vbZQw.png

Marauder Destroyer - Ball Turret Gunner - Birds Eye View

http://i.imgur.com/NH0o4vZ.png

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