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Blackadder's Scratchbuilt Thunderhawk

Blackadder

By Blackadder
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Col.hertford Battle-Brother

Col.hertford

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What Am I Missing?

 

For the life of me I cannot figure out how these guns can elevate. With the rectangular view port and mount plate it seems that the gun mount shield (Plate between the guns) when the guns are elevated will interfere with the viewport and vise versa. If the side hemispheres only rotate upward then the viewport is not looking where the guns aim plus the entry hatch miss aligns. Or alternately it's just another FW bollock-up in the design department and it just looks good and can't function.

 

 

http://i.imgur.com/KXnF7Eq.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/KXnF7Eql.jpg

 

Anyway here's mine with out detail as yet but fully functional at least regarding movement.

 

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

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

 

Anyone who has this turret, can you post some images of what the turret looks like in the full elevated and full depressed configuration...

 

Thx.

It's a ball turret. The guns are fixed to the ball and the ball moves. I think you have over complicating it. Look at the belly gun of a B17 for inspiration and a real world engineer solution as these turrets are obviously inspired by this.

 

The battle bunnies King Fluff has just built one. It seems to have a semi circluar fitting, that attaches top and bottom of the turret.

 

http://battlebunnies.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/sons-of-nostramo-8-where-eagles-and.html?showComment=1451413350946#c548892306722065284

 

EDIT: Further searching suggests, That there is a channel in the turret that then provides the vertical movement in the above semi circular guide rail.

Blackadder Veteran

Blackadder

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Some Dumb Disney Movie:

 

A pair of Wall-E esque homemade twin bolters round out the forward armament slated for the Thunderhawk. 

 


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

 

Now whether I actually cut the holes in the fuselage to accommodate these hefty trainable beauties remains to be seen. 

 


http://i.imgur.com/Ax66nBml.jpg

 

I was scrounging around in my bitz box and came up with enough material to make my own version of the FW T'hawk bolter armament.

 


http://i.imgur.com/fAJ32IMl.jpg

 

The sighting unit above the bolter array reminded me of the cutesy robot in some dumb Disney movie

 

Blackadder Veteran

Blackadder

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Servo Assist?

 

Having worked in the commercial aviation industry for a good portion of my adult life up to and including  747 jumbo jets I've yet to see control columns as robust as these on the Thunderhawk so my supposition is that the servo assists are actually in the control columns. Cumbersome but viable I suppose.

 


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

 

I was hoping that the cockpit paraphenalia would disguise the fact that the pilots had no legs (being actually Rhino machinegunners) but no such luck.

 


http://i.imgur.com/nrm8cS8l.jpg

 

So I need a rational as to why they are lower extremity deficient.........

 


http://i.imgur.com/2PVM0zQl.jpg

Blackadder Veteran

Blackadder

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The Misery Compromise

 

After a futile attempt to garner a set of legs from my bitz box I settled on purchasing a landspeeder cockpit on ebay. What strikes me the most is the near miss I made regarding the scale of the cockpit accoutrements 

 


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

 

With very little adjustments at all it will be child's play to reassemble the cockpit with gen-u-wine FW artifacts; a source of great personal satisfaction to me.

 


http://i.imgur.com/UVyp8Hcl.jpg

 

While I have the cockpit in pieces perhaps I'll indulge myself in a bit of pre-assembly painting....

 


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

 

Whoops but first I'd better file down the sprue attachment residue :blush:

Blackadder Veteran

Blackadder

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Department of Redundancy Department:

 

Enough Blackadder enough! Too many images of virtually the same thing but ahh; subtly not......

 

Micro variations that only I can perceive are happening and rather than a flurry of un recorded activity I'll bore you with incessant detailed updates. :D

 


http://i.imgur.com/DjW59Jhl.jpg

 

The new cockpit revamped from the old fits much better under the canopy and the figures will be seen better duplicating the FW version....

 


http://i.imgur.com/hpu304Ml.jpg

 

The straight on shot reveals the fit of the landspeeder crew is a dead on duplicate of the resin original.

 


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

Blackadder Veteran

Blackadder

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Rule of the Incredibly Small:

 

I seem to be going to a lot of trouble with an interior that no one will be able to appreciate fully but there is a bit of fun in testing my limits besides which I wasn't even aware that FW included all this detail in their cockpit before I began researching it.

 


http://i.imgur.com/EeS6h17l.jpg

 

This first image overexposed as it is tries to give a hint of the just finished center and side consoles.

 

This next image show the detail better; I tried to replicate the FW center control panel to varying degrees of success.....

 


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

 

This next shot is more like itshowing the computer monitors and control buttons....

 


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

 

Over the shoulder view where I will be applying paper green cutouts for the cockpit displays.

 


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

 

Finally, a front end shot showing the beautifully details pilot seats that no one gets to see after the crew is glued in.

 


http://i.imgur.com/3lde8zDl.jpg

 

I may just magnetize their little bottoms :D

Blackadder Veteran

Blackadder

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First Try:

 

Today was my first attempt to paint heads and faces so after reviewed 'Buy Painted's' tutorial:

 

 

 

and discovering it's gonna cost a lot of money to get all these one shot paint vials I decided to mix my own out of the paint I had on hand.

 


http://i.imgur.com/l3jGDyEl.jpg

 

So I started with Vallejo Model Air 71.112 Sand for the flesh base.

 

and then applied a Violet wash made out of Game Color 'Royal Purple' 16 and 'Warlord Purple' 72014

 

The head in the cockpit is a practice head from my bitz box that is pretty beat up and had a coat of Testors Enamel.

 


http://i.imgur.com/Gu4hl5sl.jpg

 

For ease of painting and to allow for the backrest detail to be seen I magnetized the upper torsos so the can be removed readily.

 


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

 

The heads when finished will be mounted on wire and plugged into the neck recess.

 

 

Blackadder Veteran

Blackadder

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The Futurama Head Museum:

 

"A life of quiet dignity;"

 

These in the first image aren't completed but perhaps shows the intermediate stage of the paint process.

 


http://i.imgur.com/nNX5jocl.jpg

 

These in the image below are a bit further along.....

 


http://i.imgur.com/bOWxSS2l.jpg

Blackadder Veteran

Blackadder

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Front Row Redux:

 

Try as I might I cannot get decent images of the front row, this is the best I can do...........

 


http://i.imgur.com/7StnvaWl.jpg

 

The head in the middle has part of the skull exposed and the head on the far right; has most of the skull damged and covered with a partial metal prosthesis.

 

 


http://i.imgur.com/cMZ9tR5l.jpg

Blackadder Veteran

Blackadder

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Derelict Marines:

 

Probably everyone has them and on a whim I decided to try to salvage these abused figures so gathering the worst of them I managed to cobble together fifteen and of these I painted five flat black.

 


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

 

I then gave them a light brushing of aluminum powder to see if it was worth pursuing the project further; it was.

 

These little guys have taken on a new lease on life and when I finish adding the arms and armament they will serve as the nucleus of my marine company.

 


http://i.imgur.com/KB3vOcIl.jpg

 

These ten others below needed a lot more work missing bases and jetpacks, heads and torsos but these to will get TLC and a brand new paint job to boot.

 


http://i.imgur.com/xx04EmAl.jpg

 


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

 

I can then start on the other hundred or so that are not in such bad condition.

Blackadder Veteran

Blackadder

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Panorama:

 

I'm not lyin' to ya I hate painting, anything I can do to expedite the procedure I'll go for so when I arrived at this Technique if you can call it that I went for it and I share it with you take it or leave it. 

 


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

 

Basically it's spray paint every thing with 'El cheapo 0.99 ¢ a can Walmart flat black enamel and dry brush aluminum powder on it. 

 


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

 

In all it averages out to about five minutes effort per figure no lie; so the results aren't Pro painter quality but I could devote an hours labor per piece and not come upwith anything half as good.

 


http://i.imgur.com/D4i5j02l.jpg

 

These figures are/were literally GARBAGE and anyone in their right mind would have tossed them so I had nothing to lose for the attempt. 

 


http://i.imgur.com/aYy4PAel.jpg

 

Naturally I plan to augment the basic work with a bit of colour here and there; purity seals glowing eyes etc and of course paint the bases....

 


http://i.imgur.com/jTCmX83l.jpg

 

but where else are you gonna get such an acceptable return for such a bit little effort; just FYI........take it or leave it.

Blackadder Veteran

Blackadder

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Exercise in Green and Graphite:

 

I wanted my marines to be more in keeping with what I perceive to be a viable colour scheme for combat troops but still giving a nod to the garish propensities of the 40K genera; therefore I coloured my troops with OD green and graphite literally powdered graphite. 

 


http://i.imgur.com/3KeQcNfl.jpg

 

After spray painting flat black 0.99 cent a can black flat primer I brushed in graphite pigment and achieved in my estimation a realistic military patine on both the armour and the weapons.  

 


http://i.imgur.com/vjqe8IMl.jpg

 

Painting the shoulders and the gauntlets were the most time consuming part of this project so far but I still have the accent colours to add.

 


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

Sgt. Blank Veteran

Sgt. Blank

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For a first try, the bare heads look really good. The tone looks realistic, thanks for sharing the link.

 

I agree the graphite looks better than the other techniques you attempted. I am not very familiar with how graphite works or how it would take a wash but the current generation of GW washes work really well and can really help add dimension to models quickly if that's what you're after. Nuln oil (black wash) really enhances silver or grey metals if you paint in recesses, which could work will with your scheme.

Blackadder Veteran

Blackadder

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Thanks, I intend to paint the bare heads flesh with either silver or graphite highlights but what I am looking for here is a quick way to colour a large army with an acceptable military motif; the beauty of this technique is until it is fixed you can wash it off with plain soap and water. So far handling the pieces has not removed any perceptible amount of the pigment powder although I would not recommend handling with damp fingers. Once I have finished to to my liking I'll apply a finish of some sort; I haven't reached that stage yet. Right now I am having fun experimenting. These pigments are intended to be suspended in a clear medium such as acrylic, oil or wax before application but all these would require a lot of painstaking labor. I'm looking for the lazy man's short cut. biggrin.png

Blackadder Veteran

Blackadder

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Errand of Mercy:

 

In my practicing to paint the Thunderhawk I experimented with the colours I've chosen on some derelict Dread's; two plastic and one metal which were sorely abused in their time. I found these in my son's junk box (their from his friends, he paints much better than these were plus someone converted the metal one to a Chaos...)

 

Anyhow after repairing and stripping the coarse paint-jobs I rebuilt the Dread's and painted the weapons and greaves OD green over flat black and then drybrushed on some graphite powder....

 


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

 

I then highlighted the bas relief insignia with Vallejo gold.

 

Now here's the beauty of using dry graphite highlighting; whilst painting on the gold there were occasions when I smudged some gold on areas I didn't want picked out in that colour; I simply pencil eradicated the indiscretion with a sharpened 2 HB pencil. 

 

Plus the dry graphite highlights the detail wonderfully with an incredibly minimum of effort.

Blackadder Veteran

Blackadder

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Cockpit Detailed:

 

Seems the depth of field is too fine for my camera; I can't seem to get a good image of the crew in the cockpit......

 


http://i.imgur.com/j1kxER2l.jpg

 

No excuse for this next one, just a poor photographer....

 

The guy in the foreground is too ugly, anyway I like the guy with the broken nose in the right seat; puts me in mind of my old drill Sargent :D

 


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

 

This image is a bit better it shows the steering yoke mechanism which is unlike any AC I ever worked on but I guess the genetically enhanced SM don't need fly by wire or hydraulic assist to steer a T'hawk ;)

 


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

 

Much better image but the pudgy faced guy in the Capt'n seat seems a bit out of focus.

 


http://i.imgur.com/Nm32iexl.jpg

 

Cockpit seat is a bit tilted in this side view before I install mounting magnets...

 


http://i.imgur.com/2c9ZO9Hl.jpg

 

And finally the cockpit flight panel before I install the video flight displays (EICAS) engine-indicating and crew-alerting system (EICAS) is an integrated system used in modern aircraft to provide aircraft crew with aircraft engines and other systems instrumentation and crew annunciations.

 


http://i.imgur.com/t1tBZ4Cl.jpg

 

Seems to be a distinct minimum of instrumentation

 

for a re-entry vehicle but I guess those plugs in the backs of their heads provide data directly to the brain synapses.

Blackadder Veteran

Blackadder

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E.I.C.A.S. Instrumentation:

 

As mentioned above computer monitor instrumentation was 'state of the art' when I left the aircraft field replacing the 'mechanical ribbon' instrument found in older aircraft such as the Lockheed L1011 (Gad, what a POS!)

 

Anyway the FAA said that the monitor displays could be used as the primary instrumentation so long as there were a discrete component instrument as a secondary back up.

 


http://i.imgur.com/t1tBZ4Cl.jpg

 

In the far flung future that craven conditional; isn't, er wasn't, er won't, er will not have been necessary.

 

Seen below I attempted to duplicate the EICAS displays with images I downloaded from google,

 


 

 printing them at greatly reduced sizes and cutting them out and pasting the instruments on the four blank displays.....

 


http://i.imgur.com/f2UWD6Sl.jpg

 

A simple yet effective way to duplicate vehicle gauge and annunciator panels.

 

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