The Albigensian Crusade

[Iago]

• wow. Just wow. LOVE it. Keep it up!

[Honda]

The Stormcrow is moving along nicely. There's been a lot of clean up along the way because I want this flyer to look distinctly non-DW. The paint will go along way towards helping me out in that regard, but there were items molded into the bits that had to go.

So...first off, I decided to fill in the wing panels with the scripting on them with GS. I also scraped off the aquilas on the exhaust pods.

Next up was scraping off the Inquisitorial symbols on the tail booms.

This shot shows something really silly. First off, I love how this model looks. I like the lines, the stealthy aspects built into the design, I think it''s one of the best looking SM flyers that GW has done.

Having said that, there appears to be a shrinking of the overall scale that I do not like. If you look at the rear drop ramp, there is no way anyone other than a grot is going to walk out of there. Now maybe it's just there to make loading equipment easier, but I rather doubt that. I'll get some scale shots of that later.

Anyway, "if" this vehicle was just going to be a one man fighter craft, then I think the scale is Ok. But to think that it is supposed to carry 10 guys...is really stretching credibility.

However, for my purposes, it will be a one man flyer.

And the final shot of the front of the nose. Very Apache looking to me.

Now the final big decision is whether I should putty over the scripting on he torso. I'm looking into covering part of the =}{= symbol using the Hurricane bolters that go on the top and leaving it as is. But I'm still undecided on that.

I'm only going to do one of these (famous last words), so I want to be happy with the decisions I make long term. We'll see.

Cheers,

[Ciler]

I get filling in the text and removing the =I=, but the aquilas ? Not being critical, merely curious of the reasoning that gets you there ?

[Honda]

Not being critical, merely curious of the reasoning that gets you there ?

 

 

Paraphrasing Reclusiarch Grimaldus, "We don't wear the Emperor's symbol, we are the Emperor's symbol."

[Ciler]

Good point.

[Honda]

Ok, this is where I ended up:

1. Left the scripting on the top of the fuselage.

2. All flaps are down. Airbrakes are for wimps non-Templar chapters

3. I decided against adding anything else to the top of the hull, so no Hurricane bolters.

4. I still need to do some GS work on the chin mount to smooth a few of the joins.

Assessment: It's not bad. The overall stubbiness seems to be enhanced by the mega-chin pod, but I think I'm just going to have to live with that. It's not awful, and I think like the A-10 I think I will be able to appreciate how beautifully ugly it is.

That being said, I now have a new capability I didn't have before, so that's rather exciting.

I'm still thinking about how I want to paint her, but that inspiration will come. In the meantime, I have two Storm Talons I need to modify so that they don't look so guppy-ish.

When they are done, then I'll paint all three together.

Cheers,

[Bjorn Firewalker]

The Corvus Blackstar looks AWESOME with the Vulcan Mega-bolter.

[Biscuittzz]

Excellent work. The two flat panels where the assault ramps should be are screaming for massive Templar crosses to be painted on. 

[Brother Christopher]

It shaping up nicely. I'm looking forward to seeing it completed. It may be a noob question, but where did you get the mega bolters from?

[Honda]

It may be a noob question, but where did you get the mega bolters from?

 

 

Not in the least. The mega bolters came from the Shadowsword kit. They are used for the...Stormlord variant? I think that's correct. The version that has mega bolters in the front and troop capacity in the back.

 

Cheers,

[Honda]

I thought this was pretty interesting:

So, size-wise, the Stormcrow still fits within my visual parameters for a single passenger attack craft, but it is significantly smaller than the Storm Raven, even if you discount the Chapterhouse extension..

[Honda]

¹⁴ Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

 

- Isaiah 7:14

 

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

 

- Isaiah 9:6

 

Merry Christmas Brothers!

[Honda]

Ok, time for an update on the next additions to Templar Air. These two Storm Guppies will be modified enough that I think I can give them a new name, hence the "Spectres" lead in.

After quickly putting the cabin area together, I then started on the fuselage modifications. What I am attempting to do is extend the overall length of the fuselage and then widen the wingspan. I don't know yet what the overall visual change will be, I just know that the existing profile is not acceptable.

And so the lengthening begins...

Also, here are my notes for the other changes I'll be looking at.

Cheers,

[NoPityNoRemorseNoFear]

I like the written notes alot! I never write ntes for conversions an end up forgetting what I had planned some of the time! Also very handy use of assembly instructions!

[Brother Christopher]

 

It may be a noob question, but where did you get the mega bolters from?

 

 

Not in the least. The mega bolters came from the Shadowsword kit. They are used for the...Stormlord variant? I think that's correct. The version that has mega bolters in the front and troop capacity in the back.

 

Cheers,

 

Sorry for not responding this long - thank you for the info. I kind of thought about that tank, but figured that the guns would be larger or something. I guess I was wrong. As a side note, I really want to get my hand on one of those IG super heavy tanks - I believe that the kit is great value for money given the number of bits in it and offers a multitude of conversion options (I'm thinking Fellblade or even a Mastodon, as I'm not so sure about FW's design choices).

 

Also, as usual, I'm looking forward to seeing where your conversion of the Talons will bring you. I decided to leave mine in an 'as is' condition and ultimately found the models to be quite nice acceptable. To be honest, I'm not a fan of lengthening them, but they sure need a wider wingspan (I deeply regret that GW didn't treat them similarly to DA's Dark Talon or whatever its called or the new SM fighter flyer --a Stormhawk?-- which, in my opinion, is one of the best looking Imperial flyers). Then again, I suppose that it's supposed to represent the craft being more of an attack helicopter gunship than an actual plane/fighter.

 

Good luck with your work!

[TheOneTrueZon]

Love the pre-vis, gotta have a plan! Measure twice, cut once is something we all can appreciate. 

 

I've got a rehab Talon idea that I'll be capitalizing on in 2017, the "Bulwark" variant. I'm bitbashing Stormraven wings to mag attach to the current wings so that when they rotate to the vertical position the wings will act as cover for ground units while also being able to use the AC turret. A mobile gun platform + infantry support. Temporary cover and base of fire for troops assaulting from LRCs, Ravens or even Pods if you're feeling lucky on scatter. I anticipate having the master form and resin copies made before summer.

 

Can't wait to see how yours turns out, looks rife for appropriation. 

[Arthanor]

Ok, time for an update on the next additions to Templar Air. These two Storm Guppies will be modified enough that I think I can give them a new name, hence the "Spectres" lead in.

 

After quickly putting the cabin area together, I then started on the fuselage modifications. What I am attempting to do is extend the overall length of the fuselage and then widen the wingspan. I don't know yet what the overall visual change will be, I just know that the existing profile is not acceptable.

 

And so the lengthening begins...

Hail brother Honda!

 

Indeed, the default Storm Talon pattern can use some tweaks. Years ago, the Rikia pattern Storm Talon was developed to try to overcome some of the shortcomings. I am linking here to one pic-capture logged in the Laurentia Crusade's datacores. Maybe it can help inspire your Master of the Forge.

 

We will be looking forward to your new pattern as well as we are still in the process of improving one of them.

 

May the Emperor guide you in your new designs and the purging that will undoubtedly follow!

[Honda]

Honda, on 26 Dec 2016 - 3:11 PM, said:http://bolterandchainsword.com//public/style_images/carbon_red/snapback.png

Ok, time for an update on the next additions to Templar Air. These two Storm Guppies will be modified enough that I think I can give them a new name, hence the "Spectres" lead in.

 

After quickly putting the cabin area together, I then started on the fuselage modifications. What I am attempting to do is extend the overall length of the fuselage and then widen the wingspan. I don't know yet what the overall visual change will be, I just know that the existing profile is not acceptable.

 

And so the lengthening begins...

Hail brother Honda!

 

Indeed, the default Storm Talon pattern can use some tweaks. Years ago, the Rikia pattern Storm Talon was developed to try to overcome some of the shortcomings. I am linking here to one pic-capture logged in the Laurentia Crusade's datacores. Maybe it can help inspire your Master of the Forge.

 

We will be looking forward to your new pattern as well as we are still in the process of improving one of them.

 

May the Emperor guide you in your new designs and the purging that will undoubtedly follow!

 

 

Hail Brother!

 

I'm not sure I saw your modded Talon before. I really like the changes you made...although, now that I think about it, maybe it was your mods that gave me the idea to lift up the chin mount. Hmm...I think I shall give you credit for the inspiration. Thank you! :)

 

Progress continues, which I will post later.

 

Thank you for the link.

 

Cheers,

[NovemberIX]

So this is dependent on how amenable you are to not using the surround on the guns, but you can flush fit the guns in the chin by removing the round molded mount on the hull itself. I just worked in an exacto knife and sliced it out, the top of the guns will cover the hole, and the bottom of them will still have a foot plate that makes it look pretty finished.

[Honda]

Yeah, I changed the name, so sue me. :P Besides Ghost Talon just sounds better to me.

Progress continues:

Chin Mount

So this is dependent on how amenable you are to not using the surround on the guns, but you can flush fit the guns in the chin by removing the round molded mount on the hull itself. I just worked in an exacto knife and sliced it out, the top of the guns will cover the hole, and the bottom of them will still have a foot plate that makes it look pretty finished.

Funny you should say that. I looked at that turret for quite awhile before deciding to take a minimalist approach and chose to do this:

Here is the surgery on the fuselage. I happy with the general profile that I have, but the join isn't going to be very straightforward.

However, it's nice when your creative muse decides to give you a hand and offer reasonable suggestions. I was looking at at the Stormcrow (see earlier) and thought maybe those rearward firing flare launchers would help cover some of the gap along the join and give it a transition line that doesn't require a ton of GS.

Also at around that same point in time, I settled on using the SR horizontal tail fin for the wings. That seemed like the right size. Larger than the original, but not too much larger.

While I was working on that, I also examined the engine extensions that I was considering and decided to leave the engine nacelles and exhausts as is. Some of that decision was due to the fact that aesthetically, it didn't make a positive change to the overall look and I also hadn't realized that the grill work on the engine coverings exposed a lot of the engine work. So,that was easy.

And here is a mock up of the various parts to give you an idea of where this is heading.

Cheers,

[Brother Christopher]

It's really awesome that you personalise your planes so much, thanks to that you're left with plenty of spare bits that you can later on to customise even more vehicles. The wings you've chosen for the Talon are truly spot on!

[Marshal Mattias]

That is a tremendous conversion effort, the overall profile is excellent.

[Honda]

UPDATE:

All the various bits are ready to be painted, save the rear mounted cluster launchers, which are in the mail. That being said, I'm fairly happy where the models landed as far as the concept goes.

Wing and engine nacelle modifications

Honda's Model Rule #3 - If you plan on playing with it, make sure it is sturdy enough to handle general gaming use.

Don't play with fragile models, that will just annoy you. It's Ok to add things to stabilize weak parts so that you can play with your toys without getting angry about accidents, because accidents will happen. This isn't IPMS, so build your toys strong.

To that effect, I decided once the winglets were cut from the SR horizontal stabilizer, to brace them with a thin strip of plasticard. I'm guessing it was about 1mm think and approximately 2mm wide. The important part though, is the 1mm dimension as that is what any tension on the winglet will rest upon.

Next up was a "glove" over the front of the winglet to strengthen the join. From a fluff perspective, it is intended to provide extra armor to the wing root and allow the Talon to take more damage.

Then the fuselage strengthening and gap filling.

"B-but Honda, t-there's still a whole in the side..."

Yes, yes, it's Ok Bucky, I'm going to cover it with these.

And finally, the Ghost Talons all pieced together.

I used the missile pods because I liked how they looked. I decided to go with two different sizes so that if I want one to be something different (e.g. lascannon), then I

can differentiate. Some of this depends on how I want them to be used in game. If they are going to be my divine instrument for sweeping the skies, then they will most likely carry lascannons for punch if they are going to be dogfighting with Storm Ravens or Valkyries. That armor 12 can be pretty tought. Otherwise, they'll get the Skyhammer missile launcher,

So this is what I did over Christmas vacation...

Next steps:

Waiting for the weather to clear enough so that I can begin painting as well as the bits to show up. I'm pretty sure that the Ghost Talons will end up white, while the Fire Raptor will be dark with understated Templar markings. However, I suspect that won't begin until mid-next week.

Now, on to the construction of some grav Devastators and probably some missile launcher Devs for my Skyhammer force.

Cheers,

[Race Bannon]

Damn right. :tu:

 

Solid rule too.

[Honda]

Quick update:

1. It's freaking cold down here. Not Montana cold, but then Montana doesn't get Taxas hot either, so it's all relative. Still it's freaking cold (IFC).

2. IFC cold is preventing much in the way of painting progress, other than before the IFC hit, I was able to spray base colors for where the crosses will be placed on the Talons and the Stormcrow. So small win there.

3. When I got the bits for the rear firing flare launchers, I noticed that the mounting panel that I had intended to leave off, actually fits very well on the Talon fuselage and covers up a lot of the conversion work.

4. And finally, to keep the overall project moving forward, I started putting together the models for my Skyhammer Devastators. I intend for one pod to have four grav cannons, but I didn't have any of those. So I needed to make some. Recognizing that I would need to do this eventually, I got some bits...(can you guess where?) and now those are in progress as well.

Cheers,