Plastic Thunderhawk Gunship

[Brother Christopher]

After years of break, I revived the project thanks to which my scratch building begun. In the meantime I started, finished and never-finished many projects, including a custom Stormraven, a Land Raider, a Vindicator or two Rhinos.

 

I feel now that this is the time to return to the roots and finish the biggest and probably most ambitious project. In honesty, I hope that I will not only return to the project, but also finish it in a reasonable time.

 

I had a thread for this project that I started years ago; however, the thread is properly dead now since I used Photobucket to host my pictures. I also post updates on my hobby stuff in my Crusade thread over in the Black Templars subforum. You will probably find more information about the assembly process there. For this thread, I want to use it primarily to share pictures of the work I'm doing with a wider audience and answer questions you may have.

 

I have started assembling the Thunderhawk back in 2012. I basically finished the transport bay back then and went from the pieces in raw condition, through primer-stage to a fully painted interior which rested in a box up till now.

 

 

 

 

 

More in the gallery: https://imgur.com/a/8NVeicU

 

I also built some of the cockpit interior back then, but that's for another post.

 

After the revival of the project, I managed to adjust the nose to fit the front ramp and get some of the front armour exterior detail done:

 

 

 

Any and all questions and comments are welcome. If you're interested in some more details (admittedly not much) about the assembly process, visit my Crusade thread.

Edited October 6, 2023 by Brother Christopher

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Impressive.

[Honda]

ONWARDS BROTHER!

[Pearson73]

An impressive project, always like seeing some scratch building.

[Brother Christopher]

Thanks for the responses and likes! I'm looking forward to the opportunity to share more of my work with you.

 

I know that the question is premature considering how much work I have to do, but I'd like to ask you what do you think about the engines of the Thunderhawk? Are they an iconic (and thus integral) part of the model or would you be okay with altering their design? I'm thinking about covering the central part of the engines with all the exposed pipes, tubes and other detail (the part showing along the length of the wings) with armour, similar to/inspired by that used in more recent designs, faithful to solutions used in a Xiphon Interceptor or Stormtalon: a solid enclosure, with vents that may expose some hidden detail. Something akin to the internal engines on this.

[Brother Christopher]

I've decided for now to cover the engines with armour. Hopefully, I'll persist in that decision until I get to actually assembling the wings. I've also made some progress on the front of the fuselage; I did most of the exterior armour (minus some details).

 

Firstly, the parts I have recently been working on:

 

Bottom side armour (exterior of the transport bay):

 

 

Upper side armour (exterior of the cockpit):

 

 

 

And now some work I did six years ago, with the interior of the cockpit. These parts need to be compatible with my current work; this, however, is challenging since I made some mistakes all those years ago. Still, I find the results pleasing enough to work with these bits (which actually brought me back to the project!)

 

 

 

 

 

I must say, I am impressed by my persistence back then. This may come off as rather self indulgent... but today I wouldn't bother to cut paper clips with pliers and glue them with super glue (which I hate). I also wouldn't bother to drill holes to place pinheads as buttons/screens. The labour put into these parts is exceptional. Unfortunately, it doesn't really translate into quality since many of the bits are noticeably more asymmetrical or misaligned than I find acceptable today, but I'm not scraping that work.

 

Next, I want to finish the parts above (add missing detail, refine elements of my earlier work), undercoat them and glue on top of the existing transport bay. I think this is the right path to take now to ensure other parts fit together nicely and the entire construction is sturdy enough. After the sides are done, I'll see how the parts are meant to fit together and how my structure fits together (there may be discrepancy between the blueprint and the model due to thickness of plasticard used). Afterwards, I'll be able to work on the top of the front of the fuselage and the canopy.

[Pearson73]

I think the exposed icons are pretty distinctive of the Hawk, but then as a scratchbuild, there's always a bit more leeway, plus, it could be argues that such exposed engines are a great vulnerability when entering hostile environments, especially those filled with debris. Alternatively, there's always the 'alternative pattern' justification which, for a cheap alternative as the Thunderhawk was, is definitely viable.

[Brother Christopher]

Thank you for the input! To me, scratchuilding is now all about the leeway. Initially, I wanted all my builds to be as faithful to the original as possible. Over the years, however, I discovered that introducing changes is immensely satisfying and allows to expand my warhammer experience. In result, I end up with vehicles which are distinctly 40K, but overall unique.

 

The alternate pattern is my go-to justification. According to my fluff (nerdy musing), my crusade is tied in combat in an run-down industrial sector. Despite resources being sparse, the crusade command and the residing Magos disregard impositions of the Imperium as a whole, and Mechanicus specifically, and produce upgraded versions of regular vehicles (if you're interested, take a look at the links in the first post). While this borders on (tech)heresy, adjustments are necessary since they allow to optimise the use of resources as well as give an edge in warfare.

[Pearson73]

Thank you for the input! To me, scratchuilding is now all about the leeway. Initially, I wanted all my builds to be as faithful to the original as possible. Over the years, however, I discovered that introducing changes is immensely satisfying and allows to expand my warhammer experience. In result, I end up with vehicles which are distinctly 40K, but overall unique.

 

The alternate pattern is my go-to justification. According to my fluff (nerdy musing), my crusade is tied in combat in an run-down industrial sector. Despite resources being sparse, the crusade command and the residing Magos disregard impositions of the Imperium as a whole, and Mechanicus specifically, and produce upgraded versions of regular vehicles (if you're interested, take a look at the links in the first post). While this borders on (tech)heresy, adjustments are necessary since they allow to optimise the use of resources as well as give an edge in warfare.

 

I definitely agree, scratch building is a great way to explore new ideas within the game and it really helps that you don't need to worry about cutting up an expensive model to do so. I'll make sure to check out your other works.

[Brother Christopher]

Plasticard Thunderhawk

 

Update no. 3

 

 

Front panel with small monitors:

 

 

Close-up on the small grilles:

 

 

Rear interior panels:

 

 

Interior of the canopy:

 

And all of the above dry-fitted together:

 

 

 

 

Thanks for viewing. I appreciate any and all questions and comments! If you'd like to learn anything about the assembly process, do not hesitate to ask.

[Shovellovin]

Killer work on the cockpit. This is really coming along.

[Brother Christopher]

Thanks man! It really does. I'm quite aware that pictures of individual parts on a cutting mat are not something that can be considered as cool or striking and don't show much in the scope of the entire project. However, to get things even into this state requires much time and effort, hence my updates.

[Nostromo]

Damn! That’s a scratchbuild you can be proud of even now!

As for coverage on the engines: Do it!

You are beyond the point where you reproduce existing models (judging from your other scratchbuilds) and leave watchers unable to tell whether it’s an original or a copy. Time to fix the stupid flaws in the GW-designs - make it better!

I am not nearly as good as you... but I do not stick to the standard designs as well.

[Brother Christopher]

@Nostromo

Thanks a lot for checking out this thread and the links to my other builds. Also thank you for the feedback and support - I greatly appreciate that, especially positive feedback on my ideas. By the way, I discovered that in Dawn of War 1, Thunderhawks had the engines covered in a similar way I indeed to cover mine up. The render of the idea I had further reinforces my conviction that his is a good way to go about... if not the right way since the alteration on the original design gives the model a more exotic and fanciful look.

 

It's great that you've taken the time to respond here - this has allowed me to explore your terrific work.

 

By the way, what are your opinions on the design/aesthetics of the new vs. old Forge World Thunderhawk?

[Naryn]

Lovely work! Very impressive scratchbuilding. Every time you update I'm excited to see what progress you've made.

[Nostromo]

 

By the way, what are your opinions on the design/aesthetics of the new vs. old Forge World Thunderhawk?

 

i prefer the newer one - with the exception of the chin weapons housing.

[Brother Christopher]

Warm welcome to all who happen upon this revived thread. I am pleased to announce that thanks to the impact of the pandemic on my business I have what seems to be too much time on my hands. Because of this, I felt like it's the right time to restart my Thunderhawk project. It has been a while - I've started building this vehicle in 2012 as an introduction to scratchbuilding, then got distracted by smaller projects (thanks to which I learnt a lot and thanks to which this model, if it is ever finished, will be way better than it could have been back when I started), then had a short episode which resulted in the 2018 progress and... this brings us here. Much time, not so much work.

 

I will be posting photos pretty soon, once I finish the "sub-assemblies" which make up the nose section / cargo bay / front of the Thunderhawk.

 

Over the last week I basically built the roof part, adjusted the cockpit, added details to the sides of the front fuselage, assembled the front wings/stabilisers, figured a way to magnetise the canopy and roof to show the work I did on the interior in 2012. At this very moment, I'm mostly done with the underside of the cargo bay, excluding the landing gear that I'm going to work on in the future (I want to make sure that the front and rear landing gear are properly adjusted and the model is level when it stands).

[hushrong]

This is insanity. and I am loving it! Awesome project and the level of detail you are putting forth is fantastic!

[Brother Christopher]

Thanks mate! I see that you get it - I mean the insanity of the project.

 

I have something to share. Most of first part out of three of the model is finished - I still have to add some minor details, rivets and the pieces are ready for priming.

 

This is an overview of all the parts I've been working on for the last couple of days:

 

 

Bottom of the cargo bay / nose:

 

 

 

Close-up of sights/cameras presumably used to assist close manoeuvring/landing?

 

 

Close-up of my altered manoeuvring thrusters (inspired by thrusters on Stormtalons):

 

 

Sides panels (front fuselage):

 

 

Top part of the side panels:

 

 

Close-ups of some detail work; I'm particularly fond of the way the doors turned out:

 

 

Top panel; this bit requires some detailing in the recessed area:

 

 

Close-up of some vents:

 

 

Assembled interior (the details here aren't up to my current standard, but I figured I'll leave them as-is due to nostalgia and due to them not being visible; I hope that after they're painted, they'll look better):

 

 

 

 

The remainder of parts needed for the interior of the cargo bay - ceiling of the nose "tip", rear hatch and side doors:

 

 

 

Rear front fuselage and exit ramp:

 

 

Nose armour panel:

 

 

Front wings / stabilisers:

 

 

 

New details for the interior of the canopy:

 

 

And details on top of the canopy, including some kind of sights/targeters/cameras:

 

 

[hushrong]

Another awesome update. The level of detail is fantastic and that's why I love these builds. Your work is on par with those intense replica model builders who construct their planes, cars, etc as if they came out of the factory...just in a smaller scale. Now I am honestly half expecting you to build working engines for this beast!

[ElDuderino]

Wow, this is pretty Insane. I was perfectly happy with my plasticard skills before I saw this, not so much now. What have you used as reference material? I'm guessing you're not just making this up as you go;)

[Brother Christopher]

Another awesome update. The level of detail is fantastic and that's why I love these builds. Your work is on par with those intense replica model builders who construct their planes, cars, etc as if they came out of the factory...just in a smaller scale. Now I am honestly half expecting you to build working engines for this beast!

 

Thanks, I appreciate this a lot! In a way, I'd wish to introduce at least some moving parts (I though about some servos or at the very least LED lighting for the interiors and engine nozzles), but I suppose I'd like to see it finished more and adding any more complexity to an already large and time-consuming endeavour would probably push the finish line even further. On top of that, I have virtually no knowledge about engineering and practical stuff. I just follow instructions - cut plastic, glue it with other pieces of plastic and add detail wherever I can find something is missing from the original.

 

Wow, this is pretty Insane. I was perfectly happy with my plasticard skills before I saw this, not so much now. What have you used as reference material? I'm guessing you're not just making this up as you go;)

 

I'm sure your skills are okay! But I take what you say as a compliment.

 

All those years ago I found a 3-part PDF with templates for a papercraft Thunderhawk. I use these as the base, but add quite a lot of missing details (mostly minor stuff, like the cut-out squares and rectangles on edges of Space Marine vehicles; I also redid parts of the cockpit to better mimic the original layout). The templates, while not perfect, are the only thing that pushed me to start the project; without them, I wouldn't have been able to do this thing in a reasonable time frame - I'm getting a kind of a paralysis when it comes to designing something - I look at the original for way too long before I actually start doing something, that is why my scratch-built Stormraven was a chore to design and execute (if you're interested, you'll find a link to it in the first post).

 

This looks amazing. Great work!

Thanks! I do hope to keep this going as much and as fast as possible now to keep myself occupied.

[malika666]

*mindblown*

[hushrong]

I say just get that bird built and finished so you can show off all its glory. The level of detail you've already poured into the thunderhawk is already jaw dropping.

[Brother Christopher]

I say just get that bird built and finished so you can show off all its glory. The level of detail you've already poured into the thunderhawk is already jaw dropping.

If it were so simple, I'd love to! However, it takes me ages to put these things together. It's actually great that I'm now on this forced holiday.

 

While I don't want to even think about the time I've already sunk into this, I made great progress over the last week. I have around 80% of the "superstructure" for the "main fuselage": I put together the panels which make up the sides, top and underside of the main fuselage, as well as the rear slanted part to which the tail is attached. These panels will soon be attached to a rough skeleton (that's why I referred o them as the superstructure); however, first I want to assemble the wings to make sure that I magnetise them properly - I want to have the wings detachable.

 

Here are some close-ups of details:

And here's the whole thing roughly and (very) temporarily dry-fitted together:

 

I'm also thinking about magnetising the entire front section of the craft to make storage and transport easier. While having the nose and cargo bay detachable would allow me to keep the Thunderhawk in a small(ish) box, say a shoe box, I'm pretty anxious about the integrity of the model. The front is relatively flimsy, with no internal reinforcements in place (there's nowhere to put them!) and the magnets I'd have to use to keep the entire front section in place and aligned with the rest of the fuselage would have to be pretty strong; as such, I'm worried that the magnets might damage the joints between the individual plastic panels. Would you advise me to go with convenience of storage and the slight chance of damaging the model in the future, or should I go with the safer option and fix the front and back permanently? Alternatively, I could easily magnetise the top and slanting back part (with the central engine exhaust nozzle) - that way the model would be just under 40 cm in length (as opposed to around 50 cm). I figure that I should be able to find a box that long somewhere...

 

 

Also, as I'm nearing the stage of the project in which I'll have to build the engines, the question I put in post #14 above is still open. In short, I'm wondering whether to recreate the original engines with the exposed machinery or encase them in armour, taking cues from later designs such as a Stormraven, Stormtalon or Xiphon. However, with feedback from other Frater here in this forum and my gut, I'm almost decided to go with the armoured option - it makes a bit more sense thematically and working on angular shapes is always less frustrating than on cylindrical shapes. Unless you think otherwise - after all, the "exposed" engines have been there in all variants of the model.