Plastic Thunderhawk Gunship

[Brother Carpenter]

I'd do the white/unpainted stripe in red.

It would be a nice spot colour and we all know red ones go fasta

[Brother Christopher]

Welcome back!

 

Firstly, I'm surprised that he last update was in September 2024... funny how memory works. I could've sworn that I didn't touch the model in 2024.

 

Secondly, after doing some side quest followed by some tidying-up with my older models, with a new year just recently having started, I figured that I really should do something about this project.

 

In truth, I have been delaying returning to this out of fear. However, boosted by the symbolism of a new year and a fresh start, I kinda overcame my apprehension and tackled my concerns. And it turns out that they were not ill-founded.

 

The current to-do list includes assembling the front section, finishing the final details (some gubbins), finishing the front ramp and figuring a way to make it usable, as well as sorting out the front heavy bolter sponsons.

 

Assembling the front section is a bit worse than I had expected. Because the project has taken this much time, I forgot and/or didn't think about certain things. Consequently, I failed to account for the differences in the tempalte caused by the thickness of the plasticard I used. I was aware of that and I expected some gap filling to be necessary but I had hoped it would be around 2mm; instead, I ended up with massive gaps of 3-4 mm that might be a bit trickier to fix.

 

 

 

 

Also, the nose section - assembled over a decade ago - shows some fatigue. I had to reinforce and extend it to fit in some metal rods for the ramp. I'm quite happy with the result and now, I only hope that the hinges won't snap in the future.

 

 

 

 

I also fitted some grating to add some texture to  the floor of the front ramp:

 

 

 

 

Luckily, the work I did in the past on the ramp appears to be spot on - a nice surprise to be sure! Right now the ramp fits perfectly. I don't want to think, however, about the work to be done around the ramp, after I assemble to side and top panels. However, future problems are of no concern to me right now.

 

As you can see, most of the photos above are of rubbish things that I figured I want to document. But I've also managed to do something nice. For the front heavy bolters, my initial plan to use proper Land Raider sponsons failed - it turns out that they're not compatible with Razorback-type bolters. Now it seems painfully obvious, but it's clear that I haven't analysed the bits when planing this bit out.

 

This meant that I had to get back to the proverbial drawing board. As such, I figured I'd want to try something fancy-ish and exotic. I've been pondering this for some time (and also consulted the matter here, with you) but instead of overthinking matters, I pulled the trigger and went for a Land-Raider-Prometheus-inspired set of bolters, with the ammo belt connected with an ammo box on the back of the gun. I don't want to wonder whether it makes sense from a mechanical standpoint, I'm just curious if you agree that the rule of cool applies here.

 

I kind of think it does. Admittedly, I winged the design and execution stages and improvised things here and there but the result is adequate (right?).

 

 

 

 

For reference, the HBs on the Prometheus:

Spoiler

 

I'm not entirely sure about the execution of the front of the ammo box and the way the belt goes into it but... it is what it is. I also made the ammo boxes to thick on the 'inside' which solves my next problem: I wanted to allow for the botlers to swivel but I don't think that this option is on the table any more.

 

Regardless, it's good to be back!

[Firedrake Cordova]

Oof, having those gaps to fill must've been annoying and tedious!  

 

I like the heavy bolter set-up - I think the ammo box works just fine. 

 

The project's definitely coming along well

[ZeroWolf]

Having caught up since I last looked at this (pre-october 2023...seems a lifetime ago) 

 

You've done an amazing job, I don't think I would have had that much patience with myself, especially when things started to go south.

[sarabando]

great work, real spirit of what warhammer always was supposed to be. 

[apologist]

Well done for getting back on the horse; when projects get intimidating like this, it's easy to give up. In any case, it's a work of art already – you should be very proud!

 

Regarding the larger than expected gaps, can I suggest some square plastic rod (like this rectangular styrene) to fill the gaps, or L-shaped strips (like this) to cover them? They're available in different sizes, and it'll give you a clean, consistent finish and suitably hard corners, plus it'll glue to the existing plastic sheet you've used with poly cement.

 

Edited January 8 by apologist

[W.A.Rorie]

Oh man Oh man......

 

So excited to see this project is still around

[Brother Christopher]

 

 

On 1/8/2025 at 8:14 AM, Firedrake Cordova said:

Oof, having those gaps to fill must've been annoying and tedious!

 

 

21 hours ago, apologist said:

Regarding the larger than expected gaps, can I suggest some square plastic rod (like this rectangular styrene) to fill the gaps, or L-shaped strips (like this) to cover them? They're available in different sizes, and it'll give you a clean, consistent finish and suitably hard corners, plus it'll glue to the existing plastic sheet you've used with poly cement.

 

I'm still hopeful that they won't be that bad to fix. I have an idea that - in theory - should allow me to fix them quickly and, hopefully, even reinforce the edges. @apologist I've been considering using plastic rods and/or plasticard cut to shape but I'm afraid in this particular case, especially on the side edges, it won't work. Mostly because of the mistakes of my past, that is - the trouble spots are covered in superglue. Apparently, that was my idea to reinforce the connections in the past: drown them in super glue.

 

My plan now is to mix some Milliput, let it rest for 30-60 minutes so that it handles more like green stuff, and fill the gaps with it. I imagine that with giving it some time (before mixing and actually using it), the consistency of the putty should be right and make it easy to fill in the gaps and neatly remove the excess. At least that's how I imagine it. Also, I hope that Milliput will further reinforce the edges of the cargo bay since I didn't bother thinking about doing it properly when I first assembled it.

 

 

On 1/8/2025 at 8:14 AM, Firedrake Cordova said:

I like the heavy bolter set-up - I think the ammo box works just fine. 

 

The project's definitely coming along well

 

I'm glad you like it! I must confess, I don't have second thoughts about the ammo boxes so that's good!

 

The bad part is that they might be blocking the movement of the sponsons or they might force me to extend the little 'roof' (the top part of the sponson mount) a bit too much. I should know if this is the case today.

 

On 1/8/2025 at 9:35 AM, ZeroWolf said:

Having caught up since I last looked at this (pre-october 2023...seems a lifetime ago) 

 

You've done an amazing job, I don't think I would have had that much patience with myself, especially when things started to go south.

 

It does feel like a lifetime ago, doesn't it?

 

Thanks for the kind words! I don't even think in terms of 'patience' with this project. It's just something I'm taking for granted now: since I decided to revive the project, I knew that I'll be finishing it. The problem is time and juggling the hobby priorities. I see Q1 2025 as the time for the T-Hawk!

 

It also falls in organically with my 'big picture' approach to 40k: I want to finalyl finish my long-overdue 5th edition army but I also want to keep myself entertained so I decided to put painting infantry, assembling infantry, painting Primaris-scale models, painting vehicles and doing conversions/scratch builds on shuffle.

  

23 hours ago, sarabando said:

great work, real spirit of what warhammer always was supposed to be. 

 

Wow, that's a a very kind thing to say! Thanks a lot!

 

19 hours ago, W.A.Rorie said:

Oh man Oh man......

 

So excited to see this project is still around

 

As always, I hope not to disappoint! The idea now is to focus most of my hobby efforts on this.

[Brother Christopher]

This weekend has been an intense Thunderhawk experience. Subjectively, there were mostly downs but I hope to convert them into ups soon!

 

I think I have a bit of a hobby PTSD - it's a silly thing but assembling the outer layers of the T-Hawk's front was a draining and stressful experience. It took me around 3 hours to do what I planned, including the dreaded gap-filling and I found myself actually physically fatigued after finishing. Frankly, I wanted to stop midway and leave things for another day but I knew that the process has to be done over a single session and that I couldn't spare the time during the week.

 

Now, I feel that I only discover new problems - making the details align and the ramp work is way more difficult than I expected. The reality I found myself in truly shows the age and subpar quality of the 'shell' of the transport bay.

 

To be honest, I'm considering putting the project on hold again. But I know that this is the coward's way and, as a Templar, I shall not have it. I'll take a day or two to regain my footing and will press on with this utterly demotivating and rubbish part of the project.

 

I'll post photos of the front after I solve the most pressing issues. In the meanwhile, here's a photo of the 'ups' of the weekend: the parts that will make the side sponsons:

 

[ZeroWolf]

Carry on Brother! It's what the Emperor would have wanted!

 

Seriously though every step, even backwards, will lead you to the conclusion, and a project like this deserves to see an ending.

[Firedrake Cordova]

Hobbies should never be chores - if you feel it becoming so, then putting it aside for a bit and doing something else, then coming back to it with renewed enthusiasm is the way to go; otherwise, you risk forcing yourself to complete it, and getting worse results as you try to force your way through the fatigue/boredom.

 

On the plus side, I do think you're making good progress, and can't wait to see it completed.  (if it's any help, at least you're not having to straighten giant lumps of wonky resin  )

[Sir Clausel]

Be like Grimaldus... Too angry to stop!

[Brother Christopher]

So it seems that I've taken the too angry to stop approach. I did some more YOLO-ASSEMBLY, i.e. I tried to align things the best way possible without the usual rites of dry-fitting and overthinking. And I'm glad I did it since I actually managed to finally pinpoint the root of all problems.

 

I was right about the source of the problems, i.e. the ancient superstructure. However, for whatever reason, I was under the assumption that the front part was done properly and -- after accounting for the differences in the thickness of the sides -- that there is nothing fundamentally wrong with the, so to speak, underlying dimensions. As such, for some reason, I continued to fault the external panels.

 

Obviously, I was wrong. And silly to assume that my more recent work was wrong, while my first attempts at scratch building were reliable. It turns out, that it mostly was, but a slight deviation at the front.

 

 

To illustrate my problem, I've taken liberty and used a photo I found online: the proper way the front section should be is marked blue; my model has a 1-2 mm deviation (marked red) which affected how the sides align, as well as the top part housing the canopy. I never even considered that this is the culprit, but after fitting the yellow panel, I made the discovery and... well, now I know why I wasted so much time. Now, I'm also more hopeful that the front ramp will actually open/close since the 0.5 mm gap I have had issues with just might coincide with the discrepancies.

 

The good amazing thing about all of this is that I managed to jumble together all the important pieces in a relatively satisfying way. Now, I'll have to deal with the aftermath of all this. Sure, it's all a mess now but I can work with this, I think.

 

Perhaps even more importantly, I now recalibrated my aims. The 'negative' experiences and feeling of fatigue probably were a result of setting - as it turned out - unrealistic goals. Now I know that fixing the front will take a long time (so I won't be disappointed to waste 3 hours of fitting 3 parts) but will be perfectly doable.

[Firedrake Cordova]

Good to hear you found the root cause of the issues. Hopefully the fix won't take as long as you fear.  

[Brother Christopher]

Progress is painfully slow since I'm choosing to unwind doing other things but I'm getting there! I managed to fix most of the major gaps and misalignments; I've satisfactorily fitted the front ramp; removed some of the already-painted parts in an attempt to reduce the most apparent and glaring problems and primed some new parts, like the sponsons. In doing so I discovered first-hand that the labels on rattle can primers are not wrong in advising against using the sprays in low temperatures :D

 

Overall, this is an extremely unrewarding process. Luckily, I've double- and triple-checked and the rear part of the fuselage goes together perfectly so that's something to look forward to.

 

In the meantime, I'm still bogged down by my past inexperience and mistakes. The plan is to get the front sorted out by the end of this week. Fortunately, apparently there isn't much to do; some minor details built from scratch (ramp hinges), some final gap filling (this time with a putty) and making the canopy fit properly - right now there's a 0.5-1.0 mm gap (duh!) that needs addressing. However, the last week or two have shown time and time again that there is always one fault that results in another thing that is time-consuming. That's also a problem with wanting to have the bloody thing made to a certain standard.

 

 

 

 

[Naryn]

Loving hearing about your progress. Primer's just the worst, I hope it didn't set your progress back too far!

[Firedrake Cordova]

10 hours ago, Brother Christopher said:

Overall, this is an extremely unrewarding process

Just remember - your model won't have those mistakes any more (meaning you won't look at it in a year's time and think "man, I wish I'd fixed that...")  

[ZeroWolf]

11 hours ago, Brother Christopher said:

Progress is painfully slow since I'm choosing to unwind doing other things but I'm getting there! I managed to fix most of the major gaps and misalignments; I've satisfactorily fitted the front ramp; removed some of the already-painted parts in an attempt to reduce the most apparent and glaring problems and primed some new parts, like the sponsons. In doing so I discovered first-hand that the labels on rattle can primers are not wrong in advising against using the sprays in low temperatures :D

 

Overall, this is an extremely unrewarding process. Luckily, I've double- and triple-checked and the rear part of the fuselage goes together perfectly so that's something to look forward to.

 

In the meantime, I'm still bogged down by my past inexperience and mistakes. The plan is to get the front sorted out by the end of this week. Fortunately, apparently there isn't much to do; some minor details built from scratch (ramp hinges), some final gap filling (this time with a putty) and making the canopy fit properly - right now there's a 0.5-1.0 mm gap (duh!) that needs addressing. However, the last week or two have shown time and time again that there is always one fault that results in another thing that is time-consuming. That's also a problem with wanting to have the bloody thing made to a certain standard.

 

 

 

 

Nothing wrong with having standards  that's the difference between looking back on something you rushed in regret and looking back on something you really put your all in.

[Brother Christopher]

As always, you guys are amazing! Thanks for the kind words and encouragements!

 

I've noticed that in my haste to make a report, I forgot to post some photos. Here's the entire front section with a dry-fitted cockpit canopy

 

 

Here's a close-up of the things I managed to 'fix' (but still need some minor gap filling):

 

I'm not sure if it's apparent, but there used to be a 1-2 mm gap along all the top and front edges of the fuselage. I also had to replace the small armour plating marked with the "I" since the previous iteration was too thick and did not align with the section further towards the rear.

 

Notice how the canopy is suspended in air; that needs addressing as well.

 

For the ramp, it FINALLY FITS NICELY AND OPENS AND CLOSES WITHOUT ISSUE. But getting there was a process.

 

Now that I've posted the photo, I can see that the stripes on the ramp are a bit uneven (especially the second from the left) but I think I won't be fiddling with it since it's a minor thing (or will I?).

 

And here are some pretty much random photos of the layers of plastic I needed to glue in place in order to make the ramp fit snugly:

 

This also created new problems since the very front was misaligned, but now that the outer layer is fixed in place I'll be able to deal with the remaining defect quickly; even if not apparent, there's a large crack/gap at the front:

 

More two-layer details and a 1 mm gap that needs some putty work:

 

And a front shot; because of the many issues, I had to remove the square bits at the front. I'll refit them after I'm done with the green stuff stage:

 

Overall, things aren't that bad. Dare I say, I expect that my descriptions of my issues from the previous couple of posts made things seem a bit more dramatic.

 

But believe me - getting to this point was quite time consuming, especially since it took me too long to diagnose the underlying issue. It's just that I'm probably disappointed with the failures I've created in the past and haven't expected them to be this insidious.

 

It's clearly that the forces of evil dread the day the Neurode Crusade will bring the Emperor's divine retribution in this THawk! Try as they may, I shall clear any hurdle they may create :D

[ZeroWolf]

There's some shots there where I'd swear I was looking at the resin TH. It's going to be a thing of beauty when it's all said and done

[TheArtilleryman]

Amazing work! I have to say, even with you actively pointing out the flaws, I am struggling to see most of them. Do not mess with the front ramp, it looks perfectly fine. When you finish the paint job the tiny cracks will be even less visible. But at the same time, it’s your own project and the most important thing is that you are fully happy with it, so if you want to tweak, then tweak away! 
 

Continuing to follow along with great interest … :)