16 Jul Custom Thunderhawk Gunship Project – Part V

Getting ready to take flight

Missed a step? Catch up here: Part I, II, III, IV.

Welcome Part V of my custom thunderhawk gunship project. The major progress this week has been completing the basic body frame. You can see in the image below that the green stuffing work on the chassis has leveled out with the original framework. Now that it's mostly inline and level, it can be sanded and filed down to make a more subtle join and smoother surface for painting. You can also see that the tail has been fitted. The main parts of the tail wing are just your standard Stormraven Gunship bitz. Since this build will most likely have a top level, or a huge turret, I wanted to have a tail wing that extends up higher than normal. I also wanted to add a little more detailing and thought the Nephilim Jetfighter has a fantastic tail piece.

01 Jul Custom Thunderhawk Gunship Project – Part IV

A View From The Top

Missed a step? Catch up on part I, part II, or part III.

Welcome to part IV of my custom Thunderhawk Gunship project. When I cut the roof pieces together, I used a Citadel Razor Saw, which didn't work.  The blade was too flimsy and it just refused to cut in a straight line, no matter what precautions I took. They've since updated their tools and replaced it with a 'Citadel Saw'. I haven't used this yet, but it couldn't possibly be worse than the Razor Saw. At any extent, the cutting job accentuated the gaps between the joins of the frame. More green stuffing would be needed to fill the holes. You can see in the image below how the ends don't match up straight between the two pieces, and how the side of the framework is warped out a tad. Clearly, there's still a lot to of minor patching work needed to complete the frame. 

24 Jun Custom Thunderhawk Gunship Project – Part III

Drowning in a Sea of Bitz

Missed a step? Catch up on part I, or part II.

Part III begins with an update on green stuffing the framework - the major focus at this point. I've mixed up a darker batch and started to build up the layers until it's 'even' with the existing frame. Before painting the excess putty will be sanded and filed down to make a smoother base for the paint, and improve the overall cohesive look. You can see in the image below how this is progressing, in total there's probably 3-4 separate layers. Allowing each layer to mostly set before adding the next and building it up to the roof has been a tedious and time consuming process. You can also see that while one side is making great progress, the other side is a whole other story.

21 Jun Custom Thunderhawk Gunship Project – Part II

Not Quite A Stormbird, More Than A Stormraven

Missed part I? Read it here

Part I of my Custom Thunderhawk Gunship project finished with the basis of the hull being completed. And what looked like the capability to lift itself off the ground, which was an important alteration in my custom build over the Forgeworld version. But while i'm happy with some parts of the new hull, other parts not so much. Due to the heavy cutting and alterations on the two separate Stormraven Gunship frames, the joins are very flimsy and easily slipped apart. I was worried that this might allow for too much bending in the final model. But alas, the butchering had already been done, so I decided to rely heavily on Green Stuff for the structural integrity I wanted. You can see this in the image below where I've began to fill in the missing framework.

10 Jun Custom Thunderhawk Gunship Project – Part I

In the Beginning the Emperor...

I started this project because as soon as I read about the famed gunship of the Adeptus Astartes, I knew that I wanted one. The price tag associated with buying one from Forgeworld however, is another story. Especially once you read about the mould issues, and how much additional work needs to be put in. Being no stranger to modelling, I decided to build my own. The obvious goal of this project was to have a model that resembled a Thunderhawk Gunship, but I also wanted to fix some things with the original design that began to bug me over the years.