Thunderhawk Part 10

Oi! Wow guys, I am soooo sorry for not posting in the last week or so. I actually haven't been that busy. I've been working on a couple things, and just forgot to post. So let's get this update on the Thunderhawk under way. Last time I posted I showed you that the main body had been completed and assembled. So that just leaves the Tail, the main wings and engines, the upper stabilizers, and the main cannon. No problem, right? Well... more or less. The...

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Still more plague marines

Yep I'm returning to talking about the Plague Marines. I tried to individualize each marine and make them somewhat unique. With this model I tried to show the rotting and decayed armor. So for that effect I applied the decayed technique in large areas, used a zombie head and busted up the backpack a lot. The bit part here was showing the decayed and burst hoses which I had to carve out and replace with lengths of metal tubi...

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Review: Storm Raven

So I had originally posted this review on Bolter and Chainsword.com way back when.  I've decided to re-post it here just for simplicity. Plus it's a nice filler post. So I've been seeing lots of posts about the Storm Raven model kit, and lots of people's opinions on the model and it's design. Well I decided to stop taking other peoples words and check out the model for myself. Then I decided to take it one step further and make it more of...

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Project: Thunderhawk Part 9

And things are taking shape now. With the main fuselage section mostly built, it has come time to connect the forward section to it! At this stage it looks more like some sort of futuristic submersible then an orbital lander. I image the addition of wings and engines will change this but time will tell. I am putting some thought into the idea of making a Space marine amphibious assault craft based on the thunderhawk template. *shrugs* Something...

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Project: Thunderhawk Part 8

Remember when I was talking about having to come up with odd ways to apply pressure to items while glue set? I think I've found the best of the best (so far): Yup! That is a medicine bottle being pressed into the side of the Thunderhawk by a rubber band, and a tail fine being held in mid-air by a series of 3 mini-bar clamps. The medicine bottle pressure point is to hold a flat panel against the side of the body while the glue dries. The angle...

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Project: Thunderhawk Part 7

So the work on the body continues. The way the template is laid out you start with a rather complicated long box:   and then other sections are added to the box to create the main body of the thunderhawk: where each side of the box is largely supported by a series of triangular braces.  Now considering that this template was intended to be used with paper, and not cardboard, it's a good design move to help keep the body...

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Project: Thunderhawk Part 6

So now with the first section of the cardboard Thunderhawk complete I move onto the next template which covers the main body. This is proving to be an new sort of challenge even this early in the construction. Here's why: The first part the template has you build is comprised of 4 large flat sections attached at the edges. The difficulty of this is the fact that cardboard tends to curve when it's saturated in glue. So now this first section is built...

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More Plague Marines

Okay so continuing on with the details of the plague marines I donated for the Black Legion charity. Today I'm going to talk about the two aspiring champions I built. First one is armed with a plasma pistol and a powerfist. From the front of the model you can see that I applies the left leg, and the left side of the helmet and body. It's not clearly visible, but I applied the same effect to the inside of the power fist. I also applied the decayed...

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Project: Thunderhawk Part 5

So, the first section of the Thunderhawk is complete! The first template covers the forward section including the cockpit. There are several places where the translation from paper to cardboard is evident. In order to address this I will have to adjust widths and depths of certain parts for the translation to styrene. This is the main reason why I'm doing this in cardboard first. So I can find these problems. Can't fix a problem if you don't...

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Paper hammer questions

I've had a few questions asking for guidance on working with the templates and putting them on cardstock. So I've included a step by step explanation of preparing the templates as I've been doing it. Here is a list of supplies you will need: 1) the Template. 2) A pair of scissors 3) a supply of cardboard (cereal boxes the like work well for this) 4) a supply of white glue 5) an exacto blade or box cutter. 6) A series of wax paper sheets 7)...

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Project: Thunderhawk part 4

So 15 ounces of white glue and about 20 hours of work... and the cockpit is about 90% complete. Well the cardboard version is anyway.  I included the Land raider in the image for scale purposes. As you can see, the Thunderhawk forward section absolutely dwarfs the Land Raider.... which kind of makes me entertain the idea of building a second one and converting it into a Land Raider. Hmm interesting thought... will need to explore it. Anyway,...

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Project: Thunderhawk part 3

So I've run into the first real problem with translating a paper template to a thicker medium: Yep, the spacing. See this template was designed for paper witch is very very thin. I'm not sure of the actual measurement, but for the point of discussion we'll say it's 1 sheet thick. The card stock I've using is mostly cereal boxes and the like which appears to be about 15-20 sheet thick. The way this template works is by layering shapes ontop of...

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