Blackadder Thunderhawk Project, A Work in Progress

    Assault Door Redux:


    Oh yes much more business like. I had to fake the sensor units on the doors as the images I have are pretty vague


    http://i.imgur.com/z3g96SS.jpg


    and there is only one that I can discern on the left side of the nose.


    http://i.imgur.com/FKT7rhZ.jpg


    The right one is a pure fabrication I put in just for artistic balance.


    http://i.imgur.com/UhDAP3f.jpg


    More painting to come but I had to see how this would look before I continue.

    "It is easier to deceive people than it is to convince them that they have been deceived."

    I don't know but I'm surprised none the less :D


    Basic Painting 101


    http://i.imgur.com/swLBYoo.jpg


    Years ago when I began this project in my naivete I thought the Thunderhawk was able to transport a Land Raider. I did not know the FW model was too small to have that capability. So my son and I based our model on the size of a Land Raider slung beneath the seeming cutout in the belly that ideally fit the tracked APC to the flying APC.


    http://i.imgur.com/8iuvZwz.jpg


    Today I began painting the Land Beastie after a preliminary assembly used a light gray spray primer to paint the interior which was fast and easy (took about five minutes)


    http://i.imgur.com/MqQk07e.jpg


    I heartly recommend doing your base coating with cheap spray paint as opposed to expensive GW Citadel paints as so many are wont to do. $0.99 cents a can at Walmart, fast drying and plus it provides a durable base coat for your more expensive detailing acrylics.


    http://i.imgur.com/YMHcX3J.jpg


    So here we have the Land Raider neatly tucked up under the the Thunderhawk albeit in it's slick mode as I used most of the armament on the Thunderhawk......whoops!

    "It is easier to deceive people than it is to convince them that they have been deceived."

    Yeah I know someone building a Land Raider is about as exciting as watching ice melt but I'll try to make it interesting.


    After spray painting the interior gray I proceeded to apply a coat of black primer to the exterior of the hull.


    http://i.imgur.com/CCzhHnP.jpg


    http://i.imgur.com/GEaYXHB.jpg


    I left as many parts as I could removable; I had no idea Land Raiders were so complex. Seems like they're built like a house of cards and the front loading door is a masterpiece of engineering, kudos to that. I'll have to keep that trick in mind for a future scratch project.


    http://i.imgur.com/1Y68Vrn.jpg


    After the paint dried I began applying the Grey Knights Aluminum Metallic powder.


    http://i.imgur.com/oA4LMgu.jpg


    http://i.imgur.com/1fN59uS.jpg


    So you're telling me Blackadder that after all that we're gray again.....

    "It is easier to deceive people than it is to convince them that they have been deceived."

    Einmal editiert, zuletzt von Blackadderz ()

    Zitat von Kkkooo

    ...... you use it dry?? I never see metallic powder before.


    Yes dry, for best results I finish the entire model with flat black primer in an aerosol spray can; nothing fancy.


    The flat finish leaves a microscopically rough surface that readily accepts the finely divided aluminum powder. I hand rub the powder into the surface although sometimes a use a brush. The skin oils do wonderous things to the aluminum finish and make for a very realistic and fast way to finish a model.


    I'll look for a source of the powder and get back to you.

    "It is easier to deceive people than it is to convince them that they have been deceived."

    Fifteen Minute Paint Job:


    Sidetracked as I've been with the election primaries I've missed working on my Landraider so today I bit the bullet and painted er coloured up the whole tank less the armament which is still in the mail from Australia.


    Granted I did have the whole tank primed with flat black but swear to Gawd it took fifteen to twenty minutes to paint er colour up this tank and no drying time. Of course there are pro-painters that can fault this tyro effort but you cannot beat the speed of the result.


    So here's a few views you might find interesting:


    http://i.imgur.com/o6c0MZU.jpg


    http://i.imgur.com/Zf19C0v.jpg


    http://i.imgur.com/aavguV7.jpg


    http://i.imgur.com/Xe74ERw.jpg


    Yeah that's copper powder I put on the track as an experiment. I've had the stuff lying about for years and decided to give it a go.

    "It is easier to deceive people than it is to convince them that they have been deceived."

    Fifteen Minute Paint Job Part Three:


    Last night I masked of the entire tank and sprayed the front end with rust primer. The masking took the better part of an hour but the painting but a couple of minutes............


    http://i.imgur.com/ygbyuSF.jpg


    Kyrlon Rust Primer is no longer made which is a pity because it provides a deep base for reds and oranges so when dry brushing on these colours the primer provides shadow.


    http://i.imgur.com/tLt7SkI.jpg

    "It is easier to deceive people than it is to convince them that they have been deceived."

    I like where this is going ;)
    The colour scheme looks very good, i like that a lot :up:

    Kein Mitleid! Keine Gnade! Keine Furcht!


    ~Schlachtruf der Black Templars!~


    "Frieden ist ein vergeblicher Wunsch. Eines Tages mag unser Kreuzzug einen anderen Namen tragen, doch er wird niemals wirklich enden. In der fernen Zukunft wird es keinen Frieden geben."


    ~Sigismund zu Garviel Loken.~

    Rhino Revisited:


    Work has pretty much been stalled due to working on the new bath but I did manage to sneak in some painting when no one was looking.....


    http://i.imgur.com/IjM58ca.jpg


    In the scrap box I found some Rhino accessories and a vintage four bogie GW Rhino which astounded me because of it's size and simplicity; we'll go into that at a later date.


    Meanwhile the current Rhino is beginning to look pretty good (IMHO) and the ugly little cuss is growing on me.


    http://i.imgur.com/lAzWWFJ.jpg


    Some day I'll get around to applying decals.


    http://i.imgur.com/SrRITDi.jpg


    After I learn how to do it that is.

    "It is easier to deceive people than it is to convince them that they have been deceived."

    always looking never writing
    but now:


    The scheme is cool, and the tanks look great with it.

    The only thing, I would remark: It looks a bit flat
    So I hope you'll find hidden secrets and the time to apply some troop badges, numbers etc. to break up these large plates.

    Thanks for the reply, sorry for the delay in responding.........


    It's Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas:


    I was in the mall the other day and wandered into a store I've not seen before called 'Big Lots' They had these marvelous seed type LED Christmas lights:


    http://i.imgur.com/PRFimZr.jpg


    Prewired and ready to be installed in your model project, in this case my never ending Thunderhawk Project:


    http://i.imgur.com/kpd3JDc.jpg


    Striping down the fuselage and just jamming about half the bulbs into the forward cargo bay shows me they will provide sufficient light to illuminate the interior and taking so little space to be readily hidden behind the thin walls and ceiling of the bay


    http://i.imgur.com/mbIGFHU.jpg


    Threading the lights though the hull will require a bit of effort but the savings of time manufacturing the circuit is worth the $5 cost of the string.


    http://i.imgur.com/oyDEKjA.jpg


    They come in Cool White, (Shown) Warm White and Multicoloured .... I may buy the multicoloured string and splice colours in strategic areas of the model.


    I can't wait to install some of these in my Warlord Titan.

    "It is easier to deceive people than it is to convince them that they have been deceived."

    Ceiling Panel and Lenses


    last night it came to me how to employ these marvelous lights. I had hoped for more conventional LEDs' but the circuitry behind the ceiling panel was quite restricted if I was to have adequate clearance for a Slick Rhino in the cargo bay. These seed Leds were just the ticket but how to mount them???


    I began with a sheet of 0.030 inch styrene cut to fit the ceiling... initially I posited 18 lights to illuminate the bay interior and drilled two rows of nine per side but I hit upon some scrap plastic interesting shapes in the form of dispossible contact lens containers. Slightly fogged thes container vials provide interesting shapes, just the thing for a set of 40K light fixtures plus they diffuse the light.......


    http://i.imgur.com/1Au7mJT.jpg


    With the holes drilled for the sockets to mount the LEDs and a dry trial run I think these will work out nicely.


    http://i.imgur.com/RnPExOp.jpg

    "It is easier to deceive people than it is to convince them that they have been deceived."

    Tripping the Lights Fantastic:


    This is coming out 'way better than I expected. It's amazing how much light these little diodes generate.


    The image below shows three stages of construction with the finished light assembly in the foreground. I used Testors' Clear Parts Cement to glue the LED to the ceiling panel and I just dropped the lens blister over the foreground LED to show what I have in mind once all the LEDs are installed


    http://i.imgur.com/bVbGO1Z.jpg


    Below is a close up of the LED and the lens blister.


    http://i.imgur.com/YPrr1sq.jpg


    Once the panel is completed the raised rim around the lens blister will be painted to give a purpose to the structure that is a buttress frame member and to give protection for the lens in the cargo hold.

    "It is easier to deceive people than it is to convince them that they have been deceived."

    Trial Bay Lighting:


    Awright before anyone points it out, I know the ceiling is hanging down on the left side....


    This is just a trial to determine of the lighting is adequate which it is and then some. The camera lens picks up a lot more light than is apparent in person and the lenses defuse the harshness of the LEDs just about right.


    http://i.imgur.com/XkfhAgs.jpg


    Close up of the ceiling shows 14 LEDs is sufficient to illuminate the entire bay


    http://i.imgur.com/0ux5OhC.jpg


    My entry gewgaws which I thought too 'busy' actually look plain and uninspired in the cold light.


    http://i.imgur.com/EPY036F.jpg


    I need to perk them up quite a bit plus the walls further back in the bay now that it is illuminated.


    http://i.imgur.com/75oqQQ9.jpg

    "It is easier to deceive people than it is to convince them that they have been deceived."