Blackadder's Scratchbuilt Thunderhawk

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Blackadder

Blackadder

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Jun 6, 2009
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The Blackadder has a new project and I am posting here from the inception rather than after it was completed as with Lucie.

This new project is a Thunderhawk the basic structure of which has been kicked around my basement for a few years; a discarded work my son attempted when I started my Warhound. In all fairness starting college may have been the cause of his waining interest in scratchbuilding.

Anyway I have taken up the gauntlet and am attempting to complete this model.

The hull is composed of 1/2 inch foam filled posterboard and the images below are of the basic hull as of a week ago.

The image uploader isn't working? It's not the size or the format? I'll try later.







 
I came across these 3D images.

I don't know who this artist is but I want to have his baby (Well build his baby anyway.) He has actually made a Thunderhawk look not only attractive but downright viable.

Below are 3D renderings from this artist which while not 100% FW exact are a tremendous improvement on the original and will be my guide from now on.



















Note that the last image is of the heretofore not seen belly of the beast.
 
I really want to replicate the 3D Thunderhawk posted above. It may be outsized but it looks more airworthy than any Thunderhawk rendering I've yet seen. I can't wait to get to the fine detail. The layered armour and the beveled edge on the fuselage really makes this thing come alive. I'm also opening up the cargo bay so it will have an interior as well.



"One step forward two steps back," that's my motto.
 
Y'know it really does not look too far off the latest Imperial Armour printing version of the T-hawk. There's a shot at the beginning of the section of T-hawks that is a near match to the 3d model image above.

Looking good so far, at any rate!
Tirick
 
Just went on the FW Imperial Armour T-hawk site. There's a world of difference between these two versions. Even in the pictures the FW version looks like a dinky toy compared to the 3D version above. I'd say just a guess but it's a good half a foot longer, sleeker, and twice the detail. I'm inspired and am really glad I started this project. I just hope I'm up to incorporating all the fine detail. I just took an overall hull length of my model. 635MM 25 inches. without the tail. How long is the FW model?
 
When you start on the inside of the T-Hawk, I would recommend to use some of Patorochs parts, especially in the cargo and cabin compartments. I like the engine pods of the 3-D model. Wish that I could give it a try but all of my art equipment is in storage for now. Keep up the good work and I will use some of your techniques when ever I get around to doing mine. See you around the forums.
 
I don't have a FW model (I wish I had that kind of free cash), I'm only going by the book. According the 'specs' the Thunderhawk is 26.6 meters long and 26.65 meters wide. Not knowing GW scale though makes translating that troublesome at best. I can say without a doubt though that the reference pictures (drawn) is really close to the pics you've shown. I can send you some pages for comparison if you would like (great for interior detail at any rate). Top down looks dead on, and I have little doubt it was what Patoroch used for his design.

Tirick
 
Since this beastie will have a full interior of the cargo bay including the side hatches I have to be careful all is right dimension wise. I am taking meticulous care building the nose hatch/ramp.

 
I've been real busy at work this week not much to show for it. Yesterday I started on the cargo bay interior. Getting smarter in my old age I'm building the interior first so I don't have to work inside out.





 
Oh yeah and then some!!

I hope this next post doesn't put you off. A while back possibly not on this forum I asked if a T'hawk could transport a Rhino in it's cargo bay and was told no a special transport T'hawk slings them under the belly. Well I didn't mention it before I had conformation and I guestimated the size required to fit a Rhino and as my son is home from college for the Summer I borrowed one of his. Guess what! room to spare and I mightn't need to make the front doors clamshell as in the C5A. I stand before you ready to suffer your slings and arrows for this, The Blackadder's 'Super Thunderhawk'





 
I'm going to stick with the cargo bay cockpit and under the air brake flaps. That should be sufficient. I know there is a wealth of detail in the FW kit, (They should invest some of that energy in making their moulds stable.) but what I have seen in most of the resin kits I've rescued is that the hatches are glued shut, the doors are inoperable and if there is a panel that can be removed to veiw some internal component it is invariably cemented in place for eternity.

Not so with the Jumbo 'hawk; the interior is coming along nicely but is a chore. Sometimes I wonder why I start these things, they monopolize a lot of time plus I ran out of crucial styrene for the floor ribs and had to make a hobby shop run this morning. I thought I'd never find a use for this size strip but I ran out two strips short of finishing and had to buy more. Now I have more than when I started. (Poor baby Blackadder.)

Any way the floor is done and the side panels are clamped in place but I won't be gluing just yet because I still haven't figured out where the landing gear cylinder goes when the nose gear is retracted. Someone's in for a bit of a shock when that nose gear bursts thru the cargo compartment floor (All together now, "Poor engineering planning FW, nowheres near as well thought out as the Warhound. And where are the actuators for the forward cargo hatch/ramp?) All these problems will have to be addressed before the interior detail can be affixed

Here's the result of a mis-spent Saturday morning:





 
Designing a viable landing gear was paramount on my mind for the past weekend until I saw this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7u8_r07-3s&feature=youtu.be

On further watching the video I see that both forward and back actuators pivot on both ends and double as hydraulic cylinders to extend the pad and shock struts (No small feat of engineering that!) but when the strut is full extended down the front and rear cylinders become shock struts and are able to compress and absorb the landing shock.

And very little room is taken up when fully retracted.

Below is my interpretation of the landing gear mechanism:



My solution to the landing gear dilemma:



This model should be much simpler than the Warhound. Not having to design positionable joints strong enough to take the movement but still be the proper size so as not to look ungainly was extremely difficult with Lucie and took a lot of time. I had to rebuild the joints a few times until they were satisfactory. This retractable landing gear problem was a much easier nut to crack once I saw the scissor mechanism displayed in the video. My problem was not thinking outside the box. A background in aircraft experience would not allow me to think of an dual oleo strut/hydraulic cylinder combination (I still question the feasibility of such an appliance?) but the manufacture should be child's play compared to Lucie's toe joints; I still have nightmares about those. #-o. I may use a spring mechanism and trigger lock to deploy the gear so they do not collapse when sitting on them and not have to be pried out of the wheel well each time they are to be lowered. I'm thinking ball point pen springs should be sufficient. Once I get the proportions right on this beastie it will be a simple matter of gluing on all the fabulous detail exhibited in those 3D drawings above.
 
If the inside of that cargo bay is any indication of what's to come, this will be quite a build to witness!
 
Sorry for the delayed reply, I wasn't notified of a response,

As you can see my vision of the Thunderhawk is slightly larger than the FW offering. My first impression of the Thunderhawk concept was that it be capable of carrying a Rhino. After all for what else would be the purpose of such a huge loading door? Imagine my disappointment when I found the FW Thunderhawk too diminutive to disgorge even so small a tank as a Rhino. I am still mulling over the necessity of hinging the forward side panels to allow more clearance; hell I probably shall in the end not being satisfied with compromising measures. Image the dramatic effect when your Thunderhawk glides to a touchdown, the ramp drops, the side doors open, and it vomits forth an APC.





Sweet!
 
Starting on the ramp because I need to install the hinge tube before I can apply the nose armour. Below is a practical demonstration of how to make ribbed flooring.





 
Part of the fun of scratchbuilding (If you have a penchant for masochism that is.) is inventing ways to replicate in stock styrene the intricacies of injection mould plastic kits etc. There were two ways to approach the manufacture of the object below. One was to attempt to cut the slots in a single piece of sheet plastic and glue it onto a backing. I rejected that straight out because the finished product regardless of the care exercised would be crude and amateurish. The second, the option I chose was to build the corrugations one slat at a time as demonstrated in the previous reply, score the perpendicular channels with a sharp utility knife, widen and deepen the score with a razor saw, and shave out the residue with a chisel bladed Exacto knife. This worked well for the wide center longitudinal reinforcement but how to make the narrow side reinforcements? Start as before with the score and the razor saw to accomplish the primary cut. Then taking your razor saw at a 45° angle carefully widen the score to the required width. If you have jewelers files you can dress the sides of the channels but in this case it was not necessary.

Now I'll see if I can repeat the process on the other side without screwing the damned thing up.



Then taking your razor saw at a 45° angle carefully widen the score to the required width. If you have jewelers files you can dress the sides of the channels but in this case it was not necessary.

Pictured below are the only tools necessary to accomplish this exercise . Had I to do this over again I would have angled the side channels slightly out at the bottom to dispel the illusion that they converge.

 
Considering it took the better part of a week just to make the loading ramp fruition will be a long time coming. In my defense my workload this week was extremely heavy and I could only devote a half hour in the morning to working on the ramp. Each slats had to be secure before the next could be applied or they would move when the spacer was run between them. I also managed to apply the outer skin (1 MM sheet styrene) to the forward hull. I finished up the ramp this morning and taped it into place. Everything is square and true so tomorrow I will start applying the forward armour. This will be the fun part when the model starts to look like something other than a long white shoebox. Right now I am sitting back sipping a well deserved Martini and reflecting on a satisfactory accomplishment.





My patience is holding strong and the worst of the build is behind me now it's just a matter of detail, the part I relish.
 
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