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Corvus Blackstar, Kiavhar variant. Playing cut-and-shunt with Games Workshop's finest.


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Have you seen Paintychops's Storm Eagle? Here, check it out: link

 

Inspirational. Literally, in my case!

 

I've been promising myself a flying transport for my Raven Guard for years now. PC's flyer has been on my mind a lot these last few months. It's about time I made a start!

 

I don't have the readies for a Forge World hybrid right now, much less the £499 FW are asking for their Thunderhawk, which, let's face it, is the one we all really want. Poverty is so inconvenient, don't you think? :rolleyes:

 

Still, my pile of shame is visible through a Martian telescope on a clear day, maybe there's something I can use in there?

 

Ah-ha!

 

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I feel a kitbash coming on...

 

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Good luck in kitbash I keep my fingers crossed.

 

1 hour ago, oileanach said:

Thunderhawk, which, let's face it, is the one we all really want. Poverty is so inconvenient, don't you think? :rolleyes:

Think what satisfaction it will give you to do it your own way.

 

1 hour ago, oileanach said:

much less the £499 FW are asking for their Thunderhawk, which, let's face it, is the one we all really want. Poverty is so inconvenient, don't you think? :rolleyes:

At first I thought I misunderstood something, but I checked it and indeed this model costs so much. And it seemed to me that games workshop has exorbitant prices 🤣

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For those who don't play or collect Warhammer 40,000, the Corvus Blackstar is a gunship used to transport Space Marines, seven foot tall genetically enhanced super soldiers from the 41st millennium, wearing powered armour and carrying massive weapons.

 

Corvus Blackstar

 

It's more sophisticated than the Stormraven gunship most Space Marine regulars use.

 

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Both gunships can carry twelve tactical marines. (They don't always dress up as wombles!).

 

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Or they can carry six Terminators, wearing heavy armour.

 

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Or six Assault Marines, equipped with jetpacks and close combat weapons.

 

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Or they can carry four bikes.

 

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Or they can carry four Centurions. But they're silly, so we won't talk about them. 

 

There are a few issues with using a Blackstar. 

 

The first is that in the game Lore, Blackstars are exclusively issued to the Inquisition's Deathwatch. If I want to use the model in a game it'll have to be a proxy- 'Corvus pattern Storm Raven', anyone? I don't intend entering any tournaments though, so it shouldn't be a major problem.

 

Another is that the wee beastie is covered in Inquisition iconography. That's going to have to go.

 

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The biggest one is GW cheaped out on the design. There's no undercarriage, no detail within the main nozzles, no option to have the crew compartment open and no cockpit. I can put up with the rest, but that cheap plastic cover over where the pilot sits is a show stopper:

 

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The Storm Hawk donor kit has a glass cover that should fit:

 

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Time to break out the saw and files...

 

 

 

 

Edited by oileanach
Additional background detail.
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9 minutes ago, voozet said:

Good luck in kitbash I keep my fingers crossed.

 

Think what satisfaction it will give you to do it your own way.

 

At first I thought I misunderstood something, but I checked it and indeed this model costs so much. And it seemed to me that games workshop has exorbitant prices 🤣

 

Thanks for the kind wishes Voozet. I'll try not to let you down! 

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The Stormhawk cockpit comes in it's little own pod, which gives me some additional options. I'm not even going to pretend to have the scratch building skills of our forum regulars like voozet, so a little extra help from the donor model is much appreciated!

 

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The cockpit interior is nicely detailed, with lots of scope for fancy lighting effects. I want to add to the model's visual appeal, not overpower it, so (with gritted teeth, mind! 😆) I restrained my self and kept things simple. A dark wash and some gentile highlights to pick out the details, a satin finish and some subdued edging on the screens, the bare minimum of cockpit lighting. I was surprised at how restrained I managed to be- it actually looks like a cockpit, not some 80's disco floor!

 

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The pilots of most Astartes craft are usually Tech Marines. That means red armour, which really doesn't fit the aesthetic I'm aiming for. Fortunately, the Raven Guard are one of the very few Space Marine chapters who actually care for camouflage and concealment, so it's not unreasonable to allow a RG SM to respect his brother's attempts at stealth and leave the bright crimson suit in the wardrobe whenever he takes a troop transport behind enemy lines. I could even give him a name- Dyloss Seifer might fit? Painted to tabletop standard, no sense going for a slayer sword when he's going to be behind glass in a darkened pod!

 

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Ok, this is the part I was dreading. The pod is quite large, the Blackstar body isn't. This is going to take some major surgery to fit in:

 

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After a good hacking into I got to here:

 

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The iconography's gone, but all I can see is a heavily vandalised kit. It's a 'ye Gods, what have I done?' moment. Definitely the lowest part of the build so far.

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I'm actually all new to this kit bashing malarkey. I very rarely build larger models, I'm much more comfortable with 1/72 military stuff and 28mm minis. So I have absolutely no clue when it comes to gap filling or scratch building.

 

What I do have is a clear vision of what I want the Blackstar to look like. I'm not a fan of recessed cockpits- I much prefer the raised version in real life aircraft. So, for example, the Sea Harrier looks good to me, the Gr.1/Gr.3 not so much. The Blackstar cockpit will sit proud of the fuselage, affording our chap Seifer a commanding view of his surroundings, vital to the pilot of a VTOL craft.

 

Making that happen was a bit of a drama. I eventually got the cockpit in place, but with an enormous flat bulkhead behind it and massive gaps where it was meant to connect to the hull. I tried to fill in the giant 'I' on the top of the fuselage with Vallejo Plastic Putty, but it was hard going. The stuff is very easy to damage in it's 'working' state, but extremely difficult to sand down once it's set. It shrinks as it settles, leaving bubbles and craters. I made up some styrene goo using glue and sprue, but that's not great either- once there's enough on a surface to fill it, the goo tends to soften it's surroundings and the whole lot sags. (Luckily I ran a few tests on leftover parts, first.) 

 

Eventually I dug out some milliput. I wasn't expecting much. The product is supposed to have a two year shelf life, but mine is so old I can't even remember where I bought it, much less when. I cut off a couple of chunks. They were as sticky as blue tack, but soft as blue cheese. Not promising. A few minutes of rolling and kneading got me a sticky putty, but I still wasn't convinced. I placed a sticky sausage on one side of the cockpit, held in place with sprue wedges and sprue goo. I added a little water and gave it a good stabbing with a modelling tool.

 

Whoa! This stuff is amazing! It took on a creamy texture and became as easy to work as the best modelling clay. I could almost hear the Hallelujah chorus! I built up the back of the cockpit with the putty and some plastic panels I'd taken off the model earlier

 

I used sprue goo and plasticard to fill in the wing inserts. I need practice- the panels went in a little wonky- but I don't think it'll be too obvious after paint and weathering. I'm really happy with how the cockpit turned out. This beastie might work out after all!

 

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Next step is final assembly, including adding some Raven Guard iconography along the way. And then the fun part, once she's all together- painting her.

 

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Thanks for reading this far. Thoughts, comments and constructive criticism welcome.

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Well as a first go at bashing, Id say thats looking pretty good! I really love how the cockpits looking now its been added.

 

Yeah milliput is great stuff, one product I recently tried and would highly recommend for smaller gap filling is Perfect Plastic Putty. Easy to work with, no shrinkage and very nice to sand after, I used to use Squadron White which is good but PPP has become my new default.

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7 hours ago, Hunter Rose said:

Well as a first go at bashing, Id say thats looking pretty good! I really love how the cockpits looking now its been added.

 

Yeah milliput is great stuff, one product I recently tried and would highly recommend for smaller gap filling is Perfect Plastic Putty. Easy to work with, no shrinkage and very nice to sand after, I used to use Squadron White which is good but PPP has become my new default.

 

Thanks Hunter, that's very kind of you.

 

(Ah, shucks mode engaged! :like:)

 

I'm working on the jet exhausts right now, I'll check out the PPP later on tonight. I could do with something to fit between the Vallejo Plastic Putty- great for 28mm minis- and milliput, which is marvelous stuff, but quite a lot of effort to get to a working consistency. 

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I had to look these beasties up. I ended up with build reviews on the tube. I'd like to find better/bigger pictures though.

They look quite brutal, though it doesn't look like those wings would give much lift!

 

I use Milliput and Humbrol filler. Couldn't really get on with PPP. A bit chalky, and then it went solid in the tube!

If the Milliput sticks go hard they soften up underneath a  nice mug of tea.

Best way of mixing it is to roll thin worms and plait them together. Fold in two, re-roll and repeat. 

 

The cockpit looks great, though a little cramped in full armour. How does he scratch his nose? Does he have a nose?

Keep the pictures coming, it'll help those of us unacquainted with the genre to understand what's going on.

Keep the kitbash questions coming, I'm always happy to help. Pete

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On 11/1/2021 at 7:09 PM, Pete in Lincs said:

I had to look these beasties up. I ended up with build reviews on the tube. I'd like to find better/bigger pictures though.

They look quite brutal, though it doesn't look like those wings would give much lift!

 

I use Milliput and Humbrol filler. Couldn't really get on with PPP. A bit chalky, and then it went solid in the tube!

If the Milliput sticks go hard they soften up underneath a  nice mug of tea.

Best way of mixing it is to roll thin worms and plait them together. Fold in two, re-roll and repeat. 

 

The cockpit looks great, though a little cramped in full armour. How does he scratch his nose? Does he have a nose?

Keep the pictures coming, it'll help those of us unacquainted with the genre to understand what's going on.

Keep the kitbash questions coming, I'm always happy to help. Pete

 

Good point, I've updated my OP to show what I'm on about for peeps who don't play W40K.

 

The marine does have a nose under his lid, in fact he has everything regular 'baseline' humans have, with a few extras. Those include a pre-lung, capable of filtering out all sorts of toxins before the air reaches his enormous, genetically enhanced ones. He has two hearts, he has a gland that allows him to spit acid, he has various other organs that enhance his abilities. He's a 'post human' giant, incredibly strong, fast and tough. He looks a bit like this under all that plate:

 

Space marine proportions

 

If youtube is your thing, search for 'Astartes', it's a short, fan made animation that captures their abilities perfectly.

 

I appreciate the offer to help with kitbashing. I'm working my way toward a couple of scratch builds- it'll be next year before I start, but I might take you up on looking for advice. :smile: 

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17 hours ago, oileanach said:

He's a 'post human' giant, incredibly strong, fast and tough.

That'll be quite some calorific intake needed then. I doubt many of them are vegetarians. 🥕

Thanks for the info, and I'm ready when you are for the build.

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Thanks Sgt.! 

 

The big, empty jet nozzles are still bugging me. I don't have anything I can use as turbine blades, but I might be able to add something to suggest a jet flame?

 

Starting with a couple of unused Sea Harrier drop tanks (told you I like SHAR;)) and some plasticard :

 

 

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I spent most of the week painting up the nozzles and the surrounding parts. It was a lot of fun and the highlight of the build so far. Family commitments put a stop to play for the weekend, but I've assembled her to the point where I'm ready to mask and spray. 

 

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I'm really looking forward to the next stage. Getting the base colours down will show whether the model will actually look like my vision for her. Wish me luck!

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On 11/9/2021 at 8:01 PM, rockpopandchips said:

Just catching up with build and must say it looks really good. Looking forward to some paint.

 

Brian.

Paint, you say? That gives me an idea!

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The Blackstar's gone well so far, but I've invested a lot of time and effort into her. I really want to see what I'm going to get once I lay down the final colours, without having to respray if it doesn't look quite right.

 

Enter the donor model, the Stormhawk.

 

It's a fine kit in it's own right. It's also a gift from my daughter, so I don't want to leave it in the stash, especially now that she's seen me open the box. :whistle: 

 

So I've laid down a test scheme. It's close to what I want, the test was definitely worth doing! I'll use a lighter blue underside on the Blackstar, but everything else will be much the same. 

 

The plan is to finish off the Stormhawk with some light weathering and a little osl. Assuming that goes according to plan, I'll take what worked and use it on the Blackstar.

 

It feels like the home straight, I can almost see the finishing line!

 

Any suggestions on what kind of weathering to use would be much appreciated. For now I'm considering my mini painting staples- light sponge chipping, drybrushed raised detail, washed panel lines and a few streaks using acrylic washes. I might really push the boat out and use oils on the heaviest worn parts, like the engine vents. What do you think?

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Ok, she's masked off and ready for priming.

 

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All the cool kids use rattle cans for their minis.

I don't.

I live in Scotland.

It rains, constantly. Unless it's snowing. But that's usually washed away with more rain.

Nipping outside to prime a handful of minis, never mind a decent sized model that I've put a couple of month's effort into, just isn't happening. 

And I'm not spraying in the garage- I don't need to be finding primer all over my bike the next time I clean her.

 

So it's an airbrush job. But I've got a confession.

 

I'm a Vallejo guy. Most of my unnecessarily large collection of acrylics are Vallejo airbrush ones- I have the entire Game Air range, a drawer full of Model Air, even a few Panzer Aces. I love the way they spray, I'm comfortable with getting a usable mix with any of them.

Except their primers. 

I can't get more than a few minutes of time on the model before the brush clogs, splutters, then vomits paint all over the place.

After literally years of experimenting with mixes and additives I've come to the conclusion that they're just not going through my H&S brush with any of my needles. So this week I splurged on a new one- a shiny 0.6 V2. Hopefully that'll mean something to the H&S fanbois!

 

It kinda worked. I still had a blocked nozzle after a while, but I got much more spraying time before it happened, so I'm calling it money well spent. 

And I'm changing my primer brand! :devil:

 

She's still curing, but it looks like a nice even coat. The undercoat and base colours should be a little easier, then it's another fight with the varnish. 

Can't wait! :winkgrin:

 

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Looks sweet, I think better than both the donor & inspiration kits tbh. I do like the inlaid Deathwatch writing but you're right that the "canopy" is a bit silly, and the Stormraven is just bad.

 

The new cockpit gives it a hint of the hunched shape of the Starship Troopers dropship too :)

 

Will

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On 11/22/2021 at 2:11 AM, Will Vale said:

Looks sweet, I think better than both the donor & inspiration kits tbh. I do like the inlaid Deathwatch writing but you're right that the "canopy" is a bit silly, and the Stormraven is just bad.

 

The new cockpit gives it a hint of the hunched shape of the Starship Troopers dropship too :)

 

Will

Thanks Will. You're not wrong about the ST dropships- it's probably where they nicked the design from drew their inspiration in the first place.

 

ST DR-4 Viking dropship

 

All the elements are there- the flat canopy, two assault ramps, wingtip thrusters, even the two gurt big air intakes behind the cockpit...

 

And yet GW are the first ones to cry when someone rips on their IP? :blink:

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 11/25/2021 at 10:56 AM, Hunter Rose said:

I agree with Will, I know nothing about GW stuff but the cockpit/front end changes you've made look WAAAY better than the silly designs of the original stuff and looks more functional/realistic.

 

And the black paint is very cool!

 

Cooler than silver?

 

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I needed a base coat for black, white and pale blue. I could have used grey, but there's something immensely satisfying about painting an aluminium model. Or is that just me? :unsure:

 

I've come to the conclusion that GW don't own any airbrushes. The underside of both of these flyers is insanely complex. It took me forever, with umpteen different rolls of masking tape, to cover off the different surfaces. I still ended up with some overspray.

 

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Ah well, a few minutes with the hairy sticks soon sorted the colour out, although the surface texture leaves a bit to be desired.

 

Anyway, here's the old girl at tabletop standard:

 

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Next step is varnishing and weathering. Another scary one. I don't have any experience of dirtying up or wearing down anything this big, I'm not sure what'll work. The cartoonish look of GW kits should work in my favour, I can go completely over the top without feeling like I've ruined the 'plane's lines...

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