[genesis108]

For those of you that have been following my Blood Reavers log, you know I've been talking about this project. Well, here it is. My scratchbuilt Stormraven. This will take a while to finish. I will take it through from start to finish on the first one, and then show only the finished bird for the second when it is done. But with out any further delay..

Looking for a cheaper and unique alternative to the Valkyrie kitbash that is going around for the Blood Angel's Stormraven Gunship, I found plans online for the Hercules Dropship. I loved the look and decided it would be my Stormraven, as it would be cheap to make and easily modified to fit into a 40k army. Here is what the finished product will look like before any modifications:

Now, obviously it has to be clad in black and red to fit into my army's colour scheme. Easy. But it also has to be armoured up and have some weapons thrown on. Easy enough. Not so easy..is the cutting and assembly. Here is why..

That, my friends..is all the pieces, plus templates, I had to cut out of a sheet of Depron(Cardless Foamcore) to start this project..66 pieces for the model and 41 template pieces. My hands hate me for it. My pocketbook loves me for it. Instead of spending close to $100 for the Whirlwind/Valkyrie kitbash, I spent $5.50 for the Depron and $7 for Styrene tubing packs..so a total of $12.50 USD vs $100..yeah. I'll take the hurting hands.

Now onto the next phase of this project..assembly. Putting this bad boy together is going to take a day or two. then I have to cover it in card and add on the extra armour to bulk it up a little, and determine where I am going to put the weapons. For this one, I am going to be arming it for speed assaults. Twin-Link Assault Cannons, Typhoon Missile Launchers, Hurricane Bolter Sponsons, and the obligatory Bloodstrike Missiles.

I will update this as I make progress. C&C welcome.

 

[Chaosftw]

Hmmm kind of neat. I can definitely see where the hurt hands comes into play lol.

Im interested in the outcome!

Cheers,
Chaosftw

 

[Fallen]

*wants more pictures*

good luck Gen

 

[genesis108]

Assembly actually went very quick. I am waiting for glue to dry since I can't use super because it will melt. Once the glue is dry and I am certain the pieces are held in place correctly, I will get pictures taken of the assembled ship. The only real problem I have yet to address is the Dreadnought..where will it go on this thing..

 

[genesis108]

After a little deliberation, I have solved the dreadnought problem. A small redesign. The CAV portion(The area on bottom with the assault ramps) is detachable. In the event that I choose to put a Dreadnought in one of the Stormravens, I will make 2 larger CAVs that can carry the Dreadnoughts as well as the troops, and just simply switch the CAV unit out. Problem solved. Though, it DOES mean I have more cutting to do, as well as some measuring and math of my own. I'll keep you all up to date!

 

[Chaosftw]

PICTURES PICTURES PICTURES.... enough talk!!!

 

[WarlordKaptainGrishnak]

Hey Gen, I have a friend I'd like you to meet :laugh:

Good work man, looking forward to an update.

Grish

 

[LTP]

Yay stormraven! You know Im excited about this from speaking to you before lol so I will be following this closely lol. Good luck buddy and keep the sexy pics coming

 

[genesis108]

Hahaha nice, Grish. I'll be putting up some pics here in a little bit! Stay tuned!

 

[genesis108]

Well, apparently you all are actually as excited about this project as I am! So, I can't keep you waiting. I am getting nagged by everyone for more pictures, so here you go!

I have it nearly fully assembled. The glue for aft fuselage mount for the CAV is not dry yet, so the CAV is sitting upside down and sideways underneath the bird. I mounted the Twin-Linked Assault Cannon turret on the chin of the fore-facing fuselage. I will be using the Cerberus Launchers from the Land Speeder Storm kit for the Typhoon Launchers and 4 of the Hunter-Killer Missiles from the Ironclad Dreadnought mounted on the aft-top section as the Bloodstrike Missiles. I am having issues figuring out how and where to put the Hurricane Bolter sponsons because the Land Raider Sponsons are slightly too big to fit on the sides of the fuselage at current scale. Thoughts and ideas on this matter would be greatly appreciated. But now, without further delay...here you go..MOAR PICZ!!

Size Comparison with a Marine, Dreadnought, and Land Raider:

Different Angle Size Comparison with Marine and Dreadnought:

An angled front view so you can see the general height of it currently:

The CAV right now is tall enough to fit a marine inside, and with 8 compartments, can hold 8 marines, as long as they don't have banners or any bits that stick up above their head. I am going to be making a deeper CAV with no center divide and only a single assault ramp spanning the entire width on each side so that it can carry a full 12 marines and dreadnought..but right now I am more worried about getting the issues solved of the sponson placement and getting the bird covered in card and bulked up, because right now it is still kind of flimsy.

 

[Phil73805]

Holy crap! That's impressive, have some rep good sir.

 

[dark angel]

It is certainly different, Genesis108. The proportions look a bit odd, when compared to the Marine, imo, however. It’s nothing bad, of course. Just a bit… Short. How strong/stable is it at the moment? It looks a bit flimsy to me, but I don’t really want to make any preemptive judgments. A nice new take on something that I’ve never truly been able to imagine, however. Have some rep mate, keep up the good work!

 

[genesis108]

As far as stability goes, with just the Depron frame, it can hold quit a bit of weight. I had a bottle of PVA, my Land Raider, metal Dread, and a small Book sitting on it for weight to keep the card flat on the top and it didn't cave, buckle, or even bow. so it is quite stable, and once i get the card on the sides to bulk it up, it will ad more strength to it. The dimensions are a bit askew, but..there isn't anything really to go on, so..I liked it, saw plenty of potential in the ability to modify the design with minimal effort or risk, and decided to go for it. Once it is armoured up and has bits added onto it, I'm sure it will look more proportionate. If not, I can always add to it.

 

[Fallen]

that thing is HUGE

i think that the CAV is fine as of now...i mean tanks in 40k arent 100% to scale (do rhinos look like it can hold 10 marines?

 

[genesis108]

Progress is proceeding slowly. The process of covering the bird in Card is a painstakingly slow one. I will get some pictures up this evening to show what I have completed thus far.

The Fore-fuselage pilots cabin, I've had an idea. Instead of the typical canopy style like the Valkyrie, I am going to make it fully encased using an old bit from the 2nd Edition Rhino kit, making the front look similar to the Forgeworld Land Speeder Tempest, with the View-Port and the rest is armoured. After all, this is the 41st Millenium..they should(and will) have sensors to help fly this thing, why do they need to visually see anything..?

 

[Fallen]

After all, this is the 41st Millenium..they should(and will) have sensors to help fly this thing, why do they need to visually see anything..?

in theory:laugh:

 

[genesis108]

Well, as promised, here is the update of where I am so far. I have about 25% of it covered in card. I have the Assault Cannons mounted and the View-Port bit piece thingy in place as well as a vehicle hatch. I will be continuing to cover it in card over the next few days until it is almost completely covered. Some areas will be left uncovered and simply treated with a PVA wash to protect it. I have a few areas where the card isn't meeting that I'll have to do some work on..but it is slowly starting to come together. And with that, here you are...

 

[Fallen]

awesome Gen, when is the paint gonna come?

 

[Kobrakai]

That looks crazy!

You might want to hand undercoat this, as the foam will melt when you spray primer it.

It's definitely a interesting take on Stormravens, but I like it when people think outside of the box!

Nice stuff, have some rep for some outside box thinking!

 

[genesis108]

Paint will come when it's done being covered, Fallen.

Kobra, Thanks. That's why I am covering it in card. One, it will add strength to it, and two, it will protect it from the spray prime. The areas I am not putting card on will get a good healthy coat of some thinned PVA so the foam doesn't melt there. .

I am hoping to finish having it covered by the middle of next week at the latest. I am ordering the bitz I need on Monday and should have them in a week or so, hopefully. So with any luck, the first bird should be done within the next 10 days or so, barring any holdups with the bitz..