Dark Eldar WIP Voidraven - Part One

Hi,

I said previously (here) that I was going to convert a Voidraven from a razorwing with an extra hull I ordered from a bits site (I used Horde of Bitz who were great; loads of stock and only 7 days for bits to arrive from US to UK).

Now converting a Voidraven from a razorwing is nothing new, so a quick google search came up with a couple of good tutorials (click on the titles to go to the original sources):

A Dakka Dakka Tutorial by AzureDeath

A Dark City Tutorial by Gobsmakked

The main choices were whether to use a venom cockpit as the furthest back cockpit or use two razorwing cockpits, and whether to use use the existing razorwing fins on the wings or whether to use large ones made from plastic card.  Because this is my first such conversion and because I think it looks fine I'm taking the easier option of use two razorwing cockpits and keeping the existing tail fins.

Recently I also saw a nice conversion making the voidraven have 4 wings (a bit like an x-wing).  The conversion I saw used falcon wings (see the pic below from  Magc8Ball on Dakka Dakka), however rather than chopping up an entire falcon/wave serpent I could use the who razorwing fin sections I would have spare.  I will decide for sure once I get the rest of the voidraven done.

Looking at the razorwing hulls I was concerned how I would attach the extra engine and wing fin, given that the model was not solid between the engines:

My hope is that once the wing extension if assembled I can put a pin in both the engine thruster rear section and the engine front section.  By pinning in the same place on both sides it  should have the double effect of making the join stronger and making sure both wing extension are at the same angle.

Firstly I purchased a small saw. One of my local gaming/hobby stores had a nice looking Gale Force Nine saw which worked fine.  As with all pinning, sawing or converting I started the sawing slowly to make sure the line was accurate before accelerating to get the cut done.

In the case of the razorwing I advise tilting the saw upwards at the front once the line is made, so that the back is cut through first.  This is because the line between the engines extends forwards into the front of the hull that you don't want to scratch with the saw.  As always being careful and patient will reduce the chance of ruining your nice model.

Below is a pic of the top hull cut:

Next followed doing the same to the bottom half of the hull.  Putting the top and bottom half of the wing extension showed there wasn't that much contact area to hold it onto the main hull, especially when you think the area of contact made not be even.  This is where my idea of pinning the engine front, and back thruster will help strengthen the join:

That's all for now (6 week old daughter doesn't give me much modelling time). Next up is assembling the rest of the wing extension (engine front, rear thruster, weapon mount) and the main razorwing hull which will require the same type of cutting.

A quick Part Two post will follow during the next week, and include my choice of modelling putty..

Rathstar