Dark Eldar WIP Voidraven - Part Three

Hi,

More small progress thursday evening.  I assembled the main hull (minus the thrusters), so it was time to attach the wing extensions.

Firstly I looked at the wing extension, and did some clipping.  I through the engine casing I had should be round, and then I use modelling putty to make a smooth transistion between the two sets of engines, however the engine casings I had curved round and the then started to curve away:

This had been caused by where the line for the saw cut went.  A quick snip with clippers and some filling soon cut off the offending section (at the top left of the thruster in the picture).

Next I wanted to pin the wing extensions in place to give the connection more strength.  To help me get the same position on each side I first cut out a section of the hull, so I could see the side of the thruster:

This allowed me to use the detail on the side of the thruster as a guide, so I could ensure that I could drill in the same place on both the main hull and the wing extension sections.

Not gluing the back of the thruster section in place allowed me to drill through one side of the thruster straight through and slightly into the other side of the thruster.  This would help the pin to stay straight and not move around.  Not having the back of the thruster in place allowed me to accurately ensure that the angle of the pin would be exactly (well as close as I could see) the same on both sides.

The pinning at the front of the engine, was a bit more difficult   One reason was that the front engine piece was much much thinner, so I had to be very careful when pinning.  On the wing extension I followed the same method and pinned through to the other side of the section so the pin would stay at the same angle and wouldn't move around.  This was possible because there was a massive open area in the wing extension allowing me to see in:

[previous picture before the engine parts were glued in, showing the gap in the wing extension section]

However on the main hull side it was all closed off, so I could only drill the hole, and it would be almost impossible to hit the front engine section inside.  However I used the detailing on the outside of the hull to ensure that I pinned in the same place on both sides of the main hull.

I also tested the fit and angle by putting the wing extension in place without glue.  This stage is very important and it actually caused me to drill another hole in the wing extension at the front because I didn't like the angel at the front compared to the angle at the back after I had completed the first one.  This allowed me to get it right first time when pinning the other wing extension.

Drilling an extra hole would have no effect on the final model, as the whole area will be covered by modelling putty later.  Drilling in another spot is fine, but beware trying to drill too close to an existing hole as it's likely the pin may move slightly and cause the holes to merge creating a huge unusable hole.

After all this pinning, and trying the connection without glue, it was time to glue everything in place.  Here's a picture of the back of the Voidraven showing the pins going straight through both thrusters:

[you can also see the sticky GW glue residue, which I will have to clean off  (or cover with modelling putty) later]

So I could see the Voidraven's hull in total I quickly glued on the extra front section, so I could see the dimensions of the final model (please note the thrusters and tail fin will add a bit of length to the back):

A reaver jetbike canopy will cover the front cockpit hole, then modelling putty will smooth the transition from jetbike canopy to main hull, and the same will be done between the front hull sections.  The gap between the engines will need extensive filling and filing to finish off the model.

However before I start any of this I need to try out using modelling putty, as I haven't really used green stuff (I may have used it on a model once, but if so it was many many years ago).  I'm going to cut 3 sets of 2 lengths of sprue frames, glue each set to a base about 1cm apart, and then I am going to try making a smooth  curve between each set of sprue frame using each of the types of modelling putty I have (green, grey & mulliput).

Although doing this practice will delay me, I think it's worth it because I could ruin my nice model if I my muck it up.  Not only will be able to use the modelling putty I think is best for the job, but it will also give me invaluable sculpting experience.

Talking to friends who use all three types of modelling putty and the comments in the tutorials posted in part 1, I expect I will use the mulliput (or a mix of mulliput and green stuff) to do the big areas, such as filling in the gap between the engines, and then green stuff for small detail work, such as smoothing the transition between the jetbike canopy and the main hull.  Grey stuff is supposed to be in between drying harder than green stuff, but I have also heard it can be brittle, however that may have been one bad brand (the brand I went for was Gale Force Nine's Grey Stuff).

I'm out Friday night, and Saturday is always filled with family stuff, so I hope to make some more progress on Sunday.


What do you think of the model so far ?  What experiences have you had with the various types of modelling putty ?  If it takes me this long to half assemble a Voidraven, do I have any chance of assembling and painting a razorwing flock and 13 hellions before the MAD II tournament in 28 days ?  I may have to see if I'm allowed to submit two lists for the tournament (with and without the hellions in).

Rathstar