When I first started in the Heresy a few years back I feel in love with the Storm Eagle model and promptly ran out and purchased one! I knew I should leave building it until I was more experienced working with resin but I couldn't resit. I set about building it for my Sons of Horus army. It went badly!
You can see the big gaps that I left in the front! I hadn't worked out that a hairdryer is a Forge World's fan best friend. I also realised that I managed to glue the front wings on the way! I also glued the heavy bolters up the wrong way! >.< The front and rear hatches were also some what disastrous!
The Storm Eagle had originally been intended for the Sons of Horus, however I never really found a place in the army list. I contemplated selling it off but while playing around with lists and campaign ideas I decided that it would fit in well with the Emperor's Children.
Now that it was staying in the collection it needed some serious love and attention! I set about fixing it! First up I snapped the front wings off and tidied up the glue on them. Got them back on the right way, as well as up the right way! Next I dealt the front ramp and the crazy gaps I had left. I scraped the glue out from around the bottom of the ramp and managed to free up the all sides so that I could close the gaps. Then out came the hairdryer to warm up the sides and get them bent back in place.
I fixed the rear ramp and the bent a few other bit and pieces back into shape. Now it looks like it should! Well nearly, not a lot a could do heavy bolters being up the wrong way. It's now ready to join the ranks of the Emperor's Children. The only thing I have left to decide upon is whether to go with etched brass or transfers.
Anyone else managed to make a mess of building a model? Did you manage to fix it?
Happy hobby!
Darien
Even the Heavy Bolters seem pretty fixable to me. Cut them off however, and then just replace them with some from a Storm Talon kit or something like that.
ReplyDeleteThat was my plan originally, but they are slightly recessed which makes it difficult to get the cutting angle! I will revisit it before I set about painting it!
DeleteMy StormEagle is still in the bare resin for the same reasons, massively bent side panels.... will get around to it once I've finished fixing the awful non fitting individual track segments on the older Spartan kit! It's terrible, every track piece has needed shaving a few millimetres off to fit properly and bend into shape.... frustratingly slow progress.
ReplyDeleteI've been there!! Hard work!
DeleteEvery Vorax I try to build takes hours. No matter how much I prep and wash that resin, quite a few Mechanicum units just don't want to glue together. Ironically, I've never had a problem with Legion stuff.
ReplyDeleteSiph, you'll hate this: I too have an older Spartan kit, but my tracks just happened to work with a little hairdrying help... go figure.
Perhaps it's gluing areas on the mech stuff that causes the issue! I've not been lucky enough to assemble any, reading that makes me not want too! Lol!
DeleteI can empathise with you, similarly I rushed into building my Storm Eagle and it has remained 1/2 built ever since. Yet to find the resolve to finish the build.
ReplyDeleteYeah it isn't a great kit unfortunately! Looks fantastic when it's done though, even with a few gaps!
DeleteSnipped off one of the "feathers" off each of Corax's wings at the bottom of his jump pack a few months back thinking they were vents.... Realised what I'd done and had to get creative with my knife to shape what was left to look ok.
ReplyDeleteYou'd never realise but I know the flaw is there and it bugs the hell out of me!
>.< I've done that but not with a primarch!
DeleteI was having a bad day! Both a shoulder pad and foot on the Cataphractii Medicae just seemed to fracture when I was cutting vents on the same day :(
Delete>.< that sucks!!
DeleteLooks great! Are the heavy bolters glued with cement or superglue? If the latter I've got just the thing for you!
ReplyDeleteAlas it was plastic glue! They will need cutting off to get them around the right way!
DeleteThank the heavens I'm not the only one who felt that way about the Eagle. I mean, I'm a big fan of them and own 2 for my IXth legion lads, but they were more frustrating to put together than my Thunderhawk; bent sides, irregular aft ramp and glue issues, an uncontrolled dive off the painting table that blew off a wing, y'know, bunch of fun stuff like that. Not once, but twice. I'm fairly certain the models themselves are cursed/blessed on the assembly line by the Dark Mechanicum. They cause nothing but pain, and I've put off buying a third or a fire raptor for fear of real trouble coming in threes.
ReplyDeleteAs a note for the bolters, you could always snip the iron sights smooth so they don't hook and it should look like an in-line weapons system, eh? Good job on the top body joins, they look good and I remember what a pain they were.
Now you all tell me about the Spartan too. Yeah, it's sitting on my assembly table right now for my Emperor's children... I wish I'd have known it was tough before snapping one of the quad mounts in half and dropping it 'just so' where most of the tracks edges sheered off on one side and scattered to the four corners of the Empyrean. Next you're going to tell me the Sicarian Punisher is even more of a pain.
... it's not, is it?
That sounds like a seriously unlucky series of events!! :( :(
DeleteGreat idea for the bolters! I have a fireraptor and I found that went together a lot better than the Storm Eagle! Seems like the thought about a lot of the problems with the kit and made some improvements. The 2 sicarans that I've built have gone together pretty well, certainly better than the SE, FR and Spartan!
I swear, I'm not clumsy, resin just has the same polarity as me, so it never seems to stay in my hands for very long! Xiphons do go together like a dream, and I avoided any major catastrophes with JB Welding the Hawk together so that's got to count (if only just, I placed a brass pin less than 2mm from where its eventual flight peg was going to go, didn't even realize it. For anyone out there thinking of getting a new Hawk kit, make sure you plan all your support pins out to avoid any disasters).
DeleteI like the sightless in-line heavy bolter idea more and more. Xiphon's don't have the sighted las cannons, neither do the new hawks or IG Valks if memory serves, I wonder why Eagles have them on their wing mounts. If you have to eyeball it with an iron sights on a gunship, something has gone categorically and hilariously wrong.
I'll admit that I like the FW transfers a ton, and if the Death Guard transfers are anything to go by, a bit of gloss coat, microsol, microset, and those things go on perfect. But, you do have those nice raised aquillas that fit with the III, so I can see the brass etched looking real appealing :P
Hmm, I may have to give a Fire Raptor another look now. And glad to hear that the Sicarian's aren't horrendous. Thanks mate! All the best, eh.
Great point on the sightless guns! I am planning on purchasing the new Thunderhawk very soon! I would be intrigued to see how you did you flight stand, do you have any guides or pictures anywhere?
DeleteThe transfers do look good! The new doors that they are releasing look great but no idea when they will be available, I would prefer them over etched brass and transfers but I don't want to be waiting months on end to set about painting!
Hmm, I guess I could post up a pic link of the hawk, I still need to magnetize the heavy bolters on the wings. Weird that there's always that one last thing that seems so elusive. As for the base, I went with a 1/2" acrylic rod stand (3/4" is more advisable) and the base itself is made from a pre-drilled 10" wooden clock face kit from a run-of-the-mill craft store.
DeleteI really should have waited for the doors and proper big ol' IX legion transfers. They are worth it.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DKC6ASyVwAAsKRn.jpg
The Hawk looks awesome! Great work and thanks for sharing!
DeleteThe Storm Eagle at Warhammer World doesn't look great either: http://imgur.com/g0Xgo9Q
ReplyDeleteWe're not alone!
Lol! Yeah I've noticed that as well!
Delete