I had picked up the Transformer Dreadwing and really liked the idea of the jet mode. The robot mode sucks, and all the junk on the bottom of it in plane mode looks bad too. But I do see where it could be cool. Not as a Transformer but as a Cobra plane. Now getting this will never happen with Hasbro. No way they'll make it in the way I have in mind either. So as they say, if you want it one you gotta make it yourself.

So over the past 2 days I've been cutting and bending plastic. I've got a ways to go too before I can even come close to saying I'm finished. The plane mode is basically a MIG-29. There are various things that sets it aside from the actual plane. Here's a link to the Transformer:

http://tfkenkon.com/g/?mode=album&album ... ion/act458

I'm making various changes too with my version. I have to simplify some of it since there won't be a robot mode. Some of the parts that are obviously arms will be reshaped to be straight air intakes. I'm getting rid of all the junk on the bottom and making it a regular jet. I'm using pictures of a real MIG-29 to make my plane. Something else I'm doing is making it a VTOL jet. There's something that all the varios Transformer pages are overlooking with Dreadwing. You can open the body and there's a large fan jet in the middle. It looks like it was made with the idea that the body is suppose to do that and that it would have VTOL ability. So I'm playing off that and will do some modifications.

All I've made so far is the top back of the body, the tail fins and side fins, the main wings, the engine covers, and vents that pop up when in VTOL mode. It will fit a Cobra pilot when I'm finished. What's left is the bottom of the plane, the air intakes, the back engines, the full nose section, the middle VTOL fan, landing gears, missiles, and detailing. It sounds like a lot but in my opinion the body was the hardest part. I've started some of the other stuff but it's not ready to pose for a picture yet.

So here's the shots of it so far. I'll be updating this post as I do more. With luck I'll be able to finish it up within 2 months at the longest. I say that long due to generally only having the weekend to work on it. I might get to etch in my details through the week on these parts that I have finished since all of that is minor work.

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That looks amazing so far. Looks like a very promising undertaking. I have yet to brave the vehicle frontier, but it's cool to see that you're going after it. Are you using foamboard?

T

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I've been drifting away from the figures and doing vehicles more, hehe. I'll get back to the figures though cause this plane needs a pilot.

It's more less styrene. It's sheets of plastic that's used for sign work. There's a place here in town that I buy material from for my shop when I do signs and they sell me these sheest of plastic for cheap. It's 4' x 8' sheets, so it's plenty to cut down. It's just a pain to heat it and bend the shapes, but once I figured it out it's not too bad. So yeah the whole plane will be as durable as a toy bought from the store. The hardest part I think will be heating some clear plastic and stretching it for the canopy.

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VERY impressive so far. Be sure to keep us informed as you work on this project. I cannot wait to see it finished

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Hey thanks for the info. May have to try using those materials for some potential dios I have on the backburner. As far as heating, I use a Wagner heatgun to harden my sculpey (kind of a hairdryer on crack). It really works well and heats up to some pretty high temps. Thought it might be of use to you.

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Yeah the heat gun I use came from Big Lots. It's a Ryobi and has 3 heat settings. The highest setting will cause the plastic to catch fire if you leave it on it for too long, hehe. The plastic sheets comes from a place called Regal Plastic. There are other ones around the country, but I don't know where exactly. I'll find out the exact name next time I go by there so I can post for anyone else looking for sheets that's pretty easy to work with.

Oh and thanks to both of you for the comments. I'm sort of posting this as a way to help motivate me, hehe. If I don't have something I feel I need to update (this thread), I'll drag on with this project and probably never finish it. I'm going to probably start doing WIP posts to light a fire under me to finish some of these ideas.

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Kick ass...I'm really impressed you've started from scratch...I think I'd have at least started with a base vehicle and bashed extra Styrene details over it...

What's the thickness of the sheet you're using? I've been using the 7x12 sheets of .060 styrene from Plastruct that I get at Hobby Town USA...but i's like $7 for a package of 3 sheets....I'm curious if a 4x8 sheet is any more cost effective?

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It's about the same thickness. It's a little more than $20 for the full sheet so yeah I'd say it would be cheaper this way. My dad has a woodworking shop, so I have access to a bandsaw, table saw, and just about anything else I need. Cutting it down is where the factor comes in by getting such large sheets. When i need thicker I just glue 2 sheets together. For the wings of the plane, that's what i gotta do.

I also buy sheets of something else that's the same thickness. It's plastic, but has a foam base to it. They call it Foam-Cor, but it's not the same type of foamboard that most people think of. It's very sturdy to use for building stuff like this. With it being foam base, it's easier to heat and shape. I'll probably use that stuff for the nose cone since there's a fair amount of bending that has to be done. I'll probably make the wheels out of it too. I have another sheet of it that's the thickness of 2 sheets stacked.

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Nice start. I applaud your bravery in starting from scratch. Looks like it should turn out well.

Thanks. I really should give an update picture, but it's so ugly right now. I've built up the back where the engines will go, I've built the sides, made the start of the cover over the back engines, added part of the nose cone, plus started the VTOL "box". There's just seams gaps and everything all over right now. With luck I'll get to work on it again this weekend and can clean it up enough to get some pictures.

The VTOL box that I mentioned is where a gear will go to allow the body to open for the verticle take off idea. I've gotta do some thinking to make sure everything fits inside the plane and how I'm going to get it to work. I need 2 rails with "teeth" so they can ride the gear, then I need another set of rails that are just there to help guide the thing when it's opening.

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I'm impressed with guys who actually scratch build entire vehicles. I'm loving what you've done already and there isn't even an entire plane yet.

I look forward to seeing more pictures of it as you build and it and once it's all done.

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I did more to the plane and shot some new images. I cleaned up a lot of it. it's still in the "ugly" stage. Lots of glue everywhere. There's areas where the plastic cracked while I was sanding, so I reset it with new plastic parts. You'll see areas where there's glue lines that wouldn't have been there if it stayed solid. Once paint is over it, it'll never been known from looking at it that there was ever a problem.

This first picture is the start the the "VTOL box". This will be right behine the nose of the plane and what holds the body and wings together. The gear will be how the body separates evenly. There's a lot more to be done obviously to this part.




Here is the body together. I have to put the vents in place with the ability to pop them up while in VTOL mode. There's not much to do that, the vents are already cut and shaped. I just have to make a hinge.




This sort of gives an idea of what the body halves separated with the VTOL box being in the center. It'll make more sense when I do all the other parts and the wings are added.




The top of one side and the bottom of the other. This shows the build up of the underside of the body. The air intakes are pretty much there and the start of the back landing gears. The opening for the VTOL box is cut and ready to be put in place when it's finished.




Just a head on shot looking down the body of one side.




A shot of the back side. The engines will be in place eventually with other various details. There's still some prep work to be done as seen before the engines can be put on.




That's it for now. Next stuff I gotta do before I go on is to build the VTOL box and the back landing gears. That's the reason I couldn't finish the air intakes. I need everything still open there so I can build all the hinges and such. Once those are done I can close everything up and start building the nose of the plane. The engines will be within the last stages since those are easy to do and there's nothing necessary for them to be built now to be able to move on to the next step. I'll update again with more soon.

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This looks SWEET! J_man. You taking orders yet??

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Hehe, thanks. I don't think this one will be sold, hehe. I think it would be too big of a pain to remake too. It's easier making multiples at the same time than remaking at the end.

What I am considering though, I might take requests for my next scratch built project. I'm considering my next scratch built project to be the Cobra transport helicopter. Not any modified versions or pieced together one. There has been some nice customs made, but I want a full blown out straight from the comic able to carry a HISS underneath version. I've got lots of referance material ready and it'll be easier than this plane actually. I'll probably only be able to make a few, so I wouldn't be able to take a huge list of request. I have no idea of a price either, that project is a little ways off. I gotta finish this one first. But any future build, I might do a small request list and build the same project along side mine if people are real interested. I should be able to do these type of builds for no more than if it were a 21st Century plane. I'll know the cost involved at the end of this build.

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