HERMES Air Assault

Joined
May 15, 2013
Messages
281
Hi all,
now that I finally finished my shelf queen ATHENA I have time to tackle new ideas.
As previously mentioned I have an idea for a dio with a militarized version of the HERMES conducting an air assault and dropping off some troops.

The first sketch for the MkII version shows the new nose and the chin mounted mini-gun.
814627_sm-1st%20sketch.jpg

I had the mini-gun already built a few weeks ago for the "Meeting of Scouts" diorama but didn't use it. So now it will be a part of the new HERMES.
814628_sm-basic%20body.jpg

Since the pieces are almost identical to the original HERMES the build was pretty fast.
814629_sm-putty%20time.jpg

Here's a comparison between the MkI and MkII
814631_sm-brothers.jpg

Next up were the wings and rotatable fins.
814632_sm-wings.jpg
814633_sm-bild%20process.jpg

As usual the generous help of Green Putty was required :)
814634_sm-more%20putty.jpg
814635_sm-sanded.jpg

I changed the details a bit and here you can see the rear fin being rotated to a "forward" position, while the front fin is rotated to the "landing" position.
814636_sm-rotated%20fin.jpg
814637_sm-rotated.jpg

But for the diorama both will be in the landing position.
814638_sm-landed.jpg

The MkII also received two auto-cannons for the wings.
814639_sm-auto-cannons.jpg

The start of the rear/main thruster.
814640_sm-thruster%20step%201.jpg

Not exactly the same as on the MkI
814641_sm-thruster%20step%202.jpg

But looks similar :)
814642_sm-main%20thruster.jpg

Then I built the thrusters for the nose and underbelly
814643_sm-new%20thri.jpg

But they were too high - not looking good!
814644_sm-.jpg

So I built another set of thrusters and they are now the same height as the MkI HERMES.
814645_sm-.jpg

Next I added some details to the chin gun - mainly the ammo feed.
814646_sm-.jpg

The pilots windows are also a bit different form the original ones.
814647_sm-New%20windows.jpg

Finally I built some rocket launchers for under the wings.
814648_sm-building%20rocket%20launcher.jpg

Only 7 shots each, but a nice extra punch I think.
814649_sm-7%20shots%20each.jpg

And they look good on the HERMES.
814650_sm-mounted%20rockets.jpg

This is as far as I got :)
I hope you like it.

Cheers

Klaus
 
Thank you Quaralane :)

In case you haven't seen it, I merged all ATHENA posts into one page:

http://fischers-design-shop.blogspot.de/p/athena.html

But be warned, it is huge and will take a long time to load.

The build of the HERMES continued over the last few days, and I think I made good progress.
First I added the intake fan.
815030_sm-intake%20fan.jpg

Then the first armor panels and the front grill.
815031_sm-grill%20and%20panels.jpg

More panels.
815032_sm-panels.jpg

After that I started to build up the passenger pod.
815033_sm-passenger%20pod.jpg

Fits snugly under the body.
815034_sm-Snug.jpg

Other than the VIP pod, this one has sliding doors.
815035_sm-sliging%20doors.jpg
815036_sm-sliding%20doors.jpg

As Malevengion commented:

One thing I wonder about the HERMES design is how is it intended to maneuver? It's got plenty of thrust and vectored thrust nozzles for VTOL capability but seems a bit light on control surfaces. Of course, it's a bit of a roar in there and cause carnage sort of aircraft so it works (and it's looking good too!) but that's just my take. I look forward to seeing this diorama come along!

Maneuver? We're Imperial Guard! We only go straight! And we're only going forward 'cause we can't find reverse :)

Just kidding.
I added some flaps to the fins (top and side) that should allow some additional maneuver force to the various thrusters.
815037_sm-flaps.jpg

With most of the inside completed I worked on the passenger pod.
First was the bench.
815038_sm-starting%20the%20bench.jpg

GreenStuff for the cushions.
815039_sm-cushions.jpg

And some holders/handles for the seats (in open position).
815040_sm-Handles.jpg

Mounted together with some grab handles.
815041_sm-in%20the%20pod.jpg

Almost done!
815042_sm-almost%20done.jpg

Still needs the lights and a million of rivets :)
I really like this version of the HERMES.

What do you think?
Cheers

klaus
 
Hi all,

thank you Quaralane.

In my part of Germany the summer is very hot and very humid - murky - and we have quite a lot thunderstorms.
One could say Germany now has "rainy season".
It makes working and live a bit exhausting, breaking sweat just by moving a finger :p

But I got to work a bit more on the HERMES.
I started off with cutting the wood to the base size (30x30cm).
816058_sm-dio%20base.jpg

Then I built up the mountain on which the air assault is to happen.
I used Styrofoam as base.
816059_sm-building%20the%20mountain.jpg

And covered everything up with cheap masking tape.
816060_sm-masking%20tape.jpg

I want it to look as if the HERMES is hovering above ground while unloading the troops.
816061_sm-hovering%20position.jpg

Once satisfied with everything I covered it with instant plaster.
816062_sm-covered%20in%20plaster.jpg

And while the plaster was still wet I added sand and little rocks. The sand is standard bird cage sand and some small black deco rocks.
816063_sm-adding%20sand.jpg

The HERMES on the cured mountain section.
816064_sm-HERMES%20hovering.jpg
816065_sm-HERMES%20unloading%20troops.jpg

While the plaster cured I started to build some assault rifles and dismantled heavy weapons.
You can see I folded the tripod for the heavy Bolter and mounted the bi-pod for the mortar to the tube in a folded position.
816066_sm-special%20weapons.jpg

Next I started to position the troops.
816068_sm-more%20troopers.jpg

As you can see there's still a lot to do, much, much cleanup.
816069_sm-unloading.jpg

What do you think so far?
Cheers
Klaus
 

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