"Helicopters to Sci-Fi VTOLs" Topic

I've got a 1/72 Tiger chopper sitting in the basement, waiting to be transformed into something more sci-fi'ish.

I could use some inspiration, so if you've got a chopper-to-SF VTOL conversion, let's see it!

Dang weird. I was thinking about this driving home from the FLGS tonight. Don't have any choppers but was thinking about picking one or two up. Can't figure a good conversion right off, though.

Something along the lines of the Apache, with the GW Space Marines rocket packs around the fuselage side would work.

I can't recall who made it, but imagine he, or someone who knows him will be along shortly.

You might check the archives under VTOLs for a link to photos of them.

They came out quite nice. To make them look even a bit more different, he cut off the tail booms, and re-glued them upside down.

They look superb.

See the pics here:

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I'm in the process of converting a 1/72 CH-53 into a VTOL dropship. I'm adding wings from an F-4 phantom with wingtips down. The Phantom's tail stabilizers are being added to the '53 own tail, in an upward 'v' configuration. Not sure where the VTOL exhausts are going yet.

How about the gunships from "Avatar"?

I usually go backwards. I can understand a VTOL that looks like a VTOL plane or dropship etc but one with an airframe like a helicopter looks stupid without a rotor.

Wasn't the ambulance in that epsode of "Firefly" basically a Hind gunship?

Oddly enough, I'm wanting to do something the exact opposite: turn a 40K Space Marines Landspeeder into a helicopter.

I took a 1/72 Hind and a 1/72 A-10. The engines and wings of the A-10 went onto the top of the Hind, with the engines canted downwards at an angle. The effect was oddly similar to the prequel Star Wars clone gunship -- I say oddly because I made mine several years before Attack of the Clones came out!

"I usually go backwards. I can understand a VTOL that looks like a VTOL plane or dropship etc but one with an airframe like a helicopter looks stupid without a rotor."

I would agree except there are some nice designs that use a motor that puts thrsut out in such a way as to not break up the lines of the fuselage. Not amny, though.

"Wasn't the ambulance in that epsode of "Firefly" basically a Hind gunship?"

A close lookalike – I thought it might have been one of the ones from RED DAWN but those actually looked more accurate than the one in Firefly; Some mockup for something else, I guess. And it looked a little uderpowered for it's performance, unless it was a grav-engined beast.

Having been brought up on vectored thrust, I like the various techniques for doing so – Rotating venturis, enclosed fans, static lift jets, single motor/multiple exhausts, etc – but have to confess that the enclosed rotor aerodynes are the neatest – yes, even if they turn up in AVATAR – because thay can also use exotic approaches like annular electric drives for the fan/prop and since the invention of the Fenestron, they are looking more practical every day. And there is a model coming of a good one – the new Exodus wars Valkyrie is going in my Neu Swabian League army when the wallet inflates a little. :)

There's also the AG-60 Havoc gunship from the old G-Police PlayStation game.

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Vor: The Maelstrom's Union faction (near-future USA, with powered armour and AG technology) had an AG/VTOL gunship that was explicitly described as being based on the Apache helicopter. No artwork or miniature, though.

Looking at photos of the Tiger, I'd suggest something along the lines of:

Move the wings forward and down, under the cockpit. Hide the landing gear, 'cos it looks clunky. Add some big-ass pivoting engines where the turbines currently are. Perhaps have them on short 'stalks', rather than directly attached to the fuselage, to allow a greater range of motion. Lose the tail rotor (and the main rotor, obviously). I'd also suggest losing the central vertical tail (the one the tail rotor attaches to) and beefing up the smaller twin tails to compensate. Maybe angle them outward. Leave that sensor mast on top of the main hull, and maybe add more sensor greeblies to that general area.

Andrew Paul, that is indeed a nice tilt-engine design that I forgot about – and a PAH Tiger would be a good starting point to make one too :)

It's an idea I've planned on paper but never got to the modeling stages yet, as I figured it depends on the tech level of who you're making one for. Anti-grav for advance faction means you'd only need thrusters for forward movement. I've always tried to make them look like the V-22 Osprey, now that's an awesome VTOL.

" I've always tried to make them look like the V-22 Osprey, now that's an awesome VTOL."

The prequel to HALO has a non-tilting Osprey like VTOL that looks like a combination of one with a Huey; Rather neat if you see the trailer, it details it well . :)

The one in AVATAR looked like someone just took a Blackhawk and gave it a double rotor.

Cyberpunk 2020 had aerodynes which looked pretty much like Blackhawks or UH-1s with a flat back and vectored thrusters from a Harrier added to the sides

I loved G-Police. Too bad some of the levels border on impossible. That's one of the games that works zany-better on a PS2. The little frame rate and visual distance sliders are independent. If you put it in a PS2, you can push both to maximum.

I liked the look of the dual-rotor VTOLs on Syndrome's island from "The Incredibles", but as far as I know no toys were made of them.

Cyberpunk 2020 had aerodynes which looked pretty much like Blackhawks or UH-1s with a flat back and vectored thrusters from a Harrier added to the sides

The artwork always looked more like a Transit van with a Pegasus engine to me.

I've got a partially finished Union Loki Gunship from Vor: The Maelstrom. Per the fluff, it was built on an AH-64 Apache airframe and fitted with anti-grav technology.

So I started with a 1/48th scale Monogram AH-64 and added a bunch of stuff.

Here's how I got so far.

link

Always liked the idea of using the V-22 airframe as the basis of a dropship or VTOL

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If you're buying the V22 kit anyways, why not just use it as-is for 28mm gaming? I figure those birds are going to fly at least as long as C130s or C47s, so we're good until about 2080.

I'm just trying to figure out how to make the tilt-wing from Ghost in the Shell Innocence… Can't even find a good start for the fuselage, but I think I can scrounge wings from a Gundam kit.

Another option with Ospreys is to sub out the prop motors for ducked fans or jets for tht sci fi look.

One idea I entertained for a bit was taking regular chopper kids, adding some sci fi drag and then putting an anti-grav generating disk where the rotor was.

"Another option with Ospreys is to sub out the prop motors for ducked fans or jets for tht sci fi look."

Use 2 X-wing engines per side and box them in with styrene or even use some of the Pod Racer engines if you can find some.

Check this out … link

Hello Gents,

I agree that a grav vehicle doesn't need to look like a 'copter – unless you want it to. :)

link

Regards,
Keith F.

A grav vehicle doesn't need to look like a helo, but helos don't look like helos because they want to look like helo. They look like helos because that is how you build a helo to do the job it was intended to do. Though there have been minor variations, attack helos pretty much all fall into the same basic mold.

Grav vehicles, even though they might use AG tech for flight are likely going to look very similar to helo if they are doing the same job.

I suppose it all depends on whether the grav motors (whatever they may look like) have to be mounted at the bottom of the vehicle.

The reason helicopters look like they do is because the rotors have to go at the top to support the weight of the craft.

The look of the craft would be driven by its role. It would also be driven by the weight that could be carried by the grav motors. Helicopters don't look like tanks because of the weight…maybe the weight wouldn't be an issue with a grav vehicle so armour could be increased.

In reality, until we have anti-Grav motors and know what they can do, the look of a grav vehicle is open to whatever interpretation we want…whether it be helicopter or tank or even Startrek shuttle.

I'm with you, Insomniac – often, it's about the look.

Regards,
Keith F.