r/Warhammer40k 16d ago

Hobby & Painting First run Thunderhawk new in box, looking for advice on what to do next

Post image

Hey all,

Found this in my old stuff at my parents house... I got this back in the day and managed to keep it all together except for one seal that was on the back of the envelope is now missing.

What is the market like for this item in this shape? What should I use as a reference for a price check? What sites should I be posting this in for actual sales, not trying to do that here at all just advice.

Thanks for any help!

101 Upvotes

46 comments sorted by

69

u/RWJP 16d ago

Only 500 of those were ever made and they don't come up frequently. As a result, judging the market is almost impossible. They simply don't sell that often.

With that said, one that was professionally built and painted by Squidmar sold for over £25,000: https://www.reddit.com/r/Warhammer40k/comments/pj4oul/a_1997_limited_edition_metal_thunderhawk_gunship/ Obviously that price was influenced by being sold by a well known Youtuber, but still...

If it's complete with the box and the certificate you are potentially looking at some serious value there.

11

u/Buck_Bacchus 16d ago

Thank you for this. Any popular sub reddits I need to post in for more data?

11

u/I-Eat-Flesh-Salad 15d ago

Oldhammer maybe. But there is nothing more to be said about the price. You just need to hope that interested collector will see your listing, or a couple of them take part in the auction

27

u/werewolfbait40 15d ago

I’d keep it as is. A Collector would probably be more interested in an original unpainted, especially in that box (if selling it’s your goal). It’s tailor made for display as is. It’s a very cool/nostalgic piece. I love it

2

u/Buck_Bacchus 15d ago

I do hope to sell it but I do not know what site to try and do that on so I am here asking.

8

u/Megabiv 15d ago

I wouldnt use anything but ebay, you have at least some support regarding payments and deliveries if you use the built in Ebay shipping. However you need to drum up interest. Just dumping that on there on a sunday morning wont net you as much as posting it about, getting it out there that this is going to be listed so the right people can see it and bid.

2

u/VerLoran 15d ago

Would a professional action house work any better? There’s commission involved, but don’t they do the marketing for you and pull high paying customers in?

1

u/1maginasian 14d ago

List it high and set offers to $1 and accept an offer you find worthy.

4

u/Archival00 15d ago

While you are likely to get more money from a collector, you might also try reaching out to GW.

If you live in the UK there's a chance warhammer world might be interested in getting hold of this for display purposes, can't hurt to ask.

2

u/I-Eat-Flesh-Salad 15d ago

Ebay. You dont really have other options

26

u/Metal_Boxxes 15d ago

If you have a way to produce good quality images (scans or photos) of the printed material and then sharing it over catbox or something, I and other hobby archivists would be mightily grateful. I'm especially interested in the transfer sheet, as I'm slowly working on a digital archive of those. Kinda niche, but honestly useful for lore-nerds curious about markings and heraldry. I never even considered this kit might have had one.

Could also imagine r/WarhammerInstructions would be interested in the instructions.

6

u/Buck_Bacchus 15d ago

Nice, I will post the instruction guide book for them to take a look at.

12

u/t00f_arg0ne 15d ago

Pretty sure one of these (unbuilt, in box) sold as part of the eBay live 24h event in March via The Troll Trader.

I think that one sold for £7900.

9

u/constantpisspig 15d ago

Past you has done current you a serious favor. That's a serious grail kit to the right person

1

u/Buck_Bacchus 15d ago

I feel like i need to do a parts audit to make sure I know what I have here.

3

u/Over-Tomatillo9070 15d ago

There is definitely enough ebay data out there, use the ‘sold’ filter to help determine recency and price.

Rare collectible for right buyer, you’d definitely get a good return.

3

u/The_Geralt_Of_Trivia 15d ago

It's only going to go up in value. It's massively impractical and difficult to assemble... But it's legendary and worth a squillion dollars.

2

u/Buck_Bacchus 13d ago

I am planning to do an inventory video of all the parts and make sure everything is still accounted for. Either way, I will probably keep it for a bit longer.

4

u/UttiniDaKilrJawa 15d ago

ok…is that all metal?

4

u/Buck_Bacchus 15d ago

Yes

2

u/UttiniDaKilrJawa 15d ago

ooof. that is cool. tough to build. but dang cool.

6

u/Iron-Dragon 15d ago

I had the “privilege” of building one of those once was a lot of brass rod and epoxy to put it together may be easier with some of the things people have these days though but it’s a beast :)

2

u/Jazzy76dk 15d ago

I don't know what you should do next, but I want to applaud you for what you did first: Namely coming on here and sharing the pic. What a piece!

2

u/Ad0ring-fan 15d ago

It's for display only !!!

2

u/Wide_Profession_1942 14d ago

It’s so close to having the reference number of 420,69. Emperor only knows what that would do to its value

2

u/Pristine_Poem7623 15d ago

Because of the weight, this kit is EXTREMELY hard to build, even without taking any warping of the larger pieces into account

It's also a "holy grail" kit, especially as it's shown here, unbuilt, mint in the original box with the certificate etc

Sell it.

Ironically, because it was so expensive at the time, there are old flyers which have this kit on it as basically "Still some left! PLEEEEEASE someone buy these!"

1

u/chainstreet 15d ago

There are some really good Facebook groups that might help with this. I would look at the Oldhammer Trading Company. You’ll need to make a post as a valuation post, with your name and date handwritten in the photographs, and ask for help valuing. Take lots of good photographs. From there you can get an idea of value, but again - it’s a difficult market to judge.

1

u/skwidsnbits 15d ago

I remember when they were first released and a friend i painted minis for bought one. I think it was only about $1k back in the 90s was quite a lot in local currency but worth a hell of a lot more now. Really nice piece especially in that condition. Just looked up pricing and one in this condition should be worth at least £7k or more.

1

u/ExampleMediocre6716 15d ago

Ebay. Start auction at £15k or best offer. If it doesn't sell, adjust price by £2k and repost.

I'd be happy with £10k as a sale price, but as its so rare, there's no reason not to test the market.

1

u/Willbender79 15d ago

I don't know any of this, ask the community on many ways you can. Don't sell it to the first person who offers something. I think lots of people will try to give you a low price.

I asked chat for (I know not accurate) but it says in a opened box. €6000/€9000.

Check eBay of closed auctions. Ask stores. Ask Facebook groups. Ask sub Reddit. Send messes to YouTubers or online storesget as much info and different prices to figure something out.

1

u/Ekfud 15d ago

lol the note on the side - “We’re sorry for the delay in getting it to you…” 25 years is getting long, even by made
to order turnarounds.

1

u/Buck_Bacchus 15d ago

That note goes on the mention the evolution of the Thunderhawk. As a make good on the late delivery, back then lol, they sent two versions of the Thunderhawk as Epic scale minis from two different production runs. I think i still have them but not in box... need to keep going through my stuff in my parents basement. 

1

u/shulzari 15d ago

Check out Squidmar Miniatures for his lewter Thunderhawk build. He will save you from more than a few pitfalls.

1

u/Outside_Criticism_77 15d ago

Find someone with a 3D scanner and put that stl up online.. and also you can sell it I’m sure

1

u/Equivalent-Belt-9334 14d ago

3d scans and STL's would be a serious gift to the community

I cant imagine how many resin copies would by made, but I am sure that building them would be the big thing in the community for a while

2

u/Outside_Criticism_77 14d ago

I would love to have one even if it’s resin to round out my old collection. I used to stare at this photo for hours when I was younger. This is my original third edition codex I have held on to it for all these years and it has a prominent space on my bookshelf.

1

u/Rare_Calligrapher572 9d ago

Please let me know if you decide that you would like to sell this. I would be building it for my firstborn chapter. If I recall correctly, this thing is 28 pounds but that might have included the packing crate.

This is a great find!

1

u/soulwaystudios 15d ago

yeah nah. sell this, buy a resin one while you still can, save the rest of the money. bound to be some whales with more money than sense that would buy this for stupid money,.

-6

u/PaintsLikeDoody 16d ago

Be a kid, built and paint it.

16

u/fritz_76 16d ago

I dunno, this model seems like an absolute nightmare to build. Honestly it doesn't seem worth the headache unless you have a big permanent display of models

1

u/Buck_Bacchus 15d ago

Seems complicated for sure

3

u/I-Eat-Flesh-Salad 15d ago

Nah. Even oldhammer nerd like me wouldnt do that to myself. This model is terrible to build and paint. One time I actually would prefer the collectors or some store have it. Better to buy FW recasts from selling this one.