Category: aeronautica imperialis

Aeronautica Imperialis Thunderhawk Gunship coming soon

It was announced yesterday that the Aeronautica Imperialis Thunderhawk Gunship will go on pre-order next Saturday (30th October) for release on the following Saturday (6th November).

The Thunderhawk Gunship fulfils a number of different strategic and tactical roles. Its primary mission is that of a drop ship but its utility does not end with the deployment of its lethal cargo of Space Marines, for it is a formidable heavy weapons platform in its own right. Equipped with a dorsal-mounted turbolaser, the Thunderhawk is able to engage targets as large as a Scout Titan or super-heavy tank as well as enemy fortifications. In addition to its main weaponry, the Thunderhawk mounts numerous heavy bolters with which it can scour a landing zone clear of enemy troops in a storm of mass reactive shells. An additional payload of wing-mounted missiles allows the gunship to operate in direct support of the squads it delivers into battle.

I am looking forward to actually buying this model, I suspect it will be expensive for a single plastic model, but ah well, why not.

Also coming out in the same time frame is the Fire Raptor Squadron.

Fire Raptor Squadron

The Fire Raptor Gunship is a specialised variant of the Storm Eagle known to have its origins in the Imperium’s dim and distant past. The vehicle is configured to maximise ammunition stowage in order to feed the voracious appetite of its numerous weapons and this is achieved by sacrificing the Storm Eagle’s transport capacity.

Nice models and more firepower than the Storm Eagles that come in the Wrath of Angels boxed set.

What I am still thinking about is what colour to paint my Adeptus Astartes models.

I did think about Ultramarines blue, then Salamanders green, but now thinking about painting them up as Grey Knights.

Aeronautica Imperialis Workbench updated

Following my purchase of Wrath of Angels I have updated the Aeronautica Imperialis Workbench.

Wrath of Angels

The next release for Aeronautica Imperialis are the new Space Marines and Eldar flyers.

The main release is Aeronautica Imperialis: Wrath of Angels.

The Aeronautica Imperialis: Wrath of Angels boxed set includes everything you need to play exciting games of aerial combat between brutal Adeptus Astartes and sleek Asuryani aircraft.

Aeronautica Imperialis is a game of breakneck aerial combat in the 41st Millennium. Two players command squadrons of aircraft in lethal dogfights high among the clouds, as fighters twist and turn, and bomber waves unleash devastation through storms of flak.

The set includes the following Citadel multipart plastic miniatures, each supplied with an Aeronautica Imperialis base:

– 3x Adeptus Astartes Xiphon Interceptors
– 2x Adeptus Astartes Storm Eagles
– 3x Asuryani Nightwings
– 3x Asuryani Phoenix Bombers

The set also includes a 38-page rulebook.

I have preordered this and am looking forward to painting up the models and having a game or two.

I think the boxed set is quite good value for money as it contains a fair few (large) models.

 

Undercoating the Aeronautica Imperialis Grot Bommers

Was given some reinforcements for Aeronautica Imperialis, in the shape of some Grot Bommers as a present, which was nice.

Having finished construction of my Grot Bommers I gave the planes, the Grot Bombs and the flying Grot Bombs a white undercoat.

I sprayed the bottom half first and then left that to dry before then spraying the top half.

I do like the undercarriage of the model which looks very Orky, but reminds me of the Antonov An-225 Mriya or the Messerschmitt Me 323 Gigant. I suspect this was intentional on the part of the designers.

Spraying the Grot Bombs was a little more challenging as the force of the spray blew them about on my painting box. However I managed to get them all done in the end.

See the full workbench feature on the Aeronautica Imperialis Grot Bommers.

Finished constructing the Aeronautica Imperialis Grot Bommers

Was given some reinforcements for Aeronautica Imperialis, in the shape of some Grot Bommers as a present, which was nice. Having progressed construction I was able to finish making the models. I added the tail pieces.

These are slightly different to the tails on the Eavy Bommers.

So feeling quite pleased with the finished models.

I looked over the sprue to find some  parts I hadn’t used. Now there were the tail pieces, but I also had four of these parts left over. I had no idea what they were.

I checked the instructions and I realised that these were part of the dorsal gunners that I hadn’t used. So I had to remove the dorsal guns, glue in the part and then restick them to the bommers.

I also constructed the Grot Bombs, both the underwing ones and the flying models.

I decided that I would paint all of these separately rather than fix them to the wings.

The next stage is a white undercoat.

See the full workbench feature on the Aeronautica Imperialis Grot Bommers.

Progress on my Aeronautica Imperialis Grot Bommers

Was given some reinforcements for Aeronautica Imperialis, in the shape of some Grot Bommers as a present, which was nice.

Have made more progress on the models since my last blog post on them.

The main wings and engines are now complete. The engines were relatively easy to construct and fix to the main fuselage.

I have also added the tail section and the dorsal gunners. The dorsal gunners were a little fiddly.

They are nice big models which will look very imposing against the Imperial Navy.

See the full workbench feature on the Aeronautica Imperialis Grot Bommers.

Starting my Aeronautica Imperialis Grot Bommers

Was given some reinforcements for Aeronautica Imperialis, in the shape of some Grot Bommers as a present, which was nice.

The diminutive Gretchin have long been enthusiastic supporters of Ork aviation, whether gleefully pushing bombs out of open bays, crawling into tight spots to fix engines, or acting as spotters and even gunners on ork planes. It doesn’t take long before they become obsessed with flying just like their bigger kin, begging for their own turn on the control stick. Some enterprising Ork meks decided this arrangement could be mutually beneficial, and created guided missiles that could be flown like a tiny, gretchin-sized airplane. Fitted with a short-burn rocket engine and stuffed with unstable explosives, some rabid grots are happy to climb aboard just for the (short-lived) thrill of speed and freedom. They’re loaded into the wings of specially-fitted Grot Bommers, and launched in support of the Air Waaagh!

I did say in a post last year that these would be my next purchase for Aeronautica Imperialis would be these planes.

The obvious answer for me is a pair of Grot Bommerz. I do like the concept of these, though I am not a big fan of the actual models, but Orks is Orks, so they are next on my shopping list.

Here are the sprues, there are three (well two and a half) sprues in the box.

This sprue has the engines, the tails and the cockpits.

This sprue has the wings and the main fuselage.

The (half) sprue had the Grot Bombs.

I followed the instructions which are very clear and straightforward.

Lots of lovely detail for such tiny models.

I like the different engines and cockpits used, very Orky in appearance.

I will probably follow a similar process I used on my other Ork aircraft. Though I think yellow or orange might be the way to go as with these models that I saw at Warhammer World.

So now what’s next for Aeronautica Imperialis?

Back in July 2020 I wrote a speculative piece about future releases for Aeronautica Imperialis and some personal preferences for models. I had written the post after finishing painting my Valkyrie Assault Carriers which had been released alongside there Skies of Fire boxed set which contained miniatures for the Tau and the Astra Militarum.

I started to think about which models I would get next, and that got me thinking what we have seen that still needs to be released and also what could be released in the future and what I would like to see in the future as well.

Since that article was published we have had some new releases for Aeronautica Imperialis from GW and resin models from Forge World.

Forge World released the Vulture Gunship and the Arvus Lighter in August 2020.

Continue reading “So now what’s next for Aeronautica Imperialis?”

Nice new flyers for Aeronautica Imperialis

Well as part of Warhammer Fest Online we saw the announcement of a new boxed set for Aeronautica Imperialis.

There is a new Aeronautica Imperialis boxed set – Wrath of Angels. After Wings of Vengeance, featuring Orks and the Imperial Navy, and Skies of Fire, which introduced the T’au Air Caste, this set is all about Aeldari Craftworlds versus Space Marines.

So in the boxed set you get three Xiphon Interceptors, two chunky Storm Eagles for the Space Marines, whilst for the Eldar, sorry Aeldari, you get three Nightwings and three Phoenix Bombers.

Quite like the chunky Storm Eagles which look the part.

I am not a real fan of the Xiphon Interceptors. but these are nice models, they seem to work better in the smaller size.

Available separately will be a lovely looking plastic Space Marine Thunderhawk.

Lots of great detail and does make you think could GW move into recreating Epic sized vehicles and infantry for Adeptus Titanicus?

I do like all the Space Marine models and think these will make for interesting games of Aeronautica Imperialis. I also quite like the Aeldari models so I think I might get the boxed set.

Reinforcements for Aeronautica Imperialis – Grot Bommers

Was given some reinforcements for Aeronautica Imperialis, in the shape of some Grot Bommers as a present, which was nice.

The diminutive Gretchin have long been enthusiastic supporters of Ork aviation, whether gleefully pushing bombs out of open bays, crawling into tight spots to fix engines, or acting as spotters and even gunners on ork planes. It doesn’t take long before they become obsessed with flying just like their bigger kin, begging for their own turn on the control stick. Some enterprising Ork meks decided this arrangement could be mutually beneficial, and created guided missiles that could be flown like a tiny, gretchin-sized airplane. Fitted with a short-burn rocket engine and stuffed with unstable explosives, some rabid grots are happy to climb aboard just for the (short-lived) thrill of speed and freedom. They’re loaded into the wings of specially-fitted Grot Bommers, and launched in support of the Air Waaagh!

I did say in a post last year that these would be my next purchase for Aeronautica Imperialis would be these planes.

The obvious answer for me is a pair of Grot Bommerz. I do like the concept of these, though I am not a big fan of the actual models, but Orks is Orks, so they are next on my shopping list.

They are currently still in the box, but I have started to think about what colour they might be painted. I will probably follow a similar process I used on my other Ork aircraft. Though I think yellow or orange might be the way to go as with these models that I saw at Warhammer World.