Aeronautica Imperialis Tiny Planes at Warhammer World

Aeronautica Imperialis is a game of aerial combat set in the Warhammer 40,00 universe. While ground troops push forward to secure tactical objectives, winged squadrons push forward in the skies to decimate enemy positions and intercept enemy fighters. 

At Warhammer World there are some lovely Aeronautica Imperialis models on display.

The Marauder Bomber is the workhorse of the Imperial Navy. Capable of both atmospheric and void operations, it is used as an attack craft in fleet actions as well as fulfilling a tactical role, supporting ground offensives by bombing enemy troop concentrations and support positions. Such tactical bombing missions are often launched prior to, and in support of, Imperial Guard offensives.

Aeronautica Imperialis Marauder Bomber

Sacrificing a portion of its bomb payload in favour of nose-mounted autocannon and an increased complement of Hellstrike Missiles, the Marauder Destroyer specialises in low-level assaults on ground targets.

The Thunderbolt is the mainstay weapon system of Imperial Navy fighter wings and is a rugged, well-armed and armoured heavy fighter with all-around capabilities, a good maximum speed and above-average maneuverability, powerful nose-mounted weapons and hard points located on the wings for missile or bomb load-outs. The Thunderbolt’s primary combat role is as an air superiority fighter. It seeks out and engages enemy aircraft in dogfights or hunts enemy bombers to establish air superiority.

Imperial Navy Thunderbolt Fighters

As well as the Imperial Navy there were some great looking Air Waagh! Ork flyers as well.

Among the smallest and most numerous of Ork aircraft, the Dakkajet is built for speed and firepower, capable of unleashing devastating hails of buffets from its arsenal of quad big shootas.

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!

Aeronautica Imperialis Miniatures Gallery

Aeronautica Imperialis Workbench

That’s not just big, that’s mega!

In my blog post about what next for Aeronautica Imperialis I said

could we see a huge Ork bomber or transport aircraft?

I didn’t think we would see one, well we now have a new huge Ork aircraft for Aeronautica Imperialis.

Ork Mega Bommer

The Ork Air Waaagh! Mega Bommer is a 61 piece resin kit (from Forge World) that is the biggest model (so far) for the game.

If you thought the Eavy Bommers were big enough, you don’t deserve to call yourself an Ork. Obsessed Mekboys constantly compete to create the biggest and shootiest aircraft around. The Mega Bommer is the extreme end of that line of thinking. 

In addition to its sheer size, the Mega Bommer is a wonderfully unsubtle design – all wings and bombs and guns and jets. Not only is it exceptionally hard to take down, loaded to the rafters with dakka (including a full flak cannon battery every bit as deadly as the ground-based version), but it also carries the final word in indiscriminate destruction – the mega bomb itself. 

I quite like this model and I have put it on my wish list.

Weathering Techniques for Aeronautica Imperialis

I did quite like this video about weathering techniques for Aeronautica Imperialis models.

Aeronautica Imperialis models on my workbench:

Aeronautica Imperialis Avenger Strike Fighter about to be released

We first saw the Avenger Strike Fighters in February 2020, which I did manage to blog about back then. I mentioned them again in my post about what I thought we might see next for Aeronautica Imperialis.

In this week’s preview from the Warhammer Community they are mentioned again, which means that they are going to be released imminently, I would have thought.

A new aircraft is swooping in for the Imperial Navy in the form of the Avenger Strike Fighter. Designed as a ground attack aircraft, the Strike Fighter’s main armament is its massive avenger bolt cannon – ideal for punching through the weaker top and side armour of enemy vehicles. Of course, such a big gun also makes it incredibly useful against enemy air targets too!

I thought one line of this was interesting…

So does the comment “ideal for punching through the weaker top and side armour of enemy vehicles” mean nothing more for a game which does not include ground vehicles…

But will it mean something more in the future?

Who knows?

Forge World Aeronautica Imperialis Pre-Orders

We’ve known about them for a while now, but the Arvus Lighter and Vulture Gunship are now on pre-order from the Forge World website.

These are the first releases for (the new) Aeronautica Imperialis boxed game from Forge World and hopefully will be the first of many new releases for Aeronautica Imperialis in the future. I recently posted a blog post about my thinking of what’s next for Aeronautica Imperialis.

So what of the new models?

First there is the Arvus Lighter, an Imperial transport.

Arvus Lighter

The Arvus Lighter is a workhorse of the Imperium. Transporting both vital cargo and critical personnel, even from orbit, they’re small and fast enough to slip through war zones that would prove too difficult for larger, more cumbersome craft. While armoured, they are completely unarmed, relying on support from escort aircraft in active battles. Affectionately called “the hog” or “little pig”, this scout-class ship is a common sight on battlefields across the galaxy.

Completely unarmed, maybe not the best option for a game of Aeronautica Imperialis, however as an objective for a scenario, it could prove useful.

This small model comprised of nine parts looks very much the part.

The other release is the Vulture Gunship.

Vulture Gunship

Squadrons of Valkyrie Assault Carriers are often supported by these heavily armed dedicated gunships. The Vulture sacrifices troop-carrying capacity in favour of a massive engine and souped-up power plant, delivering serious firepower via underslung hard points. When armed with a Punisher Cannon, they can unleash devastating fusillades to annihilate targets at medium range.

I did think that these are lovely little miniatures, but was a little surprised by the price, well why would I be surprised by the price, it’s Forge World! Having said that £26 gets you four Valkyrie Assault Carriers, whilst the Vulture costs £30 for just two.

Having said that, I do like both models and am seriously thinking about getting some.

What next for Aeronautica Imperialis?

Aeronautica Imperialis Logo

I’ve enjoyed painting my Aeronautica Imperialis models and even I am impressed that I have managed to build, undercoat and paint them in a relatively short timeframe. I did my Valkyrie Assault Carrier in a week! I would usually take a few years to paint them (if at all….).

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.

Some of these are obviously core Games Workshop releases, some could be plastic kits and I think others might be Forge World models or upgrades to plastic kits.

Forge World have released some kits for Adeptus Titanicus, such as weapon upgrades, new titans and scenery. I would like to think that they would do something similar for Aeronautica Imperialis.

What I might get next?

So, there are now quite a few released models for Aeronautica Imperialis, Ork, Imperial and now T’au aircraft. I bought Wings of Vengeance, so I already have Ork Dakkajets, Fighta Bommerz as well as Imperial Thunderbolts and Marauders. I also bought a box of Valkyrie Assault Carriers.  I was lucky enough to find a box of Ground Assets recently, so I have those as well.

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.

Aeronautica Imperialis Ork flyers from Warhammer World

If I get those then I might get the Heavy Ork Bommerz as well. Continue reading “What next for Aeronautica Imperialis?”

Painting the Aeronautica Imperialis Valkyrie Assault Carriers

I have finished painting my Aeronautica Imperialis Valkyrie Assault Carriers.

Typically seconded to the Astra Militarum, Valkyrie Assault Carriers deliver troops directly to the front, hovering in place to provide fire support, before blasting off to take on enemy aircraft. Versatile weapon hard points allow them to be kitted out to take on a wide range of ground targets and aircraft.

I had the boxed set of the Aeronautica Imperialis Valkyrie Assault Carriers, which I constructed and gave a white undercoat.

The models were then given a basecoat of Ushabti Bone. I wanted a lighter colour, knowing that when I shaded the models it would darken the basecoat.

 

I am not particularly happy about painting camouflage, but decided I would have an attempt on these models, partly to push myself in terms of painting, but also to make them look different to the Imperial Navy and Ork models I had painted. I also quite liked the scheme that was used on the GW models.

Now I am pretty sure they used an airbrush on their models, but I didn’t have an airbrush!

I used a stipple brush and Castellan Green to add the green camouflage. I made my stipple brush by cutting the bristles down on a normal brush to around 3-5mm. I didn’t want marked and clear camouflage, more of a stippled or airbrushed look. Paint is added to the brush and then I try and remove some (not so little as with drybrushing) but enough for coverage.

I quite like the effect and I think when shaded this will tone it down as well. Continue reading “Painting the Aeronautica Imperialis Valkyrie Assault Carriers”

Building the Aeronautica Imperialis Valkyrie Assault Carriers

Typically seconded to the Astra Militarum, Valkyrie Assault Carriers deliver troops directly to the front, hovering in place to provide fire support, before blasting off to take on enemy aircraft. Versatile weapon hard points allow them to be kitted out to take on a wide range of ground targets and aircraft.

I pre-ordered the boxed set of the Aeronautica Imperialis Valkyrie Assault Carriers.

These are quite fiddly models to make. There are quite a few small parts, such as the top of the cockpit and the engines. The rear tail assembly is also a bit of a challenge.

You need to ensure you have cleaned the pieces so that they fit neatly together, otherwise you will get gaps. Here are the four finished models on my workbench. I built two as Valkyrie Assault flyers and two as Vendetta Assault Carriers. The main difference between two flyers are the underwing ordnance.

Having constructed the models I gave them a white undercoat, using a white spray paint.

There are two versions you can build, the Valkyrie Assault Carrier with rocket pods or the Vendetta Assault Carriers with Lascannons.

See the Aeronautica Imperialis Valkyrie Assault Carriers workbench.

A chance purchase

Having decided to take the plunge into the world Aeronautica Imperialis with the Wings of Vengeance boxed set, before it was replaced with the Skies of Fire I did take a look at the new releases that arrived with Skies of Fire. I then took a look back across the Warhammer Community site to see what releases I missed when Wings of Vengeance was launched.

I did quite like the look of the Aeronautica Imperialis Imperial and Ork Ground Assets.

Add a new dimension to your games of Aeronautica Imperialis with this handy set of ground assets to support your Imperial Navy and Ork Air Waaagh!

However doing a search of the GW UK website store didn’t turn it up, and most of my usual suppliers of GW stuff were either out of stock or wasn’t even listed.

So I was resigned to not getting a set…

It is listed on some overseas GW websites, so I did wonder if it was going to come back into stock.

Then I “discovered” a box in my local games store. I didn’t know that this store even existed until recently! It was only checking to see when my local Games Workshop store in Bristol was going to re-open that I found that I had two local games stores, one I knew about and they were still closed, the other was completely unknown to me. I guess without searching explicitly for a local games store, how would I know? When travelling across the country I usually search for places, but hadn’t for my own town. I must have missed that somehow. However they re-opened on the 15th and I decided to both check them out and get some paints. Once there with the Necromunda’ish black and yellow tape social distancing across the floor I had a look to see what they had in store. I hadn’t intended to buy anything else, but as I reached down to buy a box of Grot Bommerz, I saw that they had the Imperial and Ork Ground Assets box. That I was going to have! Oh and I got it at a discount as well. Awesome.

In the box you get a single plastic sprue with all the models on it.

The set contains the following plastic terrain tokens:

      • 2x Manticore Missile Battery
      • 4x Hydra Flak Battery
      • 2x Imperial bunker (ground target)
      • 4x Flak Platform
      • 2x ‘Eavy Flak Kannon
      • 2x Ork bunker (ground target)
      • 2x Landing zone marker
      • 12x Numerical marker

Well pleased.

The Aeronautica Imperialis Valkyrie Assault Carriers have arrived

Out of all the new imminent releases for the next phase of Aeronautica Imperialis releases for Skies of Fire the one that I liked the most was the Valkyrie. So much so that I did something I rarely do, and pre-ordered the boxed set of the Aeronautica Imperialis Valkyrie Assault Carriers from Alchemists Workshop and they’ve now arrived… with a few extras.

I had not used Alchemists Workshops before, so was impressed with both their prices (good discounts), customer service and fast delivery (the parcel actually arrived yesterday).

As well as the Valkyrie Flyers I also got the new Aircraft and Aces Astra Militarum and Imperial Navy Cards and I also decided to get the Aircraft and Aces Imperial Navy Cards as well. I already have the Aircraft and Aces Ork Air Waaagh! Cards.

In the Aircraft and Aces Astra Militarum and Imperial Navy Cards you do get cards for the released Valkyrie and Lightning Fighter, but there are also cards for the Imperial Arvus Lighter, the Avenger Strike Fighters and the Vulture Gunship. We have seen pictures of all three aircraft, but t they haven’t yet been released.