gamesday 2006 Archives - Felix's Gaming Pages

Sokar pattern Stormbird for Aeronautica Imperialis

I have in previous blog posts discussed what possible future aircraft we coud see for Aeronautica Imperialis. In the first of the discussion pieces I went through prospective models, and I followed this with an updated version back in May when the Wrath of Angles boxed set was announced.

One model I mentioned was the Stormbird. Having recently constructed the Aeronautica Imperialis Thunderhawk Gunship I was reminded of the Stormbird and did start to think about if we would see an Aeronautica Imperialis model.

Stormbird is a catch-all term that refers to a series of various super-heavy dedicated attack landers that were once used by the Legiones Astartes as their primary means of deploying forces into combat. Stormbirds also served in air support and general planetary transport roles during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras in the late 30th and early 31st Millennia.

Forge World have released a 40K scale model of the Sokar Pattern Stormbird, which is a huge (expensive) resin kit. I have seen the model at Warhammer World and it is one big model

The Sokar Pattern Stormbird was one of the later patterns of Stormbird developed during the Great Crusade and was used as the design precursor to the smaller, more widely produced Thunderhawk gunship.

The Sokar pattern Stormbird is a dedicated attack lander. It has served as a high-durability orbital assault craft, a mobile bastion and firebase which could land a Space Marine strike force and withstand heavy ground fire while its cargo or troops and war machines disembarked to press the attack.

I could see Forge World making and releasing a Sokar Pattern Stormbird in resin for use in Aeronautica Imperialis, though such a large model may be problematic from a rules perspective. The Thunderhawk Gunship is not as big as the Sokar Pattern Stormbird and even that looks like it might be problematic from a gaming perspective, as it might be too big for the board.

This then got me thinking about other large flyers and that they would have similar issues.

In the olden days I am sure Forge World would have just gone ahead and produced a model, as they did with the Epic scale Thunderhawk Transporter they did for the original release of Aeronautica Imperialis which was shown off at GamesDay 2006.

They (appeared) to be more independent back then, now they seem part of the planned release cycles.

So will be see a Sokar pattern Stormbird for Aeronautica Imperialis from Forge World, I actually don’t think we will.

See the Sokar Pattern Stormbird 40K scale Gallery.

Forgeworld Imperial Bombard

At Warhammer World there was this rather nice Forgeworld Imperial Bombard.

This is a model I had seen before at GamesDay 2007…

…and at GamesDay 2006.

I still think as I did back then probably too big for the chassis! I can imagine it firing and then rolling backwards and turning over!

Tallarn Stormsword at Warhammer World

The Stormsword super heavy tank is built specifically for sieges and street fighting. Whilst the Shadowsword excels at long range and the Baneblade is an ‘all rounder’ equally at home in the open fields or in street fighting, the Stormsword lends its weight and firepower to troops at close quarters

This is constructed from the plastic kit. Compare this one to the original Forge World resin kit (circa 2006).

Imperial Navy Arvus Lighter

I’ve always quite liked the Forge World Imperial Navy Arvus Lighter for Warhammer 40K.

Arvus Lighter, from the Forgeworld cabinets at GamesDay 2006. — Arvus Lighter, from the Forgeworld cabinets at GamesDay 2006

The Arvus is a small cargo shuttle commonly used to transfer supplies and small personnel units ship-to-ship or from fleet positions to planetary installations. While unarmed, the Arvus is capable of standing in as an assault boat, able to transport small infantry squads or boarding parties.

Arvus Lighter, BAT-21, from the Golden Demon cabinets at GamesDay 2006. — Arvus Lighter, BAT-21, from the Golden Demon cabinets at GamesDay 2006

This was very much a scenery item, or a scenario objective, something from which a narrative game could be played.

I am pleased to see it is still available from Forge World, these photographs were taken at Games Day 2006, and there are many Forge World models that are now no longer available.

Orc Objective

One of the nice things about going to GameDay is the wonderful scenery that can be found, not only on the demonstration games, but also in the display cabinets. These pieces of scenery are often used in White Dwarf battle reports, but at GamesDay you can give them a real close look.

This Orc scenic objective is a prime example from GamesDay 2006, you can see the effort and detail that has gone into what is a relatively simple piece of scenery, which in the end would have been a small part of a photograph of the battle report.