Tag: imperial navy

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.

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.

Painting the Aeronautica Imperialis Thunderbolt Fighters

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.

There are two of these in the Wings of Vengeance boxed set. Having constructed the two fighters, I gave them a white undercoat.

I armed both my Thunderbolts with Skystrike missiles.

I did start to think about what paint scheme I should use for my Thunderbolt fighters. I wanted a dark top, and a light underneath. I did really want a light blue underside and a dark blue topside. Continue reading “Painting the Aeronautica Imperialis Thunderbolt Fighters”

Undercoating the Aeronautica Imperialis Marauder Bombers

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.

There are two of these in the Wings of Vengeance boxed set. This is the painted version on the GW website.

Having constructed the two models.

I gave the models an undercoat of white paint.

I diverged from the instructions when cosntructing the models, and added the weapon loads whilst the wings were separate. I went for a full weapon load. What I was concerned about was the stuck weapons falling off or being knocked as I added further weapon loads. In the end sticking them down went very smoothly.

See the workbench feature on the Aeronautica Imperialis Marauder Bombers.

Building the Aeronautica Imperialis Thunderbolt Fighters

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.

There are two of these in the Wings of Vengeance boxed set. This is the painted version on the GW website.

Here is the sprue for the models. As you can see both Thunderbolts are on the same sprue.

These models, like other Aeronatical Imperialis models, have a fair few parts, but they are easily constructed. I like the fact that the wings are one piece, rather that sticking two pieces, the top and bottom together (as you would normally do with an Airfix style kit). It does show how far plastic kits have come in the last few decades, but also from a design perspective, realising (especially with SF models that they don’t necessarily need to reflect an actual prototype).

One of the challenging aspects of this kit is the engine cowlings and exhausts, but once you have done a dry run, they are relatively simple to put into place.

The next stage will be a white undercoat.

See the workbench feature on the Aeronautica Imperialis Thunderbolt Fighters.

Constructing the Aeronautica Imperialis Marauder Bombers

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.

There are two of these in the Wings of Vengeance boxed set. This is the painted version on the GW website.

Aeronautica Imperialis Marauder Bomber

The models are made from two sprues, making two bombers in all.

There appeared to be a large number of parts for this large aircraft. This initially put me off slightly, so one of the reasons I didn’t make it first. However decided I better crack on and got going. The first stage is getting the main fuselage and cockpit together. These models are well designed and went together very easily.

The wings and embedded engines contain quite a few parts, though the main wing is a single part.

I added the fore and rear parts to the fuselage. I added the dorsal turret, which looks like it could quite easily shoot the plane’s tail off!

I diverged from the instructions and added the weapon loads whilst the wings were separate. I went for a full weapon load. What I was concerned about was the stuck weapons falling off or being knocked as I added further weapon loads. In the end sticking them down went very smoothly.

I am not thinking about WYSWIG with these models, as they restricts how you can use them in games, and I am not going to go out and buy lots of models to represent different variants.

Here is the almost completed model, the tail  has been added, as has the front and real turrets.

The next stage was to glue the wings to the main fuselage, so here is the completed aircraft.

I do think these planes should be larger, here is one next to a Thunderbolt Fighter. The size was of course a consequence of it being originally a Forge World resin kit of Warhammer 40K. I think there are opportunities here to release a bigger bomber and other aircraft. These could come from the Warhammer studio, but why not from Forge World?

The next stage will be a white undercoat.

See the workbench feature on the Aeronautica Imperialis Marauder Bombers.

Pre-ordered 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.

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.

The set includes:

      • 4 plastic Astra Militarum Valkyrie Assault Carrier miniatures (can also be built as Vendetta Assault Carriers)
      • 4 Aeronautica Imperialis bases (each base designates the model’s front, rear and side arcs, has speed and altitude dials as well as a clear stand to connect the aircraft to the base)
      • 1 Valkyrie Squadron transfer sheet

Aeronautica Imperialis: Valkyrie Assault Carriers

The box comes with two sprue and there are two Aeronautica Imperialis Valkyrie Assault Carriers on each sprue.

Looking forward to building these.

As I said on Twitter I do wonder if we will ever see tanks and infantry in this scale for Adeptus Titanicus? Well this Valkyrie does show what is possible.

 

Skies of Fire

Well on Sunday over on the Warhammer Community site, there has been the official preview of the new Aeronautia Imperialis boxed set, Skies of Fire.

You’ll get absolutely everything you need to fly your first sorties, including a set of five aircraft for each side, a game mat and rulebook, dice, reference sheets, tokens and a transfer sheet. The T’au force includes three Barracudas and two Tiger Sharks, each with a wide array of weapon options. The Imperium’s forces consist of two Valkyrie Assault Carriers, which can alternatively be built as Vendettas, plus three Lightning Strike Fighters, one of which can be built as a Lightning Fighter.

I mentioned in an earlier blog post that I had taken the leap and purchased the Wings of Vengeance boxed set.

After hearing that it had gone direct only and was to be superseded by a new boxed set featuring the Tau, I decided I had better buy it now before it was gone.

It’s not that I don’t like the new boxed set, much more that I prefer the Imperial and Ork models in the Wings of Vengeance boxed set. So much so (and quite unlike me) I have already started putting the models together…

These are lovely models, so I was interested to see what we would get in the Tau boxed set. Obviously there would be Tau, but I was intrigued who their opponents would be. Not looking at the rumours I did wonder if it would be a Xenos race, so was pleasantly surprised to see that it was the Imperial Navy.

I wasn’t anticipating that we would see the Valkyrie.

They look great.

I don’t think I will buy the boxed set, but I do think I might get a box of the Valkyrie Assault Carriers. As I said on Twitter I do wonder if we will ever see tanks and infantry in this scale for Adeptus Titanicus? Well this Valkyrie does show what is possible.

I am not a great fan of the Lightning Strike Fighters so happy to let them pass. As for the Tau, well they look like nice models, but not for me.