Horus Heresy Dark Angels Aircraft for Legions/Aeronautica Imperialis - TO DONE

Surprise!  Out of the blue comes a flight of Dark Angels aircraft from the Horus Heresy for games of Legions Imperialis, or Aeronautica Imperialis.  As I close out the hobby season, I really wanted some air support for the First Legion. A pair of Fire Raptors escorts in a pair of Storm Eagles as they drop detachments of infantry, all while a trio of Xiphon Interceptors provide air cover.

These planes were a lot of fun to paint. The recipe I use can be found in one of the tabs above. I basically painted them in the same manner as the tanks.

Legion heraldry was applied to the wings and left side. The wing leader got a laurel on the cheek below and a little right of the cockpit glass. I painted up lascannon sponsons, but they are magnetized allowing me to use heavy bolters or autocannon as well. I just haven't painted them up yet.

I found some checkered transfers to cut down and apply to the rear doors.

Some Dark Angels icons adorn the right sides along with a small vehicle number on the cheek, just below the cockpit glass. I continue to make use of the smaller legion transfers from the 28mm Age of Darkness transfer sheet.

The Storm Eagles will make great transports. I'll likely add a few more at some point depending on what I end up wanted to use in games.  There are SO many transport options for the Astartes in Legions Imperialis.

More Legion iconography.

These planes are assigned to the Stormwing for troop deployment.

Here's a look at the bottom of the hulls.

Last up, we have the Xiphon Interceptors. I used gold Legion symbols on the squadron leader.

Plenty of space for Legion colors on the bottom too.  It's good to know whose planes are buzzing your positions, after all.

The bases were painted in a light, simple style.  I honestly don't know yet how I want my bases for Legions Imperialis to look, as I've only painted tanks so far. Some dirty down rust attempts to add interest to the odd mechanical bits in the center of each base. I fully expect to either re-base and repaint these bases, or to put them aside and modify/paint new ones. The stems are not glued in, and after painting and sealing the bases they fit very snug. This will allow me to pull the clear posts out if/when I decide to modify them.

I'll take a big stamp o' DONE for this project as I wrap up the 2023/24 hobby season.  I owe a TO DONE post for my Season of Scenery 2024 project. Then I'll post a retrospective on the season and follow up with a to do list for the 2024/25 hobby season. Lots of busy work, but then we're back at the painting and modelling once again. So until then...

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

Aeronautica Imperialis Wrath of Angels Planes - To DONE

 

Greetings and welcome back.  Today, I'm sharing the completion of the 11 planes from the Aeronautica Imperialis Wrath of Angels box set.  There are six Asuryani aircraft (red) and five Adeptus Astartes aircraft (green/black) in the set.  These models are great fun to paint, although the build detail causes some gamers to pause.  For game pieces, these offer a hobby challenge that can't be avoided prior to the game.

So, another big ol' stamp of DONE for this project.  I'm psyched to have completed all three Aeronautica Imperialis box sets. Regular visitors will know that I stray about from game-to-game, faction-to-faction, project-to-project within the 40k universe and rarely complete and entire collection of anything.  Instead I steadily build on my collections over time without much regard to specific completions unless there is cause.  In this case, I have a group of friend interested in the game, so I was motivated to kick out some planes in short order - fortunately they are comparatively easy to paint vs some other project I take on (like tiny titans...).

I shared completed pics of the Asuryani aircraft already, so here are the completed Adeptus Astartes aircraft from the set. They are from the Dark Angels chapter and represent Storm Eagles from the 5th Company and Xiphon interceptors from the 2nd Company (Ravenwing).

With the Storm Eagles, the company badge is on the left nose section and the aircraft number is on the right.  It would be fun to get more detailed with squadron numbers et. al.  However, I chose to keep things simple for these game pieces.  The Dark Angels chapter symbol is proudly displayed on the side doors.

Here's a couple front and rear shots for the details.  Click through the smaller images above to get to the full size pics.

The Ravenwing Xiphon Interceptors bear the company badge on the wings and the chapter symbol on the left side of the tail to coincide with the same placement of that badge on the marines' left shoulder pads.  The right side of the tail bears the vehicle number similar to the Storm Eagles.

More front and rear shots for those who like to get a look at all the details.  And of course, everything sits safe and snug in the box using Battle Foam's excellent custom trays. Since I choose to glue in my flight stems to the base for stability and ease of game play, I buy the foam trays that accommodate that.  I can't say enough good things about the Battle Foam insert trays.  It's great to repurpose the game boxes while keeping the painted miniatures from getting wrecked.

That's all I have to show for this project; completed on time so that I may now move into Squaduary where I'll work on a....squad!  I'm really torn between sticking with Aeronautica Imperials, so I can paint another SQUADron, or returning to the Age of Darkness to paint a SQUAD of first legion Dark Angels.  Either way, there is plenty to paint.  I've probably begun boring my followers to tears with tiny planes, so I'm leaning towards more marines.  Leave a comment if you have a preference!

As always, best of luck with your own projects.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

Aeronautica Imperialis Wrath of Angels WIP - part 3

 

Greetings and welcome back.  I have some progress to share on the Imperial half of the Aeronautic Imperialis Wrath of Angels box set. After a primer coat of Vallejo Surface Primer black (air brushed on in an ~ 60:40 mix of paint to flow improver), I painted the Storm Eagles with Proacryl Black Green and the Xiphons with Proacryl Coal Black. My idea was to have 2nd Company (Ravenwing) fighters escorting the gunships of another company (probably the 5th to match my 28mm collection).

The paintwork here is pretty straight forward.  The Storm Eagles were drybrushed with Proacryl Bright Yellow Green, then washed with a 70:30 mix of GW Agrax Earthshade and custom glaze medium. Then the engines and a few other bits were painted in with Proacryl Dark Silver and shaded with GW Nuln Oil.

 The Xiphon Interceptors were heavily dry brushed with Proacryl Bright Neutral Gray and shaded with a 60:40 mix of GW Nuln Oil and custom glaze medium. There engines were batch painted along with the Storm Eagles.

Next I made a choice to depart from the light blue, sky reflecting cockpits I have used on the other planes.  I like the red I've seen in GW art and elsewhere from other hobbyists. So I embarked on a mission to paint something similar.  I used a rough 70:30 mix of Proacryl Bold Pyrrole Red and custom glaze medium.  This was painted on in several coats, allowing each to dry fully before the next was applied. 

After tidying things up, the cockpits look suitably Astartes ominous to me. They are especially striking on the Interceptors.Some additional edge highlighting was added after the cleanup since I couldn't dry brush over the repairs without messing up the cockpit glass I just painted.

I managed some time to start on the transfers next.  Here, I have added Dark Angels chapter badges to the side doors, and 5th company badge to the left front nose section. I'm planning to put an aircraft or squadron number on the right side opposite.  But I'm also considering putting number son the wing instead.  Still thinking that through.

The Xiphon Interceptors got Ravenwing (2nd company) badges on the wings and a Dark Angels chapter badge on the left side of the tail fins. I saw this similar to marines wearing the chapter badge on the left shoulder pad of their armor. I'll put aircraft/squadron numbers on the right side of the tail. I'm a big fan of how the Xiphons are coming out. I need to spice up the Storm Eagles with additional detail or something, however.

But for now, that's where the project sits.  I have some vacation travel, but should still manage to finish these planes by the end of January.  Then it's back to the Horus Heresy most likely for some Squaduary painting. Though I'm so into the tiny plane grove right now that Squadronary is sounding good too! Heh. We'll see.

Best wishes for your own hobby projects.  I enjoy making the rounds from day to day to see what others have on the table, so keep on postin'.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!!

Aeronautica Imperialis Wrath of Angels WIP - part 2

 

Hello!  Today I bring progress on the Aeronautica Imperialis Wrath of Angels box set. The bases are complete (see below) and I've started in on the planes. By the end of this month, I hope to have this last box set completed as a bonus on the hobby season, before I go back to painting space marines and tiny titans.

The bases came out well, once again.  The painting recipe is working and I'm getting the consistency I want even with gaps between painting projects. This is a good thing, as I still have plenty of bases to paint in the collection.

The Asuryani planes got a solid air brushing with Vallejo Surface Primer Black and then Proacryl Burnt Red.  After that dried, I tried dry brushing Proacryl Bold Pyrrole Red over everything, with some focus on the edges.  This presented a nice highlight and some variation across the surface of the planes.  Next, I applied a shade over everything using a roughly 50:50 mix of GW Agrax Earthshade and custom medium (GW Lahmiam Medium would work).  This had two effects - warming things up a bit with a richer hue and shading all the recesses to add some definition. 

Asuryani Nightwing Fighters

The photos pretty much wash that effect out, unfortunately, but it did make a difference! Now I'm working on the details slowly.  The smooth surfaces and subtle, rounded textures make the detail painting a bit more fussy.  I painted in the spirit stones (yellow/green bubbles) , weapons, air intakes and engines so far.  I don't paint Xenos, so I may be doing these planes a serious disservice.  But in my defense, I've done a bunch or research through the books I have and online to get a sense of the Asuryani (Eldar, Aeldari, etc.) aesthetic.  In the end, I decided to go with the box art. 😂 In the end, I am only aiming for attractive playing pieces for the game board; not some new statement on finery of the Asuryani air crews.

Since I'm batch painting these planes, they are coming out in a satisfactorily uniform manner. I liked the black panels for the bomber flight leader.  I have six more Nightwings to paint, so I'm waiting to pick out a fighter flight leader/ace when I take on those planes. I think I'll be looking at transfers and the cockpit glass next for these planes.  They are otherwise coming along nicely.

 

The Astartes planes have been primed with a base coat laid down over top. I decided to stay with the 40K time period to match all the other planes and not paint these using colors from the Age of Darkness (Horus Heresy).  Since storm eagles land troops, they will be painted in the dark green of the Dark Angels, while the Xiphon Interceptors will be painted in the black of the 2nd company (Ravenwing). Those colors will lend me some variety on the painting table and hopefully won't be too confusing on the gaming table.  I expect that the chapter iconography will tie things together, so we'll see. I like the idea of the Ravenwing providing air cover for the other companies of the chapter as they launch their assaults.

And that's were I'm at, roughly halfway through the month.  The Asuryani have given me pause while I sorted out how I wanted to paint them, but the Dark Angels planes should go much more quickly.  I've painted loads of Astartes stuff and know exactly how I'm going to tackle their planes.  I'm pushing to complete this project in time to start "Squaduary" next month, so we'll see. That's it for now.

Best of luck with your projects.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!