Aircraft sighted!
I was taking a walk around Warhammer World this morning when I noticed that the guys in the Events team had painted up two of the new kits that came out the other week - the Ork Bommer and the Space Marine Stormtalon Gunship. While they were busy preparing for a day of frantic wargaming, I thought it would be a good opportunity to snap a few shots of their latest creations.
The Stormtalon Gunship belongs to Adam Snook, who painted it in the colours of the Silver Skulls Chapter. We particularly liked the weathering around the cockpit and gun turrets, which give the Stormtalon a battle-worn appearance. The Dakkajet was painted by Nick Bayton as part of the Goff Ork clan - hence the distinctive black and white checked colour scheme. Having built one of these kits, Nick is now thinking about building another Dakkajet, but using the wing extensions from the Blitza-bommer to give it "even more gunz!" Apparently that will turn it into a Dakkadakkadakkajet. I'll check on Nick in a couple of weeks to see if he's finished his next Ork fighter. Or regained his sanity (hopefully the former - it would make for a better picture).
Seeing as aircraft have become the theme of the day, I took a nosedive into the What's New Today inbox to see what pictures you've been sending in. As always, I wasn't disappointed. At the top of my email list was Byron Orde, who's completed both the Stormtalon and the Night Scythe over the Jubilee weekend. See, he's so dedicated to the hobby that he spent his days off painting models when he should have been watching the Diamond Jubilee celebrations, eating cucumber sandwiches and toasting the queen (with a glass of wine, not in a toaster).
The Night Scythe was painted using the colour scheme for the Nihilakh Dynasty in White Dwarf - a theme that Byron has kept throughout his army. Byron was particularly pleased with the weathering effect he achieved on his Stormtalon. The first stage was to stipple a layer of Lothern Blue onto the areas he wanted to look weathered using a ripped bit of sponge. Once he'd finished sponging he then painted in the weathered areas with a mix of Abaddon Black and Doombull Brown, being careful to leave a thin border of Lothern Blue around the edges to represent the peeled paint.
Meanwhile, Tom Markham set his sights on the Ork Bommer kit and completed two of them in the same day - the Dakkajet and the Blitza-bommer. Both models were basecoated with a mix of browns and oranges to give them a rusty, dirty appearance. Tom then sprayed them lightly with water and covered them in salt. Yes, you did read that right - he seasoned his aircraft. Once the salt had dried to the model, Tom then re-sprayed his aircraft with a layer of Mephiston Red and the occasional patch of Khorne Red to break up the colour. Once these layers were dry he brushed off the salt that he'd previously stuck to it, revealing the rusted paint colour beneath and giving the bommers a gritty, weather-damaged effect. So, not seasoning then...
We were also sent this Bad Moon Dakkajet by Jason Brasie. A simple colour scheme combined with some exhaust dirt and weathering makes for a great looking fighter-craft. The black flames on the air intake, the squadron markings on the wings and Orky glyphs are a nice touch that helps break up the lines of the vehicles and give it a more personalised look.
Okay, so it's not one of the new kits, but this is very cool none-the-less. Adam Calver sent us these pictures of his own aircraft, the Thunda-Squig Gunship. The conversion is based on an Osprey tiltrotor aircraft - a weird machine if ever I've seen one. The engines were converted from the Manticore missiles with the Deffkopta rotor-head on the end and plasticard blades. There's even a mini grot-gunship flying along behind it for air support.
