Hello Readers, something quite special today, I love this kit, this aircraft and the rules. It looks the business and with a Landraider's worth of TL Lascannon firepower plus cluster warhead Rotary Missile Launcher what's not to like?
The kit itself was simple to clean up and assemble, but beware, you will need to pin the nose section to the cockpit section - I used pins from behind the lascannons up into the seat of the pilot. You will need then to insert the lascannons before gluing the engine sections to the fuselage, also the engine intakes give you a great place to pin the engines into the fuselage without showing on the final model. The only pin that needed lining up exactly was the tailwing section into the fuselage.
I love the look of this model, very x-wing / BG viper fighter / Klingon bird of prey aesthetics and a joy to paint.
Here's a view of the rotary missile launcher and I stowed the landing gear, you can assemble with the gear down if preferred. I even went for Port and Starboard Nav lights! ;)
Some people don't like the curved nose piece, but it is clearly there to fit the already manufactured Stormtalon cockpit glass, but I like the look and thefact that it links the Stormtalon design into this design, I painted the engine intakes black to match with the
Stormtalons I have done.
Here is a view of the jet nozzles and the heat effects I posted about earlier,
here for a From The Warp tutorial link.
This view clearly shows the Klingon Bird of Prey aesthetics in the design of this aircraft, I love the swept forward wings, I did model them the other way around to match the Stormtalons, but on this kit it looked better the 'correct' way - it is a straightforward swap if you want, no trimming or cutting required.
A top down view, the wing numerals were from the Superheavy transfer sheet, I loved the font, very aeronautical. Here are some pictures, I've said enough. BTW, the colours are grey (Army Painter Uniform Grey/Codex Grey, washed with Nuln Oil, drybrushed Administratum Grey/Fortress Grey. I also drybrushed grime over the wing decals to blend them in, after application using Microsol to melt them into the paint scheme, and then a gloss 'Ardcoat finishbefore the whole model (except cockpit) got a spray of Purity Seal to protect it and dull down the shine. Never spray the cockpits, it furs up the glass and makes it go opaque.
Finally a shot of the pilot, before I glued the cockpit down. To avoid 'frosting' from superglue as it dries, the cockpits should always be fitted with another type of glue, I found this one was a snapfit into the recess anyway, so PVA glue will suffice to form a secure bond.
There you have it, hope you love the pictures as much as I love this kit! Go get one, it's awesome!
