Friday, November 4, 2011

Air Mobile - Fighter Support

Hi all! Sorry it has been such a long time since last post - Work and Life just has a crazy way of taking over and not giving much time for the good things - like painting and posting. The Air Mobile effort continues, with all the Valk / Vendetta / Vulture stand-ins nearing completion (more on these to follow), but I've taken a small detour - in the form of a Praetorian Fighter (perhaps a Lightning Stand-In, although the weapon fit-outs are slightly different).


The inspiration for this is the WW1 British DH-2, which effectively ended the "Fokker scourge" of the early part of the war. It is a pusher-type bi-plane (prop in the rear) as it was before the Brits had developed an Interrupter Gear, to sequence a forward firing machine gun with the propeller. Here is a top-view of the Praetorian DH-2, along with the insipration.



The Praetorian DH-2 mounts a pair of linked Heavy-Bolters on either side of the cock-pit (for which I used a Sentinel cock-pit). Furthermore, the wings provide 2 hard-points for mounting of a varity of weapon configuations - Rocket pods, Las Cannons or H/K Missiles. The Wing mounts and weapons are all magnetized (similar to what I've done for the Praetorian Valk/Vendettas), to allow for quick weapon swapping.




The mighty Tank-Hunting DH-2 with twin-linked Las-Cannons configuation. The plane-holder is an inverted plastic champagne glass. There is a built-in insert on the underside of the plane to allow the insertion of the holder.






Hunter/Killer Missile version. The piolet has been retro-fitted with a spare Praetorian head and a white scarf made from green-stuff.





A view from the rear. The propeller is a GW flying-base that I turned in a drill and scuffed using a little bit of sandpaper to give it the appearence of a spinning prop.






I need to finish it up with some details, such as the Red-White and Blue circle and perhaps some squadron identification markings / numbering. I am thinking of doing up a second fighter to create a small fighter squadron. If any are interested, I can do a step-by-step complete with templates, etc. Anyway, hope you enjoy.


3 comments:

  1. They have so much character! My favourite part is the sentinel cock-pit. You will have to do a third to complete the look. Beautiful style!

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  2. step by steps are always appreciated. The airships are great and these little biplanes make great escorts.

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  3. Would it be possible to get a copy of your valkerie/vendetta CAD files? I would like to have a go at making my own as well. I have tried making my own templates based on your photos but they are just not turning out the way I want. I think it would be a cool idea to make that the standard for Praetorian Armies. Please let me know if this is possible. Thanks.
    -Mike

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