It might amaze you when I say that, with Necromunda (old version), 1st edition of Aeronautica Imperialis (let’s be honest; 2nd edition is almost the same as 1st … just has a board so no guess ranges … which I miss) is my favourite Games Workshop game of all time. It’s simple yet, I feel, really captures the aesthetic of aerial combat without getting bogged down. A friend and I have had many an interesting campaign blowing up VIP convoys, transporting troops into a battlefield and reenacting vicious dog fights in the sky.
As mentioned in my Tau post above. I owned a huge old 1st Edition Tau fleet and painted it to a level I was very happy with. The only mistake I made was that this was the only fleet I owned and so, a part from my regular fleet commander (opponent), I was unable to get in games with anyone else as the game was no longer sold by GW and, I didn’t have a spare fleet. Also, when second edition did come along and I could buy another fleet … surprise, surprise the model scale was vastly different.
I therefore sold my old Tau fleet which allowed me to purchase a new 2nd edition Tau fleet AND an Eldar fleet. I made sure that no previous mistakes were made as I made sure both fleets were a very good size. I am pleased to let you all know that now, both are painted.
For the Eldar, I decided to go the classic route of siam-hein (red top and white bottom). I used my new airbrush to do most of the red (Two GW reds; Menphiston and Evil Sunz Scarlet red) as I feel Eldar planes lead themselves nicely to airbrushing. For the gems, I went for a green with a dot of white in the top-right corner. Finally, the pilot’s canopy was white with a thin wash of blue. I feel the combination works … okay-ish. Overall, I did enjoy painting this fleet. I love the Eldar aesthetic in all of Games Workshop’s futuristic systems.
Below are some images to feat your eyes upon:
Matt's Eldar Aeronautica Fleet
Whole fleet
2x Nightshade Interceptors - these guys seem redicilously fast
2x Helmlock fighters - I know I haven't played much of second edition however, they seem a little broken with their weapons. If I was my opponent, these boys would be 'target number one'.
1x Vampire Hunter
1x Vampire Raider
3x Phoenix Bombers
6x Nightwings
2x Anti-air platforms and a wraithgate
Right, that's me done for AI now. I am back onto my Legions Imperialis army which seems to never end. I really hope I will have a massive update in time for Christmas however, with two young children ... who knows...
Until next time ... toodle pip