Imperial Thunderbolts for Aeronautica Imperialis

Flight of Imperial Thunderbolts for "Aeronautica Imperialis".

I've been dabbling in "Aeronautica Imperialis", GW's air-combat game set in the Warhammer 40k universe. I finished some Ork Dakka Jets back in the summer, and some Ork Fighta Bommerz in November - but to play the game, they would need some opponents! So here is a group of Imperial Thunderbolt Fighters, ready to protect The Emperor's skies and keep them clear of evil xenos...

I used the decals from the box set - basic, but they get the job done!

These are multi-part plastic kits from GW. Again, these are really, really well done - just be cautious with assembly, as there are some truly small and fiddly bits on these sprues that will disappear into a carpet and never be seen again if you drop them...

A standard Thunderbolt - quad autocannons and a pair of lascannons.

 

You have some options in terms of assembly - there is the standard Thunderbolt fighter, which is armed with quad autocannons and a pair of lascannons. But you can also build the "Thunderbolt Fury" variant, which sports avenger cannons in place of the autocannons. The avenger cannons hit a little harder (and a funny aside here - the description in the rules implies the avenger cannons run out of ammunition sooner, but then the actual stats show them with unlimited ammo, same as the autocannons - one of many odd contradictions in these rules - it's almost like GW subcontracted the rulebook production out to Warlord Games, but I digress).

The "Fury" variant - rocking the avenger autocannons on the nose. This is the flight leader - I figured he would take the plane with the cooler weapons...

 

Assortment of missiles to augment the fighting abilities of the Thunderbolt.

 

Just as the Ork planes in the game can get added weapons in the forms of rockets, bombs and "custom shootas", so the Thunderbolts can also be armed with air-to-air missiles, air-to-ground missiles, bombs or a mix, to complete various missions. Overall, these are great models, lots of fun to paint up.

A Thunderbolt closes with an Ork Fighta Bommer in "Aeronautica Imperialis" action.

Because the game is hex-based, we were able to give it a try over Zoom a few weeks ago - it was just a small game, two opposing patrols encountering each other, but after just one run-through, I can say the game looks to be a lot of fun. With the larger scale of aircraft, there will be some limits to the size of the game you can stage (although I believe it is possible to purchase larger game mats with hexes on them, which could open things up), but "Aeronautica" is a good bit of fun!

An Ork Dakka Jet makes a point-blank pass at an Imperial Thunderbolt...this is basically the way the Orks need to succeed in the game...

 

That's all for now - I hope to share another couple of add-ons to this fun game before long. And, of course, with winter nearly here in the formal sense, a number of us will be preparing for the start of the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge - I hope you will enjoy our efforts!

Thanks for reading - hope you are staying safe and staying sane!