"Star Eagles or Stella Aquilae...? " Topic

Many of you may be following / backing Ganesha Games' Kickstarter 'Star Eagles'…

link

While pondering which of many space fighter – centred settings and universes to adapt Star Eagles for, a flick through my copy of Forge World's Aeronautica Imperialis got me thinking… GW have never made a game or miniatures for space fighter combat in the 40K universe…

… and a few hours later, this had popped out of my head:

Now, the question is – what scale do I sculpt this thing at?? O_o

(and if you think this is ugly, wait until you see the Stella Auceptor class torpedo bomber… oh, and its Ork equivalent 'Bowla' class…)

It's not ugly, but it looks "hard sci-fi" and lacks a certain 40K aesthetic (i.e. Gothic design elements).

There are illustrations of 40K space fighters in the Fantasy Flight Rogue Trader RPG books that you can work with, and I believe Forgeworld has some of the actual space fighter models. (I wish they'd remake that lander that came as a crashed scenery piece…). Images should be easy to find as some of those books have been PDF'd on the interwebs by now…

IFAIK, there's only one or two images of the Fury class fighter from the RPG, and to my mind, that's really just a Marauder bomber with its wings clipped…

Forge World never made Imperial space fighters in 30mm scale (if only!!!); only aircraft such as the Thunderbolt and Marauder. I think they may have made some for BFG ages ago?

In terms of the 40K aesthetic, I am aiming for the hard-edged, slab-sided look that Jes Goodwin gave the MkII Land Raider and Rhino in the 90's, rather than the skull-festooned, arch-covered silliness of more recent designs.

So, more this…

… but less that…

(I hate that thing…!!)

IIRC, the FW Thunderhawks for Battlefleet Gothic were about 15mm long. Wish I could find a place that says how long the Thunderhawk model was…

I'd aim for probably 1/1000 scale for the initial test. If that's too small, bump it up a bit.

1/1000th scales down to 38mm, which I thought a bit on the small size, so I'm having a go at sculpting the Furia in 1/600 scale right now.

That makes it a bit on the big size compared to most miniature starfighters (it's 63mm long) but I really want to emphasise the sheer size that I imagine 40K starfighters to be.

I like the idea of Ork fighters being the size, and taking some design cues, from Soviet rocket boosters, but with additional rockets strapped and bolted on all over the place, depending on the lunacy of the Flyboy who's at the controls.

No ideas for Chaos or Eldar designs, yet… Maybe, given their more advanced technology bases, their aircraft are also space-capable… must check A.I. about that…

Oh, forgot. Somewhere the Imperial fighters and bombers were described as being about the size of a 747, and that a Thunderhawk was a bit bigger than most of the bombers. Must have been somewhere in the original Battlefleet Gothic rulebook, or maybe the expansion.

IIRC, the Thunderhawks flew in flights of 3, while bombers flew in 6s (and Mantas flew as a single craft!).

That comment about being the size of a 747 rings a distant, ancient bell, Lion!

Somewhere in my past, it must have taken hold on my subconscious, and worked its devious influence on my musings about this. Perhaps it was a designer's comment by Andy Chambers… I wish my BFG stuff wasn't in storage at the moment…

Interestingly enough, after I worked out the dimensions for the Furia, the first thing I did was compare them to those of… a Boeing 747!!

The Jumbo is longer (70m), and obviously has a wider wingspan, but I think the Furia wins for cabin-width! :D

Oh, and thanks for the data on the Thunderhawks and formations. :)

Size or scale? 1/285 isn't appropriate? Getting to be common to a lot of fighter-based games, so plenty of room for cross-over.

Now, GW tends towards a background of 'big, ugly bricks', but I thought the fighters were close to just BIG.

Doug

Edit: Sorry, when I started the note, there'd been no replies. Please ignore.

135mm long in 1/285th, Doug; given that I'm digitally sculpting these with the intent to print in high res and then cast in resin, I figured that might be just a wee bit too big for my budget… O_o

What part of 'please ignore' did you miss?!?!

Just teasing. ;->=

…just a wee bit too big for my budget…

OR anyone else wanting to give them a try…

Really, that big? Oh, just noticed the scale images.

"Please ignore…" *lol*

Seriously, even ten-thumb me would suggest scratch-building hull blocks, and printing details. Doesn't look that complicated.

I'll hunt up a book for the other 'fighters'…

Doug

@TheBeast: This would be for a fleet-scale game with the smallest capital ships ~1" long, so a good size for this beast might be 13.5mm (1/3000 scale or so)

Fair enough, I'm dropping out of the conversation; I got left at 'Star Eagles.'

Doug

This is my thread, but I think I'M getting left behind!! O_o

Just to clarify; this project is intended for games of starfighter combat, uaing the forthcoming Star Eagles rules. It's inspired by Battlefleet Gothic, and the fighters therein, but I'm not seeking to make fighters in scale for BFG.

Working on my 1/600 scale sculpt, I'm managed some good progress, between other projects…

Still a lot of work to do; main fuselage needs all its detailing, some more 'Imperial-y' bits, and then it needs to be hollowed out and cut up for printing… but, it is getting there.

Not sure about the eagle-head prow at the moment… too over the top…?

Yup, one very ugly fighter that is chunky as well.

@Martin: my apologies, I thought you were making fighters and bombers for BFG!

At 1/600 scale, that will be a HUGE beast. ~70mm long with that Eagle prow (and no, it's not too over the top!). I think I'd go for 1/1000 scale, just to get the fighters down to a more reasonable size.

No worries, Lion! :) Yes, this will be a big beastie. Having said that, I do have half a mind to scratchbuild the thing in 30mm scale, so that'd be, oh, just 700mm or so…

But before that, behold the latest version, now with skulls at no extra cost!

Close up of cockpit module and imperial insignia…

… and a 3 view of the whole thing…

Quite pleased with the appearance now. Starting to look more imperial, but not over the top. The eagle-head prow wasn't working for me; its pointy-ness took away too much from the 'violent, blunt object' look I was aiming for.

The next step is to hollow out the sub assemblies, and work out attachment points for magnets.

The idea is that the forward section of the main hull can be swapped out for different weapon loads, and the engine pods can be changed to high-power or high-manoeuvre versions. More on this later.

I will have 3D sketches of the Torp Bomber later today. Got to keep going, while I'm inspired! :)