Alright, here we go with a whole lot of new air power. Let's start with a light aerospace fighter that I sculpted. Sometimes I look through all my old lead and pewter minis for some inspiration. I found that inspiration in an old fighter from the classic Interceptor game by FASA. Of course, the original mini is too small for my preferred scale, so I dug into the Super Sculpey and began to make one in the proper size....
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Isn't she cute? |
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The entire body is sculpted from Super Sculpey with the exception of some small details like the gun barrels and afterburner nozzles. |
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I put her next to an F-Toys 1:144 Harrier to show just how small she is. I do not recall what the fighter's name was in the Interceptor game, but I do know it was a light fighter. |
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In keeping with the spirit of air superiority, here's a whole squadron of some familiar flyers. These are Hot Wheels toys that I determined were as pretty damn close to 10mm as I thought possible. I was turned on to these when a friend of mine posted a pic of a Batman flyer ornament he had in his Christmas tree. I mentioned that I might need one or two, but he kindly informed me the ornament was quite large and I should look to the Matchbox or Hot Wheels toys for something a bit more my size. Here's a helpful bit of info for all you 15mm gamers- the Matchbox bat flyer is right up your alley! I saw them at my local Target store. I had to get the Hot Wheels off of E-Bay where I found a guy selling SIX of them! CHA-CHING!!
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New paint jobs and A few upgrades! I decided to paint 3 in a standard military green, 2 in an urban grey, and one with desert wasteland camo. |
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The one on the left is stock. The one on the right has a pair of larger caliber cannons. |
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Say cheesecake! |
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Why not rocket pods? I sculpted a pair for this one. |
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Here is the belly. I had to grind off the manufacturer's raised letters and added some ammo drums for the larger cannons. |
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Wasteland camo with the standard load-out. |
Are we having fun yet? Show's still not quite over, folks. Hope none of you are on dial-up....
Here is an old project that sat in the "to do" box for a loooong time before I remembered it was in there. When my TIE fighter forces began to grow, I knew this was destined to be a part of it. I'm not sure what it is, but it is from the Star Wars Titanium series of collectables.
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Here she is with a squad of TIE-Ds. I'm going to call it the TIE Broadsword- A very heavy assault version for the TIE family. |
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I sculpted a little launcher pod for the hull surface and the ventral cannon is a spare part from a Wizkids Mechwarrior mini. |
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I added the engine panel on the top of the hull and the three engine nozzles. |
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Ventral view showing where I also added some VTOL nozzles. |
Still not done.....
Next up are a pair of super-rare Anigrand Chiss Clawcraft. These were included in the 1:144 Anigrand Lambda Imperial shuttle, of which I have one. My friend ( who traded me some wonderful and rare Anigrand models in exchange for my painting services ) gave me the clawcraft out of his kit because he didn't want it. Who was I to say no?
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While they have the familiar TIE body, the wings are quite alien and elegant. I wanted to give them a more artistic flare to better represent their alien origin. I put some alien markings on them and even added a bit of alien nose art to the one on the left. Don't ask me why I have GW necron decals...I haven't the slightest idea how they ended up in my decal box. |
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Some small patches of color to set them apart. |
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Those barrels on the arch of the wings are not guns, but maneuvering thrusters! |
Finally we draw to the conclusion of the air power post.....
When I went to Target to find the Bat Flyer, I did not succeed. However, I did discover a few other excellent things to make my trip worthwhile. These are from the Matchbox line of Sky Buster aircraft. Excellent finds for my scale requirements!
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A heavy lift Helicopter! |
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I added a few extra details like the hydraulic hoses. |
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I added the cargo clamps, too. I sculpted the clamps and the clamp housing. |
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I also added the hazard lights to the belly and the hatches on the nose. |
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A pair of super-cool fighter jets! |
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I decided to go with a dark paint scheme for a night fighter. |
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Since there were no guns or missiles on her to begin with, I had to sculpt my own. I figured a pair of massive gatling cannons in a pod on the belly would do the trick. I also added a pair of VTOL nozzles and an ECM dome under the nose. |
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The second bird I just went with a wild sky theme. |
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Hello Nurse... |
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This one has the same modular pod on the belly, but it is sporting a pair of heavy particle cannons instead. |
That finally concludes the Spaceman Spiff air show. I do hope you enjoyed it! Stay turned for the ground forces....