Phantine Air Corp: Tornado's are coming!

                     Since today is July 4th, I've decided to bring you another Phantine Air Corp article. Long time readers of the blog will note that on July 4th, we here at Behind the Lines celebrate American Independence Day. The last few times have been about the Phantine as seen here and here as examples. So we figured we would continue the tradition of talking about airplanes and paratroopers.

Well a while back, I joined the 40k Aeronautica group on Facebook. This group is all about the Air Club. People post their own home made aircraft as well as official GW / FW models.Its a very exciting group to be a part of. The community is great and the admin team is super. Since aviation has always been one of my interest, it seemed like a natural fit for me. Warhammer 40k and airplanes? Whats not to like!

One of the admin had some skills with 3D design and set about designing his own aircraft to use in 40k. This quickly took off (groan I know) and in time the group had funded the design. The admin promised not only patches, but also buttons, pins, and a full model of his first design. The "Tornado" fighter.

The community came together and with the promise of a new aircraft, we set about making it happen. This project will be the first of hopefully many new designs. It  has tightened the community together. The Admin team has already started working on new designs and future aircraft that they hope to be able to bring to the table top.

Lets talk about my experience as a backer. Although the wait was long, it was worth it. This was the first true "community supported" project that I have backed. However, when the cast came in, the models were shipped very fast. The admin team has kept everyone up to date on the process and the project.

 When I got my model about three days later It arrived in a standard packing box. It was in a baggy with not only the model pieces but also my backer rewards. After washing the model pieces in warm soapy water, I sent the model to a friend to assemble. This was because at the moment, I was working on the Blood Pact Commission, which I hope I will be posting more of soon. After it was assembled and primed it was sent back to me. What I got back in return was less than perfect. The model had been rushed and the tail was bent.

I stripped the model and took it apart over the course of a few days. Then after everything was apart, I set about reassembling it. The model is easy to put together. It holds together very well. It does not eat a lot of glue, so you can fit things together quickly. My advice would be to use very little glue in assembly. A little will go a long way on this project.

It should be noted that this project does not come with missiles, bombs ect. You will need to have your own or buy some from other sources. I used GW Valkyrie missiles for mine in my second build. The Original build my friend used was the GW Chimera missiles. Both will work.

It must be noted that this model is MUCH smaller than a GW Thunderbolt or Valkyrie. I like it however. It looks like a fast air to air fighter that it is mean to be.

 I haven't had time to airbrush or paint the model since it was reassembled. Life has been very busy as of late.I hope to break out my airbrush and get some work done soon.

Now I would like to take some time and talk about how this model will be used on the table.

It could be either a Lightening or a Thunderbolt depending upon the players wants. Im going to run it as a Lightening fighter since I own two thunderbolts already. This Lightening will be a part of the Phantine XIX. Also known as "Orbis" Squadron.

 In the books, Orbis squadron was described as deep grey with their fins and tails painted a deep blue. For this aircraft, Im planning to use my standard mix of Basalt Grey from Vallejo for the body and then use a GW Kantor Blue for the blues. The Cockpit will be a mix of many blues that I have collected over the years. For the engines, I will be using a gold color.

To all my fellow Americans, Happy 4th of July! and to the rest of the world Happy Wednesday!

Leave a comment, say hello or just let us know you were here. We enjoy hearing from you. Also check out our Patreon page. Even a 1$ per month would help us bring you new content. If you like what you see please consider donating. Every little bit helps.

If you want to pick up your own Tornado then head over here

Until next time!

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Mortian Battle Tank: A Review

Today I present to you a unscripted post. Mostly because its Here for only a limited time. The Mortian tank! A popular favorite with the Imperial Guard Community has returned and with it the limited chance to get a very nice tank.

I first encountered the Mortian tank in 2015. At the time, I was looking to get out of Game's workshop models and move onto 3rd party stuff. The Mortian tank instantly became a favorite while doing a casual search online. It had everything I wanted. The look of a Panzer with the proportions of a realistic looking tank.

However, I soon found that the designer of the tank had not had his stuff for sale since 2009. Nonetheless, I searched through google and found his site. In a desperate bid to get a trio of the tanks, I sold of my Leman Russes and ordered three Mortian. With  that done, I also found a 4th from a mutual acquaintance. This Mortian you see in the picture was the tank from the mutual acquaintance. When i received it, it was in harsh condition. I was able to fix it up and put it back together as best I could. Finally, I got it into a game against necron. I have pictures from that game but since it was so far back, I don't really remember the details. Needless to say, the model was a absolute delight to play. I soon primed it but then things took a turn for the worst. After 2 months, my orders had not come in yet. Digging deeper, I found that the site was down and with it my order had been lost. It seemed as if the company and the designer had dropped off the face of the earth. I was able to get a refund through PayPal and that was the end of my hopes for a trio of the Mortian. I sold off my Mortian on Ebay for next to nothing and pushed it from my mind. I was disappointed and sad. Mad Robot and Victoria Lamb both had tanks coming out soon I heard. So I waited.

Every so often I would look online at Leman Russ tanks and see the Mortian and remember that it was no longer available. I tried another route and bought three Leman Russes from Game's workshop but soon tired of those too and sold them off to a friend. However with the Mortian now back (Even as a kick starter) it hold a special place in my mind.

The model is beautiful, easy to put together and looks great on the table. For those of you who want a tank that will be sure to turn heads and get comments from people around the gaming table I would highly recommend ordering one (or three!) They really are worth it in the end, even for the rarity factor alone, I would suggest at least 1. They'll look great at any photo op!


Below are some battle report photos from the Battle i used it in back in 2015. I don't remember any of the turns so its best just to leave the photos here.

Until next time!

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Tau Sept: Shadow sun

To Follow any other path other than the Tau'va is to doom us all. Only together through courage and discipline shall we stand victorious. Fight with fire and courage and nothing can stand against us! - Shadow Sun (Tau Codex 4th Edition) 

So I hope you all will forgive me but I have been busy this last month with school and work. Today I present to you something thats been in my "to write" list for a while. Tau Commander Shadow Sun! 

This model is from Wargame Exclusive and is the Greater Good Dash Commander model. Sharp eyed viewers will notice that this version of Shadow Sun is a lot more "anime" than Games workshops version. The design was fine for what I wanted it for and so I put in a order for it.

 This model took about two weeks to get to the United States and then I washed it as per normal. Afterwords I put down a purple ink layer and then did the jade wash on the model. From start to finish the model only took 1 full night of work. This was unusual for me and I carefully checked to make sure that I did not miss any detail on the model. I tried to also highlight her face as to make it seem more "cute" but I dont think I did as good a job as I could have. You be the judge. 

Lately I've been searching for a better job and so my post have become fewer and far between. This means in the future I might be down to only 1 post per month. Hopefully I can keep the pace up but we will see. How do you all feel about WIP post? I usually try to make sure a post is about a finished project but Ive been thinking more WIP post might help me to get more motivated? Let me know in the comments!

Anyway Today I also broke out my air brush and did two more chimeras for my Inquisition and Tanith Army. After they were dried, I got out my tanks and took a group photo as a tease of what I want to do a future post on for my "Armored Company" list I play at times. So since I've had you all wait for so long I hope this teaser will do. 

Work In Progress Armored Company. Notice that the red chimera is a Inquisition Chimera as is the one on the far left in the same row.

Till next time! Keep rolling those dice! Leave a comment, say hi, or just let us know you were here. Every little bit helps.  

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