Thunderhawk No. 744 - Grey Knights 7th Brotherhood

Certificate Number: Thunderhawk 744

Aircraft Name: #CLASSIFIED#

Primary Armament: Thunderhawk Turbolaser Destroyer

Aircraft Commander: Grey Knights 7th Brotherhood.

Battle Squadron Composition: Grey Knights 7th Brotherhood Inquisitional rapid response strike force.

Owner: Thomas S.

Location: USA

Comments: I purchased this kit years ago second hand on Facebook.  Two years I actually started assembling it.  It has seen the field of battle twice. The second time it defeated the local independent game store's owner so badly he banned it from the shop.  Now with new store owners, it may be retrieved from storage and loaned to the newly founded Minotaurs Chapter for the capstone of our escalation league.  

I always thought the Owners' club was only for true titans.  But I saw someone asking about registration for his supremacy suit, so I looked into it too.  

The front canards have been lost to the ages and replaced by backroom deals between the Inquisition and Rouge Traders.  

The attack wings have not been permanently attached yet for eventual painting.  The main cannon will eventually magnetized for easy loadout changing.  Hellstrike missiles and heavy bolters are magnetized already.  Maybe one day it will get the option back for psi-cannons. I was able to procure a Grey Knight Landraider customization pack for use.  I also have some of the old Forgeworld Inquisition brass sheets to be applied after painting.  

The pilots are mostly done and the cockpit and internal transport bay is painted before the fuselage was glued in place.  Pilot helmets have been replaced with more modern tech marine helmets and the right shoulder pad have had a grey knight chapter badge added.  It still needs extensive green stuffing before painting.

Base is attached by a friction fit acrylic rod fit into a hole in the fuselage.  It can be removed and displayed free standing.  I kept the height low to prevent toppling.  

Photos:

WORK IN PROGRESS PHOTOS:

Thunderhawk assigned to Grey Knights, ready for Rites of Sanctification and Color

Magnetised for painting main hull assembly

Magnetised secondary weapons

Attack foils detached for painting

A chonky flight stand

Ready for gap filling and painting

Cockpit internals done

FW Brass Etched sheets

Updated crew

Cockpit area completed

Internals ready

Older Mk2 Thunderhawk's came with Certificates

Titan Owners Club

Thunderhawk Gunship MKII - No.1 - Imperial Fists Legion

Certificate Number: Thunderhawk MKII - 1 (TOC - new FW version doesn't have Certificates)

Aircraft Name: #CLASSIFIED# - Imperial Fists Legion

Primary Armament: Thunderhawk Battle Cannon

Aircraft Commander: #CLASSIFIED#

Battle Squadron Composition: Sokar Stormbird (2); Thunderhawk MKII (1)

Allied Titan Maniple Composition: Legio Victorum - Warlord (869); Warlord (1626); Warbringer (252); Reaver (2929); Reaver (2661); Reaver (2442); Warhound (3063-1); Warhound (4045); Warhound (6901); Warhound (7910)

Owner: Adie H.

Location: South Yorkshire, UK

Comments: Hi, another major bucket list item ticked off, after the Titans and the Stormbird. I've always had my sights set on the Thunderhawk. Pretty straightforward out of the box build. Magnetised the doors, Heavy Bolter turrets and attack wings so they open and close. The Pilots were a tricky one, they came with much later Mk7 / 8 pilots unlike the Stormbird which had a Heresy era crew. So kept the resin bodies and added left over Warder Helmets and old plastic Rhino pintle gunner arms so I could use older shoulder pads without using the supplied resin Techmarine / Mech symbol ones. Filed the knee pads a bit and hoped it fits more with 30k era! Really enjoyed this project it was worth the 20 year wait it took to get one. I haven't properly gamed with it yet, but I always take it with me for eye candy shots. Like Titans, they don't get seen in the wild too often.

Photos:

COMPLETED PHOTOS:

Amazing work by Adie H

Subtle conversions on the Pilot Techmarines

Forge World no longer includes Certificates with the MK2 which is unfortunate.

Secured for the warp transit...

In support of the Legion forces

Titan Owners Club

Thunderhawk No. 1611 - Aircraft Caronte, Dark Angels Space Marine Chapter

Certificate Number: Thunderhawk 1611

Aircraft Name: Caronte, Dark Angels Thunderhawk

Primary Armament: Thunderhawk Battle Cannon

Aircraft Commander: #CLASSIFIED#

Battle Squadron Composition: Dark Angels - Thunderhawk (1611)

Owner: Paolo F.

Location: Lodi, Lombardy, Italy.

Comments: Almost a year after purchase I am submitting the result of the work of the last few months with the latest photos. Purchased used but completely refurbished.

Photos:

WORK IN PROGRESS PHOTOS:

Titan Owners Club

Thunderhawk No. 1904 - White Scars Legion

Certificate Number: Thunderhawk 1904

Aircraft Name: #CLASSIFIED#

Primary Armament: Thunderhawk Battle Cannon

Aircraft Commander: #CLASSIFIED#

Battle Squadron Composition: The White Scars Strike Squadron - Thunderhawk (1904)

Owner: Simon W.

Location: Essex, UK

Comments: Part of the Brotherhood of the Summet Storm.

Not sure if they still give out certificates for Thunderhawks now?

Louise and Peachy on WarhammerTV seem to like it!

Thunderhawk No.725 - High Wind, Seventh Primaire of the Second Wing

Certificate Number: Mk II Thunderhawk Gunship 725
Aircraft Name: “High Wind”
Primary Armament: Turbo-laser Destructor
Aircraft Commander: Brother-Captain Naasif
Battle Squadron Composition: Seventh Primaire of the Second Wing

Owner: Justin F.
Location: Arizona, USA

Comments:

• Mk I is the original metal kit.
• Mk II is the initial resin version. This kit is horribly “advanced” but they sold so few during its run it was cheaper to send out replacement parts rather than rework the kit.
• Mk III was the reworked kit that came out during the first two editions of Apocalypse. With the popularity of the kit now that it was field-able, it finally got a proper rework.
• Mk IV is the current updated version.

Photos:

WORK IN PROGRESS PHOTOS:

Great progress on the build, nearly airworthy already.

Certificate of Authenticity

Imperial Armour Compendium - Marine Super-heavy Flyers

Battle Brothers, though few in number (we have some more in the queue), on the blog you are in attendance representing your Chapter.  Thus now we come upon your time in the Imperial Armour Compendium just released from Forge World. 

Today we’re reviewing the classic tried and true Thunderhawk and its predecessor, the Sokar Pattern Stormbird.

Stats

Like the Titans, the starting BS 2+ is gone from the top bracket.  It’s safe to say at this point that BS 2+ is reserved for the absolute cream of the crop now, something that has affected even the mighty Leviathan Dreadnought.  Both flyers have now gone to T8 but have picked up the all-important armour save of 2+.  Like with the Titans this isn’t a major deal as it only really helps S8-S18 weapons, but the boosted armor is a great benefit.  No updated wounds value, so you’re still somewhat squishy.

There were some reductions in the number of attacks these flyers get, but it’s overall a good change.  The maximum number of attacks has been reduced, but in the later stages these two flyers instead gain a set number of attacks that exceeds what they used to get on average with the random roll.

Thunderhawks lost their 5++ in this update while the Sokar Stormbird picks up void shields of the same number and quality as the Warhound Titan.

Image Source: Forge World

Overall, it’s not a lot of bad for either of these flyers to absorb, especially in light of the gain of the 2+ armour.  The biggest change is that the flyers can now carry a mix of BOTH Firstborn and Primaris, and Primaris no longer chew up double slots in comparison.

While the changes trend towards the nerf for these flyers it is offset by absolutely massive improvements to their points and Power Levels.  The Thunderhawk dropped 41 percent and 47 percent respectively, while the Stormbird sheds 50 percent and 57 percent respectively.  This far outweighs the losses they suffered.

Weapons

There’s nothing special to talk about with the Stormbird’s weapons since its load out is comprised of things familiar to all Marine players.  However, the Hellstrike Missile Battery takes the place of the old missiles and has a very nice boosted profile that doesn’t suffer penalties to shooting at the ground and ignores the -1 of the flyers while doing extra damage to AIRCRAFT.

The Thunderhawk’s turbo-laser actually lost blast but picked up a point of armour penetration for its troubles, making it a dedicated flyer killer.  However, the change to the Thunderhawk Heavy Cannon is glorious.  It picks up the blast trait and, while the damage does lose a point off of its maximum , it is now guaranteed three damage with the potential for a little extra, finally making this weapon usable.

Final Thoughts

Like the Knights, the Marine super-heavy flyers got tweaks that brought them in line for balance.  While not as tough they are more durable now due to their new saves.  Their weapons have been improved while their astronomical points and power costs have been heavily toned down.  Overall, a win here for these venerable war machines.