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I buy all my mats in 6x4, regardless of which game I intend to use them with, as they provide the most versatility and flexibility and can be reused for other games, etc.

So I have the GW board as well as the starter set mats and it's 3x3, which is a good size for 100-150 point games. I can be a little crowded for the likes of Orks with high plane counts but it adds to the complexity (I think). That's what most standard tournaments play on too.

AI is supposed to be played on a 4x4 and I have played on a 4x4 mat for 200 point games which is more than enough space to add in terrain pieces or other extra rules. Below 200 though it feels like you're swimming.

I think 6x4 might be too big for the table I use for games after work.

AI1 was typically played on pretty large tables, I think either 6x4 or 8x4, and that's when aircraft were smaller and without the hexes. Definitely the starter set mat (which I think might be 2.5x2x5 is too small even for small games, as faster aircraft cover most of the table in a single move. We tend to start on opposite corners to increase the distance between us at the start of the game to avoid the Orks having the advantage of being able to get in close range on T1.

I just picked up my first AI minis on clearance (ultimately for use in the new Epic edition). I got Marauders and Dakkajets.

Holy cow, I didn’t know they were so big! I never got a sense of scale or saw them in person. And as for modeling, I had the mistaken impression that the assembly went something like this:

Step 1: attach wings
Step 2: uh, paint it, I guess

It’s a much more substantial kit. I’m excited about these things. I wish I hadn’t missed out on the all the ork, Eldar, and Tau aircraft.

Some of them are pretty simple to build, others are more complex I remember the Marauder took me a whole evening or so after work just to build them.

The dakkajets were faster to build. Personally, I didn't like the "beaky" noses on the dakkajets, so I converted them to be stub nosed, but didn't take a huge amount of time.

The modern AI kits are some of GWs best imo. I too was surprised about the amount of parts. But they come out with great detail, fit and tolerances.

E.g the Fire Raptor side turrets don't have to be glued, they stay snug enough to not fall out, but can be rotated to point where you are shooting. Very pleasing for the inner nerd.

AllSeeingSkink wrote:
Some of them are pretty simple to build, others are more complex I remember the Marauder took me a whole evening or so after work just to build them.

The dakkajets were faster to build. Personally, I didn't like the "beaky" noses on the dakkajets, so I converted them to be stub nosed, but didn't take a huge amount of time.

I saw those in your gallery! They look great. Nice paint scheme too. I’ll have to take another look at the kit and see about the nose. What did you use? Something you sculpted, kitbashed, or aftermarket parts?

 westiebestie wrote:
The modern AI kits are some of GWs best imo. I too was surprised about the amount of parts. But they come out with great detail, fit and tolerances

E.g the Fire Raptor side turrets don't have to be glued, they stay snug enough to not fall out, but can be rotated to point where you are shooting. Very pleasing for the inner nerd.

Agree completely. I love little movable details and turrets on kits. I haven’t been able to track down that kit yet. It looks great.

 Fugazi wrote:

AllSeeingSkink wrote:
Some of them are pretty simple to build, others are more complex I remember the Marauder took me a whole evening or so after work just to build them.

The dakkajets were faster to build. Personally, I didn't like the "beaky" noses on the dakkajets, so I converted them to be stub nosed, but didn't take a huge amount of time.

I saw those in your gallery! They look great. Nice paint scheme too. I’ll have to take another look at the kit and see about the nose. What did you use? Something you sculpted, kitbashed, or aftermarket parts?

I just sliced the noses off using a fresh blade on a hobby knife, taking lots of small cuts to carve it to shape rather than trying to hack it off in one go. The picture below probably shows it best. Rather than doing a perfectly straight cut, I angled it a bit and then tried to follow the existing panels and gun ports to make it look a bit neater but also sufficiently Orky.

Once cut off, the wall thickness was a bit excessive, so I just cleaned it up with the hobby knife. It was done before assembly, which makes them fiddly to hold, I did have a reason for doing it before assembly but can't remember what that reason was now.

Thanks for sharing. Great results!

Progress on the mentioned Fire Raptors!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CzaurfWNY1v/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Just decals & streaking left.

Another release!

BU-F410 (also known as the 'Buffalo') ready for deployment!

The BU-F410 class civilian shuttle, also known as the 'Buffalo', is designed for smallscale (6mm / 8mm) gaming, making it compatible for games such as Adeptus Titanicus, Battletech, X-Wing and others.

The kit contains the following parts:
- 2x hulls (landing gears out or landing gears in)
- front hatch
- 2x Type Alpha Shipping Container (one with a basing hole and one without)
- 2x ground crew members

Please do not share of sell these files without my written permission!

https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/game/buffalo-class-civilian-transport-shuttle

That looks cool. How big is it compared to the Aeronautica models?

AllSeeingSkink wrote:
That looks cool. How big is it compared to the Aeronautica models?

It should fit well in that scale. I think this one is a bit bigger than an Arvus. The Buffallo is about 52mm wide x 54mm deep x 26mm tall.

With the new Baneblade model for LI, I decided to makea Hellhammer. This allowed me to give my second Thunderhawk a Thunderhawk Cannon.

Liking it!

Cool conversion!

Thanks. I don't know if it's clear or not from this angle, but I also drilled the barrel.