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Personally i have no idea how you are going to pull them off, but whatever happens, i'll be interested in the final result.
I like the bunker idea aswell, incase you were undecided.

Yes I think I'll have a bash at doing a sunken pillbox getting lit up by the Thunderbolt. Thanks gang!


Automatically Appended Next Post:
As an appended note, my plan for the explosion effect is to have an armature of sorts poking out of the firing slit and the door to the bunker. Basically, stick rods all over the place and bulk out using filler, bits of cork and other detritus. Might even do a few sandbags, weapons, battlefields debris...

As for the painting side of things, the bunker will be concrete and the plume of dust and such will be a lighter, more sandy shade.

So work has started on the pillbox on the base...







As you can see, it's still incredibly rough. I've only applied a single layer of filler to achieve a concrete effect on the pillbox but this will get a light sanding and another layer applied.

Sorted out and smoothed the first layer of filler on the pillbox and stated making some crap looking Christmas trees...

Huh. Still don't know how your going to pull this off, but you seem to have a pretty good idea pillbox looks good though!

I think you could go either way: Close Air Support is brought in to take out anything that threatens the infantry (I love the quote from Jan Freyenbach's book "This Kind of War" about Korea, in which he says [paraphrased] "you can bomb a piece of ground so hard that it will never grow anything again; but until you put a 19 year old kid on top of it with a rifle in his hands, it isn't yours").

A fortified heavy weapon position would definitely attract the attention of a Jug (a WWII American slang for the German nickname for the P47 Thunderbolt 'luftpanzerjaeger' or aerial tank hunter), CAS would look for those and tanks first thing. But a heavy weapon or even a sniper ho led up in a building could be a designated target for a Jug too. Picture yourself as the squad leader, and some bozo with a lascannon is preventing you from advancing up a street; call in your friendly local aerial killer and problem solved.

So I think your diorama comes down to which lets you build the most spectacular effects: the bunker blowing up can have large 'chunks' flying apart because of the rebar; the house section (especially a corner) can have lots of smoke and smaller pieces billowing out the door and windows. Good either way.

My two cents, anyway.

Thanks all. The pillbox was actually a much easier option in terms of construction. The 'trees' will form the plume of debris in a similar fashion to those in the image of the trick hitting a mine (couple of posts further up the page). So I'll be sticking them into the firing slit and into the entrance to simulate the explosion venting out.

Did a bit more airbrushing on the TB this evening :

Love the American Air. look what a good friend!

Thanks ghostmaker.

I was going to do a bit more to it this morning but I got up late (at about 11am) and I've accidentally made myself a cup of tea and sat down in front of the Xbox with the cat on my knee...

Still to do: apply chipping fluid, mask off wings and rear fuselage and apply invasion stripes...

I absolutely love the look of invasion stripes, and yellow noses on aircraft. Very pleased to hear you'll be adding them in.
Looking good so far tho dude!

Well since you like them so much STG, here you go:







Just a bit miffed that a lot of the white came off with the marking tape but I'll try and pass that off as some incoming flak.

Got a picture of the pillbox in a mock-up state and with the Thunderbolt attached.





I have since hacked the roof apart...

Yoooo! looks amazing dude! exploding pill box looks sick. i see it now

Yea i think it looks good on the white on the right wing, but maybe a bit too much paint came off on the left wing.
really liking it though!

Thanks STG. I thought I had taken almost all of the adhesive off of the masking tape however it would appear that I was mistaken. Not an awful lot I can do except do the white again but then I run the risk of messing up the black stripes...

This evening will see the vents/exhausts finished and the start of the weathering process: sponge chipping and panel/pin washing.

Any ideas on what colour to paint the pilot? I was thinking a WW2 US scheme to fit with everything else in the army...

Yea man a brown leather colour for the pilots uniform would look cool.

So I made some alterations to the pillbox...

Is that an acrylic rod you are using to hold up the flyer?

i feel like its too thin and going to snap.

Nope, it's a stainless steel bicycle spoke: it ain't gonna break

Heh well thats good. the first picture looks like its clear glass or something.

Very awesome! That is one bust bunker!

Thanks all

Painting is on hold until I can think of decent numbering and lettering for the squadron/aircraft markings. I also need to figure out all the little hazard symbols and such!

Very cool little blog so far, just dropped in for a quick look and it’s shapping up well. The airbrushing on the thunderbolt is very good.
The bunker looks pretty neat too.

Thanks Killgore. It's probably the blog where I've been most prolific and where I've finally found something I'm really happy doing. I'll probably jump back to the Blood Angels at some point...

But for now: I'll be making my own stencils this evening and starting the little warnings and hazard signs.

Started the pilot in a WW2 type of scheme with woolly linings in his leather jacket and boots (because I'm a right saddo). Also started freehanding the warning symbols for the engine covers, turbine intakes/exhausts, ejector seat and rescue arrows (on real aircraft they point to the canopy ejector). Can't decide if I'm brave enough to attempt a tiny 'rescue' in each arrow or to just leave them...

Hello and greetings from a fellow Commonwealth country, Canada!

As an avid Guardsman who is completing one of several IG / AM armies, I took a break to read your wonderful PLOG

I'm new to Forge World myself; I have an awesome FW Dreadnought I still haven't got around to working on, but with the recent addition of Flyers to every army I took a plunge and invested in the Vulture myself!

So far I have two nearing completion and have found them an absolute delight to model... However, an entire army from resin would be an absolute blast especially due to the Drop Troop nature of the Elysians

So far it looks great, keep up the good work sir!

Hello Private Benjamin!

Thank you for dropping in. Forge World surf is on the whole, awesome. I think I may prefer working with resin over plastic as you can been parts and repose miniatures without cutting them up. The only downside is that it's probably a gazillion times more expensive!

I found everything I have from Forge World a joy to build and paint.

Wonderful work here bud, truly beautiful.