Thursday 10 March 2016

6th Legion Jet Bikes

Hello once again!

So, while I make slow progress on my Wolf Lord (name to be decided) and Mortariat, I thought I'd have another play with the light box and share some pictures of a unit that I didn't even know I'd buy: Jetbikes.
 
When Forge World released these I really wasn't sure. they don't look anything like the jetbikes you see in Collected Visions, in fact, where the hell did this design spring from?!
 
Nope, nadda, these were definitely not on my list of items to buy! When my local GW store manager revealed they were known as the 'flying dildo', t really didn't help their cause in my eyes.

 
But then I got my hands on Book 1, I read the background, I saw the rules, and suddenly I fancied getting some. It still took me a year or two, but eventually I got my hands on them.
 

 
And now? I love them. As I started sticking them together I realised what an amazing kit they were. Dead easy to put together, packed with enough detail to make them seem real and in the flesh they actually look really good.
 

 
I have noticed that the models eventually released differ slightly to those shown in Book 1. If you look closely you'll realise that the bikes in the book have marines with back packs on, where as the models you buy don't. I think I'd prefer them with back packs, it would go more with the fluff. How can marines jump off their bike and in to battle, like the White Scars do in their novels, with no back pack?
 
These jetbikes are part of my 'Advanced Recon Detachment'. This group consists of 11 bikes, 3 jetbikes and 2 landspeeders to date. Even though in game terms they are not the same squad, they all have the same pack markings to show that in the fluff for my army, they operate together.
 

These were painted in the same way I paint all of my army: dark grey, two dry brushes of lighter grey, gold and silver detailing, a liberal Agrax Earthshade wash, transfers, weathering (using paint and sponge and FW weathering powder), matte varnish then blood on the blades.

 
I added the pack markings on the bikes using masking tape and sponged-on red paint. All icons are decals. I also used some of the Space Wolves upgrade kit shoulder pads and painted the legion symbol red. I think I'll continue to use these even when the FW pads eventually come along, mixing and matching the two to add variety... something the Vlka Fenryka are well known for.
 
 
Anyway, I hope you like these as much as I have grown to. I'm going to try them out in battle first, but eventually may buy another two for a squad of five to support my bikes (which I'll share another time).

Dave

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