Aeronautica Imperialis: Thunderhawk Review

 

The Thunderhawk Gunship

I had been waiting to get one of these since it was announced last year! Despite a bit of a delay in actually getting my hands on it (out of stock for a while), its finally here- so what is the plastic Thunderhawk like?


Value- 2/5

This one was tricky to rate. I have to admit, I had been slightly put off when the kit came out to see a single Thunderhawk for £26 (as of writing, it is about to see a price increase in March 2022). In a way, I view the Aeronautica range a little more like an Airfix kit- part of the joy is seeing the details of the larger aircraft recreated in such a small scale, but the cost of this is vastly higher than an Airfix kit. 
Perhaps this is an unfair comparison- how does the Thunderhawk compare to another Aeronautica kit?
The Thunderhawk compared with the Grot Bommer

The Thunderhawk is large, and if it weren't for the wingspan, is starting to dwarf the Grot Bommers. However, I think the Thunderhawk feels like slightly worse value. For about £6 (as of writing) more, you get 2 Grot Bommers, and the little Grot Bomms themselves. Even by Games Workshop standards, this one feels pricey!

Quality- 5/5

It's a modern Games Workshop plastic kit, you are getting a high quality product here. The detail is great, and the creation of such an iconic piece of Space Marine Lore in the Epic scale, whilst making it look so detailed- an amazing job. It also feels really sturdy, but I don't fear for the flight stand- it balances well on the base- and you can't always say that about a Games Workshop flight stand...
The one thing I will say- and it's more of a nitpick- the extension they give to your flight stand so you have the option to make it taller, is opaque. A bit annoying if you want a standardised look of clear flight stands.

Keeping up the quality of the Epic scale 40k recreations

Build- 4/5

Surprisingly, this wasn't as fun to build as I was expecting. Just to clarify- there were no build issues! (Hence still a 4!). It just wasn't the build experience I'd been looking forward to like the Grot Bommers had been. It all went together very smoothly, but there was no choice or customisation, and it didn't take that long. It's not the easiest build ever, but if you enjoy putting a model together, this is just good, not great.
I forgot to take any photos whilst building... So here is the Thunderhawk next to an Epic Landraider!

Looks- 4/5


This is, of course, subjective- but I don't find the Thunderhawk perfect. Good, but not a 5/5. It doesn't have quite the same charm as the Grot Bommers, and though it is iconic and definitely looks imposing, the Space Marine flyers are always a bit goofy to me though. In terms of reproducing the larger version looks wise, this is a very well done miniature.

Overall- 15/20

My final verdict- I don't think this is a must buy. It is definitely a good miniature, but I would only recommend it if you a) need it for an Aeronautica or Epic force, or b) absolutely love Space Marines, and want a fun little project for a display piece.
Otherwise, I don't think it's worth the cost, and though iconic, I don't think the name alone is a reason to get this just for a Thunderhawk. If you want to get into Aeronautica, you're going to get far better value with pretty much any other kit (excluding Forge World) if I'm being honest, so it's hard to recommend this to everyone.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the compulsory size comparison with a Primaris Marine!


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