The next unit on the list for the Imperial Fists will be a storm eagle gunship. I love this model, and think it’s everything that the storm raven should have been. I’ve had the storm eagle sitting around for a while now so I thought it was high time I got it assembled and splattered some paint on it.
This was a tricky model to assemble, especially the fuselage section. I would strongly recommend doing a dry run first, piecing the components together to make sure they fit before gluing them. Also, having a bowl of hot water nearby is very handy when your assembling to straighten out the resin, as even minor imperfections make assembly much harder. Also, a bit of green stuff to cover up the inevitable gaps is a great idea.
I knew you could assemble the storm eagle with custom Forge World doors, and really wanted to give this a try. Unfortunately, for some reason I assumed it would use land raider doors, however it actually uses rhino doors. Fortunately I had some spare Imperial Fist rhino doors I had left over from the predators and vindicators (none of which use the side doors) and so onto the storm eagle they went.
WIP Imperial Fists Storm Eagle gunship
WIP Imperial Fists Storm Eagle Gunship
I decided I also wanted to be able to use the storm eagle as a storm raven in normal games of 40k, and so I’ve done my best to give it the options of being armed as a raven. Basically I’ve modified a razorback’s twin linked lascannon so it can be mounted on the top hatch of the eagle, and magnetized the doors so they can be replaced with hurricane bolters. The wing mounted lascannons can also be removed, and I figure the rocket launchers on the top of the fuselage can just be where the stormstrike missiles are kept. Overall I’m not particularly pleased with the twin linked lascannon on top (I think it looks to tall), but I’m not really sure what else to do to keep the weapon options legal. I think I’ll need to see it painted before I pass final judgement.
Storm Eagle reconfigured as a Storm Raven
Storm Eagle reconfigured as a Storm Raven
Cheers guys!
Rusty's Workshop 
It might be too late but have you considered mounting the twin linked lascannons on the belly?
Looks like they could sit behind the raised cockpit section quite well and would give a pretty cool ground strafing position too. I think you could line it up with the side access doors and still get clearance from the cockpit like a WW2 belly gun on a bomber. Just a thought.
Hmm, that’s a really interesting idea!
Unfortunately the stormeagle got the first airbrush coat just the other day, so it may be a little late. I have however decided to modify the conversion a little from what I currently have. After some advice from some forums, I’ve decided to get a forge world razor back turret to mount on the top, rather than the standard GW one. I’m hoping the new turret should be a bit sleeker and not sit so high on the model.
Thanks heaps for the idea though, I really appreciate it!
No worries Rusty, would have been interesting to see it mounted underneath but the Forgeworld turret will look much better than the current one. Im interested to see it painted, I have a Stormraven to paint so ill probably rip off your weathering!
Yeah, I’m really curious about how the under-slung turret would have looked as well. I’ll definitely keep it in mind if I end up doing another eagle, either for the fists or some future army!