X-wing: B-wing "Blade Wing" Repaint

Hi folks,

If you are a fan of Star Wars you may be familiar with the animated series Star Wars: Rebels. Like Rogue One, it bridges the gap between the Clone Wars (Ep. 1-3) and the Galactic Civil War (Ep. 4-6). It follows the adventures of the first Rebels as they battle the Galactic Empire, introducing some fantastic new characters to the Star Wars universe. In particular, I have a soft spot for the Twi'lek Hera Syndulla, pilot of the Ghost (VCX-100).

At some point, she pilots a prototype B-wing with a Deathstar-like cannon and a red paint job that is just to die for. Having an even softer spot for B-wings, as well as no great love for the Rebel Aces B-wing, a re-paint was definitely on the cards.

The Prototype B6 "Blade Wing" B-wing was undercoated with Mephiston Red (Citadel paints) after I masked the white circles on the S-foils. I washed this with Thraka Green wash, then added some highlights with Mephiston Red, Blood Red and a 1:1 Macharius Solar Orange/Mephiston Red. This gives it a slightly darker finish than the reference images but depth to the red that I am pleased with. The drive assembly was painted in Dawnstone and washed heavily with Nuln Oil, then highlighted with a 1:1 White Scar/Dawnstone mix. Details were then picked out in White Scar, including where the yellow stripes would go. These were added after the white dried using Golden Yellow. The weapons were picked out using Abaddon Black and the cockpit was finished with a Shadow Grey wet-blend and gloss varnish.

I also added a pink glow to the engines just for giggles, using a mixture of Lich Purple, Mephiston Red and White Scar.

In the series, Hera becomes the commander of Phoenix Squadron, which includes a bunch of A-wings, Correlian Corvette and the Ghost. I have put together a 150 point Phoenix Squadron Fleet, which can be made even larger with the addition of the Tantive. Obviously, that is a lot of points for such a small fleet of ships! In the scenarios we have played it has been fun to play and caused a lot of damage, but against a genuinely competitive Imperial Fleet it gets shot to pieces.

Being a game based on character and upgrade cards, I did a search through the community forums to see if there were any home-brew rules for this ship. Below is Hera Syndulla's card and the weapon mounted on the B6:

I'm looking forward to giving the home-brew rules a go, particularly against some of the bigger ships. It will be interesting to see how that laser works; I may try a few different rules for it. If you have any ideas, leave them in the comments section below!

See you across the table,

M4cr0