I was wondering what the difference in scale was between the GW Epic Thunderbolts/Maurauders etc and the Aeronautica models from Forgeworld

I have heard that the scale is better on the Aeronautica models and given the variety of different craft, I was leaning towards using those in my Epic Armies for the future

I use FW only aircraft. Their aircraft are generally twice the size - their Thunderhawk looks like it could actually fit more than 10 people inside it, for example!

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Yep FW for me also. Nice size pieces.

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The only problem with FW aircraft is they make a lot of the rest of the epic range look tiny, a single thunderbolt will dwarf a FW warhound. Another good example is that hiding a full unit of FW vultures/valkyries is a nightmare compared to hiding a similar unit using the GW equivalent.

I had some FW thunderbolts but got sick of their massive size, so I sold them and got the SG versions instead, I also stuck with the SG valks and vultures too, I prefer the sense of smaller scale myself

plus if a rhino can accomodate ten marines, a SG thunderhawk would have no troubles holding 40!

I've got SG aircraft for my eldar, although I'll probably get some FW ones too as they're such fantastic models

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Forge world aircraft and skimmers are bigger than SG ones, the FW vehicles (I have) are slightly smaller and the FW Warhound Titans are slightly bigger.

Game wise the FW models can be a benefit and a hindrance.

It's all down to personal choice but let me just say one thing, real Epic Aholics have multiple armies in each race just so they can have both FW and SG flyers and vehicles

I use and strongly recommend the FW models, they're very much nicer sculpts with a lot more detailing and are a properly scaled size for aircraft.

I couldn't find a side to side comparison, but googled a couple of comparative photos of the two - they're both on the same base.






Edited to add: oops! You said Thunderbolt not Thunderhawk, scan misread that over breakfast. Similar applies to the Thunderbolts and Marauders, here are a couple of shots to illustrate:

Probably won't help ...

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I have my vultures, valkyries, thunderbolts and marauders all from fw. The sculpts are very good and I like the Models. And, in real life, flyers dwarve tanks in size.

I much prefer the SG range, the FW minis are just too big for my liking. As for whether they're the 'correct' scale or not doesn't bug me too much, in a game of sweeping generalisations and abstractions I don't think it's important whether or not my thunderhawk could physically carry 8 stands of infantry.

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I guess you could say the aircraft are closer to you and so bigger?

The FW models are also good for Aeronatica Imperialis, a 40k game for playing solely air battles (dogfights).
This way you can get a model totaly fit for two awesome tabletop games.

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Scale issues are a matter of taste i suppose. Being an ex model kit builder i do have scale issues. It seems to me that if you are going to play with a scale that allows vehicles and really large vehicles at that to be accurately scaled to the infantry why would you not want to. I do like a vehicle to look like it can actually hold the number of guys it's supposed to be carrying.

Just my own opinion mind you.

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A bit off topic but as you all mention, FW aircraft are bigger (and more accuratley scaled) than GWs but rathe oddly, their grey knight and raider is smaller than the GWs metal version.

As a rule, I choose FW stuff over GW most times. I find that FW cares more about actual scale (in so much as that means anything when dealing with fictional vehicles), and gives more realism and detail, and this makes it 'look right' to me. GW is more scaled to keeping the cost balanced.... and then they up the price to compare with FW anyway.

I usually assume that FW is in scale (Titans aside) while GW gives proportional scale. A FW Thunderhawk is that much bigger than a FW Lightning because thats the difference in the background, while a GW Thunderhawk is bigger than a GW Lightning but not by a set amount.

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