The new Tempestus Aquilons and Vespid Stingwings are the heroes of Kill Team: Hivestorm, with both updating classic designs to a new era of greatness in Citadel Miniatures . We’ve looked at all the models and dug into their rules in the run-up to this weekend’s imminent pre-orders, so the only thing that’s left to do is to hear all about how we got here – from the designers themselves. We spoke to Israel, who designed the Stingwings, and Ed, who designed the Aquilons.
Warhammer Community: What was the process like for bringing the Vespid Stingwings up to date?
Israel: We’ve walked a long path in the last 18 years in terms of our design and production technology, and it’s brought us so many new opportunities – both in terms of what we can conceptually design, and what we can technically accomplish.
For instance, with plastic models generally being slimmer and lighter, we had the chance to play a lot more with the Vespid’s attitude and flying feeling, with lighter wings and thinner anatomy giving them a proper insectoid feeling. The plan was to keep the new anatomy as dynamic as possible, and we just tried to have fun in the process!
WarCom: How did you go about differentiating the Tempestus Aquilons from the Tempestus Scions?
Ed: We already had such a strong visual identity for the Scions, and we knew that for the Aquilons we wanted to lean even more heavily into the drop-trooper narrative, so you could easily imagine them dropping into a warzone from a high altitude Valkyrie. We added more webbing, so they more closely resembled the archetypal paratrooper, and to represent their ability to quickly take control of an area and fight at close range we gave them power packs on their las carbines so they can open fire immediately, rather than waste time plugging in to their power packs.
We also wanted their poses to show they are disciplined specialists even when deployed in the harshest environments. We knew they’d be combating the Vespid, so while the xenos are organic in texture and pose, we played up the highly trained, fanatical nature of the Aquilons with more rigid action poses so they contrasted well against their enemy.
WarCom: Do you have any favourite parts of any of the miniatures? Which bits did you enjoy working on the most?
Israel: Posing the models, making them look vicious and nasty, and working on the wings was so much fun! The wings are definitely my favourite part – they help to bring these flying insectoid creatures to life, helping us to understand how they move and act, and giving the full team this “swarm” feeling. Designing the anatomy while keeping all this in mind was so much fun too, as the plan was that they should look aggressive and nasty even before giving them a weapon!
Oh, also the weapon design itself! Talking with Mat (another member of the design team) and then thinking about how the T’au Empire would use the Vespids’ unique neutron crystals to create new and experimental weaponry was a really nice part of the process.
Ed: Bringing models like these to life during the posing process and the sculpting of their bare heads and specialist gear were the two best parts of the project for me. Much of the design work for miniatures like these is done on the uniform – in the standard ‘T pose’ with the model’s arms outstretched – so it’s not until you come up with some cool poses that you really know what you’ve got and how differently you can make each model in the unit. We had plenty of sessions deciding which poses would look coolest with the various specialist options, and sometimes during that process we’d discover a pose we hadn’t ever considered before!
WarCom: Both kill teams look starkly different, but was there anywhere you tried to give them matching themes and visual elements?
Israel: Yes, absolutely! From the start of the project we knew these two teams would share the box, so from the outset we were trying to make sure they fit together – in meetings, comparing ideas, putting models on the table to see how they worked together… the entire process.
Ed: Yeah, we wanted them to feel like they are facing off against each other. There are elements and textures shared across their scenic bases, which we used on both kits to create the feeling they are elevated from the ground. Both units feel agile and fast in their own ways and using the verticality of the bases was a great way to achieve this.
WarCom: The all-important question: Are you Team Aquilon or Team Vespid?
Israel: I’m struggling with this question as I always loved the Astra Millitarum, but come on… do they have anything they can really do against the Vespid? I really don’t think so. I’m Team Vespid here for sure.
Ed: Team Aquilon, no doubt. A unit of elite shock troops dropped from the sky in a Valkyrie is just such a cool image. And I’m rooting for the little servo turret: suffer not the alien to live!
Thanks for your answers guys, and for everyone else looking to get acquainted with the Aquilons and Stingwings, you’ve only got to wait until Saturday to place your pre-order. Seriously, that’s all there is to it – we’ll see you bright-eyed and bushy tailed tomorrow!
