Battlefleet Gothic Fleet and campaign

Its been some time since my last post. Life and a lack of game playing getting in the way as usual. That being said I have found time to complete my BFG fleet and start a campaign with my friend Kenny. His is running a Slannesh Chaos fleet while I am using my Imperial Navy fleet.

Being highly unorigional I have based my fleet on the British High Seas Fleet of WW1, specifically when it was involved in the Battle of Jutland. My Admiral is Jon Jellicoe and he is of course housed in the Iron Duke.

Thus far we have played 2 games of the campaign. Game 1 was a massive 2000 point battle. We decided to start off with this big game as we both wanted to field all of our new fleets. That ended in a solid win for me.

Game 2 was a Raid battle. During this game I managed to do almost 0 damage to my opponent and disengaged my whole fleet like a whipped dog. Resounding victory for the forces of chaos.

It has been an interesting experience as we have both found out and learned a whole bunch, especially when it comes to rules that we both misread or interpreted. Still, thats the whole point. To learn.

Anywho, getting back to my fleet since I am sure people want to see the pretty pictures. I have based my fleet off the Battlefleet Bakka fleet from the 2010 FAQ and compendium. Its a fleet based heavily on big guns and very very few carriers which I felt matched the whole WW1 aesthetic. I do have some flight decks in there but not many.

The whole fleet.

 

My escorts and light cruisers

 

Battlecruisers: The one in the front is a Jovian and its an almost pure carrier. Its specific to Battlefleet Bakka and according to fluff only 1 exists. Which is why I decided to use a different bridge on it to make it look more unique as well as more carrier-ish.

 

My cruisers. 2 Luna and 2 Gothics

 

And of course the big boy. The Iron Duke herself

 

I also decided to paint up some planets. I did an inhabited world and a gas giant.

As you can see I decided to paint them with a night and day side. That way its always easy to see which is the sunward side of the table.

 

 



Ultramarines: Back in Action

This Saturday I will play my 2nd game of 40k in a year. It will also be my first game of 6th. I will also play my 2nd and 3rd game as I will be playing in a small local tournament. Only 10 people but that will be nice to dip my toes back in the water.

Because its been so long since I have played I have a few issues. One of them is that I have forgotten a fair amount. Throw in having not played in 6th and well....

I have borrowed my friends 6th Ed rule book and will spend the next 2 days figuring out what the hell I am doing. Running scenarios against my own units - that kind of thing. This will allow me to work out the basics of close combat, psychic powers, flyers etc.

My biggest issue though is that the tourney is at 1500 points. My 1st Company Smurfwing (aka DA Deathwing) has always been run at 1750. I KNOW how to be deadly with it at that point level. In fact my list is so good for me that it hasnt changed in 2 years. That means I have to pry out 250 points from somewhere. The question is what to drop? One of the raiders - then I loose a bunch of my AT and mobility. One of the squads and I loose 25% of my troops.

Another issue is that with Deathwing is if I choose to take out a troops choice it doesnt come to 250 so something else has to go. That something is the dreadnought which causes its own issues as it also represents a fair amount of my AT.

After much debate I ended up dropping a squad of terminators and the dread and adding an Interrogator Chaplain. Is it the best choice? No, but its one that I am going to have to work with. Plus its always nice to play with models that I normally dont use. And the fact is that my Chaplain is just so good to look at :)

Terrain Madness

I have read that its like a drug. An addiction that has to be met. An itch in constant need of scratching and I have fallen prey to this scourge.

What I am talking about is the dreaded Terrain Bug!!!

Everywhere I look and everything I see now falls into 2 categories. Things I can replicate as scenary and things I can use to make that scenary. I am brimming with ideas and have been scouring the internet to fine ways and methods to bring those ideas into life.

It started with my roads that I posted about previously. Its now moved on.

First came the MG nests. These were inspired by and article on Modeldads and then from BigLee's Miniatures.

http://www.modeldads.co.uk/Life-at-the-Front/wordpress/?p=1524
http://www.blmablog.com/2011/03/scratch-built-mg-nest.html

My efforts:

Then came the trench line. I built roughly 24 inches of trench line. This was accomplished with nothing more than some packing styrofoam and coffee stirrers.

 In Progress. And no, the superglue is NOT what I used to glue the styrofoam.

Finished Product. Not all of it but enough to get the idea. No idea why it came out so dark in the photos.

Next was my stone walls. Again using styrofoam as a base and fish tank gravel I made 6 feet of walls in 6 inch segments.

Again, just a selection of the finished product. I am quite proud of the gate :)

Some of the walls next to one of my road segments.

And last but not least I was feeling whimsical and also wanted to do something quick and easy. So I did a well. This took me all of about 25 minutes to make.

 In Progress: Made from gravel and square toothpicks. They were from a party pack hence the colours.

Finished product.

And there we go. Some of the things I have made in the last week. Yes....its all one weeks worth. Like I said, I have the bug bad!

Zvezda 38(t)'s

Recently bought some Zvezda 38(t)s to add to my mid war germans. Have to say that for the price ($3.49 each) I am very impressed with them. Easy to put together, took me maybe 5 minutes to do all 3 and pretty detailed. No stowage or decals but luckily had some stuff laying about. The command tank is the one with the red stripe and the extra storage container welded to the back of the turret.

Really looking forward to seeing how they do on the battlefield.

Terrain: Home made dirt/muddy roads

This weekend, after looking at various blogs and methods of making home grown terrain I was inspired to attempt to try my hand at making some dirty roads suitable for Flames of War and Heavy Gear.

A quick trip to Lowe's and some shelf browsing and I had bought the following.

2 - 12 x 12 Linolium floor tiles. (I got the expensive 88c ones as they were nice and stiff and they were textured to help the filler grip adhere better)

1 - small tub of dry wall filler.

1 - tube of Elmers wood glue.

1 - cheap paintbrush.

Total cost: $9.47

First I measured the width of the tiles using a FOW Tiger tank as a guide. I then cut up the floor tiles into the shapes I wanted. In this case it was 8 long strips, a T-junction, a cross roads and a short straight. This gave me approximatly 8,5 feet of roadway.

Next I applied the filler. Just lathered it on and mixed it with some sand from outside. I used my fingers to spread it which gave it some nice corrugations. I also used the Tiger to put some track impressions into the semi dry filler. I then waited for it to dry before hitting it with a layer of watered down elmers glue. This is a critical step as the filler is brittle and easily chipped. The glue soaked in and made it far more robust.

I havent factored the cost of the paint in as I already had these. However this would only cost about $4 as I used a 95c tin of black spray from Lowes as well as some Americana craft acrylics which run around $1 each. I used 3 colours. The nice thing is that you can use whatever colours you want depending on what terrain you are modelling for. After the paint was dry I hit the whole thing with a layer of cheap matt varnish to seal it and and add more protection vs chipping. I then used the elmers to seal the edges, again to prevent chipping when the roads come into contact with each other.

Lastly was some flock to make it all pretty and blend into the table.

And the final product: Shown here with some staights as well as the various junctions.

I am very pleased with the result. All told, excluding drying. Maybe 3 hours work as the very most. All for a very cheap price and the result is very good. The best bit is that there is still plenty of filler and glue left over. Enough for at least another tile if not 2. I plan to come back to this in the next month or so and do some curves etc.

20 Questions

Ray and Fran's "20 Questions"


I can blame Ray and Fran for this one. Whoever they are :) This is going around on the blogs I follow so thought I would jump in.

1. Favourite Wargaming period and why?

The Grim Darkness of Warhammer 40000. First system I got into and the mini's are amazing to look at.

2. Next period, money no object?

Malifaux, specifically the Swamp Gremlins. They have a Hog Catapault!!!!

3. Favourite 5 films?

Princess Bride, Meet Joe Black, Constantine, Saving Private Ryan,

4. Favourite 5 TV series?

Stargate SG1, Fringe, West Wing, Supernatural, Falling Skies

5. Favourite book and author?

David Weber as favourite author. Fav book is very hard as that tends to change. Druss the Legend is always a firm favourite


6. Greatest General? Can’t count yourself!!

Erwin Rommel


7. Favourite Wargames rules?

Warhammer 40000. They are fairly simple in comparision to rules such as FOW and Heavy Gear

8. Favourite Sport and team?

Rugby and the Springboks!!!


9. If you had a only use once time machine, when and where would you go?

Back far enough that I could stop my mom smoking before it gave her lung cancer.

10. Last meal on Death Row?

T-Bone, Medium rare

11. Fantasy relationship and why?

Natalie Portman. We are the same age and loved watching her in Leon. Had a thing for her since then.

12. If your life were a movie, who would play you?

A young Tom Selleck :)


13. Favourite Comic Superhero?

The Batman

14. Favourite Military quote?

In a man-to-man fight, the winner is he who has one more round in his magazine.


~Erwin Rommel


15. Historical destination to visit?

Pearl Harbour followed by Normandy


16. Biggest Wargaming regret?

Though I love my Ultramarines I often regret not doing my own DIY chapter


17. Favourite Fantasy job?

Captain of a battleship :)


18. Favourite Song Top 5?

Meh, skip


19. Favourite Wargaming Moment?

Killing a whiney bastards Brass Scorpion with an impossible shot (obviously not that impossible) during a team match and watching him grab his minis and leave in a hissy fit.

20. The miserable Git question, what upsets you?

Immigrants who expect society to adapt to them as opposed to the other way around



1. Favourite Wargaming period and why?

2. Next period, money no object?

3. Favourite 5 films?

4. Favourite 5 TV series?

5. Favourite book and author?

6. Greatest General? Can’t count yourself!!

7. Favourite Wargames rules?

8. Favourite Sport and team?

9. If you had a only use once time machine, when and where would you go?

10. Last meal on Death Row?

11. Fantasy relationship and why?

12. If your life were a movie, who would play you?

13. Favourite Comic Superhero?

14. Favourite Military quote?

15. Historical destination to visit?

16. Biggest Wargaming regret?

17. Favourite Fantasy job?

18. Favourite Song Top 5?

19. Favourite Wargaming Moment?

20. The miserable Git question, what upsets you?

Update on goings on

Havent updated in a while. This has mainly been due to having a new job but also with the fact that I couldnt be arsed to get my camera all set up for just 1 mini.

Thats not to say I havent been busy. I have painted up quite a number of minis which I will show off below.

First things though. Remember my work area?

Yes, not ideal but it did in a pinch. Well that is done with now. Has been replaced with a much better setup.

As can be seen there is now a more work area. Everything has a place. There is a shelf and a draw and I have my PC next to it so can listen to music or have some movie or show playing.

As to models I have painted up a variety of stuff.

First I finally completed some more of my Imperial Guard. This included a squad of guardsmen, the old metal command squad, a techpriest that has been sitting in my bitz box for about 4 years and a commisar who has also been sitting in my box for a few years.

I really love this sculpt for so many reasons. Gave him a moustache and soul patch to make his face look less bland and also its because its how I imagine an aristocratic high born to look.

This commisar is my absolute favourite Imperial Guard sculpt. Was great fun to paint.


No idea if I will ever use this guy but he was quick and easy to paint up and he looks cool.

Group shot of all the IG stuff I have done. A lot of it is second hand or bought off ebay. THe command squad in the front is the old metal one that I got off ebay for practically nothing as it was covered by around 27 layers of paint. Was super excited as I far prefer it over the plastic.

Its by no means a coherent force but its getting there.

Moving on we now head over to my Heavy Gear Force. This is now complete. I was able to do a deal with my buddy and got around 10 gears to finish up my army. They are all the older sculpts so a bit static looking but I think they still look great. I did have to some weapon swaps as the older weapons just look pathetic compared to the newer sculpts.

The army is essentially made up of a Veteran General Purpose squad with 3 Black Mambas and a Sidewinder.

A normal General Purpose squad made up of 3 Jagers, a Sidewinder and an Iguana. The leader has had a headswap from the old models with a new version head.

The big guns are provided by a Veteran Fire Support Squad with 3 Support Cobra's, a King Cobra and an Iguana (who somehow didnt get pictured)

Also included is my Naga. This guy has been shown before but I got bored and added the sharks teeth which I think adds a huge amount of character to the mini.

Not all of the minis are used at any one time but thet are avaliable. I am going to add some tanks at some point but thats not going to be for some time.

And there we have it. My activity over the last few months.

Battlefleet Gothic fun times

My friend Kenny and I have stared to play Battlefleet Gothic and I have to say that this game rocks. It baffles the mind to think that GW do not support it anymore. Its fun and easy to play. The learning curve is fairly gentle and the rules are simple and easy compared to games like Heavy Gear and Flames of War.

All in all we are having a blast and are now doing our utmost to get other people to play.

We have played 4 games thus far. All have been between my Imperial Navy and his Word Bearers Fleet. The first 2 of them are recorded for prosperity over on Kennys blog "The Lead Cotillion". Sadly, the third game went unrecorded as it was a brutal thrashing and victory for Chaos.

For the fourth game I actually remembered to pull my thumb out and bring my camera. Got so caught up in the game I didnt take that many pictures but did get some.

Scenario was "Suprise Attack" played at 650 points. I was the defender. All but one of my ships was caught napping with only the "Neptune", my Lunar Class on alert.

The Warmasters fleet bears down on an unsuspecting world.

My orbital defences were the minefield (represented by the red tokens), an orbital laser battery (the orange token) and 2 orbital mines (the blue tokens). The Neptune is the green ship. Kenny chose to bring his whole fleet in from the side of the board.

The first turn did not go well for me. He brought his ships into range and crippled the "Superb", my Gothic cruiser as well as destroyed its thrusters so it could not turn. On my turn the Superb and the escort squadron woke up and started to manouver. The Superb headed off in a straight line and was not in range of any of the enemy. The Neptune fired its Nova cannon but missed.

Kenny's second turn started where his first left off. He destroyed the Gothic, turning it into a burning hulk. and landed hits on the still stationary "Scylla", my Dominator Cruiser. He also moved his fleet up.

My next turn was a good one. The "Scylla" activated and started to manouver. The Neptune reloaded his Nova Cannon and once again the escorts manouvered for position. The burning Gothic also drifted quite nicely almost into the center of his fleet where it exploded, taking out one of his escorts. The Nova Cannons on the Lunar and the Scylla opened up, crippling his carrier.

On Kenny's next turn he opted to disengage the carrier and move his forces closer. However at this range he was not able to turn enough to bring his full broadsides to bear and inflicted no damage to me.

The Chaos Dogs get a taste of Imperial steel.

My turn saw me manouver for affect getting in behind his forces with the Lunar and the escorts. My orbital mines also managed to close the distance. Punishing fire saw his one cruiser destroyed and his other crippled.

On Kennys last turn he chose to disengage his last crusier and sacrifice his last escort, moving it in close to my fleet to distract my gun captains. My turn saw his escort gutted by the Orbital Laser battery. A convincing win for me.

The aftermath of Victory

What I like about this game is that nothing is certain. After the first 2 rounds I was fairly sure I was going to utterly spanked but some lucky dice rolls turned it all around. This is in direct contrast to some games where if you dont get the first turn you may as well pack up and go home. A really excellent game system and I cant wait to get me some more models and play some bigger games.

8.8cm Flak 36 and friends

It has been  rather productive week model and painting wise. I finished up 5 different units of models. 2 units, a set of Pz III's and PzIV's from command decision where for my buddy in the Paint for Panther scheme (though now its a paint for anything sheme really). The rest were for myself.

My main focus was on a pair of 8.8cm Flak 36's. The infamous German AA/AT gun from WW2. I really love these guns. I bought a Tamiya 1/35 scale version about 21 years ago (I was 9 years old at the time)which sat proudly in my room for almost 2 decades.

These guys are quite a lot smaller at 1/100 scale but they just look phenominal. I also took my time with them and made some scenic bases out of greenstuff and some straw I found outside.

I think these came out really really well considering its my first attempt at this kind of scenic base.

A bit of paint and the application of the actual model and Bobs your uncle :)

Crew are not the actual 8.8 crew as I got the models without. These are from the 105mm artillery set which is why they are not quite right. Still, they do look good.


Next up is a couple of Panzer III G's. These are the Zvezda models are are really good considering the price. Sure, they dont have much individual detail and yes, the detail it has could be more pronounced but at $5 each they are perfect. I did add some detail in a jerry can, extra tracks on the front of the commanders tank and I adapted a commander figure and hatch from a Plastic Soldier Company Panzer IV. Doesnt look 100% right but still looks good and at this scale and looking down at it from the table top no-one will notice anyway.