This latest batch has seen me expand the fleet to around 2,500 points by adding in a battleship, four cruisers, two light cruisers and a pair of escorts.
When I was planning to make this fleet, the one ship that I knew had to be in it was an Apocalypse. I'm not convinced that they are all that hot on the tabletop but their batteries of lances and the distinctive nova cannon prow mean that they are an iconic ship.
I continued the red/white theme of the prow on the rudder as well and in a few smaller highlights on the body of the ship.
In the long run I think I'll want to add an Oberon to the fleet is a cheaper, all-purpose battleship but as that would involve mutilating a battleship prow, I'm holding off for now.
Next up was a pair of light cruisers from Resin Addict.
The Endeavour is a workhorse ship and I've been enjoying pairing it up with a Lunar where they can combine their batteries and torpedoes to create formidable attacks. The Defiant is a light carrier and is great for providing a cheap fighter screen whilst picking off injured ships with its lances.
The sculpts are super clean, easy to assemble and take drybrushing very well. I've got two more on the go at the moment (an Endurance and probably a second Defiant) but will likely look to pick up some more in the future with an overall aim of having two of each configuration.
Next is a big batch of cruisers. I want this fleet to have a good amount of carrier capacity so a Mars and a second Dictator were easy picks. Then I added a Lunar - a reliable ship-of-the-line that no fleet should leave home without.
Lastly, I painted up a Dominator. As it is a reserve ship in this fleet, I painted it up with a blue prow to make it stand out on the table and to differentiate it from the others. I also gave it a chaos bridge in place of the Imperial one to further show that it is an older model of ship and not an 'up to date' part of the fleet.
I'm still maintaining my concept of having no two cruisers with the same pattern on their prows as it gives them a bit of individuality and I like the idea that a seasoned Admiral would know all the ships in his fleet just by seeing their prows side-on.
I'm currently planning out what cruisers I want to add in next and I'm leaning towards a second Lunar, probably with a Nova Cannon, a Dominion (A Lance/Carrier battlecruiser which will be a reserve ship) and an Avenger grand cruiser. I'm rather running low on plastic cruiser kits though so I will have to try and work with what's left.
When I was planning to make this fleet, the one ship that I knew had to be in it was an Apocalypse. I'm not convinced that they are all that hot on the tabletop but their batteries of lances and the distinctive nova cannon prow mean that they are an iconic ship.
I continued the red/white theme of the prow on the rudder as well and in a few smaller highlights on the body of the ship.
In the long run I think I'll want to add an Oberon to the fleet is a cheaper, all-purpose battleship but as that would involve mutilating a battleship prow, I'm holding off for now.
 |
| The battleship Immortales Bellator (Apocalypse) |
Next up was a pair of light cruisers from Resin Addict.
The Endeavour is a workhorse ship and I've been enjoying pairing it up with a Lunar where they can combine their batteries and torpedoes to create formidable attacks. The Defiant is a light carrier and is great for providing a cheap fighter screen whilst picking off injured ships with its lances.
The sculpts are super clean, easy to assemble and take drybrushing very well. I've got two more on the go at the moment (an Endurance and probably a second Defiant) but will likely look to pick up some more in the future with an overall aim of having two of each configuration.
 |
| The light cruisers Pathfinder (Defiant) and Skirmisher (Endeavour) |
Next is a big batch of cruisers. I want this fleet to have a good amount of carrier capacity so a Mars and a second Dictator were easy picks. Then I added a Lunar - a reliable ship-of-the-line that no fleet should leave home without.
Lastly, I painted up a Dominator. As it is a reserve ship in this fleet, I painted it up with a blue prow to make it stand out on the table and to differentiate it from the others. I also gave it a chaos bridge in place of the Imperial one to further show that it is an older model of ship and not an 'up to date' part of the fleet.
I'm still maintaining my concept of having no two cruisers with the same pattern on their prows as it gives them a bit of individuality and I like the idea that a seasoned Admiral would know all the ships in his fleet just by seeing their prows side-on.
I'm currently planning out what cruisers I want to add in next and I'm leaning towards a second Lunar, probably with a Nova Cannon, a Dominion (A Lance/Carrier battlecruiser which will be a reserve ship) and an Avenger grand cruiser. I'm rather running low on plastic cruiser kits though so I will have to try and work with what's left.
 |
| The cruisers Audacious (Mars), Centurion (Lunar), Thunderer (Dictator) and Vanguard (Dominator) |
I forgot to snap a separate picture for them, but there are also two more Falchions - Attentive and Sentinel - to bring Alpha and Sigma squadrons up to four ships each. I've got five more Falchions being stripped at the moment and so will be aiming for three squadrons - two of five ships and one of three. I also have a half dozen transports on the painting table currently that will be painted in fleet colours.
I'm still not sure what chapter to paint my marine contingent in though and I'm also looking for ways to do ship names on bases without resorting to shaky freehand. Suggestions and tips are welcome!
Oh, such beauties! I love them. I used to freehand the names, writing them with a pencil first and using that as a guide. I've seen people printing labels with the names and gluing them on the bases, but I'm not that sure of the result...
ReplyDeleteI was thinking of trying the latter approach as I don't much trust the former! I've had people suggest making my own decals which is tempting though as it means I can do scrollwork and the like perhaps...
Delete