Ragnarok Escort Services

I'm still gradually adding ships to my Battlefleet and for this update I wanted to inject a bit of variety into my fleet. It turns out that thirteen of the same escort is probably overkill and I probably want some more options in the future.

I'm also finally kicking off a campaign this week so want to have plenty of ships to appeal for after my games!

A lunar class cruiser surrounded by two squadrons of escorts

Rounding out the Ragnarok

It's been a sweltering few days lately, but on the upside it means there has been lots of sunshine and little else to do but paint!

As such, I've been working on the third instalment of my Armageddon fleet, Battlefleet Ragnarok. This time I've taken the opportunity to further boost my carrier capacity, fill out my light cruiser options and escort squadrons, and add in a half dozen transports.

Wave three of Battlefleet Ragnarok

Apocalypse Now

I've been continuously working on my new Voss-row fleet for Gothic - Battlefleet Ragnarok.

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.

BFG: Battlefleet Ragnarok

It's been just over two years since I first started work on Battlefleet Valkyrie - my Imperial Navy fleet for BFG. In about six months I'd rounded it out to around 4,000 points of various ships and I'd largely considered the project to be done and dusted. After all, there wasn't a great deal more that I could add.

Hahaha... yeah, right.

Battlefleet Ragnarok

Magnets, how do they work?

I finally decided to bite the bullet and shell out for an Adeptus Mechanic cruiser. It's a ship that I've been keen to acquire for a long time and it will hopefully be a worthy addition to my Imperial fleet.

It arrived ready assembled as a Tyrant class (all weapon batteries) but I wasn't convinced that this was the best use for it, nor was I willing to shell out for several vessels to have different configurations. After all, it would be a rare fleet indeed that would field more than one given that they take up valuable reserve slots! So I did what anybody would do and put the question to the BFG Facebook group. Which configuration should I go with?

The response; magnetise it.

Fine then.

The Adeptus Mechanicus cruiser Immutable Faith

Battlefleet Valkyrie - Group Shots

You know what it's time for? Full fleet shots!

I went to a mixed 40k/BFG event last weekend and got a couple of really fun games in on a very pretty table. Of particular note was the custom built planet which was designed to look like Armageddon, although in this case it represented Ichar IV, and was the main focus of the games.

More pictures after the jump.

Battlefleet Valkyrie in all its glory.

Rounding Out Battlefleet Valkyrie

Over the last few weeks I've been adding some final elements to round out my Battlefleet Gothic fleet. I think I'm sitting at over 3,500 points including static defences and the fleet contains most everything I'd regularly use.

This it not to say that I've got everything painted, a big box of unpainted models is evidence to the contrary, but that I have 'enough' for now. There will still be some occasional additions such as a Long Serpent, Avenger, another Dictator, a Rogue Trader cruiser and a bunch of escorts but I'll be trying to focus on some other old Warhammer/40k models and Infinity over the holidays.

So enjoy this influx of spaceships while it lasts!

The Overlord class battlecruiser Vanguard and the Lunar class cruiser Senator Albrecht supported by a CAP.

BFG - Missions and Advantages

A friend and I had a chance to play some Battlefleet Gothic a couple of weekends ago and to mark this special occasion (we don't get to play too often!) I wanted to try something a little bit different.

This 'little bit different' manifested itself as a set of Advantage Cards which give minor perks to the players during the game and a set of Mission Cards for use with a modified version of the Escalating Engagement scenario. You'll find rules for both of these below.

Are these cards fair? Probably not, but we had a fun, tense game that came down to a 6-5 win for the Chaos forces (boo!). There were some really memorable moments and it was interesting trying to adapt to the rapidly changing circumstances.

A Mars class Battlecruiser escorts a pair of transports as they try and reach a dock at the far side of the planet.

Strike One, Strike Two...

Welcome back to another episode of "did I really need to buy these?" this time featuring the iconic Space Marines Strike Cruisers.

I love the way Strike Cruisers look. The tall spires combined with the really flat prow is really distinctive and looks sufficiently different from other Imperial vessels to stand out. Even though Strike Cruisers are individually unimpressive I'm hoping that squadroned as a pair they'll prove to be effective.

As I mentioned last time I was planning on going for Imperial Fists unless I could come up with anything better and... I couldn't come up with anything better. So bright yellow it is then.

Two Imperial Fist Strike Cruisers deploying for battle.

More spaceships...? More spaceships!

Hello again Battlefleet Gothic fans. I've still got the painting bug so there has been a decent turnaround on new ships including my take on the Enforcer Class light cruiser from the Additional Ships Compendium.

A friend and I are demoing BFG as part of a store open day next weekend so I want to make sure we're going to have lots of interesting stuff to play with and this update is a big part of that. On a related note; if anybody has a cool scenario system, missions cards or a multi-player format to share then please do let me know.

An Enforcer guards a convoy of transport ships.

BFG and Necromunda Update

I've had all kinds of odds and ends cross my painting table lately. This always tends to be the case once an army or faction reaches a certain size and I begin adding the more esoteric elements in order to add some variety.

The main addition was a set of miniatures from Brigade Models that I picked up at Blast-tastic! earlier this month. Yes, I managed to assemble and paint a set of models within a month of buying them. Impressive I know.

Anti-shipping missile defence system.

BFG - Converted Vengeance Class

My current conversion project is finally done (pending basing and a bit of tidying up) and I couldn't wait to share it.

A few months ago I converted up an Exorcist Class grand cruiser and got a lot of helpful advice from the Battlefleet Gothic community. The clearest bit of feedback was that people were not keen on the chunky Imperial prow on the ship, so with my latest build I tried to find a way around that.

This version is meant to represent a slightly earlier design of grand cruiser again, without even having the first vestiges of the frontal armour. The colour scheme is slightly cleaner and brighter to show that it has been mothballed for a long time and finally given a new coat of paint and pressed into service.

The re-commissioned Vengeance Class grand cruiser Tempest with Diligence in the background.

BFG Support Ships

I've been busy preparing my fleet for a tournament between Vanguard (my local club) and Hackney Area Tabletop Enthusiasts (HATE) at the end of November. It'll be a mixed 40k and Battlefleet Gothic event in which I'll be playing three rounds of Planetary Assault with, as yet unknown, additional rules governing the victory conditions and also not knowing which side I'll be fighting on! Engagements will be at 750 and 1,500 points.

The interesting thing about planetary assault is that it gives you free transport ships or (a random amount of) bonus points to spend on planetary defences depending on whether you are attacking or defending respectively. This means I'll need at least 6 transport ships and 180 points of defences in order to be ready for the event and the downside is that these models are all relatively obscure or hard to come by (read: expensive).

Fortunately I managed to pick up some as part of a collection a while back and a couple of other odd bits off eBay. Others I'm going to find proxies for (Spacefleet?) or try and acquire through trading groups. I love these more unusual vessels though so really this is just the excuse I've needed!

The cruisers Drake and Aurora, assisted by the defence monitor Fervent, guard a transport convoy.

BFG: A Sense of Scale

Realism and consistency have never been considered to be strengths of the Warhammer 40,000 setting and Battlefleet Gothic is no exception. No wonder then that the games designers and story writers play quite fast and loose with silly concepts such as size and distance.

One thing that I've always enjoyed about the game however is the sense of scale. There are space-faring cathedrals the size of cities that traverse the warp and are defended by high-tech shielding while they attack each other with... conventional cannons mostly. Yet these cannons are actually surprisingly accurate because they are able to hit targets, relatively frequently, from vast distances. But just how vast are we talking?

I'm going to try my best to tackle this question. Make no mistake that my guess is no better than anybody else's, but I like having a logically consistent setting to play in so this is mostly for my own benefit.

A Blackstone Fortress. The 40k equivalent of the Death Star.

Seeking Retribution

I've still been working on my BFG fleet - Battlefleet Valkyrie - as and when I've found myself with spare time. My initial goal was to get up to 2,000 points and I've finally done that with the addition of a Retribution Class Battleship, the Indomitable Will, and another three Sword Class Escorts.

Common wisdom is that Imperial fleets are always best served by an Emperor, but the Retribution is just so intimating! It has an imposing, dangerous-looking sleekness to it, with the weapon batteries set flush against her hull. In comparison the Emperor just looks slow and ponderous.

It does mean that I'll need to work on adding some more carrier support from cruiser sized ships later, but that's a small price to pay for such a marvellous craft.

Indomitable Will (Retribution Class Battleship) - held aloft by 3mm brass rod.

Carrier has Arrived

I've been busy working on the reinforcements for my Imperial fleet - Battlefleet Valkyrie. Last time I asked which way I should expand the fleet and the Exorcist & Dictator option won handily which I was pleased with as the lure of all those launch bays was very tempting.

Now the tricky part was that I didn't have an actual model for an Exorcist and didn't fancy buying one - they aren't cheap and I should probably focus on painting what I already have anyway.

What I did have were some rather abused plastic cruisers that I'd picked up as part of other trades... If only there was a way to convert them into something I could use as a grand cruiser...

Two new Capital Ships - The cruiser Ranger (Dictator) and grand cruiser Diligence (Exorcist).

BFG: Battlefleet Valkyrie

I've got something a little bit different to show today.

Over the last few months I've gradually been picking up more and more Battlefleet Gothic ships via eBay and various trade groups. I've always enjoyed playing the game and was involved in a campaign a few years ago which was great fun but since moving to Bristol I haven't had anybody to play against. So I've just been buying ships on a whim without having the motivation to actually get them painted.

Until now.

Battlefleet Valkyrie