A Chapter Master and Guardsmen

So the ships I've got on order from a couple different places haven't arrived yet, so it'll be next week before I make some more progress on the Imperial Naval deep space forces.  However, I did get 20 lasgun guardsmen and a grenade launcher fellow assembled for the Cymric Sub-Sector Battle Fleet 4th Naval Infantry Regiment.  I still need to get some plasma and meltaguns assembled as well as some heavy weapon bases, but I should be able to field between 1,000 and 1,500 points really soon.

After that, I've finally finished the converting for my Chapter Master Annwn Piet Moriarty, the Lord Harlech, Dominus Cymru, Knight Commander of Tyr, Lord Defender of the Eastern Fringes, Keeper of the Seal of Cymru.  I'm super pleased with how he came out and have worked out a deal with RTVortil to get him a worth paintjob as well.

 

 

Along with the Chapter Master, I've completed his Seneschal the Veteran Sgt Willam Holmes and his personal banner bearer.

 

That's all for now and hopefully coming out of the weekend, I'll get some more ships assmebled/converted and then see about getting them primed.  I won't get to game tomorrow due to work, but I'll have the next couple Saturdays off and I'm looking forward to getting a few games of the new 7th Edition in.

Hope you all enjoyed and see you next time.

Still More Battlefleet

So I've continues on with my BFG conversions and scratchbuilds this week.  This blog will pull together everything done so far so it'll have already finished items plus all the new stuff so it's going to be a longer one than normal.  Hope you all enjoy and here we go.

First up is the two Overlord-class Battlecruisers Essex (top in picture) and Obsidian Desire (lower in picture).  These are commanded by Captain Erik Urkhart and Captain Sevarius Quinn respectively.

Next is the Mars-class Battlecruiser Pan's Labyrinth commanded by Captain Ian Preussner.

After that we have the five Lunar-class Cruisers.  From Left to Right we have the Black Prince under Captain Vasily Solinov, the Pride of Orthavan under Captain Jacen Calius, the Ivanhoe under Captain Walter Scott, the Might of Vigilance under Captain Kurt Gordrecht, and the Kingfisher under Captain Raleigh Peerlain.

Next is the four Dominator-class Cruisers.  Again from Left to Right we have the Royal Oak under Captain Nicolai Girbierge, the Hellbarde under Captain Paulus Haarlis, the Odin's Oracle under Captain Klaus Yorck, and the Artemis under Captain Brice Coomb.

Then we have the Furious, a Tyrant-class Cruiser, under the command of Captain Emil Demblon.  To the Right of the Furious is the pair of Gothic-class Cruisers.  These are the Duke of York under Captain Nikolai Ushenko and the Royal Crown under Captain Andrew Galloway.

Up next after that is the Bellicose Dreams station under the command of Commodore Tomas Calhoun.  I've mounted it on a piece of cut wood that came in some terrain packaging and works out just right size wise.  I've also added a power plant bit to one end and it's ready for priming now.

Now we've got something new in the BFG terrain category.  This is an orbital smelting plant for processing various resources needed for industry.

Last of all we've got my version of a Ramilies-class Star Fort.  This is intended to be a smaller and less capable, more of a system defense station rather than the mobile warp-capable monstrosities that the Ramilies represents.

And there we have it as it stands so far.  In the next week or so I should have what's needed to start on the battleship size vessels as well as light cruisers and downward.  If anyone has any other suggestions on what might make interesting terrain, feel free to leave some suggestions.  That's all for now, and I'll see you again next time.

More Battlefleet

So I got in a partial game of CBT this past Sat night.  We got a late start due to circumstances beyond our control and ended up with beaten up forces for a draw.  I took one picture at the start and never remembered to take another one.  I gotta get better at that.  I do think we've got Scott seriously interested in CBT though and he's getting drawn in to a whole new system now.

On the BFG front, I've got another three Lunar-class cruisers done for an even quartet.  I'm planning on putting paint and some naming conventions on them come Wednesday when I'm off work again.

And then the major development, I've been working on the Bellicose Dreams the dockyard/orbital defense base for Cymru-II.  This has been a pretty fun project for digging in the bits box.  I still need to get some better support underneath it so I'll be able to put it on flying bases.  I'm pleased with how it's coming out so far.

 

 

I've still got a few more cruisers to do, but I'm going to have to come up with a way to tweak the overall look slightly to use them as a different class.  I've also got a pair of battle cruisers to finish converting as well to join the first Overlord-class.

I'm hoping to get an order in to be able to start making some light cruisers and other escorts.

Imperial Fleet Stand-ins

So I've wanted to build up my Battlefleet Gothic and get some of the Johnson City crew to get me going in playing this.  Unfortunately other than some marine vessels that I acquired some time ago, I'm a bit lopsided in ships.  My marines have a battlebarge, a strike cruiser and then about a dozen destroyers and frigates to escort them, which is hardly a balanced fleet much less one for table top play.  Also unfortunately BFG models are nigh on criminally priced on eBay which has stymied me on that front as well.  So I've decided to go the alternative model route with some modifications.

 

 

I've decided on the Sorylian line from Firestorm Armada.  I really like the overall look and feel of these models.  I've been able to pick a few of these up quite cheaply, especially considered against the available BFG models.  Since they won't match my marine ships, I'll be using them as Imperial Naval vessels, and so the Cymric Sub-Sector Battle Fleet under the command of Admiral Theodorius Childress has been born.  The medium Skyhammer-class cruiser that I got is just a bit shorter than my Battlebarge so I'll be using it as an Overlord-class Battlecruiser since the size seems a bit smaller than a Battleship would be.

 

 

The Sorylian Scythe-class Frigate was the other blister I got (and you get 6 in that pack) and it is the same size of the Strike Cruiser I have, so I'll be using them as regular Cruisers.  Right now I'll be using them as Lunar-class Cruisers as this seems to be a good all round class to start out with.  After I get the first 6 of these done, I might look into a second blister of these to use as a different class.

Once I get what I currently have all assembled and tweaked with bits to look more 40K, I'll look into getting the Frigate and Corvette set to use as destroyers and frigates.  Some of the box sets have a mix of ship sizes so I might end up going that route as well.  All in all, this looks to be a pretty fun project and I've been looking into some things to do for scenery as well.  I'll be doing a follow up post to this sometime next week and show off the collection of finished cruisers as of that point.

That's all for now and look here hopefully Sunday evening for a Classic Battletech battle report.

The Great Bits Swap and Shop

So this past Saturday evening, the Johnson City crew had a bits swap night as part of the gaming.  I parted with a small ton of dark elf shields that I have no clue how I built up, a trio of Ravenors on the sprue,  and some FW empire bits.  What I gained however was this great little guy who will be joining my small growing group of chapter serfs ....

 

This epic landraider that Cheef had started converting into a cargo mule that I added a couple bits to finish off ....

 

And then finally, I got enough random bits, including a war buggy base, a basilisk gun shield, and a quartet of lascannon sponson bits that I combined a dreadnought arm bit and a firestorm armada bit to turn into a scratch built rapier platform.  It's a bit clunky looking but it'll do for now.

I like the way the little mule drone looks, so I'm going to be trying to acquire a few more epic landraiders to do similar conversions with.  I also managed to get two games in Saturday evening against Scott but between his dice somewhat not liking him and mine deciding they were going to be Ocean's Eleven hot.  He ended up conceding the first game at the end of Turn 4 with part of a tactical squad left and the second game saw him tabled going into Turn 5.  Both games were fun but lady luck was definitely being fickle in my favor that evening.

Up next is a Classic BattleTech Game against Murl this coming Saturday evening, and I'll try to get pictures this time for a proper battle report.

Relics and Honor Guard

The past few weeks I've been trading some models with Scott, one of the Johnson City crew at the FLGS, gaining some marine items and parting with some unused Orks and some Dark Angel bikers I'd got in a major eBay lot.  His Imperial Fist items that I got were nicely enough done up, that I had no desire to strip the paint from them.  Thus they have been re-purposed into the Lions of Harlech.

When the Lions of Harlech were founded, the Imperial Fists made sure that they received some chapter relics and equipment to ensure that the Lions started out well.  One of these was the Landraider Redeemer Faithful Purpose.  The Lions of Harlech carefully preserved this relic both to honor their progenitor chapter, the Imperial Fists, but to also as a statement of their intentions of honorable service.  When the Lions reconnected with the Imperium, one of the first emissaries they sent out was to the Imperial Fists.  It was a delegation from the Imperial Fists that helped establish that the Lions were still untainted from their long tenure apart.  Captain Shambliss of the Imperial Fists when he returned to his chapter spoke highly of the Lions and their still faithful care of the relics given to them by the Imperial Fists on the Lions' founding.  The Fists responded by sending an honor guard of two veteran squads to liaison with and work with the Lions in recognition of their faithful and honorable service.  Now the Faithful Purpose once more deploys for war representing both progenitor and successor.

The Faithful Purpose

Close up of some of the rituals detailed on the landraider

Another close up

One of the side sponsons

He did a nice effect on the glows highlighting different parts of the landraider

The two squads of Imperial Fists, his counts as Sternguard

Close up of the finished models

Close up of the veteran sgt leading the force

So that's the newest additions of the Forces of Cymru allied to the Lions of Harlech.  Hope you all enjoyed and I'll see you all next time.

A Spotter

So I got a Naval Artillery Observer assembled last evening.  This is 2nd Lt. Moden of the 4th Battalion of the Cymric Sub-Sector Battle Fleet 4th Naval Infantry Regiment.  He's an Imp Guard command squad adviser model with a Scion comm pack added.

But wait .... why would I need a spotter, and what is he spotting for?  Oh yes, this thing.

On the last trip up to Johnson City to play, I picked up this kit which I assembled last night and today.  I didn't add the little barrel cap bits for the Wyvern which allowed me to do a small trip so that I can slide the barrels in to use it as a Hydra as well. (Though the BattleTech enthusiast in me still wants to call it a Partisan.)

I'm happy with how well this kit goes together but I'll admit that for someone with thick stumpy fingers, the smaller and smaller bits that are closer and closer together on the GW sprues are starting to be an issue with me.  I'm using a razor knife more and more it seems to get bits off the sprues rather than the clippers I've used so long.

I still need to look into Basilisks and Manticores to properly outfit the heavy fire support part of the Regiment, but it's starting to take shape as a playable force.  Hopefully sometime this summer I'll get a game in with them.  That's all for now and as always, feel free to leave in input or suggestions in the comments.

Commisar

So just a newly built model today.  This is Commissar Vierziger.  It's a slight tweak of the Commissar plastic model.  I've used a left arm from the Scion sprue, added a parchment bit from the space marines, and a sternguard sheathed power sword to complete.  I like the dynamic pose that was the end result and it really looks like he's got a list of people to put down if they don't do their best and then some while he's extolling them forward.

Commissar Vierziger started his career at the Friesland Naval Academy headed for a career as a naval line officer, when he was noticed by a Lord Commissar presenting a guest lecture series.  He was subsequently transferred to the Schola Progenium on Newland where he finished his training as a Commissar.  He was then assigned to the Cymru Sub-Sector Fleet and has served with distinction ever since.  Vierziger's one odd quirk is one that seems to keep the men around him slightly off balance is his odd way in combat.  He seems to go into a sort of serene trance like state where his ability to cause death and destruction to the enemy takes over his normally stern demeanor.  His men will follow him into battle willingly, but more than a few admit that they do so fearfully as well.
 
I'm really happy with how this on came together and he'll be fun to get to lead a shore party not too far into the future I hope.  The fluff for him is still in a state of slight flux, I'm not 100% satisfied with it yet.  Something about it still seems a bit off.  Anyway, that's it for now and enjoy the quick new blog post until I see you next time.

Fortifications

So this blog is on the fortifications that have slowly been acquired.  So far there is a nice bunker piece that I got off of RTVortil and then a pair of Bastions that came from eBay at a very reasonable price.  I put in best offers on the Bastions and ended up getting them for $26 each which I think isn't a bad deal at all.  No idea what the final paint idea for these will be, but I'm sure I'll come up with something at some point.  I'm half thinking the blue that my marines have for their shoulder pads and then lighter metals and such to help blend into the ice and snow of their homeworld of Cymru.

I've also got a set of the trenches and strong points via the Martyrs set from a while back that RTVortil has been working on off and on.

The other terrain in the future is a Kickstarter I've gone in on.  It's by Impudent Mortals and they're doing both 15mm and 28mm terrain as part of the Kickstarter.  I've gone in to get some industrial 15mm terrain to use in Battletech.  The product all looks nice and they've got a scheduled delivery date of August so all in all not too bad.  Since it's all laser cut wood, the actual production shouldn't be an issue so I'm expecting this one to come in on time.  Cheef has a decent mix of paper buildings for Battletech but their definitely showing signs of wear so this mix of terrain will hopefully give a nice mix of terrain for these games in the future.

That's all for now.  Up next time will be an Imperial Fist relic Landraider for my Lions.

SBS Team

So I got my first squad of Scions assembled.  The Warrant Officer (Tempestor) got a power sword to go with his awesome overcoat.  The rest of the squad have their hotshot lasguns and I've included two of the salvo versions in the squad as well.  I'm styling my Scions as a type of SBS Team.  I haven't decided yet on what to call this force and I'm looking for ideas.  These are the highly trained squads of veteran armsmen in the Imperial Navy who back up the basic armsmen.

 

 

This squad will be part of Lt. Commander Joachim Steuben's 1st Infantry Battalion.  I'm planning on the organization (NOT the collection) to include 3 Companies of Regular Armsmen and 1 Company of the SBS Team equivalents.  The Warrant Officer is tentatively named Jack Scratchard following the naming convention I've started with this Regiment.  The blade made it pretty easy for me to go with that name for him.  Besides, who wouldn't want to be in a squad where the leader is nicknamed "Ripper Jack"?

I've always enjoyed the Slammer novels, so it's been enjoyable picking and reading back through the books to data mine for names for Regimental characters.  When I get around to making the Steuben character, I think it's going to be a lot of fun trying to get his ... presence to show itself in the model.  I'm going to building one more squad of these SBS guys because the models are just that neat looking.  I'm also going to be bit digging/buying for want of using up all the left over interesting bits still on the sprues.

That's all for this update and I'll see you all on the next go round.