Camera Woes

You're probably wondering why I have been posting horribly erratically lately. Well, that can be summed up in a few short paragraphs:

1) I began playing Magic The Gathering. I know, I know... it is like an act of treason for a seasoned miniatures vet like myself, but my wife and I can play it regularly (meaning I don't have to depend on friends being available for a game of 40k).

2) My camera broke. It's kind of hard to do new tutorials, show off my painting or recent modeling projects, etc with a busted camera. The SD card no longer works in it properly, so I'll have to replace it.

3) I put away all my gaming stuff (except for cards) into the loft. That includes my painting and modeling supplies. Thus, I haven't been getting much done lately.

However, do not fear. I have recently gotten my grubby fingers on some new BFG ships.

Also, just today in fact, I got my hands on a Hasslefree miniature by the name of Sadie, which is a very classy and tasteful female model (for my wife to use in an upcoming zombie apocalypse campaign I'm building for GURPS). I will be retrieving some of my painting supplies to give this model a go.



With Christmas coming up, maybe I'll get a new camera, if I'm lucky. Until then, I'll try to take some pictures with the webcam or something.

Until next time,
--FP135

Cleaning Up Some Stuff

I noticed that for BFG - Specific posts, my labels were not really in-sync. So, I went back and re-labeled all the BFG posts. Now you can find them easier! I still love this post, as it was my first video post ever:

http://foxphoenix40k.blogspot.com/2010/03/200th-post-celebration-video-tutorials.html

I've been trying to re-acquire some Chaos ships (the old ones I sold to get some money to pay the bills, see them above) to use for BFG, since the Gothicomp has rekindled my interest in the Specialist Game. I have played at least 3 games in the past week, and am enjoying it, but I realize my collection has been lacking. I have some beautiful Chaos ships, but they are only Grand Cruiser and larger, so I've used some money I earned selling stuff on ebay to acquire some more Chaos Cruisers so that I may one day field a Chaos Fleet again.

I have packed all my hobby/painting supplies in the attic, but when the new ships arrive I will certainly pull all of them down to do these ships justice.

Soon I will be making a poll- I have to choose a color scheme for this fleet. I plan on using mostly Nurgle-esqe marks and such for these ships, but I also think I should leave myself open for other marks of chaos.

So, the question being; Should I paint them Nurgle, Black Legion, or other CSM undivided/undeclared?

Until next time,
--FP135

Vote for Pedro (Or for Me)!

A while back, some of you may remember a scratch-built BFG ship I made: the Tyranid Hive Ship that can be seen Here.


Well, after months of waiting, the GothiComp Painting and Modeling competition has kicked off. It is done on their forums, where you can see the "heats" of contestants and vote for them via the forum's polling system. My entry is in Heat 5, so if you would like to see this model win then go to the link below and register on the forum so you can vote! I appreciate any support my followers can give!


http://www.tacticalwargames.net/taccmd/viewforum.php?f=38

BFG Campaign: The Battle for Arcea

Here's our custom campaign map for BFG, painted on a 16x20 canvas. I used a miniature base to make the circles, and painted on the system labels and warp lanes. This kind of map is easy to make on even a piece of paper, but I wanted something more elaborate and lasting so I whipped this up.

I'll be posting progress on the campaign as it happens.

Space Marine Strike Cruisers Complete!

Finally, the Space Marine half of my battlefleet has been completed.

The names so far:

The Retribution of Angels and
The Restitution of Blood

For short, they'll just be known as the Retribution and the Restitution.

As you can see in the picture above, they look quite nice when paired with the Honor Sanguine

I'm working on a system for labeling the bases, and as soon as I figure it out I'll post new pictures.

Until next time,
--FP135

WIP Tyranid Cruiser

I've been putting it off for too long, so here is a WIP shot of the Tyranid Cruiser design I have been fiddling with. The nice thing about tyranids is their mutability, which allows me more freedom to get creative in their scratchbuilds.

This cruiser utilizes the "Massive Claws" biomorph that turns the vessel into a vicious pitbull: once it locks it will not let go. This ship's looks kind of remind me of a lobster, though. I imagine that I will only be more justified in thinking so, once I apply the paint scheme of my Hive Fleet to it.

I just got my flying stands in the mail yesterday, so look for more scratchbuilds on the way soon.

Until next time,
--FP135

Space Marine Battlebarge: The "Honor Sanguine"

My Blood Angel Successor chapter is going BFG! Since my early days, I have envisioned my successor chapter (called the "Sons of Baal") as being a space-born, fleet-based chapter. Now that I am more familiar with the rules and lists of BFG, I decided to make that happen.

Painted in the same colors as the marines, the first Battle Barge Honor Sanguine is able to carry three full companies of space marines easily. This "home away from home" is where a great deal of the chapter's marines spend their time when they are away from the Fortress Monastery that houses the chapter's training and recruitment centers. It is a vessel purpose-built for planetary assaults, but well-armored and well-armed enough to acquit itself admirably in a fleet engagement.

It is soon to be accompanied by two strike cruisers, the Sanguine Retribution and the Vermilion Restitution, as soon as they leave the drydock with fresh paint jobs!

More BFG goodies are sure to come, so keep checking back! I still have been meaning to get around to showing off my Tyranid Cruiser that was scratch-built, so stay tuned!

Until next time,
--FP135

Tyranid Kraken Escort Size Comparison

I've been hard at work on the hive fleet, and I have set down an STC for building Kraken escort ships out of bits. Here they are in their initial stage of production:


Now I got some questions about the size of it... some people were thinking it might be better used as a cruiser. It is about half as long as a Chaos cruiser, so I didn't think so. Pictures are better at describing it though, so you can be the judge! Here is an STC Kraken next to a Chaos Styx Cruiser




I've got more BFG goodies on the way, so keep checking back!
Until next time,
--FP135

Scratch-built BFG Tyranid Hive Ship

As part of a project designed to kick-start a BFG campaign that extends into 40k, I decided to scratchbuild a BFG fleet with parts left over from my Tyranids.

First up is a Hive Ship, which is the basis for the entire fleet. It can become a veritable pillbox with 14 hits, and up to 6 spores that act as shields as well as turrets. It also acts much like synaptic control creature in 40k, keeping the lesser vessels' baser instincts in check.

It is the only Attack-Craft capable Tyranid vessel, but due to its customization options it can be more than sufficient at that role. It can take up to 3 Launch bays on each side of the vessel and one in the thorax, allowing for up to 7 squadrons of fighters or assault boats to be launched in a single turn.

It's ability to customize also allows it to be a true-to-purpose Battleship, with multiple pyro-acid batteries or bio-plasma spines. The weapons are short range, but with the extra spores and hits, this beast should have no trouble making it into range.

"What about the cost?" you surely must be thinking... but it is cheaper than common sense would dictate. A "Plasma-boat" hive ship, with effectively strength 14 broadside lance shots (although 15cm range) with extra carapace (+4 hits) and spores (making 6 total) and an upgrade to turn 5cm sooner, costs less than a space marine battlebarge. Don't let this kind of ship get within 15cm, or kiss your ships goodbye.

Next time, we'll go over the next capital ship in the Tyranid Armada: the Tyranid Cruiser.

BFG Files for AB

If you are a tyranid fleet player, you know that the BFG files for AB stink. There is next-to-nothing in the way of options... especially in hive evolution options. I have re-done some of the datafiles to remedy the problem:

http://www.filefactory.com/file/b116e7h/n/mattsbfgv32m.ab

Note: you need to disable debugging in AB 3.2 if you wish to use these files.

Enjoy!
--FP135

New (beta) Campaign rules for BFG and 40k

I was reading through the BFG campaign rules, and there is no way to incorporate Tyranids into a BFG campaign. I aim to change that. I'm making a new, simplified version of BFG campaigns that can tie into games of 40k if desired.

Here's my ideas on how such a campaign might go, try to stay with me:

Use a sub-sector map from the campaign section of BFG or one of the BFG supplements. Each player in the campaign rolls off, and in order from highest (re-rolling ties obviously) to lowest gets to pick the node that will be their starting node. Nodes that are not home bases are neutral nodes.

Each player rolls off again, to determine first campaign turn. Once the order is set, it remains that way for the rest of the campaign. Then each player takes their turn, in which they can attack adjacent nodes to their node. In order to take a system, the attack undergoes 3 phases: BFG Raid, BFG Planetary assault, 40k Battle, in that order (for the attacker). In his turn, each player make 2 attempts to advance his or her invasion of a system by a phase, or attempt to reverse another player's invasion, of a system that the player (who is taking his turn) owns, by a phase. Neutral systems skip the phase system, and instead determine the success of the invading fleet by rolling 2d6, which counts as one of the two attacks the player can make during his turn.

When rolling the 2d6 to determine if the attack was successful (and thus bringing the system under your control), you are successful if you roll equal to or below the highest leadership score in your fleet. If you roll snake eyes, it is an automatic success and does not take up one of the attacks you can make during your turn. If you roll above your leadership statistic, it is a failure, and you waste an attempt/attack. If you roll two 6's, the invasion is such a catastrophic failure that you can make no more attacks the rest of your player turn, no matter how many attacks you had remaining.

When making an attack on an enemy occupied system, the attack first begins at the BFG raid phase. Roll on the scenario table for raids and play the game that results. The attacker and defender are determined easily; the player commencing the invasion is the attacker and the player defending the system is the defender (duh!). The players then play the corresponding game. If the attacker is the winner, his invasion advances to the next phase. If the defender is the winner, the invasion is pushed back a phase. For example, if a player decided to attack a system, he would then play a Raid scenario against the system's owner. If the attacking player should win, he then has the option to play a second game that is a BFG Planetary Assault mission (since players can make two attacks per player turn). If he should win again, his invasion will advance to the next phase, which is the 40k game. Should he lose, his invasion stalls, and he'll remain in the BFG Planetary Assault phase when he takes his turn next (unless forced back, see below). Since he can only make 2 attempts to advance his invasion per his player turn, he would have to wait until his next turn to attempt to finish the assault.

In a player turn, a player can also choose to try to reverse the advance of an invading force into one of his occupied systems, using one of his 2 attacks for the turn. If another player's advance is at BFG planetary assault or 40k battle into the defender's system, the defender can go on the offensive during his turn to try and oust the invaders. In this case, the former defender becomes the attacker of the scenario. If the player wins, he forces the invasion back to its previous phase. If he loses, the invasion remains at its current phase.

Did I explain that well enough? Obviously this needs embellishing, clarifying, and defining, but I think this is a great basis for tying together BFG games with 40k games. My wife and I may be testing this out soon for ourselves.

Can anybody with experience running campaigns give me some feedback with this? BFG experience would be helpful as well.

Until then, it's late, so I need to turn in.
--FP135

A few project updates: 3/31/2010

A few project updates for you fellows... Up first, a counts-as Commissar for use in my IG platoons. I don't like the idea of paying so much for these guys... so I like to make them myself.



Next we have the finished version of my Mars Class Cruiser in a bit more distinct lighting than the other shots. This baby sure looks good on the dark tables that we use for BFG.



Lastly, "Jeeves" gets a paintjob. I felt guilty leaving him only primed, since my Rogue Trader group had really liked him. So I made him his own character sheet and gave him a decent paintjob. Tomorrow is our next session, so I'm sure he'll get some compliments.

Letanie De'Talio: Imperial Mars-class BattleCruiser, and Battle Sisters!

Roughly Translated, the name Letanie De'Talio means "Litany of Retribution". This is a Mars Class BattleCrusier, which mounts a set of Lance Batteries on its dorsal spine. It further mounts a Macrocannon Battery on both the Port and Starboard, which complement the Lances to form a deadly broadside. On the Prow, however, is a weapon that strikes fear into most spacers: an infamous Nova Cannon. A Nova Cannon is to the Imperial Navy what a Basilisk is to the Imperial Guard.

As if this armament was not deadly enough, the Mars is special in that it houses several wings of fighter and bomber craft, which makes it one of few carriers that the Imperial Navy makes use of.


This is the first cruiser I have finished... only four to go! As a side project, I have been working on some Sisters of Battle for my wife (she likes them for some reason).

I found some Fleur de Lis symbols in the Jewelry section of the local Michael's craft supply store, and they were the perfect size to mount on a rhino's doors. Thus:


Well, back to work.

Until next time,
--FP135

Prepping the Fleet

As you can see, my newest BFG force is well under construction at the drydock. So far, my fleet list is looking something like this:

1 Mars Class Battlecruiser with Targeting Matrix
1 Dictator Class Cruiser
1 Gothic Class Cruiser
1 Tyrant Class Cruiser with Range Upgrade
6 Sword Frigates
6 Cobra Destroyers

As I accumulate more cruisers, I'll begin to phase out the escorts. I would really like to get my Dauntless class up and running, but it was missing parts when I got it in the grab bag from a guy on the forums. I need the stem-mount keel and the side bays before I can make use of it.

I also need an opponent. Thus, I'm trying to procure a Chaos fleet, which I hear is cheap to start. A good fleet would consist of a couple cruiser kits and a larger Desolator Class, totalling around eighty bucks to buy new. I'm sure I can get it cheaper somewhere else.

If you haven't tried BFG, I stongly encourage you to do so. It is not real expensive to start, you just need a few of the models. Really, you can start with a 17 dollar investment by you and your opponent for a package of cruisers each, since all the rules are free on GW's website. Go for it! You'll dig it.

Until next time,
--FP135

Painting BFG Imperial Ships

Today I went about trying out a way to paint my Imperial Fleet for BFG / Rogue Trader in a way that would be both fast and good-looking. I used a model I had gotten off ebay, that I had to strip in simple green, so there was still lumps of paint in hard-to-reach areas. This made it kinda rough, and perfect for a test model! For your benefit, I broke down the steps while doing this...

STEP 1:
Basecoat the model black. You can do the flying stand too, but in all actuality you will probably have to redo it.



Step 2:
Drybrush a mixture of 50/50 Black and Light gray, or a pre-mixed dark gray if you have it, onto all but the prow. The actual colors are not important, as long as you drybrush from darker to lighter. After the dark gray, go over it again with a drybrush of the lighter gray. Again, don't hit the prow so that there isn't too much of a buildup of paint. NOTE: I used gray, but building up any color would work with this technique. Therefore, you could do green, blue, or any other color you desire by building up from dark to light. Just decide on the color you want to use, mix 50/50 black with it for the first coat, do a second coat in the unmixed color, and finish with a 3rd drybrush of 25/75 Bleached Bone mixed with the color (bleached bone being the 25).


Step 3:
In this step, fill in the prow with the color of your choice. Red, Blue, or White are popular colors. If you get a bit over the prow lines, don't sweat it too much. The next step should take care of this issue.


Step 4:
To paint the prow lines, start with Tin Bitz. While that is drying you can paint weapon barrels and the engines in Mithril Silver (or gunmetal, if you prefer a darker metallic). After that is done, you finish up with Shining Gold over the Tin Bitz. Alternatively, you could skip doing tin bitz and shining gold and just use silver, if that would match your colors better.


Step 5:
Lastly, we need a couple of washes to bring out the definition. I used Badab Black for the body, and for the prow I used Devlan Mud. You need to pick washes that best complement the colors you chose. For example, don't try putting Baal Red on a Blue prow, unless you WANT a purple prow. Be smart about it.





If you desire, you can finish up the flying stand at this point. I've seen people take an old toothbrush, dip it in white paint, and flick it at the base to get a starfield effect. Obviously, if you are going to do this, remove the model first so you don't spray white globs all over it. Also, I have seen people paint script for the vessel's name on the base. Furthermore, why not try a combination of the two? If you have an airbrush, it would be easy to go crazy with nebula effects and so forth. Just make sure, just like your regular 40k minis, that the bases of your fleet match to give it uniformity.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! I strongly urge people to look into BFG, as it is a great supplemental game to 40k.

Until next time,
--FP135

200th Post celebration: Video Tutorials!

Woo-hoo! 200 posts! That is quite an achievement! To celebrate, I'm diving into my first attempt to make a video tutorial. In this 4-part tutorial, I am assembling an Imperial Cruiser from scratch for use with BFG or Rogue Trader RPG games. I am also magnetizing it, so you all will see just how I do it!

Sorry for the poor quality, still figuring out video modes on my camera. In the future, I think I'll be launching a video series detailing how to paint them. For now, enjoy the videos!