Battlefleet Calixis/Battlefleet Koronus (6MMRPC planning)

Tonight I took the time to dig out all my Battlefleet Gothic Imperial ships from the various boxes and stashes around the house.

Battlefleet Gothic (and Epic 40,000) were two of the Games Workshop games I was really (really, really) into as a teenager. I had a decent sized Imperial and Ork fleet for BFG and a massive Imperial Guard and Ultramarine army, as well as inherited Eldar and Ork armies, for Epic 40,000. All of these models I sold around 8 years ago.

A little while later Fantasy Flight Games brought out the Rogue Trader RPG which made me regret selling off my BFG models, so I started trying to buy bits and bobs back. Unfortunately I didn't get round to buying what I wanted from Specialist Games before GW discontinued the whole range. This has meant I've had to either rely on the very very seldom good buy from Ebay, or other sources such as donations from friends (in particular a true gentleman called Alex who gave me a large number of Cruisers as well as the two Battleships) and people being reasonable on various groups I am a member of.

Tonight was the first time I have gathered it all together. While there are still a few things missing I am pleased with what I have built up.

Some close up pics:

So the total is:

2 Battleships
15 Cruisers/Battlecruisers
1 Strike Cruiser
1 Rogue Trader Cruiser
4 converted Light Cruisers
7 Dauntless Light Cruisers
4 Firestorm Frigates
13 Sword Frigates
14 Cobra Destoyers
4 Hunter Destroyers
4 Nova Frigates
6 System defence ships

This is more or less all I could ever need in a fleet for playing the game. However part of the idea behind the collection is to represent ships in games of Rogue Trader. This means there are some ships I would still like. The Rogue Trader escorts, Transport ships, a Grand Cruiser... etc. I also might try and convert some of the Sword class ships into some of the other escorts mentioned in the Rogue Trader books. Maybe.

As far as the 6MMRPC goes, I will try and dip into this lot once or twice. A lot of these models need a bit of work, not to mention painting. No painting chart for these!

2nd (!!) Annual (!!) 6 Month Mountain Reduction Painting Challenge

So, only a few short months after the end of the last challenge the second one is starting.

The time period for the challenge has changed, with the challenge starting on 1st June and running till 30th November. This means it avoids the Christmas period and for me means that I have better weather to work in - Scottish winters are not particularly great for varnishing or spraying.

This time around the rules have changed slightly - which will help keep things interesting and allow slightly more leeway with purchases. The rules, taken from The Spider Web of History blog:

Rules changes, and some exciting additions IN BOLD.

1. No purchasing of new miniatures, EXCEPT if you use a joker.  You get three jokers to use on a figure purchase.  Could be a blister pack, an ebay bundle, or a single figure... you can't splurge. The only exception to this rule is if you need bitz or A FIGURE (Singular) to complete a unit/warband etc.

1.1 - There is an opportunity to "earn" additional jokers.  If you complete an entire project (whole unit/army/warband etc.) with pictures of starting, WIP, and completion, you earn yourself a Joker. - In order to allow myself the purchases to finish my painting chart I will be aiming to do this when a platoon have been completed. As I did last year, my painting chart has some 'aspirational' units on it, not just the ones I already own.

2.  Gifts do not count against you. Holidays, birthdays etc. Also, if you're given gift cards by your hobby illiterate family or friends, you can without penalty use them on anything you want miniatures wise.

3.  Paints, terrain (or materials), and other hobby supplies do not apply to the no purchasing rule.

4.  At least one hobby related blog post and/or Instagram update a week.  If you instagram, be sure to hashtag your pic with #6MMRPC

5.  Zombtober will be part of the 6 month challenge so, Zombie related stuff during October is ENCOURAGED. Other theme suggestions are welcomed. - Again, as last year I will be having Tanktober rather than Zombtober. At least assuming I have tanks to paint by then!

6.  Anyone that wants to submit a before and after picture of a miniature that they are proud of completing during the course of the challenge to dmcffd@gmail.com will be entered into the running for a gift certificate to a online wargaming store of their choice.  Judging will be by an un-biased person.  Amount on the gift certificate will be dictated by winners nationality but should work out to about $30 U.S. I (Spiderweb of History) will not be eligible to win. 

My plan is to have a couple of different painting lists this time - my usual 15mm WW2 painting list, a Full Thrust list and a Battlefleet Gothic list. I do not expect to complete all of these! But I figure that giving myself options will help keep things fresh and stop me getting to the point I did last time round, where I wanted to paint space ships but felt I couldn't as I had a painting chart to work to!

I would encourage anyone that's interested to think about giving the challenge a shot. The Facebook group (although Facebook is not a must have!) and fellow bloggers really help with motivation, as well as giving you a reason to think hard about your purchases - while encouraging you to focus a bit on your painting.

Joining is easy, just post up a blog entry with the rules, join the Facebook group if you are that way inclined and start posting and painting using the 6MMRPC title in your posts.

As a first step, here is my 'New, Updated' Drax(tm) style painting chart for my 15mm mini's.

Carronade Pics and Swag

Today myself, Davey, YD, Paul and Cameron took the trip up to Falkirk for the Carronade Show. As usual it was a big show and seemed very busy.

There were a lot of really cracking displays and games - I took pictures of some but not all of them. There were a lot of very nice games in progress. I stopped to talk to a few people about their games who were both very knowledgeable and very engaging.

Glasgow District Wargames - Spanish Civil war in 28mm using Bolt Action rules. Great looking game.

Glasgow District Wargames - Spanish Civil war in 28mm using Bolt Action rules. Great looking game.

Charlie don't surf - not sure who the group were but I had seen this display at the Stockton show I was at in October and it really is a great display. I'm not sure if there was a game in progress.

More 'Charlie don't surf' - 28mm Vietnam.

Love the surfers....

A very nice ACW game, also in 28mm. I'm not sure the group, but I think it was a Dumfries based club. Using the Fire and Fury rules (I think) it looked pretty fast paced and the guys were very friendly and knowledgeable - even putting up with questions from a non expert like myself.

A great looking table - as I understand it was also historically accurate. The Battle of New Market perhaps?

LRDG attacking a airfield somewhere in the desert - 20mm I think. Not sure of the rule set.

A HUGE table - Waterloo? in 15mm?

Close up of some of the Naps on the Waterloo table

Hougoumont?

There were a lot of really great tables that I didn't take a picture of - apologies to those groups running them, no slight was intended - I just kept forgetting to get my phone out to take pics!

So, onto swag. this year I didn't feel I had come away with as much as I did last year. I did manage to find one single stall that had a very very slim selection of FoW miniatures. The first pack I looked at was a Sherman I and I immediately found another.

So these two Sherman I's help fill in some of the missing spaces on my Armoured Squadron list. Technically, they mean I will be able to field a whole FoW list. However this shows that 144RAC (and armoured brigade units in general) had a Squadron HQ consisting of an ARV and 3 Sherman I's (SHQ, 2IC and a spare). I assume in FoW the 3rd Sherman would be a nuisance (it would muck up the 1IC and 2IC independent rules). So whether I get this final tank or not really comes down more to completeness than having the list for FoW.

Of course you, gentle reader, know that being the fool that I am the final tank being missing will bug the hell out of me... and I will end up buying it.

Next up came a purchase I am really pleased with. At one stall I spotted some Epic 40k and had a look but wasn't going down that particular rabbit hole. I got chatting to the chap and mentioned my interested in Battlefleet Gothic. 'Aha!' says he, and he hands me a load of boxed BFG ships - all very reasonably priced (including some cruisers, SM Strikecruisers, a Battleship and a couple of escorts). Then a chap further along the flea market stall starts shouting that those mini's were reserved, that he was in 'negotiations' for them and that the chap who I was talking to's brother - who was away from the stall. I offered to pay the prices on the boxes there and then, with no negotiation required. The annoying loudmouth continued to loudly protest and in the end the mini's got put back awaiting the brothers return. I checked back later, but no luck.

Anyway, that was a prelude. Thoroughly disappointed and annoyed I was standing near another flea market trader who was putting some nicely painted 28mm WW2 and 15mm Naps out on his table. I asked if he had any WW2 15mm Brits for sale. We got chatting and it looked like I was out of luck again. The I spotted in his bag (still to be put out for display) a box with 'BFG Imperial Fleet' on it! I asked if I could have a look, and while passing it to me the chap said he had another box as well. £40 later and I had both in my possession.

Now, that seems like a lot of money, but:

Specialist Games 'Rogue Trader' Cruiser - not a very common ship with a Ebay retail price of (I think) around £40

4 Cobra Destroyers (Ebay value £25 ish for 4), 2 imperial Cruisers (£20 for 2 on Ebay?), 3 Sword Frigates (£20 ish for 3?) and a Dauntless Light Cruiser (£20 ish on it's own?)

Very nice paint jobs, minimal damage. One cruiser unpainted and needing some lance turrets, and a couple of minor bits of chipped paint and broken aerials.

The fleet assembles!

So my £40 purchase was actually a really good value buy - and provided me with a mini I wanted (the Rogue Trader Cruiser) without having to pay Ebay prices for just one ship.

I've actually now amassed quite a large Imperial fleet for BFG/the Rogue Trader RPG. I'm missing a few ships I would like - mainly the RT Escorts, some transport ships, a Grand Cruiser or two, various uncommon Navy escorts... etc. Basically the dream would be to have models to make a coherent fleet but also allow me to represent most ships on the gaming table if I ever get the players to run a Rogue Trader RPG game. This also explains my recent purchases of Chaos, Ork, Eldar and Space Marine ships...

Other than these ships, I got a book on the 8th Airforce for £1 and literally as I was walking out somehow accidentally bartered someone down from £7 to £2.50 on a complete AD&D 2nd Edition Monsters compendium folder. And I mean complete - and accidentally! Cameron had been looking at it and the lady had asked for first £7 then £5 for it. He declined and we all turned to leave, I apologised and said I only had £2.50 left (I genuinely only had that amount left in my pocket), and the lady said I could have it for that then. What her husband thought about that when he returned, I don't know! Anyway, I paid and had a quick look. Got home and called my GM who I remember had mentioned years ago that his copy was incomplete. I took it round and he seemed very pleased, especially as it had Volume 1, 2 and 3 + the Faerun monsters appendix. All in great condition and in alphabetical order!

So a good show, although quantity wise my swag haul was rather less quantity wise, the quality is superb.

Thanks to Davey and YD for the lift and the company.