Tuesday 2 February 2016

Space fleet - Imperial Fleet


Alright ! After my last poste about my freshly acquired tyranid fleet, it was time fo rme to have a look at the Imperial models I have to see if both forces match or not. Since I haven't been collecting them with a definite plan in mind it's highly unlikely both would be of equal size but the opportunity is also to look at what I have and what I could do with it.

After a couple of trades (and several gifts) over the last 2 years, I've managed to assemble this force with a bit of everything.


Now let's have a look in detail :



Emperor Capital Ship :


The emperor capital ship is the biggest (and most expensive) ship you can have in the game. that's the one saying "gothic human dictatorship" to everyone in space. The model is in 2 pieces and weighs a good load.
As you'd expect from a ship that size, it's not tailored for delicacy. The big ramming bonus with front shields and the good side batteries mean this one is to be found in the middle of the fight.


Dominator Battleship :



That's the nasty one here, I actually have 2 of them. The dominator is the "deathray" ship. It fires a huge shell (I suppose, looking at the shape of the cannon) which blasts a large zone. Ideal to remove many threats and gain a pyschological advantage.



Ironclad Battleship :



I like this one for many reasons. The first one is that it's supposed to be an antic design which doesn't use the shield technology but just heavy physical armour. The second reason come from the first, since it doesn't tank with shield, it tanks with hull which in gamer french would be "il tank hull" which sounds exactly like "il t'encule" meaning "it fucks you in the ass"
OK I know the last reason is stupid and childish but all french gamers will agree with me on this one I'm sure.




Gothic Battleship :


The Gothic Battle ship is your swiss army knife, the basic battleship you get in the box with good average performances. Sort of a Jack of all trades.


Firestorm Cruiser :


The firestorm cruiser is just a reduced version of the Battleship above, same design with just reduced stats.


Cobra Destroyers :


Those are pretty cool, alone they can't do much but in groups they can be quite deadly and resilient to one point. They're actually merging shields meaning it's better to field 3 per square (maximum) to mlake them last for longer. Yes, that means I need 2 more.


Galaxy Troop Ship :


A bit of an odd one, this model is free and has specific rules. Not exactly fit for combat, it is however very useful for boarding and could easily be a very intersting piece scenario wise.



Then I have a bunch of assorted modesl from different ranges (I owe them all to the kindness of different hobbyists). Given their size they could be played as Pirate Cobra destroyers, the heavy varuation in style and look could actually fit a pirate armada quite nicely.


This means I know have at least 860 points that could be brought to 960 if I'm using the spare ships as cobra destroyers. Given my tyranid force is about 820 to 920 points strong, I think I'm pretty lucky to have gathered equal forces for both forces !

The ideas for a paintscheme for the tyranid force is emerging now  and it will most likely be uniform over the whole fleet with a few points to differentiate ships. Now the imperial force is something else. I may have to think a bit deeper as I'd want something coherent (apart from the pirates) but with a good distinction between types of sjips. There no point painting the old Ironclad like the Emperor class or the cobra destroyers I think. Maybe I should paint them in small groups of similar ships and see how the whole force evolves. The organic evolution could be very fitting to such a fleet actually. But then what model to pick first ? An easy one ? The biggest one (I tend to favour painting characters first in my armies.

Still loads of questions but at least the rules and collecting part are done and behind me now. Le'ts move on to the modelling one !

15 comments:

  1. Good stuff. Whats your plan for painting these guys?

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    1. I'm going to divide the group into similar designs I think. i'd like to avoid white on such models but plain black will look stupid on space mat so maybe some kind of red in varying proportions depending on teh ships and the pirates all different with flashy colours.

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  2. Replies
    1. Cheers ! It seems to have motivated some into getting back to Space Fleet so I can't be happier !

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  3. I'm gonna say "il tank hull" the whole day, thanks to you. Man we do love to be rude and offensive don't we ? Can't wait to see them painted. I hope the Dominator and Ironcald will have purplish/pinky colors on the tip of theit big gun/pointy ends :D

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    1. The joke comes from a friend who was a lot into EVE online and who tried to make this build viable somehow just for teh sheer pleasure of saying "il tank hull"
      You naughty you, one the dominators definitely should be a hommage to you ;)

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  4. If the Ironclad does indeed t'encule, I dread to think what the other spiky bits sticking out the front of it are for...

    Great collection - and I had exactly the same thought as you for the old Star Cruiser ships. I reckon some kind of scenario involving a stolen/hi-jacked Troop ship (or whatever other use it could be put to) would be good.

    I ended up with two Emperors so am considering splitting my collection into Traitor and Loyalist fleets (small ones though!) as I'm a bit obsessed with Adeptus Titanicus and the Horus Heresy at the moment. As long as I don't make the Traitor fleet's paint scheme look too "evil" I could always combine them as a single fleet for bigger games.

    I will have to speed up my Titan painting and get some space ships done!

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    1. I knew you were a man of taste but here comes another proof ! I Was to split the imperial fleet in 2 just like you untile I pout my hand son the tyranid one and meant to be able to join them if needed. Insetad I'll paint them in coherent groups I can makes forces of or join together.

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    2. What can I say - great minds think alike obviously ;)

      Sounds like a plan - look forward to seeing your take on the Imperials too. Must admit I'm quite taken with the official paint jobs...

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  5. Wow. I knew some of these models but some are new to my eyes. I must confess the Ironclad is a bit of a piece, especially if it "tank hull" :)
    I'll never watch this ship with innocent eyes know.

    Watching them being painted will sure be a great moment, even if I'm more curious about the colors of the tyranid fllet :)

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    1. I knew french gamers would like the fact the Ironclad "tank hull" ^^
      I only have to find a good way to paint everything now !

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  6. Great post JB - cool models, and thanks for the French lesson! That got a literal 'lol' out of me mate, I can't wait to use that in conversation :-)

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    1. It's a classic amongst french EVE online players it seems but reading the Ironclad background again reminded me of that !

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  7. French for yuckiness then. o_O

    Never got to play this game, though these models all bring back memories of early 90's White Dwarfs.

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    1. The game is as easy or complex as you want it to be. Basics don't even fill an A4 sheets but you can add plenty of cool advanced rules that make it very deep if you feel like it. Really love it and all the artwork around it.

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