Twilight Imperium: Let's Paint the Blue Fleet

Now that the Yin Brotherhood won our second game of Twilight Imperium, Enlightenment is a Function of Willpower, it's time to paint the blue fleet.

**

Drawing on my experience with the red miniatures, I decided to start with the infantry and cruisers.

For the infantry, I did the same thing as I had with the reds: Gunmetal Grey and Black Glaze, with the colored parts of the base in Dark Prussian Blue and Dark Blue, and the flag in Dark Blue.

I feel it's a little borderline whether that's too dark a blue, but I like it so much better on the flags than a lighter one. We'll have to see how it goes.

The cruisers got to be the testbed for my starship color scheme again. I liked the basic idea of what I did with the red cruisers, but this time I decided to up the contrast and make Deep Sky Blue the lightest color.

I feel like it works, and it means that my blues are Dark Prussian Blue, Blue, Dark Blue and Deep Sky Blue. Armed with that decision, I tackled the war suns.

Because Deep Sky Blue is also the color I use for the trans pride flag, it was easy to conclude that the war suns are trans. They're quite easy to paint. The fighters, on the other hand, are the fiddliest miniatures and therefore the most annoying. So I got them out of the way.

The space docks are also trans.

**

In our first game, I don't really recall getting much use out of my flagship. Last time, though, it was a key to my success. The Yin Brotherhood flagship, the van Halen, was the perfect counter to the Muaat death star: if the Eddie van Halen is destroyed, it takes every ship in the system with it. This deterrent value both kept me feeling secure against the Muaat juggernaut, and also let me grab Quann off them in the climactic last turn, which ended up stopping them from winning!

For such sterling service in the cause of the Yin, the van Halen deserves to be remembered. I therefore decided to give the blue flagship a paint scheme based on the Frankenstrat.

I'm actually kinda happy with it! Then it was time to finish the cruisers.

I kept the carriers simple.

The destroyers got a similar paint job to the cruisers.

And finally, here are the dreadnoughts.

Here's a badly lit picture of the whole fleet in my display cabinet.

**

So they're done! I still find painting board game miniatures very rewarding. Now, if we could only find the time for another game...

Let's Paint Victory at Sea: The Royal Navy

‘Thou looks't like Antichrist in that lewd hat,’ she said in a sombre voice, for the hounds had lost their fox and the only tolerable-looking man had vanished.

 - Patrick O'Brian, Post Captain

Earlier, I started a Victory at Sea collection because a friendly nearby mail-order store sold the Kriegsmarine fleet box at a considerable discount. I noticed I quite liked painting the little ships, so when I found they actually had a Royal Navy fleet box at one of their stores, well, I bought it.

**

Of course, there are so many reasons why I would buy a Royal Navy box. But I'm going to start with the models that actually pushed me into doing it: the Fairey Swordfish squadrons. It is nothing short of hilarious that the UK entered the Second World War still flying a biplane made out of cloth. And they made a great success of it, too, from striking the Italian fleet at Taranto to sinking the Bismarck. I've never built or painted a biplane model before!

Like the Stukas earlier, the Swordfish are made out of a rubbery resin that's quite annoying to work with, and the planes and the stand had a lot of flash to clear away. I also still quite dislike the flying stand. The Swordfish has a more complicated one, where you can use a ring to mark what role these particular Swordfish are flying in. One of them broke when I fitted it, for the simple reason that it's too small. Again, not the best idea.

Still, I got them assembled and undercoated, and painted the stands Blue. The planes are Sky Grey, with London Grey top bits.

The fleet box also comes with a carrier: the ancient HMS Eagle, originally laid down as the Almirante Cochrane for the Chilean navy. I decided on a simple paint job of London Grey and Medium Sea Grey, and tried to do something like the camo pattern seen in this picture on Wikimedia Commons.

Referring to David Williams's Naval Camouflage 1914-1945, I take that camo to be one of the unofficial predecessors to the Admiralty Disruptive Patterns introduced in 1942.

**

I really enjoyed playing the PC version of Victory at Sea. Every now and then, you can get captured enemy ships as part of your fleet. It's a bit ahistorical, but fun, so I like it. At one point in my German campaign, I was given a Tribal-class destroyer called HMS Tartar. There actually was an HMS Tartar, which was absolutely everywhere, from the Arctic to the Mediterranean to Burma and the Japanese surrender, but I think I'm painting mine in German colors as a memento of my campaign.

If I understand the German system for designating captured ships, this would have been a ZB, so I'm calling it the ZB Tartar.

**

My first Kriegsmarine campaign ended unceremoniously at the hands of a Royal Navy Town-class cruiser. So I might as well get started with HMS Belfast. She's a museum ship in London now, and I vaguely remember visiting when I was in high school. First things first, though: like the softer Kriegsmarine ships, both the Tribal and the Belfast needed straightening.

After the resin was heated, bent ever so gently into shape and weighed down for a bit, the ships were ready for assembly and painting.

I'm not really that interested in making even my historical miniatures that "accurate", and anyway I feel like it would just be boring to try to replicate the Belfast's actual camo. Instead, I went for a sort of basic Royal Navy scheme of London Grey and Medium Sea Grey, with Off-White masts, and the decks are Pale Sand.

**

The obvious next thing to do was to paint the remaining two Tribal-class destroyers pink. Hey, the Barbie movie had just come out. First, of course, both the Tribals and the HMS Dido had to be boiled and straightened.

So these are HMS Cossack (03) and HMS Bedouin (67), both decked out in real-life Royal Navy camouflage from World War II, namely Mountbatten Pink. The horizontal surfaces are Medium Sea Grey and the verticals are Sunset Red.

And since I already boiled her, I've painted the Dido as well. As I was searching for examples of naval camouflage, I came across this absolutely lovely model of the Dido in green camo, and decided to try something similar myself. The base color is Green Sky, with Ivory and Black Green patterns. I like how it turned out!

**

Finally, we have HMS Neptune and Duke of York, both thankfully in the lighter-colored resin and therefore unboiled. For the Neptune, I've gone for something like the camouflage pattern in this picture, using Sky Grey as the lightest color.

The Duke of York got my take on what Naval Camouflage says was the standard scheme for the King George V battleships.

And with that, the Royal Navy fleet is done! Here's a very badly lit photo of the whole thing, it was February in Finland, this is the best I could do.

**

It was fun to try all the different paint schemes, and to paint a carrier. Luckily I've got more little ships!

Epic: Let's Paint More Aeronautica

"Lightning Fighter, defending the Emperor's sky!"

 - Sororitas dialogue, Dawn of War

A while ago, I found an outlet for my love of painting tiny little flying things in Aeronautica Imperialis, so I bought more of them.

**

I'm going to start with the Space Marine flyers from Wrath of Angels. There are three Xiphon Interceptors, which the traitor side used to good effect in the Legions Imperialis battle report in White Dwarf 493. They were remarkably easy to build and come with no weapon options that need to be represented on the model, so I had them built in no time. I already tried a sort of Word Bearers paint scheme on the red Twilight Imperium fleet, so the Xiphons also got a base coat of Burnt Cadmium Red, overlaid with Dark Red and details in Gunmetal Grey.

As these are Horus Heresy miniatures, they also bear the same campaign colors as my 28mm Word Bearers and Titans. They are Xiphon squadron Smiling with contempt upon the Earth.

The two Storm Eagle transports, Bring forth the legions, were also quite simple to build and paint.

So now if I do decide to get into new Epic, I can give my marines a little air wing.

**

I also have two Valkyries from the Taros box. I can't use them in Epic, but I had them and they were fun to build.

I've understood the Tau need Valkyries for Aeronautica missions that require transports, so I'm painting one of them white. This is the Valkyrie transport The bullock draws the plow.

As for the other one, well, I've been playing a lot of Darktide. And in Darktide, you get flown in and out of your missions by a Valkyrie in inquisitorial colors. Which you can barely see at all since it's black and the game is so relentlessly grimdark.

So of course I'm painting my other Valkyrie black. However, whereas the Darktide Valkyrie has red stripes on the wings, the color of my Sisters of Mercy, and therefore my Ordo Hereticus, is emerald, and that's what I'm going with here.

Here's a shot from an angle Darktide players are more likely to recognize.

**

The other Imperial aircraft in that box are one Lightning and two Lightning Strike Fighters. In both Dawn of War and Gladius, the Sisters of Battle get Lightning fighters in their own colors, so now that I have a Sisters color scheme, I'm painting the Lightning in that as well.

The first Lightning Strike gets the same Imperial Navy colors I did earlier, with the addition of campaign stripes on the wings.

And, of course, the second has gone over to the Greater Good and is known as the Sun behind Urth.

**

So building all the little Aeronautica planes was fun! I've still got a bunch of xenos aircraft to put together if I feel like it, but should I ever actually get around to Legions Imperialis, I could now equip either force with an entirely respectable air arm. Like I said earlier, I like epic scale a lot, but I think I'll have to wait and see what they do with it.

Epic: Battle of Depoh Minyak

The Battle of Bitter Tower has opened the hostilities between Legio Venefica, sworn to the Warmaster, and loyalist Legio Crucius, on the desert world of Lautan Lama. Now it's high time to put the terrain I built and my lovely Dropzone Commander buildings to the test, in a battle over the fuel tanks at Depoh Minyak.

**

My opponent brought a Precept Battleline Maniple, consisting of:

Warlord Titan - 385 pts, princeps seniores

 Paired Turbo-laser Destructors - 35 pts

 Mori Quake Cannon - 20 pts

 Sunfury Plasma Annihilator - 45 pts

 Bi-folded Power Containment - 20 pts = 505 points

Warbringer Nemesis Titan - 325 pts

 Belicosa Volcano Cannon - 55 pts

 Gatling Blaster - 15 pts

 Melta Cannon - 35 pts

 Bi-folded Power Containment - 20 pts = 450 points [955]

Warhound Titan - 180 pts

 Vulcan Mega-bolter - 10 pts

 Inferno Gun - 20 pts = 210 points [1165]

Reaver Titan - 250 pts

 Volcano Cannon - 25 pts

 Laser Blaster - 25 pts

 Apocalypse Missile Launcher - 10 pts

 Bi-folded Power Containment - 20 pts = 330 points [1495] 

To match that points value, I'll definitely be bringing all my Titans! Here to defend the honor of Forge World Icterida is my Legio Venefica force: a Ferrox Light Maniple, and in a Titanicus first for me, Knight support from Auxilia Daedra.

Reaver Battle Titan Deos tuos non colimus, et thronum auream, quam erexisti, non adoramus - 250 pts, princeps seniores Modthryth

 Melta Cannon - 35 pts

 Power Fist - 20 pts

 Vulcan Mega Bolter - 10 pts

 Reinforced plating - 10 pts = 325 points

Reaver Battle Titan Cum ergo videritis abominationem desolationis, quæ dicta est a Lorgar propheta, stantem in loco sancto, qui legit, intelligat - 250 pts

 Volcano Cannon - 25 pts

 Laser Blaster - 25 pts

 Apocalypse Missile Launcher - 10 pts = 310 points [635]

Warhound Et regnum erit velut ferrum - 180 pts

 Turbo Laser - 20 pts

 Vulcan Mega Bolter - 10 pts = 210 points [845]

Warhound Regnum transiit a te - 180 pts

 Plasma Blastgun - 30 pts

 Vulcan Mega Bolter - 10 pts = 220 points [1065]

Acastus Knight Banner Molag Bal - 150 pts

 + Acastus Knight [130], 2 × twin magna lascannon & ironstorm missile pod [70] = 350 points [1415]

Knight Armiger Banner Meridia - 85 points [1500]

**

With our battlegroups ready, we set up the terrain. I apologize for the poor picture quality, but the fact is that we played this game during the Finnish winter, so while some light would be nice, there simply wasn't any. As we were still learning the rules, we chose the Titanic Clash scenario.

We put the little tank farm in the center of the table, and scattered the Dropzone buildings around it. Legio Crucius started deployment by setting up their Reaver to cover the tank farm. I placed one of my Warhounds on my right to go harass it, and was mildly surprised to find the Warlord on the Crucius extreme left. I set up my Reavers and Acastus Knights in the center, and the Armigers on the left flank, where they could go bother the Crucius Warbringer.

While our forces advanced on the right, the action opened in the center, where my tiny little Armigers dashed forward, and my shooty Reaver, the Abominatio Desolationis, exchanged fire with its opposite number to little effect.

The Acastus Knights opened up on the Warbringer, and I have to say that the magna lascannon is absolutely hilarious. Four blast templates per Knight is ridiculous, scattering all over the place and managing to hit the Warbringer, the enemy Warhound sheltering behind a building - the shot must have somehow bounced off the Warbringer's shields - and bringing down the other building.

In retaliation, the Warbringer gunned down one of the Armigers, and the Warhound took off to the Crucius left. I wanted to send the Regnum transiit to flank the enemy Warlord, but Legio Crucius had other ideas!

The Warhound managed to survive the Warlord's fire, and actually knocked down a couple of void shields in return.

Turn 2 rolled around, and the Armigers tried to put a building between themselves and the enemy Warbringer - only for the wildly firing Acastus Knights to bring it crashing down!

The Warbringer shot down another Armiger. On the right, the combined fire of the Non Adoramus and the Regnum Ferrum managed to drop the Crucius Reaver's shields, and I got a shot in with the Non Adoramus's melta cannon. Meanwhile the Regnum Transiit's void shields nearly miraculously held under a second turn of fire from the Warlord.

On Turn 3, I took two gambles. I gave the Non Adoramus first fire orders, to try to finish off the enemy Reaver with the melta cannon, and left the Regnum Transiit facing the Warlord to keep it occupied. Neither was exactly successful: the melta shot failed to damage the Reaver, and it relit its void shields in the repair phase. The Warlord finally stripped the Regnum Transiit's shields and severely damaged its body, knocking out one of the weapons as well.

The Regnum Ferrum moved up to engage the enemy at close range, and the Abominatio Desolationis as well as the Acastus Knights advanced. The lone shaken Armiger tried to move around to the rear of the Warbringer, which was also lumbering toward the fight on the Crucius left.

Then it was time for the fourth and last turn. With the Regnum Transiit structurally compromised, there was very little choice except to run away from the Warlord. That also meant I was down on victory points, so we needed a result to swing the battle. So the Regnum Ferrum moved left to gang up on the Warbringer, and the Non Adoramus got a charge order and barreled at the enemy Warhound with the traitor allegiance ability activated.

When the time came for the Non Adoramus's boosted power fist attack, I managed to roll triple ones, so not so much as a dent appeared on the enemy Warhound.

We were more successful with the Warbringer. The Regnum Ferrum knocked down its shields and hit its already damaged legs, and the Abominatio Desolationis delivered the final blow with its volcano cannon. The dying Warbringer lurched forward, crashing into the Regnum Ferrum and destroying it!

The collision sent the Warbringer reeling backward, until it almost unbelievably, but perfectly, fell over backward onto the last surviving Armiger.

And with that, the battle was over. Legio Crucius lost their Warbringer, but the combined loss of one Warhound destroyed, another structurally compromised, and the Armigers wiped out, was enough to make the final score a Crucius victory.

That finale could hardly have been more Titanicus.

**

So, we lost on points, but at least we took out that Warbringer. That means a kill marking for the Abominatio desolationis:

And for the volcano cannon, which landed the mortal blow.

Here's some better-quality pics my opponent took.

I was quite happy with my tactics; I didn't expect the enemy to concentrate so heavily on one flank, but it gave me the opportunity to gang up on the Warbringer and destroy it. The Acastus knights were hilarious, and even the Armigers did good work distracting the enemy Warbringer.

The MVP of my battlegroup, though, was clearly the Regnum transiit a te, for tying up an enemy Warlord for almost the entire battle and actually living to tell the tale.

We used the full rules, except for Princeps traits and Stratagems, so next time I expect we'll go the whole hog. Those Crucius guys certainly got their orders off, and at first it felt like they were putting void shields up as quickly as I knocked them down. I also mostly forgot about my maniple bonus for armor rolls, not that I think it would have made a huge difference. Like last time, I rolled pretty well on my void shield saves, and bizarrely won every roll for the Opus Titanica except the last one; and then rolled a spectacular triple 1 on the allegiance ability attack. You win some, you lose some. Had some rolls gone differently, maybe we'd have smashed the enemy Warhound; on the other hand, maybe the Crucius Warlord would have reduced the Regnum Transiit into molten slag latest on turn 3.

After two games, I have to say that I unironically love my Reavers and Warhounds. I definitely want to get some bigger Titans at some point, but these guys keep coming through for me, and the Envious legio ability means I almost always get the command check bonus for orders. I'm also quite seriously thinking about building a corrupted Reaver. Or two.

**

The most important thing is that we had a great time playing. I admit that this was only my second game, but Titanicus is slowly but surely creeping up my list of favorite wargames ever. It's in a similar place as old Necromunda was, where I kind of hope GW would release more content, but on the other hand, I've got my rulebook and my Traitor Legios, and I'm going to get years of enjoyment out of this.

Having a great Titanicus experience also deepens my ambivalence about Legions Imperialis. On the one hand, yes, it would be awesome to add infantry, tanks, flyers and everything to this; on the other hand, we're having an excellent time without them. I was really excited for Legions Imperialis when it came out, but the months-long delay and total lack of explanation made me feel a bit silly, and I'm still on the fence.

Anyway, Titanicus is a wonderful game and I for one really hope I get to play more of it.