Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

These look so good!

Looking amazing. God the fist ship looks good!

Amazing work, as always!

Battlegroup Artemis looks awesome. That zeus cruiser is acing it

Cheers guys! appreciated...

@horizon , You mean the lunar class? if so. yep that figures, first one to get done, so its always going to be the best one in the fleet. the law of diminishing returns is a bugger, not that any of the following models are terrible but the "wow" factor of the first mini wears off on the subsiquent ships you paint..

So, I figured, I've got two cruisers and two light cruisers in Artemis so far.
I've already picked an Exorcist Grand cruiser for an upcoming addition, but I've still the option to pick either another Grand or a battlecruiser...

Overlord says I!


The 'Nemesis III' Built from the hulk of the 'Ultimus Umbra' a prior Overlord class from battlegroup Devastatus who's foolhardy and ever gung-ho captain neglected the range of the batteries and lances, taking her into a suicidal death charge into the heart of the enemy in a fit of pique, resulting in the absoulte destruction of all engineering decks and engines, the bridge was anihilated by bombing runs and the prow reduced to a smoking crater... chump...

still, never ones to waste anything, the Imperium's techpriests gathered the hulk and rebuilt the ship around the surprisingly resilienent and therefore fully intact weapons decks.
once completed she was sent to reinforce battlegroup Artemis' patrols and aptly named; the 'Nemesis III', after a sister overlord from battlegroup 'classico' that itself bears the name of its predecessor, thus continuing the illustrious legacy of the Overlord class.


Look, anyone who knows me knows I love an overlord class. This one is indeed made from my old "Ultimus Umbra" from my other voss fleet.
This time around, She's sporting engines from a battleship, rear plates are from battlefleet galaxy, mounted on inverted and cut down lance decks. (you cant see those, but they're there).
The resultant gap from not having regular wings was filled either side with the eagles cut from bolt-rifles.
The bridge is chaos battleship and, I felt, matched the zeus/armageddon no-nonsense style nicely and for a bit of 'chonk' I chose the vanguard panthera lances. I feel this better reflects the power of them in game.
As mentioned, the batteries were recovered from the other overlord mini, these were the MangoZac blackship conversion kit batteries. A suitable peice to sell the power and range the overlord can bring to bear. Just as my dominator has many smaller guns to suggest shot range but high power, these suggest at both range AND power! If I had them I would have used battlebarge batteries, however, these fit the bill just as well. They're clearly based on them, right?
The prow is a simple voss from the zeus line, however Its 'blended' to the hull with a couple of strips of plasticard rod (also a nice visual refence to the dominator) for a bit of extra chunk.
To take the conversion to the end, I chose to carve out the original eagle head and replace it with the old marneus calgar backpack eagle, green-stuffing the resultant joins.
This was chosen for twofold reasons, its a nice reference to the jes goodwin concept prows he made (see chris smart's battleship conversion in the rulebook), and the second reason is that the first ever 'Nemesis' overlord I did had a converted plastic imperial prow with this eagle modelled on it! (that ship now has a converted kardunaish prow and battlebarge batteries and is thusly called nemesis II)

All in all, I'm dead happy with this ship. It has all the chunk a battlecruiser should have.
I've used more blue on this ship too, around the bridge and the dorsal lances, to help mark its status some more.
I've also tried to tie in elements of all the other cruisers using the colours too, the blue steel and black on the rudderplates for example.
I like my battlecruisers to be oviously bigger and chunkier where possible. Absolutely no ambiguity here. The massive weapons, standout lances and massive engines make it look like a pocket battleship, which I suppose it is; baby retribution!
Its scary looking, and will probably get a lot of hits right off the bat because of it, but the rule of cool comes first, right?

bit of a deviation from the usual ships you've seen in battlegroup Artemis so far, consider it a practice run for an upcoming vessel...


"Crius" - carnage class reserve ship.

Dragged out of mothballs to join the ranks of battlegtoup Artemis, Crius was previously stuck on escort duty of transport and supply details, operating out of the local systems.
However, needs must and all available vessels are now being called for active service in the sector to repel the foe...


Yeah, I wanted to see what a regular chaos ship would look like in Artemis colours...
Compared to modern prints/casts, the details are a little soft, making what I wanted to achive a little, lets say; "fuzzy".
This was never an issue with my nurgle fleet because they were deliberately scummy.
Lives and learns I guess...

Added details are the half-bead dome on the bridge to represent the Imperial bridge design and the midships domes where the lances/aerials would go.
The rearmost being a battlefleet galaxy component, the fore another half-bead.
Just a little something to make it feel more imperial and less chaotic...

nothing special by any means.
Just an old ship past retirement, begrudgingly back in the thick of it...

Such a lovely stuff.

My next Imperial vessel will be an overlord as well. Just waiting on the broadsides.

I love the addition of the domes. They just soften up the overall look to stop it being quite so iconically Chaosy, without looking at all out of place.

Nice, simple conversion. It looks good. May it bring carnage to the enemies of Mankind.

You know I love using fleet reserve ships, that Carnage compliments your Repulsive revamp very nicely.

 Warboss_Waaazag wrote:
Nice, simple conversion. It looks good. May it bring carnage to the enemies of Mankind.

You knows it!

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
I love the addition of the domes. They just soften up the overall look to stop it being quite so iconically Chaosy, without looking at all out of place.

Glad that worked then :p

 horizon wrote:
Such a lovely stuff.

My next Imperial vessel will be an overlord as well. Just waiting on the broadsides.

No. Not enough information I'm afraid. Which broadsides and from where?

 Ragsta wrote:

You know I love using fleet reserve ships, that Carnage compliments your Repulsive revamp very nicely.

Repulsive class..? You ain't seen nothin' yet bud!

well, I've been pretty sick and crazy busy of late so my grand cruiser has taken a bit of a back seat tillI can give it the attention it deserves.

Some fighters today...


thanks to malika for the stl/designs and LordBorak for printing them for me.

I got me some 20mm square bases, drilled them and fitted the squadron, properly.
Not sure if I'll do more marker sized bases or do them induvidually on the copper stands, you know, the way I normally do?

A lot more of the GC done. but not quite done yet! LOL

however, after my experiment with the generic red/white ordnace marker yesterday, I've decided instead to do my usual and create some ordnance on the induvidual stands, this time in the brown and blue of artemis:


I even found my last two swithdeath's and I've done them to go with the others too!
pretty happy with these!

Man those tiny fighters look awesome!

 osjclatchford wrote:
well, I've been pretty sick and crazy busy of late so my grand cruiser has taken a bit of a back seat tillI can give it the attention it deserves.

Some fighters today...


thanks to malika for the stl/designs and LordBorak for printing them for me.

I love this colour scheme. I'm 100% Stealing it.
Also, you're welcome.

Finally, it's done...


Cronos - Exorcist class grand cruiser. Flagship of battlegroup Artemis.


I wanted this to be a reference to the GC's of the time of the armada releases but refused to pay money for a straight up copy of the hideous clown-shoe design.
Instead I went for this mini; its an alternative take on a Repulsive class and it's an Italian moose design and he has done an exceptional job of it.
I simply added the imperial launchbays eitherside and a half-bead dome where the stand should go. (more on that soon)
To me this mini was a great compromise between the imperial/chaos hybrids and also the repulsive class and I think I've just kept convincing myself that I love it purely out if a misplaced sense of nostalgia. Either way it's definitely growing on me more each time I look at it!
But yeah. In truth It's nonsense isn't it?
Pretty, yes but nonsense.
As I've said before now, this type of hybrid design is purely and exclusively found in fiction. Like the enterprise retconned prototypes etc in startrek. Real world military designs tend to replace the old rather bluntly with complete changes in design and very few, if not none, of the old sensibilities remaining. But that's not fun to model and paint is it?


I named the Exorcist 'Cronus' as he was the father of Zeus in greek mythology... Get it?

That's also why the Carnage class I did was named 'Crius'.
Crius was the brother of Cronos and after the failed war in heaven, was banished to Tataros, much as my outdated and therefore less trusted carnage class was "banished" to shipping escort duty after the heresy...



Now. on to the less fun stuff.
I feel duty bound to point out the following.
This print is from scourge scenics and boy did I have some trouble with them.
First outing I had it on a large gw flying base. It was so heavy and unbalanced it BROKE the stand!
Literally keeled over on the garden table (catching some rays to ensure ultimate curing) and sheared it in half.

I will point out that where I have the base now is not where it was. That's the little dome just aft of where the stand is now.
I was displeased and told scourge scenics so.

They were quite meh about it and even though I re-drilled it, fixed it and showed them pics and a vid explaining where it should be based, they've not updated the design or added a disclaimer.
I did get an apology and even a refund eventually but Afaik they're still selling them as is, hence why I feel duty bound to mention this now.

So do consider that before purchase from them.

Its not all bad. not by any means at all
I will say, the resin is delicious quality and resolution of print is crystal clean and crisp. The Italian moose designs are certainly among the best looking on the site but its clear they are just not quite optimised to scourge scenics printing medium/processes so yeah.

I'd be lying if I said it wasnt a little bit upsetting and a lot more disapointing. There are plenty more designs on there I'd love to try but I'm coloured by my experiance and less likely to trust to buy again... perhaps after some time...
then again maybe not.

Food for thought...

So, another carrier today:


Demeter - Dictator class cruiser


This is based off of the MangoZac Zeus cruiser chassis from vanguard, with a midships bridge and prow from battlefleet galaxy.
It also includes some plasticard work by my good self as well as helian launch bays (also vanguard)and standard Imperial batteries.
the skull on the bridge is from an old Imperal guard tank eagle.


this model was quite miscast and rather damaged when I got it, hence the addition of the skull to the bridge and the trimmed and flattened out area around the thin "corridor" section (the tubes originally there were just obliterated.)
The midships bridge was also made necessary by the fact that that whole section was simply a piss poor cast. Ive had a lot from vanguard over the years and thats two in a row like this now.
first the wonky and slipcast grand and now this? what gives guys, are the molds wearing out at last? sort it out...

I ommitted the rearwings intentionally for both the slimline look it gives and the sensibilty of having a nice clear runway for the attack craft!

I also got this pair of sword class frigates done:


Designed by Lord Borak, these heresy era styled hybrid chaos/imperial looking ships are actually just the prototypes for something he's got waiting in the wings to release soon...

But more on that next time...

That grand cruiser looks like a fecking beast of a warship. It is a worthy flagship indeed! Interestingly, I've taken to basing my grand cruiser hulls on those smaller bases too.

You've totally redesigned the lines of that Imperial cruiser and I love it. I intend to pick up some of those prows for some light cruisers myself. Looking forward to swapping and bashing the numerous bits I'm stockpiling!

Nice looking escorts, mate. Hmmm, I feel like they're more like regunned transport ships myself, BUT that's the design and not your excellent painting. They will fit in nicely with your fleet.

Darius - armed freighter

Hastily stripped of her ample cargo holds and refitted with weapons batteries, The Darius is a nasty surprise, lying in wait for any enemy pirate raiders fool enough to attack the Artemis shipping runs.
Well armed and crewed with ex-navy personel, She punches well above her weight, even giving smaller capital ships something to worry about at close range...


yup. A simple conversion that uses the prow and stern of a printed transport ship and the midships of a zeus frigate, inverted.
consider it a q-ship or armed freighter, depending on the scenareo...

So some new ships for Battlegroup Artemis today:


Nyte class Firestorms

Designed and built by the Talented Tom Knight (Lord Borak aka The2monkeymonks) the old fashioned way, with plasticard and hard labour, the casts are both crisp clean and fantastically nostalgic in design.
harking from both chaos and imperial designs they beautifully blur the lines, making them ideal as older or heresy/crusade era vessels or simply as reinforcements to the chaos fleets.


Available here;
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/305854888732
As you will see, they come in with three flavours of prow: standard, lance or torpedo-tube variant.
I decided they'd be the best choice for firestorms in battlegroup Artemis, for the aforementioned design reasons above...

I mean, just look at them! they just fit in perfectly with my exorcist and carnage class, eh?

Well, What you doing wasting time still reading this? Go get some!

Those escorts are just too beautiful!

I do love that colour scheme - and thanks to this thread, I'm increasingly tempted to buy some BFG stuff, even though I can't tell a Battleship from a Frigate!

well these are a good start...

something not too pricey to wet your whistle with...

go on. you know you want them...

A little cobbled together bitz ship today:


Midsection is part of a 3d printed transport that LordBorak sent me last year, the prow is a spare from his frigate set. The underbarrel gun is off an emperor-class. The assend is the back of a zeus frigate with plates from one of Malika's novan-elites ships.
Quite the lashup but it does the job as a would-be firestorm?



Went for Emperor's children as a test for something else.
It suits the 'divided loyalties' look it has, due to its design aspects shared with both imperial and chaos fleets.

As much as it came out... lets say ok. I think its actually put me off rather than set me up to do more of the same...

hmm...guess its time for a rethink...

Amazing little kitbash!

Another project done today:


Deathguard Strikecruiser "nyte" class


Another new mini from Lordborak this time a lightcruiser sized mini suitable for Imperial, Chaos or pre-heresy astartes fleets!

Like the frigates that preceeded them, these do not dissapoint.
Three prow options and more turrets than you can shake a stick at, these are just the thing to bolster existing fleets or a good excuse to start a new one!

go get them here: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/306259294100?itmmeta=01JS9K724EN12NG69CA9R0KGC8&hash=item474e79f794:g:r7cAAOSwXyNoBMMN

Here's a late addition to Battlegroup Artemis.


"Hermes" - Artemis' assault-landing Carrier (defiant)


Essentially a counts-as Defiant class or heavy transport depending on the scenario I use it in.
Either general fleet action or planetary landing mission respectively.
Rebuilt from the hulk one of my old zeus light cruisers, the Ardias, (formerly grey with a recast kar-dunaish prow) this time stacked out with drop-pod launch bays from battlefleet galaxy and the prow is an altered helian cruiser prow.
I cut it short, padded it out with greenstuff and adding some banding, all to suggest at a cruiser sized transport vessel prow.
I feel it does the job and is suitably utilitarian enough to blend in with the transports already in the Artemis explorer-fleet.
Likewise, I chose the smaller, full-zeus-cruiser, voss plates for a less robust, almost slighter looking transport/merchant look.
The final touch was a couple of imperial lance turrets to make it rules compliant as a defiant, one dorsal and one slung under the prow. like on the original GW light cruiser vessels!


I did the pods grey so as not to suggest at any specific astartes connection. (Though my space sharks may disagree on that point!) generally looking more navy/munitorium issue.
I mean, Look at them, they are pretty huge, right?
So consider them titan carriers.

I don't know where they are landing but that planet is in for a serious purging!

It looks great, mate. I think there is a shortage of assault carrier type ships in that there universe- those pods could be carrying battalions of infantry for example. MechWarrior Dropship Style!

I love bashing ships into these styles

cheers ragsta!

Having a bit of a repaint today...


I redid the prow on the "Darius" my armed freighter.
It had an odd stripey look to it before. I think I was rushing it?
meh, whatever, its now much closer to the prows on the cobras and other transports.
It still looks a little odd against the other merchant vessels, but thats more down to the design of the print rather than the paintjob now, I feel.


While I was at it I redid my prototype nyte frigates to match the deathguard scheme.
So, consider them gladius frigates to the light-cruisers' strikecruiser
They too had the ugly striped prows... I must have been in an odd frame of mind when I did those. I mean, the streaks work well on big prows or large areas of the blue, but the smaller prows need to be blended more. Even the "sinclair" razor pattern light cruiser has less streaks. I think its the prows with steel banding on them that make the streaks look... odd.
Perhaps its because the highlights on the blue are not coming from an exact edge.


Here's one next to the light cruiser...

I love the carrier with droppods! These all look great. BFG is my all time favorite specialist game.