“The Deathwing Is The Elite First Company…”

“…Of The Dark Angels Space Marine Chapter.”

These 6mm scale metal models of five Adeptus Astartes terminators used to be produced by “Games Workshop” as part of their now long out of production (OOP) “Epic” range, and were recently bought second-hand off of “eBay”. The sculpts had all previously been undercoated with a deep blue paint, however, as their details still appeared to be crisp, I figured their tactical dreadnought armour could withstand some more layers in order for me to field them as part of the Deathwing.

Resultantly, all of the miniatures were given a couple of coats of “Vallejo” White, before being shaded using some heavily-watered down “Citadel” Reikland Fleshshade. They were then dry-brushed with (more) “Vallejo” White, before I treated their storm bolters to a combination of “Vallejo” Gunmetal and “Citadel” Nuln Oil.

A second-hand collection of non-official vessels for "Battlefleet Gothic"

With my latest submission to the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge (AHPC) completed, I have spent some time sorting through a box of second-hand 1:20000 scale spaceships I found on one of the shelves of my local wargaming store. I did initially believe I had bought two official large-sized Imperial Fleets for “Battlefleet Gothic”. However, having subsequently scrutinised the vessels much more closely, they would appear to actually be 3D-printed resin models, as opposed to something historically produced by “Forge World” or “Games Workshop”.

Fortunately, the detail on these miniatures is absolutely insane, with the craft more than favourably matching up with their genuine cousins, such as the Space Marine Battlebarge or Strike Cruiser. Indeed, apart from the models’ material, it is only the complete absence of an Aquila anywhere on the vessels which really gives away that they’re not the genuine article. Perhaps therefore my only frustration with my thirty pound purchase is that I can’t locate who actually produces the models so I can potentially add to the fleets in the future.

"Battlefleet Gothic" WIPs - Several of the spaceships have snapped off their resin stands

Due to owning two identical spacefaring forces, I thought the best thing to do with them was to re-paint them as two different Space Marine Chapters – thus I could pit one against another (due to some misunderstanding) or combine the two against an even larger threat should I ever decide to expand my collection. To this end I have taken one of the smallest ships – a Nova Class Frigate, whose resin base had already snapped off, and started to paint it as a Dark Angels Chapter vessel.

In addition, I have drilled out the rest of the broken stem from its underbelly – which was easier said than done – and superglued one of the widgets produced for the new “Dropzone Commander” flying stands in its place. Once I’ve finished pigmenting the Frigate, I then intend to paint the widget “Citadel” Abaddon Black, so it should become partially lost from sight when the spaceship is being used on my Deep Space “Hotz” mat…