[BFG] Vengeful Spirit and Venerable BB models - advice sought!

[Gorlak]

Hello all,

I finally found some time this weekend to start on the box of pieces that I ordered in those horrible last days when we discovered GW were stopping production of BFG models. As such, it rekindled my interest in creating the Vengeful Spirit as a centre piece for my (new) Chaos fleet. Frustratingly, given my research last night, I did not buy the models at the time that I require for my plan of this model.

Before I dive headlong into eBay for the ships (I'm already watching all the Battleships on there...) I wondered if anyone is willing to sell any unwanted Battleship models? I am after;
1x Retribution
1x Chaos Battleship (preferably Despoiler, but not too fussy!)

I thought I'd try  on here first as it avoids ebay fees for the seller and, frankly, I'd rather see the money stay within this community! That, and I thought here would have the best chance of someone having such a spare/no-longer-needed model.

The concept is as per the diagram:


I've altered the tone of the constiuant parts to make it clear what is from what. This is obviously only a very quick mock-up. This is an attempt to have something that can represent what we now know is referred to as the 'Gloriana' class battleship. Any further suggestions are of course welcome.

The other ship I'd like to make is my Blood Angel Venerable Battlebarge, which would require a Despoiler prow (hence my prefernce for a Despoiler model above!) and any Imperial Battleship. I appreciate the chances of 2 Imperial Battleships and a Despoiler being available are slim to none however.

It is definitely a long shot, but thought it worth a try asking on here. I am happy to pay via Paypal or whatever you prefer, just wanted to see what people had, one way or another.

Cheers,
H

[Gorlak]

Hello all,

I have managed to get my hands on the first ship needed (an Emperor class was the first) and am hoping to pick up the other two soon (a Despoiler and a Retribution).

My only issue now is I am not 100% certain wheather a Despoiler prow or Desolator prow would look better on an Imperial hull as my Blood Angel Venerable Battlebarge.
This photo shows a mashup with a Despoiler prow, but obviously this view can be a little misleading:



 I took a quick plan view photo this morning of the options to at least eye-ball the issue:




Which do people think would look better on an Imperial Battleship hull? Any help appreciated!

Thanks,
H

[Malika]

I only got the Blood Angels barge photo to work, could you host the other photo elsewhere?

[Islacrusez]

The right-hand prow is most certainly the matching prow to what's in the picture. Main difference is the large flat areas have chaos busy-ness, while the Imperial has the clean armour-plate normally associated with their prows. Since it's metal it would be hard to remove if you wished to do so.

If the ship you're after gets prow launch bays, go with that one; if not then go with the other. Something about that opening just screams carrier deck.

[Gorlak]

Thanks for the quick replies!

I agree Islacrusez, thats why the Despoiler was my original first choice. I'm just double checking really and asking for second opinions before chopping up models.

I've done some (very quick!) mock-ups to test the visual impact:

Option A - Despoiler:


Obtion B - Desolater:



I do like the idea of the Despoiler, both for its seeming relationship/similarity to the 'modern' battlebarge prow (a sort of 'design lineage', as I mention in my other thread) and the fact that a battlebarge would focus on launch bays, which suggests the Despoiler prow, as Islacrsez suggests.

On the other hand, the Desolater does look cool, and I keep thinking of the description of 'The Red Tear' in Fear to Tread by James Swallow (the BA Horus Heresy novel) that describes a prow like this on a Blood Angel battleship...

Tricky.

[Malika]

It seems the Repulsive's front might be more fitting:

[Cneo]

As Malika said, the Repulsive's prow fits almost perfectly in the battleship hull.

[Islacrusez]

I should be coming into possession of what I believe is a Terminus Est, would that be of any use?

[timdp]

It seems the Repulsive's front might be more fitting:

The board game illustration appears to be a Repulsive. Has the Repulsive prow and keel fin and is the right length.

My current thinking on the Vengeful Spirit is to start with a Desolator and add lower Imperial weapons bays in the manner of the Vengeance. Somewhere it needs some larger launch bays capable of launching some Titan carrier drop ships.

[Gorlak]

Thank you all for the suggestions and linked images. These were the very same images I was looking at (I have Collected Visions, but not HH boardgame - google images helped) as a starting reference point.

The problem with the HH boardgame version is that it appears to simply be a variant of the Repulsive class, whcih is already smaller than both the Desolater and Despoiler - hardly fitting for Horus's flagship/a Glorina class ship that can carry Legion style forces. Therefore, an upgrade beyond this is necessary. The other difficulty is getting a-hold of a Repulsive hull to use for conversions. I don't even have a stock Repulsive in my collection, let alone one for conversions!  (damn you GW...)

So, an update. I have now sourced an Emperor, a Retribution and a Despoiler as the basis of the conversions. From these, I am hoping for a Venerable Battlebarge (comparable to Despoiler class) for my Blood Angels and the Vengeful Spirit.

Venerable Battlebarge (Blood Angels):
Having test fitted some options and components, I feel the original plan of a Despoiler prow on an Emperor class is not working. I can't get the image of a spanner out of my mind...  So, an alternative option is needed. A stock Despoiler, converted to have side armour (as the modern BB) and Imperial weaponry is looking good. This does mean the Despoiler components wouldn't be available for the Vengeful Spirit though...

Vengeful Spirit (Sons of Horus/Black Legion):
Now, this has been the hardest to reconcile. The previous plan was a Retribution with additional Chaos Battleship upper hull at the rear, in the style of the Grand Cruisers. As mocked up here:


However, this may not be possible and doesn't really fir with the consensus I'm getting from the forum.
Having tried a few options and components though, a new plan is forming, particularly taking inspiration from the ongoing Heresy Era Battlebarge threads and this image:


So, what does everyone think of this double-decker version -


Too much? I'm worried it might be...

I am not sure whether to go for this, obviously with some fairly extensive work to get the prow right, or go for a version using the Chaos Battleship upper hull and try(!) and source a Repulsive prow and/or hull for the conversion. Decisions decisions! Any help or opinions are of course welcome!

Thanks,
H

[Armiger84]

If size wasn't an issue, I'd read the image for the Vengeful Spirit as using the following layout:

[Battery] [Battery] [Lances] [Battery] [Battery]
[Battery] [Hangar] [Lances] [Battery] [Battery]

Of course, the lances could just be a vertical set instead of a full weapons hardpoint.  As for how to build that... I'd check with one of the Dreadnought builders for advice.  Beyond that, your stern section should work pretty well.  As for the prow, I'd have to see it in person, but my initial advice would be to cut yourself styrene templates for the upper and lower limits of the prow's plow shape, box it out and reinforce it internally to the right height (and back it with more styrene where it should meet the hull), and then putty that in to the desired shape.  It's a real project on anything larger than an escort, but it'll ultimately get you a more satisfying shape than trying to merge metal and plastic prow pieces, IMO.