Getting into a New (Dead) Game is Definitely Not A Mistake

Years ago, I used to be into the Star Wars X-Wing miniatures game, and I thoroughly enjoyed playing it... right up until they bumped the major version and rolled out version 2.0. I was aghast that they would bilk me like that; it required a full re-purchase of every rules card, and while I'm sure there were ways to upgrade less expensively, I just was incredibly disillusioned. I'd hitched my wagon to the wrong game!

So, I set them aside for a decade. That said, when playing the game, I found myself wishing for something with a grander scale - I wanted to replicate the strategic grand battles from the movies, not just the individual dogfights. I was well aware of Star Wars Armada, looking at it longingly online. I didn't have the resources to get into a new mini game at the time, so I didn't ever get into it.

Which of course brings us to today. I'd been aware of Battlefleet Gothic before now, having seen some old minis at a coworkers desk, and playing the video games. But, I'd never entertained the idea of playing it, since the old models are so rare and expensive. But recently, after several successful adventures into 3D printing at my local library, and some encouragement from folks at my FLGS, I think it might be time to go for it. The biggest selling point of the game is that it's no longer supported directly; What is dead may never die. Additionally, since gameplay takes place from the base and stem, which allows the model on top to be customized or unique! If you, dear reader, want to go on this journey with me, the rules PDFs are easily found here.

This is what I'd been looking for - A game that supports creativity, a game that wouldn't get paywalled suddenly with little warning, a game with a small but passionate fanbase. So I got to sculpting! Well - I got to reference collecting. And, as always, I was desperately excited to put my own spin on things. I've been playing with the idea of converting some old Space Marine models I have into Infested Space Marines, A la Starcraft. No, not Genestealers, Tyranid-infested Imperium. It's completely different.

I wanted to make this a small project, which probably won't actually be true, but I want to at least try to mitigate the scale of the project. Since I plan on printing it, I think I can get away with making parts extremely reusable and modular. I also want to make sure to make the silhouettes of each class of ship unique and interesting, and I want to make sure any Infested goopiness is easy to create and looks violently intrusive to the ship.

After working for a couple hours, I ended up with above as my starting library, and below as a test model. It doesn't yet have any tentacles or infestation, and is just one of many yet to come, but I think it proves out my pipeline!

Of course, I have lots more library parts to model, and I still need to figure out the infested bits. But for now, I'm going to end this post here. Keep an eye for more BFG stuff in the future!

- Miss Captain Bear