2020 - Page 18 of 44 - Felix's Gaming Pages

It’s red

For Bolt Action I am in the process of painting some partisans to fight Simon’s Italians. I have been looking for some vehicles and Warlord Games actually make a fair few civilian models for Bolt Action. Looking through the Bolt Action website I quite liked the look of the Civilian 1000Kg Dropside Truck so I got one.

Having given the model a white undercoat, I then gave the rear of the truck (which was separate) a basecoat of Vallejo 70912 Tan Yellow. I then gave that a wash of Seraphim Sepia Shade which was a little too light, so I then gave a wash of Agrax Earthshade. I also gave the chassis, the tyres and wheels a base coat of Vallejo 70.862 Black Grey.

After much thought, I decided to take the risk and paint the bodywork of the truck red.

I used Citadel Mephiston Red as the base colour and I am quite pleased with how it turned out.

It still needs a wash and weathering, but the colour works for me.

I then took some Abaddon Black to paint the windows and chassis.

I also decided in the end to paint the running boards red.

See the workbench feature on the Citroen Civilian 1000Kg Dropside Truck.

Necron Doom Scythe

What with all the hype with the new edition of Warhammer 40000, there is a renewed interest in the Necrons.

The Necrons are a race of mechanical warriors, created from the Necrontyr. They have lain dormant in their stasis-tombs for sixty million years. They are ancient beyond reckoning, pre-dating even the Eldar. At long last, however, they are beginning to awaken, seeking to reestablish the supremacy of the Necron Dynasties over the Galaxy once more.

There have been some nice models for the Necrons including flyers, such as the Doom Scythe, this one was on display at Warhammer World.

Doom Scythes are heralds of terror, supersonic fighter craft that range far ahead of a Necron invasion. Thanks to the precision of his android brain, the pilot can simulate billions of strategies in nanoseconds.

The crescent-shaped Necron Doom Scythe is an impressive model. It’s numerous, elegant panels are covered in Necron iconography, and there are numerous orbs and grills located around the model, and a spine-like engine. As well as a Necron pilot tucked away in the centre of the model, the weapons on the flyer include a twin-linked tesla destructor and a death ray set within a claw-like vice.

I have a few galleries of Necron models:

I did wonder about starting a Necron army, mainly as it looked like an easy army to paint…. In the end I decided I had too much to paint on my workbench and I should get that lot finished first. This is the same reason why I didn’t purchase the new Indomitus boxed set as well.

Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet

The Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet was a German rocket-powered interceptor aircraft.

It is the only rocket-powered fighter aircraft ever to have been operational and the first piloted aircraft of any type to exceed 621 mph in level flight.

Over 300 Komets were built, but the aircraft proved lacklustre in its dedicated role as an interceptor and destroyed between 9 and 18 Allied aircraft against 10 losses.

Me 163B, Werknummer 191614, has been at the RAF Museum site at RAF Cosford, since 1975. Before then, it was at the Rocket Propulsion Establishment at Westcott, Buckinghamshire. This aircraft last flew on 22 April 1945, when it shot down an RAF Lancaster.

Going back to the Battlewagon.

This plastic battlewagon kit was released by Games Workshop on the 3rd January 2009 and I picked mine up on the 4th January. I had hoped to paint the model quite quickly, well nearly ten years later, maybe not.

The last stage I left the model was back in 2010 when I had drybrushed the black parts of the model. It then got left for a while, well it got left for quite a few years!

So I recently unearthed it from storage with the intention of finishing it off. It was in seperate parts still, so for this photograph I fitted the parts to see how the model could look.

I had used my old method for painting vehicles, which was to paint the “metal” parts with Chaos Black and then use a different colour on the bodywork. I had used a masking process in painting the superstructure and keeping the underbody black. I decided not to repaint the black parts and just use weathering techniques to lighten their dark colour.

I did consider respraying the model as I had done with the Kill Bursta with Zandri Dust spray, but in the end decided I wanted it to look different to the Kill Bursta.

I painted some details of the model with Ushabti Bone. I also used XV-88 and Balor Brown on some of the panels. This is really to break up the predominant colour of the model. However I didn’t do too many, as I didn’t want a patchwork effect.

I washed the model with Seraphim Sepia Shade, before using some Nuln Oil and Agrax Earthshade shades on specific parts of the model.

Continue reading “Going back to the Battlewagon.”

Centurion Tank Mk 3

A view of a Centurion Mk 3 Tank on a low loader at Duxford.

The Centurion, introduced in 1945, was the primary British main battle tank of the post-World War II period.

Production of the Mk 3 began in 1948. The Mk 3 was so much more powerful than the Mk 1 and Mk 2, that the earlier designs were removed from service as soon as new Mk 3s arrived, and the older tanks were then either converted into the Centurion armoured recovery vehicle (ARV) Mark 1 for use by the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers or upgraded to Mk 3 standards.

It was a successful tank design, with upgrades, for many decades. The chassis was also adapted for several other roles.

Development of the tank began in 1943 and manufacture of the Centurion began in January 1945, six prototypes arriving in Belgium less than a month after the war in Europe ended in May 1945. It first entered combat with British Army in the Korean War in 1950, in support of the UN forces. The Centurion later served in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, where it fought against US-supplied M47 Patton and M48 Patton tanks. It served with the Royal Australian Armoured Corps in Vietnam. Israel used Centurions in the 1967 Six Day War, 1973 Yom Kippur War, and during the 1975 and 1982 invasions of Lebanon. Centurions modified as APCs were used in Gaza, the West Bank and the Lebanese border. South Africa used its Centurions in Angola. The Royal Jordanian Land Force used Centurion tanks, first in 1970 to fend off a Syrian incursion within its borders during the Black September events and later in the Golan Heights in 1973.

It became one of the most widely used tank designs, equipping armies around the world, with some still in service until the 1990s. As recently as the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict the Israel Defense Forces employed heavily modified Centurions as armoured personnel carriers and combat engineering vehicles.

Fellblade Super Heavy Tank

Based upon the same STC data as the Baneblade and Deathhammer super-heavy tanks, which are a mainstay of the vast brigades of the Imperial Army, the Fellblade is a more advanced variant that first saw widespread service with the Legiones Astartes in the last decades of the Great Crusade.

It is most noted for its use of Mechanicum atomantic arc-reactor technology and a reinforced metaplas alloy chassis superior even to that of the Baneblade, alongside an advanced accelerator cannon as its primary armament. These systems are all fruits of Dark Age technologies rediscovered and restored to humanity shortly before the nightmare of the Great Heresy.

This Fellblade was part of a airbase diorama at Warhammer World where there were all the different kinds of Space Marine Flyers as well as the odd tank or three.

Working more on the Grot Krew

Across my Ork Big Gunz, heavy vehicles, even my Stompa, I have a variety of Grot Krew that need painting. This post shows where I had got so far with them.

The next stage was finishing off the detailing and clothing on the models.

These Grot Krew are from the Forge World Big Zzappa, though there is a Stompa Krew Grot in the first photograph.

I painted the nails and claws of the Grots with Ushabti Bone and then highlighted with Wraithbone. I painted the trousers of one of the Grots with Ushabti Bone and the other with XV-88.

These are from the Stompa kit and the Skorcha.

I did some more with the Grots. In the main I painted some clothing using various shades of khaki and brown. I highlighted the screwdriver with Stormhost Silver. I washed the pistols with Nuln Oil.

I an pretty happy with the Grot with the Wrench from the Skorcha kit. Not sure what I am going to do with the eyes, probably black and then a spot of red.

I used various greys to paint the bandana of the screwdriver yielding Grot.

These Grots are from the Kill Kannon.

For the Kill Kannon observer, I painted a lens effect on the observing tool. I painted the entire lens with Thunderhawk Blue and then used Lothern Blue for the reflection before finally adding a drop of white at the top. On the other side of the device I used a drop of Mephiston Red.

For the loader, the one with the helmet, I painted his jacket with XV-88 and then highlighted with a mix of XV-88 and Ushabti Bone.

I have a fair few other Grot Krew I need to clean, base and paint.

These are the Krew from the Supa Kannon and their ammo crate.

Once I cleaned up the models I glued them temporarily to bases and then gave them a white undercoat of Corax White.

Mechanicum Triaros Armoured Conveyer

This beautifully painted Mechanicum Triaros Armoured Conveyer was on display in Warhammer World.

The Triaros is the primary armoured battlefield transport of the Mechanicum Taghmata during the era of the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy. Eschewing the more commonplace STC designs, it relies on a number of unique technologies held as arcana by the Magos Autokrator and never divulged for wider Imperial use, even by the Legiones Astartes. Designed for use in hostile environments, it incorporates multiple galvanic traction drives and its defences are comprised not merely of brute armour, but layered techno-cant wardings and interlocking energy shields, particularly around its seemingly exposed control dais, as well as independently animated weapons servitors.

More photographs of the Mechanicum Triaros Armoured Conveyer.

Shading the Kill Bursta

I have had my Kill Bursta hanging around on the workbench for a while now, so it’s nice to make some significant progress on the model.

Forge World’s big Ork tank mounts a huge gun ready to take on any Imperial BaneBlade or even Titan. The Kill Bursta mounts a huge-bore Kannon capable of destroying bunkers and siegeworks with ease.

The last time I looked at the model I had given the model a double undercoat of white and black and then using a thinned Chaos Black I touched up the black basecoat. I also black undercoated certain parts of the engine.

The first thing I did was something different and sprayed the upper surfaces of the model with Citadel Spray Zandri Dust. Using a brush I painted the tracks with Gorthor Brown. I did the engine with Leadbelcher, rather than drybrushing with Tin Bitz over a black undercoat.

I started painting some of the panels with other colours, notably Balor Brown and Ushabti Bone. This is really to break up the predominant colour of the model. However I didn’t do too many, as I didn’t want a patchwork effect.

I retained the dark black undercoat on the front prow and didn’t spray that too much as I quite liked the idea that this was dirty and weathered compared to the rest of the tank.

I did consider painting the main weapon with Leadbelcher, which is something I had seen on other people’s Kill Bursta models, but in the end I went with the base colour instead.

I also did some of the chains and piping with Leadbelcher.

The next stage was a bit of a challenge, using various Citadel shades, though mainly Seraphim Sepia, to add shadow to the model.

I did use a large 1/2 Round Mop brush which helped.

I think I might need to revisit the shading and also look at overpainting those areas where the shade had pooled as well.

See the workbench feature on the Kill Bursta.

Mechanicum Macrocarid Explorator

This Mechanicum Macrocarid Explorator was on display at Warhammer World.

Originally released in November 2016, the model is now no longer available to buy from Forge World.

Uniquely crafted to the needs of the Magos leading the expeditionary force, Macrocarid Explorators first saw use as frontline combat and mobile command vehicles in the early days of the Great Crusade. Heavily armoured and equipped with the Mechanicum’s signature technologies and weapons, they are now pressed into service on both sides of the cataclysmic battles of The Horus Heresy.

Macrocarid Explorators can transport Magos’ or their units of deadly automata across the battlefield, cutting through any opponent foolish enough to come close with powerful weapons enhanced by augury scanners. Their heavy armour makes them as durable as the Legiones Astartes Land Raider, with the addition of extensive self-repair systems.