2020 - Page 22 of 44 - Felix's Gaming Pages

Cromwell IV

The Cromwell tank, named after the English Civil War leader Oliver Cromwell, was the first tank in the British arsenal to combine a dual-purpose gun, high speed from the powerful and reliable Meteor engine, and reasonable armour, all in one balanced package. Its design formed the basis of the Comet tank. The Cromwell first saw action in June 1944, with the reconnaissance regiments of the Royal Armoured Corps.

This Cromwell tank was on display at the Tank Museum at Bovington when I went there in 2016.

I had taken a photograph of the same tank twenty odd years earlier as well.

The Cromwell tank was one of the most successful series of cruiser tanks fielded by Britain in the Second World War. Its design formed the basis of the Comet tank. However by the time the Cromwell first saw action in Normandy in many ways it was already out of date.

I am the process of painting some Cromwells for Flames of War.

I remember when I watched episode 4 of Band of Brothers and was pleasantly surprised to see some (real) Cromwells used in the filming.

Overall the Cromwell was a welcome addition to the British forces, but as with many allied tanks, they were under armoured and under-gunned when faced with the German tanks of the same time period. Where the allies won out was in sheer numbers and probably more importantly logistics.

Painting the Aeronautica Imperialis Valkyrie Assault Carriers

I have finished painting my Aeronautica Imperialis Valkyrie Assault Carriers.

Typically seconded to the Astra Militarum, Valkyrie Assault Carriers deliver troops directly to the front, hovering in place to provide fire support, before blasting off to take on enemy aircraft. Versatile weapon hard points allow them to be kitted out to take on a wide range of ground targets and aircraft.

I had the boxed set of the Aeronautica Imperialis Valkyrie Assault Carriers, which I constructed and gave a white undercoat.

The models were then given a basecoat of Ushabti Bone. I wanted a lighter colour, knowing that when I shaded the models it would darken the basecoat.

I am not particularly happy about painting camouflage, but decided I would have an attempt on these models, partly to push myself in terms of painting, but also to make them look different to the Imperial Navy and Ork models I had painted. I also quite liked the scheme that was used on the GW models.

Now I am pretty sure they used an airbrush on their models, but I didn’t have an airbrush!

I used a stipple brush and Castellan Green to add the green camouflage. I made my stipple brush by cutting the bristles down on a normal brush to around 3-5mm. I didn’t want marked and clear camouflage, more of a stippled or airbrushed look. Paint is added to the brush and then I try and remove some (not so little as with drybrushing) but enough for coverage.

I quite like the effect and I think when shaded this will tone it down as well. Continue reading “Painting the Aeronautica Imperialis Valkyrie Assault Carriers”

The Battle of Signus Prime

The Battle of Signus Prime was a diorama at Warhammer World where the Blood Angels Legion are advancing towards the Cathedral of the Mark across the devastated landscape of Signus Prime.

Mastodon Heavy Assault Transports lead the forces into battle.

The Mastodon was one of the heaviest assault transports in the arsenal of the Legiones Astartes during the Great Crusade, and is still found in the armouries of the Space Marine Chapters of the 41st Millenium. Its cavernous assault bay, capable of housing almost half a Company, is protected both by thick layers of ceramite armour as well as crackling void shields.

It also mounts a fearsome siege melta array, allowing it to breach even the most formidable defences with ease, as well as an array of secondary weaponry intended to defend the vehicle as it approaches its target. Unleashed only against the most fearsome of enemy redoubts, there are few obstacles that can stay the wrath of this relic of the Imperium’s bloody birth.

Under the assault of the Chaos gods and their dominion, Signus Prime has been turned into a field of stinking mud and broken rocks.

Visibility was heavily reduced due to the slow relentless rain of sulphur and brimstone.

You can hear the cries of Daemons, nightmares given a corporeal form. Weapon platforms, such as the Legion Deimos Pattern Whirlwind Scorpius are made ready to launch death and destruction on the chaos forces.

An ancient variant of the more common Whirlwind missile tank, the Scorpius was designed with a single purpose in mind – the destruction of heavily armoured infantry. The Scorpius variant replaces the Whirlwind’s multiple missile launcher system with the intricate drum-fed scorpius launcher, whose implosive warheads are devastating to armoured infantry and light vehicles.

The roar of engines of thousands of vehicles is heavy in the air, the Blood Angels Legion anticipate victory. The skies are filled with the aircraft of the Blood Angels Legion.

Sacred Legion Javelin Attack Speeders are flanking the battlefield to take out the enemy.

Larger and more heavily armoured than the common pattern of Land Speeder, the Javelin Attack Speeder is a nigh-irreplaceable relic of a bygone age of technological mastery. Gravitic nullification plates, the secret of whose production and maintenance have long since been lost, allow the Javelin to mount an array of heavy weaponry more akin to a heavy tank destroyer than a nimble Land Speeder, allowing them to make pinpoint strikes on enemy armour or infantry with devastating lascannon or missile barrage.

Building the Aeronautica Imperialis Valkyrie Assault Carriers

I pre-ordered the boxed set of the Aeronautica Imperialis Valkyrie Assault Carriers.

These are quite fiddly models to make. There are quite a few small parts, such as the top of the cockpit and the engines. The rear tail assembly is also a bit of a challenge.

You need to ensure you have cleaned the pieces so that they fit neatly together, otherwise you will get gaps. Here are the four finished models on my workbench. I built two as Valkyrie Assault flyers and two as Vendetta Assault Carriers. The main difference between two flyers are the underwing ordnance.

Having constructed the models I gave them a white undercoat, using a white spray paint.

There are two versions you can build, the Valkyrie Assault Carrier with rocket pods or the Vendetta Assault Carriers with Lascannons.

See the Aeronautica Imperialis Valkyrie Assault Carriers workbench.

Getting some more done with those Grot Tanks

I picked up a set of Grot Tanks on a visit to Warhammer World. Having not really looked at them for a while, having been stuck at the undercoated stage, I thought I might try and finish them.

The set contains four different variant chassis, tracks, exhausts and turrets as well as four fantastic Grot Tank Kommandaz and 5 different, incredibly shooty, weapon options.

I had worked on one tank first, but have now started on the others.

With Grot Tank I I painted the tracks with Gorthor Brown. I then painted the exhausts with Leadbelcher.

I had already given Grot Tank II a base coat of Chieftain Green but then started to paint the tracks with Gorthor Brown. I then painted the exhausts with Leadbelcher.

I also used the same paint to paint the Grotzooka ammo box and the Grotzooka ammo in the cannon.

Having worked quite a bit on Grot Tank III I am now quite pleased with how it turned out.

Though I think I will need to fix that track, so it’s out with the green stuff.

I painted the tracks with Gorthor Brown. When I did this I actually noted in the workbench page that I had used Dryad Bark, which is a much darker colour. It was only when painted the other Grot Tanks that I realised I hadn’t used Dryad Bark and must have used Gorthor Brown. The whole point of these guides is they should help me paint! Anyway I was pleased with the way the Gorthor Brown tracks now look. So I had to repaint some of the other tanks.

I did the tracks on the Grot Tank IV with Gorthor Brown. I then painted the exhausts with Leadbelcher.

See the workbench features on the Grot Tanks.

Basecoating and shading the Inquisitorial Achilles Ridgerunner

One of my more recent models is the Genestealer Cults Achilles Ridgerunner.

The Achilles Ridgerunner is an Imperial light exploratory vehicle often used to scout out new ore seams by mining guild prospectors and newly discovered terrain on Frontier Worlds by geological surveyors.

I really do like this model, and as it is an Imperial light exploratory vehicle, I decided that I could use this to support my Daemonhunters force of Inquisitorial Stormtroopers, some of whom are Cadian Kasrkin and some are Tallarn Imperial Guard.

I had already constructed and undercoated the model.

So the next stage was the basecoat.

I would like to have used a Foundation paint, Tausept Ochre, which I have used on my other Inquisitorial vehicles, however Citadel have not made that for a few years. Checking a paint conversion chart, I bought some Balor Brown.

To be honest Balor Brown, though similar in colour is no Tausept Ochre!

It certainly didn’t cover the model in the same way, so much so that in some areas I had to apply a second coat. However the shade looks right, so I was happy with that.

Using Abaddon Black I painted up the underneath where the white spray had “leaked” onto the black, or where the black spray hadn’t covered.

The model was then given various washes of mainly Citadel Shades, Seraphim Sepia, though for some parts of the model, basically therear decks, I used Agrax Earthshade.

See the workbench feature on the Inquisitorial Achilles Ridgerunner.

MGR-1 Honest John

The MGR-1 Honest John rocket was the first nuclear-capable surface-to-surface rocket in the United States arsenal. Originally designated Artillery Rocket XM31, the first unit was tested on 29 June 1951, with the first production rounds delivered in January 1953. Its designation was changed to M31 in September 1953. The first Army units received their rockets by year’s end and Honest John battalions were deployed in Europe in early 1954. Alternatively, the rocket was capable of carrying an ordinary high-explosive warhead weighing 1,500 pounds (680 kg).

Building and undercoating the Inquisitorial Achilles Ridgerunner

One of my more recent models is the Genestealer Cults Achilles Ridgerunner.

It comes in an A5 sized box with two sprues. One consist of the main body and chassis.

The other sprue is the wheels, crew and weaponry.

As some of my forces are inducted Tallarn Imperial Guard, I am going to see if there are any models I could use, otherwise I will build it as locked down. I won’t use the included crew as they are Genestealer Cults troops and they have Genestealer traits…

I started to build the model. Continue reading “Building and undercoating the Inquisitorial Achilles Ridgerunner”

Kharybdis Assault Claw

Employed by many Legions as their primary ship-to-ship assault craft, the Kharybdis is a monstrous drop pod capable of carrying large assault forces through the void and mounting significant firepower to blast a path through defending small craft.

This Kharybdis Assault Claw was part of a diorama at Warhammer World.

As a fully operational dropship, Kharybdis assault claws also serve as orbit-to-surface transports, a role that allows them to use the firepower of their storm launchers and melta cutters to scour clean their chosen landing zone before disembarking their deadly cargo.

Some aggressive commanders employ the Kharybdis as an effective tank hunter, ramming enemy armour in daring low-altitude attack runs.

Painting a Killa Kan

Killa Kans are smallish, bipedal walkers composed of a rickety, lightly armoured “kan” perched atop a pair of piston driven legs, and armed with a selection of ranged and close-combat weapons. Relatively primitive and weak by Ork standards, they are nonetheless fast and incredibly dangerous for their size, and one or two are more than a match for an Astra Militarum Sentinel walker.

These plastic Killa Kans were a christmas present many years ago…

The box provides for a mob of three plastic models all armed with different weapons.

In the box you get three plastic sprues, which allow you to make three plastic Killa Kan.

The last time I looked at these I had given them a wash of Devlan Mud, which is now no longer available… however a quick search means I can find alternatives.

I decided I might try and finish the models, however one of them had broken it’s buzzsaw. So that one was picked as one to try and finish first. Having fixed the buzzsaw I painted some parts of the model with Leadbelcher paint including the main saw.

I did some dry brushing of the model.

See the workbench feature on all three Killa Kans.