2020 - Page 30 of 44 - Felix's Gaming Pages

Constructing the Civilian 1000Kg Dropside Truck

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. The other civilian vehicles in the French range also look quite useful. In the main I will use them as scenery or as objectives. In the end I got the Warlord Games Bolt Action Citroen Civilian 1000kg Dropside Truck.

In a previous blog post I looked at some photographs of the actual vehicle.

The model comes in a blister pack and comprises a clean resin casting and some metal components. I glued the axels to the underneath of the model.

I then glued the wheels to the axels, it was challenging to get them to be even.

I then stuck the headlamps and front bumper.

The next stage will be an undercoat.

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

May the Fourth be with you….

Today of course is Star Wars Day, it’s 4th May, as in May the Fourth be with you….

You can now buy the complete Star Wars Saga in UHD 4K as well as Blu-Ray and DVD.

I have a few sections and pages on the website for those who are interested in Star Wars.

We have a section on Star Wars: X-Wing.

X-Wing is a miniatures game from Fantasy Flight games that recreates the dogfights in the Star Wars universe between X-Wing fighters of the Rebel Alliance and the Imperial TIE Fighters.

Here are some blog posts about X-Wing.

Rebel Scum

Red Leader, Red Leader, Cheaper Leader

Red Leader, Red Leader, Still Cheaper Leader

Transports away…

I also have a section on Star Wars: Legion.

Star Wars: Legion invites you to join the unsung battles of the Galactic Civil War as the commander of a unique army filled with troopers, powerful ground or repulsor vehicles, and iconic characters like Darth Vader or Luke Skywalker. While innovative mechanics simulate the fog of war and the chaos of battle, the unpainted, easily assembled miniatures give you a canvas to create the Star Wars army you’ve always wanted to lead into battle—whether you fight for the monolithic, oppressive Galactic Empire or the ragtag Rebel Alliance.

The boxed set contains thirty-three sculpted, easily assembled figures (including Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Rebel Troopers, Stormtroopers, an AT-RT, and 74-Z Speeder Bikes).

Star Wars Legion Workbench

First game of Star Wars: Legion

Battle of Scarif

Took the leap with Aeronautica Imperialis

Take to the Skies! Aeronautica Imperialis is a game of aerial combat set in the Warhammer 40,00 universe. While ground troops push forward to secure tactical objectives, winged squadrons push forward in the skies to decimate enemy positions and intercept enemy fighters.

Though I think I bought the original Forge World Aeronautica Imperialis rules I don’t think I ever got around to playing an actual game. I certainly painted up a few of the planes though.

I had thought about buying the new game for a while now, but kept putting it off and buying other stuff. When the game first came out I did wonder about the size of the planes and how they compared in size to the Epic models I had already. I know that the new Adeptus Titanicus was “larger” in scale than the original Epic, so I was assuming that these new Aeronautica Imperialis planes would similarly be larger. However I found searching the internet that I couldn’t for sure see a comparison between the old and the new.

So I was pleased on a visit to Warhammer World in January to see the models in “the flesh” and they are significantly bigger than the Epic versions I had in my collection.

These were the Ork Air Waaagh!.

These are the Imperial Navy flyers.

I decided that if I was going to get into the game, I would buy the Wings of Vengeance boxed set. Continue reading “Took the leap with Aeronautica Imperialis”

Forge World Ork Weapons

I have been digging through my workbench models and realised I had a fair few Forge World Ork Weapons.

This is the KillKannon, it fires either large bore frag rounds to use against enemy infantry, or a solid shell for destroying tanks.

I would usually paint this black and then drybrush, but I am now thinking I might more go along the same technique I used on my Ork Fight Bommer jet engine.

I have both volumes of the Forge World Masterclass books and they are a real inspiration and full of ideas and techniques for painting and weathering models. I wanted to try and emulate some of those techniques on the engine of the Ork Bommer.

I have been using a combination of inks and shades on a base coat of Bolt Gun Metal.

See the workbench feature on the Forgeworld Ork KilKannon.

I also have the Big Zzappa.

See the workbench feature on the Forgeworld Ork Big Zzappa.

I thought I had painted the Kannon, but then realised I had two, one which came with my Gunwagon.

See the workbench feature on the Forgeworld Ork Kannon.

I also found the Supa Kannon and the Flakk Gun as well, but they are still in their plastic bags waiting to be constructed.

Jagdpanther

The Jagdpanther was a tank destroyer built by Nazi Germany during World War II based on the chassis of the Panther tank. It entered service late in the war and saw service on the Eastern and Western fronts. Many military historians consider the Jagdpanther to be one of the best tank destroyers of the war due to the combination of the very powerful 8.8 cm KwK 43 cannon and the characteristically excellent armor and suspension of the Panther chassis.

This Jagdpanther was on display at the Imperial War Museum Duxford.

I have a 15mm Flames of War version on the workbench.

Mark IX Beast, or that tank from Indiana Jones!

Probably my favourite Indiana Jones film is Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The combination of archaeology, mythology, nazi soldiers and lots of wonderful pulp action. Watching it recently I was reminded of that tank!

Though we know it wasn’t real, and though we know that there was no actual historical version of it; I am sure most of us who have thought about recreating the Indiana Jones films on the table have wanted to use that tank.

Yes the tank from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

It appears at first glance to be a Mark VIII with a turret, the reality was that it was built specially for the film and was built up from an excavator.

Mechanical effects supervisor George Gibbs said this movie was the most difficult one of his career. He visited a museum to negotiate renting a small French World War I tank, but decided he wanted to make one. The tank was based on the tank Mark VIII, which was thirty-six feet (eleven meters) long, and weighed twenty-five tons. Gibbs built the tank over the framework of a twenty-five ton excavator, and added 6.4 ton tracks, that were driven by two automatic hydraulic pumps, each connected to a Range Rover V8 engine. Gibbs built the tank from steel, rather than aluminum or fiberglass, because it would allow the realistically suspensionless vehicle to endure the rocky surfaces. Unlike its historical counterpart, which had only the two side guns, the tank had a turret gun added as well. It took four months to build, and was transported to Almería on a Short Belfast plane, and then a low loader truck.

I wrote back in 2012 about finding a 28mm model of the tank. I did think about buying it back then, but put off my purchase. I thought back then it was a Copplestone Castings model, the reality was that it wasn’t from Copplestone Castings.

It's not. It was never Copplestones, it belonged to HLBSCo, but I think they sold the whole range to another company. Sorry can't help more.

— NorthStarFigs (@NorthStarFigs) November 12, 2019

So it appeared that it wasn’t even a Copplestones Castings, but was by the Honourable Lead Boiler Suit Company (HLBSCo), alas that company no longer is around.

Sometimes you should buy things when you see them and not wait…

So it was originally designed and manufactured by the Honourable Lead Boiler Suit Company (HLBSCo) they were small and relatively new. I even remember discussing licensing the models for a commercial version of Tally Ho!

So I did some searching on the Google and found that the tank is available today with the other HLBSCo models from Empress Miniatures.

Well I made the leap and have ordered the tank from Empress Miniatures. This is the photograph of the model on their website.

Now just waiting for it to arrive.

Undercoating the Citroen Civilian 4,500kg Truck with Canopy

I have been reflecting and looking at some of the models on my workbench and making progress on them.

I have the Bolt Action Citroen Civilian 4,500kg Truck with Canopy. Citroen made many of these trucks in the 1930s and 1940s.

The pack contains a resin and metal kit, this is a nice clean casting.

Having constructed the model kit, I then gave the model an undercoat. I undercoated the underside with black paint and then gave the model an overall white undercoat.

I like how the white undercoat brings out the detail in the model. I also gave the canopy a white undercoat.

I then noticed something…

There was a huge piece of resin sticking out the side, where the mould was filled with resin. I will need to clean that off before I start painting.

The next stage is to start painting the model.

See the workbench feature on the Citroen Civilian 4,500kg Truck with Canopy.

Leman Russ Vanquisher

Leman Russ Vanquisher Stygies VIII Variant at Warhammer World.

The Leman Russ Vanquisher variant differs from the standard pattern Leman Russ in that its main weapon is a Vanquisher Cannon, as opposed to the Battle Cannon.

The Stygies VIII variant of the Vanquisher cannon, while lacking the immense length of the Gryphonne IV guns to generate shell velocity, utilises a slightly smaller calibre shell with increased barrel rifling. There has never been a direct comparison of the cannons of Gryphone IV or Stygies VIII.

Leman Russ Vanquisher Gallery

Constructing the Citroen Civilian 4,500kg Truck with Canopy

I have been reflecting and looking at some of the models on my workbench and making progress on them.

In addition to the Bolt Action Citroen Civilian 1000kg Dropside Truck I also bought a slightly bigger truck, the Citroen Civilian 4,500kg Truck with Canopy.

Citroen made many of these trucks in the 1930s and 1940s.

The pack contains a resin and metal kit, this is a nice clean casting.

The rear wheels were quite easy to secure to the rear of the truck. There is an axel and two sets of wheels.

The front axel, I really had no idea how this was secured and the photographs on the Warlord Games site didn’t help that much. So I first stuck the front wheels to the front axel and then checked how the wheels would fit on the underside.

I was then able to secure the front axel to the underside of the truck, getting it to sit flat was challenging. I also stuck the front bumper on as well.

The next stage is to give the model an undercoat.

See the workbench feature on the Citroen Civilian 4,500kg Truck with Canopy.

Light Tank M3A1 Stuart IV

The M3 Stuart, officially Light Tank, M3, was an American light tank of World War II. It was supplied to British and other Commonwealth forces under lend-lease prior to the entry of the U.S. into the war. Thereafter, it was used by U.S. and Allied forces until the end of the war.

Stuart tanks were the first to be supplied to Britain under the Lend-Lease scheme and they were very popular, even so none survived to join the original Tank Museum collection. This example was kindly supplied by the Brazilian Government and is displayed in recognition of the fact that Brazilian troops served with the Allies in Italy.