Year: 2023

Valentine Bridgelayer

This Valentine Bridgelayer was on display at the Tank Museum at Bovington.

Valentine Bridgelayer

The Valentine Bridgelayer was a British armoured bridgelayer tank based on the Valentine Infantry Tank MK II. It was turretless and fitted with a 10-meter (33 ft) long, 2.90-meter (9 ft 6 in) wide Class 30 (capable of bearing 30 long tons (34 short tons)) scissors bridge. The bridge could be deployed in 2.5 minutes and could carry a wide range of vehicles, including tanks, trucks, and artillery.

The Valentine Bridgelayer was first produced in 1942 and saw action in North-West Europe, Italy, Burma, and Manchuria. It was a valuable asset to Allied forces, allowing them to quickly and safely cross rivers, streams, and other obstacles.

The Valentine Bridgelayer was a well-designed and reliable vehicle. It was based on the proven Valentine tank chassis, which was known for its durability and ease of maintenance. The scissors bridge was also a very effective design, and it was able to withstand a great deal of weight.

The Valentine Bridgelayer was a vital piece of equipment for Allied forces during World War II. It helped them to overcome a variety of obstacles and to achieve victory.

Here are some additional facts about the Valentine Bridgelayer:

    • It was the first British armoured bridgelayer to be produced in large numbers.
    • It was used by a variety of Allied forces, including the British, Canadians, Americans, and Soviets.
    • The Valentine Bridgelayer was a very versatile vehicle. It could be used to cross a variety of obstacles, including rivers, streams, ditches, and craters.
    • It was also used to support infantry operations and to provide cover for engineers.

The Valentine Bridgelayer was a highly successful vehicle, and it played an important role in Allied victory during World War II.

English Electric Lightning F1/P1B

The English Electric Lightning is a British fighter aircraft that served as an interceptor during the 1960s, the 1970s and into the late 1980s. It remains the only UK-designed-and-built fighter capable of Mach 2.

This English Electric Lightning F1/P1B was suspended from the ceiling of the Cold War exhibition at RAF Cosford.

Following the successful demonstration of supersonic flight by the two P1 research aircraft WG760 and WG763, English Electric was contracted to develop the P1B fighter aircraft. It was known as the Lightning and was capable of supersonic interceptions of enemy aircraft; it remained in front line service for nearly three decades. The first P1B Lightning flew on 4 April 1957, the day the Government published a White Paper forecasting the end of manned aircraft and their replacement with missiles. As a result, several British military aircraft projects were cancelled, but the Lightning survived.

The Lightning was designed, developed, and manufactured by English Electric, which was later absorbed by the newly-formed British Aircraft Corporation.

English Electric Lightning F.6 at RAF London.

English Electric Lightning Mk1 at Duxford.

Dead Man’s Hand Redux

I’ve like the rules for Dead Man’s Hand from Great Escape Games even though I certainly have not played it enough.

We will be getting a new edition in 2024.

Dead Man’s Hand was released in 2013 and has seen eight print-runs, a hearty miniature range and our first few plastic kits. And we have a lot more planned for the game, the building range and Dead Man’s Hand miniatures.

The big news is that Dead Man’s Hand will see a new edition released in 2024. Dead Man’s Hand Redux will be released as a new starter set complete with plastic miniatures and plastic terrain. Over the following few weeks we will talk more about the details, but the biggest bit is that the starter set will come with full size plastic buildings, detailed inside and out and with removable roofs for full access gameplay.

Dead Man’s Hand Redux is the same game, but with an updated deck, new faction builds, new scenes, expanded rules and an easy pick-up campaign system. We will also have new factions, such as Texas Rangers, The Family, Pioneers and several more.

And more plastic sets planned. A lot more.

So, what happens next? At the end of October, we will launch a Kickstarter project for Dead Man’s Hand Redux and invite you all to come and join the campaign; we have a lot of great stretch goals planned. For those of you who already play Dead Man’s Hand, old and new, please continue to play and enjoy the first edition.

After successfully participating in the Car Wars Kickstarter I am tempted to participate in this one.

Mastodon Heavy Assault Transport

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.

These Mastodon transports were on display at Warhammer World in the Battle of Signus Prime diorama.

The Mastodon is heavily armed and armoured, carrying 40 Space Marines, and even Dreadnoughts, safely to the heart of battle. Whilst embarked, the warriors within will defend their immense transport, turning the sponson weapons on any enemy brave or foolish enough to come close. It’s Siege melta array can easily destroy fortifications, and makes short work of armoured vehicles, whilst its Skyreaper Battery will tear through any airborne threat with ease.

Legion Imperialis Batte Report

In the next issue of White Dwarf there will be an early battle report for Legions Imperialis.

From the cover:

Blood Angels take on the Death Guard in our first Legions Imperialis battle report.

The Warhammer Community website says

…and you can whet your appetite for the upcoming Legions Imperialis in an early battle report. 

This will be an issue of White Dwarf I will get when it comes out.

Now what does this tell us about the release date for Legions Imperialis? Well, not anything concrete, but I wonder if this means we might see Legions Imperialis before November? If not then in November?

Epic Battle Group

This is an Epic Battlegroup of mine.The models are from the 1990s.

The Warlord Titan is the original plastic model from the original Adeptus Titanic game, complete with plastic weapons.

The Land Raiders are plastic models, whilst the dreadnoughts are the original metal castings from Space Marine.

The scenery is from the (now defunct) Snapdragon Studio.

The models were painted in a similar manner with a light brown base coat and an ink wash.

Douglas C-47 Skytrain

The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota  is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front-line service with various military operators for many years. The Douglas C47, known as the Dakota in the Royal Air Force and Commonwealth services, became the world’s best known transport aircraft. The type saw widespread use by the Allies during the Second World War and by Air Forces and airlines post-war.

In the Cold War Exhibition at RAF Cosford, suspended from the ceiling is a Douglas Dakota.

More photographs of the Douglas C-47 Skytrain at RAF Cosford.