Author: Felix

Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet

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

This one was on display at the Science Museum.

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.

There is a Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet at RAF Cosford.

Horus Heresy Predator available in two weeks

I saw over on the Warhammer Community site a new (plastic) model of the Predator will be available to pre-order next week, so will be available in two weeks.

This Predator is based on the Deimos Pattern Rhino.

Although not as fast as the Sicaran, the Predator is a reliable ‘everytank’ for the Legion on the go. Instead of a complicated custom chassis, it’s built on the shoulders of the Deimos-pattern Rhino, providing armies with a dependable armoured fighting vehicle that can be easily modified and repaired as necessary.

It was originally announced and previewed back in July.

I like the kit and retro yet modern look they have achieved with the kit. Well Forge World did do that ten years ago… This is of course a plastic version of that Forge World resin kit. The Forge World kit was of course inspired by the  original plastic Predator model which used the original Rhino model.

The kit comes with a range of weapon choices.

I might get one to add to my Rhino.

Vickers Vimy

The Vickers Vimy was a British heavy bomber aircraft developed and manufactured by Vickers Limited. Developed during the latter stages of the First World War to equip the Royal Flying Corps.

Vickers Vimy

Only a handful of Vickers Vimy aircraft had entered service by the time the Armistice of 11 November 1918 came into effect, so the type did not serve in active combat operations during the war, but the Vimy became the core of the Royal Air Force’s heavy bomber force throughout the 1920s.

During the interwar period the Vimy set several records for long-distance flights, the most celebrated and significant of these being the first non-stop crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, performed by John Alcock and Arthur Brown in June 1919. It is this Vickers Vimy which is on display at the Science Museum. It was specially constructed for the attempt, with additional fuel tanks to extend its range and a revised undercarriage.

Vickers Vimy

The Vickers Vimy was in frontline service until 1929 and then continued in secondary roles until 1938.

You could imagine in a 1930s A Very British Civil War, the Vickers Vimy being used by different forces as bombers, despite their age and vulnerability.

Hekaton Land Fortress revealed

Hekaton Land Fortress

So this beast of a armoured vehicle was revealed at the NOVA Open.

The Hekaton Land Fortress is the Kin’s signature combat vehicle. This chunky Heavy Support tank packs overwhelming firepower onto a rugged frame, and can lug around a hefty 12 models.

I really liked the Sagitaur ATV which was announced in July. Back then I said

We’ve also been told that the Sagitaur isn’t the only vehicle in the Leagues of Votann’s garage. I wonder what else is in that garage?

Well, now we know there was something else in that garage and it is bigger and meaner, the Hekaton Land Fortress.

This is the kind of styling and look that I was hoping we would see with the Cargo-8 Ridgehauler, alas we didn’t.

Now though I would be happy to use these as a Squat, sorry Leagues of Votann, vehicle, I wonder how it compares to human sized models to be used slightly differently. Always difficult to gauge the size of a model from a photograph and no comparative models next to it.

So yes I am interested in the Hekaton Land Fortress as well as the Sagitaur ATV, however I want to see them in the “flesh” before making that purchase.

De Havilland Vampire F3

The de Havilland Vampire is a British jet fighter which was developed and manufactured by the de Havilland Aircraft Company.

It was the second jet fighter to be operated by the RAF, after the Gloster Meteor, and the first to be powered by a single jet engine.

Development of the Vampire as an experimental aircraft began in 1941. In 1946 the Vampire entered operational service with the RAF, only months after the war had ended.

The Vampire quickly proved to be effective and was adopted as a replacement of wartime piston-engined fighter aircraft. During its early service it accomplished several aviation firsts and achieved various records, such as being the first jet aircraft to cross the Atlantic Ocean. The Vampire remained in front-line RAF service until 1953 when its transfer began to secondary roles such as ground attack and pilot training, for which specialist variants were produced. The RAF retired the Vampire in 1966 when its final role of advanced trainer was filled by the Folland Gnat. The Royal Navy had also adapted the type as the Sea Vampire, a navalised variant suitable for operations from aircraft carriers. It was the service’s first jet fighter.

The Vampire was exported to many nations and was operated worldwide in numerous theatres and climates. Several countries used the type in combat including the Suez Crisis, the Malayan Emergency and the Rhodesian Bush War.

There was a de Havilland Vampire was on display at Duxford.

Painting the Grot Bomb Launcha Mk II

The Forgeworld Grot Bomb Launcha is probably one of my all time favourite models. I already have a workbench feature on that Grot Bomb Launcha however I did get another model of one at GamesDay 2005.

I found the chassis of this one in of the boxes with my Land Raiders. Having painted the chassis with a spray of Citadel Zandri Dust, I used some other brown paints to paint the boxes on the chassis. I painted the exhausts and the rear deck with Leadbelcher.

I then gave the model a wash using Citadel Shade Agrax Earthshade.

The next stage will be a drybrush.

Basecoating and shading the other Ruined Factorum

Having picked up the Ruined Factorum sprue that came with Warhammer 40000 Imperium 31 a couple of weeks back, I also purchased issue 34 for the second sprue .

The ruins are from the The Battlezone: Manufactorum – Sub-cloister and Storage Fane kit which did cost £37.50 at Games Workshop and contains two similar sprues. So at £8.99 you would be making a saving of £9.76.

You get two corner ruins, all coming on a single sprue. They go together really easily. There are two corners, whereas with the other sprue you got a large corner and a smaller corner. This one is similar, but the smaller ruined corner is larger and the larger corner is smaller (if that makes sense).

I used Humbrol Tank Grey 67 spray to give the underfloor a darker feel before giving the model a coat of  Mechanicus Standard Grey Spray.

I gave the models a wash of Nuln Oil Shade.

Hawker Tempest

This Hawker Tempest was on display at RAF London.

The Hawker Tempest is a British fighter aircraft that was primarily used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the Second World War. The Tempest, originally known as the Typhoon II, was an improved derivative of the Hawker Typhoon, intended to address the Typhoon’s unexpected deterioration in performance at high altitude by replacing its wing with a thinner laminar flow design. Since it had diverged considerably from the Typhoon, it was renamed Tempest. The Tempest emerged as one of the most powerful fighters of World War II and was the fastest single-engine propeller-driven aircraft of the war at low altitude.

Upon entering service in 1944, the Tempest performed low-level interception, particularly against the V-1 flying bomb threat, and ground attack supporting major invasions like Operation Market Garden. Later, it successfully targeted the rail infrastructure in Germany and Luftwaffe aircraft on the ground, as well as countering similar attacks by German fighters. The Tempest was effective in the low-level interception role, including against newly developed jet-propelled aircraft like the Messerschmitt Me 262.

Land Raider Iconography

I have on my workbench a standard Land Raider. For the basecoat I used Tausept Ochre. I lost interest in the model, so, it got put into storage. However having liked the paint scheme I was using on my Deimos-pattern Rhino, I decided that I would find the model and paint this Land Raider in the same scheme. The first thing I did was spray the underneath of the model with Citadel Zandri Dust. I gave the model a couple of light sprays of Army Painter Daemonic Yellow. I also painted the weapon sub-assemblies.

I started detailing and painting the iconography.

For the skull and the paper on the purity seals I used Ushabti Bone. For the wax seals I used Mephiston Red.