Felix, Author at Felix's Gaming Pages

Supermarine Spitfire Mk I

1566 Spitfire Is were built and this machine at RAF Cosford is the oldest surviving example of its type.

The Spitfire is the most famous British fighter aircraft in history. It won immortal fame during the summer months of 1940 by helping to defeat the German air attacks during the Battle of Britain.

The prototype made its first flight four years earlier as Britain’s industry geared up to re-arm against the threat from Nazi Germany. From the beginning pilots recognised it as a thoroughbred combining a perfection of design with superb handling characteristics.

Perhaps the greatest compliment paid to this aircraft was made at the height of the Battle of Britain by a German ace, who in a moment of anger and frustration, turned to his Commander in Chief and demanded a squadron of Spitfires!

In the end I bought…

The other day I wrote about the problem I had with an old can of Team Yankee Chieftain Green and painting the base coat of my Bolt Action Home Guard Mark IV (male) World War One Tank.

I did look at possible alternatives, attempting to find a new paint which matched the colour of Team Yankee Chieftain Green.

There are various conversion charts available online and it was clear from a couple that Vallejo Model Color 894 Russian Uniform was a match.

My local FLGS however doesn’t sell Vallejo paints, it stocks Citadel and The Army Painter range. Finding a match with those was more challenging.

In the end I decided I really didn’t need to worry. The Home Guard Mark IV (male) World War One Tank could probably be any shade of (army) green.

So I bought a can of Army Green Spray from he Army Painter range.

Back home I gave the Mark IV a base coat and I am quite pleased with the final shade.

Picked up a Thunderhawk

So I kind of dithered slightly, but this morning I changed my mind and picked up an Aeronautica Imperialis Adeptus Astartes Thunderhawk Gunship from my local FLGS.

Designed to operate in both planetary atmosphere and the cold void of space, the Thunderhawk Gunship combines the roles of orbital troop lander, heavy gunship, and bomber into a single, brutally effective aircraft. Sturdy and well-armoured, Thunderhawks deliver their Adeptus Astartes passengers into the very heart of raging battle, and provide fire support with a truly fearsome array of weapons afterwards. These iconic vessels have come to be feared as the harbinger of doom by the enemies of the Imperium of Mankind.

The box contains two sprues to make up the model. There are a fair few parts as one would imagine for a kit of this size (even if it is a tiny plane). The model is very well detailed. It does make me think that would GW ever decide to re-issue Space Marine or Epic40000 (as in WH40K ground combat) but in the new Adeptus Titanicus scale? Part of me thinks they won’t, it could possibly cannibalise sales of (proper sized) Warhammer 40000.

Another thing is that the pricing of the models would be quite extorinate compared to previous versions of Epic. The original metal 1997 Epic40000 Thunderhawk was £7.00, whereas this plastic kit has a list price of £26 nearly four times as expensive. Yes it has been over twenty years, but even so this means we would be paying £5 for an Ork vehicle and £10 for a Land Raider if GW ever did go down a path of making vehicles and infantry for Adeptus Titanicus.

I will be painting my Adeptus Astartes Thunderhawk Gunship as a Grey Knights Thunderhawk as discussed in this earlier post.

Constructing the Warlord Battle Titan

Having got the Precept Maniple Battleforce, I have started constructing the models that came with it.

One of the first models I have been building is the Warlord Battle Titan.

Warlord Battle Titans bestride the battlefields of the Imperium, their thunderous tread heralding the destruction of the enemies of Mankind. A mainstay of the Collegia Titanica, Warlord Battle Titans are among the largest and most powerful war machines ever devised by the Mechanicum.

The kit comes with three sprues. One is the weapons, another are the (external) shields, whilst the third is the core body structure and the legs.

The first stage of construction is the build the legs. These go together quite easily and you can model the Titan in different stances, even striding forward.

The instructions recommend to paint the legs before attaching the shields.

The main body is quite easy to put together, and like the legs it is recommended that you paint the core body before attaching the shields.

Here is the model so far.

The next stage will be to put the base together and the painting what I have constructed so far.

Hawker Siddeley Kestrel F(GA).1

The Hawker Siddeley Kestrel FGA.1 along with the Hawker P.1127 are the experimental and development aircraft that led to the Hawker Siddeley Harrier, the first vertical and/or short take-off and landing (V/STOL) jet fighter-bomber.

The Hawker Siddeley Kestrel F(GA).1 was on display at RAF Cosford.

Development began in 1957, taking advantage of the Bristol Engine Company’s choice to invest in the creation of the Pegasus vectored-thrust engine. Testing began in July 1960 and by the end of the year the aircraft had achieved both vertical take-off and horizontal flight. The test program also explored the possibility of use upon aircraft carriers, landing on HMS Ark Royal in 1963. The first three aircraft crashed during testing, one at the 1963 Paris Air Show.

Improvements to future development aircraft, such as swept wings and more powerful Pegasus engines, led to the development of the Kestrel. The Kestrel was evaluated by the Tri-partite Evaluation Squadron, made up of military pilots from the United Kingdom, the United States, and West Germany. Later flights were conducted by the U.S. military and NASA.

Constructing the Storm Eagle Squadron for Aeronautica Imperialis

I have the models from the Wrath of Angels and have been spending some time putting the models together.

The first ones I finished were the Storm Eagle Squadron.

These were a little complicated to put together, but I got there in the end.

I like these models.

The Storm Eagle is an orbital assault craft employed by the Space Marines, equipped with a formidable weight of firepower.

There are two of these in the Wrath of Angels boxed set.

The next stage will be a white undercoat.

I did think about Ultramarines blue, then Salamanders green, but now thinking about painting them up as Grey Knights.

Alternatives for Team Yankee Chieftain Green

Back in the day I bought a can of Team Yankee Chieftain Green which I used to spray my 15mm Team Yankee Scimitars. I also used it to spray one of my Forge World Warhammer 40K Grot Tanks as well.

I was in the process of going through my workbench and I decided I would base coat my Bolt Action Home Guard Mark IV (male) World War One Tank.

However going to the cupboard I saw that it had leaked some yellow sticky stuff, which I am thinking might be the propellant. However despite that I decided I would paint the tank with the spray.

However after going for it, I realised that I wasn’t going to be able to finish the tank, as the propellant ran out.

The problem I have now is finding a replacement, as the Team Yankee Chieftain Green paint is no longer available. So I am on the lookout for an alternative as a replacement.

Grey Knights for Aeronautica Imperialis

I have been thinking about is what colour to paint my Adeptus Astartes models for Aeronautica Imperialis.

I have the models from the Wrath of Angels and am seriously considering getting a Thunderhawk as well.

I did think about Ultramarines blue, then Salamanders green, but now thinking about painting them up as Grey Knights.

Forge World had a display of a Grey Knights Thunderhawk at a GamesDay event.

I think this could work, however they used a grey colour scheme. A lot of Grey Knight vehicles were also painted in this scheme.

Inquisitor Rhino next to Inquisitor Land Raider — Inquisitor Rhino next to Land Raider

When I started thinking about painting my Aeronautica Imperialis models I was thinking painting them the same colour as Grey Knights.

Giving the models a base coat of Leadbelcher and then washes and detailing.

Now reflecting on the excellent Forge World models I am now thinking of following that scheme on the Aeronautica Imperialis models.

It also got me thinking that I could add some Inquisitorial Storm Troopers Valkyrie Transports to the force as well.

A Storm Troopers Valkyrie Transport which is part of Mike Sharpe's superb Space Wolves army, which was on show at GamesDay 2006. — A Storm Troopers Valkyrie Transport which is part of Mike Sharpe’s superb Space Wolves army, which was on show at GamesDay 2006.

Add another boxed set of those to the shopping list.

I will also need to think about rules, either using the vanilla rules, or doing some tweaking.

Aeronautica Imperialis Thunderhawk Gunship coming soon

It was announced yesterday that the Aeronautica Imperialis Thunderhawk Gunship will go on pre-order next Saturday (30th October) for release on the following Saturday (6th November).

The Thunderhawk Gunship fulfils a number of different strategic and tactical roles. Its primary mission is that of a drop ship but its utility does not end with the deployment of its lethal cargo of Space Marines, for it is a formidable heavy weapons platform in its own right. Equipped with a dorsal-mounted turbolaser, the Thunderhawk is able to engage targets as large as a Scout Titan or super-heavy tank as well as enemy fortifications. In addition to its main weaponry, the Thunderhawk mounts numerous heavy bolters with which it can scour a landing zone clear of enemy troops in a storm of mass reactive shells. An additional payload of wing-mounted missiles allows the gunship to operate in direct support of the squads it delivers into battle.

I am looking forward to actually buying this model, I suspect it will be expensive for a single plastic model, but ah well, why not.

Also coming out in the same time frame is the Fire Raptor Squadron.

The Fire Raptor Gunship is a specialised variant of the Storm Eagle known to have its origins in the Imperium’s dim and distant past. The vehicle is configured to maximise ammunition stowage in order to feed the voracious appetite of its numerous weapons and this is achieved by sacrificing the Storm Eagle’s transport capacity.

Nice models and more firepower than the Storm Eagles that come in the Wrath of Angels boxed set.

What I am still thinking about is what colour to paint my Adeptus Astartes models.

I did think about Ultramarines blue, then Salamanders green, but now thinking about painting them up as Grey Knights.