Felix, Author at Felix's Gaming Pages

Building the Aeronautica Imperialis Air Waaagh! Dakkajets

Having recently purchased the Wings of Vengeance boxed set I was expecting that it might take a little time for the models to be built and painted. I am a bit slow when it comes to modelling, mainly in finding the time. So finding some room and time I decided to build the Ork Fighta Bommerz from the Aeronautica Imperialis boxed set. Having made good progress with those I started on the Dakkajets.

Among the smallest and most numerous of Ork aircraft, the Dakkajet is built for speed and firepower, capable of unleashing devastating hails of buffets from its arsenal of quad big shootas.

There are three of these in the Wings of Vengeance boxed set. This is the painted version on the GW website.

In the retail box you get six of the little planes.

Here is the sprue for the models. As you can see all three are on the one sprue.

I started to put all three of them together.

Undercoating the the Aeronautica Imperialis Air Waaagh! Fighta Bommerz

There are two different versions on the single sprue and though there looks like lots of parts, they are quite simple to put together. The number of parts is about the number of weapon choices you can have. There are two versions of noses, fuselage, wings and tails, included in the model. So in theory you can mix and match if you get more kits later.

I gave the models a white undercoat, using a spray on both sides. These are really nice models, lots of detail.

I armed this one with big bombs and some rokkits.

The other Fighta Bommer.

This one is armed with rokkits and big shootaz, as well as a couple of bombs.

Though I supposed I should have armed the planes according to a stats card, I decided early on that I wouldn’t use WYSIWYG on these models, so that you can use them as whichever Fighta Bommer variant you want to play with.

The next stage will be the base coat.

See the workbench feature on the Aeronautica Imperialis Air Waaagh! Fighta Bommerz.

Ultramarines Whirlwind

The Whirlwind is an Imperial artillery support vehicle based upon the Standard Template Construct (STC) Rhino armoured personnel carrier (APC) chassis that is now primarily used by the Space Marine Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes.

This Ultramarines Whirlwind was on display at Warhammer World.

See the Space Marines Whirlwind Miniatures Gallery.

Scorpion Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance CVR(T) FV101

The Scorpion Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (tracked) FV101 at Bovington.

The FV101 Scorpion is a British armoured reconnaissance vehicle. It was the lead vehicle and the fire support type in the Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked), CVR(T), family of seven armoured vehicles. Manufactured by Alvis, it was introduced into service with the British Army in 1973 and served until 1994.

Scorpion became the first of a whole family of fighting vehicles including Scimitar, Striker and Samaritan. It served in the Falklands and the Gulf as well as being a success on the export market. Changes in British policy, and the international situation meant that surviving Scorpions were fitted with a new weapon, the 30mm Rarden Cannon, and renamed Sabre.

It has been supplied to Belgium, the Irish Republic, Malaya, New Zealand, Nigeria, Oman and Venezuela.

I have some Team Yankee Scorpions, they are currently in the process of being painted as BAOR versions.

Some thoughts on the RAF Regiment Scorpion I saw at RAF Cosford.

Pre-ordered the 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.

Out of all the new imminent releases for the next phase of Aeronautica Imperialis releases for Skies of Fire the one that I liked the most was the Valkyrie. So much so that I did something I rarely do, and pre-ordered the boxed set of the Aeronautica Imperialis Valkyrie Assault Carriers.

The set includes:

- - 4 plastic Astra Militarum Valkyrie Assault Carrier miniatures (can also be built as Vendetta Assault Carriers)
  - 4 Aeronautica Imperialis bases (each base designates the model’s front, rear and side arcs, has speed and altitude dials as well as a clear stand to connect the aircraft to the base)
  - 1 Valkyrie Squadron transfer sheet

The box comes with two sprue and there are two Aeronautica Imperialis Valkyrie Assault Carriers on each sprue.

Looking forward to building these.

As I said on Twitter I do wonder if we will ever see tanks and infantry in this scale for Adeptus Titanicus? Well this Valkyrie does show what is possible.

Leman Russ Main Battle Tank

The Leman Russ is the main battle tank of the Astra Militarum, and is also the most widely deployed tank in the Imperium. The tank is named after the Space Wolves Primarch, Leman Russ. Far from a sophisticated vehicle, the Leman Russ was designed and built with reliability and versatility in mind. It can survive the worst the galaxy can throw at it, and can run on almost any combustible liquid fuel.

This Steel Legion Leman Russ Main Battle Tank was on display at Warhammer World.

See more photographs of the Leman Russ Main Battle Tank in the Miniatures Gallery.

Painting the Citroen 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 so I got one.

Having given the model a white undercoat, I then gave the rear of the truck (which was separate) a basecoat of Vallejo 70912 Tan Yellow. I then gave that a wash of Seraphim Sepia Shade which was a little too light, so I then gave a wash of Agrax Earthshade.

I also gave the chassis, the tyres and wheels a base coat of Vallejo 70.862 Black Grey.

I am still thinking about the colour of bodywork.

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

Comet Cruiser Tank

The Comet was was a British cruiser tank that first saw use near the end of the second world war. It was designed as an improvement on the earlier Cromwell tank, mounting the new 77 mm HV gun in a new lower profile and part-cast turret. This gun was effective against late-war German tanks, including the Panther at medium range, and the Tiger.

This Comet was on display at the Imperial War Museum Duxford in their Land Warfare Exhibit.

The Comet saw action in the closing stages of World War II and remained in British service until 1958, but was rapidly eclipsed by Centurion. In some cases, Comets sold to other countries continued to operate into the 1980s.

Service history of this tank is unknown. It spent the last years of its service life as a test bed at the tank development unit at Chertsey. It is painted as a tank of 7th Royal Tank Regiment about to be despatched to Korea from Hong Kong, 1953 (war ended before transit).

There was another Comet at the entrance to the museum.

I do have some of the Flames of War plastic models, but they are still currently still in their boxes. I have been thinking of using them not only for Late War Flames of War games, but also 1950s Cold War games. The Comet remained in British service until 1958. Reading the Hot War books from Harry Turtledove has inspired me to think about gaming some scenarios from the books. British Comets and Centurions versus Russians T34-85 and T54 Soviet tanks with American M26 Pershing and M48 Patton tanks. In the book there are also Sherman manned by (West) German forces.

Why such a liking for this tank, well, as with other models, I suspect that it was because I bought and made the Matchbox Comet many, many years ago.

Site Update

I have over the last few months been revising and editing a fair few pages of my blog after changing hosts, as well as converting the gallery and workbench pages to the blog. I have taken content from the old site and moved it to the new site.

Having left the old site alone for a few months, I have now gone in and updated all (well the most of) the menu links so that they point to the new site.

The old site will no longer be updated, but I will keep it on the web so that old links to it still work.

Elysian Tauros Venator

This Elysian Tauros Venator was in the displays at Warhammer World.

The Tauros is a light, sturdily built, all-terrain utility and tractor vehicle used on many Frontier Worlds. Its rugged drive axles are individually powered by high-yield galvanic motors that allow the vehicle to maintain its speed even when some of its wheels may be damaged or destroyed. The Tauros and many similar vehicles have also been used by Imperial exploration teams and sometimes by brigands, marauders, and rebel factions.

The Tauros is even used as a light attack and reconnaissance vehicle by the Elysian Drop Troops regiments of the Imperial Guard. The Elysian Drop Troops have modified the Tauros for airborne operations, stripping off any unneeded weight so that it can be carried into battle by their Valkyrie Sky Talons.

The Tauros comes in two standard variants: the four-wheeled Tauros Rapid Assault Vehicle which serves as a long-range scout vehicle, mounting potent anti-personnel firepower in the form of either a Heavy Flamer or Tauros Grenade Launcher, and the six-wheeled and more heavily armed and armoured Tauros Venator.