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The Solar Auxilia’s Medusa artillery tanks are behemoths of destruction, their Leman Russ hulls cloaked in heavy armor. Their devastating guns, protected from enemy fire and hazardous environments, can reduce enemy fortifications to rubble. These mobile fortresses, capable of shattering mighty walls, advance alongside the Auxilia cohorts, softening enemy defenses and paving the way for the main assault.
I have the Operation Unthinkable boxed set containing the American and Soviet tanks. The GF9 Operation Unthinkable boxed set, the American versus Soviet, contains 21 tanks. Two of these are the M18 Hellcat.
The M18 Hellcat is a tank destroyer used by the United States Army in World War II and the Korean War. Despite being equipped with the same main gun as some variants of the much larger Sherman tank, the M18 attained a much higher top speed of up to 55 mph by keeping armour to a minimum, and using the innovative Torqmatic automatic transmission.
This is the GF9 finished model.
This is the sprue.
The model goes together quite easily. I like how the track sections are complete parts.
The turret was a little trickier, but got there in the end.
I gave the model a white undercoat.
The next stage was to paint them, using Army Painter Army Green Spray.
The next stage will be painting the tracks.
The Macharius Heavy Tank is used by the Imperial Guard. As with many Imperial armoured vehicles, there are various variants of the Macharius. The Macharius Omega is one such variant, it is armed with the Omega Pattern Plasma Blastgun.
The Omega Pattern Plasma Blastgun is a derivative of the Ryza Pattern Blastgun, optimised for reduced weight and size. This is achieved through the implementation of a compact generator and a smaller force crucible, allowing for integration into lighter platforms such as the Macharius.
The Ryza Pattern Blastgun is commonly deployed on the Stormblade super-heavy tank.
So, what did you get for Christmas. I was very lucky and I got a copy of Talisman: The Magical Quest Board Game, 5th Edition.
Welcome, champions, to the magical land of Talisman. The otherworldly artefacts known as Talismans have once more descended onto the mortal plane, signalling the dawn of a new era – and the need for a new ruler. In the Talisman: The Magical Quest Game, 5th Edition, set forth on an epic adventure, racing to be the first to obtain a Talisman, reach the Crown of Command in the centre of the board and defeat the elder dragon to win.
I have the original edition, well I have the second edition, which was a colourised version of the first edition (that was the only change).
I never bought the third or fourth editions, but have enjoyed the digital version of Talisman. However I like the physicality of a board game, so did think about buying the fifth edition.
So, time for a game methinks.
Oh, and Merry Christmas.
The FV601 Saladin is a six-wheeled armoured car developed by Crossley Motors and later manufactured by Alvis. Designed in 1954, it replaced the AEC Armoured Car in service with the British Army from 1958 onward. The vehicle weighed 11 tonnes, offered a top speed of 72 km/h, and had a crew of three.
A few decades back I wrote an article about a modern era English Civil War, called Wessex, that was published in Issue #43 of Wargames Illustrated in April 1991. I posted some photographs of the Saladin Armoured Car from The Tank Museum and said of possible Wessex scenarios: You can easily imagine how these armoured cars would have been used for reconnaissance, keeping down unrest, and defending key installations against attack.
So when I saw Battlefront were releasing a 15mm FV603 Saracen and the Saladin Armoured Car for Team Yankee, I thought it was time to reboot my Second English Civil War and start painting some models for it.
This is a new release from Battlefront. I ordered both the Alvis Saracen and the Saladin Armoured Car packs.
There are three models in this blister.
The hulls and turrets are resin, and the wheels, and main weapon are metal.
You have the choice of adding a commander or having the hatch in the turret in the closed position.
I went with the closed position.
These models go together really easily.
It is a simple matter of gluing the wheels to the hull and then adding the hatch and the weapon.
I the gave the models a white undercoat.
The next stage was to paint them, using Army Painter Army Green Spray.
The next stage will be painting the wheels.
The Imperialis Militia Carnodon Battle Tank is medium battle tank which was one of the main armoured vehicles used by the Imperial Army during the Great Crusade.
As it was replaced by other vehicles a great many Carnodon Battle Tanks were placed in the strategic reserve. They were often used by planetary militia.
This is the Forge World model in the display cabinets at Warhammer World.
The FV603 Saracen is a six-wheeled armoured personnel carrier built by Alvis and used by the British Army.
After a visit to The Tank Museum I posted a photograph of the Alvis Saracen. I wrote: As part of the Second English Civil War, you can imagine the use of the FV603 Saracen to patrol urban areas and to suppress armed resistance.
A few decades back I wrote an article about a modern era English Civil War that was published in Issue #43 of Wargames Illustrated in April 1991.
So when I saw Battlefront were releasing a 15mm FV603 Saracen for Team Yankee, I thought it was time to reboot my Second English Civil War and start painting some models for it.
This is a new release from Battlefront. I ordered the Alvis Saracen.
There are two models in this blister. The hulls are resin, and the wheels, and main weapon are metal.
You have the choice of adding a gunner or having the hatch in the turret in the closed position. I went with the closed position. These models go together really easily. It is a simple matter of gluing the wheels to the hull and then adding the hatch and the weapon.
I the gave the models a white undercoat.
The next stage was to paint them, using Army Painter Army Green Spray.
The next stage will be painting the wheels.
The Solar Auxilia use the Leman Russ Strike Tanks in various roles. The tanks have been upgraded with solar-pattern survival systems, this allows the tank and the crew to fight in any harsh conditions on different planets.
It is usually armed with one of four primary weapons – a battlecannon, twinned heavy lascannons or autocannons, or a long-barrelled Vanquisher battlecannon with a co-axial autocannon.
After thinking about it for a while I have ordered the Battlefront Militia Group and Pickup Trucks for Team Yankee.
I like the concept of armed militia and pick up trucks with HMGs on board, they had been on my wants list for a while. They could also be used for games in Wessex: The Second English Civil War for insurgent and militia forces.
You get four pickup trucks, each armed with an HMG.
There are four resin trucks, with metal wheels and gunners. The wheels went relatively easy onto the resin trucks. The rollers are a little over scale, but these are nice models.
The gunners I stuck to a piece of wood to paint separately.
Then I gave the models a white undercoat.
Next stage will be painting the base coat.
The Praetor Armoured Assault Launcher is based on the Crassus super-heavy hull, and is armed with a long-range multiple missile launcher.
