warhammer, wh40k, flames of war, bolt action, aeronautica imperialis, star wars, models, news, views and stuff
Bullgryns are recruited from most obstinate of the Ogryn strain of abhumans, clad in heavy armour and armed with rugged assault weaponry built to withstand their unwieldy strength. A line of these heavily-muscled humanoids is a frightening sight, advancing in shield-lines from which shots bounce harmlessly, issuing thunderous blows with heavy mauls and lobbing explosives as they charge.
The idea of a civil war or a coup d’etat taking place across Great Britain is something I have been playing with over many years.
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.
” … its six o’clock, on Tuesday the 27th October 1998. This is the Royal Somerset Broadcasting Service, and now the news from Wessex and around the world. The headlines: Scotland has seceded from the British Republic, fighting has broken out along the border. Royalist army and volunteer militia units have pushed back across the border an armed incursion by Democratic Guards into south-west Dorset last night. Bristol Docks were once again the target of bombing over the night, but damage has been minimal. The United States has once again confirmed its commitment to the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Wessex and Duchy of Cornwall.”
The main inspiration for the background was the breakup of the former Yugoslavia and wondering if a similar scenario could play out in a disunited broken Great Britain. It was also an opportunity to bring in modern armoured trains as well.
Another idea is revolution, the start of which is usually a coup d’etat. Was there going to be a coup d’etat against the Labour government in 1974? Or more specifically was there going to be a coup against Harold Wilson? In this opinion piece from 2006 in The Guardian, the view was that yes there was some planning for one.
The great and the good feared that the country was out of control, and that Wilson lacked either the will or the desire to stand firm. Retired intelligence officers gathered with military brass and plotted a coup d’etat. They would seize Heathrow airport, the BBC and Buckingham Palace. Lord Mountbatten would be the strongman, acting as interim prime minister. The Queen would read a statement urging the public to support the armed forces, because the government was no longer able to keep order.
It sounds fantastic, almost comic. But watch Greenwood talk of setting up his own private army in 1974-75. Listen to the former intelligence officer Brian Crozier admit his lobbying of the army, how they “seriously considered the possibility of a military takeover”. Watch the archive footage of troop manoeuvres at Heathrow, billed as a routine exercise but about which Wilson was never informed – and which he interpreted as a show of strength, a warning, even a rehearsal for a coup.
Then there was that episode of Netflix’s The Crown. The fifth episode of the third season, Coup, covered this as well.
While the Queen travels abroad to learn about horse training, unhappiness among the British elite with the devaluation of the pound involves Lord Mountbatten in a plan to oust Harold Wilson.
Regardless of the reality, the idea of an attempted (or even successful) coup in the UK in the 1970s provides an interesting background for scenarios and games. There is an assumption often made that regular British forces would always obey orders given by senior officers. However as was seen in 1919 following the end of the Great War there were many occasions when soldiers would not only ignore orders, but would act in their own interest. The book 1919: Britain’s Year of Revolution provides an insight into the revolutionary troubles that faced Great Britain.
So here are some ideas for scenarios if there had been a coup in 1974.
Dockside Battles
Royal Navy ships arrive in the Liverpool docks after unionised dockers seized the port. Royal Marines disembark to secure the docks. There are clashes between the regular army and local workers.
This is the BBC
After a radical armed militia seizes Television Centre in Shepherd’s Bush, the government appear to be doing nothing. The army decides to take action and storm the centre.
Show of strength
The army undertakes troop manoeuvres at Heathrow Airport as a show of strength.
In 1974 the army occupied Heathrow Airport on the grounds of training for possible IRA terrorist action at the airport. Although the military stated that this was a planned military exercise, Downing Street was not informed in advance, and Wilson himself interpreted it as a show of strength, or warning, being made by the army.
The government orders forces loyal to the government to remove the troops.
Defending Buckingham Palace
At the height of the coup, the army has taken over many of the buildings in Whitehall, they have stormed Broadcasting House, and across the capital, the army is in control of major transport hubs, such as Paddington Station and Heathrow Airport.
There was an expectation that the Queen would recognise and support the new government, but she refuses to. The army decides to march on Buckingham Palace and remove the Queen. However troops loyal to the crown make the choice to defend the palace from attack.
Mutiny in the barracks
After being ordered to mobilise and take part in the coup, across the barracks in the UK, troops mutiny and decide to fight against the coup. However, it wasn’t the case that all soldiers obeyed orders, or disobeyed them. In many barracks fighting broke out between those troops loyal to the government, and those who wanted to participate in the coup.
The Maus was a German World War Two super heavy tank that was completed in late 1944. Five were ordered, but only two hulls and one turret were completed before the testing grounds were captured by advancing Soviet forces It is the heaviest fully enclosed armoured fighting vehicle ever built at 188 metric tons. It was armed with a 128mm gun and a coaxial 75mm gun. The Maus was intended to punch holes through enemy defences in the manner of an immense “breakthrough tank”, whilst taking almost no damage to any components.
I’ve always been impressed with the 1/100th scale models from Zvezda as well as being good quality plastic miniatures they are also reasonably priced. I was intrigued to see that my local model shop had the German super heavy tank Maus in their range of Zvezda kits.
I think it might have been priced wrongly at £3.50 as similar boxes (i.e. the bigger boxes) were £7.00. So I bought two for potential objectives or models for alternate history games set at the end of World War Two.
The model comprises two plastic sprues and look detailed and I think it will capture the feel of this monstrous tank.
The sprues have sat around for a while, but having recently purchased a similar 1/100th scale 15mm Maus from Battlefront I was intrigued to see the comparison.
The next stage was to construct the models, even though it says snap-fit, decided to glue the model together. I was going add some weight to the model too, so give it some heft and ballast. I think a super heavy tank, even at 1/100th scale, should be “super heavy”. However, I didn’t have any weights to hand. The model was not as simple as I thought it would be to construct, I had issues with getting the gun the right way around, but got there in the end.
This is a large 15mm model, as compared to the M18 Hellcat in the same scale.
The next stage was a white undercoat.
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.