Author: Felix

French Renault R35

The Renault R35, an abbreviation of Char léger Modèle 1935 R or R 35, was a French light infantry tank of the Second World War. Designed from 1933 and produced from 1936, the type was intended as a light infantry support tank, equipping autonomous tank battalions, that would be allocated to individual infantry divisions to assist them in executing offensive operations. To this end it was relatively well-armoured but slow and lacking a good antitank-capacity, fitted with a short 37 mm gun. At the outbreak of the war, the antitank-rôle was more emphasized leading to the development and eventual production from April 1940 of a subtype with a more powerful longer gun, the Renault R40. It was planned to shift new production capacity to the manufacture of other, faster, types, but due to the defeat of France the R35/40 remained the most numerous French tank of the war, about 1685 vehicles having been produced in June 1940.

Like some of my other models I am unsure of the manufacturer of this one. After a bit of internet research I believe it is an old SDD miniature. Not convinced totally, but other miniatures in the box it was in carry SDD codes.

I am going to use this one as the test vehicle for my Flames of War French tanks to try out different paint schemes. Tempted though to paint as a captured German version.

I gave the model a white undercoat.

UK Games Day 2011

Alas for the first time in years I won’t be at GamesDay 2011. For a variety of reasons I won’t be there and that also means I won’t be posting photographs to the blog as I have done in previous years.

So like many others I will be waiting with baited breath on the new releases, new models and then some…

Nice video from GW on what I will be missing…

Looks like GW have learnt from people like me and will be posting news, videos and pictures to their website over the day.

Blast from the past…

First is was the Land Raider…

Now it’s the turn of the Rhino.

Forge World have made a new version of the Rhino which echoes back the first plastic Rhino kit that Games Workshop made.

The ubiquitous Rhino Armoured Personnel Carrier is a mainstay of the Space Marine Chapters, and has been in continuous use for ten thousand years. Its true origins are more distant still, and ancient records mention the RH1-N-0 Tracked Exploration and Multi-Purpose Defence Vehicle STC accompanying explorator missions during Mankind’s Golden Age. Re-armed and re-purposed for military use, the Rhino has remained a mainstay of the Imperium’s might over the millennia since.

There are many known patterns and designs of this robust vehicle, and the MkIc Deimos Pattern Rhino is among the oldest variants, first issued en-masse to the Astartes Legions of the Great Crusade. This pattern is armed with two turret-mounted bolters, slaved to the target-logis systems of the Rhino’s machine spirit rather than the more common pintle-mounted storm bolter seen on both the earlier MkIb Mars Pattern vehicle and the later MkIIc design that became more common after the Horus Heresy.

The MkIc Deimos Pattern Rhino, designed by Daren Parrwood, is a complete resin and plastic kit, containing a standard Games Workshop Rhino kit as well as sufficient resin conversion components to construct the MkIc Deimos Pattern variant. Priced at £33.

I do quite like the kit and find it amusing that they have based it on the newer plastic kit. It certainly captures the character of the original plastic model but with a lot more detail than we had back then. Obviously a lot more expensive too, the original price of the plastic Rhino was three for £10, so now priced at £33 for one nearly ten times the cost.

Huck Klosterman

I was lucky enough to get for one Christmas a few years back two packs of Foundry Old West Outlaws (thank you Simon). I am in the process of painting the models using a variety of colours.

This is Huck Klosterman from the VOW231 Posse blister.

Though I did highlight the jacket, I think I might need to emphasise the highlights more.

Have a look at my Old West miniatures Gallery and Old West Workbench.

Ork Trukk with Krooz Missilz

Ork Trukk with Krooz Missilz (aka an Orkish version of the Imperial Deathstrike Missile Launcher, but why not use the Krooz Missulz rules for the Mega-Gargant.

This is a very simple conversion that I did a fair few years ago.

The model is built using a Flakwagon base, a firing platform from a Pulsa Rokitt and the Krooz Missulz? Well it’s a 40k scale Fighta-Bommer Missile.

15mm British Vickers Dutchman

I have had this tank for sometime. Don’t remember the manufacturer. It actually took me a while to work out which tank this was exactly… I used another website as a reference.

Mechanically similar to the Mark IV, though armament and other features were like the Mark II, the “Dutchmen” were a 1936 commercial version. 40 vehicles were sold to the Netherlands. All 40 were taken over by the War Office in 1939 before export. All vehicles were used for training only by the British Army. The term “Dutchmen” or “Dutchman” was an unofficial moniker.

Though never used in service, in the event of a German invasion (Operation Sealion) they probably would have been used to help defend the country.

After a bit of internet research I believe it is an old SDD miniature. Not convinced totally, but other miniatures in the box it was in carry SDD codes.

I gave the model a white undercoat.