Author: Felix

Flames of War Armoured Train

Pictures have emerged of the Polish Armoured Train that will be released for Flames of War.

Having seen these I am wondering about how Battlefront will do the track (if at all). Those who have looked into this will release that 15mm or 1/100th scale trains use a TT scale track which isn’t easily available (unlike OO/HO or N gauge track).

Flames of War Barricades – 26th February

The Flames of War Barricades that were a sneak peak I mentioned back in December are to be released on the 26th February.

Really nice pieces of scenery.

Though released for the Eastern Front (Stalin’s War) I think they should work fine of the streets of most French towns. Now who does a 1/100th scale Citroen I can add to the barricade?

Arriving March…

Well look what we have here arriving in March from Flames of War…

Yay, armoured trains! Probably the Polish armoured train from the sneak peek.

No more information, just the photograph, so no details about what is available or cost. Hopefully they will be doing track as well as the trains, seems obvious from the photograph, but you never know…

As well as Blitzkreig there is also Stalin’s Europe, so we might see Russian and German armoured trains in the future.

What we won’t see of course is the British armoured trains that were used following the success of Operation Sealion…

15mm Home Guard MkIV Male Tank

I have had this tank for sometime. Don’t remember the manufacturer, though it may be Minifigs! When I was planning some Operation Sealion games back in the 1990s I intended that the Home Guard would make use of a museum Mark IV Male tank. I mentioned this also in an article I wrote on a French themed Operation Sealion, Otaire de Vigneur.

To add a bit of diversity to my games, I also have one of Minifigs’ World War One British tanks, for use by a Home Guard unit (stolen from a local museum no doubt).

Now  when I wrote that article and bought the miniature it was only an assumption and what I thought would be a nice idea, and probably had no basis in truth….

Well just shows a little historical research never hurt anyone, as the Bovington Tank Museum has on display a Mark IV Male tank that was used just in this way. It was used in World War One and then presented to the Navy. When war broke out in September 1939, the  Tank Mark IV (Male) number 2324 was refurbished for Home Guard duties; according to the Bovington Tank Museum website.

Our exhibit, a male tank, was presented to the Royal Navy’s Gunnery School, HMS Excellent after the war to commemorate their help training Tank Corps gunners and it was temporarily refurbished for Home Guard duties in 1940. (Believed to have been achieved by removed parts from another tank possibly on Southsea Common.)

This photograph is from HMS Excellent in 1940.

Another view of the Mark IV at speed.

So though I thought my idea was probably if Operation Sealion had happened, I didn’t think and didn’t realise that it had in fatc happened despite the fact that the Germans hadn’t invaded.

So if you are playing Flames of War Operation Sealion games using the Blitzkreig sourcebook than you can use a Mark IV Male tank as part of your Home Guard forces.Not sure how long though it would last against German Panzers though…

Now who has the stats for a Mark IV tank for Flames of War?

Outcasts

Outcasts is a new SF drama from the BBC which premieres on the 7th February.

The story follows a group of individuals who, after the destruction of the earth, try to live a new life on an alien planet. The new planet Carpathia has had human colonists creating a new colony for ten years. The series starts as they await the final ship from earth.

Settled in the town of Forthaven on Carpathia, the Outcasts are passionate about their jobs, confident of their ideals and optimistic about the future. They work hard to preserve what they’ve built on this planet they now call home, having embraced all the challenges that come with forging a new beginning.

They are led by President Tate and his core team of Stella, Cass and Fleur – they took charge and settled here first alongside Expeditionaries Mitchell and Jack.

They are a diverse group of individuals who left their old lives behind in extraordinary circumstances; promised a second chance at life they created a society, far away from their home, friends, family… and their pasts.

The planet offers the possibility for both corruption and redemption; while they try to avoid the mistakes made on Earth, inevitably our heroes cannot escape the human pitfalls of love, greed, lust, loss, and a longing for those they’ve left behind.

As they continue to work and live together they come to realise this is no ordinary planet… is there a bigger purpose at work? Mystery lurks around them and threatens to risk the fragile peace of Forthaven.

Set in 2040 this is a series that won’t have lots of tech and technobabble.
This is more of a drama set on an alien world, rather than a sci-fi series with dramatic scenes. It’s about human relationships rather than dealing with aliens, alien technology or invasive species.

It sounds an interesting premise and I will certainly be watching the first episode.

Find out more on Outcasts.