Felix, Author at Felix's Gaming Pages

Boulton Paul Defiant

This Boulton Paul Defiant was on display at RAF Cosford.

The Boulton Paul Defiant was a British two-seat turret fighter aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. The Defiant was designed and built by Boulton Paul Aircraft as a “turret fighter”, without any fixed forward-firing guns, a design also found in the Blackburn Roc of the Royal Navy.

During 1935, the concept of a turret-armed defensive fighter to counter the bomber threat emerged during a time in which the RAF anticipated having to defend Great Britain against massed formations of unescorted enemy bombers. The RAF did not expect bombers to be escorted by fighters because fighters would not have the range to reach the UK from Germany. In theory, turret-armed fighters would approach an enemy bomber from below or from the side and coordinate their fire. The separation of the tasks of flying the aircraft and firing the guns would allow the pilot to concentrate on putting the fighter into the best position for the gunner to engage the enemy. However, manually-traversed turrets were viewed as having becoming more problematic and increasingly inadequate to effectively respond to ever-faster hostile aircraft, thus there was considerable interest in using a power-augmented turret.

The Defiant entered service in December 1939, and initially achieved some success during the Battle of Britain, shooting down 65 German aircraft. However, its lack of forward-firing guns made it vulnerable to attacks from the front, and it was soon withdrawn from front-line service. The Defiant was later used as a night fighter, and also for air-sea rescue and target towing.

In mid-1942 it was replaced by better performing night-fighters, the Bristol Beaufighter and de Havilland Mosquito.

The Defiant was powered by a single Rolls-Royce Merlin engine, and had a maximum speed of 489 km/h. It was armed with four .303 Browning machine guns in a rear-facing turret. The Defiant had a crew of two: the pilot and the rear gunner.

The Defiant was a capable aircraft, but it was ultimately limited by its design. Its lack of forward-firing guns made it vulnerable to attacks from the front, and it was also relatively slow and had a limited range. Despite these limitations, the Defiant played an important role in the Battle of Britain, and it continued to serve with the RAF until the end of the war.

A total of 1,033 Defiants were built, and the type was retired from RAF service in 1945. They were used to test ejection seats before being retired.

On a previous visit the Boulton Paul Defiant was being assembled.

Fairey Delta 2 at RAF Cosford

The Fairey Delta 2 was a British supersonic research aircraft produced by the Fairey Aviation Company in response to a specification from the Ministry of Supply for a specialised aircraft for conducting investigations into flight and control at transonic and supersonic speeds. Features included a delta wing and a drooped nose. On 6 October 1954, the Delta 2 made its maiden flight, flown by Fairey test pilot Peter Twiss; two aircraft would be produced. The Delta 2 was the final aircraft to be produced by Fairey as an independent manufacturer.

The Fairey Delta 2 was the first jet aircraft to exceed 1000 mph in level flight. On 10 March 1956, it set a new world speed record of 1,132 mph. The Delta 2 held the absolute World Air Speed Record for over a year. It continued to be used for flight testing, and was allocated to the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) in 1958.

Another photograph of the Fairey Delta 2.

Adding the Dreadhammer Siege Cannon

My latest model for my Imperial Fists Horus Heresy force is the Typhon Heavy Siege Tank.

The Typhon Heavy Siege Tank was released as a plastic kit for The Horus Heresy. I’ve always liked the Forge World resin model and so was pleased to get one of the new plastic kits for my Imperial Fists force.

Having started constructing the model, I finished putting it together. The next stage was a white undercoat. I then gave the model a partial base coat of Army Painter Desert Yellow. I then gave the model a base coat of Army Painter Daemonic Yellow. I painted the bolter and the exhausts using Citadel Leadbelcher. It was then onto shading the model and then shading it some more. I also painted the tracks. The Typhon was then drybrushed.

I glued in the Dreadhammer Siege Cannon and then added the frontal armour.

See the workbench feature on the Typhon Heavy Siege Tank.

Deimos Pattern Rhino

The Rhino is the most widely used armoured personnel carrier in the Imperium. Based on ancient STC technology, the fundamental design is robust, reliable, and easy to maintain, with an adaptive power plant that can run off a wide variety of fuels.

I was pleased to see one of the new Horus Heresy releases announced at Warhammer Fest was the Plastic Deimos Pattern Rhino. So when it was available for pre-order I clicked through and ordered the kit from my local FLGS.

Having finished painting them, I photographed them on my desert terrain board.

I was lucky enough to get a second Rhino for a Christmas present. This I painted in the same way as the first Rhino.

See the workbench feature on the first Deimos Pattern Rhino.

See the workbench feature on the second Deimos Pattern Rhino.

Matilda I

The Tank, Infantry, Mk I, Matilda I (A11) was a British infantry tank of the Second World War. Despite being slow, cramped and armed with only a single machine gun, the Matilda I had some success in the Battle of France in 1940, owing to its heavy armour which was proof against the standard German anti-tank guns. However, it was essentially useless in an attacking sense, as its weak armament made it toothless in combat against enemy armour, and the tank was obsolete before it even came into service.

There are two Matilda I tanks at the Bovington Tank Museum. One is in running order, though it doesn’t have an authentic engine and gearbox.

The hull and turret were well protected against contemporary anti-tank weapons but the tracks and running gear were exposed and more vulnerable than on tanks that had protected tracks. The lack of a gun with anti-tank capability severely limited its utility on the battlefield.

The other is painted to represent T8106 a tank of the 4th Royal Tank Regiment in France in May 1940.

The Battle of France was the only time the Matilda I saw combat. The tank was cheaply built as the British government wanted each of the tanks to be built on a very restricted budget in the build-up to the Second World War.

Inquisitorial Stormtroopers Repressor Transport

The Repressor tank is often used by Sisters of Battle as transport, and by the Adeptus Arbites in an anti insurgency role. I started building and painting this model back in 2007, I recently retrieved it from storage and decided that I would try and finish painting it. I realised I had made quite significant progress and it wouldn’t take too long to finish it off.

Having sprayed the model with Citadel Zandri Dust over the existing Tausept Ochre base coat and black undercoat, I started the detailing, using Leadbelcher on the weapons and the exhausts. The next step was painting the iconography and purity seals. I then gave the model a wash using Citadel shades. I then did some additional shading using different shades. The next stage was some drybrushing, for this I used Citadel Zandri Dust. I also took the time to brighten up the purity seals and other iconography after it was dulled down by the shades and washes. I added the tracks.

There is still some work to do with this model, but I am pleased I have made progress and nearly finished it.

See the workbench feature on the Inquisitorial Stormtroopers Repressor Transport.

The Bretonnian Joust

I have always liked this jousting diorama, The Bretonnian Joust, by Dave Andrews which won the Open Competition in the 1996 Golden Demon awards. The level of detail is outstanding. There are hoof marks in the ground, created using clay. The manuscript on the back is handwritten.

More photographs of The Joust.

Drybrushing the Typhon

My latest model for my Imperial Fists Horus Heresy force is the Typhon Heavy Siege Tank.

For the next stage I used some Citadel Layer Yriel Yellow. I took a large brush and gave the model, what I would call, a heavy drybrush. I put paint on the brush, and then used some kitchen towel to remove most of the paint, and then using a stippling process added paint to the model. I then used the same process with Citadel Layer Flash Gitz Yellow.

I then gave the model a light drybrush of Citadel Layer Dorn Yellow.

See the workbench feature on the Typhon Heavy Siege Tank.

Invading the land of the Lizardmen

The land of the Lizardmen is invaded by the Empire of Men. Tilean or Estalian Conquistadors attack a Slann temple, trying to free a captive.

This beautiful diorama was part of the displays at Warhammer World and is quite old, from the 1990s I think.

More photographs of the diorama from an earlier trip to Warhammer World.

Headlighting the Predator

The Predator is perhaps the best known and most widespread variant of the basic Rhino chassis. Augmented with superior armour and firepower, it entirely sacrifices the Rhino’s troop transport capacity in favour of ammunition and generators for its formidable weapon systems.

Having got this kit for Christmas, I started putting the model together. For painting I kept the sponsons separate and I can easily remove the turret as well. I gave the model an undercoat of Citadel White Scar. I gave the model a couple of light coats of Daemonic Yellow. I painted the main weapon, and the exhausts, with Leadbelcher. It was then onto shading the model. For the next stage I used some Citadel Layer Yriel Yellow. I took a large brush and gave the model, what I would call, a heavy drybrush. I then did some more drybrushing some lighter yellow paints. I then fixed the tracks to the Predator.

The next stage was adding some more details to the model, namely the headlights.

For the front headlights I used Citadel Layer Dorn Yellow. For the other lights in the headlights I used Citadel Base Mephiston Red.