Felix, Author at Felix's Gaming Pages

Space Marine Chaplin on a bike

There was a Golden Demon winning Duel (from 2007) that was on display in Warhammer World. It comprises a Space Marine Chaplin on a bike fighting an Eldar Exodite on a giant lizard.

The Exodites were a concept that had Eldar using giant lizards as mounts and large mounts for weapons (in a similar way to Elephants or Squiggoths). It was never taken further by Citadel, though some Epic concepts were sculptured and cast, but never went on sale. The concept proved popular with some and as a result there is a range of unofficial material on the web, and some lovely models such as this one.

Larger view of the duel.

Home Guard Mark IV Male Tank

I am in the process of building a Bolt Action 28mm Home Guard force, I did want to add some armour to them with a Mark IV Male World War One tank put into service, even if it was merely as a mobile pillbox.

Having constructed and undercoated the Mark IV Tank the next stage was a base coat of Army Green Spray from the Army Painter range. I then used a Humbrol Tank Grey 67 spray for the dark colour camouflage pattern. For the tracks I used Citadel Gorthor Brown. I then gave the model a wash.

Here is the Mark IV in my desert terrain.

It isn’t quite finished I want to do some more weathering, as well as apply some markings. However, I am quite pleased with how it looks now.

See the workbench feature on the Home Guard Mark IV Male Tank.

BAC TSR-2

The TSR-2 was a cancelled Cold War strike and reconnaissance aircraft developed by the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) for the Royal Air Force in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

This is one of the three prototypes, XR220, at RAF Cosford.

The British Aircraft Corporation TSR-2 was a strike and reconnaissance aircraft that was developed for the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It was designed to be a high-speed, low-level aircraft that could penetrate well-defended enemy airspace and attack targets with nuclear or conventional weapons.

The TSR-2 was a radical design for its time. It had a delta wing, which gave it excellent low-speed performance, and two powerful engines that allowed it to fly at Mach 2. It was also equipped with a sophisticated electronic warfare suite that would have made it difficult for enemy radar to track.

The TSR-2 was cancelled in 1965 due to a combination of factors, including rising costs, political opposition, and the changing nature of warfare. However, it remains one of the most iconic British aircraft ever designed.

Although never developed beyond the prototype stage, the British Aircraft Corporation TSR2 was one of the most exciting and controversial British combat aircraft designs of the 1960s.

The cancellation of the project is a subject of great discussion and debate to this day.

Land Raider in the desert

Here is my Grey Knights Land Raider in the desert.

Originally planned to be a Grey Knights Land Raider, despite the iconography, I decided I would paint it as an Imperial Fists Land Raider

I used the same paint scheme I had used on my Deimos Pattern Rhino. Originally for the basecoat I used Tausept Ochre. After retreiving the model from storage, the first thing I did was spray the underneath of the model with Citadel Zandri Dust. I gave the model a couple of light sprays of Army Painter Daemonic Yellow. I painted the weapon sub-assemblies. added detailing and painted the iconography. Then using various Citadel shades I washed and shaded 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. The tracks for the Land Raider were painted, and the iconography was completed with washes and highlights. The finished tracks were then glued to the Land Raider with superglue.

See the full workbench feature on the Land Raider.

A34 Comet

This A34 Comet tank was on display at the Tank Museum at Bovington.

The A34 Comet was a British cruiser tank that was developed in the late stages of World War II. It was based on the Cromwell tank, but it had a number of significant improvements, including a new 17-pounder gun, a fully-welded hull and turret, and a new suspension system.

The Comet entered service in 1944 and was used by British armoured units in the final stages of the war in Europe. It proved to be a very effective tank, and was credited with knocking out German tanks.

The Comet was also used by the British Army in the Korean War, where it again proved to be a very capable tank. It was retired from British service in 1958.

The Comet was a very successful tank, and it was one of the most important British tanks of the Second World War. It was a major improvement over the Cromwell, and it was able to give the British Army a tank that was capable of taking on the latest German tanks. The Comet was also a very reliable tank, and it was easy to maintain.

The Comet’s success led to the development of the Centurion tank, which was the main battle tank of the British Army for many years. The Comet’s design features were also incorporated into other British tanks, such as the Challenger and the Chieftain.

The Comet is a reminder of the British Army’s ability to develop and field effective tanks in a short period of time. It is also a testament to the skill and dedication of the British tank crews who used it in battle.

More photographs of this Comet Tank and also here.

Comet Tank at the entrance to the Imperial War Museum Duxford.

Comet on display at the Imperial War Museum Duxford in their Land Warfare Exhibit.

I do have some of the Flames of War plastic models, but they are still currently still in their boxes. I have been thinking of using them not only for Late War Flames of War games, but also 1950s Cold War games. The Comet remained in British service until 1958. Reading the Hot War books from Harry Turtledove has inspired me to think about gaming some scenarios from the books. British Comets and Centurions versus Russians T34-85 and T54 Soviet tanks with American M26 Pershing and M48 Patton tanks. In the book there are also Sherman manned by (West) German forces.

Why such a liking for this tank, well, as with other models, I suspect that it was because I bought and made the Matchbox Comet many, many years ago.

Imperial Fists Predator

This Imperial Fists Predator was on display at Warhammer World.

It makes use of the first plastic Rhino kit. The additional parts are metal, including the sponsons and the turret.

Photographs of my Imperial Fists Deimos Pattern Predator.

Deimos Pattern 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 finished painting the Predator, I photographed the model on my desert terrain board.

Another view.

See the workbench feature on the Deimos Pattern Predator Battle Tank.

Razorback in the desert

One model I got many years ago, well in 2006, was a Forgeworld Razorback the one with the much bigger turret, which I much prefer over the plastic kit version that you could get in the shops back then. I recently retrieved it from storage and decided that I would try and finish painting it.

I took some photographs of the Razorback on my desert scenery tile.

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

I like how the Inquisitorial iconography has turned out on the model.

It’s a pity that, that range has been retired. I found some more resin purity seals and a spare Rhino frontal armour plate in one of my bits box.

See the workbench feature on the Razorback.

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.