Felix, Author at Felix's Gaming Pages

De Havilland Mosquito

This De Havilland Mosquito was on display at RAF Cosford.

The de Havilland Mosquito was a British twin-engine, shoulder-winged, multirole combat aircraft that was introduced during World War II. It was unusual in that its frame was constructed mostly of wood, which made it faster and more manoeuvrable than other aircraft of its time. The Mosquito was nicknamed the “Wooden Wonder” and was one of the most successful aircraft of the war.

Films starring the Mosquito.

633 Squadron – A WWII Royal Air Force squadrom prepare for an important and dangerous mission…to demolish a Nazi-run munitions factory deep in the fjords of Norway–an installation which is a source of fuel for German rocket-launching. Based on the novel by Frederick E. Smith.

Mosquito Squadron – Quint Munroe loses his oldest friend, Squadron Leader David Scott on a mission to destroy a group of German V-1 launchers, and Quint must break the news to his wife Beth, with whom Quint had once been involved.

The Mosquito was originally conceived as an unarmed fast bomber, but its speed and agility made it ideal for a variety of other roles. It was used as a low- to medium-altitude daytime tactical bomber, a high-altitude night bomber, a pathfinder, a day or night fighter, a fighter-bomber, an intruder, a maritime strike aircraft, and a photo-reconnaissance aircraft. It was also used by the British Overseas Airways Corporation as a fast transport to carry small, high-value cargo to and from neutral countries through enemy-controlled airspace.

The Mosquito was a highly versatile aircraft that was used in a wide variety of roles. Its speed, agility, and range made it an ideal aircraft for a variety of missions. The Mosquito was a major factor in the Allied victory in World War II and is considered to be one of the most successful aircraft of all time.

More photographs of the Mosquito at RAF Cosford.

The De Havilland Mosquito B35 at RAF London.

Buy the Airfix A04023 de Havilland Mosquito model kit.

Tracking the Deimos 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.

The next stage was to affix the tracks to the Predator.

With the tracks for the Predator I gave them a spray of Mechanicus Standard Grey, this was followed by a heavy drybrush of Gorthor Brown. The tracks, once dry, had a wash of Agrax Earthshade Shade. After painting and shading them, I drybrushed them lightly, first with Leadbelcher. I then did a very light drybrush with Terminatus Stone.

The tracks were removed from the sprue and using superglue they were attached to the Predator.

You have to be careful when attaching these, as they are specific to each side of the Predator, but they do attach to the Predator quite easily.

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

Black Templars Stormhawk Interceptor

The Stormhawk Interceptor is a heavily armed air superiority fighter and gunship used by the Adeptus Astartes. It is a close relative to the Stormtalon gunship, but is more specialised for air-to-air combat. The Stormhawk is equipped with a powerful las-talon, twin assault cannons, and a skyhammer missile launcher, making it a formidable opponent for any enemy aircraft.

The Stormhawk is also highly manoeuvrable, making it an excellent dogfighter. It can easily outmanoeuvre enemy aircraft, and its powerful weapons can quickly dispatch them. The Stormhawk is also capable of operating in both void and atmospheric flight, making it a versatile asset to any Space Marine force.

When deployed in large numbers, Stormhawk squadrons can quickly overwhelm enemy air defences. They are often used in Vehemence Attack Patterns, in which they dive down on their targets at high speed, unleashing a devastating hail of fire. The Stormhawk’s golden haloes of flares are a signal that whatever planet the skies are over, they belong to the Emperor.

It is armed with a las-talon, twin assault cannons, and a skyhammer missile launcher and is protected by a layer of ablative armour.

The Stormhawk Interceptor is a powerful and versatile aircraft that is an essential asset to any Space Marine force. It is a fearsome opponent in air-to-air combat, and its ability to operate in both void and atmospheric flight makes it a valuable asset in any campaign.

Painting the barricades

I had been thinking about getting the Mekyboy Workshop kit for a while. So on a shopping trip to my local games shop I decided to make an impulse purchase and buy the box. Well it was nearly 30% cheaper than on the GW site.

Having cleaned the plastic parts I gave them a Corax White undercoat. I then started painting the basecoat across the scrap piles and barricades using a combination of Base and Contrast Citadel paints. I continued to paint the different barricades, using, as before, Base and Contrast paints.

I used some Citadel Cygor Brown Contrast paint on the barricades.

I think it may have been a little too dark for the effect I was trying to achieve.

I think I might do some drybrushing with Gorthor Brown to brighten it up a bit.

More on the various parts from the boxed set.

Mk IIA Light Tank

This Mk IIA Light Tank was on display at the Bovington Tank Museum.

The Mark IIA Light Tank was a British light tank that was produced in the early 1930s. It was a development of the Mark I Light Tank, and it featured a number of improvements, including a more powerful engine, a larger turret, and a better suspension system. The Mark IIA was used by the British Army in the Middle East and India, and it saw some action during the Second World War.

The Mark IIA was a two-man tank, with the driver sitting in the front and the commander/gunner sitting in the turret. The tank was armed with a single .303 Vickers machine gun, which was mounted in the turret. The Mark IIA had a maximum speed of 25 mph, and it had a range of 100 miles.

The Mark IIA was a relatively successful tank, and it was well-liked by its crews. However, it was soon outclassed by newer tanks, such as the Matilda II and the Crusader. As a result, the Mark IIA was withdrawn from front-line service in 1941.

Despite its relatively short service life, the Mark IIA played an important role in the development of British tank design. It was the first British tank to be equipped with a radio, and it also featured a number of other innovations that were later adopted by other British tanks. The Mark IIA is a significant example of British tank development in the interwar period, and it played a small but important role in the Second World War.

Here is a photograph of the same tank, taken ten years earlier, painted in a brown camouflage pattern.

More photographs of the Mark IIA Light Tank.

What is to become of Forge World?

I was a little saddened and disappointed by some recent news about Forge World.

I was reading the latest news, Warhammer 40,000 and Forge World: Legends and Last Chance to Buy, on the Warhammer Community about the retirement of certain models.

There’s slightly bittersweet news for Warhammer 40,000 fans today, as some long-serving miniatures will be retiring from the range – both classic Space Marines, and a selection of Forge World kits.

I do accept the retirement of Forge World resin models, those where models have been replaced by plastic kits, or those where the models are no longer in the codex or the rules. That I get.

What makes me a little saddened and disappointed was this comment in the article:

There will still be Forge World units for Warhammer 40,000, but the focus for them will be on the really big stuff – like Titans, and other kits that we can’t reasonably produce at that scale (yet!). When we add new units in future, they will almost always be in plastic – and there are a lot of plastic kits on the way over the next few years!

I like the idea of new plastic kits, but where I think they are missing the trick is to use Forge World not only to produce those big kits (that they won’t do in plastic) but to produce two types of kits that would enhance and expand the Warhammer 40000 game.

The first of these is new units, those that add real variety to the armies you can field. A past example of that was the Grot Mega Tank. Another example was the Grot Tanks. These were not in the main Ork Codex, but certainly added something different to an Ork army. I liked how there were not just four models in the pack, but the way the models were designed, you could build them in a variety of ways.

I guess the reasoning here is not just about the range of models, but the need to provide rules for these types of models as well.

The second kind of model I think they should produce are variant units. I have in my own collection for example the Ork Halftrakk which is a variant Trukk. I think there could be a range of variant models that would enable for some armies a more varied and cosmopolitain look. This would be critical for some armies, such as Orks, but also Genestealers, Chaos, Tyranids, and others.

Reflecting on Orks, I would like to see a much wider range of buggies for example different kinds of Snazzwagons. I like what Forge World did in the past with the Battlewagon (now the Bonebreaka).

I did like the Imperial variants that Forge World produced as well. I much prefer my Forge World Razorback compared to the plastic kit at the time.

I guess though that Forge World will still be making new resin models for The Horus Heresy. Though this will mean Imperial (and Traitor) units only and not Xenos stuff like Orks!

So what do you think?

Tracking the Deimos 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 bought the plastic Deimos Pattern Rhino when it came out in the summer, you can see the workbench for that Rhino here. I was lucky enough to get a second Rhino for a Christmas present. The model has many more parts and is a more detailed kit than the original plastic Rhino kit that came out in the 1980s. I constructed the model to the instructions, though I left the tracks off to paint separately. I gave the model an undercoat of Citadel White Scar. I gave the model a couple of light coats of Daemonic Yellow. I also painted the bolter and exhausts with Leadbelcher. I then 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. I then did some more drybrushing.

The next stage was to affix the tracks to the Rhino.

With the tracks for the Rhino I gave them a spray of Mechanicus Standard Grey, this was followed by a heavy drybrush of Gorthor Brown. The tracks, once dry, had a wash of Agrax Earthshade Shade. After painting and shading them, I drybrushed them lightly, first with Leadbelcher. I then did a very light drybrush with Terminatus Stone.

The tracks were removed from the sprue and using superglue they were attached to the Rhino.

You have to be careful when attaching these, as they are specific to each side of the Rhino, but they do attach to the Rhino quite easily.

See the workbench feature on the Deimos Pattern Rhino II.

Fw 190 at RAF Cosford

This Fw 190 was on display at RAF Cosford.

The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Würger (“Shrike”) was a German single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank at Focke-Wulf in the late 1930s and widely used during World War II. Along with its well-known counterpart, the Messerschmitt Bf 109, the Fw 190 became the backbone of the Jagdwaffe (Fighter Force) of the Luftwaffe.

The twin-row BMW 801 radial engine that powered most operational versions enabled the Fw 190 to lift larger loads than the Bf 109, allowing its use as a day fighter, fighter-bomber, ground-attack aircraft and to a lesser degree, night fighter.

The Fw 190 entered Luftwaffe service in August 1941 and quickly proved to be a formidable opponent for Allied aircraft. It was faster, more manoeuvrable, and had a heavier armament than the Spitfire V, which was the RAF’s main frontline fighter at the time. The Fw 190 also had a longer range, which allowed it to escort bombers deeper into enemy territory.

The introduction of the Fw 190 forced the RAF to upgrade its fighter fleet. The Spitfire IX, which entered service in July 1942, was a much-improved version of the Spitfire V and was finally able to match the Fw 190 in terms of performance. The arrival of the Spitfire IX helped to turn the tide of the air war in the Allies’ favour.

The Fw 190 continued to be used by the Luftwaffe until the end of the war. It was a versatile and effective aircraft that played a major role in the conflict.

One of the more unusual roles for the Fw 190 was as part of the twin-aircraft drone combination, code-named mistletoe or Mistel. A single engine fighter was mounted on top of a twin engine bomber, and on lining up with the target the fighter detached itself, leaving the bomber, packed with explosives, to impact the target.

Cosford’s Fw 190 is a unique survivor of a Mistel combination. Surrendered in Denmark in May 1945, the Fw 190 was part of a combination with a Junkers Ju 88, and assigned to a unit which trained Mistel crews. Flown to Germany as a twin combination, the Fw 190 was then split from its Ju 88 in order to be ferried to the UK for examination. The Ju 88 half never reached the UK, and it is assumed it was scrapped.

Other photographs of the RAF Cosford Fw 190 from earlier visits to RAF Cosford.

Photographs of the two seater Fw 190 at RAF London.

Shading the scrap some more

I then did some additional shading using Citadel Nuln Oil Shade.

See the workbench feature on Pile of Scrap 3.

Peerless Armoured Car

This Peerless Armoured Car was on display at the Tank Museum at Bovington.

The (original) Peerless Armoured Car was an armoured car that was used by the British Army during the First World War. Sixteen American Peerless trucks were modified by the British to serve as armoured cars. These were relatively primitive designs with open backs, armed with a Pom-pom gun and a machine gun, and were delivered to the British Army in 1915.

In 1919 a new design was built. it was based on the chassis of the Peerless three-tonne lorry, with an armoured body built by the Austin Motor Company.

The Peerless lorry was a relatively slow and heavy vehicle but was reckoned to be tough, with solid rubber tyres and rear-wheel chain drive. The armour for the vehicle produced by the Austin company was based on an earlier design created for the Russian Army.

The most common variant was a twin-turret design fitted with two machine guns. However, a number of other variants were developed, including a vehicle armed with a 3-inch (76 mm) gun and an anti-aircraft variant armed with a 13-pound 6cwt AA gun.

The car had a crew of four .The Peerless Armoured Car was used in a variety of roles, including reconnaissance, escort duty, and direct fire support. It was used by the British Army in the Russian Civil War.

The Peerless Armoured Car was a relatively successful design for its time. It was well-protected and reliable, and it was able to carry a significant amount of firepower. However, it was also slow and heavy, which limited its usefulness in some roles. The Peerless Armoured Car was eventually replaced by more modern designs in the 1920s.

Poor off-road performance hampered the vehicle but it still saw considerable service, notably in Ireland. A few were still in service with the British at the start of the Second World War. Seven were in service with the Irish National Army during the Irish Civil War and used by the Irish Defence Forces up until 1932.

This photo appeared in the Sunday Independent on 13 August 1922, with the caption: “A Dangerous Corner – This photograph was taken in one of the towns captured during the past week by the National Army. It shows an amoured car “manoeuvring for position” at the end of a street facing the post office. Irregulars occupy the further end of the street, and are being quickly dislodged by infantry supported by the armoured car.”

Peerless Armoured Car in Cork in 1922 – National Library of Ireland on The Commons [No restrictions]

These armoured cars would have been used in the world of A Very British Civil War. They would also make ideal vehicles for the concept of the 1919 British Revolution I talked about in this blog post.

If there had been a British Revolution in 1919, the Peerless Armoured Cars would have likely been used to suppress the uprising. The cars were well-protected and armed with machine guns, making them ideal for use against rioters and rebels. They would have been deployed to key locations around the country, such as government buildings, military bases, and communication hubs. The cars would have also been used to patrol the streets and to provide support to police forces.

The use of Peerless Armoured Cars would have likely been controversial. Some people would have argued that the cars were necessary to protect the country from chaos and anarchy. Others would have argued that the cars were a symbol of government oppression. The use of the cars would have likely exacerbated tensions between the government and the people, and it could have led to further violence.

Ultimately, the outcome of a British Revolution in 1919 is impossible to say. However, the use of Peerless Armoured Cars would have likely played a significant role in the conflict.