Felix, Author at Felix's Gaming Pages

Making progress on the Forge World MkIIb Land Raider

The Land Raider is an Imperial main battle tank and troop transport which serves as the “armoured fist of the Space Marines.” The Mark IIb Land Raider Phobos is one of the earliest marks of the standard pattern of Land Raider. The Mark IIb Land Raider Phobos is the only pattern of the standard Land Raider Phobos that uses the older armoured sponsons, as they do not allow the weapons they hold to fully rotate.

I got a Forge World MkIIb Land Raider and was originally painting it up as a Grey Knights Land Raider in desert camouflage. I wrote up some reflections on my MkIIB Land Raider, on the current state of the painting and what I needed to do next. I had a few issues fixing the bolter guard on the top of the superstructure. I eventually managed to glue in the armoured shell. I then touched up the damaged areas with a brush and some fresh paint.

I am still painting up the icongraphy. The front ramp is being painted as stone.

Once that is done I will be shading the model to add depth (and weathering).

See the full Mark IIb Land Raider workbench.

Gloster Gladiator

The Gloster Gladiator is a British-built biplane fighter. It was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) (as the Sea Gladiator variant) and was exported to a number of other air forces during the late 1930s.

The Gloster Gladiator was the RAF’s last biplane fighter and the first to feature an enclosed cockpit for the pilot. Deliveries began in 1937, with Gladiators continuing to serve in the early years of the Second World War.

During the Battle of Britain, Gladiators of No. 247 Squadron protected the Plymouth naval dockyards, frequently escorting inbound convoys. Withdrawn from UK front line defence in 1941, they continued to be used for metrological reconnaissance and training.

The Gladiator on display at RAF Cosford was built in 1937 and was employed on trials and training duties, Although it never took part in the Battle of Britain, it is used here to represent the Gladiator’s role in that conflict.

In the world of the Very British Civil War which is post 1936, you might expect to see squadrons of Gloster Gladiators flying from the aerodrome at Brockworth, and fighting for the Royalist Army of the Severn Valley. The Gloster Factory was in Cheltenham which was at the heart of the Severn Valley.

N5628 – Gladiator II forward fuselage is on static display at the Royal Air Force Museum London. It is displayed unrestored

Shading 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. I am using the same process I used with my first Deimos Pattern Rhino. I used some Citadel Reikland Fleshshade Shade.

I did a heavier wash than the first Rhino I painted.

This did mean the Shade pooled in certain areas. I am hoping that this will be covered up when I do the deeper drybrushing next.

I also shaded the tracks, this I did with Agrax Earthshade Shade. Once this was dry I drybrushed them with some Leadbelcher.

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

M24 Chaffee

The Tank Museum is a collection of armoured fighting vehicles at Bovington Camp in Dorset, South West England. I visited the Tank Museum before in 1984, 1997, and 2016, but recently made a return visit.

This M24 Chaffee was on display in the car park.

It has French markings.

The M24 Chaffee was an American light tank used during the later part of World War II; it was also used in post–World War II conflicts including the Korean War, and by the French in the War in Algeria and the First Indochina War. In British service it was given the service name Chaffee after the United States Army General Adna R. Chaffee Jr., who helped develop the use of tanks in the United States armed forces. Although the M41 Walker Bulldog was developed as a replacement, M24s were not mostly removed from U.S. and NATO armies until the 1960s

Plastic Legion Vindicator

Over on the Warhammer Community website they have previewed a new plastic Legion Vindicator.

The last word in mobile wall-removal packs a massive centerline-mounted demolisher cannon – a huge shell-lobbing bombard that trades the long range of artillery for awesome destructive power. It’s quite content to turn anything it hits into confetti, but excels at cracking Fortifications and other buildings.

Of course Forge World gave us a resin conversion kit many years ago.

The Deimos pattern is an early type of Vindicator used by the Space Marine Legions during the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy, although many are still operational in the service of Space Marine Chapters in the 41st Millennium. A powerful assault tank, the Vindicator’s principal armament is a heavy-calibre demolisher cannon capable of shattering fortifications and breaching the armour plates of tanks with equal ease. It is invaluable in urban warfare as it can blast and shunt its way through barricades and obstacles, enabling troops following behind free passage through streets that might have otherwise swiftly degenerated into kill zones.

This Forge World Space Wolves Legion Vindicator was on display at Warhammer World.

The new plastic kit also allows you make a Vindicator Laser Destroyer. This Legiones Astartes Ultramarines Deimos Vindicator Laser Destroyer was on display in the cabinets at Warhammer World.

Deimos Vindicator Laser Destroyer at Warhammer World

Another model to add to that wish list.

Shading the 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 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.

It was then onto shading the model. I am using the same process I used with my other Deimos Pattern Rhino. I used some Citadel Reikland Fleshshade Shade.

I did a heavier wash than the previous Rhino.

This did mean the Shade pooled in certain areas. I am hoping that this will be covered up when I do the deeper drybrushing next.

I also shaded the tracks, this I did with Agrax Earthshade Shade. Once this was dry I drybrushed them with some Leadbelcher.

See the workbench feature on the Deimos Pattern Rhino II.

Bristol M.1

The Bristol M.1 Monoplane Scout was a British monoplane fighter of the First World War. It holds the distinction of being the only British monoplane fighter to reach production during the conflict.

This replica Bristol M.1 was on display at RAF Cosford.

Plastic Typhon Heavy Siege Tank

Games Workshop having announced back in December that there will be a plastic Heavy Siege Tank for The Horus Heresy, you will be able to pre-order this huge tank on Saturday.

Named for the ‘Great Beast’ of Ancient Terran myth, the immense Typhon Heavy Siege Tank was developed by the Mechanicum alongside the Spartan, with which it shares a basic chassis design. The Typhon’s primary armament is the massive Dreadhammer cannon, and was created in response to a request from the Primarch Peturabo, master of the Iron Warriors. He demanded a Legiones Astartes war engine that could rival the great batteries of the Imperial Crusade Army in firepower, but manoeuvre and deploy at the speed of a Space Marine force.

I’ve always liked the Forge World model and I took a photograph of this Imperial Fists painted model at Warhammer World on a visit a few years ago.

There are some great Horus Heresy models available now and the question I have is, which one do I get next after I finish painting my Land Raiders. I think this one is now top of the list.

FV432

In the car park there is an FV432 parked. I find this quite bizarre, that there are armoured vehicles that you can park next to.

The FV432 is the armoured personnel carrier variant in the British Army’s FV430 series of armoured fighting vehicles. Since its introduction in the 1960s, it has been the most common variant, being used for transporting infantry on the battlefield. At its peak in the 1980s, almost 2,500 vehicles were in use.

This British tracked armoured personnel carrier has a crew of 2 with capacity for 10 personnel, powered by Rolls-Royce 6-cylinder multi-fuel engine, armed with one machine gun.

Outside the Land Warfare exhibit at the Imperial War Museum Duxford is an Alvis FV432 APC.

Buying some paint

I was shading my new Predator (and Rhino). I used some Citadel Reikland Fleshshade Shade, however after shading most of the models I ran out of paint.

I was in town, so went to MT Games and they were charging £5.00 for a pot of Citadel Reikland Fleshshade Shade.

Now in the Games Workshop stores (or is it Warhammer Stores) in Bristol the cost is £4.75.

My usual place to buy paint is The Games Bunker who sell the same paint pots at the discounted price of £4.05.

In the end I did buy the paint from MT Games, if I was buying a few pots then I probably would have made a special trip to The Games Bunker and saved myself a few pennies.