bolt action Archives - Page 3 of 7 - Felix's Gaming Pages

V1 and Launcher Ramp

The V-1 was the first of the so-called “Vengeance weapons” series deployed for the terror bombing of London. It was developed at Peenemünde Army Research Center in 1939 by the Luftwaffe. Because of its limited range, the thousands of V-1 missiles launched into England were fired from launch facilities along the French (Pas-de-Calais) and Dutch coasts. The Wehrmacht first launched the V-1s against London on 13 June 1944, one week after (and prompted by) the successful Allied landings in France.

This V1 flying bomb and ramp was on display at The Imperial War Museum at Duxford.

The V1 flying bomb was powered by an Argus 109-014 pulse-jet engine, carried a warhead of approximately 850kg, and was guided to its target by an autopilot. The maximum range was typically 149 miles, with a maximum speed of 400mph.

Although some V1s were air-launched, most were catapulted from specially constructed ramps.

I’ve always thought that either a Dutch or French Resistance or UK Commando raid on a V1 base to stop them launching would make for an interesting game. Why send in ground troops when a bombing raid would work just as well? Then I was thinking about adding in the complication of a chemical or biological armed V1 that would need to be taken care of on the ground. There were some real raids on V1 bases as part of Operation Crossbow., which was the code name in World War II for Anglo-American operations against the German long range reprisal weapons (V-weapons) programme. In 1965 a film Operation Crossbow, based on these raids, was released.

Battlefront released a 15mm version in their Hit the Beach Boxed set.

For 20mm gamers there is a 1/72nd model kit of the V1 and launch ramp available.

If you are playing Bolt Action, then Charlie Foxtrot Models do a MDF kit of the ramp for 28mm gamers, but you probably need to buy the Tamiya 1/48th scale plastic kit for the V1 itself. That kit does come with a trolley as well.

There was a V1 at the Imperial War Museum in London.

It’s red

For Bolt Action I am in the process of painting some partisans to fight Simon’s Italians. I have been looking for some vehicles and Warlord Games actually make a fair few civilian models for Bolt Action. Looking through the Bolt Action website I quite liked the look of the Civilian 1000Kg Dropside Truck so I got one.

Having given the model a white undercoat, I then gave the rear of the truck (which was separate) a basecoat of Vallejo 70912 Tan Yellow. I then gave that a wash of Seraphim Sepia Shade which was a little too light, so I then gave a wash of Agrax Earthshade. I also gave the chassis, the tyres and wheels a base coat of Vallejo 70.862 Black Grey.

After much thought, I decided to take the risk and paint the bodywork of the truck red.

I used Citadel Mephiston Red as the base colour and I am quite pleased with how it turned out.

It still needs a wash and weathering, but the colour works for me.

I then took some Abaddon Black to paint the windows and chassis.

I also decided in the end to paint the running boards red.

See the workbench feature on the Citroen Civilian 1000Kg Dropside Truck.

Bolt Action Battlefield Debris

So got an e-mail from Warlord Games today and there at the end was news about these marvellous little pieces of scenery.

Perhaps your Squad has pulled furniture from a damaged building, forming a make-shift barricade or you want to add some interior detail to you abandoned houses, the new Battlfield scatter terrain set gives you an awful lot of new casts to work with, including damaged walls, furniture and the option to build the formiddable ‘rosa sessel’ makeshift barricade known to be used to great effect in many scenarios here at Warlord HQ.

In the box you get hard plastic walls, furniture, a checkpoint, oh and a guard dog!

I think what caught my eye was the sofa and armchair. I could see them on my Operation Sealion battles where the Home Guard have quickly pulled out stuff from their homes and built a barricade.

I really like the models and though I think it’s a little pricey at £49.99 they look like they will really add to my (future) games of Bolt Action.

Available for pre-order, but I couldn’t see a release date.

Painting the Citroen Civilian 1000kg Dropside Truck

I also gave the chassis, the tyres and wheels a base coat of Vallejo 70.862 Black Grey.

I am still thinking about the colour of bodywork.

See the workbench feature on the Citroen Civilian 1000Kg Dropside Truck.

Armadillo Improvised Armoured Vehicle

The Armadillo was an armoured fighting vehicle produced in Britain during the invasion crisis of 1940-1941. Based on a number of standard lorry chassis, it comprised a wooden fighting compartment protected by a layer of gravel filling the walls of the ‘fort’ and a driver’s cab protected by mild steel plates.

I had already constructed the model and given it a base coat of British Armour Green.

The wheels were painted with Vallejo 70.862 Black Grey.

I am still thinking I might need to add a disruptive pattern to the model.

See the workbench feature on the Armadillo Improvised Armoured Vehicle.

Painting the windows of the Civilian 4,500kg Truck

I bought the Citroen Civilian 4,500kg Truck with Canopy from Warlord Games to go with my French Partisan Band. Either to use as a transport or as scenery. Citroen made many of these trucks in the 1930s and 1940s.

Having constructed the model and given it a white undercoat, I then gave the rear canopy a basecoat. The next stage was to give the bodywork a basecoat.

I painted the windows using Vallejo 70.862 Black Grey.

I am not sure if I will keep them black, and I have been looking through various Bolt Action publications and magazines to see how others have painted windows of vehicles.

See the full workbench feature on the Bolt Action Citroen Civilian 4,500kg Truck with Canopy.

Painting the Citroen Civilian 4,500kg Truck with Canopy

Having constructed the model and given it a white undercoat, I then gave the rear canopy a basecoat. The next stage was to give the bodywork a basecoat. For this I used a blue paint I had in my collection, Vallejo 70.899 Dark Prussian Blue.

The name should have made me realise, but I think the blue is too dark, well I don’t have too many blues in my paint collection that I can use (quite a few have dried up) and it’s not simple to buy a single pot of paint these days.

I think I might try and add a second lighter coat, partly to highlight, but also to ensure that when I give the model a wash that it isn’t too dark.

I had kept the back part of the truck separate, so I could easily paint the underbody.

I should add, one of the rear wheels fell off whilst I was holding the model to paint it, so that had to be re-glued back on.

See the full workbench feature on the Bolt Action Citroen Civilian 4,500kg Truck with Canopy.

Citroen Civilian 4,500kg Truck with Canopy

In addition to the Bolt Action Citroen Civilian 1000kg Dropside Truck I also bought a slightly bigger truck, the Citroen Civilian 4,500kg Truck with Canopy. Citroen made many of these trucks in the 1930s and 1940s.

Having constructed the model and given it a white undercoat, I gave the rear canopy a basecoat of Vallejo 70912 Tan Yellow.

See the full workbench feature on the Bolt Action Citroen Civilian 4,500kg Truck with Canopy.

Painting the Citroen Civilian 1000kg Dropside Truck

Looking through the Bolt Action website I quite liked the look of the Civilian 1000Kg Dropside Truck. The other civilian vehicles in the French range also look quite useful. In the main I will use them as scenery or as objectives. In the end I did get the Warlord Games Bolt Action Citroen Civilian 1000kg Dropside Truck.

Having given the model a white undercoat, I gave the rear of the truck (which was separate) a basecoat of Vallejo 70912 Tan Yellow.

See the workbench feature on the Citroen Civilian 1000Kg Dropside Truck.

Undercoating the Tally Ho Rolls Royce Armoured Car

This model was the first one I bought for Tally Ho! It has been stuck in a box for about twenty years. It was originally designed and manufactured by the Honourable Lead Boiler Suit Company (HLBSCo) they were small and relatively new.

The Rolls-Royce armoured car was a British armoured car developed in 1914 and used in World War I and in the early part of World War II.

This is a 1920s version of the Armoured Car. The model consists of a resin armoured hull, metal chassis, wheels, turrets and fiddly headlights. The model went together very easily, the parts were a good fit. I glued the armoured car hull to the chassis. The wheels and axels fitted very nicely into the respective holes. I did check a few reference pictures to confirm that I had aligned the hull right and the spare wheels in the right place.