Category: news

That Whirlwind is back…

In al the recent previews one certainly stood out for me, and that was the Legion Astartes Whirlwind Missile Tank for The Horus Heresy.

The Whirlwind is a certified Astartes classic combining the venerable Rhino chassis with a huge missile launcher that hurls storms of explosive warheads into enemy ranks, whether it has line of sight or not. The sophisticated range-finding and targeting auspexes mounted to the launcher allow multiple different kinds of munitions to be loaded and fired independently, from standard high explosives to incendiary Pyrax rounds.

The Whirlwind is an Imperial artillery support vehicle based upon the Standard Template Construct (STC) Rhino armoured personnel carrier (APC) chassis that was used by the Space Marine Legions. 

This new model reflects the original conversion from 1989. The original Whirlwind was a conversion using a slottabase and plasticard for the rocket launcher. This was published in the September 1989 issues of White Dwarf, #117.

Whirlwind

You can see the instructions in this post.

Since 1989 we have seen many different versions of the Whirlwind which have evolved from this original conversion.

“Original” Space Marine Whirlwind
Ultramarines Space Marine Whirlwind on display at Warhammer World.
Space Wolves Whirlwind at Warhammer World
Space Marine Whirlwind
Ultramarines Whirlwind at Warhammer World
Deimos Pattern Whirlwind Scorpius
Space Marine Whirlwind Hyperios on display at Games Day 2005
Sons of Horus Deimos Pattern Whirlwind Scorpius

I have also preferred the original conversion to the newer versions, so it should be no surprise that I will probably get one of these when they are eventually released.

iFelix Top Ten Blog Posts 2025

In 2025 I published 269 blog posts.

In 2024 there was 378 blog posts. In 2023 I published 271,  I did 319 in 2022. In 2021, I posted 162 times. In 2020 I posted 436 blog posts, in 2019 I did 143 blog posts. Compare that to 2018 when I wrote just 21 blog posts.

There is no top ten individual blog posts, as WordPress broke the stats as I have ads on the site. So this means I don’t know the stats for individual blog posts.

Volley & Charge Crimean War

One of the left field announcements from the recent Battlefront update was on Volley & Charge, a Flames of War style ruleset for the American Civil War, but also mentioned was also released for the Samurai Wars, the American Indian Wars, the Franco-Prussian War; the final option which interested me the most was the Crimean War.

Will be interesting to see what that looks like.

Flames of War Early War Monsters

We have had an update from Battlefront about the Early War releases we heard about before.

We saw again the TOG 1, the Char 2C, but also the German Early Wars Monster, not quite the Großtraktor I thought it might be in my blog post last July.

The tank they have gone for is the Neubaufahrzeug. Multi-turreted, heavy and slow, they were not considered successful, which led to only five being produced. These were primarily used for propaganda purposes and training, though three took part in the Battle of Norway in 1940.  The Neubaufahrzeug had many connections to the previous Großtraktor, utilising many of the same components including the engine and transmission.

Battlefront also showed us some pages on the other Early War Monsters as well.

Early War Monsters delayed

I was pleased to hear in the Battlefront preview video in December 2024 about their new releases. 

Back in 2011 I wrote this after the release of the Mid-War Monsters.

I do hope that we see future “monsters” for Flames of War, there are some nice concepts and ideas out there for both Early-War and Late-War.

In the Battlefront preview video it was announced that Battlefront would be producing some Early War ‘Eavies. The preview included glimpses of the British TOG and the French Char 2C, see some photographs in this post.

Alas in a recent video announcement, the release of these massive tanks was said to be delayed. However we did get to see some photographs of painted versions of these monsters.

This is the French Char 2C.

Screenshot

This is the British TOG.

Screenshot

Alongside these we saw some British A13 cruiser tanks, infantry, artillery, and the delightful Light Tank VI.

Screenshot

For the French we saw the Char B1 bis.

Screenshot

These will (I suspect) be all plastic kits. I’ve been waiting well over ten years now for these monsters, I can wait a little longer…

In the original preview video there was also mention of a German super heavy tank, but it was not identified in the review, I suspect it might be the Großtraktor that was built by Krupp and entered service in 1935. However despite seeing some nice PzKpfw I tanks and PzKpfw III tanks and variants, no mention was made about the German tank…

Though we did hear about a 1960s version of Team Yankee called Checkpoint Charlie, sounds interesting.

The Merwyrm returns from the depths

In the Warhammer Community there was news about the re-release of the Merwyrm for Warhammer: The Old World.

The Merwyrms are distant, watery cousins of the dragons, among the most ancient beasts in the Old World. The Sea Lords sometimes summon and bind them to their will, letting them loose writhe in battle, battering and eviscerating the foe with their heavy bulk and sharp claws – a dark, watery foil to the nobility of the dragons above.

What’s interesting is the origins of the model.

This is a rare kit returning to the range for the first time in more than a decade – a beast once part of the Warhammer Forge range. 

This did make me wonder if there will be future releases for Old World from the short lived Warhammer Forge range.

One of the models I always liked, but never bought was the Marienberg Landship.

Marienberg Landship
Marienberg Landship

This was a lovely model. Did think we would never see it again, now I am wondering if we will see it again?

Plastic Arvus Lighter on pre-order next week

One of the reveals at the World Championships Preview back in November was a plastic Arvus Lighter for The Horus Heresy.

This week we found out that it goes on pre-order on the 18th January.

I said in my previous post when the model was announced.

I really like this model and I will probably get this when it is released.

Though released for The Horus Heresy, I suspect it would also make a great model for, not just Warhammer 40K, but also Necromunda.

Burlok Damminson on pre-order next week

This week we found out that this lovely dwarf miniature  goes on pre-order on the 18th January.

Burlok Damminson was an old dwarf in the era of Karl Franz, but we see him here as a young and impetuous inventor who’s really getting on the nerves of the Engineers’ Guild… He’s armed with several proprietary experimental weapons, and substantially improves nearby ranged units by his very presence.

The model is made of Forge World resin.

Very tempting.

 

iFelix Top Ten Blog Posts 2024

Deimos Pattern Predator in the desert

In 2024 I published 378 blog posts. In 2023 I published 271,  I did 319 in 2022. In 2021, I posted 162 times. In 2020 I posted 436 blog posts, in 2019 I did 143 blog posts. Compare that to 2018 when I wrote just 21 blog posts.

There is no top ten blog posts, as WordPress broke the stats as I have ads on the site. So this means I don’t know the stats for individual blog posts.