Category: news

Airfix Cromwell Tank

Currently most picture of the new Airfix 1:76th scale Cromwell tank is of the 3D rendering. I was lucky enough today to get to see the actual pre-production model kit and sprues. The model can either be made with the wading gear (that was used on D-Day) or as it was used later on in the Normandy campaign without.

The sprues show a fair few parts, and unlike some of the new wargaming models that have come out recently, this is a model kit first with lots of parts.

Another view (this time from the top) of the Cromwell pre-production models.

Looks like a very nice plastic kit and for those who play 20mm, a welcome addition that has long been missing from the range.

Who’s back? He’s back…

Well I enjoyed the first episode of Doctor Who. Very epic and ambitious and setting it in American appeared to work. The result was really what they should have done when they tried to re-make Doctor Who in 1996 and Paul McGann took on the role. I am sure that if the American version was like last night’s opening episode then it may have been a success.

However back to the new episode, as I said, the American setting worked well and though I was expecting it to be a little cheesy, I didn’t think it was in the end. Reminded me slightly of an episode of the X-Files, but with a little more humour.

Nixon and the Oval Office was done well and seeing Confidential showed how much work was done in creating that infamous room in the White House. I did like the fact that it wasn’t modern America, but was 1960s America. This is why I think it worked over the modern setting of the 1996 American remake.

I was touched and enjoyed the tribute to Elizabeth Sladen that followed the opening episode. Wonderful tributes and clips about her life in Doctor Who.

I am looking forward to the next episode of Doctor Who and the series as a whole, slightly disappointed we have a split season, as I hate gaps, but I can see how it spreads the Doctor more over the year.

Sad news, Elizabeth Sladen dies

Sad news today, Doctor Who actress Elizabeth Sladen who played Sarah Jane Smith has died aged just 63. Sarah Jane Smith was the Doctor’s companion in the 1970s playing opposite both Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker; however she came back more recently to play opposite David Tennant and in new spin off series, the Sarah Jane Adventures she also got to meet Matt Smith’s Doctor.

My own memories of Sarah Jane Smith are from the Genesis of the Daleks where she meets Davros and encounters the Daleks.

Sad news indeed today and my sympathies go out to her family.

Nice collection

Nice collection of 28mm vehicles for use with a Very British Civil War.

My Very British Civil War project is in danger of reaching fruition as the heady combination of great miniatures, cracking vehicles, and scenics all approach the state of being finished with the alluring promise of much gaming ahead.

See more photographs and more explanation. Some very inspiring work and has got me thinking about going into this era myself. 28mm certainly sounds like fun, but also tempted to use 15mm and my Flames of War miniatures.

Here come the Jokaero

Well I didn’t see that coming…

We are seeing the return of the Jokaero to the Warhammer 40000 universe.

Jokaero are heavyset, orange-furred apes with retractable fingers and toes, similar in appearance to the orang-utans of ancient Terra. Yet this primitive appearance is completely misleading. Jokaero are technosavants without peer and have an instinctive understanding of machinery and technological systems. So great is their skill that they can customise almost any weapon or equipment, giving a group of Henchmen more powerful weapons, better protection or even both at the same time. While outwardly they appear to be unarmed, Jokaero digital weapons can prove to be deadly, whether they choose to use a powerful laser, a flame thrower or a devastating melta weapon.

First seen in the original Rogue Trader Warhammer 40000 rule book, this is the first time an actual miniature has been released. Reminding me slightly of the Librarian from the Discworld novels I think this miniature, as well as working with the Grey Knights and Inquisitors, would also be a handy model to have to use with the Rogue Trader RPG.

They come from the skies…

The Grey Knights are about to descend upon us….

We are about to see the imminent release of the new Grey Knights from Games Workshop and on the GW website is a real taste of what we can expect in this revamping of the Grey Knights. The models are now available to pre-order.

As well as lots of new plastic models, the main difference is the change in emphasis from Daemonhunters to Grey Knights in the new Codex. Previously the focus of the older Codex was with the Inquisition and entourage, with the Grey Knights very much there, but their role was supporting an Inquisitor. From the rumours and recently released pictures, what we will see in this new Codex is the focus now been on the Grey Knights. This Codex is about the Grey Knights and their weapons of war.
As expected the Stormraven is a key part of any Grey Knights force, but we also see some new and interesting models, particularly the Nemsis Dreadknight.

Its powerful weaponry will happily tear through any enemy army, both at range and in assault.

As a 4-Wound Monstrous Creature with the same save as a Terminator armour, the Nemesis Dreadknight’s adamantium-alloy skeleton also lends it incredible durability.

I like it and I don’t like it… probably something I need to see in the flesh (plastic) to see what it really is like. Reminds me of the older Eldar War Walker model.

These new releases may be the impetus I need to finish my own Grey Knights force.