20mm M3 Stuart Tanks

These 20mm M3 Stuart tanks were part of a 20mm Rapid Fire Desert War game that was displayed at Reveille II.

20mm M3 Stuart Tanks

20mm M3 Stuart Tanks

They look very good, and the scenery was nice. Not sure of the make or if they were plastic kits or resin models.

Update: From the comments, they are the old Matchbox plastic kits of the M3 Stuart tanks.

Morghast Archai

Morghast Archai as seen through the window at Games Workshop.

Morghast Archai

The Archai are Nagash’s elite guard and the greatest of the Morghast. Only Nagash’s closest lieutenants can command them and only the mightiest heroes of the mortal race have the power to defeat them.

This multi-part plastic kit can be assembled as two Morghast Archai. They are clad in ebon-wrought armour which channels the magic of the world into their accursed forms. Possessed with the might of demigods, they wield swords and glaives that blaze with the spirit energies of the slain, the souls trapped within driven to drag others to share their fate.

You have to admit that the quantity, quality and complexity of the plastic kits that are coming out of Games Workshop are so much superior to the kits they produced ten years ago.

The full rules for using Morghast Archai in games of Warhammer are included in Warhammer: Nagash.

If you want to read more about Nagash, then it might be wortjwhile having a read of The Return of Nagash.

The End Times are coming. As the forces of Chaos threaten to drown the world in madness, Mannfred von Carstein and Arkhan the Black put aside their difference and plot to resurrect the one being with the power to stand against the servants of the Ruinous Powers and restore order to the world – the Great Necromancer himself. As they set about gathering artefacts to use in their dark ritual, armies converge on Sylvania, intent on stopping them. But Arkhan and Mannfred are determined to complete their task. No matter the cost, Nagash must rise again. Read this because The original bad guy of the Warhammer world returns for the End Times, ready to destroy the land of the living and begin a new age of undeath. If you like Warhammer, this is a must read — nothing that has ever happened within the Old World or without has been more pivotal to the future of the Warhammer setting.

Get The Return of Nagash in the iBooks store.

Oh yes… Star Wars: The Force Awakens

It’s a teaser…

…but I already want to see more.

Like the shots of both the X-Wings and the Millennium Falcon, however the rolling ball robot does worry me slightly. I do hope that they don’t do a “Phantom Menance” and focus on toys and effects and forget the story. The charm of the 1977 Star Wars was not just incredible effects, but also a really good story of good and evil.

Chaos Iron Warriors

This is a rather nice looking Iron Warriors Chaos Basilisk that was on display in Warhammer World in Nottingham back in 2007.

Chaos Iron Warriors

This is a rather nice looking Iron Warriors Chaos Vindicator (if somewhat badly photographed) that was in the display.

Iron Warriors Chaos Vindicator

Alongside in the same display cabinet  was this BaneBlade heavy tank.

Iron Warriors Chaos BaneBlade

Again very nicely painted and looks very menacing.

Part of much larger Iron Warriors army by Christian Bryne.

The Comet is coming

One of the most popular posts on the blog is an article I wrote back in 2011 on the Battle of the Bulge reporting on the news that Flames of War was going to release models and rules for the Battle of the Bulge.

Then I said

I would like to see two tanks in particular, the M24 Chaffee and the British Comet. These tanks are currently not in the FoW range.

In June 2012 we saw that we were going to get Flames of War Chaffee tanks that were eventually released in September, however still no sign of the Comet.

So you can guess I was quite pleased to see the news from FlamesCon 2014 that Flames of War are going to release a 15mm Comet, in plastic.

Cromwell and Comet

It looks like a really nice model and I might get a few.

Why such a fascination, well I suspect that it was because I bought and made the Matchbox Comet many, many years ago.

Variations on a Whippet

Whippet

As part of their releases for Flames of War The Great War, Battlefront have released a 15mm scale Whippet tank.

Though originally envisioned with a rotating turret, the production model had an armoured housing for three to four 303 Hotchkiss machine guns, which could be relocated between four gun ports. Approved in June 1917, roughly 200 vehicles were produced starting in October 1917.

Unlike the large crew of the Mark IV, the Whippet managed with a standard crew of three: a commander, driver and gunner. Given the gunner was responsible for manning both machineguns (which could point forward, left, right and rear), sometimes a second gunner was squeezed in.

It looks like a very nice model and well sculptured. Lots of detail and a good casting.

I do think that this model would make for a great base for vehicles for an alternative Great War. It could be converted into a turreted tank, or a self propelled gun. One other idea is to use the models for A Very British Civil War background. There are quite a few models in the Flames of War range that could be used for a 1920s or 1930s civil war within the United Kingdom.

Steampunk Old West: Winan’s Steam Gun

This is a series of blog articles, updating and based on my original article on Steampunk Old West. I will be posting a few blog articles on my experiences and thoughts on taking the old west and adding a dash of victorian science fiction. I have painted and have been painting up some Foundry Old West figures for use with the Legends of the Old West Warhammer Historical rules. I liked the concept of a traditional Old West game, however the film Cowboys and Aliens got me thinking about “different” old west backgrounds. I did first start thinking about adding Victorian Science Fiction or Steampunk elements to the games.

Sometimes reality provides the inspiration for ideas for Steampunk Old West. The American Civil War though well known for cavalry, muskets and cannons, as with many other wars, there were lots of ideas and experimental weapons.

One of the more unusual ideas was the Winan’s steam gun. Built by Ohio inventors William Joslin and Charles Dickinson, this huge automatic weapon sat on an armored train carriage and used steam to fire bullets at 200 rounds a minute.

Steampunk Old West: Winan’s steam gun

The press at the time hailed it as a super weapon, but it was never used in an actual combat situation.

Charles Dickinson was on his way to Harper’s Ferry in 1861 in an attempt to sell his new steam gun to the Confederacy, when he encountered Union troops, and they confiscated the steam gun. The Union moved it around for a while, then the steam gun defended the Thomas Viaduct for the remainder of the Civil War after capture. After the war it was scrapped.The Union Army never attempted to deploy the steam gun on the field of battle, which suggests the steam gun probably failed to live up to its deadly reputation.

Steampunk Old West: Winan’s steam gun

On the gaming table, especially in a Steampunk Old West setting, the Winan’s steam gun may have been more successful than in reality, and more of them were made and deployed. Though not as powerful as gunpowder weapons, the fact it relied on steam and did not need gunpowder, would make it a cheaper weapon to deploy and logistically easier to use on the field.

You could use the Winan’s steam gun as an objective to be captured in a raid on the mine which the steam gun in guarding.

The army are transporting a battery of Winan’s steam guns across to the West coast when their steam train breaks down, they are then attacked by outlaws who see the broken down train as loot to be plundered.

A town in the old west is about to be attacked by outlaws supported by a steam tank, their only defence is a Winan’s steam gun.

Reality sometimes can provide real inspiration for science fiction games, especially those set in a steampunk era.