Felix's Gaming Pages

Incom T-47 Snowspeeder

The Incom T-47 Snowspeeder is a two-person, all-terrain vehicle used by the Rebel Alliance during the Galactic Civil War.

Though you can get an “official” Snowspeeder model for Star Wars Legion, I have been thinking for a while about getting the Revell 1/52nd scale model kit of the Snowspeeder. Mainly as I wanted to use it as scenery (more than as a vehicle in the game) and partly down to cost. The Revell kit was £8 and the “official” Snowspeeder model was over £30 when I last looked on Amazon.

The Incom T-47 Snowspeeder is a heavily modified version of the Incom T-47 Airspeeder, which was originally designed for industrial cargo handling. The Snowspeeder is equipped with two forward-facing heavy laser cannons and a harpoon cannon mounted in the rear. It can also tow cables, which can be used to disable Imperial walkers.

The Snowspeeder is a fast and agile vehicle, making it ideal for use in combat. It is also well-suited to the harsh environments of planets like Hoth, where it was first used in combat. The Snowspeeder played a key role in the Battle of Hoth, helping to defend the Rebel base from an Imperial attack.

The Snowspeeder is a versatile and effective vehicle that has proven its worth on the battlefield. It is a valuable asset to the Rebel Alliance, and it has helped to turn the tide of the Galactic Civil War.

The Incom T-47 Snowspeeder was first seen in the 1980 film The Empire Strikes Back. It has since appeared in several other Star Wars films, television shows, and video games.

The kit contains 23 parts.

Imperial Knights

Imperial Knights at Warhammer World.

Another pair of Knights.

Painting the base of the Forge World Grey Knights Dreadnought

I have had a Mark IV Forge World Grey Knights Dreadnought on my workbench for a while. After getting some weapon arms for the model. I gave the main model a black undercoat and started base coating with a metallic paint. The weapons I had given a white undercoat. Getting it out from storage, I decided to almost start again and gave the model a base spray of Leadbelcher. I gave the model a wash of Nuln Oil Shade. For the next stage I used some Citadel Leadbelcher. I took a large brush and gave the model, what I would call, a heavy drybrush. I then did a lighter drybrush of various silver paints.

I did intend to paint the base for the model next, but upon checking the workbench feature for my Grey Knights, I realised that I needed a paint I didn’t have. For my Grey Knights I painted the flocked (well sanded) bases with Bestial Brown and then drybrushed with Bleached Bone. I bought a pot of Mournfang Brown. I used this to paint the base of the Dreadnought.

I didn’t have any Bleached Bone either. I drybrushed the base with Citadel Ushabti Bone, which is a replacement for Bleached Bone.

See the workbench feature on the Grey Knights Dreadnought.

Chaos on the ebb

The original Warhammer world was “destroyed” in 2015. The Warhammer: The Game of Fantasy Battles changed forever when Games Workshop (though they said Archaon was responsible) destroyed the world.

Of course we know now that the Old World in Warhammer is coming back.

Reading the most recent Old World Development Diary entry, The Main Factions Revealed we found out what the core factions will be in the game.

I quite like the fact that Chaos is almost non-existent in this era.

The battles of Warhammer: the Old World take place in the decades immediately before the Siege of Praag.

This means that Chaos is not as strong as it was in previous incarnations of Warhammer.

Chaos Daemons have existed in the past and will again, but there is an ebb and flow to the power of Chaos – in our period Chaos is at its lowest ebb in a long time.

You can still play Chaos if you want, but I like the fact that the focus is on the core factions.

Home Guard Thornycroft Type 2 Bison

This Home Guard Thornycroft Type 2 Bison was on display at Bovington.

The Bison was an extemporised armoured fighting vehicle frequently characterised as a mobile pillbox. Bisons were produced in Britain during the invasion crisis of 1940-1941. Based on a number of different lorry chassis, it featured a fighting compartment protected by a layer of concrete.

The Bison was not very mobile, and was only intended for use in static defence. However, it was relatively cheap and easy to produce, and could provide valuable protection for troops against enemy fire.

Bisons were used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) to protect aerodromes and by the Home Guard. They acquired the generic name “Bison” from their main manufacturer, Thornycroft.

It’s a good illustration of the desperate state of the defence of the United Kingsom in 1940. Take a lorry and add some concrete to turn it into an armoured vehicle. They were really no more than mobile pillboxes.

With a variety of chassis to work on, Bisons inevitably varied in detail, but were made in three distinct types:

Type 1 was the lightest. It had a fully armoured cab and a small armoured fighting compartment roofed with canvas.

Type 2 had an armoured cab roofed with canvas and a separate fully enclosed fighting compartment resembling a small pillbox on the back – communication between driver and crew must have been difficult.

Type 3 was the largest and heaviest. It had a contiguous cabin and fighting compartment completely enclosed in concrete armour.

Another photograph of the Home Guard Thornycroft Bison.

There are quite a few gaming ideas and scenarios that could use the Bison.

Operation Sealion

The year is 1940. The Germans are preparing to invade Britain. The Home Guard, a volunteer militia, is hastily being assembled to defend the country. One of the Home Guard’s most important tasks is to defend the airfields. These airfields are vital for the RAF to operate, and they are also the targets of German paratroopers and glider forces.

One airfield in particular, RAF Manston, is poorly defended. It is manned by a small detachment of RAF personnel and a few armed guards. The Germans know this, and they plan to capture the airfield in the opening hours of the invasion.

The Germans launch their attack on the night of September 7th. The paratroopers and glider forces drop onto the airfield, catching the defenders by surprise. The Germans quickly overwhelm the defenders and take control of the airfield.

The Home Guard is alerted to the invasion, and they begin to mobilize. They know that it is essential to retake RAF Manston, or the Germans will be able to use it to fly in reinforcements and supplies.

The Home Guard attacks the airfield the next day. They are met with stiff resistance from the Germans, who are well-entrenched in the concrete bunkers and pillboxes that surround the airfield. The fighting is fierce, and the Home Guard suffers heavy casualties.

However, the Home Guard eventually prevails. They storm the bunkers and pillboxes, and they drive the Germans from the airfield. The Home Guard has retaken RAF Manston, and the Germans have been denied a vital foothold in Britain.

The Home Guard’s victory at RAF Manston is a major turning point in the Battle of Britain. It shows that the British people are determined to defend their country, and it gives the RAF a much-needed boost in morale.

The Bison

One of the Home Guard units that fought at RAF Manston was equipped with a Home Guard Thornycroft Bison. The Bison was an improvised fighting vehicle frequently characterised as a mobile pillbox. It was based on a lorry chassis with a concrete fighting compartment on the back. The Bison was not very mobile, but it was heavily armored and could provide valuable protection for troops against enemy fire.

The Bison played a key role in the Home Guard’s victory at RAF Manston. It was used to transport troops and supplies to the front lines, and it provided valuable fire support during the fighting. The Bison’s armor proved to be a lifesaver for many Home Guard soldiers, and it helped to turn the tide of the battle.

The Bison’s victory at RAF Manston is a testament to the ingenuity and determination of the Home Guard. It shows that even improvised weapons and vehicles can be used to great effect when defending one’s homeland.

Nice Orks

I really like these Orks I saw on Twitter.

Been struggling to get much done recently ! So here’s some orks! 🤘🏻#WarhammerCommunity #warhammer40k #paintingminiatures #paintingwarhammer pic.twitter.com/A3odIsFHDh

— Mattpaint13 (@Mattpaint13) May 20, 2023

Basing the Inquisitorial Stormtroopers – Tallarn

I have some Daemonhunters Inquisitorial Stormtroopers which are based on the Cadian Kasrkin I decided many years ago to add a unit based on the Tallarn.

I had done some more work on them, but never got around to photographing them for the blog or website. As a result I had forgotten how much progress I had made with them. I painted their bases.

I drybrushed the bases with Citadel Ushabti Bone, which is a replacement for Bleached Bone.

Check out the workbench feature on the Inquisitorial Stormtroopers (Tallarn Blister).

Avro Type 694 Lincoln

This Avro Lincoln was on display at RAF Cosford.

The Avro Type 694 Lincoln was a British four-engined heavy bomber that first flew on 9 June 1944. It was developed from the Avro Lancaster, and the first Lincoln variants were initially known as the Lancaster IV and V. The Lincoln was the last piston-engined bomber used by the Royal Air Force.

The Lincoln was a larger and more powerful aircraft than the Lancaster. It had a wingspan of 112 feet, a length of 76 feet, and a height of 23 feet. It was powered by four Rolls-Royce Merlin 85 engines, which gave it a top speed of 330 mph. The Lincoln could carry a bomb load of up to 22,000 pounds.

The Lincoln entered service with the RAF in August 1945. It was used operationally in the Far East during the Malayan Emergency and the Korean War. The Lincoln was also used by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and the Argentine Air Force.

The Lincoln was retired from RAF service in 1963. A total of 607 Lincolns were built. The Lincoln was a successful aircraft and was a valuable addition to the RAF’s inventory. It was a capable bomber that served the RAF well for many years.

More photographs of the Avro Lincoln at RAF Cosford.

The Mines of Vertigus II

In the entrance hall of Warhammer World is a large diorama of Ultramarines defending an Imperial facility against an overwhelming Necron force, entitled the Mines of Vertigus II.

White Dwarf #456 has six pages on how the diorama was put together.

What interested me was the railway, and this is what the article said about the railway.

The railway is made from the tracks that come on the Tectonic Fragdrill. We used a lot of them! The carts are Munitorum Armoured Containers with their roofs cut off. They were then mounted on the wheels from the Galvanic Servohaulers kit.

Alas due to the glass cabinet and lighting I was only able to make this shot.

More photographs from Warhammer World.

Standard Beaverette Mk IV

The Standard Car 4×2, or Car Armoured Light Standard, better known as the Beaverette, was a British improvised armoured car produced during the Second World War.

Beaverettes were manufactured as a ‘stop gap’ measure when invasion threatened in 1940, using the chassis of civilian saloon cars. These armoured cars were only ever issued to the Home Guard and RAF airfield defence units.