saracen Archives - Felix's Gaming Pages

15mm Alvis Saracen for Wessex

The FV603 Saracen is a six-wheeled armoured personnel carrier built by Alvis and used by the British Army.

After a visit to The Tank Museum I posted a photograph of the Alvis Saracen. I wrote: As part of the Second English Civil War, you can imagine the use of the FV603 Saracen to patrol urban areas and to suppress armed resistance.

A few decades back I wrote an article about a modern era English Civil War that was published in Issue #43 of Wargames Illustrated in April 1991.

So when I saw Battlefront were releasing a 15mm FV603 Saracen for Team Yankee, I thought it was time to reboot my Second English Civil War and start painting some models for it.

This is a new release from Battlefront. I ordered the Alvis Saracen.

There are two models in this blister. The hulls are resin, and the wheels, and main weapon are metal.

You have the choice of adding a gunner or having the hatch in the turret in the closed position. I went with the closed position. These models go together really easily. It is a simple matter of gluing the wheels to the hull and then adding the hatch and the weapon.

I the gave the models a white undercoat.

The next stage was to paint them, using Army Painter Army Green Spray.

The next stage will be painting the wheels.

15mm Second English Civil War

A few decades back I wrote an article about a modern era English Civil War that was published in Issue #43 of Wargames Illustrated in April 1991.

” … its six o’clock, on Tuesday the 27th October 1998. This is the Royal Somerset Broadcasting Service, and now the news from Wessex and around the world. The headlines: Scotland has seceded from the British Republic, fighting has broken out along the border. Royalist army and volunteer militia units have pushed back across the border an armed incursion by Democratic Guards into south-west Dorset last night. Bristol Docks were once again the target of bombing over the night, but damage has been minimal. The United States has once again confirmed its commitment to the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Wessex and Duchy of Cornwall.”

The main inspiration for the background was the breakup of the former Yugoslavia and wondering if a similar scenario could play out in a disunited broken Great Britain. It was also an opportunity to bring in modern armoured trains as well.

After a visit to The Tank Museum I posted a photograph of the Alvis Saracen.

I also wrote: As part of the Second English Civil War, you can imagine the use of the FV603 Saracen to patrol urban areas and to suppress armed resistance.

So when I saw Battlefront were releasing a 15mm FV603 Saracen for Team Yankee, I thought it was time to reboot my Second English Civil War and start painting some models for it.

The FV603 Saracen is a six-wheeled armoured personnel carrier built by Alvis and used by the British Army.

Along with the Saracen release, Battlefront also released the Saladin armoured car.

I also posted some photographs of the Saladin Armoured Car from The Tank Museum and said of possible Wessex scenarios: You can easily imagine how these armoured cars would have been used for reconnaissance, keeping down unrest, and defending key installations against attack.

So I have ordered one pack of each.

I already have some Scorpion light tanks and along with some recently ordered Militia Pickup Trucks as well, I have the first makings of a 15mm army of Wessex. I have noted that Hornby have started a TT120 range of 1/120th scale trains, which would sit well within Wessex. Some ideas to work on there now.

Alvis Saracen

Outside the Bovington Tank Museum is an Alvis Saracen.

The FV603 Saracen is a six-wheeled armoured personnel carrier built by Alvis and used by the British Army.

It became a recognisable vehicle as a result of its part in the policing of Northern Ireland as well as for its role in enforcing apartheid in South Africa.

As part of the Second English Civil War, you can imagine the use of the FV603 Saracen to patrol urban areas and to suppress armed resistance.

Alvis Saracen

Outside the Bovington Tank Museum is an Alvis Saracen.

The FV603 Saracen is a six-wheeled armoured personnel carrier built by Alvis and used by the British Army. It became a recognisable vehicle as a result of its part in the policing of Northern Ireland as well as for its role in enforcing apartheid in South Africa.

The British are coming…

…in the meantime let’s take a look at the Germans.

One thing that I thought that Battlefront would do when they released the Germans for Team Yankee was that they would do a minimal release and was pleasantly surprised by the range of models they did in fact bring out.

With the initial releases for the US (and Soviet) I was slightly disappointed with the limited number of models that we got. Though we had the M1 Abrams, we didn’t get the M60A3 MBT.

It felt like a really limited release, so when I saw that Battlefront were going to release German and British forces my expectation was that we would get a limited number of vehicles. So to get thirteen sets for the Germans compared to the seven for the US was really refreshing.

I did like the Raketenwerfer model, something very different.

I also was pleased to see the Marder too.

I think it would be nice to have seen the Kanonenjagdpanzer, but you can’t have everything.

As a result I have higher expectations for the future British releases. I am hoping to see the following models release for the BAOR forces.

I would like to see both the Chieftain and Challenger 1 main battle tanks, but if the American releases are anything to go by then we might only get one tank and I suspect that will be the Challenger.

I think we might also see the light tanks or armoured reconnisance vehicles the FV101 Scorpion and FV107 Scimiatar. They are very similar vehicles I can see how we could have both. The Scorpion and the Scimiatar were part of the Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) family. As they shared common automotive components and suspension I can see how easy it would be, if we get the Scorpion we could also get other members of the CVR(T) family such as the Spartan armoured personnel carrier (APC).

As well as the Sultan command and control vehicle, Samaritan armoured ambulance, Striker anti–tank guided missile vehicle and possibly even the Samson armoured recovery vehicle.

The main British APC in 1985 was the FV432 APC so I suspect that may be a likely contender for a model. 1985 is a bit early for the Warrior IFV that entered service in 1987.

In terms of artillery, though the British will probably get the M109 it would be interesting to see if we get the FV433 Abbot SPG. If we get the FV432 then we may get the FV438 Swingfire variant (as well as other FV430 series variants).

We already have the German Tornado, so no surprise if we have an RAF version.

I would also like to see, but don’t expect to see various British armoured cars such as the Humber Pig, the Ferret armoured car or even the Alvis Saladin Armoured Car.

So what do you think we will see for the Team Yankee releases for the British?

Image credits: Wikipedia and Battlefront