"The Most Numerous British Cruiser Tank In The Desert War Was The Crusader..."

"...which entered service in 1941."

This 15mm scale plastic model of a Crusader II tank is made by “Battlefront Miniatures”, and is one of the three British armoured vehicles supplied as part of the company's "Battle of El Alamein: War in the Desert" starter set. Assembled to represent the cruiser's two-pound gun variant, this "fast mechanised cavalry" unit relies more upon its speed than its armour in "Flames Of War", and has so far proved rather ineffective against the firepower of the two German Panzer tanks which accompany it inside the game's box.

Initially primed with a double coat of "Vallejo" Dark Sand, the miniature was washed with "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade and then dry-brushed with more "Vallejo" Dark Sand. Partially using the camouflage painting guidance given within the pages of the "Desert Rats: British Forces In The Desert 1942-43" Army book, I then used some Black Green to 'draw' some "cloud-shaped patches" on predominantly "the lower parts of the tank" and shaded these areas with "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green.

Necron Raiders WIPs - The skeleton robots have all been primed and washed

Having 'picked out' the vehicle's tank tracks with Abaddon Black, and 'dusted' the entire model with a very light dry-brush of "Vallejo" Dark Sand in order to suggest the miniature's "disruptive camouflage" was battered and worn in places, I applied some tactical markings to the tank using a decal sheet taken from the "Battlefront Miniatures" Monty's Desert Rats boxed set. Disappointingly, these 'transfers' don't offer much in the way of choice regarding geometric symbols, so the Crusader II had to carry the red square of B Squadron on its turret, as well as carry its "divisional symbol of the left-hand mudguards, and a regimental number of the right."

Sadly, my enthusiasm for "Flames Of War", or rather "Battlefront Miniatures", has somewhat soured after I experienced some incredibly poor customer service whilst at the company's stall during this year's "Salute". True, their customer service department have since offered me a free copy of "Battle of El Alamein: War in the Desert" as 'compensation', but that was over two weeks ago, and I've heard nothing from them since. In addition, I find it hard to support any manufacturer who attends a wargaming show and charges £15 more for their own product than a neighbouring retailer...

Boromite Gang Fighters WIP - The majority of these alien miners have had their leg armour finished

Fortunately, the excellent Dave Stone of "Wargames Terrain Workshop" has recently demonstrated to me (yet again) just why his company have such an excellent reputation within the hobby community, and he himself is viewed as a tip top chap. I wasn't actually planning on painting up more than five of my old Second Edition "Warhammer 40K" Necron Raiders for this month's 'Oldhammer 40K" painting project. But Dave has put paid to such thinking by very generously sending me some additional "Games Workshop" miniatures from his personal collection and resultantly added to my modest goal. Indeed, I've even managed to make use of a couple of his mutilated models, by re-basing them as rusty objective markers.

Finally, I am slowly working my way through the ten Boromite Gang Fighters I require as the 'backbone' to my 500-point Scouting Force for "Beyond The Gates Of Antares". These "Warlord Games" sculpts are incredibly detailed, with all kinds of devices and pouches attached to their armoured girdles, and are therefore proving a real challenge to progress in any great number whatsoever.