US Motorpool – Part II
I got around to build the transporters for my late war US Americans. The latest addition were these kits, build around the half tracks and a "heavier Jeep" if you want.
As Tabletopper.nl carries Empress Miniatures as well, I got myself some matching crew for the kits. I'm not a huge fan of the infantry by Rubicon, they are to slender for my taste and with the option to get some Paul Hicks sculpted minis, the choice for me was easy. Going with the Empress codes. As you can see, they fit very well with the plastic kits and are not just generic drivers, but wearing the matching winter gear.
US Motorpool – Part I
As mentioned in my reducing the stock and moving posts, I cut down on open projects. This affected among other projects Bolt Action. I merged some off the themed armies and sold the surplus, especially the vehicles.
I made a mindmap for the projects that will stay. And the Bolt Action armies, which will be set up in a way to be able to put to use in other systems as well, for example like Battlegroup, are:
Late War - Winter of 1944/45
- Germans (Ardennenoffensive / Wacht am Rhein, Unternehmen Greif)
- Combined Allied battle group of Americans (Battle of the Bulge, later Operation Lumberjack) and British (rougly Operation Queen, but British troops fighting their way from Belgium/Netherlands towards middle rhine)
Mid War - Desert and Jungle
- Deutsches Afrikakorps
- 8th Army
- Chindits
Bolt Action – Jagdtiger
After covering multiple King Tigers on here, in resin and plastic, it is time to go for the heaviest beasts of the Tiger-Class tanks, the German tank destroyer Sd.Kfz. 186 Jagdpanzer VI - also known as Jagdtiger.
This beast is available in 28mm by multiple companies as a resin kit, but now comes for the first time in plastic, by the joint production of Warlord Games and Italeri. The kit I got, was a pre-release provided by the Dutch wargaming shop Tabletopper.nl. As such it didn't come in a cardboard box, it was simply the sprues in a plastic bag. The final product of course comes with instructions, decals and so on.
The Jagdpanzer VI was another tank destroyer, based upon the chassis of a regular tank. The Germans did this multiple times, as we've seen with the Jagdpanther, the Sturmgeschütz III, Jagdpanzer 38(t) Hetzer or Marder III (both based upon the Panzer 38(t)). But in this case, building upon the already pretty heavy Tiger II tank, the Jagdtiger became with around 70t the heaviest tank produced in series in history.
Bolt Action Campaign Mariana & Palau Islands
A bit of catching up to do. While Bolt Action returns to D-Day with the current and next campaign supplement, we have to catch up and revisit the pacific with Bolt Action Campaign Mariana & Palau Islands.
For those of you, not familiar with the pacific campaign, a brief intro on the campaign might come in handy. We have had releases covering the (South) East Asian conflict for Bolt Action with Empires in Flames and New Guinea. And with Mariana & Palau, the US Forces, especially the Marines are moved into focus, in their battles against the Japanese. At 160 pages it doesn't set a new record in thickness, but is still broad and covering a lot of ground for the campaign. Pricing stays with the usual price band of 20 GBP or 30 USD (about 25 EUR). And as often with the Bolt Action / Osprey books, we had an early cover (left) and a changed final cover of the supplement (right), replacing the US Marine with an IJA soldier.
Bolt Action – Battlefield Debris
Warlord Games prepared a bundle of scatter terrain called Battlefield Debris and in todays review we will take a closer look into the box.
Bolt Action – Carro Armato M13/40 and M14/41
After a bit of a pause, a new plastic vehicle kit for Bolt Action. Not bound to a certain campaign book this time, and from the cooperation of Italeri and Warlord Games an italian medium tank multi-kit, the Carro Armato / Semovente.
This is the first italian plastic tank kit for Bolt Action, so far they only had access to resin kits and among those primarely tankettes. With this kit, the player is able to field either a Carro Armato M13/40, M14/41 or Semovente da 75/18.
Bolt Action SdKfz 251/7 Ausf. D Pionierwagen
A bit of a sneaky release by Warlord Games, with the Campaign Stalingrad book a new plastic kit came along - the Sd.Kfz 251/7 Ausf. D Pionierwagen.
There was a Pionierwagen kit available before, based upon the plastic Sd.Kfz. 251 Ausf. C with a few resin parts added, to create the /7 variant. In this case we have the 251/1 Ausf. D as a base with an additional plastic frame, as we've seen in the kit of the Flammpanzerwagen, Stummel or mortar carrier.
Bolt Action Campaign Stalingrad
The last Bolt Action supplement I've reviewed here was Korea and that was a spin-off, which covered for the first time a conflict outside of world war 2. So considering world war 2 books for Bolt Action, the latest one before that was Operation Overlord released in summer 2019, one more reason to see how Warlord Games covers one of the biggest battles of the second World War - Stalingrad.
So far, the only campaign book covering Stalingrad, yet in a brief way, as Ostfront from the first edition of Bolt Action. Campaign Road to Berlin covers the epoch two years after the Battle of Stalingrad. But this battle and the fighting around it, had such an impact on the war in the east that they absolutely deserve a supplement of its own and Warlord Games spreads that on a very solid 176 pages. This is upper region for the length of Bolt Action supplement, and it stays with the regular price band of 20 GBP or 30 USD. And as often with the Bolt Action / Osprey books, we had an early cover (right) and a changed final cover of the supplement (left), moving from a Soviet soldier in winter gear to a sailor.
Weekend Update CW 24/2020 – Mordheim, Paints and Blood Bowl
I am honest, I was a bit nervous about the arrival of this one, Luthor / Luther Wulfenbaum, as international shipping is still stressed at the moment, but the italian post office delivered and quite quick.