Bolt Action – M26 Pershing and T26E4 Super Pershing
A while ago I started converting a M26 Pershing resin tank kit by Warlord Games into a T26E4 Super Pershing.
There are a few articles on the T26E4, among others on Tank Encyclopedia or Wikipedia, explaining what this Super Pershing is. Because it is not a paper tank like many E-series German tanks, but a real (field) conversion to further up-armour the M26 Pershing. The M26 was deployed rather late in January 1945 to Europa via the Port of Antwerp, and these 20 tanks would be the only Pershings to see combat in World War too, with the famous duel taking place later in March in Cologne. And while this heavy tank was a much-needed upgrade to the American armoured units, it made fighting Panthers and Tigers easier - compared to the Shermans, but it would still struggle against the Tiger II, while the units moved further into Germany. For that reason the M26 was uparmoured with a more powerful cannon, the T15E1. Yet a small batch of tanks were produced and further upgraded with a T15E2 gun, but only a single one of these made it to Germany in the very last moments of world war 2. I am huge fan of these rarities and field conversions, so I began building it, by using plastic card to recreate the salvaged Panther front plate on the chassis and added the "ears" and additional armour for the gun mount.
A visit to … Bedburger TableTop Freunde e.V.
The gate of the protected knight's estate in Bedburg is as an entrance to a tabletop club in no way an exaggeration of what actually waits behind it. I had the pleasure to visit the Bedburger TableTop Freunde club in August and I can say right away that it was an absolute feast, both from a hobby and a social point of view!
Bolt Action – SdKfz 250/11 Ausf. A
We've covered multiple variants of the Sd.Kfz 251 on here already, with the regular 251/1 Ausf. D, 251/16 Flammpanzerwagen and 251/7 Pionierwagen. And thanks to Jürgen from Warlord Games, he sent me a pre-production copy of some of the new Sd.Kfz. 250 Ausf. A (Alte) kit, from their trade meetup in Nottingham.
So far, the Sd.Kfz. 250 was available as a resin kit and now got an update and turned into a multi-variant plastic kit that is now available from Warlord Games directly and their trade network. The final kit obviously comes with a proper packaging, decals and all the additional content you're used to. In my case, I got the base sprue and the one to build the /11 variant leichter Schützenpanzerwagen mit einer 2,8-cm-schweren Panzerbüchse 41.
Heavy Field Car – Steyr 1500A for the DAK
With the first supply drop this year back in february of the Rubicon novelties, I did not only get my hands on some reinforcement for the British with the Morris C8 and a QF-25, but a nice heavy field car (at least that's the matching entry on EasyArmy) for my Afrikakorps as well with a Steyr 1500A/01.
Morris towing a field gun for the 8th Army
Covering the motor pool for my 8th army last november, and for certain guns you need a proper tow in Bolt Action. For that reason I got myself a Morris and the fitting QF gun by Rubicon Models via Tabletopper from the netherlands.
The Morris C8 "Quad" can be build as either the MK II or Mk III field artillery tractor. It's a compact kit, two sprues, two hulls and a few options for the different marks.
Bolt Action – British & Inter-Allied Commandos
With the two D-Day sector books that cover a lot of special operations, the need for British and Inter-Allied Commandos is certainly there. And Warlord Games delivered for this demand.
The first Commandos kit that was released around 2011, was based on the regular British infantry, with a recut of a part of the sprue. We did a review back then and you can not only see how far Warlord Games has progressed over the last decade, but our reviews as well (that was pre-bilingual coverage, so you'll only find the German one online).
Bolt Action Campaign D-Day US Sectors
In early 2021 Warlord Games picked up D-Day again and supplementing D-Day British and Canadian sectors campaign book with the US Sectors.
With 160 pages and a RRP of 20 GBP (roughly 25 EUR) Campaign D-Day: US Sectors marks the third and final instalment of Warlord Games D-Day trilogy. While the British and Commonwealth forces landed in Gold, Sword and Juno pushed towards Caen, the US Americans did so on the beaches Omaha and Utah and moved towards west and south from there, beginning with Carentan and further liberating the coast line and attacking armed forces along the Atlantikwall. The US-Sector book covers the actions of the US forces in the summer after D-Day, until August / September 1944.
Bolt Action Campaign D-Day British & Canadian Sectors
Warlord started the deep dive on D-Day with the campaign supplement of the same name - D-Day Overlord. But that is not all, the sectors receive more love, starting with the British & Canadian Sectors in this supplement and the US sectors in the next one, already released by the time this review went online.
Both, the British & Canadian and US D-Day sector books close the gap between the landing and the further actions around the Battle of the Bulge and Operation Market Garden. Because even after the successful landing in Normandy, the further operations were intense tasks, to bring in more troops, defeat counter attacks and fortify the bridgehead in Northern France.
Bolt Action – Italian Army and Blackshirts
Warlord Games released a new plastic boxed set, Italian Army & Blackshirts, to accompany the latest campaign supplement Soft Underbelly (review on its way - book stuck in transit ... somewhere). And it is not just multi-part plastic but gives you the option to build Italian forces for early and mid-war in Europe and North Africa, along with Black Shirts.
Captured equipment for the desert
A long time ago, I stumbled upon this conversion of a Chevrolet 15 CWT on Panzerserra (on of my favourite model builders) and ever since I build the British 15 CWT, I was thinking about building it myself.
I was unsure if to go for a vehicle in Commonwealth service with a captured gun, or the other way around, with a captured vehicle in German service. After looking for an appropriate breda gun to use with the plastic vehicle. To match the remaining project, the Perry Miniatures Italian 20mm Breda was a good choice. Yet, I have build some of the weapon teams from the world war 2 range and after giving the breda a second look, I decided against it.