Horus Heresy – Solar Auxilia Dracosan Armoured Transporter
While we had Leman Russ chassis for quite some time and even in the prior edition of Horus Heresy hybrid kits using the plastics with resin parts, the full resin kits based upon the Malcador chassis are getting replaced by complete plastic kit and various variants right from the start. One of these Malcador based vehicles is the Dracosan Armoured Transporter, which we will covered in today's review as part of the Solar Auxilia Battle Group.
The bulky transport can carry up to 22 models, depending on the weapon configuration, and drops down to 10 when you choose the demolisher cannon. There is a smaller alternative for the Solar Auxilia for transport, roughly Rhino sized, the Aurox, but that one has lighter armour and wasn't announced so far to be moved from resin to plastic.
Horus Heresy – Solar Auxilia Leman Russ Strike Tank
One of the work horses of the Imperial forces receives an upgrade and proper variant, to distinguish themself from the other departments of the army - the Solar Auxilia Leman Russ Strike Tank!
This is not update or partial sprue swap of the regular Leman Russ Battle Tank but a complete overhaul with the known trim of the Solar Auxilia vehicles and a proper Mars Alpha pattern hull and new vehicle accessories.
Similar to the Malcador chassis, the Leman Russ chassis is used within the Imperium for a lot of different vehicles. You have the Leman Russ himself, as a battle tank, with different weapon systems in turret and hull to provide effective service in certain scenarios, split into the Strike Tank and Assault Tank, but further alterations for example as an Artillery vehicle with the Medusa or Basilisk, prior that these were built upon the chimera chassis. Post heresy further variants were added and many sub-classes of the Leman Russ saw service all across the regiments.
Bolt Action Panzer IV Ausf. B/C/D
It has been a while since the last world war tank reviews, especially in plastic, and today we cover the Panzer IV Ausf. B/C/D by Warlord Games in 28mm / 1:56 scale. This one is released about 8 years after the Panzer IV Ausf. F1/G/H plastic kit.
This kit marks the middle between the Panzer III and later variants of the Panzer IV. To be honest, I am a bit surprised, that we actually saw this one, especially with the inclusion of the Ausf. B and C, as they saw minor alterations to the hull, but were not produced in larger numbers and don't have any different rules than the Ausf. D, and even of that one only about 250 units were produced between 1939 and 1941. To put this into perspective, the Panzer IV was built 8,500 times in total, which is still far less than the 34,000 units of T34/76 or 50,000 units of M4 Shermans built in the same period.
Bolt Action A34 Comet Cruiser Tank
We've covered the lighter Cromwell tank before (the resin kit in 2013 and the plastic kit in 2014 - only in German), and we're following up on this class of British tanks, with another draft from 2018's backlog we're completing today - the A34 Comet Cruiser Tank.
My attention to the Comet Cruiser tank came from World of Tanks, as I really enjoyed playing the Tier VII medium tank back then. So, when Warlord Games added the kit to their range, I just had to have and now want to share the build report / review with a bit of delay with you.
Bolt Action Bishop Self Propelled Gun
We covered a few self-propelled guns in the past, and some that didn't make it to tank week, just like this Bishop QF 25 pdr SPG. But today is his day and we cover him in a review.
This is a 28mm resin kit by Warlord Games with a RRP of 31,50 GBP / 38 EUR. It is listed as a made to order kit, which does not mean he is mail order exclusive, but just something that is less likely to be on stock and is casted once ordered. Your local gaming store can order them in and it might not come in a boxed set with printed artwork, but a neutral packaging. As I had this kit for a long time (and this review is in draft since 2018), mine came wrapped in bubble wrap with a sticker on it.
Bolt Action Tiger I Ausf. E
This is one comes from the vault and prepared for a while now, but somehow got sidetracked with the further completion.
The Tiger I Ausf. E is a plastic kit, produced by Italeri for Warlord Games in 28mm / 1:56. We've covered Tiger I and IIs on here before, among others by Warlord Games and Rubicon, in plastic and in resin.
The Tiger I was a German heavy tank of world war II, with the official designation PzKpfw. VI (ordnance inventory Sd.Kfz. 181) and was produced by Henschel. A total number of 1,347 units were build between 1942 and 1944 and were in service on the Eastern Front, North Africa and Europe in the late war. The early variants were prone to track failures and breakdowns, and the tank in general was expensive to maintain and to produce (expensive materials and labour intensive production methods). One of the reasons why, even as it was an impressive "war machine", it was overengineered. There were prototypes, for example by Porsche on the Tiger I development, the VK 45.01 (P), the hull was later used for the Ferdinand.
Bolt Action Sd.Kfz. 165 Hummel
The German counter part for the Allied 105mm HMC M7 Priest SPG in my late war projects would be the Sd.Kfz. 165 Hummel SPG, which we will cover in todays review. This article was prepared a while ago and now finished from the drafts into a proper review.
Like the M7 Priest SPG, the Hummel is a made to order kit by Warlord Games. They are usually not high numbers on stock and you will probably rarely find them on shelf at your FLGS, but as they are not Mail Order exclusive, you can order them either directly or have your store add them to their next delivery. The Hummel might not be shipped in a boxed set with printed artwork, but a neutral packaging (often a green ammo box) with a sticker on it. As this kit has been in my collection for quite some time (and in draft since 2018), mine came wrapped in simple bubble wrap with a sticker on it.
Bolt Action M7 Priest Self Propelled Gun
As the M7 Priest was one of the kits that didn't make the cut for the tank themed week, I thought I added it to this latest bunch of tank reviews, especially as he fits the Gentleman's War theme.
The M7 Priest SPG and the next tank we will cover (the Hummel) are both made to order kits by Warlord Games - this does not mean they are Mail Order exclusive, it is most likely something that your local gaming store has to order in and it might not come in a boxed set with printed artwork, but a neutral packaging. As I had this kit for a long time (and this review is in draft since 2018), mine came wrapped in bubble wrap with a sticker on it. The RRP of this resin and metal kit is 26,50 to 30 GBP, depending on the variant.
Bolt Action – M26 Pershing into T26E4 Super Pershing
It's been a while since our last Bolt Action tank review. The last one we covered on here, was the Sd.Kfz. 250 combi-kit that allowed us to build multiple variants (250/1, 250/9 and 250/11) and currently in progress are the new plastic kits for the Humber AC and Sd.Kfz. 222/223. And while I already showed you the current status of my Pershing(s), I thought it would make sense to show how I got there and what the resin kit by Warlord Games is all about.
So far Warlord Games only offers a resin kit of the M26 Pershing at 33,50 GBP / 40 EUR RRP. I bought this one a while ago - when it was noticeably cheaper in 2016.
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.
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