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.
Imperial Fists – Land Raider Proteus
There is this lovely project of Imperial Fists of the 2nd edition, and I was looking for something heavy to bring along. And back in the day, there was this heavy chunk of plastic, the original Land Raider battle tank. While originally released as a pack of two for Rogue Trader, this tank was repacked as a single kit for the 2nd edition and received a nice vehicle data card, released in the Dark Millenium supplement to the starter kit.
But I am honest. The design of this kit didn't age well, compared to the Rhino for example and the updates to the tanks based upon the Rhino chassis made them last quite long. A bit different to the Land Raider who got a replacement with the 3rd edition and a new plastic kit. The new Mk III / Phobos Pattern Land Raider was too distinguished from the 90s design, so this would be out of the question. While I struggled to become acquainted with the old design, a second problem - the price of the OOP kit took that decision from my hand. You can barely pick up one for less than 50 EUR, more likely 70 EUR and above and there's usually something missing. And replacing those parts is rather tricky.
Valentine for Operation Lightfoot
One of the final pieces to add to my 8th army motor pool is a Valentine infantry tank. As the army is themed around Operation Lightfoot, a mid-war tank and mark would a great fit. As I've stocked the british themed army mostly with Rubicon vehicles, I wanted to keep on doing so. It is just ridiculously difficult to receive stock. The Valentine is part of the second wave 2020 novelties and it took until this week to get my hands on a boxed set.
I kept looking for it on my usual suppliers, like Fantasy-In, got in touch with them, but due to Brexit and the incredibly bad preparations by Rubicon UK, there was just no info on when it would be deliverable. Earlier this week Tabletopper.nl posted an update on their stock, covering the Valentine as well, and I gave it a go. As they "only" charged 7,90 EUR for shipping from the Netherlands to Germany, and even had some other items on stock that I was looking for for a while now (for example Empress' WW2 range, which I ordered through a german store in November and Empress didn't manage to supply them with stock pre-brexit nor afterwards), so I had an order with a total beyond 100 EUR it was free of shipping costs. But what amazed me the most, I ordered it on Wednesday morning and within an hour my order was picked and packed, and I received my tracking number just 75 minutes later. DPD did a great job as well, bringing the package within 48 hours to me. So chapeau to Tabletopper.nl, will keep an eye on you from now on.
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.
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