Saturday, November 16, 2013

GIs

Warlord Games ran a special on mass purchase of their plastic boxes a couple of months ago.  One of the boxes I picked up was the U.S. Infantry.  I have a bunch of 15mm WWII troops, but not a whole lot of interest in playing with them.  I'm looking for platoon level play at this point and 28mm is the only scale to play with at that level, to my way of thinking.

The box has bodies for 25 men.

The set allows you to build 25 infantry.  There are a lot of weapon and head options.  The are not, sadly, enough M-1 Garands to properly equip two squads of infantry.  I also found that the models look a little bit odd without the packs, so I added those.

The Lt with a rifleman and the bazooka team behind them.
On the plus side the kit is incredibly versatile and the miniatures look good.  Every single weapon is separate so there are plenty of options.  They fit well, as can be seen in the picture below.  There are helmets with cammo covers and without as well as the jeep cap, with a helmet to fit over that if you want.  The animation on the figures is good and the details are nice.  The faces are all different, so you don't have a clone army running around the table.

Thompson, BAR and Garand.  All separate weapons but fit well with the models.
The kit includes a bazooka, pistols, both Thompsons and M-3 Submachine guns as well as rifles with and without bayonets.  There are both Garands and Springfields, and a scoped Springfield.  There are two kinds of packs, early and late war.  This kit spoils you for choice.

The second squad, with bayonets.
The above picture shows the bayonet armed squad as well as a pretty good shot of the backpack and E-Tool.  With two of these boxes you can build a full platoon, though all support weapons; .30 MG's, mortars, etc. will need to be bought separately.  Still, this is an easy and cheap way to build the core of a WWII US army for Bolt Action or Chain of Command.

Bazooka team.  There is also a loose rocket, which I did not use.
The models were not as easy to clean up as some, just because it was hard to find the mold lines on some of them.  You can see that above in the A-gunner for the bazooka.  I also hate doing two arm and a weapon glue jobs.  Once I'd done the first couple, though, I discovered that I could glue the right arm on first, let it set, then do the left arm and the weapon at the same time.  This made it significantly easier and made for much better fit of arms and weapons.

The different weapons all have specific arms that go with them, so don't cut everything off the sprue at the get-go.  Match up your weapon choices with the appropriate arms.

Overall this is a good kit.  I like the miniatures, they went together easily and there is a lot of variety.  They are a great way to start an army.  I'll be picking up another one at some point, though after I have added some support weapons and a vehicle.

11 comments:

  1. I will enjoy watching the progress of these boys. I picked up the Normandy set earlier in the year but haven't started yet. Maybe soon!

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    1. I'll be figuring out my paint scheme here in the next couple of weeks. They should start seeing the brush next week. I've wanted some GI's for a long time so I'm looking forward to getting these done.

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  2. I've enjoyed working with these models and have quite a stack of Warlord plastics now. Bolt Action has been a hit with my opponents in the local game club for the gameplay and when comparing prices to to GW ones people are getting very keen to jump into the WW2 skirmish scene.

    I share your feelings about the clean up being long at times but I also agree with the overall quality. For the weapons, I found it best to glue the weapon to the right arm first as they tend to have a good, snug fit and once you find it, it becomes easy to set the weapon in place. Then you glue on the left arm first, keeping it low, then add the right arm and finally bring the left arm up to meet it. I found it makes things simpler.

    Pete :-)

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    1. Pete, I like your method with the weapons. I'll try that next time around. I couldn't agree more on the prices. They were bad when I quit GW, they've just gotten worse since then. No regrets on my part about moving into historicals.

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  3. I still play some GW games as I enjoy the models, the gameplay to an extent and the background but buying new models is definitely a few and far between exercise. Bolt Action is a really fun game to try if you want to use the GIs in a skirmish game. I've demoed it to two players who both had a blast and then found 40k very goofy and silly by comparison.

    Pete :-)

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    1. I played one game of 40k and hated it. There was just no resemblance to actual combat in it. I have better hopes for Bolt Action and Chain of Command.

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    2. I find 40k to be like a grim, sci-fi version of a Michael Bay Transformers movie where crazy and random stuff happens but you can enjoy it as an entertaining experience with wacky rules. That's my feeling. I still enjoy the game but it does feel flat after Bolt Action.

      Bolt Action is quite a streamlined and simple version of WW2 combat. It plays smoothly and I think is a lot like Hail Caesar in its philosophy of fun and gentlemanly gaming.

      I'm writing up a blog review of the rules and hope to post it soon. If you get a chance to play I'd love to hear your thoughts :-)

      Pete

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    3. I don't disagree with you, and it's what a lot of people are looking for in a game. Just not me. I enjoyed 6th and 7th edition of Warhammer, but not 8th. I loved, still love, the LotR rules but like the Hobbit rules a little bit less. My problem with 40k was that I was looking for a sci/fi game and it really didn't feel like that to me.

      I look forward to reading your review. I've got the rules and have read quite a few battle reports as well. I just haven't had an opportunity to play. Once these guys are painted up I'll get some Germans done and then I'll be able to get my regular opponent to play. He isn't allowed to spend money on toy soldiers so I have to supply both sides.

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    4. I see what you mean. For me I've been enjoying the 40k, WFB and even Dreadfleet games as a chance to play something a bit fun and not too serious. It's hard for me to play tournament style 40k as a number of things bug me on the immersion side of things. Still I enjoy playing it from time to time and the models can still be a lot of fun to collect, model and paint.

      I was originally in the same boat as you w.r.t to collecting both sides but after a demo game my friend was totally hooked and now he's just ordered the rules as well as the start of his Soviet force. While I'll still built up two sides so that I can introduce more people it seems like the game is strong enough to pull people in.

      Review coming soon :-)

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    5. I'm looking forward to that review Pete. Good luck with sucking in new blood.

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    6. Here you are sir :-)

      http://ghostnebulae.blogspot.sk/2013/11/bolt-action-rules-review-few-games-in.html

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