Rubicon Models PaK 36 AT Gun with Crew
This week is all about anti-tank guns. We'll cover a couple of different sets in 28mm, beginning with this PaK 36 AT Gun incl. crew by Rubicon Models.
The PaK (Panzerabwehrkanone) 36 was a German anti-tank gun, that was issued to the German army in 1936 and used by the tank hunter units until 1942. It even saw action before World War 2 in the Spanish Civil War, and performed well against the light tanks and later against the Polish tanks in 1939. In the Battle of France it showed its weakness against French and British heavy tanks. The PaK 36 was replaced from late 1940 onward by the 5 cm PaK 38 anti-tank gun and from November 1941 by the 7.5 cm PaK 40. Until the production ceased completely, there were over 20.000 units produced, of which roughly 6.000 were built for export. Other nations like the Soviet Union and Japan copied the design in the 1930s.
Warhammer Underworlds: Shadespire – The Farstriders
The last of the warband supplements for Warhammer Underworlds Season 1 Shadespire in a review will be the Farstriders. We had Magore's Fiends early this week. Similar as the Fiends picked up the Khorne theme from the starter kit, the Farstriders pick up with the Stormcast Eternals from the same set.
The Farstriders are the first warband to actually cover shooting / ranged combat in Warhammer Underworlds. But they won't be the last to do so, for sure. Actually as the Farstriders are Vanguard-Hunters, the next Stormcasts that are part of the Season 2 starter set Nightvault will introduce Evocators as a warband and magic as a new component.
But let us take a look what the Vanguard-Hunters around Hunter-Prime Sanson Farstrider bring to the table. As a highly trained, elite group of warriors, it is no surprise that they are only three men strong. Priced at the usual 22.50 EUR for an Underworlds warband supplement or 20.00 EUR for the easy-to-build box without the cards. The Underworlds box covers two pre-coloured bright blue sprues, a deck of cards and an assembly leaflet.
Warhammer Underworlds: Shadespire – Magore’s Fiends
The last duo of the Shadespire warbands I'll cover will be Magore's Fiends and the Farstriders, beginning in today's review with the Fiends. These kits stay with the factions that introduced the first season of Warhammer Underworlds, Stormcast and Khorne followers.
Magore's Fiends are a warband with 4 miniatures, three Blood Warriors and a Flesh Hound of Khorne. The warband supplement from the first season Shadespire costs 22.50 EUR incl. the Underworlds content or 20.00 EUR as an Easy-to-Build kit. This box covers two blood-red pre-coloured sprues, a card deck and brief instructions on the assembly.
Bolt Action Waffen-SS Grenadiers
Closing the themed week on Operation Market Garden with one of the antagonists. Fighting against the Allied Airborne units were dominantly units of the Waffen-SS. Warlord Games released a plastic kit of the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel this summer and we're covering it in a review.
This review is not meant to glorify any political ideas or (military) activities of the Waffen-SS and is purely meant to cover the quality of the plastic kit and its miniatures.
The former armed guards of the Nazi party grew from three regiments to 38 divisions over the war. Seen by many as the elite, veteran infantry of the German forces, the Waffen-SS is a controversial topic. They fought fiercely and zealous, indoctrinated and well equipped by the party, but not to forget committed many atrocities and war crimes. Units of the Waffen-SS weren't just drafted within Germany, but there were many volunteer divisions in (occupied) countries like in the Netherlands with the 23rd SS Volunteer Panzer Grenadier Division Nederland. These volunteer divisions could be as large as 80.000 men (Latvia) or just 54 (British Free Corps).
Bolt Action Char B1 Bis
It might be a bit odd to present a French tank during the Operation Market Garden week, but the Char B1 Bis is in there for a reason. They were used for example by the Panzerkompanie 224 in the battle of Oosterbeek.
The Char B1 was a French heavy battle tank that was designed in the 1920s and produced between 1935 and 1940. After an initial run of 34 Char B1, the pattern was improved and around 370 units of the heavier armoured and armed Char B1 Bis were build. It was one of the most powerful tanks at the time and proved to be very effective against German tanks during the Battle of France. But it was designed to be a break through vehicle and did not adapt very well to the modern, more fluid style of warfare, especially the rapid Blitzkrieg of the Germans.
Bolt Action British Airborne
One of the latest kits and the youngest of the paratrooper plastic kits, are the British Airborne. A must for this week's series of reviews around the Operation Market Garden along with yesterday's US Airborne kit.
The British airborne is one of the many special combat divisions of the commonwealth's armed forces. They were founded in 1941, roughly a year earlier than their US American counterpart, and the 1st Airborne Division was send to North Africa for Operation Torch. But this kit covers the Red Devils in their North Western European gear, making them the best fit for the mid to late war operations of Pegasus Bridge, Operation Market Garden and the late fights crossing the Rhine / Operation Varsity, the largest airborne operation in history. In cinema the British paratroopers are mostly known from A bridge too far.
Bolt Action US Airborne
After we started the themed week with the supplement Campaign Market Garden, it is time to introduce and cover the matching Airborne units in a review - starting with the US Airborne. They were the second paratrooper unit released in plastic after the German Fallschirmjäger.
The US Airborne was founded more or less in 1942, when the 82nd Infantry Division was renamed 82nd Airborne Division, regrouped and assigned a new task, Operation Husky, the airborne landing in Sicily, Italy. The 82nd Airborne are along with the 101st Airborne Division the only airborne division of the American forces, and both took part in Operation Overlord (D-Day / Landing in the Normandy) and Operation Market Garden. US Airborne soldiers were heroically represented in movies like Band of Brothers or Saving Private Ryan.
Warlord Games – Pike & Shotte Landsknecht with Zweihänders
There is a third plastic kit for the Landsknechts available, or at least hybrid kit - the Landsknecht with Zweihänders. Along with the Pikemen and the Missile Troops, there are now plastic Doppelsöldner and soldiers with metal halberds around.
Same as in the Missile Troop review - I've covered the background of this range and the change from Pro Gloria to Warlord Games, along with the Indiegogo campaign in the Landsknecht Pikemen review, I won't bring that up again, but will give a brief introduction on the Landsknechts themselves.
Warlord Games – Pike & Shotte Landsknecht Missile Troops
In addition to the Landsknecht Pikemen, that were released last year, Warlord Games added two further kits based the puffy-sleeved soldiers to the Pike & Shotte range. I'll cover both boxed sets on here this week, beginning with the review of the Landsknecht Missile Troops.
As I've covered the background of this range and the change from Pro Gloria to Warlord Games, along with the Indiegogo campaign in the Landsknecht Pikemen review, I won't bring that up again, but will give a brief introduction on the Landsknechts themselves.
The Landsknecht were dominantly German mercenaries, instigated by the Holy Roman Empire under Maximillian I, but fought for other European rulers as well. They were involved in battles in the 15th and 16th century, in wars like the Italian Wars. The idea of the landsknecht was to have an armed service similar to the Swiss mercenary pikemen. As they were a mercenary force and the orders by Maximillian were to give the troops the freedom to wear what they wanted, it resulted in very colourful bright colours, with slashed sleeves and plumes. The fancier, the better.
Warhammer 40.000 Sector Imperialis Basilicanum
In this really long and big review - we're talking 118 pictures (usually only event coverage reaches those numbers) - I want to share with you my building of the Sector Imperialis Basilicanum that was released along the Warhammer 40.000 Kill Team release in July 2018.
Usually Games Workshop releases the terrain novelties around Christmas, as they speak to a broad audience of players, not only those who play specific armies. But this extensive range accompanies the entry level skirmish set up of Kill Team in the World of Warhammer 40.000. There are different sizes of Sector Imperialis Ruins available, the small Ruins set for 30 EUR, the Sector Administratum for 40 EUR, the larger Sanctum for 60 EUR and the biggest kit of the range, the Sector Imperialis Basilicanum for 80 EUR that we're going to unbox and build today.
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