Bolt Action Jagdpanzer 38(t), Flammpanzer 38(t) and 2cm Flak auf Hetzer
To finish on 38(t) week, I cover today the Hetzer kit by Warlord Games. As this kit covers quite the broad variants, I'll base the review around the Hetzer Zug kit, so I can build all three variants; the Hetzer, the Flammpanzer and 2cm FlaK 38 Hetzer reconnaissance anti-aircraft vehicle.
Rubicon Models Jagdpanzer 38(t) Hetzer
You can't talk about the 38(t) series without mentioning the Jagdpanzer 38(t) Hetzer, and that is why today I cover the kit by Rubicon Models in this review.
As the tank destroyers Marder based upon the Panzer 38(t) were more of an industrialized "field conversion" using captured anti-tank guns and later regular PaKs, a properly designed light tank destroyer was needed. Introduced as the Sd.Kfz. 138/2 Jagdpanzer 38(t), this tank was produced from April 1944 until the end of the war, along the heavier Jagdpanther and Jagdtiger variants. The name "Hetzer" is undocumented and it is unclear, were it actually came from and it is highly discussed if the tank even was called that during the war. Hetzer comes from the German verb "hetzen", meaning hounding or rushing somebody or something.
Bolt Action Sd.Kfz. 139 Marder III
Continuing the Panzer 38(t) themed review week, with the Marder III Ausf. H tank destroyer based on the Panzer 38(t) chassis.
Based upon the chassis of the Sd.Kfz. 140 Panzer 38(t), a tank destroyer called Marder III was brought into service. The whole Marder series were makeshift tank destroyers, an interim solution, to put captured or obsolete vehicles in to use, by arming them at first with captured field guns and later with German PaK anti-tank guns. The Marder I was built upon the French Lorraine tank and the Marder II on the surplus of rapidly becoming obsolete Panzer II tanks. Marder is German for marten. The Marder III was built in three variants, as Sd.Kfz. 139, Sd.Kfz. 138 Ausf. H and Ausf. M.
Bolt Action Panzer 38(t)
Let us begin this themed week of reviews around the Panzer 38(t) with the tank itself, in this case the new plastic kit by Warlord Games.
The Panzer 38(t), registered as Sd.Kfz. 140 in Germany, was originally a pre-world war II pattern from Czechoslovakia named LT vz. 38 (Lehký tank vzor 38, Light Tank model 38). After the Third Reich took over Czechoslovakia, the tank was adopted into german service and formed the basis for many variants. Many of those variants will be covered here on the blog in the next days.
Micro Art Studios Brick Walls
Micro Art Studio has widened their range of mostly bases and licensed Infinity terrain to more "franchises" and settings. Some of them belong to Wolsung or grim dark sci-fi settings, others are for historical games. I did show you some items from the generic / historical settings in reviews, like the foam hills or fuel depot, and I'd like to add the brick wall set to it.
Rubicon Models British CMP 15cwt Truck
In addition to the Northern Africa campaign week in November, I want to cover the British CMP 15cwt Truck by Rubicon Models in a review today.
The CMP stands for canadian military pattern. This truck was build in Canada and used by armies of the British Commonwealth and even sent to the Soviet Union after Operation Barbarossa. Due to this, it saw action on theatres of war all over the world, from the North African Campaign, Italy, Burma and even after the second World War in Indonesia, Indochina and portuguese colonies in Africa. In Australian service (almost always with the No. 13 cab as supplied with this kit), the CMP was known as "Chev Blitz" or "Ford Blitz".
Warlord Games Stone Bridge
Before the Coastal Defense by Warlord Games is released in the next month, I'd like to present the Stone Bridge in this review. It is part of the cooperation of Warlord Games and Italeri and added to the Bolt Action plastic terrain range.
Warlord Games sets the price tag at 15 GBP / 16,95 EUR.
Warhammer Age of Sigmar – Etheric Vortex Gloomtide Shipwreck
As part of the release of the Idoneth Deepkin, Games Workshop presents a new scenery item, the Etheric Vortex Gloomtide Shipwreck. This goes along with the new idea, to pair a matching terrain piece for each of the Age of Sigmar factions. In this review I'd like to share with you my experience on unboxing and building the Gloomtide Shipwreck.
The Gloomtide Shipwreck comes in a medium sized box, that is similar to the one used for other terrain kits, like the Ryza Pattern Ruins or Azyrite Ruins. It is priced at 25 GBP / 32.50 EUR / 40 USD.
Aviators, get your engines running!
I got my hands on a Airfix Dogfight Doubles set back in 2016, and build the Messerschmitt Bf109 and a Spitfire MkVb right away. Now I found some more 1:48 scale kits, that could be used as terrain. So I bought a Junkers Ju-88 by Revell and a Ju-87 by Italeri.
About the scale, that is a longer discussion. The proper scale would be 1:56, but there is currently only one kit availabe of a Stuka in that scale by Blitzkrieg Miniatures. And to be honest, 40 GBP ist in my opinion to much for a "stand-in". I got a Junkers Ju-88 A-4 by Revell for 30 Euros, quite a lot of plane for that money, as you can see from the pictures below. It works quite well scalewise as you can see from the comparison with the Fallschirmjäger.
The wingspan is amazing and overall it was an okay-ish fit. Some parts were rather annoying to assemble, like adding the engines to the wings. I'll paint the windows of the cockpit in a light blue and saved myself the trouble of building the interior. And some other parts were even more fun, like the 0,5mm thick struts that frame the bomb wings.
Bolt Action M3 Lee medium tank
This is a M3 review double feature, as I'll show you today the M3 Lee and the M3 Grant (with track guards). The M3 Lee kit is a regular shelf product, that comes in a boxed set. Warlord offers the Grant as a made-to-order / direct order product.
The M3 medium tank (not to be confused with the M3 Stuart / M3A1), was an American medium tank, that was supplied to other allied forces, like the British, Australian or Soviets during World War II. The differentiation between Lee and Grant, was done by the turret. The American issued turret (like in this kit) was called Lee, after the Confederate General Lee, the British issued turret after the Union General Grant.
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