Early War Polish Reinforcements from Crusader Miniatures

The Polish Army in 1939 needs all the help it can get to repel the German Blitzkrieg. Here we've added another Polish Infantry Section from Crusader Miniatures for our Bolt Action battles.

The twelve man rifle squad has extra punch with the addition of a BAR Automatic (LMG) squad in it. Backup also provided by an Ursus armored car

Packs are loaded out with everything an infantryman would need.

Crusader Miniatures came up with nice poses for the riflemen.Including the BAR squad

And the advancing sculpts are also very interesting. The detail for metal miniatures is pretty substantial.

If you need to get squads on the table fast, metal figures don't need assembly so are usually faster to complete.

Have A Great Battle!
The Old Crow

Early WW2 Polish Armor for Bolt Action

Here they are, the Polish 7TP JW and 7TP DW Twin-Turret tanks for our early war Polish Army!

The 7TP was the only genuine tank produced in Poland before World War II. The 7TP stood for 7 Ton Polish even though it was a 9 ton vehicle.

It was also the most combat worthy armored vehicle in the Polish Army at a time of the German invasion in 1939, and one of the icons of the pre-war Polish Army.

Several guns were considered but the Swedish 37mm Bofors gun was chosen, since it had been adopted as a standard towed anti-tank gun for the Polish Army, and offered good performance for that time.

The 7TP was the most advanced of all Vickers 6-Ton tank derivatives in the world, and can be considered a Polish design, being a compilation of foreign licences and their own inventions.

Despite all of this, it was not the most modern tank in 1939, but it kept pace with the world's standard for a light tank.

The light tank class constituted a mainstay of armored forces worldwide, and the 7TP could be a match for any enemy vehicle.

In March 1935, the first series of 22 twin-turret tanks was ordered.

All were utilizing machine gun turrets removed from 22 Vickers E tanks during their conversion to single-turret.

Such armament was a forced solution, since a final turret and gun had not yet been chosen for the single turret.

For additional information on the 7TP, check out The PIBWL military site.

Have A Great Battle!
The Old Crow

3D Printing for Bolt Action and 28mm War Games

When the need arose for Polish transports, we tried an experiment with a decent little 3D printer. We found a model of a truck similar to those used by the Polish Army and scaled it to fit a 28mm world.

We were happy with the results and will post finished images when that happens.

In good turn, we tried a Matilda to support the growing British forces.

A quick coat of primer and basic paint job left us with a table worthy piece of armor.

The possibilities are astounding!!! Tank War here we come
!!

Have a Great Battle
The Old Crow

Early WWII Polish Army For Bolt Action!

The early war Polish forces are moving toward the battle ready mark. It's been way to long once again since we posted anything. The finished infantry squad we shared back in February has finally been based!

The support units had a paint job over a weekend vacation over Memorial Day.

Now the bases have been finished. We decided the rubble of the war torn streets of Krakow or one of the many other Polish cities would make a fitting setting.

 Here's the Polish Army sniper team.

 Anti-tank rifle team members.

 For some extra attack dice, the Polish wz.30 MMG team is ready for action

 And the Polish Army Bofors 37mm anti-tank gun will try to stem the tide of the Panzers.

Have a Great Battle!!
The Old Crow

Early WWII Polish Army For Bolt Action with Trenchworx Transport

Finally getting a few moments to assemble and yes, paint a few figures. Next on the list is the Polish Army for early war campaigns. These were some of the first models we purchased from Warlord Games for Bolt Action. However the Cromwells and Firefly of 11th army Black Bulls and subsequent British forces delayed their start.

Here is most of the Polish support units primed and ready to go! Everything from a light AT gun to the Polish 7TP Tank. One with a canon the second with the twin turreted machine guns!

We started painting with a unit of infantry and a hastily commandeered transport as they desperately try to stave off German attacks. A Trenchworx Crossley Tender. We imagined the Poles grabbing for anything that would move. These guys couldn't find any horses!

The Crossley is a nice resin kit, little flashing and it went together easily. Here are all the pieces ready to assemble.

And the assembled transport.

Add a squad of Warlord Games Polish infantry and off they go.

We wanted an old well used look with plenty of wear and tear with lots of dirt and rust.

Have a Great Battle!!
The Old Crow

New Release from Warlord Games the German Ferdinand Heavy Tank Destroyer for Bolt Action

This week Warlord Games helps the Bolt Action forces of the Third Reich add a real monster tank to their arsenal as Warlord releases the colossal Ferdinand heavy tank destroyer!

This is some serious anti-tank firepower!

The Ferdinand was optimized for destroying Soviet T-34 tanks and 76.2mm anti-tank guns from a range of over 3 miles, with its 88mm Pak43/2 L/71 main gun.

If you are a World of Tanks fan, the Ferdinand is a formidable Tier VIII Tank Destroyer.

Ferdinands first saw combat in the Battle of Kursk, where eighty-nine were committed and claimed to have knocked out over 300 enemy tanks, for the loss of just 13. They were, however, dogged by mechanical failures in these early stages of it’s combat life.

A pre-cursor to the Elefant, the Ferdinand lacked it’s successor’s defensive machine gun which made it vulnerable to infantry assaults. You can find the rules for fielding this beast in games of Bolt Action in Warlords additional Units PDF which we link you to right here.

Also this week, the Bolt Action Errata and FAQ document is updated with all the latest tweaks and corrections. The new changes are highlighted in green and you can get it here.

Another new Bolt Action  release is the Soviet Tankers set. The set contains five metal tank crew. One of the crew member, seen on the right, comes with multiple arm options.

We mentioned World of Tanks, well we've featured a few other classic tanks on the blog in the past, one being the release of the Panzer IV.

Another was the Polish 7TP and the Twin Turreted 7TP light tank from our Warsaw City of Ruins post

Hmm, maybe we'll explore other tanks next post. Tanks for reading!

Have a Great Battle,
The Old Crow