It’s a sprue-tiful day! We’ve just taken delivery of the newest Bolt Action plastic infantry frame, the German Veteran Infantry, and we’ll be breaking down what you get on the sprue. Spoiler alert – it’s a lot, including a couple of ‘firsts’ for us!
So firstly, what is this kit?
Mid-War Veterans!
Designed primarily to cover the ‘mid-war’ period of 1941-43, the German Veteran Infantry are perfect for representing the men fighting through Russia, hardened by the bitter combat in places like Stalingrad. As such, we find the dynamically posed bodies in the classic tunic and jackboots so common in the first half of the war, with plenty of little details to emphasise that these troops have ‘been there and done that’ – stick grenades shoved into boots, dust goggles to protect the eyes on the march, and rolled-up sleeves for getting stuck in!
That’s not all, though – we’ve also included separate gas cape bags that can be attached to the front of the torsos, so you can also make troops for the very start of the war, while the rag-tag nature of German uniforms and equipment towards the end of the conflict means that this sprue can soldier on right to the fall of Berlin as well!
The detail on this sprue is absolutely stunning and crisp, making it an real dream for painters and modellers, and can be widely combined with many of our other German infantry kits to produce truly unique forces.
More Firepower! More Variety!
We’ve managed to cram a frankly bonkers array of weaponry and accessory components onto this sprue – let’s take a look at them!
We’ll start with the weapons – first up is the ubiquitous Kar 98k, the standard German infantry rifle throughout the war. With no fewer than eight of these per sprue, you’ll never be short of riflemen to fill out your Rifle Platoons!
Next come the machine guns, with a brace of the legendary MG 34 on each sprue. One is modelled firing from the hip with a drum magazine, while the other is belt-fed, allowing you to make both LMG and MMG teams with ease.
Sticking with the fully automatic theme, the sprue is absolutely packed with submachine guns. These compact weapons were beloved of veterans who had been in close-quarter city fights, so we’ve included enough to give every model on the sprue one! German troops were well known for their appreciation of the Soviet PPD and PPSh SMGs, so plenty of those can be found alongside the standard-issue MP 40.
That’s a great haul of weaponry so far, but this is where we venture into some new territory and this sprue becomes the most ‘tooled up’ we’ve ever done – the special weapons!
Leading off are a pair of anti-tank rifles – one folded for carrying and the other deployed to fire. Both are the Panzerbüchse 39 type, but one has the later Granatbüchse modification for grenade launching. These allow you to build both Anti-Tank rifle teams, and equip Pionier engineering squads with their unique GrB-39 grenade launcher!
The real centrepiece, though, is our first ever plastic flamethrower! The backbone of Engineering Platoons, this devastating weapon is short-ranged but deadly to both infantry and vehicles, and perfect for burning enemies out of cover. Whether fielded as a two-man team or as part of a Pionier squad, this kit gives you enough to equip even the scariest Engineer Platoon!
Packed With Accessories!
That’s not all! We’ve packed so many extra pouches, accessories, heads, and other useful bits into the German Veteran Infantry sprue that we’ve had to expand it with a second, smaller sprue! This contains the heads, some more pouches, and the bases, while the ‘main’ sprue holds such handy components as map cases, binoculars, a flare pistol, bundled stick grenades, and even an arm wielding an entrenching tool with bad intent! There’s also a gorget and traffic direction baton to allow you to build Feldgendarmerie, and plenty of bread bags and gas mask capes to ensure your troops are properly equipped!
We’ve also included three 60mm round bases in each Platoon box to allow you to build any weapons teams you might want, making it possible to build even more units out of this set.
So Many Choices!
When we were designing this sprue, we looked through Armies of Germany to see which units could be made from it, so we could list them on the box and website. There was just one problem – there were too many to fit! The German Veterans are unbelievably versatile, allowing you to make well over a dozen squads and teams, including Feldgendarmerie, Spähtruppen, Pioniers, Heer Infantry, Anti-Tank Rifle teams, Medium Machine Gun teams, and much, much more! The world and the army list are your oyster!
Have you pre-ordered yours yet?
