Armies of Italy pre-orders are in full swing, and like with all Bolt Action books, it’s not alone. Dropping into combat alongside the army book are the brand new plastic Paracadutisti – Italy’s famous paratroopers. Let’s take a look at the new sprue, and see what these chaps can do on the tabletop!
We’ll start with a look at some cold, hard plastic. This sprue is absolutely packed with gubbins, and as always we’ll begin with the bodies – six of the best, clad in Paracadutisti uniform. While designed to be painted in a desert tan for the Western Desert, they can also be painted up with the iconic M1929 Telo mimetico camouflage smocks to represent later-war paratroopers serving in Italy… or another unit entirely, which we’ll get to shortly. Naturally, this set is designed to fit seamlessly with the new Warlord Resin officers and support teams as well!
Paratroopers tend not to do things by halves, and as such the sprue is festooned with weaponry, from the ubiquitous Carcano rifle (both the longer model and short, handy carbines), to the much-loved Beretta M38 submachine gun – one of the finest of the war – and Breda 30 light machine gun, ensuring your Paracadutisti can pour on the small-arms fire. To accompany these is a huge variety of pouches and load-bearing equipment, including the unique Paracadutisti magazine pouches and ‘samurai’ magazine-carrying vests, giving your airborne a touch of Italian style on the tabletop.
These aren’t the only weapons, though. The eagle-eyed among you will have no doubt noticed a rather odd assortment of ‘grenades’, and what appears to be a particularly threatening tube. The grenades are just that, representing the many and varied improvised anti-tank munitions used by the Folgore division against Allied armour in the desert (including a bottle filled with something nasty stuffed inside a sock), while the tube is the infamous Lanciafiamme Mod. 41 d’assalto lightweight flamethrower. This deadly weapon can represent either a ‘normal’ flamethrower, or the one-shot models so beloved of competitive players, allowing you to give your Paracadutisti even more punch courtesy of Engineer Platoons.
To top it all off, we’ve got the heads. The first set are what you would expect – rimless parachutist helmets, with and without camouflage covers, and the usual sidecap, bare, and bandaged varieties. Next to them, though, are a set featuring some rather snazzy berets (and one excellent moustache), allowing you to build the fearsome X (10th) Reggimento Arditi! These specially trained troops are broadly analogous to British Commandos, and specialised in raiding and infiltration operations behind enemy lines, particularly during the Western Desert campaign. A simple change of uniform colour and the aforementioned fancy hats turns your Paracadutisti into these hard-as-nails raiders, allowing you to add some serious capability to your force.
We’ve previously looked at the Paracadutisti special rules, but let’s dive in a bit deeper and get the low-down on some of the specific units this kit can build. Italian paratroopers actually come in two flavours – Folgore and Nembo – as these two divisions had vastly different war experiences. Folgore would famously fight to the death at El Alamein, earning the respect of friend and foe alike, while Nembo, raised later, would see service in defence of Italy, before becoming part of the Allied Co-Belligerent Army, fighting to liberate its homeland from German control. As such, the two profiles differ slightly – while both boast the Stubborn Veterans statline common to paratroopers across Bolt Action, the Folgore also come equipped with Fanatics, while the Nembo can max out their allocation of SMGs for increased short-range firepower. Both make great options for a veteran ‘hard core’ of your force!
By contrast, the Arditi are kitted out for getting up close and personal. Veteran Tough Fighters with all the SMGs you could want, they can close on the enemy either from outflank using Behind Enemy Lines, or, if upgraded to Arditi Camionettisti, by making use of transports to go right down the middle! While pricey when kitted out, they’re an ideal ‘threat’ unit, perfect for taking out high-value targets or securing vital objectives.
Are you ready to add some airborne to your Italian collection?
