It’s been tanks-a-go-go here at Warlord Games HQ ever since the announcement of Achtung Panzer!, and the momentum has only increased with the news that Bolt Action: Third Edition is on the horizon (did we mention that Bolt Action: Third Edition is coming? Because it is!). Warlord staffers across all departments have been hard at work on their own armoured vehicles, and we’ve been featuring (and will continue to feature) their individual efforts over the coming weeks, in particular as we lead up to our Achtung Panzer! staff mega-game. We’ve seen all sorts of weird and wonderful vehicles rolling off the production line, and it’s really got our creative juices flowing. One of the joys of modelling armoured vehicles is that you can absolutely go to town on the little details that make your vehicle truly unique and personalised, and one of the easiest ways to achieve this is the addition of stowage!
So what is stowage? Well, for our purposes it’s very simply the accumulation of stuff – be that useful equipment, personal possessions, or ‘liberated’ bounty – that tends to build up on the engine deck, turret sides, and anywhere else there’s room, of tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles that have been on campaign for any length of time. Remember, a tank is fundamentally its crew’s home, and thus if the crew want to bring anything with them at all, it’s all got to fit on the tank! We’ve had an extensive range of metal stowage packs for many years – all useful bits and bobs like extra track links, fuel cans, and plenty of rolled-up tarps, covers, and the like – but with the release of Achtung Panzer!, we decided that it was time to add even more options for customising your tanks. From sensible and militarily useful items such as fuel cans and ammunition crates to more ‘morale-boosting’ things like crates of beer and instruments – and of course the all-important German tank bucket, mandatory for all Wehrmacht fighting vehicles – the new stowage packs found in both the Blood and Steel starter set and the nation-specific Tank Force boxed sets are absolutely packed with awesome items allowing you to customise your tanks and make a truly unique fighting force!
Check out this Panzer IV below – a thoroughly acceptable fighting machine, but utterly devoid of adornment, like it’s just come out of the factory. Compare it to the other examples, festooned with stowage and add-ons. Don’t they look like they’re on active service, trundling through the countryside, ready to fight at a moment’s notice!
It’s amazing to see how such a simple addition can add so much to a miniature, and not just in the looks department. Remember, in Achtung Panzer!, your crews are just as important as their tanks, and it’s a great opportunity to reflect the traits and experience they gain in-game on the outside of their vehicles. For even more customisation, the crew sets included in the Achtung Panzer! force boxes are perfect for representing the men themselves, and when combined with judicious use of stowage can provide you with a complete picture of your force in battle – who wouldn’t want such hardened campaigners occupying pride of place in their display cabinet?
Between the huge variety of vehicles and all the stowage options available, it’s never been easier to make sure every vehicle in your Achtung Panzer! or Bolt Action collection is truly unique. If you see something useful laying around on the battlefield, don’t leave it – stow it!
Tank Forces
Achtung Panzer! Tank Forces allows you to deploy five iconic tanks to the tabletop, and come armed with a plethora of extras including stowage, mounted and dismounted tank crews, nation-specific asset cards and a host of additional vehicle Datacards so you can bring more types of armour to the fight!
The Nation-specific stowage options within in combination with the mounted tank crew figures allow you to adorn your vehicles to your hobbying heart’s content and make your armoured platoons very much your own!
3 comments
The stowage needs to be available individually like that recently made available by Rubicon for their armour. Many of us have tanks from/for Bolt Action and will not be buying additional armour but would love to get hold of Warlord’s amazing stowage items.
I agree with Paul. I already have more than enough tanks to play (as well as multiples of the existing stowage sets Warlord sells), but would absolutely purchase all of these stowage sets if sold separately.
I agree completely. I’ve got plenty of BA AFVs so I don’t need any of the starter sets. I’ve just bought the Rules, Cards & Tokens and if stowage sets were available separately I would have bought some.