MV – US Trade Salesman Isaac has been hard at work on his extensively kitbashed Romanian Bolt Action force. We’ve previously featured his infantry and armour in articles, and now it’s the turn of his support weapons. Bring out the big guns, Isaac!
IP – After the First World War, Romania had a surplus of multinational field guns in storage, which would be pressed into service in the Second World War. The Romanian tunul de camp field guns ranged in size from 75mm to 100mm and were fielded alongside more modern Czech-made guns. Many of these cannon were quite antiquated by the 1940s in comparison to the contemporary German guns, but were continued to be used until even after the war. The tunul antitanc (anti-tank cannon) employed by the Romanians varied from 37mm to 75mm and comprised mostly captured and retrofitted guns from a variety of sources. This makes modelling Romanian guns a fun and forgiving process – whatever miniatures you want to use, there’s more than likely a historical example of them in Romanian hands!
In Bolt Action: Third Edition, Romania has the French Artillery Doctrine national special rule. I wanted this to be manifested physically in the form of French artillery pieces. I used the French 105mm Medium Howitzer kit to represent the tunul de camp 10cm, and by varying the crew numbers I can run it as either a Medium or Heavy Howitzer. This gives me plenty of extra flexibility in my list building without needing to make twice as many guns. With that said, I really enjoyed the building process, and will more than likely add another to my collection – each division historically would have had a pair of 10cm howitzers. I used Blitzkrieg Germans from a variety of guns for the crew, painting them in exactly the same way as my infantry.
I always find that a Medium Anti-Tank gun comes in handy if I have the points to spare. The German PAK 38 with Blitzkrieg crew is my weapon of choice here, but you could just as easily use a captured Soviet or French weapon with the German crew figures. As with the howitzer, by adding an extra crewman, I can run the gun as a Heavy Anti-Tank gun as well! These two guns give me a nice Artillery Platoon that can handle both enemy infantry and armour as needed, and the combination of French and German weapons gives my force a distinctly Romanian feel!
In the same vein of combining kits throughout the force, the foundation of my Heavy Weapons Platoon consists of two Hungarian Medium Mortar teams painted in the same scheme. These guys still have a bit of basing work required, but they’re perfectly fine for gaming in the meantime. I find that Medium Mortars are a great way to keep enemy units under pressure and provide ‘area denial’ on the tabletop.
To finish this platoon, I just need to make two Spotters for my mortars, and a Platoon Commander to tell them what to do, but I’m not stopping there – I’m also going to add a pair of Medium Machine Gun teams for direct fire support. Before I do that, though, I’m taking a bit of a breather from men and guns, and giving this army a snazzy set of wheels – check out this work-in-progress shot!
Has Isaac’s work got you inspired? Download the free Armies of Romania PDF and get kitbashing!
