Several issues ago I wrote an article on the joys of wargaming in this exciting new scale. Judging from the mail response to that article, there seems to be quite a bit of interest in 25mm World War II wargaming amongst you Wargaming Bruthas. Judging from the amount of new product suddenly available in this scale from the hobby manufacturers, it seems they feel the same way.
Two different factors appear to have influenced this increase in new 25mm WWII toys. One is the success and popularity of the First Corps range, the initial manufacturer to release figures in this scale. Second is the enormously positive public reaction to Saving Private Ryan, which has created an interest in all things World War II. The First Corps figures are chunky and go well with 1/48th scale tanks and vehicles, while Private Ryan and it's attention to historical accuracy appealed to the amateur historian in all of us. Most gamers seem to feel Ryan was so well done, it may even gain with us the sort of favored cult status held by the classic film Zulu. Already the movie has given us a memorable line - as well as a new wargaming sound - that's the equal of "You mean your only plan is to stand behind a few mealie bags?" I'm talking about, "Look out! They've got a twenty millimeter!" thutt-thutt-thutt-thutt-thutt-thutt ........
Ahh, I'm starting to ramble - back to the toys. Since last I spoke on this, I mentioned how I was going to get just a few vehicles for the sake ofthe look of the thing, as only a few vehicles would be needed and really, several would detract from the atmosphere of a skirmish game.
Well that was a bunch of crap, and I probably knew that when I said it. For every vehicle I got, I wanted I wanted two more, and usually ended up getting them. The old personal collection of softskins and armored fighting vehicles has grown to be an awesome and impressive thing, one of which I am kinda proud as I couldn't just go out and buy the stuff as it was desired. Most of the vehicles are either out of production or are scattered about from a variety of manufacturers, some having nothing to do with the wargaming hobby at all. The scarcity of the items made finding them a fun challenge and created the same good old feeling as savaging for my coin collection did when I was a kid. Some items I have yet to find, and if there's anyone out with old 1/40th scale AHM kits or 1/48th scale Bandai kits, I'd love to be your new friend. For instance, I would kill to possess the 1/40th scale ARM German hanomag 250/9 with 20mm AA gun, or the 1/48th scale Bandai 75mm PAK 40 anti-tank gun. Now some of you out there are saying right now, "Why I've got three of those in the attic," and we should get in contact with each other soon. Not only will I pay you what you want or paint a ridiculous amount of toy soldiers in exchange, I'll also send you complimentary photos of my naked 25 year old girl friend. (I like to show off the photos anyway, so it's no big deal).
Jeez, I digress again. Anyway, I couldn't have found them without the help of quite a few people, including Wargaming Brutha Extraordinaire Ray Bramer. Ray got me off to a great start by giving me two ARM 1/40th kits, a command hanomag and a 232 scout car, and about four out of production 1/48th Bandai kits. I don't care what anyone says, the 1/40th stuff goes beautifully with the 25mm figures and 1/48th kits, so I was thankful to get all of them. I hadn't put together a plastic kit in years, but the skills and memories soon came back, which told me the next place to look would be the Squadron Shop, an excellent mail order business operating out of Texas that specializes in model kits. They didn't let me down and in no time at all I had more Panzer types, as well as T-34s for my Russians, and Chignons for the other allies. By the way, Squadron Shop is great to deal with as they take major charge cards, offer fast, efficient and reliable service, and occasionally offer decent sales on their 1/48th scale kits. Also, they have other useful 1/48th items from other manufacturers, like Knight's Cross, who make the wonderful 20mm. on a trailer we all seen in Private Ryan. Squadron Shop prints a monthly supplemental catalog showing the sale items and October's issue notes they are now starting to carry resin 1/48th kits, which was the next stop on my search.
Herb Gundt of H. G. Walls turned me on to Stormbird Hobbies of Florida - 1 1601 4th Street North, #4416, St. Petersburg, Fla 33716 - phone 813-577-9043 - email stormbrd@gte.net - which although apparently a one-person operation, is another fast, reliable business. Stormbird can provide you with the cheapest prices on Bandai kits, as well as an excellent variety of resin kits, which is made available to you from their British and French makers. Be forewarned that most of this resin stuff is not cheap, as in not at all, but some of the accessory items we as gamers find useful will not break you. For instance, you can get a US 37min anti-tank gun and a German 37mm anti-tank gun for $1215, and there's an assortment of conversion kits to upgrade and enhance your Bandai kits, like a T34/85 turret for your T-34 and the same 37mm anti-tank gun for your hanomag. His model lists are fun and inspiring to look over. Just remember, most of his business is from experienced modelers and the prices are geared to those people. There's a great variety of tank kits available with more due to be released, all at sobering prices like $40-90!
Not to worry though. Right around the comer is good old Steve and Steve of Battle Honors USA, at 346 River Street, Coopersville, MI 49404 - phone 616-837-7045 who will sell you an expanding choice of 1/48th kits and exceptional 25mm troops at prices your wargaming budget can tolerate, if not appreciate. In my now experienced opinion, I think Steve and Steve have currently cornered the figure market in 25mm WWII figures. Their latest figures are state-of-the art beautifully sculpted models that retail for a dollar each in bags of 15, the last time I checked. The models have excellent detail with well-done faces and folds in the clothing, appear anatomically correct with no weird elbows or bizarrely bent knees, and are well animated. These figures are comparable to the best from Wargames Foundry or Old Glory. I have several thousand 25mm figures and I think these are the best 25mm models available today.
So what have they got that's so great? Their British paratroops for one, and their regular German infantry for the other. Both come in bags of regular infantry with a variety of poses including rifles, submachine guns and command ala Old Glory, and heavy weapons infantry including mortars, machine guns, and respective anti-tank devices. All have mixed head gear with berets and three types of helmets for the Brits, as well as field caps and helmets for the Germans. Soon to be released are American paratroopers in the same regular infantry, heavy weapons mix, which will be available when you read this. I remind you I didn't really care for their Waffen SS and their Russian were okay, but these guys - whew. I be liking 'em.
And that's just the troops. They know you've got to have vehicles too. The initial release was a big old Tiger tank, which I viewed with a critical eye, as I was waiting for the manufacturer to do something hobby-like, like make it too small to fit in with the Bandai 1/48th stuff. Thankfully, this was not the case. It blends well. The next batch of releases were vast and included in Russian: a T-34, a SU- 100, and an anti-tank gun 76mm with crew. In US: two Sherman types. In German: a Mark IV, two types of Sturmgeshutz III, a Marder, an Opel Blitz, a staff car, a kubelwagen, an antitank 76mm gun with crew, and a nebelwerfer gun with crew. There might be more that I have missed, and there are definitely more planned for release, with big expansions in US, Russian and British offerings. All in all a bunch of exciting stuff for us 25mm fans. Prices will be in the $20-30 range and the kits are resin and white metal mix. Give Battle Honors a call and check out some of these great new toys.
Finally, there's one area yet to be touched on and that is the hobby of die-cast metal vehicles. These guys are a venerable and established hobby like model trains, and the varied manufacturers' lines can be viewed in one catalog available from Die-Cast Direct of Kentucky. The two military lines are Soldido and Victorio, and tend to have more soft-skins on the list than armored fighting vehicles, but that's okay as we need the trucks and the jeeps too. From this catalog I got American halftracks, jeeps, 1/4 ton trucks and an M10 tank destroyer. For the Germans I got an excellent staff car and three variants of Opel Blitz. What's great is that the 1/40-1/48th craze seems to have hit this hobby as well, as many more releases are planned. Vehicles again run in the $20-30 price range, but a pleasant surprise was finding the Soldido range in the Target store chain here in Michigan. Prices were greatly reduced, at around $9-15! Just goes to prove it pays to go in the store's toy section with your kids.
That about sums it up, but I would be remiss if I didn't mention two more things. The original figure line, First Corps has three new ranges available in 25mm, US Marines, Japanese infantry, and German Paratroopers. They've also expanded their existing German and Russian range to include Waffen SS and Russian heavy weapons, like machine guns, mortars, antitank and snipers. The three new ranges offer six or seven packs of three each and include the usual command, regular infantry and support machine guns. These figures are only available in the USftom Brookhurst Hobbies, who advertise regularly in MWAN. Finally, don't forget your local hobby shops can assist. The great people at Old Guard Hobbies in the Detroit area knew I collected these things, and called me up one day after buying a collection from an estate. I ended up with about six kits I never thought I'd see, and to Al and Jeff of Old Guard I am extremely grateful.
One last thing - you'll need rules. Last time I mentioned I was using At theSharp End skirmish rules, and these are great rules for a game of 30 figures per side. Once you get up to 50 plus figures and add vehicles, you need something else, and I've found a superb substitute in the new Crossfire rules from Arty Conliffe. Arty doesn't recommend them for games with more than a couple vehicles, but I really disagree, and have had effective, smooth flowing games with up to ten vehicles per side. The rule system concept is indeed innovative and is exactly what I was looking for in this new world of 25mm gaming, and I highly recommend it, as I do all the items and dealers mentioned in this article. Enjoy Good Gaming, Wargaming Bruthas.
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© Copyright 1999 Hal Thinglum
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