STALINGRAD Bolt Action Mega Battle!

……When it’s a German Beute-Panzer, or a ‘When it’s a Factory Worker Crew” T34!

I love this kit, and have enjoyed what it can build with a few additions. Bolt Action has rules that have allowed me to build the three variants pictured, which to add variety to my hobby and gaming.

I like the likely scenario that 2 T4’s could end up duelling on the table-top, particularly if it’s between the Worker Crewed Tank and the one pinched by the Germans. The workers in effect having to fight their own creation.

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Warlord Games’s ‘Campaign Stalingrad ‘ book has rules for T34/76’s coming out of the the production line for the then beleaguered Dzerhinsky Tractor Factory. There are 3 variants available  for the Soviet player to field in His/Her games of Bolt Action. This variant is the ‘Factory Worker Crew’.

This is a fun and characterful way of  modelling this Option on the table top. I selected a suitable candidate from the ‘Soviet Peoples Militia Squad’, as a commander to represent this option, where things have got so desperate, and the German’s so close, that the factory workers are crewing tanks to defend themselves.

It really pained me not to paint chipping, damage and ware on a tank. This model is driving out factory fresh, apart from one cannibalised still dirty wheel, to represent shortages of materials, and the tank is covered in coffee mug stains and cigarette ash, that has been issued to keep the workers working up until the moment that they can drive the tank out and fight.

In addition, one last finishing detail to add further narrative, a commissar has stuck a copy of order 227 (‘not one step back’) to the under-side of tank commanders hatch. Another reason if one was needed to keep fighting.

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Quite a bit of work here, and I really was conflicted about painting the exterior cream, but decided upon a uniform grey to tie it in with the rest of my Stalingrad scenery, and miniature bases.

I have added fresh details to the interior including portraits of ‘Comrade Stalin’ over every door frame, enforcing the feel of the buildings time and place in a totalitarian regime, dominated by a single personality.

https://www.4groundpublishing.co.uk/tftb-pavlovs-house-end-block

For the more eagle eyed amongst you may have noticed the Soviet Officers planning room complete with maps of the city, a portrait of ‘The Boss’ and a pair of field glasses on the window sill. Just to keep them on their toes, the NKVD have the room next door with a red door, an even bigger portrait of Stalin, tools of their trade in the form of leaflets detailing order 227 (not one step back), a pistol to back this up with, and have knocked an hole in the wall so they can hear everything that the officers are saying

Great! At last my OnTableTop.com ‘Spring Clean Challenge’ is bearing fruit, I now have an officer to lead my ‘Stalingrad Kampfgruppe Reinforced Platoon'(rules in the Stalingrad Campaign Book). These guys are armed to the teeth with up to 4 SMG’s and 2 LMG’s and can kick out a LOT of fire power. A great aggressive force backed up by a Panzer III to take out enemy armour, a Panzer IV and scout car to take out enemy infantry squads and teams, with HE that will blow them out of the ruins and rubble. Combined with the Panzer III tank platoon, I have half a company to field as part on the table top.

The officer has had some painstaking work for his cap badge, eagle and waffenfarbe. The tanks and troops are designate as 24th Panzer Division, with the tank squadron bearing the ‘Leaping Horseman’ divisional insignia.

I love ‘Mad-Bob’s’ scenery and miniatures. I his folding scenery is really the work of a genius! Which is why I still feel like a Philistine for assembling this superb model in a near static position. The deciding factor was that I wanted to give his superb model a custom paint job to tie it in with my Stalingrad scenery from those clever chaps at FactoruM, whom ‘Mad-Bob’ has teamed up with to manufacture his model.

Stalingrad was full of warehouses and factories, and this model is a perfect addition to my project, it also could be used quite happily with other locations and game systems.

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