Wargames Atlantic have been showing off Matthew Leahy's paint jobs for the upcoming heavy weapons sprue for the Death Fields Les Grognards. The sprue is currently being tooled up for production with a December release date pencilled in for them and the test shots look fantastic.

Les Grognards Quad // Wargames Atlantic

First up is a quad heavy weapon with a spherical gun shield. Now I don't know about you but I want to strap a pair of these onto a flyer and use them as door gunners, but I don't want to get too cocky. It's a fantastically simple look that I'm sure was a bit of a head-scratcher to get it working on the sprue because we've not seen anything like it beforehand. Anti-air or anti-infantry I'm sure that gun can turn targets into mist.

Les Grognards Heavy Plasma // Wargames Atlantic

The second gun on that wheeled carriage is a more traditional looking heavy weapon, small flat gunshield and a massive plasma cannon to burn white-hot through heavy armoured troops or vehicles. I think the pair of these guns on the classic French gun carriage are distinctly science-fiction but they still feel grounded enough that the troops could well have been using them in the fields when they were scooped up and brought to compete in the Death Fields.

Les Grognards Tri Barrel // Wargames Atlantic

Apart from the wheeled carriage, there is also a pair of weapons on a walking tripod mount. This triple barrelled weapon would be perfect for a stand-in autocannon, shredding up infantry with a high rate of fire and solid stopping power. I also love the periscope style aiming system on the gun, with the gunner peering into a sight of some description and a set of handlebars for aiming.

Les Grognards Mortar // Wargames Atlantic

The final heavy weapon in the set will be a heavy mortar and once more there are some lovely touches that show it's not just an old style of mortar but an engineered thing. For the mortar, it's the rack of shells on the rear of the weapon, which gives it a semi-automated feel and I suppose makes it a breach loading artillery piece rather than a mortar. Still, it's a nice addition and once again gives the space French a twist that gives them more of a sci-fi feel. People paying attention may notice an Eagle there that isn't available in the standard Les Grognard set and that is because the kit is not only heavy weapons!

Les Grognards Command // Wargames Atlantic

That's right the heavy weapon box will also contain a command sprue with some interesting options, you can see the eagle bearing officer rocking a massive metallic power fist to bring le smack down on anyone attempting to wrest it from him, but we also see there are options for a sniper, a comms upgrade and medic alongside the commander of the force himself. There are also some female head options in each of the various hat types that exist although not enough for a fully female army it's still great to see a bit more variety in the mix. The sprues also have a lot of little additional scenic touches, shells, ammo crates, wine bottles, however there is no word yet on whether we'll see space baguettes.

This is a fantastic set and combining the command and heavy weapons into one box means you can pick up one box to complete your Les Grognard forces. I know these are already proving popular with 40K players, especially those who are converting them into Death Korp of Krieg with the WWI German heads. I expect January 2021 will be brimming full of Imperial Guard armies using the Grogs as the core of their force.

An Eagle, touched by the hand of the Emperor himself!