Flames Of War Unboxing: Hit The Beach
July 9, 2019 by dignity
Justin is joined by Chris from Battlefront Miniatures to talk about their new Late War two player starter-set Hit The Beach for Flames Of War.
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Hit The Beach includes:
- Five plastic Sherman (75mm) tanks
- Three plastic Sherman (76mm) tanks
- One Parachute Rifle Platoon (52figures)
- One Panzergrenadier HQ (6 figures)
- Two Panzergrenadier platoons (58 figures)
- Three plastic Panzer IV tanks
- Two Plastic 7.5cm Anti-tank guns and Crew
- One Panzergrenadier HQ (6 figures)
- Two Panzergrenadier platoons (58 figures)
- Three plastic Panzer IV tanks
- Two Plastic 7.5cm Anti-tank guns and Crew
- One tank Commander sprue
- One mini 4th Flames Of War rulebook
- One printed Quick Start Guide
- One plastic V1 Flying Bomb terrain feature
- Twenty Dice
- Sixteen Unit cards.
Our Boot Campers have been enjoying this introduction to fourth edition so be sure to check out that coverage to see the set in action.
Would you split this set with a mate or keep it all for yourself?
Unless I am being thicker than normal, I can’t find anything in the instructions as to which Tank Commander is which. The only one I am sure about is one of the ones on the main sprues and the beret and fantastic moustache strongly suggests he is British (only thing missing is a monocle and a cup of tea in a china cup, milk first of course, what what!)! If anyone does know where the info is, could you point me in the right direction as I really don’t have a clue?
If he’s an officer, milk first would be unlikely as it was considered a mark of the lower classes. Having said that, it is by far the best way.
… I may not know much about WWII, but I know my tea.
As a non-tea drinker, I always thought the upper classes added the milk first to help protect their fine china from the hot tea cracking the cup but apparently I have the tea cup science all wrong (nothing new there) and the lower classes supposedly did it to protect their not so fine china drinking implements which were more likely to crack from the hot liquid. Every day is a school day on OTT!
So after much searching on the Battlefront Website and swearing at Google… The small sprue of Tank Commanders in my Hit The Bench boxed set is the Plastic American Tank Commander Sprue (USO198) https://www.flamesofwar.com/Default.aspx?tabid=79&ProductID=6348 but it is labelled as BM015 and dated 2013. I’m assuming that is the same for them all.
There is one German Tank Commander on the FWBX03-B sprue in the box and there are what I assume are two British Tank Commanders on the FWBX03-B sprue as well. These two British Commanders are also duplicated on the FWB03-A sprue as well.
a really tempting box with lots of content
I do feel a temptation towards some WW2 gaming and the box has some good content… but I’d rather have British forces than americans.
Actually… I think I fancy some WW2 vehicle building as a change from fantasy/sf troops, so rules may never come into it.
The big British army box might be what you want.
Here is the unboxing video :
https://www.beastsofwar.com/flames-of-war/unboxing-british-starter-force/
And the link to the OTT store :
https://store.ontabletop.com/product/british-late-war-armoured-battlegroup-army-deal/
I’d also recommend the ‘colours of war’ book, because it has instructions that make sense of the British vehicle markings …
Have fun 😀
There are plenty of WW2 art references out there at zero cost.
Big box is twice the price… not looking to spend that much. If I’m not using rules I’d not want to spend much.
And a lot of the tanks in that box were american made… I’d be after british armour to paint, not imports.
Well from what I can see you have the option to build all 8 Shermans as British 75mm Shermans (as the optional parts are on the sprue from the comments made in the video. So if you also want a few Germans to act as a enemy for your Brits it’s still a very cost effective way of starting an army (or two). As the big box sells for £28 in the OTT store, and from what I can see a box of 5 tanks in a platoon box costs £24 you basically get more Shermans per pound than buying… Read more »
Really enjoying putting this set together. Just need to start working on the infantry now. 🙂
The B.A.R was used in World War 1 from September 1918 to the end of the war. The first unit to use them in combat was the US 79th Infantry Division on 13th September 1918.
Yep, Justin’s comment about the BAR being “odd” is a bit off. Basically the BAR (and Bren) were designed to do a different job compared to the MG34/42. Although the MG34/42 was a fantastic squad support weapon it wasn’t without it’s drawbacks (for example needing the entire squad to lug ammo about for it). It’s interesting to note that the British Army with access to the MG34/42 didn’t copy it and put it into service like the US did with the M60…and that was years later (given how most wargamers like to talk about the MG34/42 being the best LMG… Read more »
The MG34/42’s were superb at denying the enemy areas and pinning units down. They are much more a spraying weapon, making lots of noise, throwing lots of rounds out and keeping the enemy at bay. Naturally people will say “well, if it was designed as a pinning weapon, how id it kill so many soldiers?” and unfortunately, the answer isn’t glamorous. If you through that many rounds out, eventually something will be hit. Also, the Germans commonly used it in the right position at the right time. Don’t get me wrong, it is a superb weapon and I can only… Read more »
When I first joined the British army they were still using a variant of the Bren called the LMG sonething. It was extremely accurate, robust and easy to maintain. It didn’t the glamour of US counterparts but it was reliable, it was quite unusual for it to breakdown, unlike it replacement the LMG SA80 variant, which in comparison was very unreliable but had the bonus of being much? lighter.
Great set.
Get two and split it with a friend. Good start for your army.
I think I will split this and the Fury box with my friend. Good start to FoW gaming.
It’s a whopping box of stuff. That British tank cmdr needs Fireflies though 🙂
Looks like you can start a decently sized force for each side with this set.
great video guys.
I think this starter set is my way into Flames of war, never gamed at this scale before.
Looking forwards to it.
Having already picked this starter set up, it’s great value for money. I got mine for £30 which included postage. I don’t know of any other starter for any other rule set which is better for value for money. It’s rammed full of sprues, and I’m enjoying the scale a lot as well. I’ve always been a 28nm and 20mm player in the past but since getting Hit the Beach I’m a big 15mm fan.
My only gripe, and it isn’t really a gripe, but the starter set would have been so much better with the inclusion of a small decal sheet.
easy 8 or 3 of 4? decisions, decisions?
Definitely one of the best startersets out there. The 75th anniversary of D-day has realy got a Flames of War revival going at our club.
Quite a busy little box, that
This is a cracking starter set and well worth getting if you have even a thought of getting into Flames of War.