Goonhammer Historicals is here with some news you can use – there is a brand new sweet plastic Bolt Action box set on the way! Here’s the news release from Warlord Games:
WARLORD GAMES LAUNCHES PRE-ORDERS FOR BOLT ACTION: THIRD EDITION, NEW
PLASTIC INFANTRY KITS, AND MORE!
Nottingham, UK, 5/7/2024 – Warlord Games are delighted to announce that pre-orders have begun for Bolt Action: Third Edition!
The first wave of pre-orders includes a hardback rulebook published by Osprey Games and a brand-new starter set, themed around the Battle of the Bulge. In addition, three new plastic kits have been announced. More information about the new edition of the world’s greatest World War II wargame is being released weekly, and the countdown has officially begun to the release day – 26th September 2024!
BATTLE OF THE BULGE STARTER SET
This brand-new starter is the best way to jump right in to Bolt Action: Third Edition, and provides new and exclusive early access to Warlord Games’ newest plastic infantry kits – German Fallschirmjäger and US Army infantry, both in winter clothing! In addition, an A5 softback rulebook is included, along with a plastic M8 armoured car and ruined farmhouse terrain piece – and everything else needed to start playing!
NEW PLASTIC KITS
Warlord Games are excited to reveal three new plastic Bolt Action kits accompanying the release of Bolt Action: Third Edition! German Fallschirmjäger paratroopers and US Army infantry, both in heavy winter clothing (perfect for the Battle of the Bulge!) join the ever-growing roster of beautifully detailed plastic infantry boxed sets! Each is absolutely packed with detail and iconic weapon options, and are the perfect foundation for a new Bolt Action collection!
EARLY ACCESS – These two infantry boxed sets will be exclusively available to pre-order as part of selected Bolt Action: Third Edition bundles. At the end of this period, they will be removed from sale, before returning to general sale at a later date!
Joining these two kits is the next in Warlord Games’ series of plastic transport vehicles – the Bedford QLT for Great Britain! This stunningly detailed plastic kit boasts a whole host of options for assembly, including a finely sculpted sprue of British infantry to ride in the passenger compartment, and is an absolute must-have for anyone with a British Bolt Action collection!
MORE INFO
Warlord Games have now begun to release more information about Bolt Action: Third Edition in their twice-weekly newsletter, community website, and on their social media! This will continue until the 26th September launch date, and Bolt Action fans can expect to see rules reveals, sneak previews of new miniatures, discussions of what the new edition means for the competitive scene, and much much more!
https://warlord-community.warlordgames.com/
https://www.facebook.com/warlordgames
With the news release out of the way, let’s get the Goonhammer Historicals Hot Take:
What is your first reaction to the new miniatures?
- Zuul: The new miniatures are great – more so the German ones to me than the American models. I really love the texture on the snow pants and love the helmet covers – great opportunity to do some camo. The Americans are just fine. It’s always going to be hard for me to get excited over some great coats, but I will say I really enjoy the webbing over the coats and the little details are great – especially seeing more mustaches on American troops. The weapons are all fantastic though. Love seeing a good representation of late war American & German weapons, especially the American infantry with slung bazookas.
- MommaNegan: Finally, more winter variants of units (I was personally hoping for winter Alpini, but I’ll take it). I especially like the US Winter GIs, they look really nice and well packed. I also like the options for things such as field phones which will allow you to build better looking forward observers and officer teams. The Fallschirmjäger are pretty cool, but surprisingly didn’t blow me away as much. I’d still love to get a darker scheme for their winter uniform and see if that changes my mind.
- ClassWarcraft: I’m actually more excited about the Americans in great coats. I’ve never started an American army, and I think it’s largely due to ambivalence about their uniforms. But, I do love a good greatcoat. I’m also looking forward to renewed arguing about the color of fallschirmjager helmet colors.
What do you think about the unit selection for new plastics?
- Zuul: I think the Battle of the Bulge is a good choice for the new starter set. As much as I would like to see other armies featured, the reality is that if there’s going to be a Second World War miniatures game, the edition launch starter sets rightfully should include Germans & Americans. Fallschrimjager & US Army Infantry are a classic match up.
- MommaNegan: I am gonna be honest and say I was hoping for a redo of Island assault for a starter set (a battle of Okinawa set for example). I’ve bemoaned it many times, the Japanese plastic kit needs a serious revamp to be less stereotypical. But I think Battle of the Bulge and the selected units aren’t the worst. I definitely appreciate them going with a winter theme and making appropriate kits. However I’m a little irritated by the Bedford QLT – I get it – it’s a nice and chunky vehicle. I feel they could have made a new American vehicle for the starter set though.
- ClassWarcraft: We know Germany is going to be the first of the 3rd Edition army books to come out, so it was fairly obvious they’d be included in the starter set. It’s a safe bet that the US will be the next in line. It’s a pretty safe pick by Warlord, but I think it makes sense. My only gripe is this might mean encountering even more US and German players, who make up the vast majority of BA players already.
How would you use these new minis?
- Zuul: I know this set is designed for The Battle of the Bulge, but I would actually use these new models along with the new US Rangers to do a themed force on The Battle of Hurtgen Forest. It’s long been one of my favorite sectors of the Second World War and offers some really interesting modeling opportunities, especially since the battle raged from September to December 1944. With so many models, you could certainly do a mixture of some snow on the ground with fall foliage and the winterized gear would fit in nicely with the theme.
- MommaNegan: I’ve still got a big pile of winter Germans from the Stalingrad box set, so I might pair them up with the Fallschirmjäger. I already have a Finnish army in the works and my wife is doing Soviets, so Finnish battles seem like a good meeting point for an army project. The GIs are probably gonna be turned into a small quick play platoon, or be attached to my Airborne army.
- ClassWarcraft: The Americans could actually be used for the Battle of Attu, where Japanese forces invaded American territory by seizing a few of the Aleutian islands off the coast of Alaska as one of their convoluted distractions to Midway. US Army forces were dispatched to retake the islands and the ensuing campaign saw fighting in some of the worst conditions imaginable.
The last kit we haven’t seen yet is the Bedford QLT for Great Britain – what can we use this for?
- Zuul: The Bedford is such an iconic transport for the Second World War. The snub front end always reminds me of a british bulldog, and the sound of their engine running sounds like one too. Bedford churned out quite a bit of the QL’s during the war which had several variants – (the T in QLT stands for Transport), both for service in country and shipped to the Soviet Union to be utilized on the Eastern Front. That along offers some great modeling opportunities for use in multiple army lists (model wise, if not necessarily rules-wise).
- MommaNegan: I’ll be frank and say, British vehicles really aren’t my biggest interest. It seems like a nice and chunky transport for sure, but beyond that I don’t have much to say.
- ClassWarcraft: I’m the kind of guy who buys one generic truck and doesn’t put transfers on it so I can use it with every army, but more power to those that want authentic vehicles for their armies.
That’s it for our Bolt Action update – check back later for more ongoing coverage of Bolt Action 3rd Edition!
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