Following on the heels of the release of Bolt Action 3rd Edition, a number of new Hungarian sets have been added to the Warlord Games catalogue. Today I’m going to be reviewing four of these new sets and walking through my painting process.
*Disclaimer: Two of these sets were provided by Warlord Games for review, the other two I bought myself.
I’ll start things off with a hot take I haven’t had an opportunity to write about before – I think the Hungarians are secretly Bolt Action’s best miniature line. Yes, plastic miniatures have their virtues – namely price and customization opportunities – but I still prefer metal miniatures. In my opinion you just can’t beat a well-sculpted metal mini with their exquisite details, and ability to knock a man unconscious when loaded into a pillow case and swung overhead.
One of the reasons I’m a big fan of Warlord’s Hungarian miniatures is they’re relatively easy to paint, but with enough flair to make them pop on the tabletop. For the most part, a primer coat of Vallejo English Uniform will start you off with their entire uniform already colored correctly. From there it’s just a matter of going in and painting the remaining bits. Now, this might sound boring, but here is where the real beauty of these models lie. While the uniforms themselves are pretty easy to paint, almost every sculpt has some unique or interesting aspect about them that can be focused on. It might be a luxurious mustache, a jaunty scarf, a camouflage helmet cover, a necklace of grenades, or the tricolor emblem on their hat.
This means that as a painter, I don’t have to spend hours painting the same uniforms again and again – I can quickly get those taken care of and spend more time on the little details that make them stand out and give me a little opportunity to flex as a painter. The end result is that every model ends up on the tabletop with some character of their own – helped by the dynamic posing given to just about every model.
Aside from their great infantry selection, Hungary is one of the only minor nations to field their own domestically developed vehicles – letting you put tanks on the battlefield that no other nation has access to.
Model Reviews
Technically, Warlord released three new infantry sets: the Gendarmerie, the Border Guards, and the Mountain Infantry. However, the Border Guards and Mountain Infantry are so similar that I’m just going to review the Border Guards. Aside from one sculpt and a few minor uniform details, they are practically identical sets. Anything said about one will likewise apply to the other.
Of the three new infantry sets, the Gendarmerie is easily my favorite. It’s hard not to love a unit whose uniforms are so ostentatious, it puts the Italian Bersaglieri to shame. Top hats, feathers, lace, and mustaches. These guys have it all.
The amount of ornamentation makes these models a little more challenging to paint than the others, but it’s worth it for a unit that really stands out on the battlefield. Overall the sculpts are excellent, with deep details that are great for painters like me that rely on washes rather than lots of highlight layers.
Overall, the poses are great, with the exception of the ammo carrier with his head-scratching “lunging whilst carrying a purse” pose.
One other criticism I have is about the flash on the models. There isn’t much, but unfortunately it seems to appear mostly on their face and necks – places that are difficult to clean up. The Border Guards, by contrast, have more practical uniforms. A smaller plume of feathers and a hat emblem give the Border Guards a small bit of swagger. Otherwise, they are dressed in typical Hungarian equipment. The inclusion of a flamethrower operator is a nice surprise, giving players an opportunity to run the unit as engineers.
Tank Review
The Toldi IIA is a cute little light tank that I could see taking if I were building a list on a budget. It’s overshadowed, in my opinion, by the Zrinyi II.
The Zrinyi looks like the designer took a look at a StuG and decided it needed to be doubled in width. This hulking brick of an assault gun is more square than rectangle, with a big chonky howitzer sticking out the front. I love it.
Both models are cast in Warlord’s tank resin, with smaller components coming as bagged metal accessories. While some folks hate resin tanks, I like them. Assembling plastic vehicles is a huge pain in the ass to me. Instead of trying to glue together a million tiny plastic bits together I can just slam a couple huge slabs of resin together and call it a day. Not having to assemble the tank tracks is reason enough to go resin over plastic.
Painting Guide
For the tanks I opted for the green paint scheme rather than camo. The painting process was pretty simple. I primed both in Vallejo Russian Uniform, then went in and painted the tracks, road wheels, exhaust, and a few other bits in Vallejo German Grey. After that I applied the decals and added weathering by dabbing the tank with torn foam in Russian Green on the decals and on any bits that I wanted some paint chipping with more German Grey. In the treads and along edges I dusted some Vallejo Old Rust pigment and then sealed it with a pigment binder. Then, I covered the whole thing with a 50/50 Agrax Earthshade + Lahmian Medium wash. Lastly, I brushed on some Matte Varnish to eliminate any shine. The result is a simple, but nicely weathered pair of tanks.
For the infantry I primed in Vallejo English Uniform. Afterwards I went over and drybrushed an English Uniform highlight mixed with a bit of German Camo Beige.
For the feather plumes I used German Camo Dark Green. Belts, straps, and guns were painted in Flat Brown. Satchels and gaiters in German Camo Beige.The gas mask canister was painted in Russian Uniform. For the collar tabs on the Border Guards I used Medium Olive, Citadel Mephiston Red for the Gendarmerie. Canteens and metal gun bits were painted in Citadel Leadbelcher. My reference material for the Gendarmerie showed them with red shoulder boards with dark piping, so that’s how I painted mine.
Finally, for the Border Guards their buttons, and emblem were painted in Brass. For skin, I used Medium Fleshtone. Afterwards I used my usual mixture of 50/50 Agrax Earthshade + Lahmian Medium followed by matte varnish to seal them and reduce the shininess.
For basing I use Lukes APS Base Ready Arid Grassland. This super easy basing material just needs to be glued on and sealed with watered down PVA. Afterwards I went in and added flower tufts to tie them into my army theme.
Conclusion
The timing of these sets is unfortunate, considering that Hungary has only temporary rules at the moment. Ideally these would have dropped alongside Fortress Budapest, but better late than never. The key thing is, when you add these sets to Warlord’s already excellent selection of Hungarian models, you now have almost everything Hungarian players could ever need (except Arrow Cross militia! Warlord, are you listening?).
These new sets only further cement my belief that the Hungarians are some of the nicest models you can get for Bolt Action. They continue to be one of my favorite armies to put on the tabletop. They’re satisfying to play as, visually fantastic, and strike mustache envy into all that behold them.
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