Thursday 12 September 2019

Bolt Action US Kelly's Heroes

September 1944, and our titular heroes are what's left of a reconnaissance platoon of the 35th Infantry Division, recruited mainly from Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. Most of the men first saw combat when the division landed at Omaha Beach on D-Day, and have subsequently been blooded in the fighting in Saint Lo and the Cotentin Peninsula before crossing the River Moselle in September.
Private Kelly, a soldier with a past, captures a German Colonel whom he subsequently interrogates. Discovering the whereabouts of $16,000,000 worth of stolen gold under German guard in a bank behind enemy lines, he quickly sets about assembling a team to sneak through the lines and carry out "the perfect crime..."
At the far left is Master Sergeant Jake "Big Joe" Diamond as played by Telly Savalas in the film. In Bolt Action he counts as a major, despite his actual rank. West Point can't teach no leadership. Only the school of hard knocks in the lower ranks can teach real leadership. Being a Hollywood NCO he rolls 3 dice to attack with his SMG instead of the normal 2. All rolls to hit succeed on a 2+ no matter what modifiers are in play.
Next to him is Private Kelly as played by Clint Eastwood in the film. He is an ex-1st Lieutenant who still retains his rank bonuses in game. Kelly's team (he may be accompanied by one or two Hollywood attendants, one of whom may be "Big Joe" to make use of his higher leadership). Any Hollywood unit within 6" of Kelly automatically passes order checks and morale checks.
Second from the right is Staff Sergeant Crapgame who was played by Don Rickles in the film. Up to two squads in any force containing Crapgame may have any model exchange a rifle for an SMG and include an LMG. Also, MMG and Bazooka teams may be doubled. Even if it does not call for it, any force containing Crapgame receives a pre-game bombardment. However, this comes from an off-table character called Mulligan, so is less reliable than a normal pre-game bombardment.
At the far right is Private Babra as played by Gene Collins in the film. Loyal tag-along Babra might be one of the reasons why "Big Joe" survives any firefight completely unscathed. Possibly. As long as a unit contains both "Big Joe" and Babra, a single successful attack (one dice) against the unit can be converted into a failure.
The three figures to the right above and below form part of Sergeant Oddball's Sherman tank crew. At the far left is Oddball, memorably played by Donald Sutherland in the film. He has the Nexus of Positive Energy special rule, which is too long to repeat here. It's not superior training, equipment or tactics which wins a fight, it's a positive outlook on life - and that's how Oddball took down two Tigers with a Sherman. Positive waves can swing the outcome of any battle, but beware - it only takes one miserable cynic with their negative waves to ruin everything and next thing you know, entire bridges are being blown up.
Next up is Private First Class Moriarty, a mechanical genius, played by Gavin MacLeod in the film. He has the Nexus of Negative Energy and Mechanical Genius special rules. Without Moriarty, no Oddball Sherman may take any optional upgrades except the Pintle-Mounted MMG.
Finally, is Turk, a taciturn gunner who shares the turret with Oddball.
At the far right is the Bavarian, the commander of the only surviving Tiger 1 tank which he inconveniently parks outside the entrance of the bank holding all the gold bullion, forcing Kelly, "Big Joe" and Oddball to make a deal with him to split the gold in half. I didn't know whether to include him in this review but seeing as he is part of the boxed set it made sense to do so.
Even now, I still love Kelly's Heroes which was released in 1970. I was lucky enough to pick up this set for only £7.00 instead of £20.00 from a local seller on eBay. An absolute bargain!

16 comments:

  1. Great renditions of the characters from the classic film Bryan, still remember the movie fondly, so load up the paint shells !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Very much appreciated, Dave. "We've got our own ammunition; it's filled with paint. When we fire it... it makes pretty pictures. Scares the hell out of people!"

      Delete
  2. " I've got a little favour to ask of ya..... Will you stop crying I haven't even asked you yet! What the hell's the matter with you !'
    A wonderful film. The miniatures look good too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Many thanks, Phil. The film is full of memorable quotes. :-)

      Delete
  3. Nice characterful minis, Bryan, clearly painted with your usual enthusiasm for a much loved project. Great bargain too by the sounds of things :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Greatly appreciated, Simon. Yes, they are full of character. I have Oddball's Sherman tank waiting to get made and painted but for now I'm concentrating on getting infantry figures painted.

      Delete
  4. A fab bit of work, no negative waves around here Bryan :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cheers, Frank. That'll put you in Oddball's good books! :-)

      Delete
  5. Very nice write up Bryan, brought a smile to my face as I thought of the film as you described the characters. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. John, I've seen nothing but positive comments about this film, so I'm not surprised it brought a smile to your face.

      Delete
  6. They're mother-loving beautiful figures!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I was diagnosed as HEPATITIS B carrier in 2013 with fibrosis of the
    liver already present. I started on antiviral medications which
    reduced the viral load initially. After a couple of years the virus
    became resistant. I started on HEPATITIS B Herbal treatment from
    ULTIMATE LIFE CLINIC (www.ultimatelifeclinic.com) in March, 2020. Their
    treatment totally reversed the virus. I did another blood test after
    the 6 months long treatment and tested negative to the virus. Amazing
    treatment! This treatment is a breakthrough for all HBV carriers.

    ReplyDelete
  8. My name is Olisa Blessing, I am so happy. I never think I will be this happy again in life. I have worked as an air hostess ( cabin crew ) for 3years but early this year, I lost my job because of this deadly sickness called Herpes virus (HSV).
    I never felt sick or notice any symptoms. Not until the day all workers were asked to bring their current doctor's report card, that was how I got tested and I found out that I'm HSV positive and that made me lose my job because it was considered as an STD and is an incurable disease.
    I was so depressed to the extent that I started thinking of suicide. I explained my situation to an older friend of mine, who often said to me 'a problem shared is a problem half solved.
    She felt so pity for me that she referred me to Dr. Utu Herbal Cure, that was how I contacted Dr. Utu and got the medication from him and was cured for real.
    I went back to my work a month later with a HERPES NEGATIVE test result. They were astonished and curious when they saw my HSV NEGATIVE result so they carried out another test on me in the company lab to be very sure and they found out I am indeed a HERPES VIRUS FREED PERSON.
    Finally, the initial HERPES POSITIVE result was replaced with a new HERPES NEGATIVE test result, and my position was given back to me with an apology letter and a salary increase.
    Beware of impersonators,
    Dr. Utu can only be reached at:

    drutuherbalcure@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete