I vividly remember the first time I watched Sam Peckinpah's iconic WW2 film,
Cross of Iron at the cinema in the 1970's and was just blown away by it. It certainly left a deep and lasting impression on me as it was unlike any other war film I'd seen with it's gritty, very bloody battle scenes and most unusually, it featured the Germans as the "good guys" fighting the Russians. I have since acquired it on Blu-ray and it still packs a hell off a punch.
There are a small number of companies who make Sergeant Steiner (played by James Coburn) 28mm scale figures but the set I liked the most is this one below by First Corps Miniatures. Not only does it feature Steiner but also six of his squad, all of whom are recognisable as the characters they play in the film. For
Bolt Action purposes I have split the figures into a five-man veteran Panzer Grenadier squad, all armed with sub-machine guns and a veteran two-man Sniper team.
So, from left to right we have Sergeant Steiner, Private Anselm, Private Maas, Private Schnurbbert and Private Kern.
Note that Steiner has replaced his MP40 SMG with a Russian PPSH SMG. Private Anselm is the radio operator, Maas is the squad's cook, Schnurbbert is nicknamed "Moustache" for obvious reasons and Kern is a bookworm and intellectual.
The Sniper team is made up of Corporal Kruger, the spotter armed with a KAR 98 Bolt Action Rifle and Private Dietz the sniper, whose KAR 98 is fitted with telescopic sights. Both men have stick grenades tucked into their right boots and Kruger has a Walther P38 Pistol tucked into the back of his belt.
As a bonus, you got an MP40 SMG resting against a tree stump. I added a KAR98 Rifle and a Panzerfaust to it to make a small ammo dump objective.
These figures have a lot chunkier feel to them than those by other companies like Artisan or Warlord Games but I have no problem in wanting to add them to my
Bolt Action German army.
