Tuesday 15 October 2019

Bolt Action Sgt. Steiner's Recce Squad

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.

21 comments:

  1. Great work on another unit Bryan, that are instantly recognisable from the film

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    1. Many thanks, Dave. That is what I particularly like about them - they are very recognisable.

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  2. It was a very good film and Coburn was excellent. Do the figures get any special rules?

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    1. I agree, Phil, it was a darned good movie. Sadly, no, they don't get ant special rules in Bolt Action, but there are a few I think they should have!

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  3. Great movie and those 1st Corp minis tho chunky pack a lot of character. Nice work Bryan. 👍

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  4. Bryan you're an inspiration to us all with your painting output. Another very useable squad, and 1st corps do some very nice figures.

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    1. Much appreciated, John. I'm glad I discovered First Corps as they were unknown to me prior to this purchase.

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    2. They do some very quirky stuff, Tintin amongst other things, but it might not appeal. By the way, because of your posts I've been looking at my WW2 figures and wondering what I can do with them, and it's all your fault;)

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    3. Guilty as charged, m'lud! Didn't you do a WW2 batrep featuring female resistance fighters vs, the Germans? That was a lot of fun!

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    4. I did too, but as you say it was a bit of fun, they were for Pulpy games rather than serious WW2 games.

      I did a series of 6 games using Nuts, but no pictures, my WW2 units are all in 20mm and I have most of 2 platoons for each side but I think a max of a squad or maybe two is a good size for a normal table, beyond that it starts to look a bit like a Napoleonic game. I just love to see Tiger tanks lined up track to track, just like a unit of Dragoons. It's not my idea of history. I even get a bit grumpy about it.

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    5. You might be better off looking at the "Flames of War" rules, John. They handle platoon level games better than "Bolt Action". Two platoons and a small handful of tanks per side is the most I'd recommend for "Bolt Action", for which it excels at. Anything bigger than that then you're looking at 20mm or 15mm scale games. Whatever you decide upon, I'd love to see your take on WW2 gaming.

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  5. I agree 100% Bryan Cross of Iron is a great movie, & your squad looks fab :)

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  6. Nice work Bryan. The little details like grenades tucked in boots are such a nice touch.

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