I have a liking for military history. I’ve had this liking since I was very young.
I’ve always been particularly partial to WWI, WWII, The Vietnam War, The American Civil War, Zulu wars just to name a few.
Im considering getting into, collecting and painting Bolt Action miniatures. I’m hoping a pal of mine, who loves WWII history gets into it too haha. Then we can play the game. If that doesn’t eventuate I think I’d still be keen to collect units and possibly build dioramas.
I’d like to hear your thoughts and advice please.
IRO aka Imperial Rebel Ork 
Good idea, but there are better models out there than the Warlord ones. For Germans I like Wargames Foundry (sculpted by Michael Perry), also their British paratroopers are good. Crusader do good cheap ranges, and are compatible with Artizan. Bolt Action vehicles are pretty good though.
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Thanks Warbs. All the same scale then?
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They look fine to me,,, Crusader are a bit, ahem, fat – but they all look ok together, and with Warlord stuff.
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Go for it. Second edition is about to drop shortly, so I wouldn’t buy either the core book, starter box or Armies of Germany just now. Everything else is fair game, and Warlord do some nice starter army sets that give some good savings. Books can be bought direct, generally for less than local retailers are asking – or from Book Depository to save even more.
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Thanks mate. So the first addition models won’t work with the second addition?
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The models will be fine – just the Core Rulebook and Armies of Germany supplement are being replaced. You can use models from any and every WWII manufacturer, as long as they’re in the right 28mm or 1/56 scale.
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Ahh I see. I actually quite like the look of the Bolt Action models but I’ve heard they’re not as good or as detailed as other manufacturers.
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It all comes down to what you like the look of personally. I find Warlord’s plastic WWII models fine, but you’ll notice a difference between the older kits and the newer ones. It also depends on which nation and period takes your fancy. Obviously, plastics are much, much cheaper than metals as well, and Warlord’s are the best available for most theatres (better than the former Wargames Factory models). Perry’s stuff is quite decent as well, but it’s Afrika themed. Rubicon have a good range of plastic vehicles, though they come without crew to date.
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Thank you Sir. I’ll do some research but I quite like the BA range.
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Also the best WWII game is Chain of Command by Too Fat Lardies….. though you will find it much easier to get people to play Bolt Action, which is more or less 40k set in WWII!
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Haha I’ll look it up. Funny name
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Following up on this – once you have WWII (or ANY historical models,) you’ve got plenty of leeway to play them in any or as many appropriate rulesets as you like.
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Cool! I think the biggest challenge in going to be convincing my mate to get into it haha
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BA is a fun game. While there are some similarities to 40K, it has distinct elements that make BA its very own beast (the command dice, pinning, no IGYG, for starters).
Getting games in Melbourne is pretty easy, but there are definately gamers using other WW2 systems about.
Just get models you like – dudes with rifles are basically the same. I have a German force made up of Crusader, Black Tree Designs, Warlord and Artizan all rocking along together.
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Nice. Thanks Dave. I bought a small armoured Panzer unit. More for the fun of painting them and to suss them out. I’m looking at the D-Day starter kit to really kick things off though.
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BA is great, plays in a similar way to how Rogue Trader used to (i.e. modifiers) but with enough unique rules to make it feel like its own game (i.e. pinning). It is very simple when you get the hang of it, and there is almost no need to refer to the rulebook (unlike 40k, where looking up special rules might take up half the game). Close combat is so simple it is a joy rather than a chore.
Warlord also do really good army builder deals where you can get a 1000pt army for under 75 quid (again, unlike 40k where that might get you two units). I got myself a German Fallschirmjäger army and a few add on units (Tiger!!!!) for under 100 quid and have not yet run out of variations to field.
Anyway, as you may be able to tell I highly recommend getting into it, although second what others have said about waiting for the second edition books to come out (which is imminent)
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I’m waiting on a small box of goodies from Warlord as we speak. Thought I’d trial the models. Ive heard good and bad but like to make my own mind up. BA does seem like you get more bang for your buck but your 75 quid is $150.00. However considering what you get in the box it’s pretty good. As you say, much better than GW. It’s funny, when I was a kid I never had the dosh for GW stuff but had all the time in the world. Now I’ve got the dough but not nearly as much time haha. Thanks for the comment man.
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