Last weekend was my birthday, which I spent with A and her family at her niece's christening. Which was a lovely day and the wee one was beautiful in her gown and very well behaved. As A is also her Godmother, I was on photo taking duty! A got me some lovely gifts, which included a box of 25-pdrs from Battlefront (exactly what I had asked for!). This will give me a full Battery of 8 guns.
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| Image from the www.flamesofwar.com website - not my picture! |
You'll see the box says "Contains a complete 4 gun battery". The spotlight section of the website also says:
4 Guns and Limbers
2 Command teams
1 Observer team
1 Staff team
4 Gun team crews (20 miniatures)
3 Small bases
1 Single piece resin OP Carrier with crew
4 Different resin scenic bases
1 Scenic Staff Team Base
I've added my own emphasis.
Well it turns out that the box has been changed since the spotlight article was done - which is really the only thing on the website that contains any detailed info on what is in the box. I assume that the things that were missing were the things most people would ignore - the Limbers.
So, being a stubborn sod I emailed Battlefront customer services to complain - replacing missing limbers would cost me money. It would actually double the cost of the transport for the unit, as instead of getting only two packs of BR277 Quad Tractor I would have to get four of BR276 Quad Tractor and Limber (x1) as I could see no where else that sold the Limbers by themselves.
Probably Battlefronts intention when they changed the box!
I complained on the basis that the webstore still says the Limbers are included and that the only info on the website about this product was inaccurate. Thankfully the chap that responded was very understanding (after an initial misunderstanding about what the Limber actually was - fixed by sending him the links to Battlefronts own products). The emails were sent on Monday, by Thursday I had 4 brand new limbers to go with my new artillery troop!
The Scenic bases are very nice, but I'm not very sure about using them as the other Troop doesn't have them. Also, I have an issue with the bases looking like the guns are 'dug in' - which is a separate rules thing. At this stage I may sell them on (or trade them, if anyone has anything interesting to offer in exchange). The command base I'm not sure I will use, but the models for it may come in useful - especially the dispatch rider model. However, the quest for a WW2 British dispatch rider on motorcycle continues.
Final picture for the blog (as it's been a wall of text). The cake stall I was helping to run last Saturday that raised nearly £200 for the church A's family attend.
I love the look of 25pounders, just wish their rules weren't as poo as they are in comparison to other nation's own regular arti. 5+ Firepower my arse..... T___T
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday mate. Sounds like it was a good one.
I agree Dai. There are many many stories of German POW's asking to see the amazing 'belt fed' 25-pdr. The Royal Artillery itself believed that the destructiveness of the gun was less to do with the weight of the shell and more to do with the amount of shells that could be put in target as quickly as possible. Within a short time the target was below ground - where shell weight was a factor. The 25-pdrs could fire a lot of shells in a short time. It's rated as 6 to 8 rounds per minute, but I've read accounts of veteran crews getting up to 11 rounds a minute. Combined with the rapid british system of gun laying and the fact targets could be classed as Mike (24 guns), Uncle (72 guns) or Victor (every bloody gun in range!) targets.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely they should be better. Arguably the 25-pdr was one of the main reasons the British and Commonwealth forces managed to hold what gains they made!
Happy birthday! 25 pounders are a must-have in any British collection, but they are under powered in Late War. A 4+ firepower for bombardments would be more agreeable, or perhaps something like the American "Time on Target" rule to represent their rate of fire. In Mid War they are much more useful, especially with AT 9, firepower 3+ in direct fire, and turntables. I've caught out a few German tank commanders who've overlooked their direct fire capability :-)
ReplyDeleteThat cake stall is a thing of beauty!