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Okay so I bought this 4-5 Weeks back and Quickly painted it up. This is more for newer gamers to get a feel for the boxed sets and the value, I think they represent.



You get the following in the box.



Note you don't get a Cromwell ARV, this is something I bought to add in and if you count carefully you might see an extra Cromwell I bought for £3 at Bring and Buy and have made this a CS 95mm and will look to buy another 5 to make Luttrells Platoon (maybe even the Plastic Soldier Company boxed set if they look good together!).

So at £120 RRP you can normally pick this up for about £104 Online with a 10% discount at various places (which based on 17 tanks gives you £6.11 each) but you also get The Magnets, Decals, Dice, Tokens, 2 Objectives (1 x Tiger trapped in a Wall, and the other a Cromwell that has been knocked out).

Decals are great it gives you everything for Guards Armoured Div or 11th Armoured Div. I actually used alot of these decals (or will use them) on other projects so it does represent a good investment for the future and expanding my British forces.

Putting it together...



Spraying them...



I decided with a bit of help from BIG P, to go for Stuart Jallopy so I magnetised them so I could have both Options ! (I'm cheap and I like have dual use rather than buying the same thing twice!)





I Used the New Plastic Soldier Company British Armour Colour - looks Great - Not quite as pressurized as other cans I've used but did a decent job on it.



Then it was a Case of fine detailing, Varnish and Decals...



Final bits...

I need to highlight them (probably an extremely light dry brush) and then some dirt from Tamiya Powders to weather them and they will be done.

I think it's much better in the long term, if you can afford it, to buy the boxed sets. But you should mind your pennies and look for ways to get as much use out of Models and dual or triple usage.

So this force will be my D-Day + Armour and also my Market Garden and Late War Crossing the Rhine force. I will look to buy some Comets from QRF or someone and paint them exactly the same, I also want to see a PSC model Cromwell next to a BF as I may just buy a whole damn battalion of 44 of these Cromwells because I love them.

Oh I also did a large force of Shermans at the same time, as 3 RTR (also part of 11th Armoured) so I intend to build a big representative 11th Armoured force (One company from every component and the support Elements).

Very well done!

My own Cromwell/Challenger force came out of individual units and Cromwell boxes, so I was a little miffed when this was released.

It also makes me curious as to why we never saw a german counterpart to this, and if we'll see a resurrection of the older box sets like the 2nd AD and the Panzer Lehr, both of which I would buy in a heartbeat.

Seeing this makes me want to get the American 7th Armored boxed set. Looks like it's a good deal for the money and would make a good entry into FoW for a new player like me.

The boxed army sets are definitely a good deal. I got the British Desert Rats and German Afrika Korps boxes a couple years ago. Also picked up the British Armoured Regiment early war box as well. Wanted to pick up the British 7th armored box, but never did and now that force is possible using this boxed set as well. Add in a couple AA Crusaders for good measure and some Sexton's (or co-opt your priests and convince your opponent that they really are sextons).

There are some decent german armies around the Bulge that are worth the investment for sure.

Skriker

Oh and also nice work on the force. Especially those convertable Stuarts/Jalopies. Might need to make some of those myself. Currently torn between ordering this box right now from the warstore or going with the PSC cromwells and just adding a couple of extra Challangers from Battlefront.

Skriker

Is the Guards Armoured list competitive?

I made quick list out of the stuff in the box plus 3 carriers and ARV and was just curious if its worth the buy for a moderately experienced player?

Okay here's my take, and others are free to shoot me down.

Yes, purely because they are "FAST TANKS", I mean moving the speed they do is a massive compensation for a "meh" AT Gun value.

You should be able to quickly move to a Flanking position and kill things with Side Armour Shots, otherwise the enemy will be forced into withdrawing backwards keeping their Front armour facing you. Either resolution is great, because you either get side shots, or force them to move, and therefore reduce their ability to shoot at you and dominate the ground / Objective.

On top of this, the M10C's give some much needed AT Punch and augment the Challengers... Jallopy Stuarts are nice, better IMHO than Stuart V's..

What does this Boxed set lack?

Infantry, AAA, and Artillery. So I intend to add a 4 Gun Sexton Battery, an M5 Half Track Mech Platoon some AA (Possibly).

The 11th Armoured Div, does come in cheaper than the Guards Armoured, so creating a 1750 pt list requires units to top up the boxed set. You can just about make 1500pts from the Boxed set with either Guards or 11th Armoured lists.

I am very much using this boxed set as a "Core" and will be adding to it in the coming months.

Just got the box cheap off eBay!

I'm agreeing with the speed vs heavy firepower trade off

I'm actually thinking of the new desert rat armoured recon from overlord.

You have 3 platoons of 3 RV cromwells with cautious movement and disengage - help them scout the flanks safely

While M10's blast from the back

With Stuart's for recon, sextons for artillery and some bofors SP for AA

Think it should be fun!

I need to grab some Bofors SP...Never really liked the models however.

I've the points for crusader AA in the Rats list but I've got the bofors model or would go for them - and yes it's not a great model

 mwnciboo wrote:
I need to grab some Bofors SP...Never really liked the models however.

I have to say that bofors SPs were one of the most annoying model builds I've had since taking up flames of war.

Skriker

These boxed sets look really good.
Does anyone have an idea on how someone could pick up the DAK set? I can't find it on ebay or amazon or some other of my favorite sites. Am I just out of luck because it's been out of production for so long?

Reaver83 wrote:I've the points for crusader AA in the Rats list but I've got the bofors model or would go for them - and yes it's not a great model

mwnciboo wrote:I need to grab some Bofors SP...Never really liked the models however.

I would always take Crusader AA over Bofors. They are tougher, can keep up with your tanks and they look freaking sweat! (the last reason being the most important one!

Also great work so far mwciboo, it's nice seeing a follow 11th Armoured player. I painted up a force last year but I'm really struggling with confident trained armour.... still beat Adam in the one game I used them against him!

Ben

 Freytag93 wrote:
These boxed sets look really good.
Does anyone have an idea on how someone could pick up the DAK set? I can't find it on ebay or amazon or some other of my favorite sites. Am I just out of luck because it's been out of production for so long?

It is a serious long shot to hope to find an unbuilt DAK army set at this stage. They stopped making them more than 4 years ago.

Skriker

 Skriker wrote:

 Freytag93 wrote:
These boxed sets look really good.
Does anyone have an idea on how someone could pick up the DAK set? I can't find it on ebay or amazon or some other of my favorite sites. Am I just out of luck because it's been out of production for so long?

It is a serious long shot to hope to find an unbuilt DAK army set at this stage. They stopped making them more than 4 years ago.

Skriker

Yeah, I assumed as much. Oh well.