Jumbos Lead the Way!

We received the Sherman M4A3E2 "Jumbo" box in addition to the M4A3E8 Easy Eight Box to take a look at- and I couldn't be happier!  These are of course by Battlefront Miniatures for use in Flames of War .  The box comes with 4 Sherman Jumbos, which is the maximum number a tank company from Blood Guts & Glory can field.

THE GOOD
Again, this is a very good kit.  I love the sculpt- the visible weld lines, the thick turret armor, and the separate hull MG particularly.  The extra grousers on the tracks look as good as you can expect at 15mm.  The box, like the E8s, comes with a lot of great extras: magnets, stowage, and decals.  The stowage really is nice, I'm sorry I was too lazy to include it for review.  It's not hard to love these guys.

THE BAD
There isn't really much negative to say about these guys.  It includes the same decal sheet as the Easy 8s box, which again isn't quite enough to do them up as Battlefront has them pictured.  But, if you don't mind the smaller stars on the turrets, you have more than enough.  I'm sure people don't like the idea of having to buy a box of 4 since it is the maximum number available, and most people probably won't use them all.  I'm sure an individual blister will be along shortly though, so I consider that a non issue.

Though I love the models, tactically I just can't think of how they will really fit my playstyle of US armor.  The tank stands in stark contrast to many of the other tank upgrades the Sherman sees in Blood, Guts & Glory.  It's an even more pronounced dichotomy than the Firefly/Cromwell mobility matchup!  Here we have the majority of our tanks moving 12 or 14" with this one lumbering beast trying to keep up at 8".

Of course, his ability to essentially negate 1 shot coming in from the enemy is quite nice.  Personally, I see upgrading my 2iC to a Jumbo and having him lumber forward on his own, lobbing smoke shells and joining platoons when he can to soak off incoming fire.  But I don't plan on mixing Jumbos into my standard combat units just yet.  Still, this is all in theory as I have yet to get them on the board!  I should give them a try before passing judgement!

42/45 Track Grousers