Like other US Engineer Platoons, you can add transports, but instead of field trucks you get dump trucks. You can also add an engineer supply dump truck and a D7 bulldozer to the platoon. However, you cannot field a Sherman Dozer. It should also be noted, you can model the transports as captured German Trucks and Kublewagons instead of US trucks.
The US Engineer Combat Platoon dump trucks can mount .50 cal AAMGs. This option gives your Engineers not only transportation, but also the additional fire power from.50 Cal AAMGs, which can be dismounted if necessary.
The dump trucks are almost entirely made of resin and are cast on a base like most of Battlefronts transport vehicles. There are some metal bits used for the bed rails, passengers and .50cals. The casts where crisp and clean with lots of detail which required very little clean up and only a moderate amount of assembly.
The supply truck has all sorts of supplies in the bed of the dump truck, which makes it stand out from the other trucks. Players have the option of fielding Booby Traps instead of wire or minefeilds and the box set includes two Booby Trap tokens for your use.
I used the GF9 grit mixed with ballast to laden one of my trucks with a load of dirt, similar to how Battlefront modeled the truck in their online article. However, I gave mine a full load of dirt by adding some cork scraps from my recent road project under the grit and ballast.
I added passengers to the other two dump trucks.
By far my favorite model in the Engineer Support Platoon box was the D7 Bulldozer. This armored dozer had a resin body, without a base, and came with metal tracks, exhaust pipes and dozer blade. The D7 was crisp, with lots of detail and very little clean up. To make the D7 look more interesting I used cork around the blade and cover it with ballast to give it the appearance that it was dozing over some ground.
I am not sure how effective the dozer will be in most games since it is considered a transport, a slow tank and made for taking out fortifications, which the Germans don’t really have in Devils Charge. It was also nice be able to take a Sherman Dozer in other lists because it was a tank team. However, this model will allow you to field a D7 in other companies and it looks so freakin’ cool.
Over all I think the Engineer Support Platoon is beautifully sculpted and excellently detailed, giving any US Company some extra eye candy when fielded. When paired up with a platoon of Combat Engineers from UBX36-US Combat Engineer Company, these will make for an awesome engineer platoon. If you interested in picking up this Engineer Support Platoon or learning more about them check them out over on the Flames of War website and feel free to chime in and discuss them on the WWPD forums.
“Craig Baxter is a miniature wargamer from Anchorage, AK. When he’s not contributing to WWPD.net he is busy blogging, painting, modeling and rolling dice. You can find more of his work and articles at frozengamerak.blogspot.com.”
