by Dirty Jon
This will be more of a spotlight than a full review, as I have already reviewed similar infantry figures and tanks. The Finnish Panssari Christie Platoon for an Early War Flames of War force is a nice little box set that comes with everything you need to make three BT-5s and two BT-7s complete with tank escorts!
The box has magnets, but no decals. I don't think this is a big problem, as it is captured equipment anyways. The parts were all there and had very little flashing. I did not spend much time trimming and preparing to paint.
Though the riders come with the same poses for each tank, I think they work fine if you put different arrangements on each tank. I made mine up just like on the box. I did put all these guys on sticks to paint up and then attached them after I was done with the tank model -- this just works best.
The hatches for the BT-5s are just slightly too small for the cutout provided. This will only be noticeable up close. Just center the hatch and give an ample does of shading to make it fit in.
At 305 points, this ends up being a pretty hefty platoon in Early War. The tank escorts are +50 points, but they are worth it simply for the cool factor, if nothing else! This many tanks, Fearless with Tank Escorts could ruin someone's day, for sure. Five assets with AT 7 is also no joke, so I think these could get interesting. I do love that the BT-5 has a 0/0/1 armor profile -- just too funny - or sad, depending on Defensive fire.
Conclusion: 7 of 8 Winter Parkas
For $58USD, I think this kit is an ok buy. You get some sweet tank escorts that just look cool. I found that the models were easy to clean up and pretty fun to paint. I took a point off for the slightly undersized hatches and the relatively high price for small tanks. They do come with escorts and magnets, so...
Models provided by Battlefront Miniatures.
