Product Review Battlefront's Panzersturm Platoon (GE848)

By Jeff "SonBae" Flint



Finally! My FLGS got the Flames of War Panzersturm Platoon (GE848) in from Battlefront. This is a follow on to the article on on the IR equipped Sdkfz251s. These carry the Infra-red night sights to the infantry and gives you a platoon of 7 Assault Rifle/Panzerfaust stands all with the "Infra-red Equipment" special rule where a German company with troops with Infra-red Equipment may take Night Attack in ANY mission and they get the Always Attack special rule if they do Night Attack. Additionally, platoons with Infra-red Equipment get Spearhead. Whoa!

Night is falling...prepare for action!

If that wasn't enough, these Vampirs get an added advantage of rolling 2 dice to when rolling on the Night Visibility Table... and if the unit they are shooting at is spotlighted by a Uhu (GBX82) (review) they don't have to roll on the table at all!  I know, their range is only 8 inches....bout you don't have to worry about rolling that 1! The target sadly is still concealed.

The night isn't safe for the allies anymore.

Ok, lets talk about these troops.

Accuracy:  The figures are the Battlefront heroic scale that make painting easy, but do take a hit on accuracy. The troopies themselves are the better version of the Late War Grenadiers.  All their basic equipment is there: ammo pouches, shovel, canteen/mess kit, gas mask canister. These are all spot on. The uniform is a mix of the greatcoat and the camo smock. Assault rifles are nicely done as well. But what really makes these uniquely different from your LW Gren is the Vampir IR equipment. This consists of the actual light and scope on the rifle, the battery backpack, and the cabling connecting the two.

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Looks like Battlefront nailed it here

Rating: 9/10

Quality:  Quality here was a little loose. I ordered 2 platoons and the same problem in both platoons. The base figs are great. Very little flash and only 2 minor mold lines I had to deal with. The issue was the Assault Rifle barrels. I'm not sure if it was packing, transportation or a design issue, but almost 25% of the Assault Rifle barrels were either broken on opening or broken during prep. The metal was very thin and just straightening the barrel would cause it to either break off or become unstable (and salvageable with some super glue). Seems to be similar to the issues some have seen with the Americans in the Nam range.

Rating:  6/10 due to the rifle barrels.

Versatility: You get a great variety of poses to mix up the stands

Rating: 9/10

Paintability:  High marks here. The model has great depth of detail and takes paint very well.

Rating: 10/10

Overall: 8.5/10.  Really it was the rifle barrel issue that brought the score down. Is the platoon worth buying for your Nachtjaeger list? Oh HELL yeah. If you are very careful, you'll be able to minimize the barrel issue altogether.  

Here is how I painted the platoon up, nothing different than how I paint up my LW Grens, except for the IR lens which I used a simple Vallejo Flat Black 950 base and then a few reflections on the edges with Vallejo French Mirage Blue 900.



Don't be afraid of the dark... Own the night!

SonBae (AKA Jeff Flint) is a long time gamer and painter and runs a semi-active blog at Journey Back To The Table where he posts photos of his work, reviews, BatReps and the “Painting Miniatures Declassified” modeling and painting tutorials. Follow him @wwpdSonBae on Twitter