Bolt Action - Review: Warlord Universal Carrier and Sherman

By Tristan

  Recently I made the long haul to Sydney, for MOAB, and whilst there I was fortunate to pick up a universal carrier, otherwise known as a Bren carrier and an M4 Sherman.

  Both of these kits are from the Warlord Games plastic range and having already assembled a plastic Sherman previously (it was the first Warlord plastic I ever assembled and in my haste I managed to stuff it up) I was eager to get these gems home and begin work.


  I'll begin with the Sherman. What a dream to assemble! The kit slots together cleanly and as I'm sure has already been written previously on this site, these kits are very user friendly! After priming and painting the Sherman I tried out some different stowage options and eventually settled on the left over bits from my British airborne recce jeeps.

My only gripe with the Warlord Sherman is the crew member that is supplied with the tank. It seems odd that Warlord is quite fond of its heroic scale and yet the figure that comes on the sprue would be more suited if you were running an army made up of Perry Miniatures. This however is a very small gripe and as I'd previously ordered the very awesome and very customisable US tank crew pack, I simply popped a British head on an American body (as this Sherman will be backing up my newly acquired British force) and promptly glued my new commander into the turret and off I went.

  After a few customisations, such as popping a .30 cal on the turret for the commander to use, I finished off the paint job and sat back to enjoy. The Warlord plastic range, both vehicles and figures wise, has yet to let me down!



  Once finished, I turned my attention to the Bren carrier. Again the Warlord plastic range is kicking goals right from the get go. The model was simple yet highly detailed and the kit allowed me the option of two different variants, a feature I feel is missing from other products out there.

  The only thing letting down the Bren carrier in my opinion is the crew. Warlord have nailed the heroic scale on these guys but the detail, for whatever reason, is lacking and as such I feel let the model down a little, only a little mind you!  Once base coated I went about adding stowage and little extras.

Most of the stowage I use is from Debris of War, check them out! I also use JTFM stowage packs from the Australian distributor, Campaign Books and Games Logistics.



All in all, these two kits are excellent. They fit together well, are an absolute joy to paint, and allow a wide variation of customisation. I'll definitely be picking up at least 2 more Bren carriers as I have found them to be a reasonable points investment. As for the Sherman, well if I didn't already have another one, as well as a Firefly, being painted up by our resident guru Patchimus Prime, then I'd definitely grab myself another!!



  So, until next time, roll your 6's and have fun!