By TristanFor quite sometime now I've toyed with the idea of getting away from the Americans and the British and exploring a minor nation. If you listen to either the Baconburgers or the Ghost Army Podcast, you may be aware that eventually my quest has led me to the Finnish army. Upon looking at the army lists and the amazing troop options that the Finns are allowed, I cast my eyes to the tanks and their armour options.
The first tank I knew I had to have was the BT-42, so I quickly got my hot little hands on one from Warlord Games.
In the Second World War, against the Soviet hordes, these tanks didn't fare particularly well. They were rubbish against other tanks and the converted turret added awful stress on the tanks already ordinary suspension. Only 18 were ever made and they had no real impact on the Continuation War in any real sense.
Within the game of Bolt Action however, they are a very different kettle of fish!
The BT-42 is an armour 8+ tank with a medium howitzer. For 140 points at regular and 168 points at veteran, it's a no brainer when it comes to including it into your Finnish list. It's one of only two armoured vehicles that the Finns have access to that doesn't carry the dreaded "unreliable" rule, which equates to double pins. It lacks a hull mounted or co-axial mmg and has a very tall profile which makes it difficult to hide but also allows you to sit it back in cover firing the main gun. If you come under fire, unlike an actual medium howitzer, you can move and possibly engage a new target within the same turn.
The model itself from Warlord was a good cast. There was some excess resin flash that required a little work and there was a left over resin plug that required cutting off. Once the model is prepped it's good to go. My only complaint would be the exhaust pipes that were provided were a little fiddly to glue on and as such my BT-42 now has one wonky exhaust pipe, but I think it gives the tank character, like maybe the driver ran it through a barn and a piece of falling debris knocked the pipe out of place.
I followed a painting guide written by Old Man Morin on painting winter vehicles. Luckily Brad had written the article and used a BT-42 as the example so I had a fantastic article to follow. Basically I primed the vehicle in white, primed the tracks in black and gave the entire tank a wash using a dark shade. After the wash had dried I painted the panels white making sure I left the gaps between each panel showing. Once the tank was painted I gave the tracks a coat of Citadel Typhus Corrosion. Then when that was dry, I drybrushed some lighter colours and then glued the tracks on.
I love this model. It's a great looking piece and warlord have again produced a kit that has plenty of character, good clean lines and is heavy to hold, something I like in my tanks as it makes it feel like I'm actually moving a tank around instead of a toy. This model was easy to assemble, great fun to paint and I can't wait to put it onto the table. I definitely recommend this vehicle for anyone starting a Finn army, as its well worth your time and your points!
Until next time, roll your 6's and have fun!
