It’s bloody hot, we’re sweating through our battledress (tropical), and I’m feeling very much defeated by oppressive heat – what better time to check out Victrix’ British 8th Army in desert gear? They’d have felt the same, right?
The release of the 8th Infantry set heralds the second wave of expansion to Victrix’ already impressive 12mm plastic range. Late war sets for (with the notable exception of Italy) all the European front combatants and a huge range of vehicles have already come out (to acclaim – from us, anyway!), and now it’s time to infill other fronts and theatres. The British 8th Army Infantry will cover British, Commonwealth and British-equipped troops everywhere the KDs came out – North Africa, Italy and early war Far East. Covering crucial (and popular to wargame) theatres and many famous regiments, it’s likely to be a popular set for 12mm wargaming, so it’s a bloody good thing that it’s a great one!
I’ve got a bit used to these 12mm bags now (my third nation), and even with familiarity I’m not yet over how much you get in each one. This one is built up around a full rifle/infantry company and accompanying heavy weapons platoons, comprising:
- 80 Riflemen
- 8 Submachine Gunners (perfect for section/squad leaders)
- 12 Bren Gunners
- 4 Boys Anti-tank rifles
- 4 Minesweepers
- 8 Officers, in proper bush jackets
- 8 Mortar teams (2 and 3 inch)
- 4 radiomen
- 4 2lb Anti-tank guns
- 4 Vickers gun teams (oddly not on the list on the website!)
That’s a lot of models, in enough variety of poses that there’s a solid level of diversity for your rifles and Brens at the least. You can build a mid-war Infantry company TOE almost perfectly, though the lack of PIATs puts you solidly between 1940 and 1943. It’s a really varied set, with a wider range of support options than the Soviet infantry or late war Germans, with only the British Airborne coming with more options on the sprue.
Sculpt quality
The quality of sculpting here is another step up from the Soviet Infantry. Though overall a little flatter – fewer weapons raised off the chest/shoulders – the fine detail is intense. Webbing, pouches and belts are all accurately modelled (and often substantially less than a millimeter in size) and the weapons are accurate to the example to a level often missing in 28mm kits. It’s all appropriately deeply cut too, particularly with pouches and belts, making a base/wash the perfect approach to these guys. Too many layers of paint will obscure fine detail, so start off your colours much, much, brighter than you’d think, then let a thinned wash pick out the detail for you.
While I’ll wax lyrical about the support weapons, it’s the humble infantry where the sculpt quality really excels. You’re getting 60 riflemen per set, and those 60 are beautifully sculpted, with every strap and buckle somehow present and correct on each one. It’s a testament to a well planned and structured set, with poses arranged to show dynamic movement without a single unsightly undercut or smeared detail.
The set, unsurprisingly, works perfectly with the recently released Universal Carriers, so pick up both if you want a mounted platoon!
Support Weapons
It should be no surprise by now that the 12mm WW2 line is fantastically well sculpted. The vehicles are great, but as we’ve covered before, the infantry are bafflingly well done. Instead of churning through every pose with a series of comments amounting to “wow” and “look at how nice the webbing is!”, I’m going to list my favourite support weapons and then bombard you with so, so many pictures of the infantry.
The support weapons are the star of the set. The infantry with rifles and SMGs are nice (see below), but you get the full set of kit in the bag. You have just enough basic infantry for a full rifle company (round about 125), while support weapons let you build in higher level assets to support your men. I think these are where the set really comes together, using fine detail, clever cuts and construction to make fantastic, yet tiny, weapons teams.
Drumroll please for the countdown of British-equipped desert allies support weapons hall of fame:
The 2 inch mortar. Great poses, fantastic mortar detail but any raised basing will swamp them (as I did) so be careful with how you base these ones.
Boys Anti-Tank rifle – perfectly scaled and very very thin, the anti-tank rifle teams look the part, I just wish there was a PIAT option on the sprue.
Bren Gunners – a number of poses for the mighty bren gunner, letting you sprinkle them liberally through your sections (as is your TOE-given-right) without too much duplication
The 3 inch Mortar – well modelled mortar crew with a ton of character. I enjoyed getting a couple of mortar options here, and they provide a nice opportunity for small diorama modelling
The Vickers – it’s a British platoon in WW2, so you’re going to get Vickers teams. These are well put together, with a solid (and very useful) base piece for stability and delightfully posed crew
The 2lb Anti-tank gun (Ordnance Quick Firing 2-Pounder) – a really fantastic addition. Support pieces that aren’t divisional or platoon based fall into a weirdly unsupported slot, and having this battalion level asset in plastic is great! You can model this in firing or travelling positions, with wheels on, up or down. The crew are great and manage to get across the weight of their work really well despite being only 12mm tall.
Overall
My main thought when making, painting and basing these (each step a delight) is I bloody wish I had someone to play with them. I love these models and this range, but at the moment they sit, albeit very nicely, on my shelf. As display models they’re great, but as gaming pieces they’re head and shoulders above similarly scaled competition (certainly compared to 10mm models, ho ho ho), and it would be very nice to get a non-solo game in with them soon.
As a “second wave” for the Victrix 12mm range, they’re fantastic and I’d love to see further North African/Italian sets – early war tanks, Italians, DAK, even some nice plastic scenery wouldn’t go amiss. If you’re all in on 12mm already, pick them up – if not, consider a bag as a nice little painting project!
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