Small Scale Military Headquarters

Three new playsets today at a WM near me. Don't ask me for names, but I had not seen these before, though they did not contain anything truly new, only new in these combinations. One set is "Morsermannschaft/ German Mortar Crew" which combines the German mortar crew with the 8-ton transport ( I believe in the same desert camo pattern as in the Iron Horses pack) There is a also an American Mortar set which is combined with the Half Track, and a Listening Post playset which comes with a Priest. I did not pick up either American set, but if the box cover is to be believed, the priest is a slight variation from the original, now sporting a nickname on the side. All three sets were nice, and a great value, especially since, at least in my area, the mortar crews have not yet shown up at WM.

Was the actual Mortor included in either? Also the dirt mound? Just curious because I have not been able to find the Mortor sets or the listening post in any of the 7 WM I have visited in my AO.

Thanks,

Dennis

Mortar , crew and dirt mound all included, along with the half track. I am pleased, since I have not found the mortar sets around here at all before.

Not certain, but I don't know (?) if those sets ever made it to WM.. I've only seen them at the small retailers. So this is great news!

Sorry to sound like a sour puss, but after the Korean War M-24 Chaffee fiasco, I won't believe the Priest is up-dated until someone posts a picture OOB.

Hope it is...

Those sound like more new 32x sets, as the single-packed mortar pits only went to the small retailers. Kind of funny how 21c combines all sorts of 32x accessories to make new playsets

Pictures are worth a thousand words..

Oh and the Priest in the playset is indeed a new version as advertised. The Anna Mae..

Thanks for the pics Grunt, I'll be on the lookout for these in my AO.

Those are fantatstic playsets! I've never spotted any of the Priests in my AO.

grunt1 wrote:Oh and the Priest in the playset is indeed a new version as advertised. The Anna Mae..

>>> This "nickname" was completely omitted on the (S-1) and not as advertised ,.. unlike what you see on the back of the box,.. at least mine anyways. Perhaps the one included in the "Playset" ? .... "This is news". What a marketing scheme.

I got this set because I wanted a camo version of the 8-ton tractor to go with my camo 88 flak. I already had the 32X gray 8-ton tractor so, naturally, I've compared the two. The camo version still has the same two problems as the gray one, namely, the rear towhook is turned 90 degrees from how it should be and the windshield should be reversed as the double bar at the bottom of it should be on the driver's side and not the passenger's. The interesting part is that they added a towing pintle beneath the actual towhook that can be used for the 88 flak as well as for the Pak 40. Though, this is not historically accurate, it is a welcome addition.

The hefty one-piece mortar pit is well done with two rifles and a MP40 molded into the interior walls. A small section of the exterior of the pit is not painted, either intentially or by mistake. The figures are a very pleasant surprise. Well detailed and generally well painted, they compare favorably to the latest FOV soldiers that came with the original Panther and SD Kfz 7/1 anti-aircraft half-track. The 32X figures have usually been subpar in my estimation and, hopefully, these new ones are the wave of the future.

The best thing about the playsets is that they are one of the first things to get marked down in my area. I was able to pick about 20 of the old playsets at just $7.00 a piece about 1 year ago.

Mark

Here we go again- I opened up the three new kits to check the paint schemes and the vehicles were as pictured.

Get this, there were no mortor crews, only unoppened bags of grey and green plastic army figures wire tied where they were supposed to be.
They are the ones with the m-16s, you remember the moulds from ages ago. Included are stick on stickers saying "bravo force". They were in all three of the kits. This happened to me at the same location many, many posts ago and I whined about it then, too.

I would like to have a couple of the vehicles really, but I will wait and see if some more show up..