It's been four years now. During this time, its active development was going on - five full-fledged starter sets, two additions, one stripped-down “starter” and more than a hundred units were released. The diversity was spiced up with three editions of the rules, several dozen scenarios and a couple of official tournaments. But the system still failed to become the “Russian Flames of War” or the “Russian Memoir”. From promising and encouraging at the beginning, it has turned into a rather interesting, but musty corner of our favorite hobby. This "nook" consists of either those who are just starting to get into miniatures wargaming, or those who do not want to get involved in foreign systems due to cost or lack of knowledge. Such a specific closed contingent of players, although quite numerous, primarily due to the availability of Zvezda products. The most interesting thing is different: very few of this contingent play with the “pure draft” rules of “Star”, the majority modify them to suit themselves, these “modifications” include many components - from refusing to play with cards to digging in the “stuffing” itself.

Therefore, here I would like to consider what this system represents at the moment, and try to understand the question of why it “didn’t work” on a wide desktop or wargaming front. After all, if at the very beginning of development, until 2012, reviews and reports were published quite regularly and on different sites, then in the last two years there has been almost silence. Neither about new sets, nor about new editions, and in principle no information about the system has been heard.

But it all started quite cheerfully...

Despite the fact that many readers have an idea about the system, it would not be superfluous to go through its most basic points, maybe some forgot, maybe some weren’t interested at all. To start Art of Tactics is a wargame (we won’t argue here whether it’s really a wargame or a clumsy attempt to imitate it) with miniatures which is currently represented by three periods - World War II, modernity and medieval Japan, and a fourth period is also planned - Napoleonics. The mechanics are based on cards, markers and rolling dozens of dice. The action occurs as follows - at the beginning of each turn, an order for a given move is marked on the unit card with a felt-tip pen, after the orders are given, the cards are opened, and they are carried out in the order specified by the rules.

A reasonable question is: what are all these records for? They serve to implement the same simultaneity of moves, which is the main “trick” of the entire system. Despite a clear agreement on the order of execution of orders, everything happens simultaneously within one order, that is, units shoot at each other at the same time, move at the same time, and dig trenches at the same time. True, the slogan “you don’t wait for the enemy” is not entirely fair; you still have to wait until the enemy writes all the orders for a given move on the cards. So, having eliminated many small downtimes, we came to one big one, but if both opponents have a lot of experience in the game and they know how to quickly think about their actions, it can be avoided.

Now let's move directly to the topic - what the system is at the moment. Recently presented to the public along with a box of " Battle for Moscow"The third edition of the rules was presented, which took a big and confident step forward. First of all, it is worth noting the style and language of presentation. After the first edition, there were so many questions that it was simply impossible to play without support on the forum. In addition, the rules themselves were practically unreadable, because in them the nuances began from the very first page, ignoring any introductions and covers. Now it has become more or less possible to read the rules and roughly understand what they are talking about. The number of illustrations has also increased; there are not as many of them as we would like, but you can get a fairly clear answer to the most complex questions. Not only has the material presented taken a step forward, but the design has also seen a significant improvement. The rule book has become easier to navigate, and the structure of the orders themselves has become clearer and clearer. Now each order is highlighted in a frame containing all the necessary information about it, from the symbol to the notes.

When you compare this rather voluminous Talmud of 44 pages with the first edition of 16 pages, for which they even forgot to attach a cover, you understand that Zvezda is nevertheless beginning to correct itself and solve at least the most obvious errors. After all, it was impossible to play according to the first edition; there were so many “holes” and blunders in it that every move consisted only of discovering new points that were not spelled out in the rules. The third edition is still difficult, but you can play.

Despite all the obvious or imaginary problems of the first edition, Zvezda never bothered to post an official FAQ on the website. That’s why inquisitive players trying to play “like a star” climbed onto the forum with tons of pages of text, shoveling and sorting through which the player somehow had to find the answer to his question. Moreover, if at the beginning of the system’s launch representatives of “Zvezda” answered them quite regularly, now the forum has been empty without them for about six months. But the questions were repetitive and standard, and the FAQ was the easiest option to remove all the contradictions, but something that was incomprehensible got in the way.

However, it was not possible to completely avoid mistakes in the new edition: many problems and simple typos remained. For example, the disappearance of medium tanks from the description of the properties of the summer terrain, which was simply taken and copied from the previous game, where, in principle, these tanks do not exist. Also, some rules remained simply “forgotten”, for example, the rules for flamethrower tanks.

But the main problem is not these minor flaws and typos; nevertheless, they are easily corrected. The main problem has been and remains aviation regulations. The fact is that they were simply taken and copied from the second edition, without even reworking the style of presentation at all. You can feel a huge failure in the middle of the book, when at first there were screaming adequate and understandable explanations, and then the uniform horror and nightmare begins without dividing stripes, which pass through a couple of pages, and normal and understandable rules begin again. It feels like the book of rules forgets its language in the middle and begins to present unrelated gibberish, but then the intoxication passes and the intelligible presentation begins again.

Of course, attempts are already underway to bring aviation rules into divine form. This will be helped by the following addition called “Airfields”, where, most likely, new rules for aviation will be introduced, as well as rules for aviation technicians and the airfields themselves. Another question is – is all this necessary?

After all, this is precisely where the first problem of the system comes from – the attempt to embrace everything. “Zvezda” is primarily a company producing prefabricated models; for it, board games and wargames are only a small offshoot of its main activity. And the release of models for the system is determined not only by the need for gaming, but also by an attempt to market what is being produced to another market - the market of prefabricated models. That’s why the game contains not only tanks, infantry, and artillery that are completely understandable and justifiable for the game, but also scouts, sappers, doctors, and the same aviation. The appearance of each such unit is not only new opportunities, but also an expansion of the already quite complex rules. Moreover, given the current scale of hostilities, the usefulness of both intelligence and doctors raises questions. But they also introduced a special phase in each turn especially for scouts. In the near future they are going to add snipers to all this.

Rarely used sappers and flamethrower tanks only complicate the rules with a bunch of additions and exceptions, and about aviation, I think enough has been said - it is simply unplayable at the moment, when in most cases everyone dies from a battle between two pairs of fighters, then reality does not even look here. From all this, monstrous rules are formed brick by brick.

The solution to these problems is quite simple: where better to throw away all these useless scouts, snipers, trains, boats - the main task of which is not to be game units, but to expand the model range with rare exhibits. Then you can focus directly on what the game is dedicated to - the battles of World War II on a battalion scale. In this case, the game would not only be much simpler, easier and more attractive, but would also be better aligned with historical realities.

“Zvezda” has found a good outlet for itself - few modeling companies will produce a separate large set of German reconnaissance aircraft, for example, and aircraft in 72nd scale are now a great rarity. And so we have a product that is quite rare for the market and plus a guaranteed demand - players will definitely buy it. As a result, we get risk-free investments in a product with limited demand.

Of course, excessive diversity is far from the only problem, but only the most obvious and understandable one. Another problem is that the system has not yet decided what it wants to be like. Art of Tactics- What is this? A boxed board game where the base contains everything for a full-fledged and varied game, or does the base serve only as a “ticket” for further development of the system? After all, at the moment it does not meet either the first or second criteria.

The first starter "" often and justifiably cursed due to the fact that the units of the base box were not enough even to play out all the scenarios from this box; there were only enough of them for the first scenarios. I had to buy a few more additions to the base box just to be able to fully play it. Now this problem has been solved by the units from the latest starters " Battle for Moscow" And Hot War enough to play out all the scenarios from there. But the question remains - where to next?

After all, if we have a board game in front of us, then we need additions with new units, maps and scenarios. There were already two of these, one of which was not published in Russia. And for a full game of “ Battle of the Danube“One base and add-on will not be enough; you should purchase several dozen more units. So, by all principles, we have before us a situation where the base is only a window into a huge and diverse world, only the entrance door to a further journey through Art of Tactics, but now we must admit that this “world outside the door” is musty and stuffy.

Until recently, even individual scripts were published once a month, sometimes even less often. But for a full-fledged world, scenarios alone are not enough; you need army books, campaigns, and operations. That is, you are planning to fight a border battle in the Western Front according to the system Art of Tactics and you don’t have to scour the Internet looking for receipts, appearance, and composition of parts. Here is a big book “Border Battle 1941” where you will find everything - from historical information and information on technology, to game instructions and a pack of scenarios. Gold! In this case, the game would immediately rise to a higher level.

But, unfortunately, the dream of such books will most likely remain in the realm of good wishes and fantasies. But how nice it would be to get one where the characteristics and coloring are clearly stated, where there are clear and unambiguous states of several levels, where there is a pack of historical scenarios of different scales, all this is flavored with historical information and beautifully painted miniatures. By the way, a really interesting point: there are practically no official beautiful paintings of their own “Star” miniatures. Both on the back of the boxes and on the cards they are presented in their original monochrome form. Is it really so difficult to hire a good artist who will paint all the new items? And whose colors can then be depicted both on boxes and on cards? After all, before, when large sets were released in 72nd scale, there were good colors on the back of the boxes, what is stopping you from doing the same now?

Army books would solve another problem of the system - discrepancies in the cards. Now cards with a new design are in use, which I must admit has changed for the better. It has become much more convenient and informative. It makes it very easy to find the right order by standardizing their location on the back. Previously, orders were located in their own individual, unpredictable place, and therefore it was very difficult to find the right one in ten identical “windows”. And some orders were simply inaccessible to units, but this could only be discovered after a thorough search. Now it’s simpler - all orders are numbered and arranged in the order of their execution on the field.

But after all the perturbations, I have accumulated so many different cards with different characteristics and prices, and most of them are in the old design, that it is very difficult to understand where the correct and latest version is. On the official forum, amateurs even made a special sheet with prices, but such things should not be done by amateurs, but by the company itself. The official website should have a special section with constantly updated prices and characteristics of units. And if someone’s accuracy has changed or new properties have appeared, everything should be entered there. This section eliminates the lion's share of questions regarding units. A well-thought-out book of campaigns or armies or operations, whatever you want to call it, serves this purpose. It should contain all the information so that you don’t need to go to forums and scour unofficial sources to clarify “which Pz.38 card is correct.”

But of course, such work is quite expensive in terms of time and resources. After all, you need to come up with not a couple of scenarios, but an entire campaign with balanced, but historically correct characteristics of the troops, with thoughtful receipts and beautiful illustrations of colored units. Now “Zvezda” is not even close to being able to do this.

And the last, but very pressing problem of the system is the question of how to hold tournaments with it? After all, what is needed for a tournament is, first of all, clear rules for recruiting armies and balanced scenarios with “open” recruitment of troops. So far we have neither the first nor the second. Of course, the first one is a little easier - in 2011 there was the first and so far the last attempt to create game staffs, but they were clumsy, unhistorical, and even more so in two years with the release of new units they were simply outdated. Afterwards, despite many promises, we did not see any new states. There are no official tournament scenarios as a class yet.

Solving the problem of tournaments would immediately take the system to a new level. Firstly, there would be states for which you can collect more or less historical receipts, and not play on the principle of “my two guns and a plane against your tank and doctors.” Secondly, it would create a basis for a tournament in any city, and it is tournaments that strongly promote such systems. However, “things are still there.”

At the end and in a separate paragraph, it is worth mentioning the biggest problem of the system - felt-tip pens. I don’t know why, but despite all the dissatisfaction and complaints of the players, the system has not yet been rid of the writings. Although, it seemed easier to make several tokens with orders and place them “face down” during the order issuing phase, then “open” them at the same time. This would allow us to get rid of markers and greatly speed up the game - scattering ten tokens faster than writing ten numbers. And even some amateurs have already made something similar. But “Zvezda” has had a stranglehold on its markers for 15 years, since the first edition “ Ages of battle”, where there was also writing on cards. Maybe they were bribed by marker manufacturers?

As a result, we have that everything related to the support of their products in the company does not find a response at all. Without good support, we enter the field that we have now - with only a few official starters and with a bunch of enthusiasts making scenarios, holding tournaments, of which there are fewer and fewer from year to year. But even a hundred enthusiasts cannot do all of the above qualitatively; for this, there must be a completely different level of connections between them. And “Zvezda” either feels sorry for the money, or hopes that “they’ll buy it anyway.” Therefore, there is absolutely no development of the system, not only in the number of units and starters, that is, in breadth, but also in depth - creating receipts, campaigns, separate army books, rules for tournaments.

For anyone who, no matter what, is still interested in the system, I can recommend starting with “ Battle for Moscow" or Hot War. At the moment this is really the most adequate entry ticket, but you shouldn’t expect much from them. The game, of course, is very much for everyone: for those who like to write on cards, for those who like to come up with scenarios themselves, for those who like to invent home rules. Therefore, for now we have what we have - a reserve for the future. But it has been there since 2010 and, unfortunately, has not moved forward much. Alas.

In the previous article, we got acquainted with the “Commands&Colors” gaming system by Richard Borg, which allows you to control troops on the battlefield using a deck of cards and fight with cubes with colored sides. In this final review, I will talk about the "Art of Tactic" system, developed by Konstantin Krivenko and designed for more realistic combat operations.

A necessary digression: the rules of "Art of Tactic" are divided into basic, advanced, complicated and expert. In the review, I will briefly talk about the main concepts from the basic ones and mention a few interesting points from the remaining variants of the rules. Read everything else in the 20-page booklet that you will find in the game box.

To play the Art of Tactic system you will need two markers, two cotton pads, six 20-sided dice and a round counter. You can manage units using special double-sided unit cards, on which players make the necessary notes. If you are using advanced rules, then place black and red rings nearby, the purpose of which I will tell you later.

Each type of unit has its own unit card, in the upper left corner of which the type of weapon is indicated (red circle), which matches the icon on the plastic flag. The cards are coated with a special gloss layer that allows you to make marks with a marker and then remove them using cotton pads.

The front side of the card (on the left) contains the characteristics and properties of the units - the cards are placed with this side up until the “giving orders” phase begins. The main indicators of the unit are indicated at the top and highlighted in red: attack values, number of defense points, durability indicator and firing range for units with ranged weapons.

About 12 basic modifiers will affect the morale of the squad during maneuvers: presence of a commander, type of terrain, fatigue, inspiration, shame, honor, and so on. Many of these parameters will be useful to the commander only when playing according to the advanced rules of the game.

The reverse side (on the right) is intended for giving orders to the unit: defense, retreat with shooting, rest, shooting, attack, running, gathering, ambush, and so on. For example, a foot unit can be given one of 12 orders, each of which can be affected by up to three modifiers (attack, defense, toughness).

At the bottom there is a space for indicating the hex numbers of the location of the unit in an ambush and the areas of terrain it controls, as well as areas of the field through which the unit will move. All marks are made with a marker secretly from the enemy in the far right column, then the card is placed with the orders side down until the moment of “giving orders.”

I note that players give all orders to their units at the same time, and then begin to carry them out in accordance with the order: defense, shooting, movement, special orders, close combat and withdrawal from battle.

Each unit is placed on an individual stand, the size of which coincides with the boundaries of the hex. There are two types of units: foot (right) and horse (left). The place for the unit commander is allocated separately; the stand of the figure also differs from the others in the location of the “key”. In the photo, the left stands are intended for commanders, and the right ones are for ordinary soldiers.

Units are indivisible, and warriors from one base cannot move to another, even if the type of weapons of both units is the same. If a unit suffers losses, the commander is the last to be removed from the stand. The exception is the ninja attack - their first target is the commander.

Each unit has its own large flag, on which the unit number for issuing orders is indicated with a marker. To make it easier for players to distinguish “friends” from “foes,” the figures carry either a red or yellow marker flag on their backs.

The foot unit consists of five regular soldiers and one commander. The flag is installed in the center of the stand and with its help it is convenient to move the squad around the field, and the flagpole is used to place special markers on it.

Mounted units consist of two figures of regular horsemen and one commander. In the basic set "Shogun. Samurai Battles" only riders armed with spears are presented. However, the rules do make reference to horse archers and ninjas, which will apparently be in future sets.

A Commander figure that is part of a mounted or dismounted unit allows the unit to receive all the orders listed on the unit card. Otherwise, only 4 main actions are available to the player. However, units located in close proximity to the unit that includes the commander do not have any restrictions.

In total the box contains:
8 units of ashigaru with spears (6401)
4 squads of samurai with naginato (6403)
4 units of ashigaru with bows (6414)
2 units of ashigaru with arquebuses (6402)
4 units of mounted samurai with yari (6407)
4 Samurai Commander Packs (6411)
2 samurai headquarters

Terrain affects the combat characteristics of units, placing restrictions on Ambush orders and the unit's movement speed. Water in the game is not an insurmountable obstacle, and it can be forced by passing the loss test: a die is rolled for each warrior, and if the value is within “10”, the warrior moves to the other side. All other values ​​lead to the death of the figure.

Using plastic stands, you can create realistic slopes of three types: gentle (1 level), steep (2 levels) and steep (3 levels) (the levels in this case are considered relative to the adjacent hex). For example: the cavalry stands on a plain, and for it the village is located on a gentle slope. The red archers are positioned relative to the cavalry on a steep slope, and the yellow naginata enemies are positioned on a steep slope. Cavalry cannot climb steep slopes, and foot units (except ninjas) cannot move along steep slopes.

This method allows you to create realistic landscapes that the unit can overcome only along a certain road.

Terrain also introduces the concept of “line of sight limitations.” Units armed with ranged weapons can attack the enemy only if he is in line of sight. For example: a squad of yellow archers can only attack a squad of spearmen, since samurai with naginata are inaccessible to them due to the rock separating the squads.

The game is played according to scenarios (7 in total), which are given in a separate book. Each unit has its own cost, indicated in the table - players can create their own scenarios, introducing restrictions on the number of points available for hiring units.

Standard campaigns involve a fixed deployment of units on the battlefield. Pay attention to the icons - round ones indicate that the unit does not have a commander, and square ones indicate its presence. Each scenario also includes victory conditions.

Additional Information.
There are not enough units in the basic set for two scenarios:
Scenario #1. It is necessary to purchase: 2 units with spears (6401) + 1 unit with arquebuses (6402).
Scenario No. 6. Need to purchase: 2 naginata units (6403).

For beginners, at the beginning of the booklet there is a training company, which tells in detail, with examples, about the “Art of Tactic” command system. A very wise decision on the part of the developers, which can be taken into account in the game.

As you can see, there are few units, and it will be quite easy to understand the intricacies of the "Art of Tactic" commands, especially by studying the tips in the booklet. Remember about the square and round unit icons, indicating the presence of a commander in the detachment (I have not yet put the commanders in their places in the photo).

Please note: one unit is in ambush (one of the special properties) and is not yet deployed on the field. The card only shows its location and the hex number towards which the hidden archers are looking. When an enemy crosses a hex controlled by hidden archers, the opponent must interrupt movement and his unit will be attacked with a +3 attack modifier. The attacked unit cannot engage in retaliatory combat. After the attack, the squad is ambushed on the field and then obeys the general rules of the game.

Any unit can move in three different ways: in the case of marching movement, foot units move through one hex, and mounted units move through two hexes. If a detachment runs or rushes to attack, then it can cover two sections of terrain on foot, and up to four sections of terrain on horseback. When moving, it is necessary to take into account the type of terrain: terrain restrictions on movement are a priority.

Orders are given with markers in the corresponding column of the card, and below are written the numbers of hexes through which the squad will pass while moving across the field. If the opponents' paths cross, then each player moves the unit "step by step" until the units meet. In this case, a fight occurs.

Before starting hostilities, you must check the modifier table. For example: a unit with spears moved by marching movement, so no modifiers are applied to it. The naginata squad executed the “attack” order, and therefore has a “+2” modifier to the attack value. This means that the base stat of unit "8" increases by two points and becomes equal to "10".

Both squads carry out attacks, and only then count the losses.

Foot units roll one die for each figure in the unit, cavalry attacks with the number of dice indicated on the unit card (3 for each horseman). At the top of the card there are indicators that are considered a hit: in the case of a unit with spears, the attack will be successful if the values ​​1-4 are rolled on the die.

In our example: two effective hits (numbers “2” and “4”) cause damage to the enemy. Next, we look at the enemy’s defense indicator - it is equal to “2”. This means that at this point the squad is not deprived of any pieces because the defense has absorbed scoring shots. Don't forget to take into account modifiers that can affect both the level of attack and the degree of defense!

The unit from Naginata made an attack - it does not have one warrior, but the commander is counted as a regular figure, so the unit rolls five dice and the attack will be successful if the numbers 1-10 are rolled on the side (remember that the unit has an attack modifier) . In our example: two effective throws ("7" and "2") reach the goal. One of them is absorbed by the protection of the spearmen, and the second instructs the enemy to remove one figure from the stand.

Always make a note on the cards when reducing a unit's defense level: the modified defense remains until the start of the next turn, increasing the chances of victory for other units attacking the same enemy at the same time. When attacking the rear or flank, the unit receives bonuses, so try not to fall into the “pincers”.

Units armed with ranged weapons can attack from a distance. To do this, the number of the attacked unit is indicated, and one unit of ammunition is consumed per shot (arrows installed in the stand). Ammunition can only be replenished in the convoy, which will appear in the game add-ons.

Firepower indicators vary depending on the firing range. For example, archers cannot shoot at an adjacent hex; they attack at a distance of two hexes with five dice, and at a distance of 5 hexes with only two. Numbers 1-2 are considered effective against infantry and only “one” when attacking cavalry. Once again, I remind you that both during attack and defense, it is necessary to take into account modifiers that depend on the order given to the unit, the level of stamina and other parameters.

Mounted units are very formidable weapons, since even without a commander they can attack a foot unit with six dice, hitting the enemy on a roll of 1-8 and having a base defense of 3. In our example, the cavalry rolls three effective hits, which deprive the archer unit of two figures.

The headquarters in the "Art of Tactic" system is no longer part of the terrain and can attack like a foot unit, which includes a commander. Moreover, the closeness of command inspires warriors in battle and gives them “+2” to attack indicators, “+1” to defense and “+10” to stamina!

When playing according to advanced rules, special rings are used - markers that are placed on flagpoles and affect attack performance. If an enemy unit is destroyed, the attacking unit is marked with a black disk, which gives it a “+1” modifier to the attack.

Units that have suffered losses (as well as in some other cases) undergo a mandatory endurance test: it is necessary to take into account all modifiers that affect this indicator (presence of a commander, proximity of headquarters, losses incurred, etc.), and then roll the dice. If the value is less than or equal to the current indicator, the test is passed. Otherwise, the unit loses one black marker (if it has one) or earns one red marker.

The number of markers affects the morale and combat performance of the squad. For example: a hesitant (one marker) has an attack limitation of "-2" units, a running (two markers) - "-3", and a panicking person is generally deprived of the opportunity to attack on his own, having a base indicator equal to "0". In addition to attack, markers also affect other unit indicators.

In addition to the orders listed in the review, there is also the possibility of defense, all-round defense, gathering, replenishing ammunition, shooting on the move, withdrawing from battle, and so on. The player is given almost unlimited possibilities for managing his units, allowing him to create a realistic battle model on the gaming table.

"Art of Tactic" or "Commands&Colors".

To conclude this review, I would like to briefly summarize the two game systems that allow players to control their units on the battlefield.

The "Commands&Colors" system is certainly easier to learn and more "friendly" to novice players. A player with any level of basic training can master the intricacies of commanding troops using cards and carrying out attacks that come down to ordinary dice rolls. This is a great option to play a war game with your child, which, however, will require the work of the gray cells and will allow you to get a lot of pleasure from the gameplay.

But everything has its downsides - the realism of the battle using the "Commands & Colors" system is a huge question mark, players depend on the cards that come into their hand, and unsuccessful dice rolls can nullify all your tactical decisions on the battlefield. Therefore, connoisseurs of realistic battles should pay attention to the "Art of Tactic" system.

"Art of Tactic" will require players to study the rules in depth, you will have to keep in mind many variables, modifiers and have rules at hand. But for this you will get realistic combat, real strategy and tactics during combat operations, you can significantly influence the results of dice rolls and minimize the factor of chance.

To summarize, we can say that both systems have their own advantages and are worthy of attention. The most important thing is that both of them are presented in the game, and it is up to you whether you pick up the markers and rely only on the level of your preparation, or trust your fate to luck and colored cubes. In any case, you will enjoy this wonderful game.

09.05.2016 , In the section

May 9th has already arrived. Today the whole country will come out to celebrate Victory Day. Some will go to city concerts, some will walk in parks, many will go to parades. Auto-moto-led races along city highways with flags and general rejoicing. Then half of the people will go to their dachas and nature. The second half will remain walking along the evening streets and squares. Everyone will definitely see the fireworks. They will drink repeatedly to the Old Men - the Winners. Soviet war films on TV - “Only old men go into battle”, “About the soldiers marched”, etc., will remind you of the great victory and how it happened.

Our portal Crazy Cube, will steal the attention of board game lovers. We also have something to talk about on this wonderful holiday. We continue the topic of board games about the Great Patriotic War with a review of a series of Russian Wargame board games.

Art Of Tactic - what is it? Wargame - what is it?

It was not for nothing that I started the review with this question. For many gamers, especially newbies, an explanation is required. Let's start with the last one.

Wargame, in our case Tabletop Wargame is a strategy game that is as close to reality as possible in its mechanics. It plays out historical conflicts or fictitious scenarios. Typically using thumbnails.

Art Of Tactic is a whole system of military-strategy games, the focus of which is the Second World War. They play out various historical events from the 41-45s. The units are prefabricated miniatures, which are constantly updated with new additions. All the rules of classic wargame are met.

In the Art Of Tactic system there are also games about battles on ships - The Ships Historic Wargames and samurai battles - Samurai Battles, but today we will not touch on them. We will only talk about a series of games - The Great Patriotic War.

Great Patriotic War - Game Series

Company Star, it produces board games Art Of Tactic, in 6 years released 6 full-fledged sets on the Second World War. 4 of them can be bought - Summer 1941, Battle of Stalingrad 1942-1943, Battle of Moscow, Tank battle. The other two are no longer available for sale. Battle of the Danube, Blitzkrieg.

What is the starter kit:

If you decide to get into Russian tabletop wargames, then you will definitely need the basic version of the game. It will contain everything you need for a full game. In the box you will find everything you need to get up to speed and go through several standard scenarios. And only then can you expand, complicate and make the game more interesting with the help of additional units that can be purchased individually.

The basic kit includes:

• Several Soviet units
• Several German troops
• smoke chips
• fire chips
• playing fields (different and double-sided)
• Set of engineering structures
• 10 cubes
• Rules of the game
• Script book
• 2 felt-tip pens (Oops, what’s that for?)

Briefly how to play it.

Only two players play. One for the Nazis and the second for the Red Army. We choose a scenario. It's better to start getting acquainted with the first one. You have a playing field. It usually develops as written in the script. Hexes with settlements, terrain elements, and engineering structures are laid out on it. Special plastic landscape reliefs are also placed along the floor in special places. Everyone positions their troops as indicated in the scenario book. And the action begins.

The battles go as follows. Each participant gives instructions to his troops. For this, Team cards and..., Attention!!! Markers. One very important point. The fighters' actions are performed simultaneously. This is the whole point of the game mechanics of the Art Of Tactic system. The player must not only calculate his own moves, but also anticipate the opponent’s moves, because once orders are given by both sides, they cannot be changed and they are executed simultaneously. That is, what is done is done, there is no going back. Think through your orders carefully. Try to predict your opponent's actions.

There are many things in the game that affect the players' strategy and battle tactics. What makes the game different and interesting every time. For example, types of terrain of different levels affect visibility and maneuverability; moreover, each type of troops has its own specific terrain properties. Minefields and engineering structures, as well as cities and settlements. Everything must be taken into account when calculating your own strategy. Special troop cards will help for this. They indicate the special abilities, pros and cons of a given unit while in a certain area. Also there you can find information such as squad size, firing range and ammunition.

When attacking, dice are used. By throwing them, the player checks how well and accurately his fighters shoot. This introduces some element of luck, which is also present in real battles. And so that luck is not chaotic, but has its limits. There are some rules in which each army rolls a certain number of dice, and if there are losses in the troop, then there will also be fewer dice rolled. So if you have a weak combat unit enter the battle, don’t rely too much on success. Fortune favors the prepared.

Get ready for the fact that your troops will constantly run out of ammunition. To replenish them, you need to visit a warehouse or send a truck to deliver cartridges. But keep in mind that the enemy is not asleep and it is likely that he will want to destroy the transport and cut off the supply of supplies.

There is a certain order of battle:

1. Defense orders are carried out.

2. Then comes the suppression fire.

3. Regular shootouts.

4. Then comes aviation.

5. The troops are hiding in ambush.

6. Special orders are carried out.

7. Movement of units.

In order not to forget everything, you need to mark it on special cards with a special marker.

Let's summarize

Everything described above is just general concepts and rules of the game. Wargame systems Art Of Tactic. In fact, there are a huge number of nuances and little things. So much so that even in the set of rules that is in the boxes with the game, not everything is covered. Almost every turn (especially the first time), you will re-read the worn-out book and, not finding the answer, go online to look for it on forums. This cannot be avoided, because such games are very unpredictable due to their freedom of action. Moreover, after you begin to expand the boundaries of your battles with new additional miniatures and also come up with your own scenarios, then God himself ordered you to get confused in the rules.

Board games series The Great Patriotic War - it is a whole culture with its fans and collectors. They hold tournaments, gather their own clubs in which you can find an equal opponent or exchange miniatures. If you are a beginner or just want to get acquainted with the game, then consider one fact. It will be difficult for you to figure it all out and find like-minded people. It's kind of underground in the world of board games. But if you figure it out and plunge into all this headlong, you won’t be able to stop living with it.

Happy holiday everyone! Try to fight only in board games.

Thanks for the photos to the VKontakte group dedicated to the games Art Of Tactic -

Hello, dear friends!

We haven’t talked about wargames for a very long time, and we’ll fix that now. But! Today there won’t be another review of the Warhammer rules, there won’t be any advice on “how to start playing Warmash” - there won’t be anything like that. Let's talk about the wargame system, which is available to us thanks to the Zvezda company. Many might ask - what kind of wargames are these, how are they played? Well, with such and such a publisher, they play, of course, with miniatures. We will try to answer other possible questions within the framework of this post or, if the need arises, in its continuations. The only thing I don't understand about these games is why so many people don't know anything about them? After all, sets with these wargames are very accessible – both geographically and financially. Again, even if they are strictly historical, several military eras are covered at once. They even released a set with battles of sailing ships - how many games do you see around you on this topic? However, this question, apparently, will have to be left open. Meanwhile, we will begin to tell you about this gaming system in detail! At the moment, in this system, if we don’t confuse anything, 8 starter sets have been released: 3 about the Great Patriotic War - , 1 dedicated to the tank war of those years - , 1 about the Second World War - “Blitzkrieg 1940” (Great Britain against Germany, its although it’s difficult to get in Russia), 1 about internecine wars in medieval Japan - , 1 about naval battles between sailing ships - , and 1 alternative history, dedicated to the hypothetical confrontation between the USSR and the USA in the period around the 1980s. For example, let's use the set.

We'll start with the most fundamental characteristics of the game so that you can easily and quickly imagine the nature of the entire system. The game takes place on a field divided into hexes. We know that many people have an incomprehensible prejudice towards them, but we have not yet found out why (in the days of Panzer General, hexes did not bother anyone). Each hex has its own number. If you want, say, to move your unit into a hex, you “give an order” containing the number of that hex. Players give orders to their armies at the same time, and the armies also act simultaneously - that is, there is no such thing inherent in many systems as waiting for the enemy to make a move. And, by the way, about the players - here, provided that no more than two armies are constantly participating in the battle, there can be more than two players. In this case, the units are divided between players, who end up playing as if for two teams - this is also not possible in every wargame. The characteristics of various units are indicated on cards, one unit - one card. By detachments we mean any troops - not only infantry formations, but also tanks, planes, and guns. In other words, no armibooks or anything like that. You will only need the rules of the game for the sake of the rules of the game itself. anything else - please, on the card.

By the way, about squads. One of the most important advantages of the Art of Tactic system, in our opinion, is the huge number of possible units for your armies. Firstly, the starting sets include a very decent number of different units, but even more are given to you when you decide to expand your army. It is also worth noting that Zvezda began producing these wargames during the same period in which its production capacity was updated, which results in very decent quality castings. Considering the use of glueless assembly, the 1/72 scale guns look great. Tanks and planes, made using the same technology in scales of 1/100 and 1/144, respectively, look somewhat rustic, but not primitive at all - they will look good on the field if they are carefully painted. To make it easier to imagine the quality of casting, let us tell you that on a tank the size of a matchstick, assembled from 1.5 parts without glue, for example, an entrenching tool is cast, and quite embossed, and not “for the sake of beauty” outlined on plastic. Additions to all games of this system are distributed in the form of blisters containing either one unit of equipment, or one detachment of infantrymen, or a gun with a crew, plus a card with the characteristics of the detachment. And the second half of the value of all these add-ons is due to the fact that the Zvezda company is a domestic and, moreover, caring manufacturer - these add-ons, along with starter kits, can often be found in the most distant cities of our country. At the same time, the average price of an additional set usually fluctuates around 200 rubles. Well, you get the idea.

The battles themselves are played out according to scenarios - there are 6 of them in the starter set. More can be found on the website of this gaming system, and you can also come up with them yourself or take advantage of particularly successful developments by other players, kindly provided by them on the Internet.

Well, for now, finally, let’s try to give you an idea of ​​the scale of these games using the example of a description of the configuration of one starter set:

– 54 infantry figures
— 5 models of equipment
– 1 aircraft model
– 4 artillery models
— Set of engineering structures
— 6 double-sided playing fields
– 30 double-sided terrain elements
– 6 height elements
— 29 game cards
- Rules of the game
— Booklet with scenarios
— 2 Memos
— 2 markers
— Set of decals

The scale is not gigantic, of course, but you can’t call it small either, especially for a starter set. Perhaps we’ll stop there for now. Surely this information will be quite enough to imagine these wargames in general terms, visually. In the following articles we will take a closer look at the characteristics of units and game mechanics, which will allow us to get a complete understanding of the Art of Tactic system. In the meantime, we say goodbye to you and hope that we have awakened at least a little interest among those players who, for still unclear reasons, have not heard of these wonderful sets. All the best and good luck!

Greetings, dear readers. Today I will tell you about a new model from the Zvezda company, which appeared in stores only last Friday - the heavy Soviet tank IS-3.

The IS-3, together with the T-44, was the last Soviet tank produced in wartime shortages and needs. Both tanks I mentioned were being prepared to replace the best tank of the war, the T-34-85 and the heavy IS-2, respectively. Therefore, the tank turned out to be as simple and cheap as possible to produce; operating the vehicle was also not something out of the ordinary; any conscript from the village, after a short course, could drive the vehicle into battle. The appearance of the car fully reflects the era to which the car belonged. For those who don’t understand what I’m talking about, just compare the IS-3 and IS-7, the second was designed slowly, they didn’t skimp on it, and the result was an elegant machine, striking in its dimensions and shape. The IS-3 is deprived of all this peacetime gloss. Before us is a war worker who, however, did not have time to go to war. Some game makers, who have a very bad history, are pushing this tank into a combat situation to storm Berlin, but let’s leave these opuses to the conscience of the developers. I repeat, the IS-3 did not participate in the battles of World War II, just like the T-44.
IS-3 was born in 1944 as the Kirovets-1 project under the leadership of the legendary designer Joseph Kotin. The car gained weight, compared to its older brother, Isom No. 2, by only 3 tons, and received the so-called. “pike nose” - maximum sloping armor in the bow of the hull and a large round turret, unusual for that period. The IS-3 gun was inherited from the IS-2, D-25T with a caliber of 122 mm. and a barrel length of 48 calibers. A total of 1,555 copies were produced.
The first appearance of new tanks in public is considered to be the parade of winners in defeated Berlin. For the Western allies, the appearance of a new Soviet tank was like a bolt from the blue. In the West, for a long time, the IS-3 will become a symbol of the power and invincibility of Soviet armored forces. The new heavy tank was so amazing.

IS-3 on parade in Berlin.


And at the parade in Moscow.


The IS-3 was exported to Egypt and the DPRK (M. Baryatinsky All tanks of the USSR. The most complete encyclopedia. Moscow. Yauza. Eksmo. 2013, p. 336). I didn’t find any information about the Korean ISs, but the Egyptian ones were not at all lucky. They took part in the Arab-Israeli wars, where they either burned or became trophies for “a quarter of our former people.”

Israeli trophy. IS-3 in the museum in Latrun. In the background is a T-34-85, to the right of the IS-3 ISU-152(?), and behind on the right is something unknown to me, with a base from a Sherman and a cannon from a French AMX.

The unenviable fate of the IS-3 in the fields of Sinai is connected primarily with the low qualifications and “ability” to fight of our Arab partners. They would not have won that war, even if a portal had opened from which they would have been supplied with 3-4 companies of T-90s.
Let's move on to the review of the model.
The box is large, like most tanks of the late period, hence the price on the website of 280 rubles. Open the box. Inside we are waiting for a bag with two green sprues inside.


and instructions.


Let's take a closer look at the sprues.
First.




Second.




Both sprues are made of high quality, traditional green plastic for Zvezda. Plastic does not bend or break. Small parts are attached well and will not easily come off during transportation.
Assembled model.










What can you say about the assembly? Let's start with the bad. Parts 21 and 22 refused to stick without glue. Moreover, 21 stood up, but fell out when trying to attach the “bathtub” to the “lid” of the case, and 22 simply refused to be fixed. Both had to be glued. In the last photos, the part depicting the tank for the smoke screen fell off. I deliberately placed it incorrectly (on the left in the last photo) to show that these parts 7 and 8 hold together perfectly even when placed incorrectly. Foolproofing would not hurt, as on previous models, where it simply cannot be assembled incorrectly.
Now the pros. The first advantage is that this is a Soviet tank. The parade of German tanks frankly tired not only me. And if it’s not too late, then next year, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to replace the T-4 with something Soviet, say, a T-28 or KV-1 with screens on the turret (this is easier and cheaper than making a cast turret), yes and the BA-64 wouldn’t be bad either. The second advantage of the model is its assembly. In terms of assembly level, the IS-3 is comparable to a panther, but unlike the German menagerie, nothing had to be customized. The case clicked together and was not going to fall apart. The chassis is easily inserted and easily removed, which is a definite plus for those who will paint the model.
What can you say in conclusion? The model is excellent, the only drawback that hurts the eye is the lack of a machine gun on the turret, everything else is a complaint about the inscription “assembly without glue,” which is not so important. The assembled model is comparable to a panther in terms of the number of small parts, but it is simpler and does not require hand-finishing of the entire structure after assembling the body. There simply cannot be any gaps here if you did everything correctly and removed the burrs with a knife before assembly.
I’d also like to talk about the card that came out on the day the model was released, which is good news. The card came out...and here it is.

Honestly, I have a feeling that, starting with Tiger, cards began to be made at random. The characteristics of late period tanks simply kill tank combat in the game. Both tanks leading a duel will be guaranteed to be destroyed by each other after the hits are counted. Five in close combat evokes a whole palette of feelings and emotions. Moreover, a tank with 122 mm. the gun cannot fire at pillboxes... In general, after the tournament in Moscow, we will begin to finalize the tournament rules and correct the overly inflated characteristics of the tanks. The IS-3 will gain the ability to destroy pillboxes, but will become a more armored version of the IS-2.
Thank you for your attention.

In the review above, there were previously lines that the disadvantage of the model is the inability to rotate the turret 360 degrees. Thanks to the search for Nikolai Zorin, I withdraw this claim.

Greetings, dear friends. Today I have for you to review a whole prototype of a super-heavy tank with a proper name... Mouse... well, you understand...
When the tarpaulin was torn off the huge monster, whispers flew through the group of testers. Even the most experienced and seasoned were speechless when they saw the picture that opened up. The head of a special testing squad at a strictly classified training ground near Berlin looked thoughtfully at the 189-ton combat vehicle. An elderly tankman who began his combat career in the early thirties, he drove the first heavy tanks of the newly proclaimed Third Reich around the training ground with amazement and awe, and watched with awe as the military thought of Germany’s tank geniuses matured and took on its own characteristics. “Troika”, “Four”, “Stugg-3”, then at the beginning of 1940, they seemed to him the apogee of development. With an undisguised laugh, he explained to his colleagues the features of captured tanks of the Western allies, which were taken in large numbers to a secret training ground. But the jokes ended when new Soviet tanks were delivered on platforms. Oh, how much effort was spent to revive them, and how contempt was replaced by bewilderment, and then admiration for Russian tank designers. Until recently, he and his colleagues wrote reports on the testing of new German tanks, which left a very controversial impression. But they hoped that the tanks would be brought to fruition, that modernized Stuggs and Fours would arrive to them, but at the test site there was a prototype of a super-heavy tank, and when they saw it, the head of the test squad and the chief engineer of the test site said in unison just one phrase: “Das ist.” polar fox!

At the end of 1942, one Austrian artist ordered the development and production of a breakthrough tank, with armor invulnerable to any enemy equipment... I will assume that the performance was accompanied by sputtering, wringing of hands and rolling of eyes, but no matter how it was, the German designers We hurried to master the budget and begin development. If you believe the adventure book of a German tank general, then it was planned to create a 175-ton tank with a 150-mm. cannon. I don’t consider the memoirs to be a source at all, but something tells me that Heinz is not lying here, if only because the Fuhrer had a great love for big and long guns.
On trials.

The queen gave birth that night to either a son or a daughter.
A vehicle entered the training ground without a gun. When the turret was built and delivered, it turned out that the tank had grown a little thicker to 188.9 tons, and instead of one gun, there were two, and more than one with a hint of the 150-mm coveted by the dictator. A total of two vehicles were assembled, and the second one, apparently, did not have a turret. Those. they created two hulls and one turret, not 3 ready-made tanks and not 10 samples, but 2 hulls and 1 turret. Judging by the fact that the vehicle did not go into battle, but was destroyed when the troops of the First Ukrainian Front of Marshal Ivan Konev approached, then most likely the chassis left much to be desired, and the vehicle simply could not even be dragged to a stationary position. If you believe Konev’s memoirs, then our engineers completely accidentally came across the wreckage of the Mouse, and before this meeting, they knew nothing about the project. No matter how it was, the tank did not go into battle, we got it as a trophy, and from the wreckage of one and a half copies the model that now stands in Kubinka was created.
This is how our troops found him. From the joy of the end of the fascist regime, the mouse's tower was torn off!

The wet dream of fascist elements and Germanphiles. Both categories prefer this picture to pros and women.


Let's move on to the model.
The box is large, like most tanks from the late period of the War. The price is appropriate.
Inside we find what has already become a tradition - a bag with two sprues of pleasant-looking light gray plastic.


And instructions.


Sprues.
№1.


№2.


Assembled model.








What can you tell from the model? It assembles with just a click without any problems. Gaps are eliminated using systematic adjustment. The tower is large and rotates 360 degrees. There is no body kit at all, and where would it come from? This is probably the only representative of the armored tank fleet that I will not disassemble before painting, with the exception of removing the turret, of course. The only question that remains is the lack of a bottle of soft pink paint in the kit for applying historical camouflage to the car!
I didn’t say anything about seams and flashing, because there are none, with the exception of the seam on the tracks, but it is visible only from the front and back, and is corrected quite easily.
The model is striking in its size and dimensions. It's really cool, much better than in the museum or in tank rides.
Thank you all for your attention.

Greetings, dear friends.
Today I got my hands on another new product from the Zvezda company - Jagdpanther.

Already the first battles in the Soviet Union showed the Germans that this war would not be a walk in the park. Instead of mass surrender and breaking rifles on tanks (a reference to the memoirs of the island’s prime minister), the encircled Soviet soldiers and commanders tried with all their might and means to escape from the cauldron, stubbornly going east to join their own. The artillerymen fought until the last shell, preferring to die under the tracks of fascist tanks over shameful captivity. The gun stopped firing only after the shells ran out or the crew died. But the most unpleasant surprise came in the form of new Soviet tanks: T-34 and KV. In the battle near Raseiniai, already on the second day of the war, the Germans experienced the blows of Soviet heavy tanks.
Despite the fact that the German arsenal had effective means of combating the new Soviet tanks, it required a mobile vehicle with greater armor compared to linear tanks and self-propelled guns and the beloved 88 mm of the German Soldaten. cannon. The artillery and tanks in service suffered catastrophic losses when meeting with the T-34 or KV-1 (I am keeping silent about the KV-2 due to the fact that their combat journey ended before it began - they were intended to break through defenses, not for tank duels). Yes, sub-caliber shells stopped the attacks of Soviet tanks, but the losses were also serious. German industry could not allow the rapid replenishment of combat units with armored vehicles; this clearly began to manifest itself by March 1942, when tanks were withdrawn from reconnaissance battalions and special units, and mostly outdated PZ-2s became command tanks. The concept of the new vehicle was the following: to knock out enemy tanks and remain invulnerable to them due to the range of its fire or phenomenal protection.
Jagdpanther in Kubinka.


The Panther was chosen as the basis for the self-propelled guns, because this tank was intended to replace the T-4 and become the basis of the German tank forces. As soon as “Panthers” began to enter the army en masse, work began on self-propelled guns. But if Soviet designers in their development of such machines brought to mind many units, then the German gloomy geniuses took the path of less resistance. Already near Kursk, the “panther” showed its excellent chassis qualities, when on the second day of the operation, almost 200 of these vehicles simply broke down due to breakdowns. But the self-propelled gun received the chassis unchanged, with all the diseases. One can understand the German designers - the front collapsed, and Soviet troops rushed to the Dnieper, crushing on their way all the defensive lines that German propaganda shouted so loudly about. We even had to stop work on “Panther 2”, with which the “Yagdpanther” was supposed to be unified.
In February 1944, the car went into production. "Jagdpanther" received a powerful 88 mm. a 60-shot cannon and a low silhouette, this is compared to other German tanks... The frontal armor plate had good angles of inclination, which, coupled with its thickness, made this vehicle a tough nut to crack, especially considering that the backbone of the Allied armored forces at that moment were T-34 with 76 mm. cannon, or Shermans and Churchills. Compared to the tiger family and its older brother, the Jagdpanther turned out to be more maneuverable and effective. And this vehicle would have been the best German tank destroyer, if not for the damned imperialists, who, with their flying fortresses, several times compared the plant producing these vehicles to the ground. Childhood diseases inherited from the “panther” were never completely healed. The chassis kept breaking down, turning the mechanics’ work into hell, thanks to the placement of the rollers. The transmission kept breaking down, forcing me to abandon a perfectly serviceable car on the road. A total of 392 such vehicles were produced.
The American has a damaged and abandoned "Yaga".

The combat use of this vehicle is mainly on the Western Front, where these vehicles achieved good results. They took part in the offensive operation in the Ardennes, and, according to some reports, in the offensive at Lake Balaton in Hungary. An approximate result of participation in the operations I mentioned is visible in the photo above. The Wehrmacht in 1945 was far from the same, and even against it stood experienced soldiers who had fought many thousands of kilometers. The Soviet guns of the T-34-85 tanks clicked on the German tanks without any problems, and the appearance of the IS-2 on the battlefield forced the German tank crews to look for more reliable cover. The main trump card of the American troops was their numerous and best aircraft in the world at that time. Where infantrymen with bazookas could not pass, hundreds of winged vehicles rushed by, destroying everything that came to hand. We can safely say that our grandfathers simply did not notice the participation of these vehicles in battle. Experts made certain conclusions, but ordinary soldiers did not appreciate this beast, just as they did not appreciate other examples of military equipment of Nazi Germany that stood out on paper and in the minds of shell-shocked Germanphiles. For example: at this moment in the USSR the development of a new heavy tank IS-6 was underway; work on it was curtailed only after our specialists became acquainted with the remains of the Mouse tank. It became clear that the IS-6 no longer corresponded to the times; other projects appeared in its place.
Let's move directly to the model.
The box is large, like a tiger, panther or IS-2. Inside, 2 high-quality sprues molded from gray plastic await us.
Once.


Two.


And also double-sided instructions.




The model does not raise any questions or complaints regarding assembly. Everything is of very high quality, without flash or sink marks.






If you wave your knife around like I do, the roof will look like the photo above. These are not cracks - this is how I removed the burrs. There are no gaps in the prefabricated cabin. It comes together with a bang, and then carefully adjusts, without the use of force. The gun is practically motionless, I tried to demonstrate the angle of deflection of the gun in the photo from the side. If the car will be driven to competitions without foam rubber, then it is recommended to put the entire structure on glue before painting - it will be better preserved when carried. There are no complaints or delight - this is a high-quality model that will be a good addition to the collection, just confirmation of the high quality that the Zvezda company has long achieved. The assembly itself does not cause any problems at all - the most difficult thing is removing burrs. A simple, high-quality model without frills, but also without jambs. I recommend taking at least one of these self-propelled guns for your collection.
Thank you for your attention.

Greetings, dear friends. Today I will tell you about another miracle tank of Hitler’s Germany, a self-propelled gun with the proper name Jagtiger in the “hundredth” scale from the Zvezda company.

Jagtiger in Aberdeen. This is the car shown on the box with the set.


Since my “favorite” artist is not mentioned in the history of the creation of this monster, I will not be sarcastic. But the absence of a corporal in the story of the creation of the machine does not mean that, unlike the rocket launcher, this example of the German menagerie turned out to be successful. In total, according to various sources, 77-79 cars were produced. One battalion took part in the offensive on Lake Balaton, where the swan song of the elite German tank forces took place. As one veteran participant in those battles who came to our school said (and the author is a 12-year-old schoolboy - everyone knows this!), “They wanted to punch us in the gut in Hungary, but it didn’t work out.” The remaining vehicles were used purely on the Western Front, where their crews earned easy kills by killing Shermans, Stuarts and other models of Allied tanks. At the same time, neither ours nor our allies noticed such vehicles on the battlefield. There were too few of them, and they suffered from the same childhood diseases as their ancestor, the royal tiger. The considerably fatter car ruined the already fragile chassis even more. The transmission was failing. Most of the cars became trophies of the Allied armies, abandoned on front-line roads due to breakdowns.
The Jagtiger's only trump cards were its phenomenal frontal armor projection and 128mm. weapon. But excellent performance characteristics on paper or in a game are not as excellent in real combat conditions, where it is not the testing ground ace driver who sits behind the levers. Massive vehicles broke down or were abandoned by the crew due to breakdowns. There was a severe shortage of spare parts. The Third Reich was living out its last months; tank factories were increasingly producing vehicles that were unsuitable for the war raging on the European continent. The battalions armed with miracle weapons broke down already on the march. Instead of effectively patching holes, columns of such vehicles stretched out on the march due to the poor quality of running data and became easy prey for the air forces of their opponents. By the beginning of 1945, the Tigers and Panthers had practically overcome their childhood illnesses, which hinted at the mass production of these particular vehicles, but the Germans again did something that should not have been done. The experience of the Soviet Union in the production of low-performance T-60 and T-70, which became the salvation of the country in the harsh years of retreats and blitzkriegs, was not taken seriously, therefore, the place of reliable T-4 or Stugg-3 on assembly lines was taken by royal tigers, rocket bombers and others obviously unfinished cars. For those who categorically disagree with me, I recommend that you familiarize yourself with the Mouse tank project and evaluate the costs and effect of such a project. Was something similar built in the USSR in 1941-1945? No. We went through this back to the Finnish one, where it became clear that the SMK and T-100 are, to put it mildly, archaic. The last echo of the era of steel battleships was the SU-100Y (Greek), but it was built before the war, and Soviet designers did not address this topic again. Use your common sense and at least admit to yourself that the Wehrmacht with its miracle tanks was doomed.

Now let's move on to the model, there is something to tell and something to think about.
Box.

Instructions.


Sprues. There are two of them.



Before starting the assembly, I would like to pay attention to the following:
1. The course machine gun must be installed last, otherwise it can be broken.
2. Install the gun after assembling the body.
3. It is better to attach the “logs” on which the “bathtub” lid is held to the lid, and only then connect the “bathtub” and the lid.
4. The base of the cut is quite fragile, be careful when removing the burrs; you can easily cut off a piece of the part if you use a sharp knife.
5. Carefully remove burrs on the edges of parts that will be visible on the surface of the model, otherwise the gaps will be even worse than on the Su-100; I still had one such gap at the rear of the car. I will putty a little before painting.
Photo of the assembled model.




Photo with a gap in the stern.


For comparison: with his older brother.
The exhaust pipe was destroyed in battle, over time I will finish it.


Front view.


What can you say about the model? Compared to Tiger 2, it doesn’t inspire. The build is not comparable to the Panther. But the model is worthwhile, and I don’t regret the 280 rubles I paid for it. The assembly is much more interesting and complex than a rocket launcher. The gun is mounted on a “hinge” (if you can call it that), and perfectly changes aiming angles, which I demonstrated in the photo above. When painting, the gun can be easily removed and painted separately. Here we have a clear crown of production of models of this kind ("weaving" when assembled without glue): the parts and fastenings are well thought out, the model really clicks together, there was no need to saw anything (sometimes you have to trim the pins with a knife).
Thank you all for your attention.

Greetings, dear readers.
On January 8, it was very cold in Moscow, the frost literally penetrated to the bones, all exposed parts of the body began to burn in a matter of seconds from sub-zero temperatures. But everyone who signed up two months before the event arrived almost without delay. There were no weaklings or girls among us, which is good news. Everyone who promised kept their word. Before starting the story, I would like to convey my warm greetings to the authorities of our beloved capital for the excellent public transport, in which, in thirty-degree frost, the temperature, judging by the ticker, is minus two, the tram depot can organize heat, but the bus depots cannot, but they have screwed up wi-fi! Modernization in sight!
Just a few words need to be said about the operation that we played out on the table in Meridian. After the victorious offensive of German and Italian troops under the leadership of General Rommel in 1941, British units retreated almost to the Egyptian pyramids. The main artery of the British Empire, the Suez Canal, was under threat of capture. The only center of resistance in the Libyan desert was the Tobruk fortress. It did not play any strategic role, however, it forced several German and Italian divisions to be drawn into its siege. Taking advantage of the stretched communications and the weakening of the German strike group, the British regrouped their troops, brought up reserves and on November 18, 1941, having complete superiority in the air and at sea, launched an unexpectedly strong counterattack. Within a few days, they managed to crush the German shock units, throwing them back, and launch a victorious offensive to relieve the blockade of the heroic garrison of Tobruk. The Germans and Italians fled, abandoning their equipment and heavy weapons, and British troops dispelled the myth that they were unable to beat the Germans. The success was simply deafening.
The main tank of this offensive by the British army was a tank with the proper name "Crusader", which became not only one of the most popular tanks of the British army, but also one of the most unsuccessful tanks of this army. The tank was built on a suspension designed by Christie. It turns out that not only the aggressive Stalin built high-speed tanks. Lord Marlborough, too, turns out to be an aggressor, produced mainline tanks for blitzkriegs in huge quantities! (For those unaware: a reference to one fugitive scout with his blitzkrieg tanks and flying jackals), but speed and maneuverability could not compensate for weak armor, the Crusader tank shared a pitiful fate with its cousin, the BT tank.
A Crusader with an armored crew passes a burning German T-4.


We are deploying troops.
British strike force against the Italian barrier. Due to the difficult terrain, the reconnaissance battalion on Dingo was immediately sent to the neighboring infantry division.


Outskirts of Tobruk.


General view of besieged Tobruk.


General view of the British group.


Before we begin to describe the fighting, we need to explain a little the basic provisions and rules of this game.
Suppressive fire was left to infantry companies only.
Ammunition was not taken into account.
It was possible to attach 2 artillery squads to one truck or put 2 infantry squads inside.
All anti-tank guns could fire overhead.
The indirect fire rule was radically changed. It was not the dice that were subtracted, but the accuracy. Accuracy when firing with a canopy was always considered “one”. This rule, it seems to us, is much closer to reality. At least this time, the fire of one or two howitzers did not stop the entire offensive. To stop such a mass of troops, 10-12 stands are needed, as happened in real combat conditions, when single howitzers could only cause some inconvenience to the advancing troops.
The "ambush" and "smoke screen" rules were not used. Also, the rule of shooting at a group of units was not used.
The desert restricted movement to 1 hex.
The characteristics of British tanks were changed: Matilda received “third” protection, and Crusader “second protection”, but “third speed”. Matilda I had defense "two".
The guns did not spend a turn deploying/collapsing. Trucks and guns could receive 2 different orders, i.e., the truck moved and towed the gun, and upon arriving at the place, the gun was unhooked in the same move. The next move could be fire. The order to change the sector has been removed. The firing sector was left only to the units on the defensive.
The British infantry was played by any British infantry base, except the headquarters.
Any bases played for the Italians, except for the regular German infantry and headquarters.
Italian tanks were represented by Pragues.
The New Zealand infantry was represented by original figures, and powerful British anti-tank guns - 76mm. Soviet regimental guns. Instead of one missing Bofors, they took a Soviet anti-aircraft gun.

First move.
German and Italian divisions ignore the order of the Austrian artist to continue the offensive on the Suez Canal, and march in deployed formation towards Tobruk.


The British begin to move, but the desert does not allow them to move quickly, and the roads are not able to accommodate such a number of troops. The Italian division did not falter under the attack of the British troops, but bravely and steadfastly held its positions.


Second move.
The offensive towards Tobruk continues. British tank forces, hiding behind their armor, are trying to attack German forces on the march.


At the front of the offensive, Sir Auchinleck's troops continue to methodically push forward the columns stuck in traffic jams, simultaneously destroying the defenses of the Italian division.
The weak armor of the Crusaders immediately made itself felt - in the photo, 2 tanks had already suffered losses from Italian anti-tank guns.


Third move.
German units came close to the walls of Torbuk.


With the fire of deployed guns, mortars and howitzers, British troops battered the Italian defenses. Light tanks rush into infantry positions and crush them with their tracks.


Fourth move.
Desperate battles between British infantry and German tanks broke out on the streets of Tobruk. The score is clearly not in favor of the islanders. The basis of the defense here is a battery of heavy anti-aircraft guns.


British troops finish off the defense of the Italian division. Desperate resistance was designed for quick support from tank divisions, but the German commanders abandoned the allies and stormed Tobruk.


General view of the map after the fourth move. Advancing British units are marked by a piece of base in the lower right corner. Tobruk is still very far away. The Germans are already preparing to meet the advancing Tommy. An anti-tank area is being hastily prepared on the central high-rises.


Fifth move.
The situation in Tobruk is becoming simply catastrophic. Only a miracle can save the fortress.


The British finally dealt with the Italian barrier and rushed along deserted roads, raising clouds of dust and dry sand. The armored division struggles to overcome hills and dunes. The assault on fortified positions (the Italians, according to the conditions of the scenario, were in the trenches) was costly for the 7th Panzer: one detachment of “crusaders” was lost and 2 infantry companies were seriously battered (in a few moves they would be merged into one).


General view of the end of turn 5.


Sixth move.
In Tobruk, the countdown of the last hours of the fortress's resistance began. There were no guns left, the tanks burned out in the furious attacks.




The British move in huge serpentine columns clad in steel armor. There is nowhere to rush, we need to think through the actions so that the German anti-tank guns do not burn the light British tanks. The command introduces the New Zealanders into battle (the green stands that make up the second column).


General view of the end of the course.


Seventh move.
Some of the tanks of the German divisions, badly battered during the assault on Tobruk, are heading to their anti-tank areas on the heights.
The British are moving towards.


Eighth move.
Tobruk is still holding on! But the main parts of the German troops had already left to the east.


The British are waiting for the concentration of their infantry. The last reserves appear on the battlefield - the Oasis group.


General view of the battlefield at the end of the eighth turn.


Ninth move.
There was only one detachment of the British army left in Tobruk.


The British are bringing up infantry to storm the heights, skirmishing with German howitzers. Only the advance detachment, consisting of the Matildas of the 1st Army Tank Brigade and the infantry of the 4th Indian Infantry Division, slowly storms a small village occupied by a German sapper battalion.


Tenth move.
Tobruk is still alive! The last soldiers of the empire, bleeding, cut off from their troops and doomed to death, still hold the ruins of once formidable forts. The Germans occupy the heights, but do not move forward, expecting an attack by British troops.


The British move in two columns with the goal of destroying the fortified areas piece by piece. Only light tanks ply along the road. The command has not yet fully decided where they will be used.


Eleventh move.
The heroic garrison of Tobruk fell in an unequal battle, causing heavy losses to the Germans. Rommel can be congratulated on his promotion to field marshal already in November 1941. The Germans are accumulating strength, but they are not moving forward. The British are bringing up infantry. Given the command heights occupied by the Germans over the terrain, any frontal attack is doomed to failure, and there is nowhere to maneuver.

Twelfth move.
The Oasis group is trying to take a detour through the hot sands.


Thirteenth move.
In the center, German howitzers destroyed one Matilda. On the coastline, the British infantry, overcoming the pesky sands, were practically prepared to attack the German defense, which consisted mainly of tanks.


Fourteenth move.
Fighting has broken out in the coastal sector; howitzers of both sides are firing withering fire.


Fifteenth move.
The "Oasis" group maneuvers through the desert, hoping to find a "window" and break through to the enemy's rear.
In the center there is a concentration of the mass of troops (the desert does not allow fast movement).
On the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, British troops rushed forward.


Sixteenth move.
In the coastal sector and in the center there is a positional meat grinder. Several detachments of British infantry were destroyed by withering fire. British commanders are moving their guns closer to the front line.


Seventeenth move.
Bloody positional battles continue. The guns of tanks and infantry guns were hot from the continuous fire.


Eighteenth move.
The British brought all their artillery into the battle and methodically knocked out enemy tanks. From the 15th Panzer Division of the Wehrmacht, 2 armored personnel carriers and one armored vehicle remained. The 21st Wehrmacht division has two tanks, but one of them is a T-4! The British also suffered losses; the 1st South African and 4th Indian Infantry Divisions were almost completely destroyed. The British still have a lot of tanks, but with each move there are fewer and fewer of them. In addition, such attacks and duels with German tanks are clearly not in favor of the islanders.


Nineteenth move.
The South Africans storm the high-rises with the support of all their artillery. Only the Matilda platoon remained in the 1st Tank Brigade. The 15th and 21st Panzer Divisions were reduced to battalion level. The Italian infantry is in no hurry to help the bleeding tankmen of the German divisions. Luckily for them, the sand holds back the advance of large masses of British troops. A regiment of New Zealanders was assigned to help the South Africans.


The Oasis group came under attack from enemy guns. The result is visible in the photo.


Twentieth move.
In the coastal sector, the Germans are conducting private counterattacks with a motorcycle battalion. The British are clearing high-rise buildings in the coastal sector - the first point of the offensive plan has been completed.


Twenty-first move.
The Oasis group supports the attack of the New Zealanders and Indians. The remnants of the 15th division rush to the aid of the Italian tankers.


In the coastal sector, the Germans are attacking more and more actively. Another regiment of New Zealanders was sent to help the remnants of the South Africans.


Twenty-second move.
Almost nothing remains of the beauty and pride of the 7th Tank; the last battalion of the 1st Brigade on the Matildas goes on the attack. He is supported by Oasis.
On the coastal flank, the last battalion of the 21st Panzer is trying to hold back the British advance with its attack.


Twenty-third move.
The second high-rise has been cleared! On the coastal flank, the Germans throw their last reserve sapper company into battle. At this moment, the commander of the central group of British troops was seriously wounded. The commander of the Oasis took his place. He brought all the anti-tank guns into a compact group on one hex, which the German artillerymen took advantage of on the next turn.


Twenty-fourth move.
On the Mediterranean coast there was nothing left of the defense of German troops in forward positions. The New Zealanders occupy commanding heights.


In the central sector of the front, the British reached the second German defensive line.




German howitzers destroyed all the artillery of the British group of troops. Further continuation of the game would lead to the methodical gnawing of defenses in desert conditions. Therefore, it was decided to stop the game, awarding the victory on points to the German side.
The following conclusions were drawn from this game:
1. The rules for artillery showed themselves to be excellent; in this game, the artillery of infantry divisions was actively used for the first time.
2. Light tanks are not capable of breaking through defense lines and must either be upgraded in terms of characteristics or not be used at all. A 1v1 game or a tournament is one thing, a multi-hour game in which it is interesting to maneuver and fight is another thing. Having knocked out all the tanks, the opponents began to slowly move and shoot a little - this reduced the game to a boring turn-based adventure game.
3. The non-historical actions of the German commanders, to put it mildly, ruined the whole essence of the game, therefore, in the next similar game, the actions of each division for the first 5-10 moves will be spelled out separately. And if history required holding a broad front without the right to retreat, then so be it. The experience of "Iskra" and "Crusader" showed the detrimental nature of the freedom of deployment and action of troops at their own discretion. Instead of a maneuver war with light tanks in the Libyan desert, it turned out to be a reconstruction of the events in Karelia in the winter of 1939-1940, without the condition of the approach of heavy artillery and new tank battalions to the attacking side.
The author expresses his deep gratitude to all participants and spectators, as well as to the Meridian Center for Culture and Culture for the premises provided.
Thank you for your attention.

Greetings, dear readers. Today I have for you a Sturmtiger from the Zvezda company.
In the tank museum in Kubinka.

According to tradition, first, a historical background.
During the Great Patriotic War, the Germans faced defense lines that turned out to be stronger than the famous Maginot Line with its uselessly expensive forts. To break through the defenses of the Soviet troops, the Germans always used artillery of various calibers, but over time it became clear that they needed a large sledgehammer that would not lag behind on the march. Therefore, work on new self-propelled guns did not stop. But unlike the Soviet Union, which brilliantly won the most terrible war in the history of mankind, the German gloomy geniuses decided to indulge in gigantomania. The experience of using the SMK tank in Finland, as well as the T-35 in the terrible summer of 1941, did not satisfy them. It was the Soviet barbarians who sat in such cars, but the Aryans will do better and more! I can already feel the approach of the first lump of dissatisfaction from Germanphiles playing computer toys, but I again have to disappoint them - the stormtiger is another fruit of wild imagination, under the influence of substances and excessive degrees. As the legend of the creation of this machine says, 380mm. a ship-borne (!) jet bomb launcher (!) mounted on a heavy tank chassis was approved by the Fuhrer himself on August 5, 1943. What those who did not dissuade the artist from such an undertaking were thinking, I don’t know. On August 5, it was already clear that the plan to defeat the Soviet army near Kursk was completely failed; on that day, our troops liberated the ancient Russian cities of Orel and Belgorod, in their honor, the first fireworks display in the history of the Great Patriotic War thundered in the night sky of Moscow. The collapse of the eastern front was only a matter of time, any sane Wehrmacht general understood this. In the southern sector of the Soviet-German front, German troops were retreating everywhere, tank reserves were exhausted, the Panther line was a frankly weak position in front of the victoriously advancing Soviet army. In this situation, it would be best to produce combat-tested tanks and self-propelled guns, and not experiment with installing a ship-borne bomb launcher on a tank chassis, but I’d better keep silent, otherwise the second brown lump from the Germans is already on the way.
In Munster.

During testing, the Austrian artist liked the sample (this machine is located in Kubinka near Moscow) so much that he ordered the immediate start of production of these machines. The Fuhrer did not specify which cities they would storm and which defense lines they would break through. It was planned to release 10 of these monsters per month. But the serial production of cars began to be openly sabotaged by senior general personnel. You see, it seemed to them that the artist had made a mistake, and this machine was, to put it mildly, unnecessary under the current conditions. Here I see a mistake by the SS and SD services, they missed separatism on the ground. Everyone who was dissatisfied should have been shot! How many lives of soldiers of the anti-Hitler coalition could be saved by this correct decision. Himler personally would have gained my sympathy if he could prove to his Fuhrer that such machines should be built at a rate of a thousand a month, not caring about ordinary tanks with a ridiculous 88 caliber, but 380 - wow! This is our way! It stinks here!
But let's go back to 1943.
Compared to the serial tiger, the assault tiger was somewhat heavier, only 10 tons. The tiger was already overweight, and the extra pounds hinted that leggings with the same weight, i.e. the car will sit heavily on the ground. Therefore, an improved base was needed. At this moment tigers of new series, with improved driving performance and a new engine, began to roll off the assembly line. The generals refused to give these vehicles for conversion into self-propelled guns, which were useless to any sane person. But under pressure from the artist, several trains with tigers were sent for conversion into an assault version. The first batch of 12 vehicles was completed at the end of September 1944. A total of 18 cars were produced, including a test model, which was greatly improved compared to the beginning of its existence and was in no way inferior to its brothers in misfortune.
American soldiers look at the dinosaur in surprise.

The vehicles had their first battle with a worthy opponent - they put an end to the pro-British uprising in Warsaw. Already there it became clear that the shooting accuracy left much to be desired, and the ship’s shells did not explode, hitting the soft walls of houses and barricades hastily put together from shit ... scrap materials. The shells were intended for firing at solid pillboxes and similar targets, which is why they did not explode. This ridiculous trifle was eliminated, but time, which in war is the most important resource, was wasted. All vehicles of this type participated in battles exclusively on the Western Front, where they did not play a special role, becoming only a spectacular trophy for the troops of the Western Allies. The Sturmtiger simply went unnoticed - it was a waste of time and resources.
There are a lot of colorful stories on the Internet about the performance characteristics of this example of the German menagerie, where the authors in bright colors compare the abilities of a slow bull in a china shop with the massive anti-tank guns of the Allies. So, they say, if they met, then the chances of survival for the calculations would be extremely small. By 1944, German tanks were quite vulnerable to private infantry Vanya with a bottle of flammable mixture in his hands. No one would try to hit such a monster head-on with an anti-tank gun - from the window of the house a greeting would fly in weighing several bundles of anti-tank grenades, and from the window of the first floor of a destroyed store an anti-tank gun of a guards regiment would fire at the rear or side of the car from a lethal distance. I’ll just keep silent about the mandatory presence of “Zveroboys” in assault groups, the shell of which easily turned any example of the Panzerwaffe into a pile of smoking scrap metal. This reality strongly contrasts with the wet narrative of Germanphiles who refuse to consider the under-weapons of the Third Reich not in a vacuum or not in a computer toy.
Let's move on to the model.
Box.


Inside we find 2 sprues made of high-quality gray plastic, carefully packaged in a transparent bag.




I was especially pleased that the body was cast as a separate part - there would be fewer visible cracks.
Photo of the assembled car.












The barrel of the "gun" moves well.


Despite the fact that this example of equipment in the AoT line looks strange, to say the least, I liked the model itself.
The quality of the castings, as always, is excellent. No flash or sink marks. The assembly is excellent, but unlike the panther, it is boring. There are few parts, and the assembly itself took me about 5 minutes. But I recommend everyone to take this model into their collection. It's worth it, believe me.
The author expresses gratitude to the Zvezda company for an excellent model.

Z.y. The 2017 catalog is out and we've all seen it. What can I say? Yes, I want the T-28, BA-64 and Su-76, and aviation should have been diluted with models from the end of the war. But for now, Zvezda thinks differently. We have a chance to see the Su-76 in the future, I will not comment on this phrase, I just ask you to take my word for it. Everything else is a big question. The IS-3 will undoubtedly be an excellent model, of which I am going to get several of them, I wouldn’t let down the machine gun on the turret. Mouse? This means that it was considered financially profitable. I hope that the mouse will be followed by the IS-4 and the crown of heavy tank building - the IS-7, these are the vehicles I would really like to put on the shelf. 35 has both, but not yet assembled. This is purely my opinion and view on the further development of the branch on a 100 scale.

Thank you for your attention.

Hi all! I apologize for the delay, but only today did we receive the photos needed for review. Therefore, let's start!
November 5, 2016 turned out to be surprisingly cold and snowy. Wrapping myself in a hood, powerless against the fierce wind in my face, I somehow made it to the place. I really liked that in addition to me, there were 13 of us who were fearless, not afraid of the violence of nature. I’ll answer the question right away - this time we have two new players - we are growing, so to speak.
The prize fund, as always, was kindly provided by the Zvezda company, for which we express our deepest gratitude to them.



Continuing the good tradition, this time we also did not refuse the cup with medals. Moreover, they decided that in winter the cup should have darker “winter” tones, and in spring bright and colorful “summer” tones.
The tables are set up, the drawing of lots will begin in a few minutes, but for now there is a photo of the empty hall.


Let's take our leave.






Several photos of painted armies brought by participants.








Separately, we note the excellent conversion of the T-26 light tank. The white on the tank's body is an attempt to cause dirt. My opinion is that dirt on gaming miniatures is unnecessary.


First moves.





Since there were 13 of us, 6 winners advanced to the next round, one more player who did not participate in the first game advanced to the second round automatically (at the next tournament, this player will be the winner of the winter tournament - note from the organizing committee), and one lucky winner added by points. Those. even the losing side fought to the last, trying with their last strength to take the winning points. For example, let me tell you that the author of these lines advanced to the next round, gaining 100 victory points, and the player who advanced to the next round from among the losers scored 125 victory points, still losing his game. The intensity of the battles was intense; not a single battle ended before the end of the last turn of the game.
A few more photos of the participants.






Let's watch the finale.


Several photos with the participants' equipment.








After the first tournament, there were questions about painting the army and mandatory requirements on this topic. I will always be against this rule, because it will only lead to a closure of the tournament system, which is already poor in players. It will be possible to talk about such things seriously after tournaments begin to gather up to a hundred players in several cities at the same time (i.e., without the option of the same people touring cities for the sake of extras). Now every player is valuable to us, but we don’t have enough time, energy and desire to paint.
Scoring in the final match.


The winner of the tournament is Mikhail Vikentyev.

The rest of the photos did not come out, but I promise that this is the last time this will come out - in the spring I will take the important issue of photographs completely upon myself, as has always been the case.
Share a photo for memory.
Mikhail Vikentyev took first place.
Second place - Daniil Kapustin.
Third place - Vladislav Mironenkov.


The author and participants express their deep gratitude to Zvezda LLC, the Meridian Central Clinical Culture Center, and personally to Eduard Viktorovich Chukashev.

P.S. Come to us at Meridian for our events, spend time not at the monitor, but at the table.

ZY In the near future I will try to do a review of the Sturmtiger, where at the end I will tell you my opinion about the catalog for 2017. Stop writing me a personal message about this - I’ll tell you everything, but later.

Greetings, dear readers. Today I have for you a review of the “Royal Tiger” in 100th scale from the Zvezda company. The model is very interesting and worthwhile, but first a little history. This time I would like to ask Germanphiles to scroll through the review immediately to the photo of the sprues, because the pain below the back can burn the seat of the chair, because this review will describe another heavy tank of a losing country, and not praise the German designers for the colossal characteristics of the tank, which, like the tank itself, remained formidable only on paper. The opinions of losers who wrote memoirs in the style of “how Hitler prevented me from winning the Second World War” will also not exist, because I cannot stand the cries about thousands of downed planes, hundreds of tanks destroyed in one battle and other fruits, undoubtedly, of wild imagination, and you seriously I do not advise you to approach this matter. To everyone else, I present an outstanding analysis, to the point, of a machine that in 1944 Germany was in fact no longer needed. Only a miracle or betrayal by the Western allies of the Soviet Union could save the thousand-year-old Third Reich. So, let's go.
Tiger in the museum in Kubinka, the trophy went to the Soviet army fully combat-ready with ammunition. Captured near Staszow in southern Poland.

There is a legend that Hitler set the task for his gunsmiths to create a new heavy tank equipped with a powerful 88 mm. gun Kw.K. 43 L/71, 71 caliber long, which showed excellent results in the fight against all types of tanks of the anti-Hitler coalition. It is difficult to say whether it is possible to take this legend seriously today, because after the war a sea of ​​various kinds of memoirs came out, which unanimously told the unprepared reader about how the possessed Fuhrer prevented the authors of these very memoirs from winning the Second World War. However, the appearance of this tank is not an accident. During war there is always an arms race, and the “Royal Tiger” is a clear confirmation of this. Knowing the industrial potential of their opponents, Hitler and his clique understood perfectly well that the answer to the Tigers would be given in the near future, and the new tank would be delivered to the troops en masse, and not in small batches. The Germans understood perfectly well that the developed Soviet school of tank building could prepare a project for a similar vehicle for their allies at their request. Therefore, one should not assume that the “Royal Tiger” is a foundation for the future only on the eastern front, unlike Germany, in the USA, if necessary, they could very easily and quickly put both the T-34-85 and the IS-2 on the assembly line , and their improved versions.
As always, in Germany they approached such a project, to put it mildly, without taking into account the current situation at the front and in the rear. The experimental vehicle left the plant in October 1943, when the fascist armies had already retreated across the Dnieper, and a hail of bombs from American and British flying fortresses began to fall on Germany from the west. At such moments, it would be better to focus on producing simple, cheap and reliable tanks, as they did in the USSR in the difficult years of 1941 and 1942. I already wrote in my review on that in the winter of 1942-43, Soviet designers abandoned the T-43, precisely because the introduction of a new machine would require extra costs and repurposing of production. Taking the new machine into service, while having still unsurpassed models of equipment in their troops, the German military, industrialists and the Fuhrer personally began to knock together the economic coffin of the Third Reich.
The same one, at the Cuban training ground, 1944.

The car turned out to be formidable, I will say more, the allies in the anti-Hitler coalition were never able to surpass this tank in terms of performance characteristics. The rifled 88-mm cannon had no equal, penetrating almost any target from impressive distances. I don’t want to comment on the next stream of nonsense from German memoirs on the topic of destroying heavy Soviet tanks from two kilometers with direct fire, this is just a wild fantasy of “aces” promoted by fascist propaganda, 90% of whose victories existed only on paper in Goebbels’ ministry and in their letters home. But the gun inspired respect. The second advantage of the tank was its phenomenal armor protection, coupled with sloped armor and high-strength German steel. But that’s where the advantages of the tank ended. Complex and expensive production, which included a huge amount of valuable additives and alloys, with which there were big problems in Germany, and the need for skilled workers did their job. One tank took an average of 15 days to assemble, and in total, since December 1943, no more than 489 tanks were produced. If we were talking about 1941, or even the summer of 1942, then a similar situation would have occurred, but in 1944 it was a drop in the ocean, and a capricious and clumsy drop. From Tiger No. 1, Tiger No. 2 inherited wide tracks, which had to be changed when loading and unloading onto railway platforms for transportation; the huge weight of the machine eliminated its use on terrain with wooden bridges and fords. From an operational point of view, the mobility of the vehicle was difficult to outpace the infantry division, which was armed with horse-drawn carts. We should not forget about the situation at the fronts during the period of massive use of these machines at the front. And this is 1944, the Western Allies landed in France, having thirty-fold air superiority over the Germans, their air attacks not only stopped the columns of equipment, they literally crushed them into powder, leaving only the burnt out skeletons of tanks, armored vehicles and cars on the road. Not having a large number of new modern tanks, the Allies actively used their aircraft to destroy the German menagerie, which they did an excellent job of.
On the Eastern Front, everything was even sadder for the Germans. Firstly, Soviet aviation seized air supremacy, having learned how to fight, forcing the vaunted aces of Goebbels’ propaganda to increasingly go beyond the clouds, not accepting battle with Stalin’s falcons, which were numerically and qualitatively superior to them. Secondly, the Soviet infantry learned very well how to burn new German tanks, and the separate tank regiments and brigades that were attached to each army, and sometimes to divisions, were an excellent help in this fight. The third component of the success of the Soviet army was armored vehicles. There were a lot of new models of tanks and self-propelled guns, but compared to the Germans there were a lot. By the summer of 1944, the backbone of the troops in potentially tank-hazardous areas consisted of the T-34-85, IS-2 and SU-152, whose shells easily penetrated enemy tanks of all types. And here we come to the most important thing: the tank was terribly slow to maneuver, and in 1944, the battles on the Soviet-German front left the positional phase. Soviet tanks simply bypassed pockets of resistance, leaving them to be destroyed by infantry. The new tank destroyer, superior to all world analogs, capable of winning any one-on-one duel, turned out to be simply useless. There was no longer talk of any tank ambushes, there was no need to break through the Soviet defense either, the German tank battalions were busy patching up holes and launching counterattacks.
The Allies rejoice at the addition of a modern tank to their tank forces.

The first mass use of the Royal Tigers occurred at the end of the summer of 1944 near the small town of Staszow in Poland. On August 12, 1944, a German tank battalion, armed with the latest tanks, encountered fierce resistance from Soviet troops. Lieutenant Alexander Petrovich Oskin in one battle on his T-34-85 burned three “Royal Tigers” at once. And the next day, August 13, Vasily Aleksandrovich Udalov, from an ambush on an IS-2 tank, destroyed three “royal tanks” at once with fire and maneuver, two by direct fire, and another by bypassing the enemy column and meeting it in another place. For this fight, Vasily Udalov became a Hero of the Soviet Union. It’s not just that I described in detail Udalov’s feat; this is a clear example for connoisseurs of performance characteristics and numbers who do not understand that in war this is all just an addition to combat operations, and nothing more. While the “Royal Tigers” were squirming in a forest clearing, while they were lining up in a column, a single Soviet heavy tank managed to take an advantageous position, moving around, camouflage itself, and open fire from a lethal distance. And if even Mouse were in the place of the Royal Tigers, it would also be doomed. This is in one notorious game, shells ricochet or do not penetrate the enemy from a distance of 10 steps, in real life, 122 mm. a shell from one of the best tank guns in the world, mounted on the IS-2, penetrated any target, not to mention reinforced concrete. Bunkers, for the destruction of which this gun was designed. A super gun and excellent armor could not compensate for the clumsiness of the new German tank. Both Oskin and Udalov hit the enemy from advantageous distances, not trying to engage in single combat with the new German tanks on an equal surface, like a table. They took with skill, not numbers.
I hope that my idea is clear, but for those who do not understand, I will explain. Instead of producing cheap and simple tanks, the Germans launched into series, taking over a production line previously used for other means, a tank that had no analogues. But the tank itself was not like the T-34 and KV-1 in 1941, when Soviet tankers often managed to break through enemy defenses using their conditionally invulnerable armor. Both the Soviet army and the armies of the Western allies already had an abundance of forces and means to fight the tank, which took 15 days to assemble and wasted on already scarce materials. For us, this was undoubtedly a royal gift, how many of our great-grandfathers would have died if the factories for the production of “Royal Tigers” had produced, say, T-4 or Stugg-3, it’s scary to think, but the German designers took a different path, for which they thanks a lot.
And now a review of the model.
Box.

The box is large, like a Tiger or Panther, so the price is also higher than a regular box.

There are two sprues, both of them are gray. The detail of the model immediately catches your eye. All the small details on the armor were done perfectly. There is no flash or sink marks. I apologize for the photos.




And the finished model.








What can you say about the assembly? This is just...fantastic! The model assembles with a click, requires virtually no cleaning of parts, fits perfectly and is assembled without cracks. Usually, when assembling tanks of a similar arrangement, you have to finalize the model, squeezing it a little in some places, disassembling and reassembling in others, removing pins in others and placing it on glue. But not here. In fact, on the first try, everything sat as it should. The tower is assembled from 12 parts, and it rotates perfectly around its axis, and the gun moves up and down. The model is very pleasant to hold in your hands, the tank looks very solid and proud. Next to it, all other models fade. Those who were not going to take it, take it at least for the sake of the collection. The model is really cool and worth putting on your shelf. This have not happened before.
Thank you for your attention, that’s all for today, I apologize once again for the blurry photos of the sprues.