Well, healing continues amongst les invalides here on the island, and so I pulled out some of the armour I bought over the summer for our Isola Pisily campaign with a view to prioritize for painting. I was very impressed when I went through the Blitzkrieg models and will try to show a few quick pictures and details of the models I purchased. None of these models are assembled or have had any cleaning done – they are just as they are out of the box.
Let’s start with the Panzer III. It is a great model, and only will require the gun barrel and hatches to be glued on. This is in comparison to the Warlord/Italeri kit (see pic). I understand that modelling is a hobby, but in terms of getting a detailed, good looking vehicle on the table, these resin models are amazing.
The Panzer IV is likewise an excellent casting. The detail on the upper hall is spectacular and came out really well. The barrel will need some sanding to fit, but this model is otherwise outstanding. This is probably my second favourite of the bunch (really close with the PzIII but I think this edges it out to third).
The Tiger is beefy but well done. Unlike some other models it has some lights to glue in. This one of the few models which will need a bit of work to sand down the turret base to fit into the body. It fits, but too tightly. Here is a comparison with my Warlord plastic Tiger. They look very similar but the resin tank will take very little time to assemble and has nearly the same detail and will be more robust. It is a small thing, but I prefer the weight of the resin Tiger – this tank should feel heavy!
Shifting away from tanks, the SDKFZ 250/9 is cast in a slightly different coloured resin than the rest of my order. It seems to be a bit more brittle, but the details are sharper. The turret traverses easily.
The Steyr Radio Truck is really nice. The details are good, even in the interior. It is in 3 resin pieces, plus lights, a grille, a driver and HQ radio operator. There are a lot fewer pieces compared to the Warlord resin Opel which is a bonus. I am intending to use this truck as scenery or an objective, so no driver needed, but the radio op will go in. The roof I think, will be left separate but placed on while in use.
Blitzkrieg Steyr vs Warlord Opel: the Warlord has many many more pieces to glue to your fingers
An Allied vehicle for a change – a Staghound Mk II. It is a nice model, but I think it is actually a Mk I based on the armament. It comes with an extra gun and some hatches, as well as an extra pintle mounted MG. That MG is a resin 3D print and is a little disappointing in detail. The wheels are crisp, but as you can see in the last picture are 3D printed as well. No complaints from me though, they look great! I just think it’s interesting to see the mix of resin and 3D printing in models and I suspect we’ll see that more.
A nice model 
Now for the Italian equipment. Let’s start with an L6 tank. This thing is tiny. Only the gun barrel and a hatch to attach. The details are quite nice.
Moving up in size, or actually, maybe not. This tiny AFV is a Renault R35. These were used by the Italians in Sicily and mine will be painted without markings so I can also use it in Normandy under German control. This is my favourite of the models I have. It is a clean, crisp casting and no work is needed. The gun is so short it was cast as part of the turret!
Now for more parts! The Autoblinda 41 (or 43). This model comes with turret (and corresponding gun barrel and hatches) for both AB 41 and 43 variants, which is great as it increases flexibility on the table top. Apart from the turret/barrels, hatches are separate, as are the wheels. The turrets are a little tight on this model (both of them) but should need little work to get them ready for painting. The details on this model are great, but to be honest, the printed wheels on the Staghound have more detail. For my skill I doubt there would be much difference, but it may matter to some.
Perhaps a little less well-known, the Semovente 90/53 is a strange vehicle. A very good gun mounted on a tank chassis but with the breech off the back end, so the crew are exposed, which strikes me as awkward. I picked up some Perry crew for this gun so I think this will look good on the table regardless. The model is in 3 main pieces with some added bits for the gun itself in metal. The casting on this one is the weakest of the lot with very soft details on the chassis, so some care will need to be taken while priming and painting so details aren’t lost. That said, it’s not terrible and is in the running with some high quality competition.
Dry fit together. A neat looking vehicle 
The parts 
Some softer details here 
The details, while a little less crisp than the others I bought are still good.
Last and not least is the carro M13/40. This is a nice model, with good details overall. The gun barrels will need some work to fit into their housings on the turret and hull, but nothing extreme. It’ll likely see a fair bit of use on the tabletop.
Overall, I am very pleased with these models. There were no miscast issues with warping and every piece is very clean and will need minimal work if any prior to assembly. This is unlike some of the Warlord resin which tended to be in more pieces and have fit or alignment or warping issues (see earlier review here and here). As these models get painted up you should see them as we populate our Isola Pisily campaign (Operation Leopard) posts, which will hopefully start to appear in the coming weeks.
I highly recommend you check out Blitzkrieg models!