Tag: is-3

More Operation Unthinkable

One of the Clash of Steel Starter Sets have been on my wants list ever since I found out about them at the beginning of the year. I ordered Operation Unthinkable boxed set containing the British and German tanks.

I decided I would add to the game by ordering the other Operation Unthinkable set, which contains American and Soviet tanks.

In the box, as well as the rules, counters, and dice, are twenty one tanks. 

For the Americans you get

  • Two T28 tanks
  • Two M18 Hellcats
  • Three T29 heavy tanks

The Soviets have

  • Six T54-1 tanks
  • Three IS-3 heavy tanks
  • Five ISU-130 SPGs.

Here are the sprues from the box.

What I didn’t realise was that the T54-1 model can also be made up as a T44 or a T55 as the different turrets are included. This gives even more flexibility over just using them as T54-1 tanks.

I thought that these would make ideal models for gaming scenarios from the Hot War series of books by Harry Turtledove.

This is the Operation Unthinkable Workbench.

Late War Monsters

Well Late War Leviathans are going to be released by Battlefront.

When the Mid-War Monsters were released in 2011 I did get some of the TOG tanks, and also said in a blog post:

I do hope that we see future “monsters” for Flames of War, there are some nice concepts and ideas out there for both Early-War and Late-War

When the Mid-War Monsters were re-released eleven years later in 2022 I wrote something similar:

Hopefully they are popular enough, that we get to see more of them, maybe some Early-War Monsters and some Late-War Monsters as well.

Well here we are in 2024 and Battlefront have announced their Late War Leviathans.

We have seen the German Maus.

Panzerkampfwagen VIII Maus was a German World War II super-heavy tank completed in late 1944. It is the heaviest fully enclosed armored fighting vehicle ever built.

The Soviets have the IS3.

The IS-3 was a Soviet heavy tank developed in late 1944. Its semi-hemispherical cast turret (resembling that of an upturned soup bowl) became the hallmark of post-war Soviet tanks.

The US have the T28 Super Heavy Tank.

The T28 Super Heavy Tank was an American super-heavy tank/assault gun designed for the United States Army during World War II. It was originally designed to break through German defenses of the Siegfried Line and was later considered as a possible participant in the planned invasion of the Japanese mainland.

The British have the Tortoise.

The Tortoise heavy assault tank was a British heavy assault gun design developed during the Second World War, but never put into mass production. It was developed for the task of clearing heavily fortified areas such as the Siegfried Line and as a result favoured armour protection over mobility.

In addition there will be range of 1945+ models that can be used for alternate history games where the Second World War went beyond 1945. In the announcement video we have seen the Centurion Mk1 and US Pershing tanks.

These models will also be useful for gaming scenarios in the world of The Hot War series by Harry Turtledove as well as the Late War Leviathans background from Battlefront.