BMP-1 / BMP-2 Tank Expansion For TANKS The Modern Age

A closer look at the BMP-1 / BMP-2 tank expansion for "TANKS The Modern Age" from Galeforce 9.  This game offers a ww3 scenario, if you own the matching cards you could use your models from "Team Yankee" for this game.
Just like all other expansions for the game, this box contains an 1:100 kit and some cards for "TANKS The Modern Age". First a look at the kit which is included.

I do not want to repeat myself but once again this is a kit without any flaws. There are virtually no mouldlines and any possible ejectormarks will not be seen when this kit is built. As you may have foreseen it, there are no sinkholes or any flash.

The building instructions are kept simple but easy to understand. Depending on which version you want to build, a complete upper structure with matching turret will wander in the bitsbox (more on that later).

After a look at the plastic let us check out the cards. First we have the cards for the units:

The BMP 1 offers a low Attack of 3, with an Initiative of 5 it is "slower" than the BMP 2 which has an Initiative of 7. The scout ability is useful because the unit has no armour and only 3 hitpoints. Equipped with the AT-3 this unit costs only 12 points.
The BMP 2 has with its Rapid Fire ability 5 dice against unarmoured vehicles and helicopters, and if it is equipped with AT-5 missiles it is a threat to any unit on the battlefield. But this arnament is needed since its base attack is only 2. For 15 points (including the AT-5) you get a nice allrounder which is pretty fragile with only 3 hitpoints and 0 armour.

Next are the crewcards, 2 Soviet and an additional crewmember are included. The Soviet hero unit "Ivan Kasparov" offers some nice advantages for only 5 points. You will not only get an Initiative boost of 3, you get an extra hitpoint. Also you get the possibility to reroll an attack dice if you have a speed token. This comrade is not only useful in a BMP.

The Soviet "Komissar" offers the choice to drop an equipment or crew card if you draw some special critical hits. For the cost of two points this may be an interesting choice.

The "Defensive Driver", usable for all nations, offers for 4 points the chance to reroll one attack dice each time you attack.

Last but not least there are 2 equipment cars included. Each BMP gets its additional missile launcher for 2 points. This seems like a must have.

At the moment this are the only Soviet anti air units, that why they are very important if the enemy uses air units, especially since Soviet intelligence reported that a Bundeswehr platoon with air support has been detected.

Once again I recycled the bits which were left over after I built the BMP 2 from this kit. I found this template at Thingiverse and first I printed the hull. I had to use some sandpaper to make it fit.
See the 3D printed part below, printed at 195 C with 100% infill and 40mm printing and movement speed in 0.1 mm layers. It took about 2 hours to finish.

But the 3D printed tracks went pretty bad, after 3 successless attempts, I decided to use another method to get a pair of tracks for the BMP 1 hull,which I choosed to recycle. In this post you will find a video how I made the tracks for the tank.

And the result looks ok, see for yourself. With a layer of paint it probably will look better.

Maybe tonight I will give you a look at the Revell 1:100 helicopter kits I finished for the game.

By the way I have to correct myself, I thought that the "Team Yankee"/"TANKS The Modern Age" helicopter units are 1:144 scale. But I was absolutely wrong. Only the planes are made in this scale.

A comparison of the Battlefront and the Revell Hind and Cobra kits shows that the BF kit comes in 1:100 scale, just as the BF Cobra.

But you may see for yourself in the next weeks when I will take a closer look at the Battlefront and Revell Hind kits and the Battlefront Cobra kit, which has ridiculous large panel lines.