"Westwinds 'Berlin or Bust' range. Any good?" Topic

Hi Guys
I'm considering buying some of the Old Glory / Westwind productions 'Berlin or Bust' miniatures and vehicles.
Any comments from anyone out there on their quality.
I have mainly Artizan Miniatures and was wondering if they would look ok along side?
Cheers
Scott

I don't have any of their WW2 range but I like their Dark Ages figures. I even have a comparison photo of West Wind and Artizan figures here (scroll down a bit!)………

link

IMO, the earlier Berlin or Bust figures (pre-separate heads) are quite a bit smaller than the Artizan figures. On the other hand, I have a mixed unit of Artzan and newer Westwind SHS British troops in tropical uniform that look fine.

I have a couple of the OG Opel Blitzes that are very nice models. They're a little small next to the Artizans maybe; possibly I should put them on bases.

The figures and the vehicles are noticeably smaller as far as the original ones go. I can't comment on the newer ones.

Just finished building a Berlin or Bust Stummel. I put it next to my Warlord Hanomag to see if there was any difference. The BorB halftrack is just a little shorter overall than the Warlord model, but not nearly as noticable as the difference between a Warlord halftrack and a Tamiya 1/48 scale model.

I have the BorB dismounted panzer crew. They are a bit chunkier than my Artisan German Infantry.

When they came out, they weren't bad as there was very little else available. By today's standards, I would say they are subpar. Also more like 25mm than 28mm.

The Swappable Heads figures certainly mix well with Artizan and Warlord, and I've used a bunch of their Heads packs for conversions with those other figures too.

Just do a search Berlin or Bust on TMP and there are lots of discussions of this.
TMP link

I asked the same question myself last year and I have decided I can live with the figure difference as I can keep them in separate units and you won't really notice then. But the vehicles are just too wonky. I have decided to stick with true 1/56 scale afv's. The westwind stuff is actually 1/60 scale and really do not match well with other manufacturer's.

Despite the smaller "scale" I have used their guns and trucks since they are so cheap, but my WWII stuff spans the gamut from 1/48th through 1/56th to the West Wind range.

In particular, I have a pair of Solido Quad tractors for my West Wind 17pdr and all looks fine to me.

Similarly, I also have the Flak Vierling Quad 20mm AA Gun and Crew and think it looks great.

Of course, I am sure that WWII artillery vets would wonder at either the giant tractor or tiny guns ;-)

For trucks, I have the GMC 2 1/2 Ton 6x6 Truck with Open Back. It is fine, unless you have it cozy up to one of the Classic Armor Weapon Carriers, but it looks great in my convoy.

Last, I did buy one of the Churchills, but have decided it is a bit too small lumbering next to my Corgi Shermans and have decided it needs a new home.

With the Old Glory Army card, these are all great deals compared to most other manufacturers. Definitely worth checking out.

I gotta comment on the quality of the vehicle kits,
Their German Halftrack is all metal, in two halves that meet right down the center of the hood. It took a good bit of sanding and filing and grinding to get it to fit together tightly, and I still had to cover a large area on the hood and nose with greenstuff to make it look smooth. Lots of flash to remove. Experienced modelers only for that one.
I compared the BorB Sherman to the Warlord Plastic Sherman. The bodies of the tanks are almost exactly the same width, but the length and height of the BorB Sherman is slightly smaller. The tracks are metal, as is the turret on that kit and It went together with the usual filing on the resin body, not nearly as bad as the halftrack.
I also have the German MG42 teams, and they look right at home next to Artisan and Warlord figures. Maybe a different sculptor did the Panzer crews?