Unboxing: Band of Brothers (Bolt Action 2 Starter Set)

Quite some time ago, I bought myself a copy of “Band of Brothers,” the new starter set for Bolt Action Two. For the most part, I am very happy with the contents of this boxed set. Today, in celebration of the long weekend (Thanksgiving in Canada), I provide my readers with an unboxing of this hot new product by Warlord Games and Osprey Games.

Opening the Box

Upon opening the box, I came across some printed materials and dice.

These dice were a disappointment to me. I was expecting Grey Order dice (like in the ads). Instead, I got Blue! I don’t think I will ever use these. Come on… No opponent will be intimidated by Blue dice!!!

Now to the good stuff. Behold, a full version of the rulebook is included with this box set. It is the mini rulebook for the game, but it appears to have all the content of its bigger brother.

It also comes with Introductory Quick Start Rules.

The Sprues

When I removed the top contents, I was greeted with plenty of sprues. These are great and I can’t wait to build them. Now I will have three separate armies for Bolt Action (America, British and German)!  😀

The first Sprue for the Sd.Kfz 251/10. A half-track with a Light Anti-Tank Gun.

Second Sprue for the Sd.Kfz 251/10.

Third Sprue for the Sd.Kfz 251/10.

The German Soldier Sprue in Band of Brothers. There are two of these in the box. I wished to see a separate special weapons sprue in this box but can live with the options I was given.

If you want to see some of these figures built, I have that in my post “Working on Bolt Action Grenadiers.” Come give it a look!
The New American Paratrooper Sprue. There are four of these in the box. Like with the Germans, I was hoping for a sprue of American special weapons because I wanted to make a Bazooka Team with this boxed set. I will either have to borrow bits from a friend or go without.

Terrain and Tokens 

Pin Markers. I love these things. I think they will be an auto-buy for me if I see them at my local retailer or at a convention. They seem very slick.

Like the dice, this Sprue was a bit of a disappointment for me. I was hoping for the Ruined Farmhouse, instead, I got the Wrecked House. The original ads were both pictured with and stated that you got the Ruined Farmhouse with this boxed set. Because I follow Warlord Games, I knew ahead of time that they ran out of Ruined Farmhouses and were filling the void with Wrecked Houses. It doesn’t change the fact that I was hoping for the Farmhouse.

I now have a review of this terrain piece online.

Even the insert in the box states that it comes with the Ruined Farmhouse. The launch was so successful that they ran out and started substituting in the other building, but they didn’t bother changing what was printed in the Quick start rules to reflect this change. Also, look at those dice pictured. Way better than what I received. In the picture, they are grey and green. Mine are blue and a different shade of green. The green ones I can live with, but I don’t ever see myself ever using the blue dice outside of this starter set. What I really wanted was the grey dice pictured above (but I would have settled for Black dice too).

Here are the new blast templates and tokens. It is kind of neat that the template is attached as one piece.

A shot of what is on the tokens Sprue.

Wrapping it up…

So the next time that you see this box in a store, you now know what it contains. Yes, it contains minis.   😉

Overall, I am very satisfied with this product. There is really a good amount of stuff in there and it is another way to get the rule book (albeit a smaller copy). There were two disappointments in my box that could be considered minor in the grand scheme of things. Overall, it was a positive experience to open this box.

If you belong to my local gaming scene and want to trade something for blue order dice, let me know. I will likely use my British dice for my Germans before I use blue ones.

Until next time, Happy Gaming Everyone!!!