1/72 Valiant WW2 British infantry
So a long while back I was scrambling to find a PIAT team for my 20mm British platoon. I settled on using some Italeri models which are pretty nice. The unfortunate bit was they were paratroop models. Now Bolt Action is pretty open to mixing and matching troop types. You could hand wave the entire thing and say they’re a few paratroops that folded into a Normandy group the first few days of the invasion. I was perfectly happy with that, but those minis sort of sparked my interest in working up a British paras force.
I went off and got a platoon of Italeri figs and got another British platoon painted and completed. They turned out nice and the box had quite a few different figures, however I still was missing a few weapon teams to round out my force. I started looking over some other minis to get and picked up on one from Valiant Miniatures.
They are pretty nice figures. There is a lot in the box, 4 complete sprues for a total of 68 figures. There is a nice selection of riflemen and figures with Sten guns, as well as PIAT and Vickers MMG troops. A nice bit is that some separate heads wearing berets are also included. While not 100% accurate with the uniform and kits, I was able to swap out some heads and paint them up to supplement my Italeri para troops. I also could now field some 3 and 2 inch mortars too for medium and light mortar teams, respectively.
As a bonus, I now had a PIAT team to whip up and throw into my other British infantry platoon painted as a proper army uniform team. I’m also thinking of hacking up one of the Vickers MMG to throw onto a Bren carrier. The downside is I now have a gaggle of odd Brit minis. Maybe I’ll find a use for them or hack up parts for other projects.
The Valiant minis are a stiff plastic which is easy to work with and uses regular plastic cement for assembly and basing. The figures are mostly one piece with a squarish base, so you’ll likely have to put them on bases of your own. They are detailed well enough. Some parts are a little blocky and the figures seem well proportioned even if some of the weapons are a little large. The facial features and hands are a tad cartoon looking, but well enough for 20mm figures.
They are somewhat large though compared to other figures, including being a bit over proportioned. I think a few figures don’t stand out too much on the tabletop, but you should be cautioned if trying to mix and match. Below is a comparison with a 20mm Plastic Soldier Co. figure on the left and you can see that the Valiant figure on the right is not only taller but also bulkier.
For wargaming they are suitable minis though and a great price with a decent variety in the box. Another nice point is that they are hard plastic which I’ve always found easier to work with in modifying and modeling. Overall if you’re on a budget, they are a good set to pick up for 20mm wargaming.
Geek Ken 