We have covered 3D Breeds’ expressive WW2 3D print Kickstarters several times here and here. They have taken us from early war through Dday and the Bulge and recently completed an MW Kickstarter as well. After teasing it many months ago, March to Hell: Vietnam is almost here and I love the spell of resin in the morning!
Just like their previous offerings, Vietnam will launch on Kickstarter (with an early bird backer pledge) on Mar 3rd before the items later appear on 3D breed’s own online store.
The Models
We got sent the ‘Press Kit’ by 3D breed and I quickly fired up my Saturn 2 to print some out. The infantry come pre-supported (all printed with no fails) while the vehicles and guns you have to support yourself (lychee auto supports at 45 degrees was all they needed). The resin is Sirya Tech Navy Grey which is a great choice for miniatures as it isn’t brittle (important for helio-rotors).
I have altered the images to make the sharper and show detail but I think all would agree they have well-defined detail and some interesting poses. You get an Officer, radioman, and observer plus 12 riflemen in the main pledge. I also included the 2 gunners for the Huey model. I do like that the rifles are sturdy, I find in many 15mm prints they can be flimsy and snap.
No game of Vietnam is complete without the Huey and here is the March to Hell Offering. It’s a nice tabletop standard model, which I think balances detail with playability. The 2 gunners are glued in (if you want) although you could leave them out for a medic helio. There is no hole for a flight stand but all you need to do is glue on a magnet and you are good.
Some people asked if the rotor sag is by design and I am honestly not sure. Heli rotors do sag when at rest but these were printed to be flat. The issue is that it’s long and thin so sagging naturally occurs. I have heard that printing vertically can help this.
The Kickstarter comes with NVA Hq, and rifleman, an AA gun (and crew) plus a BTR50. Like their US counterparts, they all printed great with the premade supports and the AA gun came out great.
I should point out that all March to Hell infantry comes with no bases (like their previous campaigns). This means that you do need to glue them directly to your base or, as i do, place them into a layer of pumice which then dries and sticks them down. A bit more fiddly however you don’t end up with the issue of the circle bases showing.
3D Breed has a certain style to their models and the easiest way to say it is that they are a bit ‘chunky’. This means they don’t mix that well with other ranges. I found that when placed in an army of their own models they look great and the thickness gives small parts strength and excellent detail that is easy to paint. However, some don’t like this look, but adjusting the x and y axis to 85% for prints seems to sort it.
I should also point out that while we focus on 15mm everything comes in 28mm as well.
Below are some painted examples done for 3D Breeds advertising (Sorry don’t know the artist’s name but they are excellent!).
The Kickstarter
The Nam Kickstarter will launch on 3rd March 2023. The pledge will be 45 Euros but a discount of 40 Euros if you get in as an early pledge. Here is what you get
For 45 Euros that is already a lot of stuff and forms the basis of a US and NVA army. However, the stretch goals are immense. I should also point out that thus far March to Hell has regularly met all of its stretch goals, sometimes even having to add more. 3D Breed also has a habit of dropping extra models for free as well (eg SAS in their MW Kickstarter).
If all stretch goals are unlocked then this will be truly immense value for money with almost everything you could ask for in a US or NVA army. If I was being picky I would raise an eyebrow that the Huey Heavy Hog is missing and seems a simple change adding wing weapons sponsons to the existing model and perhaps some civilians would be useful for many scenarios. *update – both have been added as stretch goals since this article.
The South Vietnamese forces are not on the list but 3D Breed has informed me that they will be an exclusive release for their website after the Kickstarter. You can only get so much into one Kickstarter. While I haven’t heard anything, some ANZAC forces would also be super cool!
Wrapping up
For me, this Kickstarter is a no-brainer to back. While I have the core set in the ‘press pack’, I will be backing day 1 for the stretch goals. With this, I can do all sorts of ‘Nam’ games.
While the infantry has their own style they are super detailed, have a great range of poses (with more to follow in stretch goals), and have some high-quality vehicles. It really is a great package and at 45 Euros is amazing value.
Whoo! Looking like an excellent Kickstarter, I will definitely be backing this one. I have purchased some of their WWII infantry which look great and are easy to print Thanks for the write-up.
Great stuff MtH 3D breed offers. Day 1 for me!! Just in time for our Vietnam campaign.
One Question: no buildings this time?
Nothing mentioned but they often drop surprises during the campaign so you never know…
Those Infantry look like they got to much Hamburgers and some Steroids for their arms. Unmodified not my taste….
The Idea of the hanging rotors look nice, even if the model itself isn’t as clean as the actual plastic models from BF or similar.