What is in There?
Axis and Allies: Easter Front 1941-1945 is a booster expansion pack. As a booster, players will need to first need to have the Axis and Allies starter set in order to play these pieces. The good thing is that 1941-1945 is actually the 7th set of boosters for the game and all of these randomized packs are worth collecting. There are no pointless units in the sets (and each one of these boosters has 5 random units inside), this makes every purchase well worth it. The only time that a booster becomes pointless is when you already have a ton of units.
What Can You Get?
One of the biggest problems with randomized boosters is that there are occasionally a few lame items in the pack -it really happens. The good news is that Eastern Front’s got a nice list of 60 units that are mostly pretty good to have. There are the occasional Infantry units, but for the most part, you are getting a huge range of tanks, artillery units, and combat vehicles. Granted that most of the tanks are rated under ‘Rare’, several pieces, like the T-70 1942 and the Valentine VI are under the uncommon group.
Also, there are a lot of pieces in this booster that are unique (or at least, not that common elsewhere). The Valentine VI mentioned above is one such unit, the same goes for the BA-64, the Flammenwerfer, the Staghound, the Veteran M13/40, and the MG Team.
All the 60 units available here are pre-painted, making them usable right out of the box. While you can touch them up with a bit of work on your own, those who cannot paint units will not be left out.
Speaking of paint jobs, the finish on these pieces is incredibly well done. Take the Churchhill IV, for example, it makes use of a single tone for the whole body, but the textures on the sides and the body of the tank are quite visible -making it look big and heavy. The King Tiger on the other hand, has an amazingly well painted camo pattern.
Infantry units on the other hand are nicely designed, from the skin tones to the color of their uniforms. They are all mounted on small disc-like stands, allowing for complex poses depicting motion and movement (though a few are just standing around). Not all the stands are plain and empty however, some show a little bit of terrain as well. The Finnish MG team is seen sprawled on a snowy bank while the Entrenched Anti-Tank Gun is on a floor of gravel with a few sandbags on the front.
Getting the Map
Aside from the booster pack, there is also a Map Guide for players. Aside from providing players with excellently well detailed artwork on maps (they are double sided too, giving you more locations to play with), the Map Guide also adds content in the form of special scenarios and customized rules that apply only to certain terrain. This is a great kit to get for anyone playing Axis and Allies as it adds a huge amount of content to the game (and yes, the maps are pretty well done).
Not For Beginners
The thing about expansion packs is that they are not designed to be bought by people starting out with the game and Eastern Front is no exception. So if you are new to Axis and Allies, we suggest beginning with the Starter sets instead (which come complete with the rule books and all). Those who are already long invested in the game will find that the Eastern Front’s 1941-1945 offerings are pretty expansive, and provide a whole host of interesting units to work and play with. Also, of all the pieces in the this game, this boost showcases some of the most incredible paint jobs we have seen -the StuG-III Ausf. G tank’s colors are so well done that even hobbyists may not want to paint it over.