Hey everyone, Beardie here! We're releasing a sizable update this week, 6.2.
This update brings a lot of remodels and a couple new items. A lot of the focus was Greece, the classes have been reworked and many of the remodels are Greek Rifles.
For new weapons, we have the Mk VII* 2-inch Mortar for UK and the MP-41(R) for Germany. The latter is a conversion of the PPSh to 9mm that takes MP-40 mags.
We're also hoping to do something big....
Wait for it....
Vehicles.
Yep! We're finally revisiting the prospect of vehicles. Specifically, we are currently hoping to add utility vehicles such as the Willys MB and Kubelwagen. We also plan to be careful to implement vehicles in such a way that it adds to the infantry-first experience of CtB rather than takes away.
I think it could be something that could revive interest in CtB, giving a fresh experience and potentially even bringing new players to the community.
Years ago I made a bit of progress in the area of utility vehicles, but it was ultimately dropped because that was a stressful year and I realized how big of a task vehicles really is. But now we hope to revisit it, so we're releasing a new kit pack in 6.2 to fund this goal.
Vehicles will definitely be a whole new aspect to maintain, but with the backing of the community I'm sure it can be handled. It's been a while since Call to Battle has really moved into new territory, it's about time!
The pack is going to be called "Downed Pilots". Why Pilots? Well, years ago I worked on this pack with the very intention of funding vehicles, but ultimately vehicles were shelved(until now!). I can't remember exactly why I chose pilots(again, years ago!), it's possible because it's somewhat vehicle related xD.
Without further ado, here's the first kit in the pack, the French Pilot:
The gun is the "Union Pistol". It's got a 35 round "horseshoe mag" and is full auto with a lower fire rate of 400 RPM. I modeled the uniform and the union pistol.(Although Connor made some edits to match his changes to the Ruby Pistol)
Fun fact: Some of you may be surprised to find out that I still make models too! This is because when I was working from the shadows, others were forced to take credit for what I did. For example, I did about half of all the models for the French update.
I also make over 90% of all animations, including for guns that I didn't model.(Although to be fair, there isn't an easy way for others to make animations)
Next up, we have the U.S. Pilot:
This one has the Full auto "Swartz" M1911 which also has a handgrip and stock. This converted weapon was actually trialed by the U.S. army in 1940.
I modeled the Swartz and the uniform, except the cap which was done by Connor. (I originally had a different cap for it, but ultimately we went with Connors as we both liked it more!)
Next is the Japanese Pilot:
This kit comes with the very unique Hino Komuro M1908 Pistol! This pistol holds 15 rounds. What makes it so special is that instead of a slide that blows backwards, the barrel itself blows forward to re-cock the gun! In fact, after reloading you need to manually pull the barrel forward to re-cock it.
These excellent models were made by AngryLoyer! (Hino Komuro animations by me)
Finally, we have the Italian Pilot:
The Italian Pilot comes with the Frommer Stop Auto, a full-auto conversion of a Hungarian pistol. The full-auto conversion was first designed as a side-by-side double machine gun much like the Villar Perosa. (If we ever add Hungary, we'll likely add a Hungarian Pilot to this pack that uses the Frommer Stop Auto, and add another pistol for Italy)
The unique almost sci-fi uniform that the Italian pilot has was often used in the African front! Connor opted for a snow scene to showcase it, because most people think of snow when they see a white uniform.
Both of these are modeled by me. :)
All of these awesome screenshots were made by Connor! The pack is in the store now, and the update should be released within the next 24 hours:
https://ctb2.com/product/1151
Hopefully this is a success and we'll move forward with finishing up vehicles. Thank you all for being a part of the CtB community!
P.S. Some of you may remember years ago when I was hoping to do vehicles, there was an advertisement for vehicles. These models weren't made by any of us, and we decided they don't really fit the style of CtB. If vehicle development moves forward, the final version will be quite different than what was advertised years ago.
