Assembling Brett's Brawlers with James Brown Pioneering US armoured corps officer Major Sereno Elmer Brett leads the 326th Tank Battalion into battle alongside the tough infantry of the 1st Infantry Division. Learn more about Brett's Brawlers here...

1918 saw great changes in the warfare of the Western Front. Russia pulled out of the war, freeing thousands more German troops to push the Allies back huge distances. The Allied counteroffensives, with the new tanks, evolving tactics, and the arrival of the Americans, forced the Germans back towards their own borders and defeat. Learn more about the Great War here...

In this article, I'll demonstrate how to assemble the contents of the American Great War box set, Brett's Brawlers. First let's ensure the contents of our Brett's Brawlers box set are all present and correct. Brett's Brawlers contains the following: Rifle Company HQ and French Flame-thrower Section, two Rifle Platoons, Machine-gun Platoon, Light Tank Platoon, and a French Char d’Assault Platoon. We'll go through the assembly one unit at a time. If you have any problems or issues with the contents of your box set, please feel free to contact our Customer Service team at: [email protected]

The Rifle Company HQ & French Flame-thrower Section

The Rifle Company HQ a. 1x Standing officer figure. b. 1x Officer figure with pistol. c. 1x NCO pointing d. 1x Rifleman advancing e. 2x Standing Rifleman

Assembling The Company Command Pistol Team To assemble the Company Command Pistol team, simply arrange the one of the two officer figures, the pointing NCO figure and one Rifleman figure on one of the Small three-hole bases provided.

Assembling The 2iC Command Pistol Team To assemble the 2iC Command Pistol team, simply arrange the other officer figure and two Riflemen figures on one of the Small three-hole bases provided.

Assembling the 37mm mle 1916 Guns
a. 2x 37mm mle 1916 Gun trail. b. 2x 37mm mle 1916 Gun c. 2x Kneeling gunner	d. 2x Gun loader on right side e. 1x Gun loader on left side f. 1x Kneeling NCO figure

Step 1. Using base plugs to fill the spare holes. One team will need two holes filled, leaving holes for the gunner and kneeling NCO; the other will need three holes filled, just leaving one hole for the gunner.	Step 2. Position the gun trail over the gunner figure and glue in place. You might find it easier to paint the guns separately before assembly.

Step 3. Next, glue the 37mm mle 1916 gun onto the trail - the small lug under the gun fits into the round hole to ensure correct placement.	Step 4. Add the other crew figures. One gun team will have one loader figure and the kneeling NCO. The other team will have two loader figures.

The Flame-thrower Section a. 3x Flame-thrower operators b. 3x Riflemen advacing (left foot forward) c. 2x Riflemen advacing (right foot forward) d. 1x NCO gesturing with right hand. Each Flame-thrower team has a Flame-thrower operator, a Rifleman, and either a second Rifleman or the NCO figure, on a Medium four-hole base. Use a base plug to fill the fourth, unused hole.

Below: An example of an assembled Flame-thrower team with a flame-thrower operator, a rifleman and an NCO.

The Rifle Platoon (x2)

Note: Brett's Brawlers contains two identical Rifle Platoons; shown below are the assembly instructions for a single Rifle Platoon. You'll need to assemble both of these platoons to fulfil the compulsory requirements of a Rifle Company.

The Officers & NCOs a. 1x Officer figure with pistol. b. 1x NCO gesturing with right hand. c. 1x NCO pointing. d. 1x NCO kneeling and pointing.

Assembling The Command Pistol Team To assemble the Command Pistol team, simply arrange the Officer figure, one NCO Rifleman and one Rifleman figure on one of the Small three-hole bases provided in the box set.

The Riflemen

a. 2x Riflemen kneeling, throwing grenade. b. 2x Riflemen advancing quickly. c. 3x Riflemen advacing cautiously. d. 3x Riflemen advacing.

e. 3x Riflemen standing with bayonet extended. f. 3x Riflemen standing firing. g. 3x Riflemen kneeling firing.

Assembling The Rifle Squad An American Rifle Platoon consists of either one or two Rifle Half-Platoons (in Brett's Brawlers, both of the Rifle Platoons are a single Half-Platoon) each with an HQ Section containing the Command Pistol Team (already covered above), and two Rifle Squads. Each of these Rifle Squad contains two Rifle teams. The first Rifle team needs to contain one NCO figure and three Riflemen figures. The second team simply contains four Riflemen figures. Rifle teams use four-hole Medium bases.

Below: An example of an assembled Rifle team three riflemen and an NCO.

Assembling the MG teams
Each Rifle Squad also has a Machine-gun team with the two-man Chauchat LMG team (the prone gunner and loader figures; see the examples below) and one rifleman figure. The MG teams are modelled on Medium four-hole bases, using base plugs to fill the unused holes.
	The MG Teams a. 2x Prone MG gunner figures. b. 2x Prone MG loader figures. Tip: Use the base plugs to fill the figure holes on the base intended for use for the MG team in order to attach the prone MG gunner and loader figures directly to the base.

Assembling The VB (rifle grenade) Teams
The VB Teams a. 3x Sitting VB Rifle Grenade figure. b. 3x Kneeling VB Rifle Grenade figure. Each VB team consists of three VB figures and a Rifleman figure on a Medium four-hole base.

The Rifle Platoon Bases a. 1x Small three-hole base. b. 8x Medium four-hole bases. c. 1x Base plug sprue.

The Machine-gun Platoon

The Command Rifle Team a. 1x Officer advancing with pistol. b. 1x NCO Rifleman figure gesturing with right hand. c. 1x Advancing Rifleman figure. Assembling The Command Rifle Team To assemble the Command Pistol team, simply arrange the Officer figure, the NCO Rifleman and the Rifleman figure on one of the Small three-hole bases provided in the box set.

The HMG teams a. 4x HMG gunner figures b. 4x Kneeling HMG loader figures. c. 2x Kneeling NCO figures. d. 1x Standing Firing Rifleman figure. e. 1x Kneeling Firing Rifleman figure.

Assembling the HMG Teams Each of the Hotchkiss mle 1914 HMG teams includes the two-man HMG crew consisting of the seated gunner with attached machine-gun, and the kneeling loader as. Two teams will also include an NCO figure. The other two teams are made up of the same two-man HMG crew and a Rifleman figure. Tip: Use base plugs to fill the extra figure hole on the base, as each Hotchkiss HMG team consists of only three figures. If you base the the loader figure first, you can then place the machine-gun so that the ammunition belts line up. Or (as below) you may prefer to position some or all of your loaders so that, rather than feeding the belt into the gun, they are holding a fresh belt at the ready.

Below: An example of an assembled Hotchkiss HMG team.

The MG Platoon Bases a. 1x Small three-hole base. b. 4x Medium four-hole bases. c. 2x Base plug sprue.

The Light Tank Platoon

a. 2x FT-17 MG turrets. b. 2x FT-17 37mm cannon turrets. c. 4x Tail.

d. 4x Renault FT-17 hulls. e. 8x Tracks. f. 1x Turret hatch sprue.

Assembling the Renault FT-17
Step 1. Begin by attaching the tracks to the resin hull. Note: The two track pieces are symmetrical, so you don't have to worry about putting them on the wrong side. Just make sure the large wheel is at the front.	Step 2: Next attach the curved tail, which helped the FT-17 to cross trenches without getting stuck.

Below: Note the small indentation in the tail piece and the corresponding on the resin which help with correct placement.	Below: The correctly attached tail.

Step 3: Remove the turret hatches from the sprue using a pair of clippers, and trim any excess metal with a sharp hobby knife or a file. The two-piece hatch is for the rounded 37mm turret, while the other hatch piece fits the angled MG turret.	Below: Glue each hatch in place.

Below: Place the turret in the hull. Don't glue it in place, so it can rotate to face its target when shooting.	Below: A completed Renault FT-17 (37mm)

The Char d'Assault Platoon

a. 1x Resin Schneider CA. 1 hull. b. 2x Schneider CA. 1 tracks. c. 1x MG sprue.

Assembling the Schneider CA. 1
Step 1. Begin by attaching the tracks to the resin hull. Note: The two track pieces are symmetrical, so you don't have to worry about putting them on the wrong side. Just make sure the large wheel is at the front.	Below: The Scheider CA. 1 with tracks attached.

Step 3: Remove the side-mounted MGS from the sprue using a pair of clippers, and trim any excess metal with a sharp hobby knife or a file. Glue each MG in place in the ball-mount on either side of the vehicle.	Below: The completed Schneider CA. 1.

I hope you find this assembly guide useful when it comes time to assemble your own Brett's Brawlers for Great War. Till next time, happy modelling! ~ James.