Sometimes, you find yourself in the place where the urge strikes to paint tiny little anteaters trapped in a perpetual cycle of conflict mounted in remarkably whimsical tanks.

Thanks to two new kits from Wargames Atlantic, you can now do this in plastic.

Disclosure: These kits were provided for review by Wargames Atlantic, and the links are affiliate links that help support Goonhammer's content.

What the Quar Is a Tractor?

“Tractor” is a term in the Quar setting that covers a remarkably diverse range of vehicles, all of which are, well…tracked. This is, to be frank, a more rational way of naming them than how we got the word “tank”, so I can’t really fault the Quar here. The size of these vehicles range from adorable little one-quar tankettes that are little more than a metal barrel and a machine gun on tracks, to some truly massive vehicles that are as much portable lodgings as they are combat vehicles.

In this particular review, we’re going to cover the two kits that are, in essence, something approaching a standard medium-tractor, the kind you would expect to find in many armies fighting their way across Alwyd. In this case, the venerable and rugged Chyweethl for the Coftyran faction, and the armored Ailthean for the Crusaders, both now available in plastic. We both received both kits, so we’ll be able to take you through our individual impressions.

The Chyweethl

Eric’s Take

I don’t actually play the Coftyrans, hidebound royalists that they are, but honestly, the Chyweethl could almost get me there. I chose to assemble mine in a more “infantry support” variant armed with a heavy machine gun for one reason: I think it looks neat, and that’s my motivation for doing things in Quar. Also, a local Coftyran player has the cannon version, so if for some reason if one of us feels the need for variety, we’ve already got it.

The assembly process was easy, and readily accomplished just by eyeballing the picture on the back of the box and doing a little bit of dry fitting before committing. Like most Wargames Atlantic kits, it comes with an embarrassment of bits, in this case a ton of options for stowage. I’m a man who likes a clean tractor – after all, I picture the Chyweethl advancing alongside infantry, chattering away with its machine gun and taking fire in return, so stowage was strictly limited to what could be hidden behind the driver’s armored compartment. In my case, an extra gas can, a few bottles of wine, and a pair of boots placed near the engine vent in hopes of dry feet the next time the tractor stops for a brief break for tea, mothcakes, and soul-crushing difference to an uncaring ruling elite.

A blue Chyweethl tractor

A royalist Chyweethl tractor advances through Frontgardenia. Credit: Variance Hammer Eric

This abundance of stowage can make this (and the Ailthean) kit go farther as well, if you’re also thinking of acquiring the excellent 3d printed resin tractors also available. Bits from these two kits ended up decorating the hulls of several tanks.

It really was a lovely kit, and if I ever start a royalist force, I could easily see myself getting carried away with these. There’s a perfectly Quarish feeling of an apparatus to them that I find immensely charming.

Matt’s Take

I kept my tractors super simple, as I really like the exaggerated cartoon silhouettes they have without stowage on. The Chyweethl is super low to the ground and keeping it sleek makes it more menacing to me, as befits a Royalist faction. The detail on the kit is extremely well done, with each rivet sticking out enough to make it super easy to highlight and shade around but not so prominent that it looks silly.

Credit: Matt Jett

Because there’s not a lot of room for freehand, particularly at my skill level of painting, I put a steel metallic anywhere I thought it would look cool to break up the blue hull armor. I went for some chipping around the edges of the tracks, but it just ended up looking a bit sloppy and it’s something I’d like to revisit in the future.

The Ailthean

Eric’s Take

Coming from the Chyweethl, the Ailthean is honestly a bit more daunting. I ended up breaking out tweezers to help fit the little ladder handholds to get the crew up, and there is a right way to put the tracks onto the chassis, but if you’re using a more forgiving glue like a gel superglue or plastic glue, it is perfectly possible to put them on upside down and still get a decent fit.

Fortunately, mine were able to be separated and righted with a bit of pressure and a sculpting tool pry-bar.

I also had a bit of an issue with the way the turret mounts to the rest of the tractor – the shaft that connects the two seemed a little short, and the comically (and charmingly) large turret felt less like it was attached and more like it was perched. This too could have been solved with glue, but that seemed to defeat the purpose of having a tractor whose turret can move. Fortunately, it was also almost perfectly the size of some magnets, and the process of clipping, filing and gluing to magnetize the turret and hull together was fairly trivial.

This also has the benefit of giving us the highly experimental Crusade Periscope Ailthean variant.

Magnetized Ailthean tractor with perhaps slightly too many magnets. Credit: Eric Lofgren

The Ailthean kit comes with a similarly large volume of extra stowage bits, and very nicely they’re distinct from those in the Chyweethl, which will make both kits go yet further. In my case, we’ve got a knapsack placed above the engine compartment to keep everything toasty, and a chinrest nee bedroll for the commander, who is otherwise at high risk for an unnecessary occupational injury.

Which I think best exemplifies the feeling these kits bring out in me. For historical tanks, I put on stowage thinking about what the crew would need, what they might be putting on for an extra layer of protection, etc. For Quar? He might hurt his little chin.

It’s a feeling I love, especially in this day and age.

Size Comparison

As I actually play the Crusaders, the plastic Ailthean tractor joins my resin Crusader Baeliog, an absolute unit of a tractor, and the sleek resin Toulmore Twaenhyr, which is currently nicknamed the Fragglepanther in my local group.

Size comparison between the various Crusader-aligned tractors. Credit: Eric Lofgren

The Ailthean fits very comfortably in the middle of those two, without looking out of place with either one, and does come with considerable more visual heft as compared to the Chyweethl.

Matt’s Take

Daunting is a good word for the experience of putting together the Alithean, especially in contrast to the Chyweethl. You’ve really gotta pay attention to what you’re doing and especially pay attention to part numbers, or you’ll end up putting things on backwards or upside down. I had an easier time with the ladders and handles than Eric did, but I ended up with some pretty brutal gaps where the top of the hull and gun mount areas met, and for the life of me can’t figure out how that happened given I sanded every connection point within an inch of their lives.

Credit: Matt Jett

Unlike Eric, I didn’t magnetize the turret-to-track connection; it’s way too fun to grab the back of the hull and spin it on the shaft like a fidget spinner. It’s not so loose that it’ll flop around in play, so facing should be pretty easy to keep track of without any help.

The Alithean was my favorite of the two to paint by far, just because the giant sides of the turret make it a great canvas to go nuts. I wasn’t quite confident enough to try a camo paint job, but I did my first freehand ever on the side of the turret and I’m really proud of it, as simple as it is. Someone with a lot of experience or boldness could really go nuts on it. I also painted the reinforced armor over the viewports to look like bolted on wood. It just felt more whimsical that way. I tried the chipping thing around the gun and, again, it just kinda looks bad. I’m leaving it in the pictures as a cautionary tale, I implore you to watch some Youtube videos and figure out a better technique than I used.

Final Thoughts

Eric

To me, the mark of a truly great kit is, if I'm carrying it around the house, will I make little engine and cannon noises with it? For me, both of these kits absolutely meet that threshold. Like most of the Quar kits, there's a charm to the tractors that makes me want to paint them and put them on the table. To use the stowage to tell visual stories as well as just represent the reality of life as a tank crew. Which is precisely the type of feeling that sees me owning three tractors for my Crusaders despite the 28mm game being ostensibly platoon-scale.

Quar-tanks. Credit: Mugginns

The one corner that I regret having cut is the lack of instructions - Quar has proved a remarkably compelling game in our area for new players, as an entry point from Games Workshop games, etc., and there's just enough tricky bits to present a potential hurdle. But the kits themselves are great, and the mass of stowage options mean multiple tractors won't feel same-y, and you'll have plenty left over for resin tractors, basing vignettes, etc.

Matt

These kits were a joy to work with, and while I didn’t have any issues putting them together, the fact that the “instructions” as they are are just an exploded parts diagram makes me hesitant to give them to someone younger or less experienced in modeling. It’s not super hard to figure out how they go together, but there’s enough room for error that things could go sideways, especially if someone is used to super engineered or push-fit kits like a lot of Games Workshop or Gundam models.

I kept the turrets open and used the driver models on both tractors because, honestly, the Quar are too cute not to. The helmet on the Alithean driver just looking like a tube with built-in goggles sends me giggling every time I look at it. The Chyweethl driver with his ascot reminds me of someone driving a convertible through the European countryside, and I was this close to painting fingerless driving gloves on him. The balance these kits strike between the whimsical and the grim is just perfect, and you can easily emphasize whatever aspects you like between all the options the kits give you.

Credit: Matt Jett

I’m really interested to see the rumored mass battle rules for 28mm Quar that are in the works. I would love an excuse to have more than one tractor in a game and I don’t think that plays super well with the Clash of Rhyfles ruleset.

If you're interested in picking up either (or both!) tractor kits, please consider using our affiliate link to help support Goonhammer Historicals.

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Tags: wargames atlantic | quar