Prepainted AT-43 Bunker

Back in 2007 when AT-43 was an up-and-coming game system with many new releases and still sold at full retail, Rackham released a plastic prepainted AT-43 Bunker. Fortunately I snatched one up from a friendly local game store, because an AT-43 Bunker is now incredibly hard to find. Mixed up in the legacy of the bunker and its accessory walls is perhaps a clue to the demise of Rackham as a company. When a product is incredibly popular and sells out, God forbid you should produce more. Perhaps even raise the price because demand is so high? Sacrebleu, non! So along with the AT-43 plastic shipping containers that so many 28-30mm war gamers covet, Rackham has provided another wondrous plastic relic for shoppers to quest after.

The AT-43 Plastic Bunker Itself

What a steal! While I slightly remember a price closer to $29.95, the toydirectory.com lists an MSRP of only $25 in 2007 for a prepainted building with a removable roof and fully painted interior. The mottled grey bunker stands about 6 centimeters (2.75 inches) tall with its gunnery slits starting at 3 centimeters up from the outside base. The interior floor is only a millimeter or two thick, so it does not dramatically affect line of sight to and from models on either side. Because it is trapezoidal in design, the bunker has an odd footprint, but it is roughly 14cm x 16cm. The bunker’s double-edged sword is its integrated wall sections for attaching AT-43 walls. They’re perfect for gamers who already have AT-43 walls and wish to use them, but a little unsightly should you wish to use the bunker sans walls.

Interior Dimensions and Removable Door

Because the bunker’s walls are so realistically thick (9mm), the rusted metal interior floor space is a bit smaller, but still fully painted and textured. The floor is divided into 3.5 centimeter squares, while the walls are the same mottled grey, dark concrete color as the exteriors. Standing room is spacious with the bunker able to hold an astonishing 22 figures on round 25mm bases! As for AT-43 models themselves, the bunker can take 14 infantry figures on the 30mm bases and 7 of the larger 40mm bases used by Karmans and Kolossus units (or 8, if you don’t mind a tiny amount of base-overlapping).

While the door doesn’t retract into the roof or slide into a wall, it can be removed, which is a great touch, though it does require lifting the roof off. It has the same design front and back. Most gamers will probably keep the door off for convenience, but its inclusion is useful for any game that simulates breaching charges or the need to hack into the door’s control panel, which features a green button on its black console. Another green button and a red one below the console might represent whether the door’s locking mechanism is engaged, though with this little detail the painting is a tad overenthusiastic as the orangish red has splashed over onto the door’s steel brackets on my bunker.

The Bunker Roof

Models wishing to take position on the roof will lack protective cover on the roughly 4″ x 5″ relatively flat surface. Enterprising players could solve this with the addition of some sand bag sections. The roof is broken up by what would appear to be three round drain or ventilation covers in the corners as well as a central metal panel with textured bolts affixing it to the top of the bunker. The panel is further detailed by three concentric circles which diminish the building’s otherwise grim demeanor with their curves, instead softening the piece. While the purpose of the concentric rings is puzzling, they have received a nice rust wash along the bottoms which is a magnificent level of detail on a prepainted piece of terrain. The three round drains or vents are similarly lightly rusted and seem to be removable. This poses the same hazard as many of the AT-43 vehicles though, in that while a Strider may have a hatch that can be opened or removed, doing so will often break the brittle piece of plastic.

Accessories and Final Thoughts

The AT-43 Bunker also came with two High Defensive walls. Twice as tall as the normal walls, they measure in at 5 centimeters tall and were not included in any of the other later AT-43 sets. On each side of the bottom of the tall barriers black and yellow warning stripes have been painted. These high barriers block Line of Sight to infantry as well as Kolossus models and Karmans. Meanwhile Striders in AT-43 or most vehicles in Warhammer 40K will be able to claim partial cover if hiding behind the walls. The high walls are a nice touch and a welcome addition to the set, but entirely unnecessary for the original $25 price tag.

Indeed, very few products offer as much value as the AT-43 Bunker, so if you find one for sale, you should probably add it to your collection. That or contact Craven Games, because I would love to get a second and a third myself.