I spent some time comparing the pieces in the new game to the previous ones. Apart from the completely new Russian naval pieces, there are a few minor differences with a few units – in some cases visible at a glance, in others so small that you have to squint really hard to see them.
Among the more visible changes:
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the Japanese artillery piece has an identical body to previous ones but the legs of the undercarriage are extended rather than folded together
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the German cruiser piece has an identical superstructure to the one in Anniversary but its hull is more slender and the stern is pointed rather than straight
Among the less visible changes:
Among the almost-invisible changes:
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Some of the ships (like the American battleship and the German transport) have features (like the battleship main guns) which are defined a little more sharply than before, and seem to be smoother and more glossy than previously
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There are very small differences in some of the fine details on some of the tanks and aircraft
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Most of the infantry pieces are a bit taller; the most visible of the infantry changes is the different size of the submachine gun magazine on the Russian piece
Basically, what this adds up to is that most of the units are virtually identical to the previous ones, with just a few totally new pieces introduced and just a couple of partially-revised sculpts whose revisions are significant enough that you can tell the difference at arm’s length distance.
CWO Marc