Warlord begins major Bolt Action shift from metal guns to plastic kits

Metal artillery and support weapons are being pushed out of Bolt Action’s range, and Warlord is treating the change as the opening move in a much bigger plastic overhaul. On April 17, 2026, Warlord Community said the shift away from metal guns was “the start of a huge and incredibly cool project,” making clear this was not a short-lived experiment but a long-running change in how the game’s kits will be built and sold.

For anyone who has lived through the old metal workflow, the practical impact is obvious. Plastic is easier to clean up, easier to glue, and far less of a fight on the workbench than metal artillery, which usually meant filing, pinning, and fighting awkward joins before paint ever touched the model. Warlord said plastic gives the best blend of detail and ease of working across the materials it uses, which is exactly why this matters to painters, converters, and anyone who wants a gun team together before the weekend ends.

The company also laid out the economics behind the switch. Steel tooling for a plastic sprue costs thousands of pounds and takes much more design work than a metal or resin mould, so plastic only makes sense when a kit is expected to be a mainstay product that will sell in large numbers over time. Once that tooling is paid for, though, plastic sprues can be produced in huge quantities and far more cheaply than other materials. That is the real signal here: Warlord is moving its biggest, most durable Bolt Action sellers into the format that supports long-term volume.

Artillery and support weapons are the obvious targets because older Bolt Action lists traditionally limited players to one of each type, which kept demand modest. Third Edition changed that picture. Warlord’s army-composition rules now put a Rifle Platoon at the core and allow additional platoons, with six platoon options in the rulebook. Combined with a growing player base, that structure has increased demand for heavy weaponry and made plastic a better fit for the range.

The timing also fits Warlord’s broader roadmap. Its 2026 plans already had new plastic infantry, vehicles, and more under development, with Italy, France, and the Commonwealth on the schedule. For hobbyists, that means the shift is not just about replacing old metal guns. It points to a cleaner, more consistent Bolt Action range where the models are easier to assemble, easier to convert, and better suited to mass painting without losing the character that made the game’s kits stand out in the first place.