Man oh Man Bolt Action, where to begin?

Hi again,

Tonight I am going start my journey into "Bolt Action" a Warlord Games creation.  I received my rulebook today with my nifty FREE British Red Devil
carrying a wounded comrade off the field.  (You get the free miniature by ordering the new rule book directly from the Warlord games website this month September 2012.)

I have been struggling with my initial army to step into this game.  I must admit the "Army Deals" offered directly from the Warlord Games website are very tempting.  You get the freshest sculps available in the series you buy, and if you exceed 75$ it is free shipping to anyone worldwide.

I am torn between starting an Italian Folgore unit or the British Red devils.  (I am a fan of paras for some reason.)  The main issue that I have with the Italians is that they have all of the sculps out there for the complete force, but no supplement exists for a point value on their force.  (The Italian supplement is not available, and has no mention of release dates...)

Having not played a game yet, and being too impatient to wait to play until I have an army, I have resolved to proxy my entire army list using Flames of War miniatures.  I want to experiment with the game play before i begin designing my initial force.  (I am pretty certain it will be the Red Devils.)

I have a very tough time selecting initial lists for a new tabletop system.  I made the mistake of diving in and buying first "because man that is a cool looking model" when I started playing flames of war.  I own at least 3 companies that have not been played yet, let alone painted.  It makes me kinda sick to my stomach to think about really.

These days I look for specific qualities to initial force selection.

1.  Do I think that they are cool?
2.  Do I think this units support options are cool?
3.  How many different "operations" will this unit be effectively able to participate in?
4.  How many eras will the force be able to play in?
5.  How many different companies offer models for this list?

Well in writing this article I have pretty much resolved my selection.

1. Yes, I absolutely think the Red Devils are "cool".
2. Yes, Tetrarchs are absolutely cool, I mean seriously a Tank that can be flown in behind enemy lines, what can beat that?  (Other than a Tiger shhhhhh)
3. Ok so British paras, hmm, North Africa...DDay...Market Garden,  yup that's enough!
4. 1942-the end of the war for the eras, good enough for me!
5. Enough because I just saw a 10 dollar Tetrarch from FRP games!

Sure enough, my second list will be Italian Folgore, but for now it will be my beloved Red Berets.

I am going to wait for my compatriot Old Soldier to put in his 10 cents on the Russians.  Look for his review soon.

All for now..

-PPS