Looking to shore up their armored arsenal, DeAgostini announced the imminent arrival of seven more 1:43 scale tanks to its armored collection. Like its predecessors, these huge beasts are heavy in the hand and pack lots of wallop for the price, each representing some of the most iconic vehicles to arise from the Second World War. Here’s what you can expect to show up later this month:
While several model makers still seem to be struggling to get out new product, Hobby Master shows no signs of abating, announcing their latest bevy of military items for an early 2023 roll out. Of note are two 1:72 scale M60A1 Patton tanks, both drawn from the epic Operation Desert Storm of 1991. Frankly, we had written off Hobby Master as far as military vehicles goes, since they hadn’t announced anything new for the better part of two years. Hopefully, this marks a new beginning for the company, who had been spending the better part of their time in the diecast aircraft realm, predominantly 1:72 scale jets. I’d like to also point out that they’ll be releasing a new 1:200 scale Space Shuttle, as well as a pair of 1:72 Huey helicopters, two sectors they seemed to have all but abandoned of late. Now if we could only convince them to look at other areas of the military diecast market, cough, 1:32/35 scale military vehicles, then we’d really be excited, but a guy can dream can’t he?
That said, lets get to the rest of the releases you can look forward to seeing this coming January.
To my knowledge, Dragon still has no official distribution arm in North America after they closed up their self-titled shop back in 2021. Candidly, its hard to imagine that a large model maker such as Dragon, who was once the undisputed king of the 1:72 scale pre-assembled market, has pulled out of what has to be their most lucrative market but there you have it folks. Stranger things have happened. Its entirely possible they could be looking to re-establish themselves by forming a partnership with another modelmaking entity but until that time, retailers such as ourselves, are being asked to order direct from their Chinese factory, which, I might add, is too costly and time consuming to undertake.
Happily, they do seem intent to keep their toe in the diecast water by churning out several new vehicles under their Neo Armor banner. While it remains to be seen if these vehicles will ever make it to our shores within a reasonable time frame, we’re holding out hope that someone will eventually step forward and pick up the gauntlet, making these and anything else they plan to produce once again available to the Noth American collector. Anyway, here’s a quick pictorial update as to what’s purportedly being made for 2022.
While war continues to rage in Ukraine, modelmakers have seized the day, so-to-speak, by replicating – in scale form – many of the combat systems continuously being shown to them on late night TV. We’ve already discussed the litany of aircraft expected by such stalwarts as Hobby Master and JC Wings, but now comes word that Panzerkampf plans to throw its hat into the ring with several interesting ground vehicles. The first vehicle expected to see the light of day is the Russian-built Pantsir (“Carapace”) air defense system, a state-of-the-art family of self-propelled, medium-range surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery systems that has seen limited use in Ukraine largely because of the relative size of the Ukrainian Air Force vis a vis the Russian Air Force. The Pantsir-S1 was designed to provide point air defense of military, industrial and administrative installations against aircraft, helicopters, precision munitions, cruise missiles and UAVs; and to provide additional protection to air defense units against enemy air attacks employing precision munitions, especially at low to extremely low altitudes.
After seeing the size of this model on Facebook, we’ve temporarily taken it down for pre-order purposes until we get a more realistic idea as to its final cost. We hope to re-list it, along with photos for each of the six iterations planned, in the weeks ahead.
In a move that comes as no surprise to anyone, be it wily collectors or the eager trade, JC Wings has decided to offer yet another model based upon an aircraft that has taken part in the current Russo-Ukrainian Conflict. Previously they had offered a MiG 29 in a digitized winter camouflage scheme, which was released just prior to the start of the invasion. Naturally, these sold out almost immediately and we’re certain another version will soon make its way onto their release schedule. In the mean time, they have just unveiled a Su-27 in a scintillating horizon blue paint scheme, which will no doubt become another heavily sought after model upon release. The balance of their latest military hardware has now been posted to our site.
Ordinarily, Panzerkampf plays it cool on social media, occasionally talking up some of their latest projects one at a time and oftentimes days if not weeks apart. That strategy changed completely this past weekend when they announced a bevy of new products, many of which were well along in the build process based upon photos shown. They began their dog-and-pony show with a couple of Russian-built MiG 19s fighters, both of which were clad in operational schemes that got many a fan jealous with envy. Also unveiled were some of their upcoming M1A2 Abrams main battle tanks, this time around sporting the TUSK II Survival Kit. Interestingly, there’s a good chance that Panzerkampf, for the first time, will be offering their military vehicles in both factory fresh as well as weathered, battle hardened paint schemes, meaning lots more to choose from depending upon how you plan to display them.
Lastly, two new military vehicles were added to their recently unveiled Legion line of budget-inspired vehicles – a German Marder Ausf. H anti-tank gun and a Hetzer tank destroyer. Both looked sharp and it appears as if even more vehicles will be announced in the not-too-distant future.
Showing no signs of abating, Hobby Master churned out yet another flock of warbirds all scheduled to take off this December. Among the new releases is their first ever french-built Dassault Rafale fighter, clad in a wintry white scheme indicative of taking part in a NATO led Tiger Meet competition conducted in the far north. Here now, the rest of the aircraft you can expect to see under the Christmas tree barring any logistical issues.
Looking to beef up their holiday presence while simultaneously paying homage to some of the platforms taking part in the Russo-Ukrainian Conflict, Hobby Master, late last week, announced a wide array of new combat aircraft for the month of November. The list is quite impressive, adding a number of heavily requested items to what is already a daunting product portfolio. Here’s what you can expect to sit along side the turkey this coming Thanksgiving:
Looking to add more firepower across the entire spectrum of military conflicts, Hobby Master announced four more warbirds to its growing list of scale combat aircraft, all due out at varying intervals throughout 2022. By clicking on each line art image, you can then determine its price and estimated arrival date.
Let’s face it. Some of us like to purchase a pre-assembled replica straight out of the box while others prefer to make ’em. Personally, I gave up on modelling in my teens when I realized I didn’t have the expertise, tools or time to build what was clearly being advertised. Nearly fifty years later, poor eye sight, lack of patience and other demands on my time means I’d prefer to ogle the finished product by tearing open the shrink wrap rather than trying to cobble one together.
Fortunately, Waltersons, the new caretakers of the Forces of Valor brand, sees things from both sides of the ledger, offering their customers both finished products as well as build ups, all designed to cater to a wider audience than their predecessors ever envisaged. In fact, earlier today, the manufacturer finally posted images of their first ever 1:32 scale tank: an early production Sd. Kfz. 181 PzKpfw VI Tiger I Ausf. E heavy tank. The pictures clearly show how much metal content is included in the kit, as well as the detail that goes into each and every tank they make, be they finished vehicles or model kits. Presently, no price has been announced for their first kit nor has a definitive release date been provided.
