Atlas Editions’ 1:72 scale USMC LVTA-1 Amtank with 37mm Howitzer
While June has turned out to be an extremely dry month for new arrivals, Atlas saw it as an opportunity to announce six more tanks to its growing arsenal. Priced to perfection at just $19.99 apiece, these introductory level 1:72 scale military vehicles represent an ideal way to build out a battlefield on an affordable budget. Here’s what you can expect from the folks at Atlas Editions later this month:
Several years back, TWH, which makes a wide range of 1:50 scale construction models, offered up a subset of military vehicles under their Sword Models moniker. One of the most popular vehicles they developed was a US Army Oshkosh M10 tank transporter, which, when coupled with a 1:43 scale M1 Abrams tank sitting atop a M1000 flat bed, made for an excellent display set that made many collectors “green” with envy. We sold loads of these sets, both in the traditional tri-color camouflage pattern and a sun-baked desert motif, until our supplies quickly ran out and collectors had to seek them out in the after market venues.
Yesterday, we learned that Panzerkampf will soon be releasing a 1:72 scale version of the M1070 tank transporter, which can obviously be used with a wide range of 1:72 scale modern era military vehicles. As is customary with Panzerkampf, they will likely create several schemes besides the one shown here, and quite possibly offer them in the liveries of other user nations. We don’t as yet have a price for this item nor do we know for sure when they will be motoring on down the highway. So, for now, these pictures will have to do until everything gets firmed up and we can begin to open up the pre-order window. Pretty sharp, huh?
When Amercom release its line of diecast military helicopters several years ago, certainly one of the most popular if incredibly large items was the Sikorsky MH-53 Sea Dragon. Big and beefy, it sold incredibly well and was one of only a handful of choppers that proudly bore the US Navy logo.
Well, chopper aficionados will be glad to learn that as part of the burgeoning Panzerkampf line up, three different versions of the Sea Dragon will soon make its way onto diecast shelves this summer. Earlier this morning, three liveries were posted to the Panzerkampf web site — one based upon the JGSDF and two connected to the US Navy — although no price was set. With the COVID pandemic still fresh in everyone’s minds, its conceivable that all three items are still several months off and likely signals Panzerkampf’s intent to enter the helicopter market in a “big” way.
According to a recent post by a member of the Model Hangar III forum, Solido plans on re-entering the military market, this time around with a range of 1:48 scale diecast military vehicles. Certainly welcome news, the scale, nevertheless, seems a bit odd for them since they started out years ago in the 1:43/1:50 scale regime and, in recent years, switched over to the more lucrative 1:72 scale category. If the accompanying illustration is correct, six modern era vehicles are expected, although dates of availability, like everything else these days, are still up in the air. As a guess, these will likely show up for the all-important fourth quarter although its not certain if our present Solido distributor will actually stock these vehicles or defer to another entity.
In related news, Solido plans on offering these vehicles as a bundle with a flat-bed rail car, thus catering to the model railroad enthusiast. Its not clear if these vehicles are produced in conjunction with War Master, who had previously supplied Solido with a wide range of 1:72 scale military vehicles, aircraft and helicopters. Its conceivable that War Master has now entered the larger scale military market since there hasn’t been any further indication that they are remaining a player in the 1:72 scale market. Time will tell when we get official word from whomever plans on offering these products in the North American market.
Panzerkamp’s 1:72 scale Soviet Kliment Voroshilov KV-3 Heavy Tank – Winter Camouflage
With most of the major combat vehicles having been spoken for as scale replicas, it made sense for Panzerkampf to dabble in the more obscure subjects to gain greater traction in the diecast ranks. Earlier today, we noticed plans to come out with a pair of Soviet KV-3 heavy tanks, a vehicle that never made it onto the battlefield due to the surprise German invasion of Russia in June 1941. Although two prototypes were developed, the factory building the vehicles had to be quickly packed up and relocated east of the Urals otherwise it would have fallen into the hands of advancing Wehrmacht forces.
Panzerkampf’s 1:72 scale Soviet Kliment Voroshilov KV-3 Heavy Tank – Summer Camouflage
While poking around the web, we also noticed that Panzerkampf has another KV tank up its sleeve, one which is likely due out after the KV-3: the ubiquitous KV-220 heavy tank. The KV-220 (otherwise known as KV-220-2, T-220, Object 220, or just 220 in factory documents) was proposed in 1940 as a replacement for the KV-1 that was already considered inadequate by the Red Army. Another vehicle, the T-150, was meant to have a 700 hp engine while the KV-220 was to be served with an 850 hp engine, but problems were encountered in building such powerful engines. As a result, both the KV-220 and T-150 didn’t meet the Red Army’s expectations, and bets were hedged on the KV-3, 4 or 5 as the Red Army’s heavy tank for the years to come. The Nazi invasion changed all that, so plans were overhauled in a hurry to meet the threat.
We’re going to assume that the KV-3 tanks will become available some time this summer, with the elongated KV-220 showing up in the fall.
Panzerkampf’s 1:72 scale Dassault Rafale B Multirole Aircraft
In other news, the manufacturer is looking to become a serious player in the military aircraft space with its announcement that it plans to offer two versions of the Dassault Rafale B fighter jet. The Dassault Rafale (literally meaning “gust of wind”, and “burst of fire” in a more military sense) is a French twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation. Equipped with a wide range of weapons, the Rafale is intended to perform air superiority, interdiction, aerial reconnaissance, ground support, in-depth strike, anti-ship strike and nuclear deterrence missions. The Rafale is referred to as an “omnirole” aircraft by Dassault. Like the Rafale, dates of availability are still up in the air.
Corgi’s “Fit-to-Box” Top Gun Maverick 2020 – Maverick’s F/A-18 Hornet and P-51D Mustang
When we first started out twenty years ago, Corgi offered a line of affordable “fit-to-box” replicas which, for all intents and purposes, were aimed at first-time collectors, young adults and history buffs with a passing interest in diecast collectibles. While they weren’t built to any set scale, hence the “fit-to-box” moniker, they were, nevertheless, quite successful at retail and went a long way towards bringing new blood into the hobby that might not otherwise give it a second thought.
Earlier this week, we decided to bring back the series thanks, in part, to the upcoming feature film Top Gun Maverick of which two sets are based. Priced at just $19.99 per set and due out this autumn, each of these two-ship packs are ideal stocking stuffers that both rekindle a passion for the hobby as well as helping to renew interest in historic aviation. Five sets are being offered and the pre-order window for each is now open.
DeAgostini’s 1:1250 scale German Kriegsmarine Bismarck Class Battleship – DKM Tirpitz
Yesterday we learned that six more 1:1250 scale warships will join DeAgostini’s ever-expanding Kriegssschiffe warships series. For those of you unfamiliar with the series, it’s primary focus are the German warships that saw service throughout the twentieth century, from King Wilhlem II’s Kaiserlichte Marine up to the present day Bundesmarine. A handful of warships from other nations are also included in the mix although the series is heavily skewed towards German surface ships. Most of the warships come bundled with a German language magazine chock full of full-color photos and other pertinent data aimed at describing each ship in greater detail.
So, without further ado, here are the six warships expected to make port some time in May:
Back in the day, a cad was a man who behaved dishonorably towards a woman, forsaking her good name in an effort to, well, take advantage of her when chivalry was still the norm. Today, CAD has taken on quite a different meaning, spelled out in capital letters and now signifying computer aided design, a creative process by which most models are now developed with the help of sophisticated software packages.
Recently, Waltersons, the new caretakers of the Forces of Valor brand, posted a bevy of CAD images to their website for many of their upcoming projects. Five different Tiger Is are shown, along with eight Sherman tanks and the first vehicles in their “Inside Out” series: the Sturmtiger. We’ve posted all of the images here and have already begun to accept pre-orders for the group. At this time, we don have firm release dates for any of the vehicles, since the production pipeline was disrupted by the COVID-19 crisis and Waltersons hasn’t shown any of the paint masters so collectors can get a better idea of what the finished products will look like. Stay tuned and remember its going to be a very busy third and fourth quarter from the folks at Forces of Valor, as they get set to release these and other projects long hinted at and finally coming to fruition.
Note: Keep in mind that many of the Tiger I images look the same based upon these CAD images. Actual photos of each Tiger I tank are expected in the coming weeks.
Forces of Valor’s Inside Out Series: German Sturmtiger Assault Mortar
Forces of Valor’s 1:32 scale German Early Production RW61 Sturmtiger Rocket Assault Mortar with Loading Crane – Prototype Presentation to Fuhrer, Ehrenfriedhof Arys Proving Grounds, East Prussia, October 20th, 1943 [Bonus Maybach HL 210 TRM P45 V-12 Water-Cooled Engine]Forces of Valor’s 1:32 scale German Late Production RW61 Sturmtiger Rocket Assault Mortar with Loading Crane – Sturmmorser Kompanie 1002, Berlin, Germany, May 1945 [Bonus Maybach HL230P45 V-12 Water-Cooled Engine]Forces of Valor’s 1:32 scale German Mid Production RW61 Sturmtiger Rocket Assault Mortar with Loading Crane – Sturmmorser Kompanie 1002, Ebendorf, Germany, April 1945 [Bonus Maybach HL 210 TRM P45 V-12 Water-Cooled Engine]
Forces of Valor’s Engine Plus Series: German Tiger I Heavy Tank
Forces of Valor’s 1:32 scale German Early Production Sd. Kfz. 181 PzKpfw VI Tiger I Ausf. E Heavy Tank – “832”, 2.SS Panzer Regiment, 2.SS Panzer Division “Das Reich”, Eastern Front, February 1943 [Bonus Maybach HL 210 TRM P45 Engine]Forces of Valor’s 1:32 scale German Early Production Sd. Kfz. 181 PzKpfw VI Tiger I Ausf. E Heavy Tank – “123”, schwere Panzerabteilung 503, Kursk, Russia, August 1943 [Bonus Maybach HL 210 TRM P45 Engine]Forces of Valor’s 1:32 scale German Early Production Sd. Kfz. 181 PzKpfw VI Tiger I Ausf. E Heavy Tank – “100”, schwere Panzerabteilung 505, Kursk, Russia, July 1943 [Bonus Maybach HL 210 TRM P45 Engine]Forces of Valor’s 1:32 scale German Early Production Sd. Kfz. 181 PzKpfw VI Tiger I Ausf. E Heavy Tank – “321”, schwere Panzerabteilung 505, Kursk, Russia, July 1943 [Bonus Maybach HL 210 TRM P45 Engine]Forces of Valor’s 1:32 scale German Early Production Sd. Kfz. 181 PzKpfw VI Tiger I Ausf. E Heavy Tank – Michael Wittmann, “S04”, schwere SS Panzerabteilung 101, Eastern Front, Winter 1943 [Bonus Maybach HL 210 TRM P45 Engine]
Forces of Valor’s Engine Plus Series: US M4 Sherman Medium Tank
Forces of Valor’s 1:32 scale US M4A3(75) Sherman Medium Tank with VVSS Suspension – 35th Tank Battalion, 4th Armored Division, Bastogne, Belgium, December 1944 [Bonus Ford GAA V-8 Engine]Forces of Valor’s 1:32 scale US M4A3(105) Sherman Howitzer with HVSS Suspension – 8th Tank Battalion, 4th Armored Division, Avranches, Brittany, France, July-August 1944 [Bonus Ford GAA V-8 Engine]Forces of Valor’s 1:32 scale US M4A3E8 Sherman Medium Tank with HVSS Suspension – “A Paper Doll”, A Company, 68th Tank Battalion, 6th Armored Division, Germany 1945 [Bonus Ford GAA V-8 Engine]Forces of Valor’s 1:32 scale US M4(75) Sherman Medium Tank with VVSS Suspension – 47th Tank Battalion, 14th Armored Division, France, 1944 [Bonus Ford GAA V-8 Engine]Forces of Valor’s 1:32 scale US M4A3E8 Sherman Medium Tank with HVSS Suspension – Creighton Abrams’ “Thunderbolt VII”, 37th Tank Battalion, 4th Armored Division, NW Europe, 1945 [Bonus Ford GAA V-8 Engine]Forces of Valor’s 1:32 scale US M4(105) Sherman Medium Tank with VVSS Suspension and Wading Equipment – 713th Tank Battalion, 11th Armored Division, Okinawa, April-June 1945 [Bonus Continental (Wright) R-975, Radial 9 Engine]Forces of Valor’s 1:32 scale US M4A3(76)W Sherman Medium Tank with VVSS Suspension – C Company, 771st Tank Battalion, 12th Armored Division, Linnich, Germany, February 1945 [Bonus Ford GAA V-8 Engine]Forces of Valor’s 1:32 scale US M4A3E2 Sherman Jumbo Assault Tank with VVSS Suspension – “Cobra King”, C Company, 37th Tank Battalion, 4th Armored Division, Bastogne, Belgium, December 26th, 1944 [Bonus Ford GAA V-8 Engine]
In an effort to build out its brand and try out new untapped markets, the makers of the massively multiplayer online game, World of Tanks, entered into a collaborative agreement with model maker, Hachette, to produce a range of 1:72 scale military vehicles. Five pairings were released under the Salvat brand and now these sets will soon be made available here in North America. Attractively priced at just $34.99 per set and made available for a limited time, the five sets include:
Hobby Master’s 1:48 scale German Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6 Fighter – Erich “Bubi” Hartmann, 4./Jagdgeschwader 52, Hungary, 1944 (1:48 Scale)
Looking to maintain their lead as the most prolific maker of diecast military vehicles and aircraft, Hobby Master recently announced the latest group of products scheduled for an August showing. Of particular note is this Messerschmitt Bf-109G, the second variant produced by Hobby Master, and its pilot, top scoring ace Erich “Bubi” Hartmann. Here’s some of the other items on tap for the Dog Days of Summer:
