Several years ago, Minichamps decided to pull the plug on their highly popular range of 1:35 scale military vehicles, citing rising costs as the principal reason for its end. Since that time, we’ve heard from many collectors world over who were dismayed by the sudden stoppage, both thrilled with their replicas and obviously ecstatic over their rise in value since they were no longer available.
While doing a routine search on the Internet this weekend, we noticed one UK retailer had four of the Minichamps vehicles listed as “relaunches” (Tiger I heavy tank, Panther medium tank, Jagdpanther tank destroyer and 251/1 halftrack), although no further information regarding their dates of availability and other pertinent data were listed. We’re not sure if Minichamps does indeed plan to bring out these vehicles going forward, however, we wouldn’t be surprised. The February Toy Fair at Nuremberg, Germany, where most new products are announced, is just a couple of months away and, just a few months ago, Waltersons picked up the entire Forces of Valor range with plans to rebrand and relaunch the entire series.
If this is true, this is obviously terrific news for the collecting community, and we’ll post further details as we learn them. Keep your fingers crossed.