Panzerkampf’s 1:72 scale Russian Pantsir S1 Self-Propelled Air Defense System – Russo-Ukrainian War 2022
Its been awhile since we took delivery of any new Panzerkampf items but it looks as if February is going to be a bumper crop as far as new armor is concerned. Several eagerly awaited products are headed our way including this Pantsir S-1 air defense system, which regularly shows up on CNN and other news sites covering the war in Ukraine. While six versions of the Pantsir are planned, thus far the manufacturer has only shown pictures of this model, which prominently features the letter “Z” on its sides.
Prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the letter “Z” was seen painted on tanks as well as other military vehicles massing near the border. With both countries using similar tanks and trucks, it was originally thought this was meant to distinguish different units to prevent friendly fire and assist with mobilization.
Some speculate that the “Z” could stand for “zapad,” which means west in Russian. Some have snidely suggested that the symbol stands for other words such as “zhopa,” meaning ass in a reference to stiff Ukrainian resistance. The letter does not appear in the Cyrillic alphabet used by both Russia and Ukraine. Since mid-March 2022, the “Z” began to be used by the Russian government as a pro-war propaganda motif, and has been appropriated by pro-Putin civilians as a symbol of support for Russia’s invasion.
Also rolling in are four different M1083 multi-wheeled cargo trucks – two with machine guns mounted up top and clad in an armored protective shield surrounding the vehicle’s cab.
In other news, Legion, which is Panzerkampf’s budget-minded line of military replicas, is scheduled to make its first showing in March. The range includes a pair of aircraft carriers, four different F4U Corsairs and a wide array of 1:72 scale military vehicles spanning everything from GMC 2-1/2 ton trucks to Hetzer tank destroyers. While their packaging is a bit spartan as compared with their higher-priced brethren, the Legion vehicles make up in quality what they lack in sexy packaging. As a result, many of the vehicles cost about half as much as a Panzerkampf product, making them ideal entry level replicas for younger collectors or avid military buffs gathering their arsenal on a tight budget.
At the height of the Cold War, when both western and eastern forces stared down one another all along the subdivided stretch of Central Europe, no other weapon came to be as synonymous with the Soviet Union’s aggressive stance as the MiG. Yes, there was the AK-47 Kalashnikov assault rifle and T-55 series of main battle tanks, but it was the MiG that personified the East, able to stand toe-to-toe with the best the West could produce in the Korean and later the Vietnamese Conflicts. While there were other design bureaus operating within the Soviet Union vying to produce the preeminent fighter, MiG retained the title throughout the 50’s and well into the 90’s, taking a back seat to the likes of Sukhoi in just the last few years.
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 (NATO reporting name: Farmer) is a Soviet second generation, single-seat,twin jet fighter aircraft, the world’s first mass-produced supersonic aircraft. It was the first Soviet production aircraft capable of supersonic speeds in level flight. A comparable U.S. “Century Series” fighter was the North American F-100 Super Sabre, although the MiG-19 primarily fought against the more modern McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II and Republic F-105 Thunderchief over North Vietnam. This aircraft was originally used by the Soviet Union but it was later used by the People’s Liberation Army Air Force.
In 1950, the Mikoyan-Gurevich (MiG) design bureau (also known as OKB-155) began work on a new fighter aircraft, intended to have a greater range than the existing MiG-15 and MiG-17 aircraft, and capable of reaching supersonic speeds in level flight. MiG chose to use two of the new Mikulin AM-5 axial jet engines (a scaled-down version of the Mikulin AM-3 that powered the Tupolev Tu-16 bomber) for its new fighter. As a test bed for the new engine, OKB-155 was authorised on 20 April 1951 to convert one of the prototype MiG-17s, replacing the single Klimov VK-1 engine with two 19.60 kN (4,410 lbf) AM-5s (later replaced by 21.08 kN (4,740 lbf) AM-5As), with the testbed, designated SM-1 (or I-340), flying late in 1951. While the SM-1 was a useful testbed, its performance was less than expected, and first resulted in an afterburner being designed for the AM-5, resulting in the AM-5F (reaching 26.45 kN (5,950 lbf) with reheat).
While the SM-1 was a test bed, the SM-2 (or I-360) was intended as the required supersonic escort fighter, with work authorised on 10 August 1951. The SM-2 was a twin-engined, mid-winged aircraft. Its thin wings, which had been designed at TsAGI, the Soviet Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute, for supersonic flight were swept back at an angle of 55 degrees and had a single wing-fence on each side. Unusually, a T-tail was fitted. Armament was two Nudelman N-37 37-mm cannon located in the leading edge of the aircraft’s wings, near the wing roots – the guns had been moved compared to those in the MiG-15 and -17 to avoid ingestion of gun blast gases causing surging of the aircraft’s engines. The first SM-2, the SM-2/1 was sent to the Letno-Issledovatel’skiy Institut (en:flight research institute) (LII) in April 1952 for testing, and was flown for the first time on May 24th, 1952, with test pilot G. A. Sedov at the aircraft’s controls. With the un-reheated AM-5A engines, the SM-2 could not exceed the speed of sound in level flight, so reheated AM-5F engines were substituted. While the new engines improved performance, the aircraft was found to have handling problems, particularly at high angles of attack, where the aircraft was prone to spinning. To solve these problems the aircraft’s horizontal tail was lowered, with other changes including moving the aircraft’s airbrakes and deepening the wing fences, with the modifications causing the aircraft to be redesignated SM-2A and then SM-2B.
The AM-5F still generated inadequate thrust and so the Mikulin engine design bureau developed a new engine to replace it, the AM-9B (later re-designed the Tumansky RD-9), rated at 25.5 kN (5,700 lbf) dry and 31.87 kN (7,160 lbf) with reheat. When fitted with the new engines, the SM-2B became the SM-9, first flying in this form on 5 January 1954. The SM-9’s performance impressed the Soviet authorities, and it was ordered into production as the MiG-19 on February 17th, 1954, despite the fact that factory testing had only just started.
The rush to get the MiG-19 into service resulted in initial production aircraft having a number of serious problems. The type suffered a number of in-flight explosions, eventually traced to poor insulation between the aircraft’s engines and fuel tanks in the rear fuselage – overheating of these tanks could cause fuel explosions. This was eventually partly solved by fitting a metal heat shield between the engines and the tanks. The aircraft’s elevators proved ineffective at supersonic speeds, and an all-moving slab tail was tested by the second and third SM-9 prototypes, and later included in the major production type, the MiG-19S, which also featured an improved armament.
At the same time that the daylight escort fighter was developed from the SM-2 and SM-9 into the MiG-19 and MiG-19S, work went on in parallel to design and build a radar-equipped all-weather fighter, with the first prototype SM-7/1 flying for the first time on August 28th, 1954. This prototype had a similar airframe to the first SM-9, including the conventional fixed horizontal tail, with the second and third SM-7s introducing similar changes to those tested on the SM-9 prototypes, including the slab tail. The all weather fighter entered production as the MiG-19P in 1955. Major differences from the MiG-19S included RP-1 Izumrud radar in the aircraft’s nose, with small radomes in the centre and on the top lip of the air intake and an armament of two cannon in the aircraft’s wing roots. From 1957, production of all weather fighters switched to the missile equipped MiG-19PM, with an armament of four K-5M air-to-air missiles, with the cannon removed.
In 1955, following American introduction of high-altitude reconnaissance balloons and overflights by British Canberra aircraft, which could not be intercepted by existing aircraft, together with intelligence reports of the development of the Lockheed U-2 with an even greater ceiling, development began on a specialist high-altitude version of the MiG-19, the MiG-19SV, which entered limited production. This had more powerful engines and was lightened, with seatback armour and one of the guns removed, while flap settings were adjusted to give greater lift at higher altitudes and a new pressure suit was introduced. These changes increased the aircraft’s ceiling from 17,500 m (57,400 ft) to 18,500 m (60,700 ft). The prototype MiG-19SV was further modified (as the MiG-19SVK) with increased wingspan, giving a ceiling of 19,100 m (62,700 ft), but this was still inadequate to deal with the U-2, and effort was switched to adding rocket boosters.
Now Panzerkampf has faithfully recreated the MiG 19 interceptor as part of its ever growing armada of 1:72 scale diecast military aircraft, the first of which is now in stock and ready for immediate shipment.
Panzerkampf’s Pair of 1:72 scale M1083 Medium Tactical Vehicles
As the holiday season looms large, more and more new products are making the transition from simple line art drawings to actual photographed images. In the case of Panzerkampf, the manufacturer recently posted pictures of their upcoming M1083 medium tactical vehicle, an important workhorse of the US Army over the last few years that is often seen hauling troops and supplies to and from the front lines.
The Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) is based on an Austrian truck, the Steyr 12M18, but considerably re-engineered to be available as the 4×4 2.5-tone Light Medium Tactical Vehicle (LMTV) and the 6×6 5-tone Medium Tactical Vehicle (MTV). Both models have over 90 percent of components in common such as the cab, engine, drive train, tires, wheels, front suspension, axles, etc, and involve many commercial components. There was also an 8×8 heavy tactical vehicle, however only a couple of its prototypes were built and it never reached mass production. The basic LMTV is the M1078 cargo carrier while the 6×6 baseline model is the M1083.
Thus far two versions have been shown to the public – one in the familiar NATO woodland camouflage and the other in the obligatory desert sand scheme. Two other releases, both sporting machine guns atop the passenger compartment (and one featuring a single rear axle) are likely due out later, perhaps nudged into early 2023 due to supply chain issues. Ironic, yes?
We learned today that Panzerkampf’s upcoming Pantsir S-1 Mobile Self Defense System will carry a MAP of $114.99, a bit higher than where we thought it might be pegged when it was officially announced. Also, only one version will make it out the door in 2022. Six versions were originally displayed in their 2022 catalog but we’re guessing the manufacturer wants to see how the initial roll out goes before committing to the other schemes they touted.
It’s a bit difficult to forecast how the Pantsir will do at retail as compared with, say, their recently released M1070 heavy equipment transporter, a so-called “no-brainer” by some in the industry that will likely sell exceedingly well for the foreseeable future. For one its Russian as opposed to a US built piece of equipment, although that shouldn’t be considered a strike against it. Second, the inaugural vehicle sports the infamous “Z” plastered across it, which was used by Russian forces during the opening stages of their attack into Ukraine back in February 2022. Its a bit like hawking models of German Messerschmitts on September 2nd, 1939, with those big flamboyant swastikas adorning the aircraft’s tail fin. And lastly, there’s the price tag to consider, which is a bit more than we thought it would weigh in at prior to its main bout debut.
So, if you’re interested in this item, I would suggest pre-ordering soon because we will likely stock this item in very limited numbers for the holiday season. And, with our upcoming move to Florida, we cannot predict when we will have it available for restock should sales not live up to expectations.
Panzerkampf’s 1:72 scale US M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tank with TUSK I Survival Kit – 1st Battalion, 35th Armor Regiment, 1st Armored Division
In a surprise announcement, Panzerkampf plans on shipping out several 1:72 scale military models this month. We had all but given up hope that anything would materialize from them given the issues still affecting the West Coast ports and their persistent delays. That said, several armored fighting vehicles should be rolling in next week, including their highly coveted M1A1 Abrams tank painted in a NATO woodland camouflage scheme and sporting the TUSK I survival kit. Its an important release because it pairs well with their recently released M1070 tank transporter that is painted in the same tri-color camouflage scheme. Also expected is a M1A2 Abrams donning a desert scheme and clad in the TUSK I kit as well as a pair of new M42 Duster anti-aircraft vehicles we’ve had advertised on our site for months on end but couldn’t quite pin down as far as release dates go. We strongly recommend submitting your orders for these vehicles as soon as possible since its very possible these will sell out quickly and may not be available for general sale once word spreads.
Panzerkampf’s 1:72 scale Russian Pantsir S1 Self-Propelled Air Defense System – Russo-Ukrainian War 2022
When it comes to collecting diecast military vehicles, particularly modern era weaponry, air defense systems are oftentimes considered to be one of those bantamweight divisions that routinely takes a back seat to the main event draw — tanks and infantry fighting vehicles. Let’s face it, air defense systems aren’t quite as sexy or well known as the “heavies” of contemporary mobile warfare, oftentimes loitering in the rear areas guarding key positions or routes of advance and therefore far from the fighting where the cameras are rolling.
So, when Panzerkampf decided to model the Russian-built Pantsir S-1 air defense system earlier this year, collectors instantly took note, clearly intrigued by a system they may have seen in the media but wondered what purpose they served and why they were caught up in the conflict miles behind the front lines.
The Pantsir (Russian: “Carapace”) missile system is a family of self-propelled, medium-range surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery systems. Starting with the Pantsir-S1 (NATO reporting name SA-22 Greyhound) as the first version, it is produced by KBP Instrument Design Bureau of Tula, Russia.
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.
The first finished version was completed in 1995 with the 1L36 radar, later another was designed. It is a short to medium range ground-based air defense system, wheeled, tracked or stationary with two to three operators. Its air defense consists of automatic anti-aircraft guns and surface-to-air missiles with radar or optical target-tracking and radio-command guidance.
The manufacturer claims that their Pantsir has already entered production and may have as many as six different vehicles in the works, largely with different camouflage patterns. So, together with Dragon’s revamped Neo Dragon Armor vehicles and other Panzerkampf “heavies”, it appears as if collectors will have lots to choose from this holiday season, at least as far as modern warfare is concerned. Incidentally, no cost has yet to be established for this item so we are unable to accept any pre-orders. We will update our site once we have a better idea as to how to price this item as well as their expected arrival dates.
Next to the Apache and Cobra gunships, perhaps the most feared helicopter gunship ever to take wing is the Russian built Mi 24, NATO reporting name HIND. Designed as a combination heavy attack platform and low capacity troop transport, the HIND has been around since the late 1970s, a testament to their endurance and ability to take enemy fire at the forward edge of the battlefield area where fighting is oftentimes the most intense.
It therefore comes as no surprise then that Panzerkampf would choose the Mi-24 as one of their latest rotary wing models. Recently two versions were shown to the public on their Facebook account, although no other information was provided. So, while we’d love to begin taking pre-orders for either or both of their upcoming helicopter assault gunships, for now we will simply post images of both models and await further information. In our opinion, their success will likely eclipse that of the MH-53 Super Stallion that was released last year, and has already gone on to become one of their most successful subjects. And, if the HIND sells well, you can bet they will be looking at other Russian attack helicopters down-the-road, capitalizing on the success of these battlefield weapons and their own ability to model them at scale. Curiously, it appears as though the HIND will be marketed under their Legion sub brand, even though these are brand new toolings not based upon other previously released models as is the case with their newly-launched military vehicle line.
Death by a thousand cuts. One Abrams that landed on the cutting room floor
We received some unexpected and disappointing news from Panzerkampf late Friday. Apparently, the model maker has decided not to produce one of the M1 Abrams tanks they had advertised for some time, #PZK12209PA, which was a US M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank with TUSK I Survival Kit in a tri-color camouflage pattern with side-mounted desert sand colored ERA. No explanation was offered for nixing this item so as of now only one tri-color camo version of the Abrams is still being made – the US M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tank with TUSK I Survival Kit that served with the 1st Battalion, 35th Armor Regiment, 1st Armored Division (PZK12208PA). The decision seems odds given the number of desert sand versions produced to date but one we have to live with nonetheless. If you pre-ordered and pre-paid for this item we will automatically switch the order to the latter vehicle, which is still expected later this summer.
The manufacturer also indicated that they have no plans to produce their hot-selling M1070 heavy equipment transporter in arctic winter white although the solid green version is still on the table. So, if you see one in the marketplace, we suggest you grab it while you can.
Even though we haven’t as yet actually received our latest Panzerkampf and AFV shipment, we are going to mark them as received so that we can begin processing these orders ahead of their imminent receipt. As always, we would appreciate it if you do not contact us regarding any pre-orders you may have placed with us since responding tends to slow us down and prevents us from addressing each order with proper care. We will do our due diligence and process each order as expeditiously as possible but bear in mind that issues such as invalid credit card authorizations or splitting up orders periodically pops up and leads to added delays. We will do our best to get out all of the orders before Father’s Day but we are making no assurances that said orders will actually be received prior to June 19th.
Incidentally, there was a change to one of the AFVs that are in the latest batch of arrivals. AFV009 is actually a US built and operated M18 Hellcat and not the supposed French M10 we had originally listed as being inbound. Frankly, the US vehicle is a better fit for many of our customers who may prefer to collect US built and operated vehicles as opposed to those tanks that were operated by some of our allies during the Second World War. We can only assume that the M10 will come out at a later date.
Update: We were informed this morning, June 13th, that our shipment is leaving Nevada today. Originally, it was scheduled to leave last Friday, which would have meant it would reach us here in New York by mid week. So, it would appear as if this shipment will likely arrive at our facility by the end of this week, which means that any orders intended as Father’s Day gifts will not make it for the holiday. That said, we also know a great many of you placed orders for these items without concern for the holiday, so a few more days of waiting may not be crucial. If it is, please contact us and we will cancel your order. Because of the delay, we have decided to hold off processing these orders until later this week. Furthermore, this year, most of the major carriers are closed for Juneteenth, so the soonest we can start shipping out orders is Tuesday is the 21st. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but things often change on a daily basis despite our best efforts to make them go as smoothly as possible.
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.
