For the better part of the 21st Century, most collectors of scale armor would agree that Dragon produces the best array of 1:72 scale armored fighting vehicles. Sure, there have been contenders for the crown as well as a few drop outs along the way, but Dragon, barring a few dry years in which models were promised but never delivered, was seen by many as the king of the diecast battlefield.
Despite its longstanding run on the throne, Dragon may have to hand over the crown shortly to Modelcollect, still a relative newcomer to the armored ranks, who has, nonetheless, quietly built a stable of high quality diecast replicas that have reignited passion in the hobby and moved the ball forward where others continually fumbled. Where Dragon seems content to churn out the usual diet of WWII vehicles, Modelcollect has dabbled in the more obtuse subjects, releasing a wondrous array of less familiar subjects that have garnered respect and admiration from the community.
In recent months, they have offered all manner of mobile missile launchers and other transporters in model kit form, which will no doubt be ported over to the pre-assembled market. In the meantime, they have also cranked out a number of intricately detailed pre-assembled models, and stand ready to deliver more this summer. We’ve already posted information on their upcoming E-100 series of armor, and today we learned that they will also be offering a Rheintochter 1 surface-to-air mobile missile launcher set atop an E-100 chassis (AS72062). There’s a good bet that the Rheintochter will also be wedded to both their E-50 and E-75 chassis, making it available in three different forms. We are also awaiting news concerning their Landkreuzer P.1000 Ratte mega tank, something the German Waffenamt never seriously considered as a weapon of war due to its immense size.
Anyway, keep a careful eye on Modelcollect as it continues to build out its order-of-battle and looks to become the de facto king of diecast armor.
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