Category Archives: News

What’s new in the modeling world

Another modelling magazine

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Few days ago I have found out (thanks to facebook) that there is another modelling magazine coming to the market these days. The name is Abrams Squad and it is magazine to be solely devoted to the modern armour. I find this to be very welcome additions (there is never enough of good modelling magazines I believe…) and judging by the name of authors contributing to the first issue, my expectations of quality are set high. Recent flurry of new models of modern vehicles should guarantee that there is going to be enough of subjects to cover in the future…

If you feel tempted, you can find more information and order the magazine online here (country of origin is this time Spain). I had some trouble to switch the page language to English – the English button was nowhere to be found, until it has mysteriously appeared below the Spanish language button (?).

I am hoping that the magazine could become available in a digital form, as I am progressively becoming more of a tablet user when it comes to modelling magazines.

It is interesting to see this recent trend in the modelling publications marketplace – specialization, going from modelling to armour modelling and then to even more specific subjects as weathering or specific time period. Maybe this is not the end yet…

Miniart Tram

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Very interesting announcement came yesterday from Miniart – it will bring us: Tram. Given its huge diorama potential, it is more than surprising that it took so long for a model company to figure it out… But here it is finally, looks good on the pictures. I believe this will be definitely one of the models I will not miss.

Canadian RG-31 from Kinetic

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Since Kinetic has released its RG-31 few weeks ago, I was thinking what would be the best way to convert this kit to the Canadian version. And having checked online forums for ideas, I definitely was not the only one… Now Kinetic seems to have noticed as well and today announced release of exactly this version of the vehicle. This is of course another great news for the fans of Canadian armour, though I wish I knew this before buying the first kit.

Well, my wish list just grew longer…

M48A3 coming from Dragon

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Another surprising announcement hit modelers only days ago – Dragon has announced release of M48A3. I don’t think there would be a modeller expecting this as in the past years Dragon has focused on recycling their Panzer IV and Stug III molds and flooded us with all the versions of these vehicles we didn’t know about (with the exception of Japanese tank series started recently)…

This news is definitely most welcome and perhaps is a sign that Dragon could again add to their lineup of modern vehicles. I am secretly hoping (hmm, I guess not so secretly as I am writing here about it) that perhaps IDF M48 could follow sometime (soon)…?

Kinetic RG-31

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I am not sure why but I was looking forward to the release of this kit perhaps more than the others in the current flurry of new models and this was in spite of my disappointment with previous Kinetic releases. With those the problem might have been that Kinetic has chosen subject which was also released by other companies, so the comparison with competition was inevitable and unfortunately not very favourable for Kinetic.

Now RG-31 is different. Though this vehicle was used in recent conflicts quite a bit, there was no one showing an interest in releasing this vehicle in 1/35 scale. Until now. It might not be the coolest looking armored/protected car out there – I would dare to say this title would go to the MaxxPro (hey Riich models, where is the promised kit…), but still quite outstanding though. One of the reasons of my interest was of course the fact that the vehicle is also used by the Canadian army.

So when I saw the kit on the vendor table at the HeritageCon the other weekend I did not hesitate and picked one. After having inspected the contents I must say that Kinetic improved the quality visibly and the model is in my opinion much better than their M109. It does not reach the levels of Dragon in molding quality or level of detail, but it still does look very nice. Details around the fenders and rear doors seem to be well done as well as wheels. Sprue attachments are bit heavier, but not worse than with many other producers on the market. Molding is fine with just minimum of flash around the edges of the parts. Some of the details are bit heavy, so I would wait for photoetch sets for this kit to replace some of those, such as the gunners shield on the roof.

Looking at the instructions, suspension seems to be quite detailed, but not overly complicated to build. Interior details provided are bit spartan and will definitely benefit from either scratchbuilding or aftermarket parts. Small photoetch sheet is provided for some of the finer parts (e.g. lighs protective mesh). .50 cal provided in the kit is also little lacking in terms of surface detail and I would rather replace it with resin replacement.

Markings provided are only for the US units in Iraq and one for a UN vehicle in Lebanon.

Again, I cannot comment on the fit of the parts as I have not tried to build this kit yet.

For me important factor will be how easy (or difficult) it will be to convert this into Canadian version. One will most likely need the AFV’s M151 remote weapon station set (kit 35157) which is used instead on Canadian vehicles instead of the gunner’s post on the roof. Even this set will need some conversion as the smoke dischargers are of different style. I will be looking for advice from experts on the web, but the good news is that Miloslav Hraban from  Real Model is apparently already working on the conversion set. Hope he will not let us wait too long.

I would also expect that some aftermarket company will sooner or later come out with the photoetch slat armour for this vehicle.

So, to make your own judgement, see below few shots of the details of the parts. I must say I like this kit and am looking forward to building it, though I am not sure when will that happen…

I believe this kit should not be missing on the shelf of any modeller interested in modern armor.

TankArt

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So finally two days ago I have opened the package with long-awaited Mike Rinaldi’s new book TankArt. Having been teased by number of photos of the book pages over the past weeks and months my expectations were high (and I believe not only mine) and I was eager to lay my hands on the book…

Just a quick look will confirm one thing – even in the current market for books on the modeling subject, the book is really unique. The first impression I had when flipping through the pages is that not a single inch of space on more than 200 pages was wasted.

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New to my stash…

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Last weekend I paid visit to my favourite Hobby stores and brought back, as usual, few goodies.

Hobby Boss Merkava ARV

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This was one of my most expected models to be coming to the stores these days. It is one of those models that few months ago no one even expected to see in plastic. The vehicle itself seems to be representation of one of the versions of the vehicle codenamed NAMER, which is sometimes classified as armoured personnel carrier.

Based on the inspection of the content of the box, I am quite pleased. The quality offered by Hobby Boss seems to be growing with each of their releases. The parts are molded in nice dark grey plastic - somehow I like it more than the beige used for the Merkava 4 kit. The level of detail is in my opinion also higher than on their previous kits, so the only thing that remains to be seen is the fit of the parts. The vehicle itself has number of stowage baskets which are very finely molded, though I believe aftermarket companies will be quick to offer photoetch replacements. The kit was already criticized for lack of detail and accuracy on the crane part. This part of the kit really seems a bit simplified as far as I can say, though I am by no means an expert on IDF vehicles.

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News from Nuremberg

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As every year at this time, eyes (and ears) of the modellers from around the world are waiting for the news from Nuremberg, place of the annual Toy show, which traditionally is a place for plastic model producers to announce what their plans are in the next year and what goodies modellers are going to be served.

Already at this time we can say that there is not reason to be disappointed. Number of new kits were announced and presented, some of them quite unexpected. Depending on whom you ask, the “biggest” surprise announcement would be different, but for me the single most interesting release announced was by Meng – D9R bulldozer:

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This exotic vehicle was few years ago released in resin by Vajra models and for quite many times I felt tempted to get. Luckily I didn’t. I was hoping that some plastic model producer would get inspired and bring it out in plastic. It’s not surprising that this company is Meng as their recent releases of Israeli armoured vehicles are quite popular, in large part also due to the quality of the models.

Fans of Israeli armour in general have very little reasons to complain – Tamiya has presented in Nuremberg their Tiran 5, so that finally you do not need a resin conversion to build this piece. Some weeks ago, Kinetic also announced release of the M109 self-propelled howitzer (though in this case I am bit suspicious, having seen Kinetic’s first release of M109 I was quite disappointed with the level of detail as I have already mentioned in this blog).

There were also quite a few other notable announcements. I would like to highlight Italeri announcement of a new Renault FT-17, which so far has not attracted as much attention as I would expect, but I consider release of good quality model of this tank to be long overdue.

Trumpeter has announced quite a few pieces for the fans of the Russian armour (including T-80) and Riich models presented their Universal carrier (I am hoping we won’t need to wait too long for this one. There were number of other interesting announcements by other companies such as IBG and Hobby Boss. For photo report from the Nuremberg, make sure to visit Prime Portal page here.

Kudos to Mirror and Meng!

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For the past few years that I have been building models, I haven’t encountered a kit that would be perfect, there is always something to be found. Though the accuracy and fit has evolved enormously, modellers always have to deal with some minor gap, misalignment, etc. Sometimes there is nothing really wrong, just that the model is complex and difficult build, with a lot of care, skill and extra references needed to build the kit correctly.

Now, there is nothing new in the above statement. What is new is the way the model companies address these situations and their communication with their customers – us the modellers.

I was more than happy recently to see two model companies use the world of social media in a way that could be put as an example of how things should be done.

In the first case Mirror models, newcomer to the modelling scene offers some good advice to the modellers on the construction of their recent kit - Otter armoured car on their facebook page. Frankly, this is exactly the type of advice that I appreciate. Mirror’s kits are truly multimedia pieces and their construction might get difficult at some places. Simple help such as this goes a long way….

You can read (and find a lot of interesting information) on Mirror model’s facebook page here.

In the other case, Meng models published a letter of apology on their facebook page to the modellers for a mistake with their new kit of French self-propelled howitzer. The mistake noted by one modeller is really one of the kind that needs an expert to actually spot it. Nevertheless, instead of trying to ignore or bury the issue, the company had actively went ahead and acknowledged the mistake.

Meng models facebook page can be found here.

It is interesting that this attitude is being displayed by the companies which are new to the market. Perhaps they understand that it takes more than a high-quality kits to build a reputation.

Christmas are not over yet…

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Another great announcement just came out yesterday, this time from the Riich models. And this one is really looong time overdue – Universal Carrier Mk.I with Crew. So finally there is a replacement for the ancient Tamiya kit.

I haven’t really seen any kit from the Riich models to comment on the quality (and am still wondering when will the Maxx Pro arrive), but this selection of vehicle must definitely please any allied modeller… The kit is to come out in February, what just underlines that the beginning of the next year is going to bring quite a few good models.

Late for Christmas

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Christmas are almost behind the door, but it seems that season does not end for the armour modellers, rather the other way around. Having visited local hobby stores few times over the past weeks, I was rather surprised there was not really that much new on the shelves. Strangely, there are quite few kits expected in short time and here is the selection of my favourite ones.

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It might just be that the kit is late in arriving here in Toronto, as there are already some reviews on the web (see here and here). These have already picked up on some inaccuracies with this kit, nevertheless it is still the first and only model of this vehicle out there. And of course, it is Canadian, so this will be a must buy…

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Merkava ARV

Another one of those kits, which was once hard to believe it would be available in plastic anytime soon. Not a lot of pictures of the built model are out there and again, first reviews have already found some flaws (see here), but I guess that’s what the reviews are for. Now given that this is Hobby Boss, I am hoping that the quality is going to be better than the Pershing I am just building and it is going to be at least at the level of their Merkava IV.

In any case, kudos to Hobby Boss for bringing it out.

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Panzerjaeger Marder II

Bronco is slowly and steadily becoming my most favourite kit producer. The quality of casting is on the par with Dragon, if not better, and their kit’s finesse and complexity is perhaps even higher. One thing that puts them ahead of Dragon is that they are not wasting their efforts on producing just another version of Panzer IV…

This kit is actually one of their few German vehicles and the photos Bronco has released so far are looking promising.

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RG-31

Now this is one where I am being cautious. Kinetic has ambitiously expanded into the armour models world not that long ago, but their first pieces disappointed me a bit. I have seen their M109 and frankly, there was so much simplifications and lack of details, that I just passed. I am hoping that RG-31 will be better, much better. And that it can be built into Canadian version…

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Tiger I Early version

Few months ago I would not spare too many words about this release, but after spending some time recently looking at what is at the market, I noticed that with all the different versions of Tiger I that Dragon has released so far, there is one big gap – early version. For anybody interested in building the Tiger I version from the Battle of Kursk or simply non-zimmerit vehicle other than the very early models, old Tamiya’s kit is the only choice. Not bad, but without all the beauty and bells and whistles that the new Dragon kits come with.

One more surprise, and for me as a customer positive one, is the decision to release this kit as part of their Orange box series. I might be missing something, but I just don’t understand why is Dragon not releasing this as regular kit, for which they could ask 80  bucks with a straight face and it would still sell like a Christmas cookies in December (judging based on the success of their other Tigers). But as I have said, I am a buyer and I don’t complain. In January one will definitely be mine…

So what it is that you are waiting for?