Anyone else on here wish some manufacturer like Tamiya or Dragon would give us some state of the art World War 1 tanks in 1/35th scale? I know there’s the Male and Female tanks from Emhar in 1/35 but they’re not state of the art now and they don’t have things like individual styrene track links.
I’m sure there’d be a market for them so why do the mainstream manufacturers ignore these tanks?
I agree, i would love to see some WWI armor kits at my LHS. I decided a while ago that i’m going to scratchbuild one when i finish all my other projects…so it’ll be a few decades [:-^] It would be nice to see Dragon put out a kit, loaded with detail like their new WWII armor kits but i’m not holding my breath…
Me neither! I just don’t get it! I love my WW2 armour like most people but these tanks are important vehicles [ and they look great ]. Tamiya did the B1 Bis ‘Char’ as we all know which was a very good kit [ especially the tracks ] and i know it wasn’t a WW1 tank but it sure looked like one in a lot of ways.
A Renault FT17 would also be another great subject! Another manufacturer who could do them is Eduard to match their WW1 aircraft.
Apparently the marketing people for Tamiya, Dragon, and/or Trumpeteer’s do not feel there’s a market for these tanks, otherwise they would make them. I don’t think they have any real agenda with respect to what they put out other than that they want it to sell and make them some money. With the price of kits these days, I’m sure they don’t need to sell as many as they used to to see a positive return on investment, but they still need to sell quite a few to make it worth their while. I wonder how Tamiya’s Char B1 is selling? If it is doing well, they might take that as an indication that there is an interest in old, suspension-less tanks.
Agreed. I’m just finishing up their Mk. IV “Male”, and it is a pretty weak kit. In virtually all respects, it doesn’t compare well to even old 1970’s Tamiya stuff. Now that it’s built, it looks pretty decent, but if one looks close, there are myriad for the rivet counters.
There’s an Eastern European company, RPM, that does the FT17. I have it in 1/72 although they also do it in 1/35. I haven’t started it, but in-box, it looks like a decent enough kit, maybe a notch up from Emhar.
I would like to add my [2c] and agree with y’all. I would love to see some WW1 armor kits other than the Emhar offerings. As far as the Char B1 bis, I’m almost finished with mine. Great kit. Rumor has it that Tamiya had such great success with this kit that another early WW2 French AFV is due out. It’s supposed to be the Renault UE tractor in 1/35th scale. Mirage models has this vehicle in their inventory, but I can only imagine that Tamiya’s will blow it off the map. No due date or pictures were given on the Tamiya web sites, only that it’s “coming soon.”
I just typed about the Tamiya tankette on Perth and my computer died. Anyway, it looks like that is the best Tamiya can come up with in 1/35? Sad. No wonder Dragon and Trumpeter have reduced them to 1/48.
I would like a Whippet in 1/35 by the Big Boys. It would be a nice change of pace.
I finished my Male tank about a year ago. It had been sitting on my shelf for years unfinished but I finally found a set of Model Cellar individual links in my attic that were released years ago and stuck them on. They don’t exactly fit that well [ you have to put pieces of styrene on the inside of the tank so they have something to rest on ] and they’re far from perfect but they look much better than the rubber bands supplied.
It wouldn’t be so bad if Emhar retooled these kits and sold individual styrene links with them instead of the horrible rubber ones.
I’ve seen 1 or 2 reviews about the 1/35 version a while back but I’m sure they weren’t that positive. I’ll have to check them out again - see if they’re worth it. At least they have individual links [ as far as I can remember anyway ].
Emhar does a Whippet, one of their better WW1 tank kits. RPM’s Ft-17 series are tough builds, and they box them in about a dozen different guises.
Found this on ebay:
Looks like a nice model:
Number 1 on my wish list now[:)]
You’re a new member here, so you probably don’t know it, but I’ve been pining away for a good 1/35 Mark I-IV from Tamiya or Dragon for over a year!
I’d also love to see one of those really weird French St Chamond tanks too–they look like misshapen bathtubs on itty-bitty tractors. Saw one at Aberdeen–really unique looking things!
My LHS has that model, I remember reading about it years ago, I think when it first came out and caused quite a stir.
Seems like I have seen pretty serious criticism of the runnign gear lately, though.
It is cool looking, though.
Bill
You know, I can’t remember where I got this from, so apologies to the builder, but years ago I found pics of this guy’s build of an A7V where he was like, rebuilding the entire thing–interior and all.
Check this out!
SICK, huh?!?! [:O]
Damn…
I wanted to do some WW1 armor in the first place when I got back to hobby, but was realy surprised by the lack of WW1 kits[:(].
Any one knows “Commanders” or “Commander Series” models?
http://wwi-cookup.com/afv/french/index.html
This site lists a number of WW1 1/35 armor kits from this company, but couldn’t find their web-site…
There isalso a picture of “Commander Series’ 1/35 scale Cunningham T1E2 prototype tank” here.
(scroll down to find the model).
[:O]unbelivable!!![:O]
I guess it’s all scratchbuild… the patience required is beyond me…
I hope the sides and roof will be detachable.
The guy who did commander’s series models stopped making armor and focuses now on resin ships. Most of his kits go for some big bucks on eBay. I’ve still got the christie T3 tank conversion he did. An interesting kit to say the least.
The old Tauro A7V is definitely a bear to build. There’s not a lot of WW1 armor available because, frankly, there wasn’t a lot of armor in use at the time.
Well said ~ In fact Ditto
If they sell them, we will build them.(Do you hear us DML?Tamiya?AFVClub?)
You guys read Cookie Sewell’s painstaking conversion build of the Mark V to a U.S. version in the new FSM? Great article, reminding me of how I want to build WWI armor but the trouble we have to go to correct a sad outdated (overpriced for what it is) Emhar pile of *parts. I’ve seen these in resin, but who’s got that much money to blow on a kit?
The Char does have it’s origin in WWI (FCM Char 2C Heavy Tank) ~ Would make an impressive model(we would ALL buy !)
Char D’ Assault ~ both the St. Chamond & Schneider both a little funny looking, but quite interesting(and totally unknown as models)
How about a Mark VIII International tank(1919 USA) quite different from the Mark V and again, impressive
Woulda , coulda, shoulda…