Hold on to your hats!.. Tamiya’s website today announced the next 1/48 scale kit will be the T34/76… scheduled to be released in the home island May 25th. They’re rolling out a kit or two every month now… exciting times.
Ho hum. Sorry, just my enthusiam about 1/48 talking.
I was hoping you would say their next release is the LeClerc. If Tamiya would do some modern armor kits in 1/48th (T-90, BTR-90, Type 98 etc.) I might be tempted to buy them. Otherwise I have spent a small fortune on 1/35th and don’t anticipate buying a smaller version of something I already own.
I understand your delima… you feel after swimming this far changing directions in mid stream is just too much. And perhaps it is,… but for those just entering the armour scene, or re-entering it like myself, 1/48th is an ideal choice of scale. … Considering an established company; perhaps the most respected in the industry, will be marketing a new quality kit almost every month from now until the cows come home.
OH Boy, micro armor!! Sorry, I am not excited by 1/48th armor either. I think Tamiya is going to fail with their 1/48th armor series, only so many tanks will be bought by the aircraft guys to go with their wingy-thingies. Small to no market for 1/48 armor by itself. If they don’t continue their 1/35 armor with new releases, they will be eclipsed by DML, Academy, and others. Oh well.
DAMN, all the negativity…
Exactly, 1/48 is a welcome addition to the market. It gives a welcome change to just 1/35 or 1/72. Any new models are always welcome, no matter what the scale.
I kind of have to agree with HeavyArty. 1/48 armor was tried before and it disapeared, then the kits were reissued under a different label and they disappeared. Granted Tamiya’s kits are better quality but they don’t come with interiors and they are as pricey as a lot of 1/35 armor kits. The local hbby shops in my area have gotten most of the new kits in but they aren’t exactly flying off the shelf. [2c]
Tamiya are having issues with price against Dragon and trumpeter. So 1/48th actually makes sense. No one else is in there and as you say 1/48th is the scale for aircraft so bound to be some crossover. I dont think 1/48 will flop
It should be interesting to see how this line will do.I’m just so set in my ways that 1/48 =aircraft, 1/35= armor. When I was young I built all different scales of both and kind of settled into those two categories. It doesn’t mean I won’t try a 1/48 kit , but it will probably go into a dio with a wingy thing.
And to think I thought you were talking about thier 1/35 releases next month:
1/35th Vehicles
- 21035 U.S. Medium Tank M26 Pershing (T26E3) (Finished Model) (25 May)
- 26012 German Jerry Can And Fuel Drum Set (Finished Model) (25 May)
- 26013 U.S. Jerry Can And Fuel Drum Set (Finished Model) (25 May)
- 26014 Brick Wall Set (Finished Model) (25 May)
- 26015 Sand Bag Set (Finished Model) (25 May)
- Leclerc French MBT (Future)
http://www.perthmilitarymodelling.com/newkitnews/newf.htm
Whoopie!
Too late for me. I would have liked to build 1/48 but I have a storage locker full of 1/35 and 1/72.
Thanks for the heads up, but I don’t like anything smaller than 1/35th. My eyesight isn’t what it used to be.
mark956
no reflection on you 28juni14, but yawn… no interest in 1/48 armour, sorry.
kind regards,
nicholas
I wonder how long it’s going to take before every single post about new trends in 1/48 armor isn’t met with a barrage of negative replies.
I don’t mean that statement as a rant at all, just an observation of current trends and the sociology of modelling. It’s easy to understand all the resistance to Tamiya’s re-introduction of 1/48 armor; 1/35 has long been established as the “standard” scale, and most armor modellers have already invested a lot of their time and money in 1/35 modelling. A lot of folks just plain think that 1/35 armor is the “right” size (I’ve always thought that 1/25 was perfect!).
But seriously, do you think it’ll be months, years, or decades before we see an overall acceptance of 1/48 as a viable choice for armor modellers, along with 1/72, 1/76, 1/35, 1/25, 1/24, 1/16, and 1/15 scale?
And why doesn’t any other non-1/35 scale catch the kind of flak that 1/48 does?
Nobody gripes about other scales. Interesting.
Anyway, the reasons, pros and cons of the new generation of 1/48 armor have been argued to death here and elswehere. All opinions, both for and against the scale, are completely valid and should be respected. And again, I’m not presenting these ideas as a rant at all. [:D]
As for the release of the new 1/48 T-34, I’m hoping they’ll have 'em on sale early at the Shizuoka Hobby Show May 15 and 16. Actually, I’ve been looking forward to the M4A1!
We shall see…
I will buy one or more if the T34 is up to the standard that the Stug was. Your J-Hulk the negatives are getting a bit old, or more to the point not really a discussion more a reflection of how people embrace change or new things.
i have a large closet full of 1/72 models (mostly aircraft, but some tanks). Some 1/48th and even two 1/35th tanks (M10 and T34). So I’m not going to go out of my way to buy different new scales. 1/48th Tanks.
However thats the logical side of me, as soon as I get to the LHS that side usually goes out the window and I’ll buy the subject not scale that interests me.
J-Hulk , Sounds like you may be the first to see the new T34! Surely they’ll have a prototype of the kit at the show for folks to oogle. Be sure to post your observations!
I don’t understand why the kits are more expensive as well…I think 1/48 is fine if you’re building alongside 1/48 aircraft…but I’m not sure how I feel about 1/48 armor…I think 1/35 is small enough.
Tank
1/48? great scale for planes, for armor, too small for me. Tamiya needs to do its homework if it is going to catch up with Dragon’s latest 1/35 scale kits as they are fantastic and definitely raise the bar in quality and features.
Hello Tankbuster -
Greedy importer/distributors are bumping up the cost at your LHS. Check out the mailorder stores; GreatModels for example sells everything for under $20 US. Better yet, HLJ.com gets the kits for you @ homeland prices weeks before they hit western markets (the T34 will be priced at 1800 yen; about $17 US). Don’t lose heart, quality kits in quarterscale are here… you will soon be seeing a couple new releases every month from either Tamiya or Skybow. This is a great time to move to quarterscale !!