Entering the 1:32 Tank World

Your forum dedicated to 1/32nd and smaller plastic and metal figures and vehicles.
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Entering the 1:32 Tank World

Post by PBRStreetgang » Sun Jan 17, 2016 1:47 pm

Hey lads (and lasses),...clearly new to the forum (although I think I was a member years ago).

Been a huge Diecast Aircraft collector for years. I have picked up the occasional 1:72 armoured vehicle over the years, mainly to add to some of my aviation themes/displays. I also picked up FoVs Whitman Tiger 1:18. :shock: I have no idea what to do with the damn thing,....but it does look very flash indeed. It needs a stable mate...................maybe when I am rich and famous. :lol:

Recently I have made a real effort to collect Armoured Vehicles. My chosen scale is 1:32 and my specific theme is WW2 German. Mainly tanks and the occasional SP.

I have picked up 5 FoV vehicles so far (one in the mail).

A couple of things I have noticed.

1. I think I could not pick a more expensive scale and theme. :shock: Which is fine, as I have only two or three shelves to display them, so quality vs quantity is the name of the game.

2. I have no idea what I am doing. :lol:

Its my understanding that FoV is the best choice, although I have been told that they have lost the plot a little and the latest releases are not as good as earlier ones.

So lads, a few choice pointers would be much appreciated.

Things like, what is 21st century like?? Are they plastic or Diecast?

Any other manufacturers I should consider?

The trials and tribulations of FoV?

Any other hints and pointers would be appreciated. :)

Cheers lads.


P.S. Jack, mate, yes I finally got here. :mrgreen:

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Re: Entering the 1:32 Tank World

Post by dragon53 » Sun Jan 17, 2016 2:11 pm

PBRSTREETGANG:

Try this forum for armored vehicles.

Link: http://tafvmf.forumcircle.com/index.php?

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Re: Entering the 1:32 Tank World

Post by PBRStreetgang » Sun Jan 17, 2016 2:23 pm

dragon53 wrote:PBRSTREETGANG:

Try this forum for armored vehicles.

Link: http://tafvmf.forumcircle.com/index.php?
I am persona non grata there mate. :oops: :shock: :roll:

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Re: Entering the 1:32 Tank World

Post by cjg476 » Sun Jan 17, 2016 3:18 pm

That is my tank forum Christian it's mostly 1/72 but we get occasional other collectors.
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Re: Entering the 1:32 Tank World

Post by PBRStreetgang » Sun Jan 17, 2016 3:21 pm

cjg476 wrote:That is my tank forum Christian it's mostly 1/72 but we get occasional other collectors.
This is getting awkward!! :lol:

Mate, I came here,....because the other place is not available to me.

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Re: Entering the 1:32 Tank World

Post by hworth18 » Sun Jan 17, 2016 4:39 pm

FOV 1/32 is a decent range. The only real issue I have is with the Tiger I which has it's Drive sprocket and track wrong. FOV used to be reasonably priced, but prices have skyrocketed since the 1/32 stuff is OOP. Even though it is 1/35, I highly recommend the DragonArmor stuff. It is basically a prebuilt from their excellent model kits. The only drawback is the range is limited to King Tigers, Tiger I's, Panthers and Elefants.
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Re: Entering the 1:32 Tank World

Post by cjg476 » Sun Jan 17, 2016 4:55 pm

Gotcha. We can help you here with what your looking for and need to know.
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Re: Entering the 1:32 Tank World

Post by [CAT]CplSlade » Sun Jan 17, 2016 6:29 pm

In answer to your question, 21C is mostly plastic but they have a Cold Steel line made with metal bodies but the variety of vehicles is limited. The tanks themselves are reasonably well-detailed although there are concessions to playability which affects detail. I used to collect the German stuff from both companies but switched to building 1/35 kits when 21C collapsed and FOV slowed down its release schedule and cut back on the weathering and goodies included.

Hworth is correct about the Dragon diecast and the detail is much better but they are also pretty much OOP and getting pricey.

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Re: Entering the 1:32 Tank World

Post by tmanthegreat » Sun Jan 17, 2016 10:42 pm

I've been collecting 1:32 armor since about 2002 when 21c first released their 32x lineup. The 21c 1:32 armor lineup has some good variety in both plastic and diecast. Some of their best work were the later vehicles like the Panzer 38T, Marders, and Hetzer and their diecast M-113 is excellent. They offered a number of playsets as well with bombed out buildings and had a variety of artillery emplacement and bunkers as well. Great figures for the price as well.

The Unimax FOV vehicles have a much greater diversity from small vehicles like the Zundapp bike and Jeep to large armor like the King Tiger and M-26 Pershing. They also had an extensive lineup of modern armored vehicles as well. They even had artillery pieces. Their figures were not the best. At least in their first few years of production, FOV were some of the best on the market in terms of price and value. They initially had two vehicle lines, "Enthusiast Grade" and "Action Grade". Enthusiast Grade vehicles were what the hobby shops and small retailers sold and they usually cost in the $30-$40 range and came with excellent weathering and lots of accessories. The Action Grade vehicles were designed for mass retail and sold at Wal Mart for a while and mostly Target and Toys R Us for about $25. They were the same vehicles as the Enthusiast Grade, just they had little to no weathering and fewer accessories. Over the past few years, FOV sort of went downhill... They released mostly repaints which were over-priced in the $60-$80 range and the Enthusiast Grade pretty much started to look like the Action Grade vehicles.

As others noted, Unimax is out of the game and 21c has been gone since 2008. Its still possible to find a lot of the FOV stuff (places like Flying Mule and Smalljoes.com still have good selections of the newer items) but for the older ones, you'll have to resort to ebay.
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Re: Entering the 1:32 Tank World

Post by Rxrated » Mon Jan 18, 2016 6:53 am

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Forces-of-Valor ... SwJkJWln8w
Did Forces of Valor make the Creighton Abrams Sherman, or was it cancelled. I think they have the wrong picture for this model. The Normandy Sherman, had the tank riders on it.? I could be wrong.

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Re: Entering the 1:32 Tank World

Post by dragon53 » Mon Jan 18, 2016 6:59 am

RXRATED:

The link below is FOV's 1/32 D-Day Sherman. FOV never made a 1/32 Creighton Abrams Sherman.

Link: http://www.flyingmule.com/products/um-80235

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Re: Entering the 1:32 Tank World

Post by Rxrated » Mon Jan 18, 2016 7:04 am

Yes that's the one. I thought it was the wrong picture on e-bay. The seller even says the release date Jan.2016

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Re: Entering the 1:32 Tank World

Post by snake » Mon Jan 18, 2016 9:40 pm

Welcome PBRStreetgang.

Glad to see you finally make it over here. :D

Christian is a great Aussie who has a substantial and varied aircraft collection. And very enthusiastic about the hobby.

His first armour purchase was very recent, and he picked up the 1/16 FoV Wittman Tiger. :shock: Pretty much the Holy Grail in armour. 8)

Think the guys on here will be able to help you out. Some great customizers on here, and am sure you will recognize a few names as well. :wink:

Unfortunately, the 1/32, 1/35 armour line up has been greatly reduced, with the focus lately seeming to be on the small 1/72.

Others far more in the know on here, but my 2 cents worth.

21 Century did 1/32 and 1/18. But all plastic, and somewhat cheaper quality. Have one 1/18 Tiger myself.

Forces of Valor are very good, but their later releases have been disappointing. As Tman pointed out, they had two different grades/ quality. Enthusiast was far superior, and what I have. Mostly German, but with some Allied armour in there also. But they went cheap on their later releases for some reason, and it showed.

So, I would recommend the FoV, but make sure it is one of their "Enthusiast" grades, and not one of their later releases.

Your 1/16 Wittman Tiger is FoV, so you can see what they are capable of.

Dragon are also very good, but in 1/35 scale. And all plastic. But the paint and detail are great. Kind of like a professionaly built model. All German as well, but only the Tiger, Panther, King Tiger, and Elefant, no Panzer IV. :shock:
Probably the best, but 1/35, all plastic { unlike FoV}, and limited to just a few, but important, late war German armour.

Minichamps are also in there, but while I do like their car models, find their armour far too "factory fresh", bright and shiny. But lots of metal, and have some weight to them. Not too familiar with their line up on armour, either.

So, basically I would say this.

Older, Enthusiast grade Forces of Valor is the way to go, and if you don't mind some 1/35, Dragon are excellent, but all plastic.

Unfortunately, all older releases, and you will have to check EBay. But at least they aren't " limited" edition. Think patience will have to be a virtue for these. :lol:

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Re: Entering the 1:32 Tank World

Post by tmanthegreat » Tue Jan 19, 2016 12:56 pm

snake wrote:His first armour purchase was very recent, and he picked up the 1/16 FoV Wittman Tiger. :shock: Pretty much the Holy Grail in armour. 8)
Getting a little OT here, but which Wittmann Tiger are you referring to as the "Holy Grail", Snake? The #222 (Villers Bocage) or the #007 (Final Battle) one? I've got the #222 Villers Bocage tank, which I bought used-but-complete on eBay a couple years ago, and the standing figures that came with the #007 tank. The FOV 1/16 scale Tiger is simply fantastic 8)
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Re: Entering the 1:32 Tank World

Post by snake » Tue Jan 19, 2016 6:52 pm

tmanthegreat wrote:
snake wrote:His first armour purchase was very recent, and he picked up the 1/16 FoV Wittman Tiger. :shock: Pretty much the Holy Grail in armour. 8)
Getting a little OT here, but which Wittmann Tiger are you referring to as the "Holy Grail", Snake? The #222 (Villers Bocage) or the #007 (Final Battle) one? I've got the #222 Villers Bocage tank, which I bought used-but-complete on eBay a couple years ago, and the standing figures that came with the #007 tank. The FOV 1/16 scale Tiger is simply fantastic 8)

Think they would both qualify, Tman.

Not sure on the production numbers of each, and do wish I had picked upone of these years ago when they were "resonable".

Certainly not an expert on these, and sounds like the 007 comes with more figures than the 222 ?

But what a model ! 8)

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Re: Entering the 1:32 Tank World

Post by tmanthegreat » Tue Jan 19, 2016 8:44 pm

Yeah, #222 comes with just the commander figure (Wittmann) & #007 comes with all the crew figures, designed to stand as though their photo is being taken. You can get the figures separately. I've managed to get the two German Paratroopers that came with one of the King Tiger tank plus the crew figures for the #007 Tiger tank from eBay & a store in Germany.
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Re: Entering the 1:32 Tank World

Post by PBRStreetgang » Thu Jan 21, 2016 9:33 pm

To answer the above question,...I have 222. 8) I'd love to get another as a matching pair, but they are far beyond what I am prepared to pay now,

Yes well, I have quite a good gander at the various manufacturers. I think I will stick with two,......FoV and King and Country.

I have been looking at King and Country for the past few days and I just luv em. Problem being sticking with just German WW2 tanks is going to be extremely problematic. The themes from ancient times to WW2 is unbelievable. Just luuuv the Greek/Persian stuff and English Civil War Themes.

I did not like Minichamps. Too clean and whilst the paint jobs are incredible, they just don't look real to my eyes.

Figarty,....I could not find a retailer in Australia.

Collector Showcase. Apparently a little hit and miss, with both QC and workmanship issues.

Had a look at John Jenkins and will consider the MKIII later.

But King and Country are just awesome. So I spent a bit on them today to get started along with my FoV.

Fun fun and fun.

Thanks for all the advice lads.

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Re: Entering the 1:32 Tank World

Post by Epap » Fri Jan 22, 2016 2:57 am

PBRStreetgang wrote:To answer the above question,...I have 222. 8) I'd love to get another as a matching pair, but they are far beyond what I am prepared to pay now,

Yes well, I have quite a good gander at the various manufacturers. I think I will stick with two,......FoV and King and Country.

I have been looking at King and Country for the past few days and I just luv em. Problem being sticking with just German WW2 tanks is going to be extremely problematic. The themes from ancient times to WW2 is unbelievable. Just luuuv the Greek/Persian stuff and English Civil War Themes.

I did not like Minichamps. Too clean and whilst the paint jobs are incredible, they just don't look real to my eyes.

Figarty,....I could not find a retailer in Australia.

Collector Showcase. Apparently a little hit and miss, with both QC and workmanship issues.

Had a look at John Jenkins and will consider the MKIII later.

But King and Country are just awesome. So I spent a bit on them today to get started along with my FoV.

Fun fun and fun.

Thanks for all the advice lads.
Christian, it's important when looking at any King and Country tank model to closely check out the way they have done the road wheels and tracks. On the earlier models, these are one large piece, with only an attempt to hide this by fuzzing up the space between the wheels; on later models they have made the parts separately so you can see right through---which is the correct way.

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Re: Entering the 1:32 Tank World

Post by PBRStreetgang » Fri Jan 22, 2016 2:12 pm

Epap wrote:
PBRStreetgang wrote:To answer the above question,...I have 222. 8) I'd love to get another as a matching pair, but they are far beyond what I am prepared to pay now,

Yes well, I have quite a good gander at the various manufacturers. I think I will stick with two,......FoV and King and Country.

I have been looking at King and Country for the past few days and I just luv em. Problem being sticking with just German WW2 tanks is going to be extremely problematic. The themes from ancient times to WW2 is unbelievable. Just luuuv the Greek/Persian stuff and English Civil War Themes.

I did not like Minichamps. Too clean and whilst the paint jobs are incredible, they just don't look real to my eyes.

Figarty,....I could not find a retailer in Australia.

Collector Showcase. Apparently a little hit and miss, with both QC and workmanship issues.

Had a look at John Jenkins and will consider the MKIII later.

But King and Country are just awesome. So I spent a bit on them today to get started along with my FoV.

Fun fun and fun.

Thanks for all the advice lads.
Christian, it's important when looking at any King and Country tank model to closely check out the way they have done the road wheels and tracks. On the earlier models, these are one large piece, with only an attempt to hide this by fuzzing up the space between the wheels; on later models they have made the parts separately so you can see right through---which is the correct way.
Thanks Edward. I should be pretty safe, most of the early stuff is retired and worth a fortune. Not that they are that cheap to start off with. :o

But I went a bit spare and purchased four on the spot from a retailer in Brisbane. Two Panthers, a Tiger and a MKIV.

The MKIV is a Desert one and I think my favourite already. Do like the German Desert schemes. Just like I like the Luftwaffe Desert schemes in my plane collection.

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Re: Entering the 1:32 Tank World

Post by [CAT]CplSlade » Fri Jan 22, 2016 4:03 pm

You need to get off that Mk whatever nonsense; the Germans never used it. Totally a Brit thing. The proper term is Panzerkampfwagen, or Pzkpfw. You Aussies are your own people now, so break away fully from your former colonial masters.

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Re: Entering the 1:32 Tank World

Post by Dauntless » Sat Jan 23, 2016 2:11 pm

Welcome to the forum PBRStreetgang. 8)
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Re: Entering the 1:32 Tank World

Post by PBRStreetgang » Sat Jan 23, 2016 3:16 pm

Dauntless wrote:Welcome to the forum PBRStreetgang. 8)
Good onya mate,...thank you. :P Actually the Pom in me is very grateful. :lol:

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Re: Entering the 1:32 Tank World

Post by dragon53 » Sat Jan 23, 2016 3:49 pm

PBRSTREETGANG:

If you're interested in King and Country and maybe Collectors Showcase, try this message board, if you already don't know about it.

Link: http://www.treefrogtreasures.com/forum/



As for Collectors Showcase, I have eight of them and only had quality control problems with the eighth one----the Sherman's treads had pieces missing and unpainted. The company would send me a new one, but only if I paid to return the defective one (other collectors said they had similar problems with their Shermans). Fortunately, my dealer allowed me to return it to them and they got a replacement from Collectors Showcase, so I didn't have to pay for anything else.
Also, Diecastairplane .com had FOV on clearance around Christmas, so I got the 1/32 Otto Carrius Jagdtiger and an Elefant.

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Re: Entering the 1:32 Tank World

Post by dragon53 » Sat Jan 23, 2016 3:54 pm

TMANTHEGREAT:

Do you think the FOV German figures are too thin for 1/16?
On the King Tiger, they look too small in overall size compared to the tank. The figures on the 1/16 Sherman are the same height as the German figures, but they're a lot bulkier and probably more accurate in size.

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Re: Entering the 1:32 Tank World

Post by tmanthegreat » Sat Jan 23, 2016 5:06 pm

Dragon, the FOV 1:18 scale German figures will really be too small and too thin. See the comparison photos below of a 1:16 scale German Falschrimjager figure and the FOV 1:18 scale German soldier figure.

Image

Image

The Falschrimjager figure was made by a German company, Torro GmbH, and is the same as the FOV figures that came with one of the 1:16 King Tigers. You may be able to find these on eBay or you can go to the Torro website and order directly: https://www.torro-shop.de/en/figures/. They've replicated all the figures that came with the FOV 1:16 tanks and some extras, like US Sherman tank crew figures.
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