The first video in the blog!

Today I tried to make a video with "Windows Live movie Maker".

Just watch it and please write a comment.

or just give a reaction...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jb4raEli2ZQ

I have choosen Airfix news 2011 by chance and the music is from the PC game "BBC Battlefield Academy" creacted by Slitherine Ltd.

Thanks for watching!

Jagdtiger Henschel with Lifting Crane from Dragon!

Another product from Dragon's 1/72-"Armour pro" series is available.

Jagdtiger Henschel Production with 2 Metric Ton Lifting Crane in 1/72 scale (All photos are from "dragonmodelsusa"-website).

The kit has 48 pieces.

Features:
- Detailed hull sides w/bolt details and weld seams
- Delicate crane w/photo-etched parts
- Realistic side fenders reproduced
- Intricate road wheels w/separate pieces, allowing unparalleled crispness of details
- Gun barrel travel lock can be assembled in either travel or combat modes
- Delicate rear panel reproduced
- Photo-etched parts to upgrade details
- One-piece DS tracks for easy assembly
- High-definition Cartograf decals

The Jagdtiger was an armored monstrosity produced by Nazi Germany.

It was the heaviest armored fighting vehicle to serve during WWII.

Weighing in at 71.7 tonnes, the Sd.Kfz.186 was a tank destroyer armed with an extremely potent 12.8cm PaK 44 L/55 antitank gun.

A total of 88 vehicles were produced from late 1944 till the end of the war.

However, despite the effectiveness of its thick armor (250mm on the superstructure front) and powerful armament, the vehicle suffered from poor mobility and mechanical unreliability owing to its weight problem.

I can imagine, that some of you are saying now "not another Jagdtiger!". Dragon should have been thought such reactions and added a 2-ton lifting crane, which makes this kit something special.

We all know, Dragon quality with photo-etched parts!

I'll just say, "have fun with this kit!"

WWII German Horse Drawn Multi-Purpose Wagon from Haet!

In our hobby there are some favourite models, like Tiger, Panther, T-34, and so on.

A lot of producers are offering those models, in different variants.

But some vehicles and weapons of WW2, which were used in great quantities are hard to find.

One of them is "horse-drawn"-vehicles.

Revell produced once the "German artillery WW2", really a wonderful model, after so many years still appreciated.



During WW2 the horse within German Army played a huge role. It’s actually a great paradox, when we think that this army invented Blitzkrieg.

The army which was most mechanized, was also the one using, the slowest and vulnerable transportation vehicle, the horse!

In fact, WWII German Army was the one employing the greatest number of horses, and pack animals in the history of mankind wars.

The number of horses needed yearly by the German Army was around 1.000.000.

Although the technological advance on every weapon was continuing especially during the war faster than as usual, the transport vehicle was one of the main problems in Wehrmacht.

After 1943 the number of horses serving in the German Army was increasing, due to Allies strategic bombardments of factories.

The production was being seriously affected while the horse-breeding farms escaped untouched.

And nowadays, the Haet is finishing the next "horse drawn multi-purpose wagon".

Here ist the test shot from their website:

and a second one:



After this short summary, it must be clear, why I'll buy this one and not just one!

British infantry northern Europe from Airfix!

Now you can see on the Airfix website a box image (temporary!) of the incoming "British infantry northern europe' - figures (IMHO it could be named better!) set in 1/72 scale:
The description on the website:

"This set of NEW figures depict in 15 poses british infantry troops in operations in the days and months after D-Day."

The word "new" is highlighted on the website, not just here!

Since the new products of Airfix in 2010 it was known that this set are/will be produced, but nobody was sure, new molds or old molds and in which scale!

Was the old molds of this set lost?
Now, 2 weeks before "Nuernberg Toy fair" this announcement makes it claerer:

New molds, in 1/72 scale, 15 poses with 48 parts!

Poltava 1709, a new “Age of battles” - game from Zvezda!

The first combine set of 2011 is released by Zvezda in their "Age of Battles"-series:

Military-historical game "Poltava" devoted to the events of the Great Northern War 1700-1721 period. In this war the Russian army, reformed by Peter I on the European model, fought with the Swedish army, considered at that time one of the best.

I can imagine, that most of the 1/72 scale fans knows this system, but even so, just a short summary:

Age Of Battles is a table-top gaming system using 1/72 scale miniatures. Movement and combat are performed through measurement and dice rolling. There are several Age of Battles games, which cover several time periods and countries, all based on historical events (Antiquity, Middle age, Shogun, Napoleonic).

The rules are divided into 3 skill levels, allowing players a concrete battle situation with different level of realism.

Each level has its own description of command, with specially developed rules for different units allowing the player to choose unique tactics.

This time we can play on the table the Battle of Poltava and other battles of this war.

The game contents:

54 infantry figures

13 Cavalry figures

2 guns

67 trays

6 character sheets

6 formation trays

2 linears

1 compass

4 x "1-20" - dices

a rules-book

a scenarios-book

2 pencil

Zvezda’s new website and a lot of new sets!

After the rumours about Zvezda's possible cancellation of their historic figures sets, a lot of figures from Zvezda are announced!

Here is the list: (from http://www.models2u.co.uk/" - website!)

Samurai period:

Ashigaru-yari

Ashigaru with Arquebus

Samurai-Naginata

Samurai Archers

Samurai-no-dati

Ninja

Mounted Samurai

Monks Archers

Monks with Yari & Naginata

Commander with Bodyguards

Samurai Commanders

WW2 period:

German Sturmpionere

German Fallschirmjager (Paratroopers)

German Reconnaissance Team

German Gebirgsjager

Soviet Anti-Tank Team

Soviet Reconnaissance Team

Soviet Paratroopers

Soviet Naval Infantry

Soviet Engineers

Soviet Cavalry

There are no further information about the number of figures or any photo, even drawings are missing.

The price is 2.75 pound for each the set and this make me think, that there will be similarities in case of production method and end-product with the new WW2-series.

In each case, those will be small sets with less figures, like:

If those new products (in case of Samurai sets!) could reach the quality of their previous samurai sets?

Hopefully!

By the way Zvezda redesigned also their website:

http://zvezda.org.ru/?news=343&PHPSESSID=efcdf381753449ad48a2f4774799742b

If it's now better, worser, nothing chanced or for someone who thinks "I don"t care!", it depends on your personal taste!I

MO, it looks 'better organised".

Were the rumours just only "latrine rumours'?

I'll say, wait and see. There are only 2 weeks (and 2 days!) till "Nuernbeg Toy Fair".

No more rumours!

No news is good news!

Yesterday I created a new record with 908 page-viewers in a day!

Why?

Because bad news are good news!

Just a joke!

But the fact that one important model producer canceled some announced products and additional rumors about a possible production stop of historical figures sets on an another producer alarmed a lot of collectors and hobbiest!

Thats the good sign!

The fact is, we all LOVE our hobby!

Yes, we do! (OK; not the way we love our wifes and kits, but there is a connection between us and the hobbby!)

and we care for it!

But on the other hand, ther are some facts, which we may and shouldn't ignore; like

"Money talks!"

and

"Demand creates offer!"

1-The producers should make money and the demand is not SOO great, I think.

We all can imagine that those "small plastic soldiers" are not on the first place among the popular free time activities of the coming generations. (I personally dont call those activities "hobby"!)

IMHO, the similarity of Haet products to the announced napoleonic figures of Italeri could be one of the reasons in this ever shrinking market!

2-I can imagine that a 1/35 scale tank brings more profit than a 1/72 figures set.

Big boxes with additional gadgets are bringing more profit!

No suprise, that only 1/72 scale sets are on the list!

3-And some producers could/should co-operate for minimizing the risk, like, "Italeri" with "Waterloo 1815".

In this case, it was for me not a surprise, that the "apache warriors"-set, which were announced in the 2010 catalogue of Italeri, were canceled, after the production of "Waterloo 1815"'s "sioux"-set.

But the "U.S. cavalry" set was not among the announced items.

4-Maybe, the technology is settinng even, in this small market, the production trends slowly, but surely!

Dragon is using the 3D-moulding technology and Zvezda cooperates with Dragon.

With the infantry figures for their new boardgame "The great Patriotic War 1941" they made the first steps, into the new direction, producing figures with this new technology, without any sculptor:

http://worldin172scale.blogspot.com/2010/10/more-photos.html

Producing with less cost, more products and faster, in the meantime hoping more profit!

What's wrong with that, folks?

Nothing, I know!

But, we, who are collecting, painting, remodelling those small figures find the sculptor-designed figures more natural, better, beatiful...

I hope, through co-operations and low-cost-new technologies the producers will be able to promote so-called "special sets" in periodic intervals to the market, created through sculptors!