Kit countdown... Clayton's top ten upcoming releases of the month...
G’day guys, here we are again taking a look over at some of the releases that caught my eye in the hope it might highlight something you missed!
The first announcement to catch my eye was...
Coming in at 10 is not one thing but a range of sorts, and that is the latest range of 3D-printed tracks from Ammo. 3D-printed tracks are nothing new, and some of them can be a little hit and miss, but what I like about this range is they are producing them in 1/48th scale. I’m hoping with Ammo’s reach and distribution channels, it may make these sets more accessible and available for those of us who enjoy quarter scale.
It was just about impossible to escape the hype around The Mandalorian, and I am a self-confessed Star Wars tragic. My only complaint about model companies and this genre is they leave releasing them far too long after the show airs! This model is of the stripped-back Naboo starfighter from the second season.
I like the scale, and I like the look—so hopefully this kit is A. accessible and B. carries a reasonable level of detail like some of the other Bandai releases.
8 White Stork Miniatures—Again, this is more about a range and an introduction to a manufacturer that may be new to some of you, and that is White Stork Miniatures. They caught my attention with a string of releases this month. White Stork works out of Poland and has an incredible range of 72nd-scale 3D-printed figures, but the thing I like most is the broad range of subjects they produce. There are too many to go through here, so I’d encourage you to check them out.
I seem to have developed a thing for support vehicles and trucks, and this new release caught my eye because of the opportunities it affords us to use it in conjunction with other vehicles. That extended towing arm is a cool feature by itself, but I feel with a Jeep strung up on the chain, it would make for an awesome display.
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6 M2128 Bradley 105mm Mobile Gun System—-Magic Factory | No. 2013 | 1:35th scale
I believe this one started its life as an April Fools' joke last year, or maybe it was Magic Factory testing the water to see if it would float—and that is the What if Bradley, 105mm Mobile Gun System.
Ive always loved the look of the Stryker with the Mobile Gun Mount, so it's only natural this one would float my boat too. It comes with etched metal parts and 3D parts and is based off the previously released Bradley, which I had the pleasure of building last year.
The What if badge might put some off, but the idea is in the realm of possibility, so who knows? Maybe Magic Factory knows something we don’t!
5. Lockheed Martin F-35C Lightning II – 1/72nd scale
Of course it was only going to be a matter of time before Tamiya released the F-35C in 72nd scale. The 48th scale kit has proved to be very popular, so I can’t imagine why this 72nd scale version of the Lightning II wouldn’t be the same.
Tamiya's range of 72nd-scale jets is growing by the day, and this C version, I'm sure, will prove to be an enjoyable, trouble-free build.
4. Border Model's 35th scale He-111 H-6.
April saw us graced with updates on the Border Model Heinkel He-111 H-6, and from what I am seeing, this is going to be one heck of a kit! The interior and cabin detail as well as the refinement in the engine assemblies look incredible, as does the oilcanning on the wing surfaces.
I know some will scoff at that detail; however, I’d encourage us to all reserve judgement until we look at it under a coat of paint.
It is 35th scale, which for me is great, and Border must be selling this line of aircraft to be persisting with it, but I can understand how the staunchly 32nd scale aircraft modellers may disapprove… I mean, I would NEVER build a 32nd-scale tank model.
3. TAKOM Shermans 1/35th scale
I'm going to cheat a little here again and count two releases as the one thing, and I am, of course, talking about Takom's giant leap into the world of the Sherman. I am a big fan of a lot of Takom's work, and for us as modellers to have a mainstream model manufacturer designing and producing so many new kits on such a regular basis is honestly quite extraordinary
They of course announced the M4A1 76(w) HVSS as well as the M1 Super Shermans. If the renders are anything to go by, and I can’t see why they wouldn’t be, this line is going to be in high demand, and with the foundations of the Sherman in the Takom design team’s crosshairs, I can see no reason why more iterations of the Sherman wouldn’t follow suit.
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2. M36 U.S. Tank Destroyer—Tamiya 1/35th scale
I had a bit of an internal battle with first and second, but the fact that there are other options for this vehicle relegated this release to second, and that is the M36 Tank Destroyer in 1/35th from Tamiya. Anything from Tamiya is welcomed, and off the back of the H36 a couple of months ago, we now see the M36. Tamiya released the M36 all the way back in 1968, and it saw a number of upgrades through those early years, but we now have a newly tooled M36 inbound.
It will be interesting to see how this model is priced on the back of the state of affairs around the world, but hopefully Tamiya continues to price their new releases to sell. Maybe they should put this kit with the aircraft models because I suspect this one might fly off the shelves.
OK—number 1, and it's another Takom release, and that is the Takom Jagdtiger in 1/35 scale, but the thing that is most exciting with this is it comes with a full interior. Takom had released the Jagdtiger in their Blitz range, and it received mixed reviews, but this is a newly tooled model, so I am going into this with high hopes.
I am not aware of any other manufacturer releasing the Jagdtiger with an interior, so correct me if I am wrong, but I think this is the first of its kind.
I appreciate building interiors isn’t for everyone, and realistically the work will be just about impossible to see, but for me, building and painting the interiors is a learning opportunity and gives me a greater appreciation of these machines and the men that served within them… So that is why this Jagdtiger came in at number one.
So that’s it for April—did you see anything you like? Did I miss something? Let me know in the video comments!
Clayton Ockerby
See more of Clayton's amazing works on his YouTube Channel, his modelling portal "Workbench Hobbies,"or his Facebook page