c44 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 19, 2024 12:09 am
...about the 21CT Kubelwagon...I remember reading (possibly in this forum) that the molds for the Kubel were destroyed in a fire along with the 1/18 Spitfire molds...Kubelwagons still pop up on ebay at fairly reasonable prices (as opposed to Spits, which are usually offered up at ludicrous asking prices), so I guess there was no shortage of them even though never offered as a reissue ...which raises the question in my head whenever I think about the ruined molds: do any of the old 21CT molds exist anymore...?
That’s what I recall hearing about the 21st Kubels, Jeeps, Spitfires as well.
Some 21st molds do or at least did survive as well… Following 21st’s demise in 2008, repaints of a number of their aircraft as well as some tanks and figures were released by JSI after 2009. The models from JSI were basically repaints of the 21st models and included the F4U Corsair, Stuka, P-38, Huey, BF-109E, ME-262, and F-86 as well as a couple later retools of the Huey. I think there was also an F-104 repaint. Tank repaints included the Tiger and Panther and there was also a repaint of the 88mm Flak 36 gun, minus the carriage. Figures re-released by JSI included the 1st series Germans and US Paratroopers. All the JSI models were either identical or slight retoolings of the original 21st models and did not included figures. Repaints of the 21st P-51D (2005 retooled version), MiG-15, and TBF Avenger were also released in the mid 2010s by a company called Flight Wing and included all the same figures and accessories as the 21st originals. More recently, the model company Hobby Boss (a subsidiary of Trumpeter) released kit versions of what were the old 21st ME-262, BF-109E, and Huey among other 1/18 scale model kits. The Hobby Boss kits are identical to the 21st models save you have to build and paint them.
In saying the above, I’m not counting original JSI or Merit models like the F-14, SBD Dauntless, Harrier, or FW-190A that were released in the early-mid 2010s but which were not oroginally 21st models. I have no idea what happened with other 21st aircraft or armor toolings. Tanks like the Panzer IV, M113, etc. or aircraft like the Supercobra, P-40, or P-47s have not been produced in some form since.