Small Scale Military Headquarters

Hey everyone,
I`m new here and new to the hobby of diecast collectibles. I enjoy WWII Tanks the best and been searching online for days all the different companies and what seems to be the best quality out there for the 1/48,1/50 and 1/72 scales. Dragon Armor,Corgi and Tamiya Masterworks seem to be the best from what i`ve seen so far and i am awaiting one tank from each of those brands. I have only seen pics so far never in person but i think i will be very happy when i get them. If there is anything else out there worthy in those size scales or anything i should know about this hobby please inform me. Thanks and i look forward to hearing from everyone.

Hobbymaster makes some very nice tanks in 1:72 and 1:48. They have more diecast in them than the Dragon offerings and are just as detailed. Unimax Forces of Valor makes some nice tanks as well. They are not quite Dragon quality, but are great for the price point. They also feature rolling treads and figures in the hatches. If you want to go larger, there are lots of 1:32 scale vehicles out there. Unimax Forces of Valor largely makes the best, though 21st Century Toys has some good ones as well.

Thank you for the info. I will check out Hobby Master,sounds great! For the size i don`t care for scales larger than 1/48 but really its just more of a space issue.Thanks again.

i really like the dragon armor and agree that HM is very well done. they are also doing never or little done vehicles

Welcome aboard Panzer.

The Forces of Valor series is very good,especially for the price.It is 1/32 though.

Ever think about getting your favourite tank in 1/32?

snake wrote:Welcome aboard Panzer.

The Forces of Valor series is very good,especially for the price.It is 1/32 though.

Ever think about getting your favourite tank in 1/32?

I`m sure there are some in that scale that looks great but to me i always thought the bigger scales look toyish in a way. Plus i have 3 tanks on the way all around the same size so i like to keep my pieces equal.

Anyone else have any words of advice?

Panzer Div.68,

Three years ago, I bought my first diecast tank, 1/72 FOV T-72. Today, I have more than 200 1/72 Dragon Armors, 20+ 1/72 Hobby Master tanks and 30+ misc. 1/72 tanks (Easy Models, Admiral, FOV, etc).

I also have 52 1/32 FOV armors, 32 1/32 21st Century tanks, 9 1/35 Minichamps and 6 1/35 Dragon Armors.

I am listing all those tanks because I want you be aware that this is very addictive hobby. There are always something more to collect.

If I may make a recommendation, I would start with 1/72 scale. There are so many detailed tanks at 1/72 scale. Prices are reasonable and they do not take up too much space. I would use Dragon Armor as the standard. They are good to excellent. Please note that price has been going up rapidly while diecast content has been dissappering. Also, I would strongly recommend 1/72 Hobby Master tanks. IMHO, they are all excellent, lots of diecast with great details. Most of my favorite 1/72 tanks are Hobby Master brand.

I would not recommend 1/48 and 1/50 scales. There are just not enough selections. You should really take a look at 1/32 Forces of Valor and 1/32 21st Century (This company is no longer with us. It went bankrupt). After that try 1/35 Minichamps and 1/35 Dragon Armor. Minichamps tanks are almost 100% diecast. They have great details and EXTREMELY HEAVY, a true diecast tanks. 1/35 Dragon Armors are 100% plastic, but, they are beautifully assembled and professionally painted.

Sorry if my reply is too long. I just got too excited about talking about diecast tanks.

Happy collecting!

tparkhere

I have two FOV 1/16 tanks (Tiger #007-Wittman and Sherman), a Dragon 1/35 King Tiger-Porsche and numerous FOV 1/32 tanks---but near the top of my best tanks are the Hobby Master 1/56 M1 Abrams (tan and NATO green) and the 1/72 M46 Patton. The sharp detailing, particularly on the 1/56 Abrams, is really impressive. The 1/56 tanks have been discontinued which is too bad because they're among my favorites.

tparkhere wrote:Panzer Div.68,

Three years ago, I bought my first diecast tank, 1/72 FOV T-72. Today, I have more than 200 1/72 Dragon Armors, 20+ 1/72 Hobby Master tanks and 30+ misc. 1/72 tanks (Easy Models, Admiral, FOV, etc).

I also have 52 1/32 FOV armors, 32 1/32 21st Century tanks, 9 1/35 Minichamps and 6 1/35 Dragon Armors.

I am listing all those tanks because I want you be aware that this is very addictive hobby. There are always something more to collect.

If I may make a recommendation, I would start with 1/72 scale. There are so many detailed tanks at 1/72 scale. Prices are reasonable and they do not take up too much space. I would use Dragon Armor as the standard. They are good to excellent. Please note that price has been going up rapidly while diecast content has been dissappering. Also, I would strongly recommend 1/72 Hobby Master tanks. IMHO, they are all excellent, lots of diecast with great details. Most of my favorite 1/72 tanks are Hobby Master brand.

I would not recommend 1/48 and 1/50 scales. There are just not enough selections. You should really take a look at 1/32 Forces of Valor and 1/32 21st Century (This company is no longer with us. It went bankrupt). After that try 1/35 Minichamps and 1/35 Dragon Armor. Minichamps tanks are almost 100% diecast. They have great details and EXTREMELY HEAVY, a true diecast tanks. 1/35 Dragon Armors are 100% plastic, but, they are beautifully assembled and professionally painted.

Sorry if my reply is too long. I just got too excited about talking about diecast tanks.

Happy collecting!

tparkhere

WOW...you are a serious collector! My wife would kill me if i got anywhere close to those numbers!
Anyway,i recieved my 3 tanks,one of each from Tamiya,Dragon Armor and Corgi and i must say although the Dragon Armor and Tamiya are extremly nice i think i like the Corgi the best because it is mostly diecast. Going in i knew that Dragon and Tamiya were mostly plastic but until i seen them in person... i`d rather have more metal. I have to look into Hobby Master stuff as well. I am now going to look into a couple of WWII fighter planes.

Yeah,
Just a couple.

snake wrote:Yeah,
Just a couple.

Did i mention WWI also?

There is a big clearout of Carousel planes right now.Almost half off,and the company is not making any more aircraft.

And they produce quite a few WWI aircraft.It is 1/48 scale,but the WWI warbirds would be small.

Carousel.Get them while you can,Panzer Div 68.

snake wrote:There is a big clearout of Carousel planes right now.Almost half off,and the company is not making any more aircraft.

And they produce quite a few WWI aircraft.It is 1/48 scale,but the WWI warbirds would be small.

Carousel.Get them while you can,Panzer Div 68.

Carousel is outstanding...just found out about em and i`m already on it,thanks snake!

Does Carousel still exist even if they`re not making anymore aircraft?

As far as I know,Carousel have been making a fine line of diecast cars for quite a while.
Good quality and an established brand.They branched out into aircraft,and have just announced that they will no longer be making the aircraft line.
They are still continuing with their diecast car lineup.
Much the same as GMP.A highly regarded automobile diecast company,that tried doing some fine aircraft models.They were very nice,but just didn't sell at $150.Clearance priced,and GMP got out of the aircraft market.
A real shame because their models are fantastic.
I knew about Carousel cars for quite a while,but did not get any of their aircraft,as 1/48 was not my scale.
However,their clearance sale was just too good to pass up.

Panzer Div.68 wrote:

tparkhere wrote:Panzer Div.68,

Three years ago, I bought my first diecast tank, 1/72 FOV T-72. Today, I have more than 200 1/72 Dragon Armors, 20+ 1/72 Hobby Master tanks and 30+ misc. 1/72 tanks (Easy Models, Admiral, FOV, etc).

I also have 52 1/32 FOV armors, 32 1/32 21st Century tanks, 9 1/35 Minichamps and 6 1/35 Dragon Armors.

I am listing all those tanks because I want you be aware that this is very addictive hobby. There are always something more to collect.

If I may make a recommendation, I would start with 1/72 scale. There are so many detailed tanks at 1/72 scale. Prices are reasonable and they do not take up too much space. I would use Dragon Armor as the standard. They are good to excellent. Please note that price has been going up rapidly while diecast content has been dissappering. Also, I would strongly recommend 1/72 Hobby Master tanks. IMHO, they are all excellent, lots of diecast with great details. Most of my favorite 1/72 tanks are Hobby Master brand.

I would not recommend 1/48 and 1/50 scales. There are just not enough selections. You should really take a look at 1/32 Forces of Valor and 1/32 21st Century (This company is no longer with us. It went bankrupt). After that try 1/35 Minichamps and 1/35 Dragon Armor. Minichamps tanks are almost 100% diecast. They have great details and EXTREMELY HEAVY, a true diecast tanks. 1/35 Dragon Armors are 100% plastic, but, they are beautifully assembled and professionally painted.

Sorry if my reply is too long. I just got too excited about talking about diecast tanks.

Happy collecting!

tparkhere

WOW...you are a serious collector! My wife would kill me if i got anywhere close to those numbers!
Anyway,i recieved my 3 tanks,one of each from Tamiya,Dragon Armor and Corgi and i must say although the Dragon Armor and Tamiya are extremly nice i think i like the Corgi the best because it is mostly diecast. Going in i knew that Dragon and Tamiya were mostly plastic but until i seen them in person... i`d rather have more metal. I have to look into Hobby Master stuff as well. I am now going to look into a couple of WWII fighter planes.

Panzer Div.68,

My wife did try to kill me. Now, we have an agreement. I have a monthly budget to buy diecast. Also, she told me in no uncertain term that she does not want to see diecast in the house. When I get a shipment, I look and admire them. Then, they go back into packaging and storage boxes in the garage. All my diecast are stored in the garage. It’s as if I have a beautiful sports car but I am not allowed to drive it. In a month, my oldest daughter will go to college. I am planning to make her room into my office with you-know-what proudly displayed.

Back to your diecast. Since you prefer metal, take a look at Admiral 1/72 tanks. They offer only 3 variations of Panzer III. They are almost 100% diecast. The details are good enough to display them next to Dragon Armors. If you really want the heavyweight, try 1/35 Minichamps (expensive). They are also almost 100% diecast. When you lift them, you will be impressed.

BTW, I also read blog on another diecast site. There are many people there that I wondered if they spend every penny they earn on diecast. They are truly addicted to collecting diecast.

Good luck collecting.

tparkhere