Small Scale Military Headquarters

I have collecting armor and airplanes for many years. I have been a member of the forum for over six months, mostly reading and enjoying the discussions. I am definitely not a modeller, but I enjoy the pre-assembled items that have appeared over the years. I have a close to complete set of 21st century 1:18, 1:32, 1:48 and 1:144 scales along with Dragon 1:35 , Bravo team 1:32 and 1:18, and almost all the Merit models. To eliminate overly compulsive behavior and keep me from the poor house, I have tried to stay clear of mostly metal tanks and planes. I did collect the 21st Century Cold Steel tanks.

What I have in US and German armor is sorely lacking in Russian and and British, so I was thinking of what to collect next. I could go in the FOV direction and pick up a couple of Russian and British tanks, but I am not sure my plastic over metal criteria will be met. I read different opinions of FOV plastic versus metal content on this forum, so I have oscillated. How do they compare material-wise to the 21st Century Cold Steel? My current understanding is that the Cold Steel tanks had a metal hull, but the FOV tanks have a metal hull and turret. I am not sure whether the FOV KV-1 and T-34/85 tanks have this mix.

Another direction is Tamiya. The cost of the 1:35 masterwork models is too steep. I am not sure what to think about the 1:48 models. They have a nice collection of finished Russian and British tanks, but I have read many reviews of them. In fact, I have found none on the web and a couple of mentions in this forum. For example, I have no idea whether the hatches open or close or whether the tracks roll. The Tamiya 1:48 airplanes seem to be priced beyond what I am willing to spend.

I think Snake recently stated my position on 1:72 and lower scales when he said that many are too small for really fine details, with the exception of large planes and jets. I bought the 1:144 21st century models because I like complete collections. Again a bad sign of compulsive behavior, but they were fairly cheap. The Dragon 1:72 toys are nice, but I wish they were made in 1:35.

Although very nicely made, I have eliminated Corgi and Minichamps because they are mostly metal diecast models.

So, I would like to stay in the 1:32 to 1:48 range with mostly plastic models. This really limits my choices. So here is the question. If one wanted to buy Russian armor in that range and mostly plastic material, what direction would you pursue? Should I reconsider my allergic reaction to 1:72 or diecast?

I'm a big fan of the FOV 1:32 tanks. They offer a wide range of vehicles, including both WWII and modern items. They also make tanks from other nations besides the US and Germany. There is a bit of repition with WWII armor subjects between the two companies, though. There is a 32x Panther, Tiger, and Sherman just as there is a FOV Panther, Tiger, and Sherman. FOV has made some unique subjects, especially in the area of smaller vehicles like trucks and jeeps. 21c has some unique armor like the Panzer III, Panzer 38, Marders, Hetzers, and some allied armor.

In terms of function and feature, FOV and 21c pieces tend to be about the same, though 21c items tend to have more opening hatches. I would say that the detailing on FOV tanks is generally better. They typically have removable tools, engines in the engine compartment (if it opens), and the stowage accessories are great. You are correct in noting that FOV tanks have a metal upper hull and turret - at least on the older toolings.

"Back in the day," FOV items came in two versions: Enthusiast and Action Grade. Enthusiast pieces were generally available only to small retailers, had weathering, and more accessories. Action Grade vehicles went to the big box retailers (namely Target and Toys R Us) and had little to no weathering and fewer accessories. They were otherwise the same vehicle and were cheaper. Not every Enthusiast Grade item made it into the Action Grade format.

Now, there is no more Action Grade FOV and the Enthusiast items lack all weathering, have fewer accessories, and cost twice as much as they used to. A lot of the new toolings are mostly plastic now as well and have fewer working features. It really stinks, as older FOV Enthusiast items were done so well that they look nearly like professional models.

In my 1:32 scale collection, I tend to mix FOV tanks with 21c plastic and "Cold Steel" armor. Some of the 21c 32x Cold Steel armor looks a bit more toyish next to an FOV vehicle, though some of the earliest Cold Steel vehicles had good weathering and pair up fine. (I have an FOV British Matilda tank with a DAK Panzer IIID). Some of the later 21c 32x armor like the Panzer 38s, Marders, and Hetzers really matched the crips detailing of the FOV items, despite being plastic.

If you want to get into collecting FOV, its a bit more costly than it used to be. The new items cost more for less than what we used to get. You can still track down the older releases with the better weathering, etc. but depending on the tank, they can go for a pretty penny as well.

Just my 2 cents

TMan. Thanks. Your two cents are very welcomed.

As I said, I have been oscillating mostly between Tamiya 1:48 and FOV 1:32. Since I have all the 21st Century WW2 tanks, I believe I could complement that collection with the at least 8 WW2 models that FOV has produced, not in the 21st Century catalogue.

The eight are the T-34, KV-1, Matilda. Stug III, Pershing, M-3 Lee, M-3 Grant, and the Elefant. Of course, this might be an incomplete list, but it would be a start.

Even though I am not interested in collecting at this scale, I am fascinated in the number and variety of 1:72 models available. The sales volume on these must be quite large. Either that or the mold cost is low.

I have a number of the Tamiya armor models in the 1:48th scale and, generally speaking, they are OK. The hatches don't open and the tracks don't move. Also, they used the same green for both the German and British models I bought and there is no attempt at weathering. Still, they are valuable components of my 1:43-1:50th scale collection.

I'm surprised that you aren't considering the Corgi 1:50th scale diecast armor models, which cover a wide range of U.S.,British, German and Soviet subjects. Add to this some of the Gaso.line plastic ready made models and you are soon into quite a diverse array of armor, including many French, British, German and Soviet replicas, plus a Japanese Type 95 tank.

While I collect armor in all scales ranging from 1:30-35 down to 1:72nd, I prefer the "middle scale"----1:43-1:50th---- range as it is large enough for some attempt at detail, yet does not take up so much space. Of course, some of these models are relatively expensive----the Gaso.line models typically cost between $75-120, but I think that their "unusual subjects" are worth it ( examples being the French Char B, British Matilda and Soviet, SU-76 and T-26). Also worth examining are the Solido-Verem hybrids---plastic topsides over Solido metal chassis---- which also fill some gaps.