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Here are my choices:
1:18 Aircraft
21c F-86/Mig-15
This was a very, very difficult choice as there are a ton of choices vying for top spot and for a variety of different reasons, plus I’m an aviation lover
I chose both the 21c F-86 and Mig-15 as the two famous Korean-war adversaries are almost inseparable and both represent the pinnacle of 21c’s (and 1:18) aircraft design. They are both durable and sturdy in construction, offer a superb level of detail, and did not skimp on functionality: having everything from retractable gear to moving control surfaces to opening gun bays and airbrakes. They also had some great paint schemes with these releases as well, particularly the “Huff” F-86 and “Russian” Mig-15.Other very close contenders for the top spot of best 1:18 aircraft, IMHO would be the 21c AH-1W Supercobra, 21c F-104, JSI F-14 (minus the spots and weak gear), 21c ME-262B Nightfighter, 21c Spitfire, 21c Avenger (despite all the QC issues), BBI Corsair… and well, my list could go on…
1:18 Armor
21c Tiger I
Again, another difficult choice to make and the rivet-counters will likely disagree with my selection. The 21c Tiger has a lot of inaccuracies, combining features of early, mid, and late production German Tiger tanks into sort of an amalgamation. Still, when one looks past that, the tank is an amazing piece of work, especially considering its age (first released in 2001). Detailed interior with seats, ammo, the 88mm gun, MG, and rucksacks, all the opening hatches with hatch details, the opening engines and radiators, rolling tracks. The fact that 21c released the tank in diecast. With all the 1:18 armor that’s come since, the Tiger is still a tough vehicle to beat!
Close runner-up for top spot would be the 21c M-41 Walker-Bulldog for many of the same reasons as the Tiger, with the full interior and all. The 21c halftracks are also excellent. Quite frankly, 21c produced some of the best 1:18 armor, period.
1:18 Vehicle
21c MB Vehicle (Willy’s Jeep)
Again, another difficult choice as there’s a bit to choose from, but I went with one of the first: the 21c Jeep. The is a small and rather simple vehicle, but its one that 21c did well. Its scaled right and can easily hold the S1 figures right of to the newest D-Day ones (in fact they fit better) and had various features that set a precedent for all future 21c vehicles of similar sort. It has an opening hood that reveals a detailed, accurate engine, removable tools, removable stowage, flip-down windshield, rotating/elevating machine gun, and room to seat figures and stick a bunch of extra accessories. 21c would continue the same spirit of detail and accuracy combined with playability and functionality with all other vehicles that came after the Jeep such as the Kubelwagen, MUTT series, the WC series, and the trucks.
1:18 Artillery
21 88mmFlak Cannon
This one was an obvious choice. It is one of the most accurate, complex, and detailed items 21c ever produced from a tooling standpoint. It is also one of the last new toolings they ever released. I’m not even sure where to begin in my description of what all this piece does, but it pretty much does everything the 88mm gun was supposed to do except fire the shell. All the little cranks turn (though they do not work to traverse/elevate the gun) the barrel recoils, breach opens to load the shells, support arms fold, gun can be attached to the limbers for transport and the list goes on. The only drawback is that the first (and only) release was in DAK tan, which sort of limits the situations/battles it can be displayed in. (I can’t display the 88 with a Panther as part of a Normandy diorama, for example without repainting the gun). The standard German gray would have been a much better choice, especially as 21c likely knew this was the only one they would get out… Still, its one heck of a model
1:18 Figure
21c USMC (first series)
This one was really tough. There have been dozens of figures released over the past decade and while some are certainly worse than others, there are a lot of good ones. I’ve decided to go with the 21c USMC figures – and not just because I won the photo contest in 2005
These could certainly be debatable as the BBI WWII and modern figures really have better tooling and the later 21c figures have better articulation. Still, there was just something at the time that set the 21c USMC figures apart from what came before them and in some respects what came after. They were highly stylized and each of the 7 figures is sculpted individually and has its own character. The detailing and tooling on the body is first-rate, even for 21c. They came with a lot of accessories (helmet, weapon, pack, shovel, pouches, etc) and really were fun. Sgt. Digger McHugh (holding the Japanese flag) is perhaps my favorite of the bunch – the figure with cigarette and bayoneted rifle in hand just screams classic US Marine and with that flag, it has a touch of political incorrectness that was classic to 21c.So, those are all my choices... Now that I look over my list, I find it interesting that all my picks were 21c items.
