One of the minor luxuries afforded to a News Editor is the opportunity to do a little 'editorializing' from time to time. The end of the year seems like as good a time as any, to take a highly personalized (and GROSSLY opinionated) view of what's made the headlines, what seemed like a good idea at the time and what will continue to be the talking points in 2007. So as I pause briefly to throw another handful of sprues onto the roaring Yule-tide fire, I bid you welcome to my view of 2006....

1) Armor Releases

The Movers and Shakers:

Inevitably, the largest headlines came from DML and the news (which HASN'T manifested itself in too many built models yet) of the M2 Half-track in 1/35th scale. Also, in my opinion of similar importance, were the releases of a series of NEW and very welcome M4s which reched its apex with a superb Sherman III. The introduction of the new 'Smart-Kits' and the vastly improved kits of the 'Premium Edition Series dominated both the Reviews and News sections across the 'web.

Tamiya produced little in 1/35th but continued to expand and consolidate the 1/48th range. In the former category, what they lacked in output, they certainly made up for in quality with FINALLY giving us a superb kit of the Char B B1 Bis which has much to recommend but little to fault. Their 1/48th range has sadly (at least in Europe and the States) NOT sold brilliantly although I gather the Asian markets have reacted well to it.

A new kid on the 1/48th scale block arrived with HobbyBoss who came with a bang rather than a whimper... Although there were some niggles over their M4 releases, their T34s were unanimously recognized as incredible - featuring interior detail and PE at a bargain basement price, their products are set to become even more sought after - when the innate conservativism of modellers is overcome and quarter-scale is seen as a good alternative...

AFV Club continued to produce innovative and excellent models. For the modern AFV enthusiast in particular. the release of no less than TWO Centurions in 1/35th scale caused much celebration along with a superb Sturmtiger for the WWII modeller, has helped to keep this interesting company at the forefront.

One of the least prolific although with SUPERB releases was Tristar - more Pz1s and significantly, TWO beautiful 38(t)s in 1/35th scale. A company that will be getting MUCH more attention in 2007.

A couple of years ago, a new company was announced - Bronco Modelswhich, (going by its lists), was going to set the modelling world alight. This year, we saw the first of its Armor releases in the form of an H35 and, long-awaited, a British Comet. The company has just announced (test shots included) a 1/35th scale Bailey Bridge for 2007.

Inevitably one of the headline-grabbers in 2006 was Trumpeter. They still continued with their excellent KV series along with releasing a BR52 Locomotive in 1/35th scale as well as announcing NEW armor kits in 1/16th scale, M3 Halfracks, German Artillery, BMPs, T72s and a Stryker were all announced for release in 1/35th scale.

The penultimate 'name' - Tasca have released a few kits (all with superb recommendations) but what captured the imagination was their Firefly in 1/35th scale. This is already being mentioned in many quarters as 'Kit of the Year'. With the year drawing to a close, this 'late-runner' has already captured many people's interest and CC details...

It's unfortunate, but one of the 'also-rans' in 2006 was Academy with the release of a Sheridan in 1/35th scale (which annoyed everyone) and a Lee which required some major work. Academy promised much with these two releases, but at the end of the day, disappointed...

2) The AM Manufacturers:

Volume was the name of the game in 2006. Hardly a month went by without Aber, Eduard or Voyagerannouncing dozens of new releases (sometimes only days after the 'donor' kit was available). Several companies continued to capture attention - the three named along with Hauler (for 1/48th), Formations (for the M4, Stuart and Lee), HardCorps Models for their M4a3 hatch cages and their new tracksets, Blast Models for their Char update/conversion sets, LionMarc and LionRoar. It seems that no matter how good a kit is, the AM people are going to contine to offer alternatives.

Three companies which continued on the ascendacy were indoubtedly Legend, Mig Productions and Accurate Armour - the first for some amazing conversion/full kits of I.D.F. vehicles, the second for an incredibly imaginative approach the latter had far too many to mention but in particular, their Loyd Carriers A NEW company, which will be worth watching in 2007 will be Das Werk - whose initial releases promise very good things for the future...

3) Figures

Styrene:

The most prolific of 2006 continued to be DML with their Generation Two figures gaining a lot of interest. However, much as I like (some) of their German figures their best set (IMO) were the U,S,M.C. 'Tarawa' figures.Still not as many Allied figures as we would wish for though...

A company which is making substantial inroads is MinArt - with a number of superb releases in 1/35th scale, they are now becoming the 'first-stop' for any of those who build Soviet armor. They haven't been content with figures though, they have also done some excellent AFVs and Artillery pieces with more planned for 2007.

Resin:

The best news of 2007 for 1/35th scale resin was the news of the re-emergence of the Yanks range although the company has some work to do in actually getting a (functioning) website on-line...

Alpine Miniatures went from strength to strength with some absolutely stunning releases in 1/35th scale (AND 1/16th) demonstrating that not only are they at the top of their game, they've also established something close to 'Industry Standard'.

Mig Productions produced a few resin figures during the year - several of which I reviewed. Again, a consistently high standard. Mig also win the 'prize' for the most unusual figure of the year - a Russian Hooligan in 1/35th...

In the Modern era, Think 180 Studios did some extrordinary work in 1/35th.

Tank disappointed tremendously with only a handful of releases during the year although their 'back' catalogue continues to be of EXTRAORDINARY quality..

VLS/Warriors No complaints about the quality of sculpting (or subjects) but some real disquiet over the prices and quality control of some of their figures. Casting blocks on helmets and heads?

Pegaso (also available under the 'Platoon' label from VLS) came out with some nice subjects although imagination wasn't their strongest suit...

A relative newcomer Doug's Originals produced some GREAT (and original) material in 1/35th scale - DO have a cow man!

In the accessory 'area' Heads are STILL the domain of Hornet whose products seem to be getting better with each new release. Also worth a 'Notable' were Legends Productions for three excellent heads sets

4) Reference Material

In the 'bang-for-the-buck' category, Concord and Osprey seem to have sold more books than anyone else. In the case of the latter, their 'Osprey Modelling' series still represent the best on the market although NOT sufficiently aimed at the less-experienced modeller. Concord are still producing invaluable photo-references. Moving onto less-known names amongst modellers, two SUPERB publishers are constantly expanding a range of already good books - Tankograd and Editions du Barbotin. The former for its extraordinarily varied and high-quality books. The latter for its NEW book on the Sherman in French service and a promise of even more for 2007.

Also worth mentioning for quality and subject matter are Blue Steel - for the beginning of a series on Armor in Lebanon. Armor Photo Gallery which continues to show that Poland is STILL one of the 'powerhouses' in Military Publishing. 2007 will also see a reprint of the M4 'bible' by Hunnicutt and a (totally) revised edition of T34 - Mythical Weapon which does for the T34 what Mr. Hunnicutt did for the Sherman.

So that's it. The good and the occasionally bad of 2006. It's been a VERY interesting and possibly 'classic' year for the armor modeller. It's been a year of a lot of releases of (even more) announcements and some significant 'trends' amongst the manufacturers. The demise of Airfix/Heller and their subsequent 'saving' have featured in forums and news stories. Speculation, rumor and some controversy have also been on the agenda for 2006. 2007 will see more of the same - more releases, more 'trends' more ways of spending money and less time to build the damned things. It will, whatever happens, be undoubtedly interesting!

So in conclusion, from the News Section of Armorama, enjoy the festivities (whatever denomination they are) and best wishes for 2007!

Jim Rae (Managing Editor, Newsdesk

Armorama / KitMaker Network)