Another year, another meeting with the Ukrainian manufacturer MiniArt. This year though, their release lists far exceed any the company have announced before.

In addition to these reports covering individual companies, i'll also be doing a full feature on my impressions and some of the New products we can expect to see in the coming year.

MiniArt are now in the enviable position of generating as much interest as larger and longer-established manufacturers. Basically, this is down to two factors - their willingness to fully 'engage' with the On-line Media and a release program which is always surprising and never dull.

2009 will see some very important developments from the company in their three 'core' areas - Figures, AFVs and their increasing range of Building/Diorama kits. In this report, let's crank open the door on their 1/35th scale figure program.

Some of the figures on the list have already been listed on their website, the remainder are in their 2009 catalogue:

35042 - Soviet Drivers & Vehicle Accessories

35051 - British Jeep Crew

35057 - Soviet Field Kitchen & Horses

35058 - Soviet SPG Crew Riders

35060 - German Tank Crew (France 1944)

35062 - German Soldiers at Rest

35065 - German Soldiers at Work

35066 - Soviet Infantry Tank Riders

35069 - British Armored Car Crew

35072 - German Armored Car Crew

ALL the above are listed on the company Website. Those below, are listed in the NEW catalogue for release this year:

35050 - British Staff Car with Crew

35051 - British Jeep Crew

35070 - U.S. Tank Crew (NW Europe)

35071 - British Soldiers (Tank Riders)

35078 - British Tank Crew (NW Europe)

35081 - Soviet Tank Crew on Manouever

35083 - Royal Engineers

35084 - Kampfgruppe Peiper (Ardennes 1944)

35089 - U.S. 101st Airborne (Normandy 1944)

35090 - Soviet Infantry Ammunition Boxes

35091 - Soviet Mine Detectors

I was going to be doing a seperate report on their AFV releases, but since much is already listed on the website, and since I've already been told in confidence about the work they are doing behind the scenes, there isn't much I CAN report. Suffice to say, there will be some VERY pleasant surprises during the course of the year!