_GOTOBOTTOM
Armor/AFV: Early Armor
WWI and other early tanks and armored cars.
Hosted by Darren Baker
Why Tamiya? Why...
modelpanzer
Visit this Community
Portugal
Joined: October 20, 2008
KitMaker: 109 posts
Armorama: 106 posts
Posted: Sunday, June 19, 2011 - 04:11 AM UTC
Why after Tamiya 1:35 scale B1 bis Tamiya do not release the British Mk.IV Male and the Mk.IV Female
Just looking at the upper hull and the tracks this idea happen
Well, to much to many
Sorrey for my poor English.

José César
vonHengest
Visit this Community
Texas, United States
Joined: June 29, 2010
KitMaker: 5,854 posts
Armorama: 4,817 posts
Posted: Sunday, June 19, 2011 - 04:25 AM UTC
Not enough interest would be my guess. I know that a lot of us would love to see a high quality styrene Mk. IV. I'm hoping that the trend towards early WWII and 1930's designs will continue and actually give us a feasible chance of seeing the Mk. IV released in styrene. They would only need to create one kit and include the optional parts to make it male or female. If they really wanted to make another kit then they could release the Tadpole as well.
armouredcharmer
Visit this Community
England - East Anglia, United Kingdom
Joined: June 09, 2009
KitMaker: 670 posts
Armorama: 410 posts
Posted: Sunday, June 19, 2011 - 08:39 AM UTC
me too mate, i recently bought Emhar`s offering of the MK. IV male - what a truly horrendous kit - got consigned to the bin when the tracks would`nt meet
Paul-H
Visit this Community
United Kingdom
Joined: April 02, 2010
KitMaker: 234 posts
Armorama: 207 posts
Posted: Sunday, June 19, 2011 - 10:27 AM UTC
For me a nice Tamiya Hotchkiss H35 would be a better option, my B1 Bis looks very lonely on the French Shelf.

Paul
WARDUKWNZ
Visit this Community
Auckland, New Zealand
Joined: June 01, 2011
KitMaker: 1,716 posts
Armorama: 1,638 posts
Posted: Sunday, June 19, 2011 - 10:33 AM UTC
Agreed ,,Tamiya should make those ..I would love to add those to my piles and what about a somua s35 to go with the Char B ..now that would be a nice couple of models for a dio,,Tamiya isn't cheap and there never perfect but still a great start for a very nice model .

Phill
Cuny12
Visit this Community
Australia
Joined: April 04, 2010
KitMaker: 378 posts
Armorama: 348 posts
Posted: Sunday, June 19, 2011 - 11:58 AM UTC
The early armor bug bit hard and ventured into the emhar kits, It pains me to no end that no manufacturer wants to make a decent MK IV or MK V especialy being the birth of armored warfare and by saying that I mean all of the WW1 era Tanks Im hoping that seeing at least over a period of time they will run out of more common releases.
still dont understand why but obviously it isnt a sherman, panther or tiger and isnt in that era at all But historicly it matters.

cheers cuny12
vonHengest
Visit this Community
Texas, United States
Joined: June 29, 2010
KitMaker: 5,854 posts
Armorama: 4,817 posts
Posted: Sunday, June 19, 2011 - 12:55 PM UTC
I agree, would be nice to see a new A7V and FT 17, as well as a Schneider and St. Chammond if we're going down that road. Just sayin
jimbrae
Visit this Community
Provincia de Lugo, Spain / España
Joined: April 23, 2003
KitMaker: 12,927 posts
Armorama: 9,486 posts
Posted: Sunday, June 19, 2011 - 10:22 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Why after Tamiya 1:35 scale B1 bis Tamiya do not release the British Mk.IV Male and the Mk.IV Female


Why would they have? Frankly, it's a peculiar argument. If they were going to follow up with Early-War armor they would have gone done the path of the Hotchkiss or the Somua S35.

WWI AFVs although they're an attractive proposition for some modelers, at the end of the day, it's still a 'Niche' market. Yes, you could argue that Tamiya sell - mainly because they've got a saturation that others don't have and yes they've got a big catalogue (albeit with too many 30+ year-old mouldings in it).

They've never been a company (at least in the last 5 years) with much interest in the AFV market anyway.

The WWI Armor WILL arrive some day. It's more likely to be done by some of the emerging companies when they see the market is right, at the moment, it simply isn't.

Also, why this absurd insistence that Tamiya is the only manufacturer out there? If we ran the News Section on the basis that the only manufacturer was Tamiya (as some seem to think), we'd do around TWO News Reports a year.

Tamiya is REALLY unimportant nowadays. Sadly, that IS the reality.
Biggles2
Visit this Community
Quebec, Canada
Joined: January 01, 2004
KitMaker: 7,600 posts
Armorama: 6,110 posts
Posted: Monday, June 20, 2011 - 05:09 AM UTC
I agree. The only thing interesting about Tamiya is that they still make the best WWll Jeep and M8/M20 armoured cars, if only because nobody else makes a better one. I'm still hoping a Jeep from DML is just around the corner, what with their 1/72 and 1/16 scale ones.
alanmac
Visit this Community
United Kingdom
Joined: February 25, 2007
KitMaker: 3,033 posts
Armorama: 2,953 posts
Posted: Monday, June 20, 2011 - 05:32 AM UTC
Hi

I think you'll find this type of posting is one of Jose's favourites ......it doesn't matter which manufacturer or which Modelling/Military forum even, he'll come along with a "why didn't they release this or why don't they bring this out instead " either out of the blue or when something else is shown as a forthcoming release.

ianclasper
Visit this Community
Washington, United States
Joined: September 02, 2009
KitMaker: 227 posts
Armorama: 141 posts
Posted: Monday, June 20, 2011 - 07:27 AM UTC

Quoted Text

I agree, would be nice to see a new A7V and FT 17, as well as a Schneider and St. Chammond if we're going down that road. Just sayin

We need to remind Dragon that the Germans used captured FT-17s in WW2 !
Plasticbattle
#003
Visit this Community
Donegal, Ireland
Joined: May 14, 2002
KitMaker: 9,763 posts
Armorama: 7,444 posts
Posted: Monday, June 20, 2011 - 07:55 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Also, why this absurd insistence that Tamiya is the only manufacturer out there? If we ran the News Section on the basis that the only manufacturer was Tamiya (as some seem to think), we'd do around TWO News Reports a year. Tamiya is REALLY unimportant nowadays. Sadly, that IS the reality.

.... in a nutshell.
If any of the above models were to come out, Id prefer it came from any of the others. They´ll bring something exciting to the table .. detail-wise, and there´ll be a realistic chance of them bring out different versions .. something else Tamiya suck at. Tamiya´s prices in Sweden are riduculous ... especially for new models. So if they hit the original gong again, all the hype would only drive the price up further.
18Bravo
Visit this Community
Colorado, United States
Joined: January 20, 2005
KitMaker: 7,219 posts
Armorama: 6,097 posts
Posted: Monday, June 20, 2011 - 08:11 AM UTC
In 1996, Tamiya's total export sales percentage was in the teens. (I can't remember the exact number but I think it was 17%) The US market was obivously a fraction of that.
I know I've posted this before - at that time they were selling 1,000,000 mini cars per month, something very popular in Japan. Yeah, they can probably increase revenue by coming out with new kits, but at what expense to their own market? They obviously know what they're doing. That we get any interesting subjects from them at all is just a happy by-product of what they decide to do that makes them money. I don't look for them to be disappearing any time soon. Fortunately for them, Japanese modellers do not find them "unimportant."
SEDimmick
Visit this Community
New Jersey, United States
Joined: March 15, 2002
KitMaker: 1,745 posts
Armorama: 1,483 posts
Posted: Tuesday, June 21, 2011 - 02:26 AM UTC

Quoted Text


Also, why this absurd insistence that Tamiya is the only manufacturer out there? If we ran the News Section on the basis that the only manufacturer was Tamiya (as some seem to think), we'd do around TWO News Reports a year.

Tamiya is REALLY unimportant nowadays. Sadly, that IS the reality.


The issue is that Tamiya normally nails the sweet spot when it come to models, they make great fitting kits with good directions and are generally VERY easy to build..which makes them attractive to any modeller.

There are other companies out there, but they don't quite execute like Tamiya does.

To call them really unimportant is incredibly short sighted and disingenuous.
modelpanzer
Visit this Community
Portugal
Joined: October 20, 2008
KitMaker: 109 posts
Armorama: 106 posts
Posted: Tuesday, June 21, 2011 - 06:09 AM UTC
Gentleman,

WW I don´t sell because there are actually no decente kits out there to sell...

Italeri, Revell or Tamiya put a nice kit out there and we will see.

Paint it as a Beute-Panzer and we will see.

José César
vonHengest
Visit this Community
Texas, United States
Joined: June 29, 2010
KitMaker: 5,854 posts
Armorama: 4,817 posts
Posted: Tuesday, June 21, 2011 - 06:18 AM UTC

Quoted Text


Quoted Text

I agree, would be nice to see a new A7V and FT 17, as well as a Schneider and St. Chammond if we're going down that road. Just sayin

We need to remind Dragon that the Germans used captured FT-17s in WW2 !


Now there's the spirit!

Scott: I don't think that's quite what Jim meant when he said that. I believe that he was referring to the fact that Tamiya isn't really focused on scale armor whereas many other manufacturers are.

Jose: There are good WWI kits out there, but they are low production run resin kits in various scales which makes them inconsistent and expensive.
Removed by original poster on 06/21/11 - 18:43:17 (GMT).
tankrou
Visit this Community
Attica, Greece / Ελλάδα
Joined: November 25, 2009
KitMaker: 55 posts
Armorama: 53 posts
Posted: Tuesday, June 21, 2011 - 08:51 AM UTC
excuse me gentlemen but is there a better company on our planet than TAMIYA? I built many things from countless companies but as far as design ,placing of parts.instructions ....etc, this japanese company is by far my favorite.Now....i agree with all of the above, i also would like more and more and more ....BUT...ive built the Dragon wagon ,BIS 1,F-15 1/32 scale,couple of RC cars and, my god,, that was an experience, and the list goes on...Thanks for your time.Billy.
Murdo
Visit this Community
Scotland, United Kingdom
Joined: May 25, 2005
KitMaker: 2,218 posts
Armorama: 1,050 posts
Posted: Tuesday, June 21, 2011 - 10:39 AM UTC
Perhaps with the 100 anniversary of the start of WW1 coming in the next year or two someone might start making some of these kits.

The "Tank" as the ultra top secret "Mesopotamian Water Carrier" became known was a virtually impossible concept before then.
Paul-H
Visit this Community
United Kingdom
Joined: April 02, 2010
KitMaker: 234 posts
Armorama: 207 posts
Posted: Tuesday, June 21, 2011 - 07:26 PM UTC
I wouldn't hold my breath on that, we had the 100 year aniversary of the British Submarine service a couple of years ago and there are still no WW1 or WW2 era British Submarines from any of the popular kit makers.

Paul
Buckeye198
Visit this Community
Ohio, United States
Joined: May 02, 2010
KitMaker: 596 posts
Armorama: 265 posts
Posted: Monday, September 12, 2011 - 07:09 AM UTC

Quoted Text

I wouldn't hold my breath on that, we had the 100 year aniversary of the British Submarine service a couple of years ago and there are still no WW1 or WW2 era British Submarines from any of the popular kit makers.


I agree. Just because an anniversary comes around doesn't mean people will want to build it. I think we're all hoping for the best, but I personally am not expecting any of the major players to release any WWI armor kits anytime soon. Maybe some new resin kits will be brought out for the centennial, but Tamiya/Dragon/Academy/Italeri/etc. probably are too busy pumping out reliable kits for their loyal clientele.

And for that matter, I understand that everyone's frustrated with the biggies and their selection compared to resin companies. But you can't deny that Tamiya is a quality company with a quality product. They do have a wide variety of vehicles and figures...just not of WWI vehicles and figures. Their kits are logically designed, the decals are great, and the detail that goes into the majority of their molds is outstanding. The fact that we're here sharing our hopes for Tamiya to release WWI armor speaks to their production quality.And I have to admit, given a choice between Tamiya and Dragon, I'd take Tamiya every time...Dragon puts so much work into minute details that the kits just become too convoluted for me.
bill_c
Staff MemberCampaigns Administrator
MODEL SHIPWRIGHTS
Visit this Community
New Jersey, United States
Joined: January 09, 2008
KitMaker: 10,553 posts
Armorama: 8,109 posts
Posted: Monday, September 12, 2011 - 08:33 AM UTC

Quoted Text

excuse me gentlemen but is there a better company on our planet than TAMIYA?

The problem with Tamiya is they release very few kits. The ones they do, they do well. The new 1/32nd scale P-51 Mustang has sold like crazy, largely because there was no accurate 'Stang kit in that scale. Their Spitfires and Zeroes did very well, too.

In armor, they seem to release about 1-2 kits a year, and the ones they release aren't exactly hot items.

Tasca makes better kits (the instructions are sometimes a mess, but the detailing is superb OOB). DML, for all its warts, makes such a huge range of kits that they are the 800 lb. canary in this case.

The last Tamiya kit I built (the Opel Blitz) fell together, but the detailing was quite basic. The Tasca Sherman I built was so good, I'm going to buy 2-3 more Shermans, and I'm not even a Sherman guy.
Spiderfrommars
Visit this Community
Milano, Italy
Joined: July 13, 2010
KitMaker: 3,845 posts
Armorama: 3,543 posts
Posted: Monday, September 12, 2011 - 09:13 AM UTC

Quoted Text



In armor, they seem to release about 1-2 kits a year, and the ones they release aren't exactly hot items.



Yes, I totally agree. In my humble opinion they are reducing their investments in armour branch. They have decided to avoid the competition with Trumpeter, DML, AFV, Tasca and are fucused on other items such as aircraft, cars, RC and so on.
After the stunning T-55, all of us hoped for a production of T-55 family, but unfortunately this isn't their marketing policy

Regarding the ww1 armour production , well probably the demand of this subjects is not enough high yet, but anyway, considering what happened to ww1 aircrafts (there were very few kits since a few years ago, nowadys there's a quite wide range of them) , I think that something interesting will be produced soon

cheers
 _GOTOTOP