Hi folks,

I thought I'd start a blog about World War 1. About the lack of kits and figures in 1/35 scale. Whilst I'd like to see new tooled armoured subjects my focus is mainly on figures or lack of them as seems to be the case. WW1 being really and Infantryman's/Artillery mans war.

My rational for the post is base on a recent blog I started on the Somme. I wasn't expecting very much activity on the thread, but I noticed that on the first 2 days it had received over 700 hits. That's a lot, normally I'de expect to see 150 to 300 over a couple of days and it got me thinking maybe there are a lot more people out there who would build WW1 figures and kits if there was a better selection available?

This era seems to be well catered for in 1/32 scale, but little in 1/35 scale. So my question is do you think there is an untapped want for WW1 items in 1/35 scale? There are a few British around and a better selection of Germans as one would expect but all told not a lot really.

There is a Great War campaign running ion site at the moment 18,297 hits and whilst that covers Land, Sea and Air do you think or would you buy WW1 items in 1.35 scale?

I've been asking a few questions about figure costs and to produce a Master costs up to around £150 - £250 depending on who makes it. If you add production and marketing costs and sellability then any resin figure is quite a gamble for the producer, which is probably why there are not that many around even from the AM manufacturers.

As my focus is primilarly British Subjects so I was wondering if like the forgotten WW2 British market, something that has been address to quite a degree over the last couple of years, so that we now are in a wonderful period to be modelling 1/35 scale WW2 British Subjects there is also the same want/need for WW1 subjects?

I suppose the question is if they were available would you buy them???

Any thoughts?

Cheers

Al

I think what ever is done should be tied to the Wingnut kits because they are already out there and they keep getting better. So I would do them in 1:32 scale. Having kits that can integrate with a model company owned by Peter Jackson is the smart thing to do. Trust me.

Hi Mike,

Never heard of WingNuts before but being aircraft that's not a surprise lol.

Yes, I'd agree many WW1 aircraft are already in 1/32 scale but the WW1 figs I've seen in 1/32 mainly appear to be white metal which is not a medium I really like.

My question is around the expansion of 1/35 scale as this is a popular scale for armoured and figure modelers. The Roden 1/35 scale Armoured Car being a recent example.

Cheers

Al

I'm not worried about the offerings for WWI aircraft, there is a strong market for them. There is also a semi-steady market for WWI naval subjects, but they could certainly use some more support in that area.

I really crave WWI ground forces such as artillery, figures, and vehicles in modern 1/35 tooling. There is more to offer in this area than most people are aware of.

There was once a small company in the cottage industry called Japanese Armor King who produced a variety of very interesting 1/35 British and German figures with and without gas masks depending on your preference, as well as a few pieces of artillery in this scale.
I had contacted the owner a couple years ago about placing an order for several of these figures and was informed by him that he was about to make another batch. I contacted him after a few weeks but never heard back from him again. Since then the company's website went down.

His contact information is:
Ted Dyer Inc., P.O. Box 1030, Roslyn, Pennsylvania 19001-9030, U.S.A.
I don't know if this email is still valid:
[email protected]

Perhaps we have an opportunity to get these figures back into production?

I think if we could get the mainstream industry to start producing some good 1/35 British and German soldiers in styrene we may have a good window for other desirable kits to be produced. I am very happy with the new 1/35 and 1/48 softskin vehicles that we have seen released recently, they are fabulous kits but there are no new tool figures to go with them. Even Dragon has been flirting with earlier subjects by skirting pre-WWII/early WWII armor subjects, along with limited participation from Tamiya, Trumpeter who are all major players.

I fully support a mainstream foray of quality kits in 1/35 scale. As you have aptly pointed out Alan, figures will be the most important subject to see in styrene kit form for this time period. This is great because it will keep costs down for the companies, while also delivering affordable kits that will be more enticing to buyers than say a new tool kit of a 1/35 Mk IV tank or an A7V. Once we are able to convince the manufacturers that this is a sound investment that they will see a return on then we will very likely be rewarded with modern high-quality kits of artillery and even armor.

Maybe this is all just wishful thinking on my part, but I think it a worthwhile pursuit on both our part as modelers and the companies that we have come to respect for their already eclectic array of high quality offerings in 1/35. After all, variety is the spice of life

Hi Al,
as you may recall, I am beavering away at new subjects, and with Graham at Resicast, there are plans at least to release the 6" howitzer in WWI guise.
The 1/35th WWII version just needs a few bits before it can be produced.
Figures, out of our hands at the moment, Tommys War do some great stuff though in 1/32nd. There might be some new releases planned from them too.

George

Hi Alan,

Commander Models has made quite a few WW1 era models available in the past year, including armor, artillery, and a US 5-ton artillery tractor. You can see the tractor here:

http://ironshipwrights.com/armor/5ton.html

And, we are continuing to make WW1 era kits for release later in the year. Here's an example:

http://ironshipwrights.com/armor/patterns/MkI.html

So, give it time, and vehicular kits will become available.

Jon Warneke
Commander Models, Inc.

Jon: Keep us posted, I like what I see.

Hi Jeremy,

Yes, I remember JAK. I might try Dan's address.

Hi George,

The early WW2 developments by Resicast are most welcome, the artillery pieces so far are excellent as are the BEF figs. Keep up the good work. I'm getting close to starting the 1914 RR.

My thoughts on this thread were towards better and more varied plastic kit choices. There are few who can match the quality and detail of the Resicast kits but by their nature I have no doubt resin/price excludes many from building them but that is true of all AM producers as volume sales tend to be lower and prodcution cost high.

I am trying to see if the stats are just unusual becasue of the subject matter or if in fact there is a much wider interest than I would have thought. I seriously doubt it's my building skill that has produced over 5000 hits on the thread so far therefore it must be becasue of the subject matter - hence this post. To emphaise the difference on a normal build at this point I would expect to see 1500 to 3000 hits. The Somme thread has almost doublt that so are there out their the silent majority who would really like to build WW1 but don't bother becuase the choice is limited in 1/35 scale and the older kits of a poor standard?

Hi Jon,

Thanks for the two links, look forward to developments.

Thanks for your thoughs so far folks.

Cheers

Al

I'm certain that it's only a matter of time now before one of the big manufacturers makes forays into WWI armour.
Dragon must be scraping the barrel now with some of these obscure paper panzers and much of the missing allied vehicles are being picked up by the second division producers.
Trumpeter do a good job of producing variations of one vehicle using common parts.
Tamiya, whilst not as prolific these days, have a track record of producing fairly marginal subjects that modellers have been requesting for years, the Char B being a prime example.
Alternately we may see something from one of the upcoming companies such as Bronco or Meng.
My own preference would be Miniart as they have a reputation for unusual subject choices in both figures and vehicles and the quality is excellent. They also actively seek suggestions from customers on their website.
One argument against all of this is the current economic climate where manufacturers are cutting back and modellers spending less, however this might be the ideal time to launch something different which would, through the aftermarket producers, create it's own niche market.

Hi Iain,

Thanks for the thoughts. Yes, new vehicles/armour, especially with basic or detailed interiors would spark new interest and could logically lead to crews and troops and AM products?

Cheers

Al

Al, I'm in total agreement with you! I'd love to do a WW1 dio, there's just not the figures to do it. To my knowledge the only company to release any is ICM and they don't really lend themselves to anything as the British poses are really disjointed. If a manufacturer such as MB (who these days are the most innovative)were to release say, British Infantry advancing, British infantry in offensive positions (firing etc) and likewise for Germans they'd corner the market. While some companies do lovely stand alone figures it's of no use to those of us who like to build animated dios. Hopefully MB will show an interest. DML won't as they just standing about looking into space or pointing into the distance figures

I would like to see something like this.



One of these days maybe.

Randy

Hi Karl,

Thanks for the input. yes, a slection for Trecnh like and for more action tye scenes.

Hi Randy,

Yes, the other dimention Calalry. Horse drawn guns, wagons etc. Lots of possibilities.

Thanks for the thoughs guys.

Al

Wow - that master for the Mk I at Commanders looks great! Seeing as the 100-year anniversary will be upon us in 2014, it leaves just enough time for the mainstream manufacturers to get their skates on and develop a range of figures and vehicles in 1:35 that will sell like hotcakes with all the "free" publicity they'll get in 2014...

(Heck, if April 2012 can boost a re-release of the DiCaprio/Winslet Titanic turkey, just think what August 2014 can do for model sales! )

I'd certainly love to have decent models of figures and beasts from the iconic war that gave us armour and air power.

Tom

Oh yea!

I've been pining away for good, state-of-the-art, newly tooled 1/35 scale armor kits of WWI subjects forever.

I have a hard time understanding why only so few other armor-modelers want the same subjects, too. The dawn of armored warfare took place in the trenches of WWI, and the AFV's of that era were the fore runners of all that followed. It's a vastly overlooked, yet incredibly significant period in AFV history.

With appologies to Comanders, Accurate Armour, and other resin makers, the hobby is long overdue some really good injection molded WWI armor kits.

In regards to WWI figures, I honestly belive that the market for styrene figures (as opposed to 54mm figure-painter figures - which I think are two separate markets), if manufacturers release some good vehicle kits, the demand for (and production of) styrene figures from the likes of DML, MiniArt, etc. will follow.

For that reason, I also think that 1/32-54mm vice 1/35 scale would be a mistake. The market is 1/35. The larger scale is an aircraft modeler and pre-painted toy solder collectors' market. A main stream styrene kit maker would be making a serious mistake cutting armor kit molds in 1/32. There was a pre-exisitng market for 1/32 scale WWI biplanes, but no such market exists for WWI armor. The armor model market is, again, 1/35 scale. (With appologies to my Braille-scale friends, who by the way, already have a plethora of WWI armor kits available...)

The Wing Nut Wings business model would be great if some individual enthusiast like Peter Jackson would take an interest in WWI armor and throw a few million dollars at starting up a new company to produce WWI AFV kits. But really, does anyone here think that's going to happen? The King of Jordan can buy and collect the real thing, but so far as I know, no one else has pockets deep enough to follow Peter Jackson's example into WWI AFV land.

However, I would love to see in 1/35 scale:

1) An all-new FT-17 (there are at least three WWI versions that could be marketed along with a between-the-wars/Blitzkreig French tank and a German "occupation/rear area security" version). The first "modern" tank design with a rotating turret - the template for all subsequent successful tank designs and no decent kit is available.

2) The British "losenge" tank designs all need new kits. Multiple kit designs and variations could easily be marketed from a basic kit. Let's face it, the Emhar kits stink and always have from the moment they were released. There's room in this subject area alone to market a series of kits that rivals the fecundity of the Sherman or Panzer IV.

3) "Little Willie" Come'on! THE GRAND DADDY OF THEM ALL... and no styrene kit at all. Yes, I know Accurate Armour does one, but the cost is simply too high for what should be a simple vehicle that should have an easy to build kit. Hey MENG! Here's one for you. Forget the Minenraumer, how about a kit of an actually historically important vehicle?

4) The French Schnieder and St. Chamond tanks - again, no 1/35 scale styrene at all. The French would argue that their tank designs either pre-date the British or were at least developed separate and contemporary, making them (arguably!) the original full-tracked AFV predecesors. These tanks (at least two different versions of each basic vehicle - making 4 or 5 marketable kits from the two designs) were used in numerous important battles.

US armor fans should remember that the US Tank Corps and all that followed was founded on these French tanks (when the FT-17 is included).

5) And of course, don't forget the Germans! The Tauro A7V is very long in the tooth and is a compromise at its best. Each of the A7V's was for all intents and purposes a unique vehicle, so any major kit maker has almost two-dozen unique, marketable kits that could be made from a single base kit.

6) Finally, the Emhar kit of the British Whippet is at least as bad as its kits of the "heavies." Again, a state of the art kit of this one is long overdue.

7) Well, actually finally, I love to see a Holt artillery tractor in 1/35 scale. This vehicle is really the genetic origination of all track-laying AFV's, and was used quite extensively in WWI. It would make a great companion to a "Little Willie."

The list could go on much longer when you throw in armored cars or artillery (to go with the Holt tractor!). The first major kit maker to tap into the WWI market with a really good kit of either the FT-17 or a British "heavy" will steal the march on its competition.

FWIW, I sense a great un-tapped and pent up demand for WWI AFV's in my fellow armor modelers.

Once the market is cracked open with a few new WWI AFV's, the demand for figure sets (infantry and crews) will follow. But until some major styrene manufacturer starts pressing WWI armor, most model builders will not be in the market for WWI figures.

Most armor modelers get figures as "accessories" for their armor builds and not the other way around. Figures are more often than not an after-thought, with very few armor modelers putting much time or effort into them.

I think the marketing dynamic must be AFV's fist - figures second.

Hi Alan,
I am strongly in support of your suggestions. I model numerous 1/32nd WW1 scale figures, based on the old Multipose kits. I have a few boxes left, but as they dwindle in supply now, its more of a challenge to get hold of them. A few boxes / sets of "multipose" like Tommies, Germans and French infantry would be a soild start. I believe ICM have a set of World War 1 British and German infantry available in 1/35 scale, but I have not had a look at them.

Regards,
Garth

Nice list Mike!!

I would only add

1. Figures sets which have been discussed exclusively, but more weapons sets... trench mortors, lewis guns, SMLE, MG08, MG15, Vickers, etc etc....Not to mention figures from other nationalities... remember this was a "World War"... Italian, Austrian, African, etc etc...

2. My personal favorite... The Siege Guns! You know... beyond the regular artillery... the special purpose Siege guns during the 1914 invasion and larger pre-campaign bombardments.

3. Please oh Please someone come out with a British Mark I tank! I can only do so much with the Mark IVs... My Great Great Uncle was killed during the battle of Flers-Courcellette (the first entry of the Tank in 1917) with the Canadian 25th Battalion who took Courcellette and withstood 13 counterattacks before being relieved.

4. Oh and a Mark V, Mark V*... The Canadians had Mark V, Mark V* and FT-17s more prominently when they were setting up the Canadian Armoured Corps (Amung a few other tanks, there were more I know...).

5. Some reasonalby scaled Zeppelins or Dirigibles... Even Observation Ballons! Read this and tell me there's no diorama potential:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeppelin_LZ104

I read a thread about this subject about a year ago... just think the 100th Anniversary of the start of WW1 is only 2 years away...

In a few days it'll be the 100th Anniversary of the Titanic disaster and we've seen several revamped and new Titanic ships kits come out (not to mention a revamped 3D version of James Cameron's movie).

On the ship side of things there's been a lot of "between wars" ship kits come out not to mention the "Dreadnought". Things are building up!

I don't think it's a question of IF they will ever come out with new kits... I strongly believe it's a matter of WHEN!

Patiently waiting!

PS - Keep up the good work Alan... I've been following your Somme diorama with great interest!

Carmen

World War One gound troops and equipment is a Brave New World. I think 1/32 would be a great scale for the Period. There really isn't anybody out there making 1/35 WWI stuff so I could see 1/32 as the standard scale.
First off all the different countries that participated uniforms. Within those countries armies weren't there different style uniforms for the different divisions?
Look at the WWII market, for figures about all you can get in plastic is a lot of German stuff, a lesser amount of US,some British, a little Russian, not much Commonwealth Troops as they must get lumped in with the British and almost no Japanese figures. Hard for somebody in Brussels or Paris to get excited about a new German or American release.
I think National pride would spur sales in their own countries figure releases. Think of how good sales would be if there were a Galipoli series of figures made.
IMHO, with a strong 1/32 WWI aircraft market, figures, equipment and diorama stuff would dovetail nicely,
As I said earlier WWI is a blank canvas and 1/32nd is the way to go ! PLUS, all new subject matter I think would be a big boost in sales !
TOM

Andrea Miniatures makes a white-metal figure based on this photo:

http://www.andrea-miniatures.com/_carro/AspsProductos/Detalle.asp?IdProductoDetalle=22

I've noticed the lack of Great War figures, in my Nationality , The Yanks.
I've been waiting for the Great War series on MIlitary channel to begin and will be watching closely for a Diorama situation I'd like to pursue. Yes I would buy figures from the Great War..Bring them on..PLEASE.

Oh please not 1/32-54mm scale.

The whole point is that because no one is doing WWI in 1/35 that makes it all new territory for any of the major armor kit makers.

I'm afraid if, say, DML was to start releasing WWI armor in 1/32 scale it would go the way of the old Airfix and Monogram experiment in that scale for armor. That is, it would go no where. Sales would die on the vine and after one or two releases, that would be it.

We'd then go another 30 years before some other manufacturer was bold enough to take a chance on WWI AFV's. And before someone says to look at Emhar's lack luster performance as the sole manufacturer of 1/35 scale WWI Allied armor, I'd say look at their kits - nothing more than scaled-up 1/72 Airfix kits with rubber band tracks.

This subject area and market are ripe for the picking for any major kit manufacturer. However, getting into it in 1/32 scale just because there are already 1/32 scale biplane kits would be a game killer.

Just ask Scale Link how well their WWI 1/32-54mm AFV kits and figures sold.

(You do remember Scale Link, don't you? You don't!? My point exactly...)

Common sense says that the scale HAS to be 1/35. This would allow much of the accessories already out there such as carts, farm equipment, cooking utensils, even buildings to be used.
The potential for kits once someone finally takes the plunge is enormous, for instance I can see Miniart producing vacformed trench sections and gun emplacements for a start.

I'm doing some conversions of those great old Multipose kits too, using some Scale Link accessories like helmets and canteens, etc. For the Germans, The buttons on the blouses have to be redone, as the number is off, and they were larger than the WW2 ones, plus the waist pockets need to be modified. I am only doing this because there isn't much out there in 1/35. If there was I'd buy it. The ICM 1/35 Germans are pretty good, but they are in rather fixed, (though very useful poses,) and don't lend themselves well to conversions.

Hi folks,

Thanks for all the input so far - appeaciated.


I can understand the 1/32 scale thinking but I also believe 1/35 is much more appropriate for the armour, trucks, guns and wagons etc. Armour modellers much prefer 1/35 scale and the link across to other items as has already been pointed out is hugh, buildings, farms, carts etc, etc.

I would seem like a much more sellable option if both armour and fgures came in 1/35 scale. The cross over is the main reason I chose to use 1/35 scale rather than have to take on a new 1/32 scale and all the that would entail.

Keep you thoughs coming and thanks to all who have contributed so far.

Cheers

Al

Thank you for the information Cesar!! I didn't know that this figure was out there. I guess I will have to lay down the money and get one or two of them.



That is why this site is so cool. The wealth of knowledge and information out there among the members is priceless!!

Thank you again Cesar.

Randy