WOOHOO! Finally finished the Wespe's interior. Now I have a reason to buy another Tamiya kit.

Has anyone seen a retail price on these yet?

According to Scalemates this is the status of the new kits:

The "Italian Front" Wespe is a refinement of the 1996 new tool Wespe - a rebox.

The M3 is new tool.

Didn't check the Croc, but it's 1/48. (Always wanted to try a Tamiya 1/48. Their fans are very enthusiastic.)

I like the recent Tamiya kits a lot. I built the Jagdpanzer IV/70 and found it an excellent combination of detail and splendid engineering. I own the new Easy Eight, M10 and Panther D and all look terrific. I've seen very good notices on their new Valentine, And I certainly wish it was Tamiya instead of Takom that took a crack at a new Lee/Grant.

Those who insist on individual link tracks can buy them. (Why doesn't DML sell Magic Tracks and DS tracks individually - charge $15 for them? I think they'd sell very nicely.) Price is high? What's your time worth? AFV kits are like a trip to the dentist. I still like Dragon, but every one has been good for at least one heart attack. Nor do I see the reason to have a real part count past 600 as you can find on Dragon. (DML may be having second thoughts. They just did a Panzer IVD with the Japanese company Platz - part count is under 200.) Aircraft fans hold the 32 scale Tamiya kits as a kind of standard - they don't complain about spending $120 on a 1/32 Spitfire, Mustang or the new Mosquito, even though other companies 1/32s are out there for a fraction of that. (I just received the 1/48 109G6: it's the best model of that scale I've seen.) The new Tamiya kits are considerably more complex than those produced in the 90s and because molding technology has improved they get very good results simplifying sub assemblies. They also have more parts, but still well under 300 and all fit nicely. The new vinyl tracks have much better detail than the older versions. And the modeler doesn't get any ulcers. That's just the thing for those of us that enjoy painting and weathering more than build.
Eric

The Platz Pzkpfw IV is simplified in a lot if areas and isn't the equal of Dragon's other kits. It was originally designed for the Girls Und Panzers crowd who don't normally build kits.

Dragonusaonline constantly has it on sale in an attempt to move the stock.