Saw this over at Scalemates, and didn't see an announcement here.



Scalemates page
Can't say I know much about the subject but it sure does look pretty cool. From some rough wikipedia calculations the kit will be almost 2.5 feet long. Going on my wishlist for sure.

There goes at least 1 paycheck.

Need

"I (heart) Kit" - is this going to be a new label from Trumpeter/Hobby Boss?

Glorious news!

Ohhhh shi...

I took the scalemates listing at face value, but after doing some limited googling I don't see it listed anywhere else, so I can't verify it. I believe any member of scalemates can add a new kit to the database too, so there's no guarantee that it's correct. Box art looks like Trumpeter though, and they have a habit of taking on large cold war subjects. I'll do a little more digging.

This was first mentioned last December:

https://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/281867

This is really good news - though somewhere along the line I'll have to ditch my old Renwall kit.

The instructions (on Scalemates) have whetted my appetite so I'm really looking forward to this.

Surely, Corporal, Sergeant and Honest John missiles will follow...?! Here's hoping.

Brian

I saw on Scalemates page, the Instructions for the kit! 75 steps on 66 pages. It's a lot of Plastic! This will be a must buy.

Wow this is fantastic and a dream come true for me..
Hell yeah... would love to see these missiles too:
Corporal with equipment and the erecting truck... this is a bad ass looking vehicle... Honest John, Little John, LaCrosse, Sergeant, Davey Crocket all in 1/35.

I’ll believe this when I see it. Trumpeter and HB had their new and projected stuff on display at Nuremberg, and this wasn’t anywhere to be seen. I think if it was we’d have heard a bit more about it. Perhaps it’s coming down the pike a bit, but I think it will be a while before we see this (if ever). There’s a lot of stuff posted on Scalemates that goes nowhere too. And has this manufacturer (I ❤️ kits) ever been heard of before? Why wouldn’t HB And Trumpeter use their own moniker?
VR, Russ

Russ,

I take your point re the respective logos (or lack of) but the comprehensive instruction sheet would indicate that this is somewhere in the pipeline at least (hopefully).

Brian

Funny, I just “googled” it, and there’s a lot of buzz about it over on Missing Lynx, but still no known company behind it. But as Kurt Laughlin pointed out (Missing Lynx), that’s not a normal Trumpeter number. Additionally, that diagram is suspiciously like a Dragon diagram, and was released last year when this subject first came out, now we have box art, but no sprue shots of any type. It’s not above certain manufacturers to release printed material before a kit comes out to “test the waters” so to speak. But there are a great many kits that never see the light of day (personally, I’d very much like this to be real). However, there are a lot of other kits that flop before ever making it to the molds. I’ll give you an example: The Dragon 1/700 1962 USS Enterprise, which was widely advertised and then dropped due to cost and interest. There are others. If this is an independent manufacturer trying to “break into the market” there may be doubt as to their ability to sustain a production run— especially if this would be their first offering. I’d have a lot more confidence in it if it was a known manufacturer, and there was an address associated with this company, so far, all we have are a couple of ads in a magazine (and even those are a bit suspicious to me) although to go to that expense says they either have some capital or are “phishing” for capital. Something just doesn’t look right in the packaging, numbering and presentation of this kit to the market to be an HB or Trumpeter kit.
VR, Russ

I think Trumpeter does some "private label" releases, like the M19 tank transporter and 1/16 M198 howitzer that were released by Merit International in the US. This kit number is in that series. As far as I know those kits are of Trumpeter/Hobby Boss quality, so I would expect this one to be as well.

Most of the Asian model companies use similar CAD poster illustrations. I would not take anything from that. The post from last year looks just like a Hobby Boss illustration.

https://www.track-link.com/forums/news_industry/39219

KL

Kurt, you’re right, and this boxing and artwork does look like a Merit product (M19)— but not Trumpeter or HB. I’d think Merit would have done some marketing under their own label, not some unknown branding. I wish there was more info about who added this to Scalemates, and where their info came from. It could also be that Trumpeter or HB have hired their services out to an independent. Guess we’ll have to see....
VR, Russ

Comparison between the M65 instructions by Company X on the left and Dragon Black Label on the right.


/ Robin

Robin,
Where did you get the “X” instructions? They are more detailed for sure. but I’d hope they would be in /35 scale. I sure hope they are not intended to represent any “Black Label” boxing— yuck!
VR, Russ

Merit Int. did, indeed, contract Trumpeter/Hobby Boss to produce, illustrate, and package their 1/48 PT Boats (for sure!) and (probably) for many others. Merit is not a plastics company, but an importer of finished products with their label.

While I'd love to believe the hype, I can't shake the feeling that somebody's discovered the awesome power of Photoshop...

Well, comparing the level of details I would say that the X-instructions show a larger scale than 1/72, could be 1/48 by all means but I would bet a cent on 1/35.
The link to the instruction pdf is on the Scalemates page.
https://www.scalemates.com/products/img/5/5/1/1265551-57-instructions.pdf

Drawing a complete set of instructions wouldn't be too difficult either. It is all a matter of the potential hoax-artists dedication to his trade

While we all await the coming of this new kit; I thought you all might enjoy perusing this site. This my friend Paul Gaertner's 1/72 scratchbuilt atomic canon and it is amazing!
https://www.theatomiccannon.com/home

Problem is, they look even more like Trumpeter instructions than Dragon.

Awful lot of trouble to make a fake set of instructions accurate enough to actually be used in an actual kit. For what purpose?

Yes, Paul’s work is exceptional and was featured in AFV Modeler a few years back, along with a feature by David Doyle on the M165 in prelude to his excellent book. and Pauls site is top notch as well. As to the instructions, I don’t think anyone would go to those lengths to pursue a hoax- to what end does it serve? But again, instructions and a no-name Kitmaker taking on such a big project doesn’t mean we’ll see it soon. It could be years. If it is Merit, then that’s a good sign, but as far as Trumpy or HB and a forthcoming kit soon, I’d think they’d have it at Nuremberg if it was pending. Again, guess we’ll wait and see. I’m not holding my breath though for it coming under the “I ❤️ Kit” moniker- I’ll bet that’s just a placeholder. But, the same can be said for other new brands (Amusing Hobby for instance) again, guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
VR, Russ