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Armor/AFV: Braille Scale
1/72 and 1/76 Scale Armor and AFVs.
Hosted by Darren Baker
Rubicon models
PanzerKarl
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England - North West, United Kingdom
Joined: April 20, 2004
KitMaker: 2,439 posts
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Posted: Monday, March 02, 2020 - 10:12 PM UTC
Just been looking at some 1/56 Rubicon models and I must say they look well detailed for such a small scale.
Has any body had any experience with these kits?
Frenchy
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Rhone, France
Joined: December 02, 2002
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Posted: Tuesday, March 03, 2020 - 12:15 AM UTC
Rubicon Sherman Firefly IC Hybrid (more reviews there)

H.P.
Biggles2
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Quebec, Canada
Joined: January 01, 2004
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Posted: Tuesday, March 03, 2020 - 02:59 AM UTC
It's a war-gaming scale so you can take it from there. Although it looks to be a better than average war-game quality. From looking at the Firefly, Dragon's 1/72 has better detail at a lower price. Even Tamiya's 1/48 (slightly larger) has better detail for about the same price.
Garrand
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Pennsylvania, United States
Joined: October 27, 2009
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Posted: Tuesday, March 03, 2020 - 04:01 AM UTC
They are extremely good for wargaming models. But they are wargaming models, with different requirements. If you want to wargame with them & like well-detailed models, definitely worth the price. But if you want a static display model, other options might be better.

Damon.
Biggles2
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Quebec, Canada
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Posted: Tuesday, March 03, 2020 - 04:43 AM UTC
Slightly off-topic, but why war-game in 1/56? 1/72 - 1/76 is cheaper, takes less space, generally better-detailed, and there are tons of soft plastic figures to play with.
Garrand
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Pennsylvania, United States
Joined: October 27, 2009
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Posted: Tuesday, March 03, 2020 - 05:12 AM UTC
Soft plastic figures are not fun to paint. 1/56 scale has become the "industry standard" to go along with 28mm figures (scale in wargaming is a little nebulous). 28mm figures are much more pleasurable to paint. I can turn the question around & ask why wargame in 1/72 when you can wargame in 1/100 (aka 15mm)? All of these scales have certain advantages (or disadvantages). I wouldn't play battalion level games in 28mm as that would be horrendously expensive. But at 15mm its a do-able big game. OTOH trying to move little 15mm figures around in a skirmish game (Plt or smaller) isn't a lot of fun; this is where 28mm 1/56 scale shines.

I personally cannot really see a reason to game in 1/72 scale, since its a little too big for Bn level games, & a little too small for skirmish games. I think it was (& still is to a certain extent) popular because it came from the age of Airfix, Roco & Matchbox model kits used in gaming.

Damon.
tankmodeler
#417
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Ontario, Canada
Joined: March 01, 2004
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Posted: Tuesday, March 03, 2020 - 07:34 AM UTC
Personally, I prefer to wargame at 1:300 or 1:285 scale (6mm scale) for all my miniatures AFV gaming. The scale is much more amenable to a fast set-up and tear down and storage requirements are far less and selection of vehicles is far greater. Near-scale ranges/distances can be achieved without too much fudging, especially if you stay before about 1955 when ranges started to get much greater. Plus its a lot easier to paint and you can, in a pinch substitute figures from similar armies/periods without it being too jarring.

10mm is next favourite, for me, and then 15mm. The trend being more larger bits and storage being "bad".

Paul
Garrand
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Pennsylvania, United States
Joined: October 27, 2009
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Posted: Tuesday, March 03, 2020 - 08:38 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Personally, I prefer to wargame at 1:300 or 1:285 scale (6mm scale) for all my miniatures AFV gaming.


I do moderns in 6mm, although have a small force in 15mm for those that prefer it. I like to play 15mm games using 6mm figures, without altering the groundscale. Not only is it actually closer to scale, but it avoids the tank "parking lots" you get with 15mm...

Damon.
goldnova72
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Alberta, Canada
Joined: February 21, 2009
KitMaker: 627 posts
Armorama: 592 posts
Posted: Wednesday, March 04, 2020 - 12:42 PM UTC
I've got about 20 Rubicon kits , and while they are a compromise between war game piece and model kit , they build up into nice vehicles . Most can be built 2 or 3 different ways , ie : the Crusader kit has parts to build either a I , II , III , or the later war AA version . The SU 85 kit could also be built as an earlier SU 122 , and if your careful , you can swap out one upper hull for the other , giving you a self propelled howitzer or anti tank gun which is a bonus for gamers ( 2 gun choices - 1 vehicle ). The T-26 kit can be built in one of 10 versions , with the choice of 4 turrets , 4 upper hulls , various gun and flame thrower types etc . I know I'm having lots of fun building and kit bashing them .
chrisgrove
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England - South East, United Kingdom
Joined: October 13, 2006
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Posted: Sunday, March 22, 2020 - 09:35 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Soft plastic figures are not fun to paint. 1/56 scale has become the "industry standard" to go along with 28mm figures (scale in wargaming is a little nebulous). 28mm figures are much more pleasurable to paint. I can turn the question around & ask why wargame in 1/72 when you can wargame in 1/100 (aka 15mm)? All of these scales have certain advantages (or disadvantages). I wouldn't play battalion level games in 28mm as that would be horrendously expensive. But at 15mm its a do-able big game. OTOH trying to move little 15mm figures around in a skirmish game (Plt or smaller) isn't a lot of fun; this is where 28mm 1/56 scale shines.

I personally cannot really see a reason to game in 1/72 scale, since its a little too big for Bn level games, & a little too small for skirmish games. I think it was (& still is to a certain extent) popular because it came from the age of Airfix, Roco & Matchbox model kits used in gaming.

Damon.




Hi Damon
Your post is interesting since Roco (1/87), and Matchbox (1/76) never made any models in 1/72, and Airfix have only recently changed from 1/76 to 1/72 (though the labels on their earlier kits sometimes suggested that they were 1/72, they were actually 1/76). Mind you, I am not a gamer!
Chris
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