99 LUFT BALLOONS
Luke Pitt hosts MMI’s examination of the growing world of 1:48 scale military models, figures and accessories.
Yes, I know, I’m showing my age with this title but I liked the song when it was released in the 1970s, even if it was sung in German, and as our Editor has reviewed the 99th Tamiya 1:48 Military kit in this column it seemed rather appropriate.
Tamiya is now one kit away from their 100th 1:48 scale military release. Let that sink in. 99 plastic 1:48 military kits from Tamiya alone! That’s quite a milestone. I for one am amazed at the number. I believe there are a few large gaps that remain to be filled though. With other players now joining the ranks (e.g.Suyata), the future of our beloved scale looks quite bright.
Let me delve a little deeper and discuss figures. As we all know, the sheer quality and posing of Tamiya’s current range of 1:35 figures is outstanding. The new Panzer IV Ausf. G includes a fantastic crew. What I would like to see is for some of these to be scaled down to 1:48 scale and released as separate sets.
A lot of modellers don’t like resin. Many are put off by the price and others have no experience in the medium itself.
I have seen a gradual acceptance of the scale over the years and I am pleased to see some quite prominent modellers giving the scale a go and in most cases, singing its praises. Even so, there are still some who steadfastly resist and I admit that I do get where they are coming from. The sheer volume of new 1:35 and also 1:72 / 1:76 scale releases is mind boggling. So for them, a switch in scales might seem pointless. I do ask myself, surely they can’t release another one of those, but they do, and in some cases the same subject from different manufacturers. This makes me wonder whatever happens to the old kits of the various types that that have been superseded? Are modellers throwing them out? We in the 1:48 community don’t have that luxury so it often has me wondering what I’d like to see in plastic in our beloved scale.
For me a tank transporter is a major gap. I’d love to see a Dragon Wagon or Scammell Tank transporter in 1:48 scale. Even a Russian Maz would tickle my fancy. These would be big enough to detail and yet small enough to display and complete in a reasonable about of time (something you really can’t do in 1:35 and yes I have a few in my stash).
As far as military vehicles go, I’d like to see an M3 Grant or Lee, M-18 Hellcat or even a US half track.
From the modern era I’d like to see a M551 Sheridan, probably because I like the shape of the thing but more importantly, it was used from the Vietnam War right through to the Gulf War and included some really cool versions used in the Fort Knox Armour Training Centre. The colour schemes and conversion potential for this vehicle are enormous. And how about an S Tank? Wow, that would be cool in 1:48. Yes, I know that Aurora and Tamiya did one years ago but brother do I like the shape of the thing.