Official 1:18 Military Toys Thread (21st, BBI, FOV, etc)

[Paul]

Ok now here is where the confusing part comes in...this 113 is NOT marked 21st Century, or Motorworks...it is stamped New Millenium Toys.

It is half plastic and half Die-Cast.  Enough stuff comes off I am going to see if I can turn it into a Nam Era one.  That being said, if anybody knows where I can find some of the old 21st C XD Nam figures I need a couple to crew this thing.  I'll pay cash, trades whatever it takes. The figures that came with it make Power Team Elite USA guys look like VOTC Stormtroopers....

[Vator]

UGH!

We all know Smalljoes.com, right? Well on the 21st I orderd a mess load of CORPS and BoB figures on 3 day delivery. I was hoping they'd arrive today, but it would appear as though they have not. Perhaps tommorow? We'll see along with a reivew of some of the Corps filler stuff for Dioramas.

[Jesse James]

Corps stuff always looks so, uh, "cheap" to me.  I dunno.

BotB stuff sounds nice though.  I'd love more Germans and US RIflemen. 

Damned if they didn't do a US in trenchcoat though.    That line shoudl really have had more to it.  Closed and open trenchcoat U.S. riflemen, and a coldweather officer (just use the tanker's body) with a removable bag of Thompson clips.

For the Germans, they should've had a rifleman in the white parka and pants.  A German with MG-34 would've been nice too..  or a Flammenwaffer trooper.

The worst of that lot are the Jeep Driver, and I'd say the US Tanker.  Neither had accessories really, and the Jeep Driver's just a real let-down.  I'm swapping heads on all the extras of him I got and giving him Thompsons or bandoleirs of clips some day (cast accessories/heads). 

I'm hoping they redo 1st series with this articulation though, and the removable helmets, and then I'll maybe try my hand at whipping up a cloth coat for the dudes.  Slap it on over top the regular coat and stuff.  Should be cool.

The Germans are just so hard to get ahold of though...  Especially the open-coat guy.

GREAT headsculpts in this wave though.  Very generic, but with a mix of hoods for both sides too.

[Vator]

Well I didn't order figures so much as I orderd a bunch of accessories, like howiters and towers. Even super cheap things can be customized to look cool, so we'll see how that turns out.

The pacage arrived today, and it's huge. You actually get some pretty nice accessories with the Corps buildings and Cannons. Even the figures, no matter how cheap they are, are a step in the right direction.
The only downer thus far is the tank...very flimsy guns on that thing.

[Jesse James]

I've been lax on the news here, I know...

Not a ton going on, though my area did finally see what I estimate to have been ONE case of the FW-190 and Spits...  Got neither, though I'd like the FockeWulf.

Onto better news, for me anyway, I found Steel Shermans and Tigers (well, one Tiger) on clearance at a WM I frequent that does probably the most volume of business in Pittsburgh.  I got the Tiger I saw (regular grey) and 1 Sherman leaving another that was broken I believe behind.

The Tiger, ironically, was only there maybe 4 or 5 months...  These didn't come out till Fall I thought.  Only one left and they clearanced it...  Seems silly.  The Shermans dwindled as well.

Also next to them were the little troop carriers (M113 or whatever?) with those horrid figures.  They all are the green ones, and they're clearanced for a great $39.96, haha.  Isn't that retail on them?  I dunno... 

$15 Tiger though...  That's a wet dream as far as I'm concerned.  I don't care now that I didn't get a winter one.  I'll paint htis one up or my plastic version.

The Steel Tiger's a thing of beauty....  Love it!

Beyond that then, not much new here...  I'd love the BBI Mustang and Sherman but I keep hoping to see them at TRU, kinda like the jets...  I want a jet, but I don't wanna pay for it to ship here to my house. 

I'm not sure what else is new...  I know our man in the field at Toy Fair's (Jokabofe/Dave) is gonna try getting some info from BBI and 21st's booths as well as Dusty Trail's booth, but don't expect a ton of info since it's not Dave's specialty and I can't expect him to be too bothered with it.  I'm tryin' for us guys! 

Oh, and one big news bit...

The Marines have been up for pre-order a couple weeks now, but word on the Japanese is still sketchy and conflicting...  The marines are due to hit though, which is good.

I hate half those headsculpts at least though.  The figures look like works of art next to the sad sacks 21st had in the M113 box though.  WTF was that all about? 

[Jesse James]

D'oh!!!

OK, i forgot to mention for those curious, but the WW2 Marines from 21st Cent. have been shipping now for a while, so I apologize.  I never ordered them because of $ at the moment.  Hopefully soon though, but I just haven't had the cash to do a case of these which is what I'm hoping for.

The Japanese are on the backs of the cards too I guess, and are dfinitely getting made it seems. 

From what has been said, the heads aren't as animated as the previews showed, so that's a good thing.  Sounds like some of the guys coulda used extra sets of hands though, and that weapons are  a mismatch at times.  No big deal though.

The figures look good...  Great things are being said, so I wanna get a case ASAP.  Cheapest way to go and gets the most figures for ya too anyway.

[Jesse James]

OK, so the Terminator line by Palisades is great news...  Even if it's not "real" military.

But anyway, BBI's Toy Fair info is leaking early like grannie's depends!

http://photos.figures.com/photo/1/showgallery.php?cat=2274&page=1&perpage=15&what=allfields&=&action=

Plenty of pictures of stuff we already saw, though BETTER photos of the WW2 figures.  I must say, they're few but they're great.

Also note, a WORKING PARACHUTE for the WW2 Paratrooper.  Oh hell yeah! [/end will smith]

Great stuff, if not a bit redundant from stuff we've seen.  Be nice to have seen a more accurate U.S. modern infantryman, some kind of "enemy" to come from the company...  Germans for WW2 and Some kind of generic "terrorists" for modern. 

Hell go the 21st route with making them allies, JUST MAKE THEM!  My grunts and leathernecks are sick of shooting at the Cobra 6-pack figures like they're nothing but a buncha greenshirts.

[Jesse James]

Not a HUGE turn-out for Toy Fair unfortunately for 21st Century fans...

Plane guys went ga-ga over the first shots of the Avenger Torpedo Plane though, which does look admittedly neat to me but I'm honest to God sick of planes at this point.  Also 21st's first Jet as well.

I could care at this point though... 

They had limited items from 2 of their new licenses too, in the movie Sahara, as well as the first clear shots of the Platoon items we've seen (no mention on Platoon 1:18 figures though, just 1:6, which is bull****).

Only 2 Sahara figures in 1:18 and both pack-ins as well.   

It appears 21st isn't supporting 1:18 beyond making planes and the odd land vehicle (Panzer, etc.)... 

The only real 1:18 figures they had were camo repaints of the Marines.  Color me underwhelmed.  I was hoping for the army builder packs to get some concrete backing, or to see the Japanese Infantry, or to see 1:18 Platoon, Sahara, and (pipedream) Skycaptain lines...  21st just basically told me (a 1:18 scale collector) to go piss off though I guess.

Oh well, BBI can have my $ since they're making WW2 infantry and paratrooper figures.

May a big dong slap 21st in the head if they're not gonna support 1:18 beyond planes and repaint planes though.  Screw them.

[Jesse James]

I've seen some better shots of the Platoon figure heads, and they're VERY realistic.

It's a real disappointment to see Hasbro unable to get likenesses correct but 21st nails some pretty tough sculpts without much effort.

I'd love seeing the rest of that line...  Or the supposed rest of the line anyway, I don't know what's due for it, but I thought 10 figures from teh Platoon line?  And I wonder now even more what the "Bridge Too Far" line may hold!

The Japanese had better images surface too, and those look like absolutely fantastic figures.  Simply incredible sculpts.  If only 21st could get their stuff distributed decently.  It's a bitch finding any Ardennes Germans anymore, and I'd love to have open coats and tankers galore to headswap with and do up some random troops.

[MisterPL]

Has 21st Century expressed any interest in a line of 1:18 scale space toys? I'm talking Mercury, Saturn, and Apollo mission astronauts, Soyuz cosmonauts, and of course key vehicles. It seems like a natural line extention.

[Jesse James]

Not that I'm aware, though ironically they were branching out that direction at one point...  Well, not towards space specifically, but moving away from "military only" like they have been.  Rumor was they were heading to a Police and Firefighters line which I'd welcome...

Space (real space) I'd welcome too...  They could certainly do it justice, however the material/variety is limited.  I know they're reluctant to do certain airplanes even, ones you'd THINK would be good choices, simply because they say there's a slight chance they wouldn't go well.  THe Japanese Zero actually is one such plane...  Who wouldn't want a Zero though if they bought a Corsair or the upcoming Avenger?  I dunno.

The other thing, oddly, that I heard was maybe coming out was 1:18 scale middle ages figures.  Knights, pikemen, etc...  Weird.

The thing I think would kill the space idea is a void of "repaints".  A lot of 21st's love of military vehicles is many can be repainted and resold.  I guess it's justification for some things getting made.

I know the upcoming Panzer is already lined upw ith ambush paintscheme, winter, etc...  I usually buy only one or two versions.  Definitely only 1 of a plane though, if even that.  Planes are HUGE and take too much room.  I'd rather work on my own 1:18 Star Wars vehicles to take up space around my place.  Planes just take a back seat to me.

[Jesse James]

For the curious, 21st Cent. Toys updated their "Area 21" section of their site with pictures of the Japanese 1:18 infantry figures.

They're sporting some new articulation in an attempt to rival (or outdo) the improved articulation with BBI.  Hasbro's still dominating by showing they can do the ultimate in 1:18 articulation, but BBI and 21st are making nice strides as they slug it out.

21st's adding shoulder ball/socket joints, etc...  Interesting. 

Also of note, 1:18 figures ARE SHOWING UP at Wal-Marts across the country.  not just any 1:18 either, but actually Battle of the Bulge figures and Marines!  Can't beat that with a stick folks!  Look at WM for figures, and if they don't have them, complain and try and get them into your store.

Soon as I find a pile on pegs I'm putting in a lay-a-way order of the "army builder" generic riflemen and whatnot.    I still dont' have those Marines in my collection sadly, so I hope I find some at WM soon.

[Jesse James]

So is anyone finding figures at Wal-Mart?

People are saying they are finding them left and right...  Pilots, Battle of the Bulge figures, the new Pacific Theater Marines, Patton figures...  The works.

Also US and German halftracks, German Panzers, etc...

Where is this **** at?  I'd buy up a full set of Marines plus army builders if I saw them,a nd forget about BotB Germans and GI's...  I'd build a huge army of those!

Where is this stuff though?  Is Pittsburgh the only area being denied any XD stuff?  I'm pissed. 

[Vator]

This **** is at Wal-Mart now? Looks like I'll be hitting there tommorow.

[Jesse James]

Yeah...  That and then some.  The black 109, the 1.5 ton Dodge truck...

I've lost track of all the stuff people have found of late, but NOT finding the figures is killing me.  Everyone says they've found dozens, except for me.