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

[Jesse James]

TKO over at the small scale boards let fly some figures which 21st was IN PRODUCTION with, when the company folded and sold its assets to JSI.

-British Red Devils....  Apparantly these were to be insanely cool, and accurate.

-Russian Red Army Wave...  Mentioned in particular was a Russian Sniper/Spotter 2-pack ala "Enemy at the Gates".

-A new 10-figure set of German Falschirmjagers that were going to include the pre-posed legs as well as teh articulated ones.  The pre-posed legs were going to go into more action poses instead of just prone poses, so people had the display options available.

-More 2-packs galore...  A US Watercooled Machine Gun team, German teams to match, a US GI with a US Medic...  I can only imagine mortar teams for all nationalities would've been next.  Also mentioned was the possibility of a pilot/ground crewman 2-pack where teh pilot was in his cap/coat and not ready to go up.

-The 2-pack format was going to expand the Nam Era by making a Huey co-pilot and door gunner with M-60 that mounted to the Huey itself.

-The Falschims were "to put to shame the current wave, in every way, and in every detail".

And I've heard a couple rumors of my own that expanded on this... 

I'm giddy that someone was going to try to do that, but nobody's now set up to do so.  JSI could surprise the masses, I dunno.  They have some good variants on Hanomags and US armor too, and Zimmerit coated Panther and Tiger-I tanks.  That's a start...

Oh, and TKO said the 88 was going to open the door to a US Long-tom (I'd love just a howitzer, but I digress).  Bigger artillery was going to happen though.

What could've been...  What could still be though?  Who knows.

Forces of Valor, if they do more accurate work, could really become a great player though.  Their first WW2 offerings were outstanding really, for $4.99.  Their GI's were not perfect but their Germans were pretty slick, and offered lots of extras that made it worth buying the figures alone for those.  The GI's could've used a better coat deco to khaki at least, but still they're decent and I bought some just for their sachels and weaponry.  I'm honestly disapopinted I can't find more WW2 figures right now, haha.  It's all modern here at the moment.  I'm hopeful WW2 paras are their next step into 1:18.

[Paul]

  The GI's could've used a better coat deco to khaki at least,

Or perhaps the right pants.  No Brown Pants had pockets for US GI's in that period.

But I agree that their accessories were worth the price alone.

And if they can get the uniforms a little more correct US and German Airborne would be great.

Bummer about 21st C.  but they should have put that stuff out years ago.

[Jesse James]

I can look past the pockets but the green (really green) coats bugged me the most.

[Paul]

well they are I assume M43 Jackets or at least an attempt, so that color is close enough.  The easiest way for them to  get you/us some WWII US Airborne would be to Paint the pants green too (then the pockets are more correct), give them Jump or Double Buckle boots and you get "Market Garden" and Bastogne Paras.

[Jesse James]

That I could dig for sure...  They'd be wise to reuse some of the modern headsculpts too, on the WW2 guys.  Their stuff's pretty universal in that it all plugs into one another, so that's a good deal there with kitbashing new figures, for them.

I really would like some of their Germans in the green, as I got some $.50 Nam guys who have great rolled up sleeves.  I'd like to make some Normandy Germans with rolled up sleeves, as I believe they don't even require repainting, just maybe a patch removal or something.  Fritzkrieg did some slick customs like that.  He also did some shirtless Germans using Mutt figures and shirtless Anakin, to make some kick ass German artillery/DAK guys.

Anyway, I'm hopeful FOV puts out something to satiate the masses...  And then we'll see what JSI offers.  Maybe they'll take 21st's ball and run with it all the way, and get into Fal's, and all these other nationalities like 21st was considering.  So far they've got no major retailer support, but I think that may change at some point too.

[vupa0101]

i read over at hisstank that the new FOV delta guys have arrived. It was in GA

JesseJames,after doing a ton of reading, i would kill for that new Falschirmjagers wave, heck i would have loved all the new figures! Especially the Platoon stuff, i wish the HUEY wouldve came out.


PLEASE PLEASE JSI, have the molds!

[Jesse James]

The Platoon figures DID come out Vupa, not sure if you knew that.  I have a set of all of them except "Gator", Jonny Dep's character.  Not a great likeness.  Neither was Charlie Sheen's though.  I thought Berenger's was pretty spot-on though.

[vupa0101]

I have that plaoon set, i meant the plans 21st had for the Huey, pilot/gunner 2 packs, and othe rtsuff they had planned for release, I might have an extra "depp" if you are in need.

I picked up the set of 4 bbi WWII soldiers (big red 1 etc..) Now i need the airborne paratroopers. Such great deals!

[Jesse James]

Ah ok...  Yeah I don't think the 2-pack and others were Platoon based, just random Nam stuff like those Airborne guys they put out last year. 

They did plan some vehicles in Platoon boxes but those never came out.  Eh...

Cool score on the BBI guys.  BBI's are some of the best and I loved the Airborne guys with the removable jump gear.  To me, those were their best ever, hands down.

No worries on Jonny Depp's figure.  I didn't care for the likeness on Gator so I passed on him.  I was more interested in getting Sheen, Dafoe, and Berenger, mostly for their headsculpts.  I'm not much of a "Nam" guy.  I get the figures mostly just to have a set and move on.

[Jesse James]

Some updates...

So JSI has seemingly taken over 21st Cent. Toys' molds.  They're cranking a new F-14, which speculation is that it was tooled by 21st and so "new" is a subjective term perhaps, but that's the ONLY new thing they're doing...  so far.

And worse is that they're putting figures out online for a whopping $10 each, and using old molds to boot...  Even 1st series molds!  Yeesh.

Their Tiger-I came out and wasn't updated at all.  (IE: No Zimmerit mold updating)  THis has many annoyed that, beyond the paintjob, it's the same old tank.  Also, no pack-in commander, and no MG-42 for the Commander's hatch ring.  Yup, even less bang for your buck, but in almost Hasbro-like fashion, the price skyrocketed on the item as well.

This appears to be the standard with them, which I'm going to guess they're not going to last long if they don't change things.

And in equally bad news...

Unimax, makers of Forces of Valor, have focused their 1:18 line at Target only on modern figures/vehicles now, as that's what appeals to kids they claim.  World War 2 will now be an online-only line, and will increase in price.  This sucks, royally, as I personally loved their stuff.  Now, I'll get a set or possibly two sets when new (and I mean NEW, not repainted ****) hits,, but so far they're just re-releasing the first series WW2 figures, which I'd love to have more, but not at a price hike + shipping.  I loved grabbing one or two on a random stop at Target, but those days are long gone it appears.

In weird news though, they've put out a CHEAP line, that's out now, similar to Chap Mei.  Intended for kids, and customizers, there's not much interesting to it.  Figures are $1.99 or so, they come in 3-packs for more, and vehicle packs for a little more.  Nothing exciting.  Some ok headsculpts for customs, but that's it.

I'm disappointed in both companies so far.  Unimax, IMO, will survive...  JSI though, I have my doubts.  Price-hikes + product cuts + rehashed old **** we all already got, some on clearance, = bad business.

[Paul]

Well I'd take those Market Garden Paras again if they would just stick to basic paint aps on the heads.  The "washes" they put on those things was...not good.

The Unimax stuff is really nice, I agree it is sad they are ditching the WWII guys.  The sculpts were decent, symetrical and fairly accurate.

That Cheap line they have has the singles in our local stores too.  I am pretty sure the head sculpts can be used elsewhere.

I don't blame JSI for the rehash, but they better get some new product out or teased pretty quick.  I wonder if it is the Market that won't support the stuff or if it is the business plans...wish we knew somebody with a Business degree....

[Jesse James]

Only ******** go for Business.

[Jesse James]

Some weird stuff...

Power Team Elite, which I classify into this toy category, even though their stuff is usually "cheap".  I only say "cheap" with love in my heart though, as it's miles superior to Chap Mei's toys, and leans towards a real-world military theme.  SOme of their items are good in scale too, like their Humvee, Littlebird, and other pieces.

So anyway...

They've put out some new items this year, but only at select retailers.  First, a big ass playset that looks like a MIddle East, Mediterrannean, or Tatooine styled building.  It's 3 stories, has "damage", and looks more like something from a war than their "command center" set that looked like a Pizza Hut.

For a world that lacks playsets though, this is nice as a display piece.  The interior's devoid of detail but it's workable to add some "boards" around windows, some "closet space" to surround stair wells, and so forth.  I plan to get one of these from my trappers up North (I'm trading them Pemmican for it).  It's only being sold through Sears Canada, which is a big kick to the giant brass balls of the United States.    I'd buy 3 if they were in the US.

They also are putting out a Chinese/Russian model tank, which is surprisingly to-scale.  A little narrow, but the length is right.  Also a Chinese Armored Vehicle I'm unfamiliar with, and a Chinese "dune buggy".  Some of these armor pieces are available at JC Penney, as is the Command Center and Bridge playsets from the past.  Not shabby deals either as I interned with JC Penney and know for a fact they ROUTINELY put things on sale.  Never believe that you have to pay full price there, haha.

I'm contemplating a 4th bridge playset, as it's just so nice and makes a nice "river crossing" set-up for World War 2.

So far JSI, FOV, and BBI are still fairly silent...  BBI revamped their website proving they're not dead, but nothing new was shown.  They seem to keep it close to the vest.  JSI and FOV, who knows.  Nothing new WW2 so far, but hopefully in the future we'll see some new items from the big one.  It's seemingly destined to be all online-only though, so prepare not to army build, more or less.

[Paul]

Jesse we need some pics... I may need to find something here to trade for one of those playsets.

I have seen the pics of the Chinese Scout car, but can't remember the designation currently.  I will check it out.

[Jesse James]

Joe Customs was the only place I saw pics of the playset, other than Sears Canada of course.    A cool set though.  Very much a good modern military building, or good for Tunisia/N. Africa dios.