Author Topic: Official 1:18 Military Toys Thread (21st, BBI, FOV, etc)  (Read 362157 times)

Offline Jesse James

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Re: Official 1:18 Military Toys Thread (21st, BBI, FOV, etc)
« Reply #615 on: March 10, 2010, 09:04 PM »
Look at this behemoth...

It's a Tamiy 1:16 kit, but rumor is a 1:16 RC version for less money from another company will be happening...

I hope!



THat's a gorgeous piece of firepower.
« Last Edit: March 16, 2010, 11:57 PM by Jesse James »
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Offline Jesse James

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Re: Official 1:18 Military Toys Thread (21st, BBI, FOV, etc)
« Reply #616 on: March 16, 2010, 11:54 PM »
Not cheap, but gorgeous nonetheless...

Here's some custom kits from "Grunt1" over on the Small Scale Headquarters boards.  To me, these are as good as production product.  They're resin though so prices are high on short-run kits like this.

First, a Nebelwerfer.  Pretty badass:





And second, a Pack Howitzer:



I bought a German MG tripod for MG34-42's off this fellow for $20, and it's fantastic.  I'd like to see more smaller/affordable kits like that (German mortar team for instance, or a US water-colled .30 for my Marines).  Grunt1's a good guy to chat it up with and things.  The larger items like the Nebel cost a bit more but look worth every penny.  

Another chap named Pickelhaube does resin kits as upgrades/mods to existing 1:18 items like doorguns for the Blackhawk.  He also did a sdk222... a whole vehicle as a kit.  This was one of the more impressive items I think.

Here's tmanthegreat's finished/painted 222, but bear in mind this too is a resin kit and doesn't come all pretty like this:



The resin kits coming out from guys are quite impressive...  They're also quite expensive again, but that's the cost of resin kits in general so it's not unprecedented.  It's just above many's ability to afford.  I know I can't justify the pricier items.  $20 or $30 I'm ok with, but when they're $80 to $100 I have to weigh that "4 or 5 tanks of gas" question. :)
« Last Edit: March 16, 2010, 11:56 PM by Jesse James »
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Offline Paul

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Re: Official 1:18 Military Toys Thread (21st, BBI, FOV, etc)
« Reply #617 on: April 1, 2010, 08:14 PM »

Offline Jesse James

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Re: Official 1:18 Military Toys Thread (21st, BBI, FOV, etc)
« Reply #618 on: April 1, 2010, 10:36 PM »
I've seen 1:16 combat zones built for the RC tanks people run, and compete with each other, but I've never seen one so detailed...  I mean, the whole thing looks almost photorealistic in some of those shots.  B&W those images so they look vintage and I bet they'd fool some folks.  Check out those barbed wire obstructions?  Oofah.

Those are the kinds of tanks I'm planning to jump into this year...  THey don't come painted well generally, but in terms of detail they're insane.  Each track linked individually, functional suspenions, and so on.  And all the metal upgrades you can do (if you feel like it) can make the thing almost completely steel.

For $80 - $200, you can't beat that kind of stuff...  plus the sound effects, they smoke when hit...  Some fire BB's, others work off infrared... 

I'd love to get damaged ones to gut and put interiors on and have more static models, but the RC aspect appeals to me since that was a hobby of mine as a kid.

Short of owning one, I think this is the next best thing. :)

Those make most SW dioramas look pretty shabby though.  I mean, someone's got land dedicated to it...  Wow.
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Offline Jesse James

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Re: Official 1:18 Military Toys Thread (21st, BBI, FOV, etc)
« Reply #619 on: April 1, 2010, 10:39 PM »
BTW, I am friends with an asian based distributor for a new upcoming military toys company.  I think the figures are getting imported to the US by some small companies like Smalljoes.  Nothing B&M (yet), but they're really nice looking modern figures.  Some of the best basic "generic" looking US Army figures I've seen. 

They have molded-on sunglasses and some of their weapons look to be a snivit oversized (The M4 in particular), but the figures look simply outstanding, and their kevlar comes off giving you a troop in just his BDU's.  Pretty neat.  I hope future figures don't have molded-on sunglasses primarily.  I can replace the weapons with the bitchin' M4 from Marauder, or other small arms, so I really just hope for improved headsculpts in the future.

Still, sunglasses are common (probably moreso than not) so it's neat seeing figures with them too.
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Offline Jesse James

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Re: Official 1:18 Military Toys Thread (21st, BBI, FOV, etc)
« Reply #620 on: April 14, 2010, 01:52 AM »
I ordered my first 1:16 tank this week...  A German Panzer IV that comes in DAK tan, which I'll likely not custom up too much.  It was about $100 even shipped (slightly more), so you can't beat that.  I got Smoke & Sound as I've been advised NEVER to buy anything but Smoke & Sound versions...  Non S&S is $10 less anyway, so why not get the extras anyhow, ya know?

I'm also negotiating for some damaged RC tanks to custom up as static models...  We'll see what is available.  I'm hoping for a Jagd something or other because I like Tank Destroyers.  I mean, if there's one thing cooler than armor, it's armor made to destroy armor.  ;D

EDIT:

This is what I bought by the way:



BTW I think it's an F, but I'm by no means a Panzer expert...



Paul, I'm sure you know way more than I do...

I know the basic differences in a P1, 2, 3, or 4...  Once it gets beyond that it's obvious (Panther, Tiger, KT)...  It's the variants of the P1, or Panther and things that really start to confuse me.  If it ain't Jagd, I probably can't tell you what the significant differences are like the storage on the back of the turret, or having loading hatches or no loading hatches, or whatever...  :)  I start losing track of that stuff.  I'm probably the kind of guy rivet-counters cannot stand because I can't tell the difference between the early war cuppola or the late war cuppola, haha.
« Last Edit: April 14, 2010, 04:30 AM by Jesse James »
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Offline Jesse James

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Re: Official 1:18 Military Toys Thread (21st, BBI, FOV, etc)
« Reply #621 on: April 14, 2010, 04:32 AM »
BTW...  I can't believe they make this, but even a SturmTiger...

Seriously.



I mean...  To me this is getting a little obscure, ya know?  :)  I love it.
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Offline Paul

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Re: Official 1:18 Military Toys Thread (21st, BBI, FOV, etc)
« Reply #622 on: April 14, 2010, 04:40 PM »
The box says it is a IV F-1... so why argue.

Hope you only have to fight RC Matildas and Soviet T-26's....

When the T-34's and Churchill Mark VII's start showing up, hide behind the King Tiger.

Does each tank had characteristics like the orginals?  Does it take more hits from a Stuart than it does a King Tiger?  Or is it a certain number of hits no matter what or where?   I


And,  it seems to have the right number of rivets, they are just the wrong shape and in the wrong places.  ;)

Offline Jesse James

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Re: Official 1:18 Military Toys Thread (21st, BBI, FOV, etc)
« Reply #623 on: April 14, 2010, 05:06 PM »
I have no clue on the IR system (Mine will shoot plastic BB's), and if it is "realistic" in the regards of # of hits...  It has a working suspension and independantly linked tracks though. :P

When it comes to the P4's and below I start getting confused.  I'm sure someone will point out why it's not an F-1 when I decide to post pics elsewhere...  :)  And how I need to add a myriad of things, change a bunch of stuff, and why my paintjob's not accurate.

Actually I was wanting a plain panzer grey one, but couldn't find one for the price I was wanting to pay for my first tank, so I'm just rolling with the "DAK" deco for now.

Not a lot of Soviet stuff to go against...  T-34's and KV-1's are all I'm aware of.  Shermans this year too, but that's about it.  Looks like the P4's about to have its ass handed to it.  Maybe I'll just attack figures with it.
« Last Edit: April 14, 2010, 05:07 PM by Jesse James »
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Offline Paul

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Re: Official 1:18 Military Toys Thread (21st, BBI, FOV, etc)
« Reply #624 on: April 15, 2010, 12:24 PM »
BB's?  Ok, now I am interested...

Time to set up the Guns of Navarone Playset and let that Sherman go to town on the Monotone Military Men of Marx (the toy company not the revolutionary)

With your Pz IV and lower just remember the higher the letter the more desperate the German War machine was getting... your IV won't do much good much good against the T-34s until you get to G or H...but they are still undergunned and armored.

G and H vs Sherman would be a good matchup, except where there was 1 Sherman there were usually 7 others around.

The other consideration is to only have your tank battles on overcast days or indoors... the Jabos will get you every time.

Offline Jesse James

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Re: Official 1:18 Military Toys Thread (21st, BBI, FOV, etc)
« Reply #625 on: April 15, 2010, 04:40 PM »
Yup, though don't expect BB devastation...  They're plastic like airsoft guns, hop-up systems.  Fun, but "You'll shoot your eye out" may not actually be as big a danger as with a red rider.

EDIT:  Check out the barrel on it Paul, it's pretty cool to see it tooled metal like that, for the BB's.  May not be the right diameter, but cool regardless.

If I find good video of them shooting and driving around, I'll post it here.  There are some I know, I just don't have them bookmarked.  I should do a compilation of the tanks they've made that I'm aware of and start posting.  Guys custom these up to look incredible.  I saw an SS version, East Prussia I believe, the guy had all the schurzen (saying that right?), he had a full crew of XD figures for it, stowage, camo foliage all over it, a great deco and decals he did himself, and he'd gone balls out to make his almost entirely metal...  Metal running gears, metal tracks, metal barrel, metal cuppola, and so on.  He'd replaced like 60% of the tank with metal aftermarket parts.  He said picking it up was an experience unto itself because it weighed so much that it made it more cool to him.  I believe him.

The only things I'm more impressed with than this hobby are guys into 1:6, and of course you owning 1:1 stuff...  The 1:6 stuff, half of it is actually all metal.  Usually Aluminum I guess, but you may know about that more than me Paul.  I see the custom stuff those 1:6 guys do though, and it's simply jaw-dropping.  Figures that are complete right down to working zippers and stuff, and socks and underwear, and pencils and letters/pictures from home...  All the way to metal armor that requires 2 people to pick it up. 

Color me pea green with envy.
« Last Edit: April 15, 2010, 08:32 PM by Jesse James »
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Offline Jesse James

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Re: Official 1:18 Military Toys Thread (21st, BBI, FOV, etc)
« Reply #626 on: April 15, 2010, 09:00 PM »
Just for Paul (well, and anyone else that wants to see one in action) here's an IR Sturmgeschütz Ausf. F8, which shows how the IR system works.  I kinda like the BB's as I don't foresee myself "gaming" other tankers with them since there's no organized group in Pittsburgh, however I think IR's cool too just for the simple fact it reacts with other tanks.

I'm wagering 5 hits to make a kill is standard on all tanks, which kinda sucks on Jagd things since you have to actually rotate the tank to make a kill, not just the turret.  Honestly though, RC tank gaming, to me, leaves a lot of realism out of things anyway...  I mean you can see the whole battlefield, where people are hiding and stuff.  What's the point then, ya know?  A real obstacle course would have AT guns everywhere, faster anti-tank platforms like hanomags and stuff sneaking around, infantry, mines...  I mean there's potential for coolness but fighting another RC tank would be kind of boring to me I guess.

I'd rather shoot the plastic BB's at stuff like the neighbor's kid as he rides his bike around. (j/k...  sorta)

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/3370147/9437221
« Last Edit: April 15, 2010, 09:01 PM by Jesse James »
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Offline Jesse James

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Re: Official 1:18 Military Toys Thread (21st, BBI, FOV, etc)
« Reply #627 on: April 17, 2010, 03:54 AM »
My apologies to Paul, I did NOT get the Panzer IV...  I got the short-barrel Panzer III.  I posted the wrong image.  I thought I had ordered a III, but then I couldn't find the images again.

And...

It arrived today.

Paul, you know you want one of these...  Come on man.  Just plunk down $100 on one, and just buy one.  You don't need to collect them all.  Trust me, once you ahve one , you'll be having fun with it. :P

I just got back from going out to watch the Pen's game tonight, and was motoring mine around on the carpet the second I got it out of the box and tried reading the directions enough to know I wasn't totally f'ing up the thing if I just started tearing around with it.

It's quite interesting...  Here's some thoughts:

-It's got lots of sounds...  Machine Gun sounds, the cannon firing (and the tank recoiling from the shot) sounds, the tank idles when not in motion, it has a "start up" sound, and it also has a shut-off/shut-down sound when you're ready to turn it off too.  It has a loud drive sound as well, but there's a built-in volume-control that you can adjust too.  It was quite loud out of the box.

-Controls are sensitive and it goes entirely too fast if you jam the sticks...  No WW2 tank turned and backed up like this thing can. ;)  Fortunately, once you learn to be softer with the controls, it can be controlled at much MUCH more realistic speeds.  I'm told if you go metal treads, drive gears, and gear boxes, it slows down tremendously from its normal stock plastic bits.

-The 1:16 figure it comes with looks like a giant.  I think it's a little oversized.  It's definitely bigger than XD figures which for most are a tad large and more 1:16 than 1:18.  The figure's also basically a static model though you can pose the arms.

-The smoke effect I have not tested yet.  Tomorrow.

-The BB's I did test (yes, in the house).  I shot a plastic bag with rags for the wash...  I figured it would be a weaker airsoft system.  I was very mistaken.  It missed the bag with the first shot, hit the back door, and rebounded right into my nuts.  No damage thanks to my Penguin's jersey hanging down to cover the boys, combined with it being a rebound, but still...  This thing could really launch and hurt an animal or person.  I dare say it's as strong as the kid's airsoft rifles, which can break skin.  I'm sort of surprised to say the least.  I figured this thing would limp-wrist the BB's at best.  Color me impressed.

-Very little maintenance in the instructions, but some...  I'm wagering more would be wise, but the instructions really don't say much.  They do basically say to run it on flat hard surfaces and not much else.  That's a little disconcerting but I hear the RC Tank community can help you make sure it can tackle most any terrain.  I saw a guy's fording small streams, so I think almost anything's possible.

-Half-hour runtime it says...  Not sure if that's guaranteed or not, but from what I've heard, they do run a long time.  A lot more than my racing trucks used to, which sucked the juice down.

-The fully functional (just like the real ones) suspension is easily one of my favorite aspects.  It is so realistic...  That coupled with the individually linked tracks?  That's some damn skippy realism for what basically ammounts to a $100 toy.

-Deco is very plain...  Mine's DAK tan, and I like it actually, but zero weathering and it comes with stickers that I wouldn't put on.  I could see scanning them and trying to print out water-transfer ones, but not these peel n stick jobs.

-No Turret MG, but lots of other bits to put on.

-Lots of details are molded on...  Especially the tools like the shovel, prybar, etc.  And that kinda sucks...  I wish those were removable for painting purposes, and incase you wanted to make actual removable tools.  I think on some they are removable, but the P3 they're not I guess.

-Lots of opening hatches on the Turret, but none on the hull...  That is nice and not nice...  Nice to have the ones on the turret, but the driver and MG'ers hatches don't open.  I'd like at LEAST those 2 to open, ya know?

-Controls are tricky but that, to me, is part of the fun learning to control it.  I thought it would control ala a real tank of the era (2 control sticks one for each track), but the right stick actually controls the tank's movement entirely.  It controls more like a car than a tank that way.  It also makes it trickier and more sensitive that way.  The left stick controls the turret.

-Turret is pretty great.  You cannot rotate the turret 360 degrees, but I hear some guys have made theirs so they can.  ???  You also cannot move the gun up and down independantly.  You have to move it up and once it's all the way up it will move down then till it's all the way down, then it goes back up again...  When you push the other way on the left stick you're actually controlling the BB-firing mechanism.  So that's not entirely realistic on the gun elevation, but it's a minor thing, and if you want the BB mechanism I guess that's the way the cookie crumbles then.  I don't know if IR systems work the same or what.

-Overall it's been a blast the hour or so I messed with it.  Really it's the most fun with a toy I've had in a while.  :)
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Offline Jesse James

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Re: Official 1:18 Military Toys Thread (21st, BBI, FOV, etc)
« Reply #628 on: April 23, 2010, 12:42 AM »
At first I thought I was let down by the oil smoking effect...  Turns out it was user-error on that one, so yeah it smokes.  Kind of weird how it works.  It can smoke quite a bit while it's sitting idling too, which kind of looks neat even though I guess it's not terribly accurate for German tanks to puff much white smoke out their exhaust.

Anyway, it's a neat feature...

I've been told NOT to buy anything but Smoke & Sound tanks too...  If they don't have smoke & sound, then they're an older and less stable board, and the difference in price is like $10 anyway so being that cheap isn't worth it.

Just a tip for those considering a buy.
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Offline Paul

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Re: Official 1:18 Military Toys Thread (21st, BBI, FOV, etc)
« Reply #629 on: April 27, 2010, 12:04 PM »
I got this from Corey at Smalljoes.....

If you are gonna pre-order, might as well hit him up for them.   He has great customer service and communication and best of all he is a collector like us. 

OURWAR====== Just a reminder than the new 1:18 scale (3 3/4") 101st Airborne figureofferings from Tieka Toys are also available for pre-order. We expectthese to arrive end of May/first of June time frame. We have confirmedwith the manufacturer that these will not be appearing at major retailchains. Please keep your pre-orders for the OurWar figures separate from anyResolute pre-orders so that we can ship them to you immediately whenthey arrive.

http://smalljoes.com/cgi-bin/pgen.cgi?CatId=89&Stage=5


Smalljoes is not a sponsor of JD.com.