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We are delighted to share our excitement with you all on our latest project - StuG III Ausf G - Early / Mid / Late Production (product code 280017).

Features include:
- Choice of Early / Mid / Late production
- Option to assemble vehicle as a StuH 42 with 105mm Howitzer
- Choice of the original trapezoid-shape mantlet or the Topfblende pot mantlet (often called Saukopf "Pig's head") gun mantlet with or without coaxial mount
- Detachable Schürzen (side armour)
- Optional rear stowage rack
- Optional spare road wheels
- Optional periscope
- 3 sprues / 54 parts

The 3 versions of the StuG III Ausf G:




Option to do a StuH 42 with 105mm Howitzer Gun:


More photos of the StuG III Ausf G:



Some close up views:




Size comparison with various vehicles:







Comments and constructive feedback welcome!

Really like the crisp look the models have. A lot of resin models can look a bit rough around the edges at times but your plastic tanks always have nice clean lines. Interested how they look painted up.

Cracking stuff there

As a lapsed model maker and keen armchair historian of all things German I haver to say those Stugs look really good...I'm feeling the urge to make some kits again.

Germany produced more Stug III than any other tank in WW2... FINALLY someone is making a plastic kit! I will be buying a Zug worth of five Stugs at least.

When is the StuG III coming out?

It's my favourite German 'tank' - Yey!
Happy bunny here

Happy New Year!!


The mould for our SdKfz 251/1 Ausf D is basically done! here is our smart design of the Stuka zu Fuss rack system we modeled as an add-on option:


As you can see, there is only 10 plastic parts per side... a total of 21 parts for the complete Stuka zu Fuss mount, yet highly detailed!!

This is our SdKfz 251 Ausf D first test sprues! Even though not perfect yet, we have done some trail assembly and close up inspections to further improve the quality of the various sprues.

Here is the assembled Stuka zu Fuss rack as shown on the 3D diagram above:


Here are the tracks and the canvas tops:


Enjoy!

Looking good!

How do these measure up against gw tanks? Namely the panza 3 and halftrack? Got some great potential for conversions! Anyone got any pics?

After several modifications and refinements to our various SdKfz 251/1 Ausf D moulds, we'd finally signed off the moulds for commercial production. Three products will be release end of March:

280018 SdKfz 251/1 Ausf D with two canvas top choices
280019 SdKfz 251D 3-in-1 Combo Set #1
280020 SdKfz 251/1 Ausf D "Stuka zu Fuss"

Here are some images of the painted test plastic vehicles (1/56 plastic kit), more photos to follow later.

















Some are still in painting, that includes the SdKfz 251/10 with Pak 36 (Full Shield) and the SdKfz 251/8 Ambulance…

C&C welcome!

Here is an update on our plastic StuG III Ausf G... now painted!

Notable features of our StuG III Ausf G kit (product code 280017) includes:

- Option to build either an Early / Mid / Late production StuG III Ausf G
- Option to assemble vehicle as a StuH 42 with 105mm Howitzer
- Choice of the original trapezoid-shape mantlet or the Topfblende pot mantlet (often called Saukopf "Pig's head") gun mantlet with or without coaxial mount
- Detachable (removable) Schürzen (side armour)
- Optional rear stowage rack
- Optional spare road wheels
- Optional periscope
- 3 sprues / 54 parts


The almighty StuG III Ausf G with Saukopf gun mantlet - Late production


...and with Schürzen (side armour)


Alongside with her big brother... a Panther Ausf G!


Size comparison of the two...


Some more close-up images!




Some group images with several SdKfz 251/1 Ausf D variants...





...and finally as a StuH 42 with a 105mm howitzer!




If things go well with production, the StuG III Ausf G will be available around late March!

After much work, and working in secret about our added BONUS... The T-34/85 plastic kit is finally done!

Our 1/56 T-34/85 plastic kit can be assembled into either a Model 1943 or 1944 version of the tank. It comes with 2 turret top and 2 mantlet choices with oil drums & accessories included. You also have an option to built the tank as an OT-34/85 flamethrower tank too.

As an added BONUS, we have included a T-34/76 Model 1943 turret (commonly known as the Hex or Mickey Mouse turret) for those who had already brought our T-34/76 (280013) plastic kit!

Product Code: 280021
Number of Parts: 50 pieces / 3 sprues
Availability: Late March





Enjoy!

Have you thought of producing some for those who play "World of Tanks"?

I would have thought that you should be able to get quite a few sales from them, especially if you can get the right models made.

The STUG is currently a misison reward, so that ought to be popular, the number in game is increasing.

Unfortunately I have not been playing long enough to have gotten to the higher tier tanks as yet, but from what I have seen and read, the following two would be popular for lower tier tanks.

Panzer 1 C.
Pz.Kpfw. 1 Ausf C equipped with VK 6.02 suspension, Maybach HL66P engine, Fu. Spr. Ger 'a' radio system (If any of those are visibly different), the Pz. Kpfw. 1 Ausf C turret and 7.92mm Mauser E.W. 141 weapon system.


And the

T18.
T18E2 suspension, Continental R-975-C1 engine, and SCR210 radio system. Armed with the QF 2-pdr Mk. IX weapon system.

Maybe include some extras such as the binocular vision system.

I hope this is a viable idea for you, I would certainly pick up the both of those, and I believe the T18 would be a very popular choice amongst the players.

Not that lack of those two particular tanks is going to stop me, I am waiting on delivery of a Pz. III which is already on it's way from the Plastic Soldier Company. Once I have completed that, I'll probably get the Sherman, and then the Pz. IV and Tiger.

And I'd also suggest working the M1A1 75mm howitzer into the T-18 if you get around to producing one.

I'd also like to see a wider range of countries in the range. I don't know much about the Russian vehicles, but some love for the British wouldn't go amiss. The Grant and Sherman III should be relatively easy as they are both based from the American Sherman chassis. A Vickers Medium, or a Churchill I/VII/Gun Carriage would be great too.

Or perhaps a tripple threat box, something like the French Renault FT in basic, FT AC (Tank Destroyer), and FT 75 BS (SPG) forms?

Or some of the experimental Russian tanks, Objects 140, 416, 430, or 907 for medium tanks, Object 260 for the heavy, 263, 268, and 704 for tank destroyers, and 261 for an SPG?


Automatically Appended Next Post:
And it has arrived. Going to have to see which of the optional parts I want to use. Am probably going to leave the Schurzen off it as I don't recall that being used on that tank in WoT, other than that, I want to take a look at which gun was used with which turret design so I can make an informed choice on that front.

Hope to work on undercoating and possibly basecoating it tonight, and getting more of the detail work done over the weekend as it's the last weekend before I go home for a couple of weeks and it would be nice to have it completed before the first Tuesday in April for a meeting of my local "Miniature Armoured Fighting Vehicle Asociation".

I'm certainly looking forward to those StuG models coming out.

re World of Tanks

Italeri already has the license to product models kits branded for World of Tanks.
http://shop.italeri.com/Category/198-world-of-tanks.aspx

 judgedoug wrote:
re World of Tanks

Italeri already has the license to product models kits branded for World of Tanks.
http://shop.italeri.com/Category/198-world-of-tanks.aspx

That's true. However, they are 1:35 scale and therefore much larger. For a single detailed model of what I want, I may be interested later on - once again IF they expand the line to include either the Pz I C or the T-18. I firmly believe that Ribicon would sell more to the WoT players as at 1:56 it would be easier to have a collection that reflects your favourites in the game, and Ribicon's 1:56 models are going to be much easier to make and paint that an Italeri 1:35 model so will appeal more to the players. The extra sales Ribicon could get just from judiciously deciding what variants to produce next would help them out.

And that's not going to be able to stop Rubicon from producing the same models even if they were in the same scale. All I was asking for was those variants of tank, no need for WoT branding at all. The area where you just may get a little more worried would be the experimental variants or things taht only got on to the drawing board. Anything that was actually produced will be fair game. WoT cannot own the copyright on a tank design from the second world war, and Rubicon would have no worries in producing one. the suggestion was that they may find a wider audience if they worked on some of the vehicles that were popular in that game, not to brand them as such.

I have started my Pz3, and am painting the hull and turret with a Vallejo "Dunklegrau" set to give it the German grey look. This should be relatively easy and then I can detail and weather it by hand. I hope to have some finished pictures early next month.

I really don't think World of Tanks enters at any point into Rubicon's marketing decisions - they're making vehicles based on popularity and need in the 28mm miniatures gaming market.

Which is probably why you'll never see a 1/56 hard plastic kit for experimental Object kits when a Panzer 38(t) is far more useful (and would actually sell)

Yes.

As to your first point JD, I understand who they are actually making things for (and I am under no delusions that I'm one of their target market). I just postulated that they may get a boost to sales if they do a little research and prioritise any otherwise equal releases to those with a connection to WoT.

Personally, I don't want to see any of the Russian "Object 704" or whatever type of vehicles, and I'd love to see a PZ38(t) in their range. I also do not profess to know all of the tanks in WoT, but I'd bet a great many of them are the standards that anyone would think of and therefore should be included in any WW2 28mm tabletop game.

However, their range currently stands at a single Russian light tank (The T-34) in two boxes, a single American medium (M4A3 Sherman), and no less than 6 German vehicles, 2 of those in two different boxes.

Adding all that up, there are only 3 boxes for the allies, and 8 boxes plus the Stuka Zu Fuss upgrade box for the Axis

Would they not be increasing the number of units sold, given the fact that they obviously care about their product and giving the consumer the options they want, if they produced a multiple kit which is based on the same chassis? Such as the French Renault FT light tank, the FT AC tank destroyer, and the FT 75 BS which were, as far as I can see, based on the same chassis. It should be relatively easy, if that is indeed the case, to get a product out which can be used as light tank, tank destroyer, or self-propelled gun, all in the same box.

And let's have a little more love for the allies. OK, I'm English and therefore biased, but their current range is heavily German-centric. If there is a particular game out there for these wonderful models, I bet everyone wants to be the Germans!

 Conrad Turner wrote:
Yes.

As to your first point JD, I understand who they are actually making things for (and I am under no delusions that I'm one of their target market). I just postulated that they may get a boost to sales if they do a little research and prioritise any otherwise equal releases to those with a connection to WoT.

Personally, I don't want to see any of the Russian "Object 704" or whatever type of vehicles, and I'd love to see a PZ38(t) in their range. I also do not profess to know all of the tanks in WoT, but I'd bet a great many of them are the standards that anyone would think of and therefore should be included in any WW2 28mm tabletop game.

However, their range currently stands at a single Russian light tank (The T-34) in two boxes, a single American medium (M4A3 Sherman), and no less than 6 German vehicles, 2 of those in two different boxes.

Adding all that up, there are only 3 boxes for the allies, and 8 boxes plus the Stuka Zu Fuss upgrade box for the Axis

Would they not be increasing the number of units sold, given the fact that they obviously care about their product and giving the consumer the options they want, if they produced a multiple kit which is based on the same chassis? Such as the French Renault FT light tank, the FT AC tank destroyer, and the FT 75 BS which were, as far as I can see, based on the same chassis. It should be relatively easy, if that is indeed the case, to get a product out which can be used as light tank, tank destroyer, or self-propelled gun, all in the same box.

And let's have a little more love for the allies. OK, I'm English and therefore biased, but their current range is heavily German-centric. If there is a particular game out there for these wonderful models, I bet everyone wants to be the Germans!

I'd wager most are being used for Bolt Action, especially considering the recent huge increase in 28mm WW2 vehicle sales due to the Tank War supplement for Bolt Action.
But, yes, German vehicles are the most popular. But, Rubicon wants to make the most money, so it makes sense for them to start with the most popular vehicles and reinvest the profits made from those sales into less popular vehicles.
The T-34 is a medium tank, BTW - well, a heavy tank when it was first encountered in Barbarossa, eventually being reclassified as a medium tank. There were also 85,000 T-34's manufactured, making it and it's variants the most numerous tank of WW2, so it makes quite a bit of sense to make plastic kits of the T-34 variants

There's plenty more kits in development. Their Facebook page is updated often showing design sketches and schematics. M3 half track test pieces were shown today and they've been showing off the M5/M8 combo kit prototype pieces as well.

Conrad Turner: As judgedoug had indicated, we are making vehicles based on need and popularity. As a new startup, we do need the cash-flow to keep the studio running. The Germans are being done first because there are plenty of reference material, basically historical pictures, blueprints and technical drawings, that we can easily access. Some vehicles just need the extra time to do research before we can start 3D drawing, AND some are more difficult to draw and design than others - for example, most British cruiser tanks and the German Panzer 38(t) because of the nuts and bolts on the vehicle hull.

We are making our products in plastic using a two-part steel mould, not resin with a silicon mould... it takes a lot of experience and efforts to produce plastic sprues. We are also limited by the number of sprues per kit because of practical and financial factors. Everything had to be taken into account before we can decide what to make. Being that said, we do listen to customer feedback; we have an active "Wish List" on our forum where we frequently update. We are making a major investment in an untested territory - 1/56 scale plastic kit! As you see most major model manufacturers will rather do popular scale (1/35, 1/48, and 1/72) and compete against each others, and not doing 1/56... you should know why!

We would like to see the 1/56 market growing in a healthy way. With everyone's support, we will continue to expand our product line with more vehicles from both Axis and Allies countries. Please check out our Facebook page or on our official forum regarding our WIP projects. Currently, we are working on at least 4 US and 1 British vehicle... just to make up the imbalance some of you might think we are biased.

Once again, thanks for your comments and support!

Pretty much a work in progress, some detail work still needed to be done, but the overall design are shown here!
Even though we have made quite a few other M3 variants, we have not shown them all...



For more detail images of each of the variants, please go to the following link:
http://forum.rubiconmodels.com/index.php?topic=132.30

NOT ALL will be used to produce as a plastic kit. These are prototypes for us to play around and to create the best M3 Half Track plastic kit for the masses.
We might incorporate the missing prototypes to another kit or an expansion kit later...

Please feel free to comment!

More work for the M5A1 Stuart / M8 Scott is being shown!



The plastic kit(s) will enable you to build:
- M5A1 mid production variant
- M5A1 late production variant
- M5A1 Recce (Kangaroo) using a mid or late production chassis
- M8 75mm HMC

For more detail photos, here is the link:
http://forum.rubiconmodels.com/index.php?topic=138.30

Please feel free to comment!

The quality and quantity is impressive!

It is!

Now I just need someone to put out a good Weird War II game that also uses tanks so I can buy up a ton of these!

Love that M5A1/M8. Prefer the M8 side of it myself, but can easly see people getting loads to use as "Grot Tanks" for WH40K with that shot with the hedge cutter. Looks like it'll be very easy to 'Ork up'.

I am also impressed with the Pz3 I got. Goes together well, it's easy to work out sub-assemblies for painting, and once I can get some better control of my airbrush to use with the Vallejo "Dunkelgrau" set I bough, it should be easy enough to paint it quickly to a high standard.

Finally a British tank! The A15 Crusader is our first British tank to be released. Took us many months of technical drawings to come to this stage!



The A15 Crusader will be a 3-sprue plastic kit:

- Options to build SIX Crusader variants - Mk I / I CS / II / II CS / III / AA Mk II/III
- Choice of three different side armour skirts
- Removable auxiliary hull turret (field modified)
- Can be build with or without rear fuel container
- Spare road wheels and minor accessories

For more photo and in-depth discussion, please visit our forum at http://forum.rubiconmodels.com/index.php?topic=182.0

Enjoy!

Hell yes. Now that's a nice piece of hardware!

Given the detail I've seen on the PzIII, that's going to be an amazing kit - and the options! Wow!

Hot tanks.

Love the stug and crusader!