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Its a shame they only have the single Panther turret on the sprue not one with pistol ports too, but you cant have everything.

Im just wondering on the Tiger running gear... the overlap sequence seems to late war?

Hey guys, pretty neat first look at the assembly of a Panzer III here: http://www.karwansaraypublishers.com/pw/wss/blog/first-look-rubicon-panzer-iii/

Another first look, this time of the Sherman: http://www.boltaction.net/2014/10/rubicon-models-m4a3-sherman-review.html

Has anyone found suggested MSRP yet?

Not yet announced, but it will be as soon as their site goes live.

Sometime next week if we're lucky.

So I dearly hope, I'm loving what they are showing off so far and I really hope to pick up one or two kits for my dad for Christmas.

I'm just hoping that they're reasonably priced and well distributed.

Site is now live: http://www.rubiconmodels.com/index.php

No prices yet, though they do have some distributors lined up: http://www.rubiconmodels.com/distributors.php

OZ: War and Peace games

UK: Plastic Soldier Company

Germany: Warehouse Games

Hong Kong: Fun Atelier

Just wanted to let everyone know... our website is now live!

Here is the link: http://www.rubiconmodels.com

Looking good, though in the end whether or not I'm a buyer is going to come down to pricing and availability.

And the prices are now also out there:

This is our official Recommended Retail Price (RRP) in British Pound (£). Because of flucations in exchange rates, we will not be listing other currencies. Please also note there are regional taxes (import/sales) that are not included.

280010 Panzer IV - Mid & Late War - £18

280011 Panzer III - Mid War - £18

280012 M4A3 Sherman - £20

280013 T-34/76 - Early & Mid War - £20

280014 Panther Ausf D & A - £20

280015 Panther Ausf G - £20

280016 Tiger I - Early, Mid & Late War - available soon!

More will be added to this list as new kits become available. Thank you!

Prices look good. Now onto availability.

You have got to be kidding, why?
1/56 and 1/48 are way too close to warrant a higher cost for smaller scale?
And, little men are mounted on a base that raises their height by up to one foot in scale terms so smaller is a LOT smaller.
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Cost compared to Tamiya, Hobby Boss, and etc. in 1/48 is very close with Interwebs discounts, but still more pricy in 1/56. And 1/48 models are MUCH better kits.
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Here is a size comparison pic of a Sherman; http://forum.wwpd.net/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=5035

Here it is discussed in depth; http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/225210.page

There had been a lot of debate on size and we don't want to repeat that debate here... but think you had missed the POINT!

Many wargamers are not modelers, they simply don't have the patience to build a 1/48 kit with 200+ parts!

Our 1/56 kits are specially designed for gaming use, they are multi-variant and with less than 50 parts per kit (all options & variants included)!

This is basically what most gamers are looking for!

Just want to chime in that you don´t need a degree in rocket science for a Tamiya kit, especially not the 1:48 scale vehicle kits, those are designed with as few parts as possible in mind.

But I agree, they are not gaming pieces. I bought a pile of Tamiya tanks to use with Bolt Action, but I loathe to use them because too many people these days are clumsy oafs who like to drop things. That's why I'm looking forward to these kits myself.

any word on a US or Canadian distributor?
Plastic Soldier Company doesn't seem to be shipping to Canada anymore(last two time I tried to order direct they rejected southern Ontario as shippable location)

 RubiconModels wrote:
There had been a lot of debate on size and we don't want to repeat that debate here... but think you had missed the POINT!

Many wargamers are not modelers, they simply don't have the patience to build a 1/48 kit with 200+ parts!

Our 1/56 kits are specially designed for gaming use, they are multi-variant and with less than 50 parts per kit (all options & variants included)!

This is basically what most gamers are looking for!

Then why are Rubicon plastic tanks MORE MONEY? Half the cost of other high quality plastic models would justify half the detail and smaller size and Rubicon being a "Gaming" model, heck, half the cost of RESIN would justify it, but alas Rubicon prices are not less, FOR less product.
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If modeling skills are lacking, then "players" are looking for price-point, since the models will not look as good as a pro-modeler can make them look. Right?
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And besides, non-modeling skills in a modeling and painting hobby is a lame excuse.
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And again, little 28mm wargaming men (with larger than normal heads and hands, cartoonish actually) are on bases, base height makes the little men taller than they should be by up to one foot in scale terms, so 1/56 (28mm) true scale armor, which is what Rubicon tanks are, is in reality to small.
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Did I get the point yet?

28mm models tend to be overpriced compared to the typical historical scales like 1/48 and 1/72.

Rubicon's prices are competitive with Warlord Games models. I'm pretty sure that's all they're trying to do.

 rexscarlet wrote:
And again, little 28mm wargaming men (with larger than normal heads and hands, cartoonish actually) are on bases, base height makes the little men taller than they should be by up to one foot in scale terms, so 1/56 (28mm) true scale armor, which is what Rubicon tanks are, is in reality to small

Actually, Bolt Action doesn't use raised bases, but flat ones instead. Except for metals blisters and some of the older metals boxes all their stuff comes with flat bases these days.

Also, what's with all those periods? Was that post supposed to be super-intense or something?

I think the prices are fine, actually. Firstly, the plastic, being a gaming model rather than a display one, is going to be presumably quite a bit thicker than the likes of the Tamiya/Airfix/Revell stuff, and probably more akin to GW plastics. Secondly, as pointed out, the prices are lower than those of their main competitor in the field.

Lastly, I don't really see how one could criticise these kits for lacking detail. The assembly is simpler, as unlike a 'model kits' you don't need to do things like glue each wheel together separately or the like, but that doesn't translate to a lack of detail on the final painted piece.

If I played Historicals, I'd be buying several of these, as it is I may grab one or two for conversions at some point.

The prices are the same as those of Warlord, though these offer way more in terms of variants, accessories and whatnot. Warlord's vehicle kits come with the bare minimum really.

 rexscarlet wrote:

Then why are Rubicon plastic tanks MORE MONEY? Half the cost of other high quality plastic models would justify half the detail and smaller size and Rubicon being a "Gaming" model, heck, half the cost of RESIN would justify it, but alas Rubicon prices are not less, FOR less product.
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If modeling skills are lacking, then "players" are looking for price-point, since the models will not look as good as a pro-modeler can make them look. Right?
.
And besides, non-modeling skills in a modeling and painting hobby is a lame excuse.
.
And again, little 28mm wargaming men (with larger than normal heads and hands, cartoonish actually) are on bases, base height makes the little men taller than they should be by up to one foot in scale terms, so 1/56 (28mm) true scale armor, which is what Rubicon tanks are, is in reality to small.
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Did I get the point yet?

I love it when people try to ITG what "the hobby" is "supposed" to be to other people. But really, you seem to have answered your own question. Just ignore the Rubicon stuff (which is clearly priced directly based on WLG vehicles) and go with the 1:48 scale stuff that you appear to prefer. It's ok.

Wow, someone doesn't understand economies of scale.

If I spend $20,000 making a steel mold and I plan to sell one plastic kit, I need to sell that kit for 20 grand.

Tamiya will sell 10,000 kits at $25 each.
Rubicon might sell 4000 kits and so the price point needs to be higher.

I also dislike using actual scale model kits in gaming. I have been forced to for modern/near future due to the lack of Leopard 2/Leclerc/Challenger2/T80/T90 in 1/56 (so I've used 1/48 scale models). I have reglued pintle machine guns and external fuel tanks at least 20 times on those kits. I cannot stand using model kits for wargaming. I would much prefer a sturdier kit made specifically for wargames.

Also, having been to several tank museums (Aberdeen Proving Grounds - many times - before it was dismantled, AAF Tank Museum, Imperial War Museum in the UK, etc etc) and taken many pictures for reference, WW2 tanks are small. SMALL.
I have had the (dis)pleasure of having ridden inside a T34. It is so small and cramped inside, with EXPOSED shock/springs that if you start coughing incorrectly you may lose a limb. Most people who advocate for 1/48 tanks do so out of some weird delusion of how big they are... but no, they're small. Small as hell. Mobile coffins with guns. 1/56 is correct.

Here's a shot of me in USCM gear standing next to a Panzer IV. Also a very small tank.

 judgedoug wrote:
Most people who advocate for 1/48 tanks do so out of some weird delusion of how big they are... but no, they're small. Small as hell. Mobile coffins with guns. 1/56 is correct.

1/56 with 28mm models usually looks like the crew could not physically fit in the vehicle. Like, the hatches aren't even wide enough to fit a person through them, they often look comical when you put a tank commander sticking out of the hatch because he doesn't look like he could fit down the hatch.

I know they were tight, but it just looks comical to me when the hatches on the vehicles are so narrow that the commander sitting in it could dislocate their shoulders and still not fit through.

I mostly prefer 1/48 after looking at historical photos and most tanks DON'T look quite so comical when someone is sitting out of the hatch.

It's probably because Warlord's 28mm are hero scale and so are badly proportioned. If they were the same height but realistic proportions then 1/56 vehicles would probably look more natural.

Shame the Panzer III N is wrong... my favourite tank.

Don't be a tease, if you're going to gripe, please by all means, tell us what's wrong with it!

Didnt realise i was griping.

It has the wrong mantlet on the turret is the main thing. Its a biggie to me as it changes the look of the turret alot and in reality the short 75mm couldn't be mounted in the uparmoured mantlet due to the weight.

If doing a tank for gaming, I like it to look like the real thing.

Things like headlights are incorrect too, but that wouldn't bother me. They can be changed.

Might get one and see what Ausf you can make out of the kit and review it.

Big P, I saw this on their forum which addresses that:

Porkmann: It looks good but does it really have smooth front turret armour? There we're many prominent rivets/bolts on the real thing!

Rubicon: It was on the original design, but somehow they were dropped (for some reasons) during the mold production. We did look at the drawings again, should not be too difficult to add them back... before the next batch are produced.

The release of 6 kits at the same time really spin us around... Thanks for the reminder!

Ripley: The bolts were prominent on the Panzer III L and M mounting the 50mm gun that had the added spaced armour . It was removed on the 75mm gunned N as weight saving measure . ( Encyclopedia Of German Tanks -Chamberlain , Doyle & Jentz ). An easy fix as Meng has sheets of plastic bolts and rivets , a great help to the scratch buidler , add the missing parts yourself


Automatically Appended Next Post:
So it looks like making an accurate N will have to wait til the next production run, but I'm fine with that personally as I'd like a J or M first