Nürnberg Toy Fair Report 2009

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Both the 1/48 scale F1M2 "Pete" and 1/72 scale E-2C "Hawkeye" were on display at the Hasegawa stand and both seem to be impressive models. A brand new 1/32 scale Nakajima Ki-44 "Tojo" was announced as well, so there was something for everyone to drool over.

There was a Joustra stand at the Fair and Heller kits were presented there. Many boxes had "New" tags on them but they were all reissues of older references. The only "new" kit was in fact the Airbus A380-800 in 1/125 scale. I suppose it is the previous kit (prototype) with new Air France decals. No new tool kit will be released this year, but I was told "maybe" next year. Heller did go through very hard times in the last couple of years and the fact that their kits will be available again is a miracle in itself.

The stand of Hobby Boss was pretty small, inversely proportional in fact to the catalogue of model kits they have built up in a relative short period of time. I don't know why, but I didn't shoot many pictures of the kits on display, maybe because the really new stuff wasn't present at the Fair. However, the 2009-2010 catalogue is full of forthcoming references: in 1/72 scale you can expect a series of F-14 Tomcats, a Kamov Ka-29 Helix-B, a series of Hawks helicopters, a series of Lynx helicopters, a series of Mi-2 helicopters and a series of French Rafale jet aircraft.
In 1/48 scale they plan to release a serie of F6F Hellcats (!?), a series of Corsairs (the jet), a F-111A Aardvark, a serie of Tornados, a Bearcat, a Yak-38 "Forger", a F3H Demon, a F-14A Tomcat and a series of Me 262s. In 1/32 scale, a Il-2 Sturmovik is on the list. Don't be too impatient though, all these references are advertised with a photo of a real aircraft and not an artwork. This means that the release date might be very far away. As I wrote above, it's the 2009-2010 catalogue after all.

The ICM stand was very nice and the people there very helpful. Of course the new 1/72 scale He 70 was on display, but I was a bit disappointed that the Hs 126 or the LaGG-3 series 7-11 weren't present. However, they are still in ICM's program, it seems, as well as the Bf 109 F-4/R-3 (recon version), so we can expect to see them released this year. Bad news is that the C-45F and the Opel Admiral (both in 1/48 scale) don't appear in the 2009 leaflet, although they appeared in the 2008 catalogue. I hope it's not a bad sign.

2009 could be a good aircraft year for the fans of Italeri products. Let's start with a 1/32 scale F-86F Sabre. In 1/48 scale we have an Arado Ar 196 A-3, a Re.2002 Ariete, a MC.200 Saetta and a Hawk T. Mk.1 "Red Arrows". In 1/72 scale I've noticed a S.M. 81 Pipistrello, a PV-1 Ventura, a KC-135 R/FR Stratotanker and a C-27J Spartan. In 1/144 there will be an ATR 42. Italeri have announced the release of many more new kits in their catalogue, but it's difficult to know if these are reissues or new tool kits. Only time will tell.
I should also mention that apparently Italeri will continue to produce 1/48 scale vehicles. The Kfz. 385 Tankwagen, a fuel truck based on the Opel Blitz, will be of particular interest for aircraft modellers.

It is nice to see that Mirage Hobby are back with a new line of WWI aircraft kit in 1/48 scale. The Halberstadt CL.II (481306) is the first to be released and was on display at the manufacturer's stand. I had the privilege to take pictures of the sprues, the decal sheet and the impressive instruction booklet. If the latter will be the norm in the new Mirage Hobby kits, it will be great because it features photos of the real aircraft and thoroughly researched historical facts compiled in this case by Mr. Piotr Mrozowski. Two other Halberstadt CL.II will follow: Bayerische Flugzeug Werke, Polish-Russian War (481307), and Schlachtflugzeug, late version (481308).
Mr. Piotr Zielinski (vice president of Mirage Hobby) told me that their company went through a big restructuring process in the past couple of years and this has had priority over the release of new kits. The line of Wildcats, announced some years ago, is cancelled, but other projects will replace them. However, Mirage Hobby won't give away any information about new subjects until they are about to hit the shelves. I wonder what will come next...
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About the Author

About Jean-Luc Formery (TedMamere)
FROM: MOSELLE, FRANCE

I'm mainly interested in WW2 aircraft and I build them in 1/48 scale.


Comments

Hi Rowan, That is no wine, it's Apfelshorle! Oh! Oh! That is a sliperry slope! Jean-Luc
FEB 15, 2009 - 06:25 PM
You are both so mean Wojciech and I were discussion the historical relations of our two countries for half an hour or so and while we agree on most points we also have sights that will never fit. This was quite exhausting and then our nice friend J-L wanted to have a photo for his report. No wonder we both look rather strange..... greets Steffen
FEB 15, 2009 - 07:51 PM
Ahhh.. now we know. Aeroscale were obviously getting provided with pastries which Armorama WEREN'T getting Obviously, the bottles of vintage Champagne which were probably available for Aeroscale weren't photographed EITHER Sheer discrimination...
FEB 15, 2009 - 10:10 PM
Hi Steffen More proof (if needed) that Jean-Luc has a wicked sense of humour - I'll have to be careful if I'm ever lucky enough to meet up with him. All the best Rowan
FEB 15, 2009 - 10:13 PM
Hi Rowan He will bring you a nice bottle of heavy French wine and then he will refuse to help you killing it and then comes out the camera BTW J-L ... here is a short report from another person ... Mein erstes Mal... (German only) cheers Steffen
FEB 17, 2009 - 06:17 AM
Hi Steffen, This is the Russian* method. I saw the guys from ICM and Zvezda use it at the fair (not with me fortunately). Only that wine was replaced with whisky or vodka. Ja, ich habe es bereits gelesen. Sehr interessanter und frischer Text. Meine complimente an Volker's Frau. Jean-Luc * ICM aren't Russian but from Ukraine, but the method is very similar.
FEB 17, 2009 - 07:28 PM
Hi Jean-Luc and Steffen French. Russian... it sounds good to me! I'm always partial to a nice glass of Châteauneuf-du-Pape... All the best Rowan
FEB 17, 2009 - 07:38 PM
Great to see Tamiya have re-issued the Lanc. I have always wanted one but refuse to pay £100+ on evilbay. Any idea of a release date and/or cost? cheers Steve
FEB 20, 2009 - 11:48 PM
hi Steve announced for February at HLJ. so should be out soon. Price there 6400 Yen (~48 GBP / 53 Euro) ... multiply by 2 to get the Europe prices ... I know it is a little exaggerated, but thats why I try to buy Tamiya and Hasegawa in JP online shops .. even with p&p; import sales tax and customs you are usually still much better than buying locally al the best Steffen
FEB 21, 2009 - 12:21 AM
Thanks Steffen, will definitely keep an eye out for this. Thanks for the advise to buy from Japan too, they way the GB pound is at the moment I should save a packet.
FEB 21, 2009 - 12:03 PM