Nürnberg Toy Fair 2011
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Comments
The 1:32 scale He111 was on display this year at the Revell booth. It should have been released before the Arado Ar196 but unexpected circumstances decided otherwise. Now it is scheduled for the second quarter of 2011. The BAe Hawk was also on display and it should be available soon.
The German manufacturer likes it big in 1:72 scale as well. New tool Junkers Ju-88, HalifaxMk.I/II and Airbus A400 M (!?) are planned for the end of the year. Sadly, Revell continues to turn its back on 1:48 scale and nothing new will come out for quarterscale lovers from Germany this year, apart from the release of the very nice ICM figures under the Revel name. A photo etched set for the Arado was also presented under the company's name, but it is obvious it has been produced by a famous PE specialist from the Czech Republic.
The German manufacturer likes it big in 1:72 scale as well. New tool Junkers Ju-88, HalifaxMk.I/II and Airbus A400 M (!?) are planned for the end of the year. Sadly, Revell continues to turn its back on 1:48 scale and nothing new will come out for quarterscale lovers from Germany this year, apart from the release of the very nice ICM figures under the Revel name. A photo etched set for the Arado was also presented under the company's name, but it is obvious it has been produced by a famous PE specialist from the Czech Republic.
Roden wasn't present at the Toy Fair this year for the second time in a row. However, some boxes (sadly empty) where present at some distributors' booths and I'm already looking forward to see the nice Beechcraft UC-43 Staggerwing hitting the shelves.
Gary Hatcher was present at the Toy Fair once again this year to represent SAM Publications, fortunately in hall 7 this time. Sadly, the book about the IAR 80/81 wasn't ready and it will take some more time until it will be available. The reason is that the author (Radu Brinzan) found new material about the subject and he wanted it to be included in his work.
The USAF Special Ops and F4U Corsair books are out though, and they should be available. The Douglas Skyraider book will follow soon.
The USAF Special Ops and F4U Corsair books are out though, and they should be available. The Douglas Skyraider book will follow soon.
Sadly, nothing new from Czech Model was present at the Squadron booth this year. The future of this brand is uncertain and we will have to wait during the coming months (or years?) how the situation will evolve. However, the Encore brand is alive and kicking and some news have been announced like a McCudden S.E.5a conversion for the Wingnut Wings kit, a 1:32 scale Pflaz D.III in "Blue Max" movie colors and a 1:48 scale A-37B Dragonfly.
New aircraft at the Tamiya booth were rare. Only the Mk.XVIe variant of the 1:32 scale Spitfire is worth to mention. I can't believe that this is all for 2011!?
The Trumpeter booth wasn't much more interesting than the Tamiya one for aircraft model lovers. There was a little more to report though. The 1:32 scale Spitfire Mk.V is available and a Ju-87 A Stuka in the same scale will follow. In 1:48, a Me 509, a Spiteful, a Seafang, and a series of J-8 Finbacks are noticeable while in 1:72 scale a Su-27 Flanker and a Fw200 are on in the list.
But Trumpeter is mostly known for it's big scale models, so if you like 1:24 scale subjects, you will probably be happy to know that a Ju-87 D-3 and a Fw190 A-6/8 are in preparation!
But Trumpeter is mostly known for it's big scale models, so if you like 1:24 scale subjects, you will probably be happy to know that a Ju-87 D-3 and a Fw190 A-6/8 are in preparation!
I was impatient to see the Wingscale booth at this year's edition of the Toy Fair. It wasn't very big (to the contrary of the size of their kits), but the 1:32 scale B-25 on display was indeed impressive, probably the model most people wanted to see in Nürnberg. Its release will occur later than planned (see the interview of Wingscale owner Mr. Martin Oude Vierlink here, but the wait will be worth it. After the B-25, the next release won't be the Meteor but the B-17! And if you think this is not enough, how about a P-61 and a B-26 for 2012?
About Jean-Luc Formery (TedMamere)
FROM: MOSELLE, FRANCE
New in Nürnberg was the Japanese brand Zoukei-Mura. Of course they were displaying their latest release, the 1:32 scale Fw Ta152 H-1. Different presentations of the kit were visible to show the multitude of additional items related to the subjects (figures, vehicles and accessories). The same procedure will accompany their forthcoming A-1H Skyraider kit which, judging from the test model on display, will certainly be impressive. Once again, the model will feature a full interior, and this to an even greater extent than it was the case for their Ta152 or Shinden kits. Bonus sets will be produced as well, like figures, a vehicle (MD3) or a full bomb load.
Mr. Ken Yamanaka kindly explained to me the philosophy which influences the design of the Zoukei-Mura kits. The interior detail is not only included to allow the modeler to display everything or to leave every door open, but rather to explain to him how the real aircraft was constructed. Even if most of the detail is invisible at the end, the important thing is to learn something about the aircraft during the building process.
Mr. Ken Yamanaka kindly explained to me the philosophy which influences the design of the Zoukei-Mura kits. The interior detail is not only included to allow the modeler to display everything or to leave every door open, but rather to explain to him how the real aircraft was constructed. Even if most of the detail is invisible at the end, the important thing is to learn something about the aircraft during the building process.
Zvezda has received high praises for it's 1:48 scale Bf109 F-2 model and the following F-4 variant was present at the manufacturer's booth. However, as Steffen Arndt quickly found out, the model was in fact the F-2 disguised, so the model representing the F-4 will probably not be released anytime soon. Excellent new for quarter scale WWII aircraft lovers is the presence of a Su-2 Soviet Light Bomber in the catalogue (kit n°4805). This Sukhoi, along with the PZL P.43 and the Staggerwing, constitutes my top trio of this year's Nürnberg Toy Fair new releases. I wonder how many of them will be sold compared to the Bf 109 Emils in the same scale!
In the small 1:144 scale, Zvezda launches a series of aircraft kits for wargaming. The quality will remain good and we can expect to see a Bf109 F, a Ju-52, a Ju-87, a LaGG-3, an Il-2 and a Li-2 soon. In the same scale, the Russian manufacturer will release some new airliners like a Tu-134B, a Sukhoi Superjet 100 and a Boeing 747-8.
The 1:72 scale program is interesting too: Bf109 F-2, Fw190 A-4, Ju-88 A-17/A-5, Yak-3, TB-7, MI-35 and MIL MI-24A Hind.
In the small 1:144 scale, Zvezda launches a series of aircraft kits for wargaming. The quality will remain good and we can expect to see a Bf109 F, a Ju-52, a Ju-87, a LaGG-3, an Il-2 and a Li-2 soon. In the same scale, the Russian manufacturer will release some new airliners like a Tu-134B, a Sukhoi Superjet 100 and a Boeing 747-8.
The 1:72 scale program is interesting too: Bf109 F-2, Fw190 A-4, Ju-88 A-17/A-5, Yak-3, TB-7, MI-35 and MIL MI-24A Hind.
Thank you
The Aeroscale team wants to thank the organizers and of course all the exhibitors for having devoted some of their precious time to our website. It is always a pleasure to discuss the latest news of the plastic model kit industry with the people who work behind the scenes. We are looking forward to see you in Nürnberg during the 2012 Edition.
About the Author
FROM: MOSELLE, FRANCE
I'm mainly interested in WW2 aircraft and I build them in 1/48 scale.
Comments
Thanks for taking the considerable time to put this together Jean-Luc- I enjoyed reading the news from all the companies.
As you say, not much coming from Japan at the moment, but there are a few interesting subjects being covered- the Sunderland for one. Did you find out for sure if the Italeri Sunderland Mk.I is based on the same moulds as the future MPM (I think they said theirs will be a Mk.III)?
FEB 22, 2011 - 03:01 AM
Hi Ben,
Thank you for the kind words. And thanks to Rowan for making the article live. Uploading all the pictures wasn't a piece of cake for sure!
The Italeri Sunderland won't be the MPM tool apparently.
Jean-Luc
FEB 22, 2011 - 05:42 AM
Well done Jean-Luc, some great stuff there to look forward to.
All the best.
tim
FEB 22, 2011 - 06:30 AM
Hi there
I'll be really interested to see ICM's takes on the Polikarpov I-153 and I-16 in 1:48, because their 1:72 I-15bis is a lovely little kit. For the same reason, I was really hoping they'd scale up their He-70, so I have rather mixed feelings that AZ Model have announced one.
Like Jean-Luc, I'll definitely want to grab Mirage's PZL P.43 - perhaps they might be tempted to do the P.46 too? (I think I've still got an unbuilt Polish vacuform kit of that tucked away somewhere.) And as for the Roden Staggerwing... I want!
All the best
Rowan
FEB 22, 2011 - 08:26 AM
Hi all
Great report Jean-Luc! my favorites are Zvezdas Su-2 and Haulers Ba-64 (though I also like Tamiyas Pz.IIc). I do expect more stuff from Hasegawa and/or Tamiya at Shizuoka in May ... though Hasegawas MaK stuff is very popular and the "Großer Hund" announcement the the most clicked picture in my galleries! so I think this is one of the major news from Nuremberg.
I got to say many thanks to J-L for being such a nice guy ... I really hope our November trip will work out!
all the best
Steffen
FEB 23, 2011 - 02:52 AM
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