What will be Armortek's next new offering?

[Tim Bowman]

Hi David

How about an Ausf A Panther!? Some minor changers from the previous releases. That would be nice.

Tim

[John Fitzsimons]

What about an Sdkfz 234 PUMA. Would be great alongside the 222

[Stephen White]

I can't help thinking that from a commercial perspective, Gill and Mark will be as much thinking about attracting new customers as taking note of our preferences as existing customers. There is no doubt about the popularity of the WW2 German armour but once you get beyond the big cats, it rapidly becomes a very specialised field populated by very knowledgeable and to the uninitiated frankly intimidating bunch of enthusiasts and self appointed experten. (I'm thinking about the 1/35th community, not anyone here, God forbid!)

Personally, I'd not want to see another Panther or Tiger - they've been done to death and some of the models on this Forum are truly state of the art - you know who you are out there...... I question whether a German WW2 half track would have much appeal to new customers. I can see that they would offer a lot of scope for modifications and different versions but that's not for a beginner.

There are very healthy 1/35th markets in places like the US and Australia, Japan and Asia Pacific Russian and Eastern Europe and yet the Armortek customer base in those regions is relatively small. Shipping costs may have something to do with it but model choice must also be a big factor. I think there is an interesting dilemma between smaller, cheaper and big tank impressive but more expensive and would like to see both approaches. The Universal Hull approach doesn't seem to have caught on, at least not for scratch building variants.

So, just some random thoughts but I guess the big takeaway might be - variety and popular appeal, please.

Personally, I still hanker after a Chieftain but only the Kuwaitis and Iranians took them to war. Matilda II and Churchill fought in Europe, N Africa, Russia and the Far East. The Universal Carrier and 6 pdr anti-tank gun saw wider service. Post war, the M48 and M42 Duster had extensive operational use. A more minority sport but what about a Japanese Ha-Go Type 95 (there's one to measure at Bovington) which would complement the Shermans? Or a WW1 Whippet, to complement the Mark IV? The M3 and M5 Stuart saw pretty wide service. Post war Russian - T62, T64, T72, T80/90 etc?

The world of armour is wider than the Wehrmacht......

(Hope this promotes debate and doesn't get up too many noses....)

Stephen

[Frank Breitenbach]

Hello at all
Stephen, I think you are right: After all it is a question of commercial success.
Well, my understanding: A worldwide successful tank, not to big, many variation (MBT with different turret, recovery tank, antiaircraft tank, bridge layer, engineer tank…), based on one universal lower hull, only with little different in the lower hull.
Kind regards
Frank

[yves mouton]

Hello,

Already five people wanted a panther
Best selling tanks are the Germans tanks
regards Yves

[Chang]

Famo

Yes! FAMO, then a 88 FLAK36 would be a good combination!

[Paul Wills]

I would go for the Famo to go with my 8.8 flak 36 I realy do like a sdkfz 251 halftrack as there are so many variants that could be done. it would be nice to see a Pak 43/41

Paul

[Paul Morris]

I would just like to say I have not twisted anyone's arm here!
Cheers Paul.

[Adrian Harris]

How about Crusader, with options on the I and III main and sub turret combinations, AA turret for a bit of close support, and the gun tractor option for when Mark turns the Firefly barrel into a complete Kompact Kit 17pdr

Or there's the Carro Armato M13/40, with the option of a Semovente 75/18 assault gun, and Mark could include some photo-etch stencils of a 'roo for the Aussies

Adrian.

[Dave Boller]

Puma's a nice idea, and you can do a lot of variation with the chasis too. For those who complain about German, German, German. Well, just run through this string. That's what most Armortek fans here are asking for, and of course that's (in the end) what most of them will buy.

[Stephen White]

Lots of interesting suggestions and some passion. As to whether "most fans are asking" ....for German, I thought I'd do a straw poll. The results surprised me.

Thirty seven Armortek customers have contributed to this thread (some more than once). Of these, fifteen have stated a clear preference for a Wehrmacht vehicle and eight have offered suggestions for both Wehrmacht and others, Allied and modern. Of those eight, three have indicated they would prefer Allied or modern. The surprise to me is that those who stated a clear preference for Allied or modern numbered.......fourteen. So the house is split, with some floating voters inclined to the Allied and modern side.

In a way, that's healthy and suggests a lot of opportunity for Gill and Mark to surprise us all once more. I still think though that important though our views are to Armortek, a bigger consideration is what will appeal to new customers worldwide, particularly outisde Western Europe.

I must be spending too much time in airport lounges.....

Happy building.

Stephen

[Steve Lewington]

Hi Guys
Not been on much over the past few months had a few health problems.
Lots of very interesting suggestions for the next model but for me I must stand shoulder to shoulder with Paul and Chang it just has to be a FAMO .
I have just started on the ground work/research and drawings to hopefully build a 1/6 scale sd ah 116.
So a famo would be just super.

Kind regards to all.

Steve

[Dave Boller]

(RE: Stephen) It's not split(15-German verses 14-every other nation?). And, you have to compare "apples to apples" when making such statistical comparisons. In terms of buying, it's not Wehrmacht verses everyone else. It's Wehrmacht verses USA, OR Britian, OR Russia, etc. Why? Because most buyers are going to have a national preference(usually their own)when plopping down this kind of money. Many may own more than 1 vehicle, but I'll bet the first 2 choices were German and whatever their "national preference" is, anything else they have which isn't, most likely came afterwards. Here's an example, I seriously doubt that "the Centurian" or "Cromwell"(and I'm guessing for lack of numbers, but I'll bet I'm right), were big sellers in the States compared to(percentage-wise) "the Sherman", or even any other Ger.vehicle. However, they probably sold just fine in the UK, perhaps even the best; that's "national preference". But German tanks are an exception; they have a mystique to them, without question. Everyone admires them, no matter what country you're from. Want proof? Just walk into any book or model store, to the WW-2 tank section(in any country). What do you overwhelmingly see? Why? Because that's what people prefer and consequently buy. You previously suggested Armortek putting the Japanese "Ha-Go" out there. How many of those do you honestly think would sell internationally, except maybe from a handfull of people in Japan? Again,"national preference". So, getting back to your stats, and I'll take them on face value(I do admit I didn't go back over the string to check your numbers, by the way). "15-Ger. out of 37 total" I believe you said. When you break the other 22 choices down by nation(not "other"), and compare those groups each individually to German vehicles, The Wehrmacht comes out as a huge majority(percent-wise). US.tanks, UK. tanks, Russian tanks, and yes, sorry, Japanese tanks, are just not going to outsell German ones by national grouping. If you want a parallel market, go back to my "books and models" analogy. Also, look at how many requests in the string for "the Panther" there are, and that's already been released twice by Armortek, not to mention the many other manufacturers who make them in 1/6th. What does that suggest in terms of demand?

[Dave Boller]

OH! How 'bout The Nubelwafer-armed, Maultier? (Yes, I know, spelling)

[Tim Bowman]

I think one only needs to look at how many Tiger I releases there has been over the years as compared to say.....the Sherman. I always wanted a Sherman(still do) but when it comes right down to spending this kind of money, there are a half dozen German vehicles that have priority before an American Sherman.

That being said, what ever Gill and Mark decide to do next I'm sure it will make for a bunch of happy 25 pounder owners. (No, I do not have any inside information.) Just guessing.

Tim