Armorteks next model

[Jerry Carducci]

Perhaps there needs to be an informal contest, the prize being a Golden Attaboy, for correctly predicting Armortek's next model.

We all have our wish list. I'm quietly pulling for something not so mainstream....but then I've always been swimming against the stream...

Jerry

[mark lawson]

As much as I would like to see an Sd.Kfz.234/1 or 2 or PzII Luchs I honestly don't think the next model will be German I think it would most likely be allied don't ask me to guess which era. Monique and Kian are far from easy to work out which is a good thing as you never know what the next model will be and when announced is always a shock.

[Alex Easten]

Roll on Easy Eight!

Here's hoping anyway..

Cheers,

Alex

[Jack Hrovatin]

I’ve been BEGGING for an M4A1 Sherman......too complicated to do a cast Hull. Hope somebody will!

[Jerry Carducci]

I’ve been BEGGING for an M4A1 Sherman......too complicated to do a cast Hull. Hope somebody will!

I'd go for an M4A1 late, 76mm with HVSS. As I'm coming from a 1/10 background I did cast an upper hull for an M4A1 in aluminum.
Have yet to use it but it's here. A cast upper in 1/6 wouldn't be that terrible but finding a firm to do it for a reasonable cost is another story.
I only do sand casting and I'd cast my own; the sand cavity would be so large you could use stamps to imprint whatever foundry marks you'd desire. For a quantity of hulls it would be a perfect candidate for ceramic shell molding; superb detail is easier for that method. They would not be inexpensive.

Jerry

[Alex Easten]

For what it's worth (bearing in mind it worked for the Famo contingent) I would be happy to support the calls for an M4a1 as long as it had the 76mm gun. If the76mm Easy Eight really is on the cards, as the survey that was sent out leads me to hope, that would be my first choice. If not, well any kind of 76mm would be of interest.

Cheers,

Alex

[Jack Hrovatin]

My call would be for the small hatch 75mm VVSS version. So many made....”Michael” on exhibit and there for the references....early El Alamein, Tunisia, Normandy, etc. historical ties....OH, MY HEART IS POUNDING!

Respectfully,
Jack

[Alex Easten]

I think I could be quite tempted by an El Alamein/ Sicily spec Sherman. My wife's Grandfather, Ron, saw the war through from the defence of France right through to the end of the war in Austria. It would be a fitting tribute to him!

Cheers!

Alex

[Jack Hrovatin]

Alex,
Well, I couldn’t agree more. Many, many pictures of these in the Italian Campaign to reference too! My concern is that it will be stated that the cost of doing a large cast body would make it too expensive to produce. It might be good to see what that additional cost might be....then present it to the “Community” to decide? It might be a good tank to make too....as many of the parts used to comprise this have already been done by them many, many years ago....and IF a Direct Vision version like “Michael” is done, the early VVSS suspension of the Lee/Grant already done even more recently. I’m just trying to make my case for such an historic and prolific vehicle used by both of our nations armies in the Second World War.

Jack

[Pete Nash]

What to suggest for Armortek's next Model?

How about going back to WW I with a Renault FT?

There's enough WW.2, especially German tanks, a Sherman would be popular, possibly a Churchill, but WW.I saw the birth of what has been a significant weapon in an army's arsenal.
First the British Mk.I then the IV and V, all built in reasonably small Numbers. Chris Hall, and others, may want a Whippet. And there was also the Gun Carrier with a field artillery piece that would make two kits with the carrier and gun separately.
On the German side the A7V would make an interesting project but with only 25 or so being in service the production run would be double that. As camouflage patterns were not standardised we could run riot with our own schemes. There is also their LKII of 1918 that may or may not have seen service.
On the french side there are a number of possibilities, The Schneider, St Chamond and Renault FT.

Of all the above the renault FT saw the greatest production run, the largest use in WW.I and the longest service, still being used by Germany in WW.2 utilising captured French machines as well as lots of other countries. This gives the builder a wide scope of markings and colour schemes from French and USA in WW.1 to German in WW.2 as well as about 20 other countries world wide.
In 1/6th scale one would measure 83 cm long (about the same as a P.III), 29 cm wide (2/3 a P.III) and 36 cm tall(nearly the same as a Grant).

[Chris Hall]

Pete -

There's another company supposedly making a Renault Ft17 , although Armortek could 'steal a march' by bring theirs to market sooner ...... It's a tank with an enormous amount of history, though. The question for Armortek, of course, is whether it would sell in sufficient numbers to justify the effort. The same argument applies, regretfully, to 'my' Whippet. As for the rest of WW1, I'm not sure another rhromboidal tank (Mark V, Mark V*) would be worth doing, although a re-release of the Mark IV might be. The A7V (incidentally, paint schemes were standardised within Abteilungs, and are extremely well documented) is a non-starter - Mark Watkins rightly described it as a 'shed on tracks', and the limited number produced in Real Life makes a production run non-viable. Likewise, I don't think any of your other ideas (St. Chamond, Schneider, Gun Carrier) have any popular appeal.

While it's not my preferred route, I think Armortek's history has shown that the market is for WW2. I agree with you that there's been a flood of German tanks, but they do keep on selling ......... so there's a clear need for balance. A Sherman would doubtless be attractive to the US market. A Churchill would provide endless challenges for the converters amongst us. Armortek got bitten badly by the (surprising) lack of interest in Russian armour many years ago, so I doubt they'll go there again.

There is, of course, the Modern / Cold War arena to explore. Centurion was (is) popular, and Chieftain did very well. Again, something from the Vietnam era could ignite the US (and possibly Australian) market. Russian (T54/55) might prove more attractive in that guise. And then there's Leopard 1/2 .............

But, and I think I've said this before , my money's on a Sherman (probably an 'Easy Eight'), or possibly a Churchill (Mark VII would be best), for Armortek's Next Model. But we'll just have to wait, won't we ?

All the best,

Chris

[Stephen White]

Elefant, Stug, Jagdtiger - the next one is unlikely to be a panzer. Kian has already indicated that the next one or two will be 'small'. Good clues there.

The Chieftain tapped into a new market of veterans to add to the existing customer base of enthusiasts and modellers. If Armortek wanted to capitalise on the unlikely commercial success of Chieftain there's a good case for CVR(T) - it's small, complex, there are a stack of variants (Scimitar, Scorpion, Salamander and the specialist vehicles such as Stormer, Spartan). It sold internationally and was used in combat (Falklands, Gulf - twice - Balkans) and would be exciting to operate. (We had one of the first in service up to 70mph before the engines were governed). There are plenty of originals to hand in UK to measure.

M113 has come up a few times and would appeal to international customers. It's a bit pedestrian, as a vanilla APC but could be built into an Australian FSV or one of the other armed variants. The Tank Museum has one.

Ferret might be a left field choice or one of the many Allied armoured cars which have had such long service. Lot's around to measure.

If the Vietnam theme were the way to go, there are at least two lighter vehicles, aside from M113, which fit the bill, M42 Duster and M50 Ontos ("the thing with a sting"). Duster would be a truly spectacular model with bags of scope for detail (Dave Dibb) and a real presence. There are examples to hand in Germany.

If a tank is in the offing, Churchill, Matilda II and Sherman offer possibilities for a medium sized model that isn't a panzer (and they've come up in customer surveys).

This thread is always interesting to see what ideas our community has. On past performance, Kian (and Mark before) have a track record of surprises, long may it last.

[Tom Opsommer]

Just my 2 cents.

What about the land rover they hinted at a few months back?

[Oliver Brüninghaus]

I would strongly like to vote for the FT 17.

It’s small, eye candy, has interesting track-technology and behaves individually on rough terrain and … and … and …

So because my MK IV build as a male Beutepanzer will come to an end, maybe around end of next year, it will fit perfectly as a new challenge for me.

But the secrets of the survey will surely give its own picture!

All the best
Oliver

[Chang]

My new chant. (FAMO was before. Now this.....)

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