[wmosner]

I am considering getting some of these to go with my 1:48 aircraft, can the owners of any of Hobby Masters 1:48 armor give a review?

Bill

[hworth18]

I have the "008" King Tiger and it is a nice piece, well detailed, but not much metal, the paint scheme is also top notch.. If you like the 1/48 armor, I'd recommend it..

[hawkonevoodoo]

Originally Posted by wmosner

I am considering getting some of these to go with my 1:48 aircraft, can the owners of any of Hobby Masters 1:48 armor give a review?

Bill

http://www.hobbymastercollector.com/...erreviews.html
From HG0109 on there is an increasing amount of metal. Hull, turret and main gun are metal.

[FormerViperDriver]

All right, here it goes: I just received my first two exemplars of HM 1/48 armor: Russian JS-2 and King Tiger 008.

First impression: very nice looking models indeed, although not much metal to be found on either one of them. I kind of thought these would be mostly metal, but no, it's all plastic on the outside, with a metal weight inside the hull for added heft.

Nevertheless, I like the models a lot. Great detail, very nice paint job and markings, excellent choice of subject, and great price. On that last point, let me say that about 9 years ago, it cost me about $90 to obtain a 1/50 scale King Tiger (made by PARADE/GASO-LINE of France, mostly of resin and plastic parts) which is not nearly as detailed and is lighter than the HM version. So no contest, HM wins hands down all the way. I am very happy with my purchases, even if the models feel light compared to most of my Solidos (and derivatives) which are truly made of metal.

One thing struck me though: when I put my 1/48 scale HM and 1/50 scale PARADE King Tigers next to each other, they are exactly the same size. Now, I haven't measured them yet to compare to the published dimensions of the real thing and figure out who's right, but I will do so and will report my findings soon. In any event, I'm happy if the HMs turn out to be 1/50, since that's what the rest of my armor collection mostly consist of. In any event, no big deal, the scales are close enough.

So, bottom line: highly recommended, as long as you don't get your hopes up on metal content. Well done HM!

Now, here's my wish list for 1/48 (or 1/50, whichever) scale armor (note: this is mostly based on what I am completely missing from my current collection in that scale):

US: M-24, M-5, M-18, 155mm Long Tom (artillery).

British: Valentine, Matilda, Crusader

Russian: KV-1, KV-2, Su-76, Su-152

German: Panzer I, Panzer II, Panzer III (37mm and 50mm cannon versions), Ferdinand, Hummel, Nashorn, 88mm FlaK.

And maybe a Japanese tank...

There are more, but these are the main ones I'd love to see, and which should keep HM busy for a few years. Come on HM, do it! Your product is great!

FVD

[hworth18]

FVD,
I did a similar comparision with Corgis 1:50 Sherman and HMs Sherman.. The Corgi Sherman is noticeably smaller than the HM one, so it makes me wonder if the Gaso/Parade stuff isn't more like 1:48 rather than 1:50..

[FormerViperDriver]

Originally Posted by hworth18

FVD,
I did a similar comparision with Corgis 1:50 Sherman and HMs Sherman.. The Corgi Sherman is noticeably smaller than the HM one, so it makes me wonder if the Gaso/Parade stuff isn't more like 1:48 rather than 1:50..

Could be... Only the tape will tell. I'm too tired to do it tonight, though. I'm off to bed (it's 11:25 at night here in Germany)!

FVD

[hawkonevoodoo]

Originally Posted by FormerViperDriver

All right, here it goes: I just received my first two exemplars of HM 1/48 armor: Russian JS-2 and King Tiger 008.

First impression: very nice looking models indeed, although not much metal to be found on either one of them. I kind of thought these would be mostly metal, but no, it's all plastic on the outside, with a metal weight inside the hull for added heft.

Nevertheless, I like the models a lot. Great detail, very nice paint job and markings, excellent choice of subject, and great price. On that last point, let me say that about 9 years ago, it cost me about $90 to obtain a 1/50 scale King Tiger (made by PARADE/GASO-LINE of France, mostly of resin and plastic parts) which is not nearly as detailed and is lighter than the HM version. So no contest, HM wins hands down all the way. I am very happy with my purchases, even if the models feel light compared to most of my Solidos (and derivatives) which are truly made of metal.

One thing struck me though: when I put my 1/48 scale HM and 1/50 scale PARADE King Tigers next to each other, they are exactly the same size. Now, I haven't measured them yet to compare to the published dimensions of the real thing and figure out who's right, but I will do so and will report my findings soon. In any event, I'm happy if the HMs turn out to be 1/50, since that's what the rest of my armor collection mostly consist of. In any event, no big deal, the scales are close enough.

So, bottom line: highly recommended, as long as you don't get your hopes up on metal content. Well done HM!

Now, here's my wish list for 1/48 (or 1/50, whichever) scale armor (note: this is mostly based on what I am completely missing from my current collection in that scale):

US: M-24, M-5, M-18, 155mm Long Tom (artillery).

British: Valentine, Matilda, Crusader

Russian: KV-1, KV-2, Su-76, Su-152

German: Panzer I, Panzer II, Panzer III (37mm and 50mm cannon versions), Ferdinand, Hummel, Nashorn, 88mm FlaK.

And maybe a Japanese tank...

There are more, but these are the main ones I'd love to see, and which should keep HM busy for a few years. Come on HM, do it! Your product is great!

FVD

Unless my pre-production versions are totally different than yours these models have a lot of metal. The only plastic are the tracks and the deck and they are plastic so they can make all the curves and vents and so on. The chassis, turret and gun are all metal, not plastic. Take the turret off and take a small knife and scrape the inside the of the turret and chassis and you will reveal silver metal, not plastic. I think the older models used a lot thicker molds and gave the heavy feeling but today they make the walls and everything else much thinner. Just like the older cars, they were built like tanks and the fenders and doors weighed a ton but nowadays the use sheet metal for these components. The main point is, the 2 models HG1101 and HG1102 have a lot of metal if you just test the pieces like I suggested.

[planenutsfrog]

I have just received the Russian JS-2 : simply suberb ! Excellent value for money.

I intend to buy a King Tiger too, but I am waiting for the Porsche turreted version to be available.

The lack of metal content in previous ones had put me off.

[FormerViperDriver]

Well, Hawkonevoodoo, I 'll take your word for it that it's metal, but it doesn't really matter in two ways: 1) it still FEELS like plastic to me (certainly in comparisson to my Solidos), but 2) I don't care, I love the models and heartily recommend them to armor collectors.

I'll be getting a Porsche turret King Tiger when it's available as well, no question about that.

FVD

[mbv]

Just got my JS-2 from Tankzone today. They sent the wrong one, Chinese instead of Russian, but its still a JS-2 so I can live with it. Nice model with very crisp detailing. I had a hell of a time getting the MG onto the turrent mount, it is very a very fiddly job to snap it into the mounting lugs. I have it next to my 1:50 Corgi T-34/76 and you really appreciate the size of that main gun compared to the puny barrel on the T-34. Feels quite light for a diecast, my 1:50 Corgi T-34 is heavier and that is much smaller in size. Overall though this is a very nice addition to my Russian collection