Messages

1936

Work In Progress / Re: BMW R75 with Sidecar - 3D Sculpts 160519

« on: May 20, 2016, 01:19:47 pm »

Thank you for everyone's interest on the BMW wheel & tyre sizes.  May be we can
elaborate a little bit more on this subject.

Current Plastic Kits on the Market

Tamiya - 1/48 - tyre size is 12.7mm - 610mm actual size

MB Models - 1/35 - tyre size is 16.9mm - 592mm actual size

Ours @1/56 - 11.25mm - 635mm actual size   <- actually already larger than any of the above!

From non-official website regarding the BMW R75, the spec as follow:

tyre size is 4.5 X 16 (standard inch system)
link: http://www.bmbikes.co.uk/specpages/R75_sidecar_unit.htm

More on tyre size info can be found here:
link: https://www.denniskirk.com/learn/tire-sizes-explained


Hope this will clarify on how we obtained our measurements.

1937

Work In Progress / Re: BMW R75 with Sidecar - 3D Sculpts 160519

« on: May 20, 2016, 11:20:57 am »

I'm still not convinced on the wheel size.  Ignoring the figures, the wheels look small compared to the rest of the bike, when you look at photos of the real thing.  The front mudguard, for instance, seems lower than it does in photos.  I realise that photos can be misleading, but are Rubicon's designers sure this is right?

We have double checked with other scaled models in 1/48 and 1/35... pretty much sure we are correct!

1938

Work In Progress / Re: BMW R75 with Sidecar - 3D Sculpts 160519

« on: May 20, 2016, 09:53:53 am »

And yes the troops do look a little large , but most tank crews I have either bought or converted are that way as well . In fact the figures I do have that are accurate scale look too small  . I guess its a compromise , but I'm ok with it.

We do started with "true" 1/56 scale sculpts, and turned out to be at least 15% smaller than
anything on the market.  We have to redo the sculpt and upscale it to match what are currently
available (at least close to the Perrys).  It is a hard choice, but it is something we need to do to
make our product "compatible".

I would recommend removing the saddle drum magazine from the mg 34 , by mid war they were being replaced by the 50 round drum or just a ammo belt . Or maybe include both versions of the mg 34 , so the bike can be used as early or mid war .

No worry, we have both MGs and drums included in the kit! 

1939

Work In Progress / Re: BMW R75 with Sidecar - 3D Sculpts 160519

« on: May 20, 2016, 01:40:06 am »

On the subject of wheel size, would it be possible to do what the model railway suppliers do, and supply two sizes of wheel, a 1/56 set and a "28mm" set?

The bike itself is already very tiny and by separating the wheels from the vehicle it will make
modeling a nightmare; and a design challenge as well... almost everything are interconnected
if you look at the images above closely.

1940

Work In Progress / Re: BMW R75 with Sidecar - 3D Sculpts 160519

« on: May 20, 2016, 12:30:57 am »

The bike starts to look a bit overcrowded with 3 overscale figures on it, but they are well designed figures.  Also, the motorbike and sidecar was inceasingly rare as the war went on (replaced by the Kubeleagen), so mid-war figures seem less appropriate.  Some DAK figures would arguably be more useful.

For Kradschützen squads, the standard organization for each squad was 3 infantry
per motorcycle.  We will also have DAK figures as well.

Still think the wheels look too small.

Yes, we are quite aware of the issue and had a heated debate at the studio.  It would be
impractical to just scale up the wheels and not the whole bike.  But then, we will not be
able to call it 1/56 scale, but only 28mm...

The figures are over-sized and that's understandable because of the nature of this produce. 
May be one day, we will do some "true" 1/56 scale figures to go with our products when
the time is right!

1941

Work In Progress / Re: BMW R75 with Sidecar - 3D Sculpts 160519

« on: May 19, 2016, 10:50:00 pm »

An quick update with some Wehrmacht Kradschützen bike riders...


Enjoy!

1942

General Discussions / UK Games Expo 2016 - Birmingham, UK - Jun 3 to 5

« on: May 19, 2016, 08:00:06 pm »

Rubicon Models will be attending the UK Games Expo in Birmingham, United Kingdom, this year.
Even though with limited budget for any elaborate booth, we would like to met and talk with you all...
please come and visit us if you are around!


Enjoy!

1943

General Discussions / Re: Q2/16 New Releases

« on: May 19, 2016, 04:47:41 pm »

Commercial samples of our Q2/16 new releases had finally arrived at our studio today.
Once checked and approved, shipment will be sent to our warehouse for immediate
distribution!


Enjoy!

1944

Work In Progress / Re: BMW R75 with Sidecar - 3D Sculpts 160516

« on: May 16, 2016, 02:17:14 pm »

The figures look fantastic.  Can you replicate this in plastic?

Probably yes.  When we do the initial sculpt, we will try to take undercuts into consideration,
and hopefully upon pose approval, we will start to take care of the undercut portions of the
sculpt.

One point I noticed now the figures are on board is that the wheels look a bit too small.  Looking at photos of the actual bike, the mudguard on the front wheel seems to be higher than the top of the sidecar, and the wheels are correspondingly bigger.

The bike is checked for scale-related issues before we send the drawing to the sculptor.
We are quite sure it is of the correct scale.  However, the figures are a bit over sized.  This is
because we need to go "in line" with other third party figures, which is even bigger in 1/56 scale.

For larger vehicles, it is not that obvious, but when you worked with smaller vehicles, the "scale"
issue become an issue.  We can ignore it and keep using our standard templates, or scale up
the "smaller" vehicles to make it look right.

We are still debating this issue with our staff at the studio.  Anyway, the scale related issues can
be adjusted easily before production.

1945

Work In Progress / Re: BMW R75 with Sidecar - 3D Sculpts 160516

« on: May 16, 2016, 12:07:47 pm »

3D sculpt of bikers in Kradmantel...




Enjoy!

1946

General Discussions / Re: Q2/16 New Releases

« on: May 13, 2016, 05:56:00 pm »

Our Q2/16 Product Catalog will soon be available to our channel partners in small quantities.
A digital version will soon be available for download as well.

1947

General Discussions / Re: Q2/16 New Releases

« on: May 11, 2016, 07:46:06 pm »

Some promotional material for our FB page...
Again privileged preview on this forum first!








Enjoy!

1948

Wish Lists / Re: SURVEY: Small Arms & Heavy Weapons - Nov 2014 - Updated 160509

« on: May 10, 2016, 01:17:15 am »

It is basically a work-in-progress to add "base and wheels" to our existing weapons... then adding crew to them.
So there is no particular order of what to begin with... for the Germans, it will be the PaK 36 and the PaK 75...
may be some AA guns later!

1949

Wish Lists / Re: SURVEY: Small Arms & Heavy Weapons - Nov 2014

« on: May 09, 2016, 10:54:18 pm »

With the 250/251 expansion projects moving forward and queuing up for mould making, we now have
some time to really looking into wrapping up some open-end 3D drawings.  Here is one of them:






Enjoy!

1950

General Discussions / Re: Rubicon Models announces Japanese Partner - GSI Creos (Mr. Hobby) - 160508

« on: May 08, 2016, 12:35:06 pm »

While others had tried for years getting into the Japanese market successfully, Rubicon Models
as a rather new start-up company, we are extremely privileged and delighted to have GSI Creos,
one of the biggest paint and modelling-related industry leader to represent us in Japan.

GSI Creos (Mr. Hobby) will be premiering our products at the upcoming Shizuoka Hobby Show
2016 next week... one of the two biggest model shows in Japan!