Author Topic: What's Warlord up to?  (Read 86594 times)

Pinky

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What's Warlord up to?
« on: August 20, 2017, 12:04:25 pm »
Interesting to see what Warlord are up to in the plastic kit department. 

The plastic King Tiger is out, and I'm sure it will be popular.  It would have been nice if they'd sculpted a new commander and not just re-used an existing one.  I wonder if the Zimmerit is better than the Tiger I's?  The most interesting aspect for me is being able to build the early version.

They have an Opel Blitz/Maultier on pre-order.  It includes a sprue of seated troops.  They haven't been doing these kinds of figures very well - they tend to be lumpy and less detailed than their multipart infantry.  This is the only subject that overlaps Rubicon.  I'm going to bet Rubicon's Maultier is better.

And there appears to be a plastic Char B1 Bis on the way.  That's probably the most exciting release.  Finally the early war period is getting some plastic.  I know Rubicon has plans for a T-26 and early Panzers.  Hopefully we'll see some more, like the Somua S35 and some British types.

ripley

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Re: What's Warlord up to?
« Reply #1 on: August 20, 2017, 12:55:49 pm »
From pictures I've seen in their news letter , the Tiger II has both the Porche and Henchel turrets , with the paticuler gun mantlet that was designed for that version . You also get the snorkal cover for the engine deck of the very early  Porche version ( 8  tanks maybe ? ) , but wether any other parts paticuler to the Porche are included , I'm not sure . I think Rubicon is shaking Warlord up a little with their multi version kits  ,new kits like the Opal ( land  the KV and Type 97 ) has extra parts to make various versions . The troops are a nice touch , but they are not 10 separate figures , but 2 blocks of 5 torsos with 10 pairs of legs and partial arms to add . I guess you could mix and match legs to make totally different figures if you had more than one set . But I think you will loose much detail if you cut them apart to make single seated figures ( tank riders !!! )

Also of note they have a plastic Char B kit coming . The box art shows one in German service with a German style commanders hatch ( not the French armored dome ) , I wonder if you get the choice of French heavy tank or German Flamm panzer ?
« Last Edit: August 20, 2017, 12:57:32 pm by ripley »

Ballardian

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Re: What's Warlord up to?
« Reply #2 on: August 20, 2017, 11:22:21 pm »
 The Tiger II looks pretty good, (giving you both turrets is a nice touch) - the Zim is only ok, it's far too neat & regular as they've taken the 'vertical columns of horizontal ridges' pattern used on Tiger II's (among others) a bit too literally, though once you started to chip bits away it'll look better. (& as mentioned before, the cupola MG mount is the same nonsense as appears on their Panther & Tiger)
 I like the look of the Maultier, & while I don't doubt that Rubicons version will prove superior when directly compared, WG have sweetened the pot by giving you the Blitz/Maultier option in the kit (plus, while a small thing, including some acetate for windows is nice). The main point for me is the inclusion of passengers - I'm hoping that they're better than the earlier 251 examples (which, being more accurately 1/56 looked a bit silly next to the standard infantry figure). I'm hoping that they're, in fact a little oversized - somewhere between Perry figures & WG & also, please let them fit in the Rubicon/WG 251 models (I'll happily accept a little judicious trimming & bending but draw the line at amputation. That the figures themselves are two part & appear to be larger than those provided previously gives me some hope - but we'll see.

elias.tibbs

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Re: What's Warlord up to?
« Reply #3 on: August 21, 2017, 01:51:27 am »
They're kits made for warlord and not just rushed up/downscaled kits.

It's good. Companies pushing each other to increase their quality.
"No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country."
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EarlyWarGamer

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Re: What's Warlord up to?
« Reply #4 on: August 21, 2017, 03:31:43 am »
I will very likely get the Warlord Opel/Maultier, as it works out cheaper, and comes with a squad of passengers.  Debating getting just one to start, or getting three and being done. Wondering if the kits are designed so the rear wheels can be removed, and the tracks put in their place (magnets perhaps) so that I have the ability to mix as needed depending on the scenario.

I actually tried to get a Rubicon Opel a few months back, and if that order had worked out, I would be getting two more from Rubicon. But the item was back-ordered, then they said they had it, but not the other stuff, and asked me to wait 3 more weeks. I waited 7, and never heard back from them, so just cancelled the order. Very frustrating. I won't deal with that company again.

I prefer working in plastic, and hope Rubicon continue to release vehicles suitable for early war. Unfortunately for them, I just acquired an Sd.Kfz 7, so their upcoming model will not be on my purchase list. I do hope they eventually work that into the Sd.Kfz 10 as that was the main hauler for so many early war bits and bobs.  And nobody else has a 10, in plastic or resin.

ultravanillasmurf

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Re: What's Warlord up to?
« Reply #5 on: August 21, 2017, 05:17:47 am »
They're kits made for warlord and not just rushed up/downscaled kits.
I did wonder as PSC have recently released the Blitz in 15mm (and have ceased to publish the instructions on their website).

ripley

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Re: What's Warlord up to?
« Reply #6 on: August 21, 2017, 07:10:51 am »
I want both the Rubicon and Warlord Maultier , can never have enough transport . Plus I have a few kit bash ideas I want to build , before someone does a kit of them , and everybody has one  ::). Hopefully the BA plastic troops are more to scale than those in their 251 D . Their metal seated figures look good in my Rub . Opel Blitz

« Last Edit: August 21, 2017, 07:12:23 am by ripley »

Tracks

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Re: What's Warlord up to?
« Reply #7 on: November 12, 2017, 07:51:15 pm »
They have an Opel Blitz/Maultier on pre-order.  It includes a sprue of seated troops.  They haven't been doing these kinds of figures very well - they tend to be lumpy and less detailed than their multipart infantry.  This is the only subject that overlaps Rubicon.  I'm going to bet Rubicon's Maultier is better.

Hard to say Pinky. As you can see, I have them all (both Rubicon kits and the Warlord kit).



How different are they?
Well, pretty different.

That being said, both the Rubicon kits and the Warlord kit are good kits. I can't say which is better because that would like comparing German chocolate to Belgium chocolate. To me, both are very good and worth getting.

Because I have the different ones in my hands, you might ask, "If I had to choose between the two, which one would you pick?" That is no easy answer, but instead I will look at certain aspects.

Driver and passengers:
Both kits come with drivers, but the Warlord kit comes with passengers. Is this critical? No, not at all. And if it was, the Warlord passengers can be purchased separately and added to a Rubicon build.

Plastic:
The plastics used to make the models are different. The plastic used by Rubicon seems to be better.

Decals:
Both kits come with really a nice decal sheet with lots of options, but as for decal material, I tend to like the Rubicon decals better because they have a really thin film. While this may give troubles to new model builders as well as some experienced model builders, they are easy to work with once you start learning how thin the decals are. Also, at first, I was worried that the Micro-Sol (from Microscale) would be too strong to use, and thought I would only use the Micro-set. However, Micro-sol works as it should.

Choices:
Here I think the Warlord kit pulls ahead. The Warlord kit gives you the choice to build an Opel Blitz or a Maultier while the Rubicon SdKfz 305 kit only allows you to build the Opel Blitz. However, the Rubicon SdKfz 3a Maultier kit does give you the bits to build either an Opel Blitz or Maultier even though the instructions do not tell you this and suggest you can only build the Maultier. I think Warlord has done the correct thing in that it made their kit so that either can be built.

As a Model:
Both kits build up very nicely and have pretty good details. It needs to be said that both the Rubicon kits and the Warlord kit are very easy builds. For a model building (not gamer) making dioramas, I have to say the Warlord kit does give you the possibility to assemble the kit with doors open or closed (doors are separate pieces). I built my Warlord kit with doors closed, so unless someone wants to build a vignette as a show piece or objective marker for their games showing the model with open doors, having open or closed doors as an option is not that big of a deal. Besides, Rubicon's one piece cab is probably nice for some wargamers that are not enthusiastic about building model kits.
 
Overall:
No matter which kit you choose, you will have a nice model for gaming or display. For me, the most deciding factor is availability because it is easier for me to purchase the Warlord kit than the Rubicon kits. On top of that, the Rubicon kits come with a shipping cost (mail order) as well. When taking cost into account, the Warlord kit is a little less expensive (for me). If I had to get lots of Opel Blitz or Maultiers, I think I would end up getting more Warlord kits than Rubicon kits.

ultravanillasmurf

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Re: What's Warlord up to?
« Reply #8 on: November 13, 2017, 01:39:42 am »
Interesting and informative. Thank you.

Have you some comparison photographs.

ripley

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Re: What's Warlord up to?
« Reply #9 on: November 13, 2017, 02:16:59 am »
I still want one of each  ::) . So Tracks , what do you think of the 10 man plastic seated Germans in the Opel kit ? I got 2 sets and I'm not really sure about them . I was hoping they would work well as single figures but with most of the arms molded close to the bodies and some of the hands molded on the lower bodies ( you can't mix and match all torsos and lower bodies ), its going to take a bit more thinking on how  to make these all look good as separate figures . Need to get more Green Stuff  ;D Also of note, although the figures and heads match the last few BA plastic releases , size wise , the weapons seem to be a little smaller ( thinner ) , like the weapon sprue that came with one of BA's 1st plastic kits , the late war Germans . Might be true to scale but I like the size of the weapons that came in the German Paras , Panzer Grenadiers , and even the early war German box
« Last Edit: November 13, 2017, 02:27:17 am by ripley »

ultravanillasmurf

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Re: What's Warlord up to?
« Reply #10 on: November 13, 2017, 03:01:50 am »
I thought the Warlord Opel was an upscaled PSC kit, however the cab with open windows and doors.

How does t compare to the PSC kit?
http://www.militarymodelling.com/news/article/german-medium-trucks-in-15mm/23666

Tracks

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Re: What's Warlord up to?
« Reply #11 on: November 14, 2017, 02:21:56 am »
Sorry ultravanillasmurf, I didn't think to take pictures of the plastic sprues of the two different kits. What I will end up doing eventually is to take pictures of the trucks side by side, but I'm not sure how Rubicon would feel if I post a picture of a Rubicon kit plus one from another manufacture, so I hesitate.

I can tell you that after being assembled and painted (especially if painted the same) it is not easy to tell the two different kits apart unless you look very closely at the details. To make them even look closer alike, you can even put the seated passengers from Warlord into the Rubicon model.

Speaking of those seated passengers. Ripley, I too was hoping they would work well as single figures. Some can be made into single figures, but this would require making sacrifices.

ultravanillasmurf

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Re: What's Warlord up to?
« Reply #12 on: November 15, 2017, 06:50:18 am »
On Lead Adventures there is a thread where someone has used the passengers for Tank Riders.
http://www.lead-adventure.de/index.php?topic=105087.0

ripley

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Re: What's Warlord up to?
« Reply #13 on: November 15, 2017, 10:39:50 am »
Wow , very nice conversions . I'm saving that site  for inspiration

Swamprat33

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Re: What's Warlord up to?
« Reply #14 on: December 12, 2017, 04:18:09 am »
it would be good if 'someone' made a set of German tank riders in winter gear, and then a set of Ruskies. Both in plastic of course.
Tim