Rubicon Models

Rubicon Models => General Discussions => Topic started by: Rubicon Models on April 11, 2017, 12:29:31 pm

Title: Rubicon Models acquiring selected Neucraft Models products - CV11 170420
Post by: Rubicon Models on April 11, 2017, 12:29:31 pm
Rubicon Models had acquired selected Neucraft Models products,
and will continue to produce them in resin at a later stage.

(http://i1373.photobucket.com/albums/ag377/RubiconModels/Misc%20Images/Neucraft%20Announcement%20170411-1_zpsrcjlzgmi.jpg)

Enjoy!
;)
Title: Re: Rubicon Models acquiring selected Neucraft Models products 170411
Post by: tyroflyer on April 11, 2017, 04:35:17 pm
I'm not sure what the implications are. Does this mean there is no hope of ever seeing the Renault tanks in plastic from Rubicon?

If the intention is to produce a range of 1/56 resin vehicles we would never see in plastic, because the sales figures wouldn't justify it, then I guess I'm happy although a little perplexed.

If it means we might see some resin components to modify Rubicon plastic models to less common variants then great.
Title: Re: Rubicon Models acquiring selected Neucraft Models products 170411
Post by: ripley on April 11, 2017, 07:49:16 pm
Well done ! I was hoping somebody would pick up their line . I just found out about Neucraft a short while ago only to find that their going under . It would be nice to see the Otter picked up as well , as its a very nice kit . If possible I would like to see the turrets sold as separate items , maybe with a resin base to use as Panzerturms on the Atlantic Wall ??? There's just so many small resin and metal companies out there as well as after- market , decals , detail parts and conversion kits , you can't know of them all .  At least once a week I find some cool piece I'ld like to get only to find the companies site is gone and the parts selling for big bucks on ebay  ::)
Title: Re: Rubicon Models acquiring selected Neucraft Models products 170411
Post by: Ballardian on April 12, 2017, 12:55:35 am
Also very glad to see someone pick these very nice kits up (plus I missed getting the Citroen CV11 the first time around - definately want a couple of these).
Title: Re: Rubicon Models acquiring selected Neucraft Models products 170411
Post by: lou passejaire on April 13, 2017, 04:06:11 pm
i was a great fan of Neucraft models from the beginning , the french AT guns are stunning too ...
did you plan to release the models with decals ?
Title: Re: Rubicon Models acquiring selected Neucraft Models products 170411
Post by: Rubicon Models on April 13, 2017, 05:12:15 pm
i was a great fan of Neucraft models from the beginning , the french AT guns are stunning too ...
did you plan to release the models with decals ?

We are looking into doing some decals for the French light tanks.  It will depends on the time we had for this little project.  We are also making minor changes to the Neucraft models to make them more historically accurate.  Once completed, we will start making them available again in resin.
Title: Re: Rubicon Models acquiring selected Neucraft Models products 170411
Post by: tyroflyer on April 13, 2017, 09:47:09 pm
It will be interesting to see how this goes. I have a Warlord Renault R35 which is okay for the wargame table. Will Rubicon compete on quality or price (or both). I don't have a Neucraft kit to know whether it is better than the Warlord one. I am confident a Rubicon plastic R35 would have been better. The Warlord R35 was bought when there was a discount and posted free by placing an order over 50 pounds, so competing on price isn't easy. Perhaps someone has a Neucraft R35 and a Warlord one and can give a quick overview on how they compare.

Nonetheless I wish Rubicon well because if the ex Neucraft models are a success we might see more resin vehicles and components that are unlikely to be made in plastic (in this scale anyway, all sorts of odd things appear in plastic in other scales).
Title: Re: Rubicon Models acquiring selected Neucraft Models products 170411
Post by: ultravanillasmurf on April 13, 2017, 11:36:50 pm
I wish them well.

I have never seen the originals so I have no idea of their quality.

I have had some dodgy resin kits (including one I bought at Salute last year). My top standard is the Empress own brand  kits (not the HLBS ones). As you are at Salute this year, have a look at them.
Title: Re: Rubicon Models acquiring selected Neucraft Models products 170411
Post by: ripley on April 14, 2017, 01:50:50 am
Last time I looked  ( last wkend ) the Neucraft site was still up , go there and check out the kits . One tank comes with two different turrets ( vision ports ) , long and short guns as well as open or closed commander hatches . The other has the tail skid and some stowage bits , IRC , tarp , spare road wheel . Really nice kits IMO , real sorry when I heard they were closing down ,though I was SOL ,  now I can still get one from Rubicon
Title: Re: Rubicon Models acquiring selected Neucraft Models products 170411
Post by: Pinky on April 14, 2017, 12:19:51 pm
I'm not in the market for resin tanks - I think it's a poor substitute for plastic when it comes to vehicles, and better suited to terrain and accessories.  But I think you'll find that Rubicon will be able to produce very high quality resin casting.
Title: Re: Rubicon Models acquiring selected Neucraft Models products 170411
Post by: tyroflyer on April 14, 2017, 03:02:49 pm
I guess I'm not as adamant as you Pinky and prepared to give resin a chance. However I share your misgivings. I think underlying my thoughts are any hopes of these tanks being produced in plastic are now further away, if ever. Funny, when it comes to the figures I'm not a fan of plastic at all and far prefer metal.
Title: Re: Rubicon Models acquiring selected Neucraft Models products 170411
Post by: ultravanillasmurf on April 14, 2017, 04:29:24 pm
Resin has its place, but it has it to be good resin and the master has to be of good quality.

One kit I bought at Salute appeared to have been cast in either Aero(tm) or Gouda(tm). Others are cast in Edam(TM) and you spend hours trying to get them straight.
Title: Re: Rubicon Models acquiring selected Neucraft Models products 170411
Post by: ripley on April 14, 2017, 10:18:36 pm
And while the masters for plastic kits will last for years , Tamiya is still using theirs from the 70s ( ok the accuracey of the kit is questionable , but the plastics perfect  ::) ) Resin , with its soft RTV molds is only good for a limited number of clean casts . It seems many try to maximize the number of kits out of a mold and the kits tend to start loosing crisp detail and you get thicker mold lines and flash . Metal molds are the same , some of the Warlord metal tank bits seem to be  1/2 detail part , 1/2 flash , and so badly molded its hard to figure out what the piece is supposed to be . A company that makes limited runs and renews their mold regularly  usually charges more for their product . Do we even want to talk about the quality of some of the resins ?Some are like concrete , others  , as smurf said , cheese  :o
Title: Re: Rubicon Models acquiring selected Neucraft Models products 170411
Post by: ultravanillasmurf on April 14, 2017, 11:22:13 pm
If you want longevity, have a look at some of the Kitmaster kits that are still available. Admittedly some are looking a bit worse for wear after fifty odd years and three plus owners.

Title: Re: Rubicon Models acquiring selected Neucraft Models products 170411
Post by: Rubicon Models on April 14, 2017, 11:24:04 pm
This is very true that injection moulds last for years, but you need a very good storage facility to store them in pristine condition; otherwise, like all metal, will rust to dust!

With the advancement of design technology, most modern studios now use computers to design or sculpt their vehicles and figures.  To prepare parts for production in either resin or metal, we merely print a new master for moulding. Of course, you must not stretch your moulds to their limits; otherwise the quality will not be acceptable.

Before we started Rubicon Models, our specialty is resin and metal castings and duplications for OEM customers all over the world.  We are quite confident we will be able to do a good job!
Title: Re: Rubicon Models acquiring selected Neucraft Models products 170411
Post by: lou passejaire on April 15, 2017, 08:12:12 pm
I was stunned the first time i received Neucraft Models ... F***ing detail accuracy and Greatest resin work i ever saw on the market .
few parts but separate tracks, it's a pleasure to paint .
The models fit together without glue .

Hope same quality .
Title: Re: Rubicon Models acquiring selected Neucraft Models products (CV11 170420)
Post by: Rubicon Models on April 20, 2017, 05:45:46 pm
This is the revised Citroën Traction Avant CV11.  For those who had already brought one will notice the differences.
Major update to the curvature of the rear portion of the vehicle making it more standout like the real car; and the front windshield now have more details.
The front steering mechanism is now a standalone piece giving it more details and ease of assembly; also simplify the casting process for us.

(http://i1373.photobucket.com/albums/ag377/RubiconModels/Resin/CV11%20170420-01_zpsjpsrelh2.jpg)

(http://i1373.photobucket.com/albums/ag377/RubiconModels/Resin/CV11%20170420-02_zpsowm6msbp.jpg)

(http://i1373.photobucket.com/albums/ag377/RubiconModels/Resin/CV11%20170420-04_zpsg84qujgh.jpg)

(http://i1373.photobucket.com/albums/ag377/RubiconModels/Resin/CV11%20170420-03_zpshlq5ilor.jpg)

(http://i1373.photobucket.com/albums/ag377/RubiconModels/Resin/CV11%20170420-05_zpskkywjpbc.jpg)

Enjoy!
;)
Title: Re: Rubicon Models acquiring selected Neucraft Models products - CV11 170420
Post by: ultravanillasmurf on April 20, 2017, 08:12:18 pm
Nice, I did not know anything about them.
[url][https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citroën_Traction_Avant/url]
Usual Wikipedia sanity notice.
Useful for a lot of things (Stalingrad?)
Title: Re: Rubicon Models acquiring selected Neucraft Models products - CV11 170420
Post by: ultravanillasmurf on April 20, 2017, 08:20:21 pm
Any chance of British build bumpers etc? Period cars are rather lacking in this scale.

You might have seen some on Sunday evenings on BBC and ITV.
Title: Re: Rubicon Models acquiring selected Neucraft Models products - CV11 170420
Post by: Ballardian on April 20, 2017, 09:15:42 pm
Your improvements look good, I'm certainly up for a couple of these (ones in German use tended to be painted black - especially those in Gestapo/SD use, ones used by the other branches of the German forces (& those in civilian use) were usually in whatever their original colour was, though I've seen images of ones in LW use in their typical softskin blue-grey).
 When do you think you'll start selling them?
Title: Re: Rubicon Models acquiring selected Neucraft Models products - CV11 170420
Post by: tyroflyer on April 20, 2017, 09:56:03 pm
Looks good. Probably worth looking into the possibility of other civilian vehicles. Particularly when they had at least some use by the armies of the combatants.
Title: Re: Rubicon Models acquiring selected Neucraft Models products - CV11 170420
Post by: Pinky on April 20, 2017, 10:02:52 pm
I'd get one to use as terrain, but I don't like the solid windows.  It seems strange to provide a reasonably detailed underside, but have solid windows and no interior (not even some very rudimentary seats).
Title: Re: Rubicon Models acquiring selected Neucraft Models products - CV11 170420
Post by: ultravanillasmurf on April 21, 2017, 01:03:14 am
I suspect the solid windows are based on the cost/looks decision.it is "easy" (for given values of easy) to get a solid vehicle to look good, getting the windows and interior to work is difficult.

Of course if you have a detailed underside you can use it  upside down.
Title: Re: Rubicon Models acquiring selected Neucraft Models products - CV11 170420
Post by: somtec on January 12, 2018, 06:06:33 am
sorry for bringing up this old post but came across the neucraft otter and was wondering if you have the intention of releasing this one one day
Title: Re: Rubicon Models acquiring selected Neucraft Models products - CV11 170420
Post by: ripley on January 12, 2018, 08:47:12 am
Me too ,Would love a couple to add to my Canadians
(https://s9.postimg.org/pr6brsyu3/5006_assembled5.jpg) (https://postimg.org/image/pr6brsyu3/)
Title: Re: Rubicon Models acquiring selected Neucraft Models products - CV11 170420
Post by: Pinky on January 12, 2018, 09:51:42 am
Nice looking model.  I bet Rubicon could make it even better. 
Title: Re: Rubicon Models acquiring selected Neucraft Models products - CV11 170420
Post by: Captain Blood on January 12, 2018, 06:37:12 pm
Yes, still waiting on the ‘Rubiconed’ reworked French AFVs ans Citroen. The Otter would be a very nice addition.
Title: Re: Rubicon Models acquiring selected Neucraft Models products - CV11 170420
Post by: lou passejaire on January 13, 2018, 09:23:23 am
i got one, Polish :
(https://i35.servimg.com/u/f35/11/63/95/43/dscn2447.jpg)

(https://i21.servimg.com/u/f21/11/63/95/43/310.jpg)
(https://i86.servimg.com/u/f86/11/63/95/43/dscn2318.jpg)

and don't forget this one
(https://i35.servimg.com/u/f35/11/63/95/43/dscn2429.jpg)
Title: Re: Rubicon Models acquiring selected Neucraft Models products - CV11 170420
Post by: ripley on January 13, 2018, 10:26:00 am
Your Otter looks good . Like the amphib jeep as well , my Russians could use a couple of those  :D
Title: Re: Rubicon Models acquiring selected Neucraft Models products - CV11 170420
Post by: Rubicon Models on January 13, 2018, 01:28:57 pm
Since the initial purchase of the three vehicles, we had been trying to negotiate with Neucraft Models for their remaining range.  Unfortunately, the owner had a new job elsewhere away from home.  He had promised on several occasions to locate the digital files when he had free time; up until now, still no feedback from him.  Will continue to try...  :(
Title: Re: Rubicon Models acquiring selected Neucraft Models products - CV11 170420
Post by: Tracks on January 13, 2018, 07:18:12 pm
I have a bad feeling about this. That is, Rubicon acquiring the new resin stuff. Does this mean there is no hope of ever seeing some of the French tanks like the Renault in plastic from Rubicon? Also, does this mean we will start to see less of those fantastic plastic kits and begin to see more resin kits?

One the main reasons I became so interested in Rubicon models was that they are releasing very good plastic kits. Especially of vehicles that were not available in plastic. This is one of the reasons why I had started to replace my resin vehicles with plastic kits. Just to give you a few examples, I replaced my resin M4A3E8, resin Jagdpanzer 38t, and resin US Jeeps with plastic ones from Rubicon Models.

When it comes to preferring plastic over resin, I think I'm one of the minority.
Title: Re: Rubicon Models acquiring selected Neucraft Models products - CV11 170420
Post by: Rubicon Models on January 13, 2018, 07:40:04 pm
I have a bad feeling about this. That is, Rubicon acquiring the new resin stuff. Does this mean there is no hope of ever seeing some of the French tanks like the Renault in plastic from Rubicon? Also, does this mean we will start to see less of those fantastic plastic kits and begin to see more resin kits?

Being a relatively new company of 3 years old, we cannot rely on just a single product range.  Plastic kits are VERY EXPENSIVE to produce and many injections moulds are required to produce them.  It also takes a lot of time and investment from 3D drawings to prototyping, and from mould making to finally releasing each kit.  Up until now, we have a total of 52 kits in a single product range over these three years, that's averaged at 17 kits per year!  To make the money back and smooth operation of the studio will require a tremendous amount of sales volume to support us day to day.  This is why we are expanding into different areas in order to spread out the risk as being a "single" product company.

Resin for us had always been our root before we ventured into plastic injection manufacturing, and we excel in resin production within the industry for many years.  So going back into resin production is just like going back home for us!  This also applies to pewter (white metal) reproduction as well.  We will not give up or reduce the rate of plastic kit design, the extra product lines are to supplement our plastic range and to make our studio even stronger.  So rest assure we are here to stay!  We simply refused to be just another firework or comet in the night sky... we wanted to be the moon shining forever!
Title: Re: Rubicon Models acquiring selected Neucraft Models products - CV11 170420
Post by: ripley on January 13, 2018, 10:01:33 pm
Its all ways difficult to  get together with people who's craft / hobby " job " is not their full time job . A lot of guys just shut down their production and their fantastic kits are gone forever , except for crazy dollars on ebay . Thank you for picking the Neucraft kits you did and we appreciate the effort your making to try and secure more
Title: Re: Rubicon Models acquiring selected Neucraft Models products - CV11 170420
Post by: Captain Blood on January 14, 2018, 01:28:57 am
Yes we do. And I appreciate the poetry of your last sentence or two as well. May you shine forever indeed  :)