Panzer II

[stick1975]

Wondering if this would sell enough copies to be worthwhile but thought I would suggest it.

[Pinky]

Hopefully Rubicon will focus a bit more on early war subjects soon.  And a Panzer II would be a great start.  It's a small vehicle, so it might be possible to include the parts for a Marder or Wespe.  That would make a very attractive kit.

[ripley]

They could do a couple of kits .  1st : using the 5 road wheel hull , you could make a 1940 B/C and a later 1942 F model , as well as the standard Marder II  . 2nd : using the hull with the 4 larger road heels , you could get a D model as well as a Marder II D  with either the 75mm Pak 40 or the 76.2mm Pak 36 (r) and a Flamingo flame thrower tank . The Wespe had a redesigned hull , a little longer and 3 instead of 4 return rollers , so probably a kit all it's own . And we haven't even thought about the interweaved wheel versions - G . J and my favorite the Luchs . Ok , I'm thinking about them now ...

[MassRager]

P2 would be great if you did do one, and on the plus side for Rubicon unlike the heavy tanks we'll need to buy 2/3 kits ;-)
 

[Rubicon Models]

Early war is something we are very interested in, and thus the recent projects on bikes, trucks, AT guns, and so forth!

Problem is these smaller vehicles, in fact, are more difficult to design due to their smaller footprint... you will need a lot of smaller parts.  Something that we think is a problem for gamers!

[Pinky]

The answer with the smaller vehicles is more moulded-on detail rather than more parts.  Rubicon are already very good at this, as evidenced by the level of detail on the tracks/running gear in recent kits like the M5A1, JagdPzr 38t and Crusader.  Because early war tanks had narrow tracks, you'd generally be able to do their tracks/running gear in one piece.  Headlights etc could be moulded on -  I think both wargamers and modellers would be fine with some degree of simplification if it meant getting plastic kits of rarer vehicles like early war French, British and Soviet tanks.  However, I would guess from previous discussions that the fact that many earlier AFVs were riveted is a bit of a problem when it comes to maintaining a low parts count.

One thing Rubicon could consider is providing 2-in-1 kits - a tank and an armoured car or softskin in one box.  Companies like Airfix, Nitto and Matchbox did this in 1/76 scale, and these sets were very attractive.  Throw in a couple of figures, and you have something that will appeal to wargamers and modellers.  So, for instance, you could pair up a Somua S35 with a Panhard armoured car, a Panzer III Ausf E with a Horch Kfz 15, or an A9 Cruiser with a Dingo scout car - that kind of thing.       

[Rubicon Models]

Thanks for the advices.  Rivets on early tanks is a major obstacle to resolve as you cannot just put them everywhere!  "Rivet Counters" are particularly harsh in that respect, lol!

Unlike 1/35 scale, making 1/56 riveted turrets in plastic is not as easy as it seems.  The overall tracks and hull design is a breeze when you compared them to the turret!

[Yaquir]

One thing Rubicon could consider is providing 2-in-1 kits - a tank and an armoured car or softskin in one box.  Companies like Airfix, Nitto and Matchbox did this in 1/76 scale, and these sets were very attractive.  Throw in a couple of figures, and you have something that will appeal to wargamers and modellers.  So, for instance, you could pair up a Somua S35 with a Panhard armoured car,

A Somua S-35 and a H-35/39 as a "french cavallery kit" would be nice