Q2/17 New Releases - Final Box Arts 170602

[ultravanillasmurf]

On the subject of infantry. On Dakka Dakka someone mentioned you had plastic infantry in the pipeline. Is this true and if so? Do you have any concept artwork/design you can share and which nations armies are you looking at first, hopefully all of them all at once LOL.

Have a look at this Work In Progress (digital sculpting) thread (Soviet infantry message, others on the thread)
http://forum.rubiconmodels.com/index.php?topic=235.msg6903#msg6903

Would also really love to see a Brit Sherman V / Firefly kit as well as a Universal Carrier.

Have a look at the Wish list and Work In Progress threads:
http://forum.rubiconmodels.com/index.php?topic=395.0
The above covers general Shermans stuff.
The Universal Carriers are somewhere on the wish list threads.

[Pinky]

On the subject of infantry. On Dakka Dakka someone mentioned you had plastic infantry in the pipeline. Is this true and if so? Do you have any concept artwork/design you can share and which nations armies are you looking at first, hopefully all of them all at once LOL.

If you search the forum, you'll see various specialised infantry sets are in the design process, including Soviet tank riders and seated US infantry.  My issue with Rubicon figures so far is the plastic, which makes the detail look soft (the dark colour is also harder to work with).  It's also harder to convert than the soft plastic that Warlord uses.  I'd really like Rubicon to use a lighter coloured, softer plastic for their figures.

Would also really love to see a Brit Sherman V / Firefly kit as well as a Universal Carrier.

There are other Sherman variants in the works, including a Firefly.  Seeing as Warlord already does the Sherman V and Universal Carrier in plastic (albeit they are really upscaled PSC kits), I'd expect them to be less of a priority for Rubicon.

[Rubicon Models]

Last two of the Q2/17 new releases posted... I know, the bike licence plate number is wrong, can't do a thing now! 

Enjoy!

[Pinky]

I like the artwork for the Afrika Korps version, even if the licence plate is a bit wonky. 

In your blurb, the filter wasn't for 'dry weather'.  It was relocated from the transmission to the top of the fuel tank in June 1942 so it wouldn't pick up as much road dust.  So it's just a relocated filter. 

[elias.tibbs]

Is everyone assuming the infantry will be plastic? :p

[Chucktastic]

I need those motorcycles.

Need them badly

[Chimaera]

Thanks for the heads up UVSmurf, was hoping there may be some concept sprue pictures, Russian aren't my thing but will be interesting to see what comes for the Brit's and Germans. Good to see they have the Firefly in hand.

Is everyone assuming the infantry will be plastic? :p

I was LOL, think it would be a mistake if not.

My issue with Rubicon figures so far is the plastic, which makes the detail look soft (the dark colour is also harder to work with).  It's also harder to convert than the soft plastic that Warlord uses.  I'd really like Rubicon to use a lighter coloured, softer plastic for their figures.

I was hoping they would be the same material as the Warlord ones, not just for the reasons you mention but also because I find it easier to see lighter material. Hopefully it's not that brittle plastic why have they chosen this material? moulds, cost or some other limitation/design reason. Cost definitely shouldn't be a reason.

[Captain Blood]

M/cycles and sidecars - prayers answered. Thank you 

[ultravanillasmurf]

I have had a few problems with Rubicon plastic, but only the Studebaker caused serious problems (not as bad as the Mongoose Starship Troopers plastic).

I do not like the plastic used on the Warlord/Italeri Churchill, it reminds me of Finecast resin when I was cleaning it up. It glued okay though.

I certainly understand the comment on the material colour, I find it hard to resolve details on the components.

[Rubicon Models]

Rubicon Models uses ABS plastic for our products.  The most important mechanical properties of Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) are impact resistance and toughness, and because of its finer particles, it produces better detail on our products.  And since our base customers are mostly tabletop gamers, we wanted our kits to be tougher to handle and be able to get knocked around a bit without getting damaged.

While some model kit manufacturers still use polystyrene (PS/HIPS plastic), we choose ABS over PS.  ABS combines the strength and rigidity of acrylonitrile and styrene polymers with the toughness of polybutadiene rubber.  While the cost of producing ABS is roughly twice the cost of producing polystyrene, it is considered superior for its hardness, gloss, toughness, and electrical insulation properties.  Most important of all, ABS had less impact on the environment.  Discarded polystyrene does not biodegrade for hundreds of years and is resistant to photolysis.

There are sporadic reports that some plastic cements don’t work on our products... which might be true because customers are using the wrong type of cement.  Liquid cements that we bought for testing work well with our kits.  Most liquid cement are now PS/ABS compatible, except for a few ones using older solvent formulas.  Ask your hobby store to recommend a glue for you!

"Plastic Magic" from Deluxe Materials (https://www.deluxematerials.co.uk) from the UK is one of the best liquid cement we have tested so far.  Highly recommended (we are not associated with them in any way)!

[ultravanillasmurf]

Thank you for the information. That is useful to know.

Usual disclaimers: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acrylonitrile_butadiene_styrene

Interesting that it can be recycled (though it is rare).

Humbrol claim liquid poly works on ABS (I find it does in general,  though I suspect a newish pot works best).

[Pinky]

However...

ABS plastic used by Rubicon is hard and more difficult to cut and shape than the soft polystyrene used by Warlord (and GW and Preiser).  This is a real issue when converting figures.  The dark green colour is not ideal for figures either, because the details are harder to make out.  This is why Warlord and GW figures are a light grey colour, and Preiser's figures are white.

I maintain that this ABS material does not bond well with Warlord or Tamiya polystyrene, at least when using Tamiya liquid cement.  I have tried this multiple times using new bottles of cement, and the result is the same - the pieces can be pulled apart as they don't weld together.  I hope the results are different with Plastic Magic.

My point is that while ABS has real advantages for vehicle kits, it's less well suited to figures. 

[Rubicon Models]

ABS plastic used by Rubicon is hard and more difficult to cut and shape than the soft polystyrene used by Warlord (and GW and Preiser).  This is a real issue when converting figures.  The dark green colour is not ideal for figures either, because the details are harder to make out.  This is why Warlord and GW figures are a light grey colour, and Preiser's figures are white.

These current plastic figures are our first batch of releases.  We are still experimenting with various material and colour for them.  We will continue to review and listen to feedback...

[ripley]

I  agree that the light grey ( or sand ) colored plastic seems to show more detail for ease of painting  than the darker stuff , of course it could also be the small size of the kit pieces and a pair of 60 year old eyes  .  And yes the BA plastic , being softer is much easier to carve and sand for conversions , but except for adding some open driver hatches ,  I've not had to do too much to " fix " Rubicons kits , unlike major work on the BA stuff . So far the only Rubicon figures I've dealt with have been drivers and all they needed IMO was a head swap to match the rest of the troops in their unit . I'm going to pick up and  build a couple of sets of   the new Rubicon figures before I pass judgement . Glue wise , both Testors tube and Tamiya liquid White seem to work for me .

[elias.tibbs]

Surely the colour is just pigment and can be made lighter/darker?

Back in my GW days, they made it grey or whatever colour they wanted. When we did test frames we'd use whatever plastic was around and would have some interesting tie dye coloured  models sometimes!

Will get some plastic magic. Currently I use Tamiya and it can be pretty hit and miss.