Minichamps 1/35 Diecast Tanks (1 Viewer)

[Phantom Warrior]

Has anyone been collecting the Minichamps 1/35 scale diecast tanks?

 

[Spitfrnd]

Has anyone been collecting the Minichamps 1/35 scale diecast tanks?

I have looked at them with some envy. If you do, could we see some pictures?

 

[Cardigan600]

Yo Trooper Spitfrnd. If you want to see all the Minichamps Tanks go to www.mikes-tanks.com he has all the Tanks listed on his site from every maker. He shows all the Minichamps range and who stocked them in the States. Man they are superb I have the Centurion for obvious reasons. They are working models IE: they run on the tracks, have independent suspension, Turret rotates and elevates up and down. The one thing I could not believe was the price for these superb die cast models, I got the Centurion for £68. Never seen another Tank from any of the makers, but don't think they could get anywhere near Minichamps for detail, you also want to have a look at the Minichamps factory its space age technology, mind you what else would you expect from the Germans, they always go the extra mile hard to beat them. Another thing is their packaging,they come in a polystyrene inner box, took me half an hour trying to get it out of the box, until I realised they have two screws in the base to hold the Tank in place in the box lol dumb or what. Its almost impossible for them to get damaged in transit.
Bernard.

 

[Andanna]

Great you address Minichamps. Looking for the "perfect" 1/35 Tiger tank, I bought the Tiger, sSSPzAbt. 102, Normandy, 1944. I admit I love the weight, all the functionality of the model, but wish it was "battle-worn". Worst, I think the tank misses the gun in the turrest. Perhaps one of the experts can way in.

 

[Cardigan600]

Great you address Minichamps. Looking for the "perfect" 1/35 Tiger tank, I bought the Tiger, sSSPzAbt. 102, Normandy, 1944. I admit I love the weight, all the functionality of the model, but wish it was "battle-worn". Worst, I think the tank misses the gun in the turrest. Perhaps one of the experts can way in.

Easy sorted, give it to the kids to play with for a week, then leave it out in the rain, should look Battle Worn By then lol.
Bernard.

 

[Phantom Warrior]

Easy sorted, give it to the kids to play with for a week, then leave it out in the rain, should look Battle Worn By then lol.
Bernard.

Thanks. I cannot imagine why I did not think of that?

 

[Phantom Warrior]

Yo Trooper Spitfrnd. If you want to see all the Minichamps Tanks go to www.mikes-tanks.com he has all the Tanks listed on his site from every maker. He shows all the Minichamps range and who stocked them in the States. Man they are superb I have the Centurion for obvious reasons. They are working models IE: they run on the tracks, have independent suspension, Turret rotates and elevates up and down. The one thing I could not believe was the price for these superb die cast models, I got the Centurion for £68. Never seen another Tank from any of the makers, but don't think they could get anywhere near Minichamps for detail, you also want to have a look at the Minichamps factory its space age technology, mind you what else would you expect from the Germans, they always go the extra mile hard to beat them. Another thing is their packaging,they come in a polystyrene inner box, took me half an hour trying to get it out of the box, until I realised they have two screws in the base to hold the Tank in place in the box lol dumb or what. Its almost impossible for them to get damaged in transit.
Bernard.

Mike doesn't show them all. I have quite a few. I started collecting them when they first came out more than 10 years ago. They were the first tanks I collected and as far as I know, they were the only ones at that time with high quality. They also made several of the modern tanks other manufacturers do not make.

They come only factory fresh clean - no weathering -and there are no soldiers to go with them, but the tracks and wheels do work and work very well. Unfortunately at 1/35 scale they do not go well with the 1/30 scale tanks. And tanks are not the main product of Minichamps (car models) so they come out only sporadically. Their WW2 range is limited.

Terry

 

[Phantom Warrior]

Great you address Minichamps. Looking for the "perfect" 1/35 Tiger tank, I bought the Tiger, sSSPzAbt. 102, Normandy, 1944. I admit I love the weight, all the functionality of the model, but wish it was "battle-worn". Worst, I think the tank misses the gun in the turrest. Perhaps one of the experts can way in.

You are correct. There does not appear to be an opening for the co-axial MG where there should be one. I have the the desert camo version and it is the same. It is hard to believe that Minichamps missed that detail, or deliberately left it out since they put the openings for the gunsight on the other side of the mantlet.

 

[Phantom Warrior]

The reason I introduced this topic is because I have several Minichamps 1/35 WW2 models, but now have K&C, Figarti and Honour Bound tanks. I also have space and model budget issues. I wanted to see if many people on this forum collected Minichamps. I am debating selling the Minichamps models as I am not getting the same enjoyment from them now that I have tanks from other manufacturers.

Terry

 

[Rob]

The reason I introduced this topic is because I have several Minichamps 1/35 WW2 models, but now have K&C, Figarti and Honour Bound tanks. I also have space and model budget issues. I wanted to see if many people on this forum collected Minichamps. I am debating selling the Minichamps models as I am not getting the same enjoyment from them now that I have tanks from other manufacturers.

Terry

Yep me too,my defence budget won't allow it.Thats the problem of still really being 8yrs old,i want everything

Rob

 

[Spitfrnd]

Yep me too,my defence budget won't allow it.Thats the problem of still really being 8yrs old,i want everything

Rob

Yes that is INDEED a problem.

 

[IXEC]

The reason I introduced this topic is because I have several Minichamps 1/35 WW2 models, but now have K&C, Figarti and Honour Bound tanks. I also have space and model budget issues. I wanted to see if many people on this forum collected Minichamps. I am debating selling the Minichamps models as I am not getting the same enjoyment from them now that I have tanks from other manufacturers.

Terry

I have all the Minichamps except the first two. Their Panther series have a defect in that there torsion bars are set to low. This gives them a lower stance than there should be. But I do like them.

Paul

 

[Phantom Warrior]

I have all the Minichamps except the first two. Their Panther series have a defect in that there torsion bars are set to low. This gives them a lower stance than there should be. But I do like them.

Paul

Which are the first two? And how do you like them as compared to the 1/30 scale that we collect now?

Terry

 

[IXEC]

Which are the first two? And how do you like them as compared to the 1/30 scale that we collect now?

Terry

The first two are RO1 Panther, which is the holy grail to collectors and the other is the first in the Jagdpanther series.

I was a Die-cast collector for years, planes & armor. I also collected 1/6th WWII, action figures. Then I got into metal toy soldiers about a year and a half ago. So I sold my 1/6th collection and started playing catch-up of 1/30 armor, CS, Figarti, K&C, Honorbound. It took me awhile to get use to the 1/30 armor, over the Minichamps. But you can do alot more with 1/30 in Dio's.
And the after market really tanked on the Minichamps stuff. You can get your money back on most of the 1/30 stuff which makes collecting it viable. I won't sell my Minichamps because your lucky to get 50% of what you paid. For some reason people stopped putting a value on them.

Paul

 

[Phantom Warrior]

The first two are RO1 Panther, which is the holy grail to collectors and the other is the first in the Jagdpanther series.

I was a Die-cast collector for years, planes & armor. I also collected 1/6th WWII, action figures. Then I got into metal toy soldiers about a year and a half ago. So I sold my 1/6th collection and started playing catch-up of 1/30 armor, CS, Figarti, K&C, Honorbound. It took me awhile to get use to the 1/30 armor, over the Minichamps. But you can do alot more with 1/30 in Dio's.
And the after market really tanked on the Minichamps stuff. You can get your money back on most of the 1/30 stuff which makes collecting it viable. I won't sell my Minichamps because your lucky to get 50% of what you paid. For some reason people stopped putting a value on them.

Paul

I went through something similar. I started collecting Minichamps 1/35 but when it looked like they were not going to produce many different tanks, I began collecting 1/50 Corgi tanks. They produced quite a few more models than Minichamps, but they stopped making new models a few years ago. Then Dragon came out with an inexpensive line of 1/72 tanks and it looked like they would produce many different models, and they have done so, including some Russian armour, but even they do not seem to be making new types of armour. Then someone put me on to K&C. They were producing a wide variety of good looking vehicles and that is where my focus is now (including Figarti, Honour Bound and CS). I have finished playing catch up.

Because I began collecting the Minichamps pieces as soon as they came out, I have the first 2 pieces. Why do you call RO1 Panther the holy grail to collectors if the whole line is out of favour?

Terry

 

[IXEC]

I went through something similar. I started collecting Minichamps 1/35 but when it looked like they were not going to produce many different tanks, I began collecting 1/50 Corgi tanks. They produced quite a few more models than Minichamps, but they stopped making new models a few years ago. Then Dragon came out with an inexpensive line of 1/72 tanks and it looked like they would produce many different models, and they have done so, including some Russian armour, but even they do not seem to be making new types of armour. Then someone put me on to K&C. They were producing a wide variety of good looking vehicles and that is where my focus is now (including Figarti, Honour Bound and CS). I have finished playing catch up.

Because I began collecting the Minichamps pieces as soon as they came out, I have the first 2 pieces. Why do you call RO1 Panther the holy grail to collectors if the whole line is out of favour?

Terry

For some reason the RO1 is considered their best offering with that camo scheme. RO1 us to get up to $500.00 new on eBay a couple of years ago. Now it goes for $125.00 to $225.00, new.

I collected Dragon 1/72 & 1/35 also, got some 1/50 Corgi to. I sold all my 1/72 Cyber-Hobby just before the economy tanked, and I did Very well. The Dragon 1/72 tanked now to. Did you see how Dragon is going to sell their 1/72 armor now without the display covers and raise the price to! But it looks like their reintroducing the Cyber-Hobby 1/72 armor to their regular armor line. Boy I don't think that will go over to well with the guys that have CH.

I have hundred's of 1/72 Dragon Armor. I quite them because there was no end to how many Tiger I & II schemes they put out with no end in sight.

The Dragon 1/35 stuff is good, but their price isn't, compared to Minichamps.

I went nuts for HB though. That's the standard by which all 1/30 should be judged. I think some companies are charging to much though, for polystone. Other's have gone the extra mile with metal tracks and details. But I see it keeps getting better and better with all of the manufactures. Competition is good.

Paul

 

[Phantom Warrior]

For some reason the RO1 is considered their best offering with that camo scheme. RO1 us to get up to $500.00 new on eBay a couple of years ago. Now it goes for $125.00 to $225.00, new.

I collected Dragon 1/72 & 1/35 also, got some 1/50 Corgi to. I sold all my 1/72 Cyber-Hobby just before the economy tanked, and I did Very well. The Dragon 1/72 tanked now to. Did you see how Dragon is going to sell their 1/72 armor now without the display covers and raise the price to! But it looks like their reintroducing the Cyber-Hobby 1/72 armor to their regular armor line. Boy I don't think that will go over to well with the guys that have CH.

I have hundred's of 1/72 Dragon Armor. I quite them because there was no end to how many Tiger I & II schemes they put out with no end in sight.

The Dragon 1/35 stuff is good, but their price isn't, compared to Minichamps.

I went nuts for HB though. That's the standard by which all 1/30 should be judged. I think some companies are charging to much though, for polystone. Other's have gone the extra mile with metal tracks and details. But I see it keeps getting better and better with all of the manufactures. Competition is good.

Paul

Quite a history of tank collecting. I would sell off my Minichamps WW2 when the economy improves, but it does not look like they are selling on e-bay at all. Also will probably sell most of my 1/72 Dragon armour in a better market. I do not like the direction that company is taking their models.

Terry

 

[IXEC]

Quite a history of tank collecting. I would sell off my Minichamps WW2 when the economy improves, but it does not look like they are selling on e-bay at all. Also will probably sell most of my 1/72 Dragon armour in a better market. I do not like the direction that company is taking their models.

Terry

I just love tanks for some reason. Most have never been out of the box, no room

Yes, I sold about 10 Minichamps on eBay when the economy was good and I was lucky if I got $40.00 each for them.

I think Dragon is beginning to hurt. Their now selling the action figures by giving you a lot more bang for the buck. But to me it looks like the market is completely over saturated.

I'm glad I moved into Toy Soldiers. Even though I see a 20-30% value slum with the new stuff, because of this economy, I like what this hobby has to offer and It keeps getting better.


Cheers

 

[Phantom Warrior]

I just love tanks for some reason. Most have never been out of the box, no room

Yes, I sold about 10 Minichamps on eBay when the economy was good and I was lucky if I got $40.00 each for them.

I think Dragon is beginning to hurt. Their now selling the action figures by giving you a lot more bang for the buck. But to me it looks like the market is completely over saturated.

I'm glad I moved into Toy Soldiers. Even though I see a 20-30% value slum with the new stuff, because of this economy, I like what this hobby has to offer and It keeps getting better.


Cheers

The 1/72 scale does not offer the detail of 1/30 - they are more like toys. And there are no detailed soldiers to go with them. When you moved into toy soldiers I assume that includes tanks?

All of my K&C, Figarti, Honour Bound and CS sets are out of the boxes. I have 52 linear feet of glass enclosed shelves of display space 14 inches deep and 13 inches high. The shelves are just deep enough to make small dioramas. I have to say I like the 1/30 scale by far more than 1/72, 1/50 or 1/35 Minichamps.

I agree that Corgi 1/50, Dragon 1/72 and Minichamps 1/35 are evolutionary dead ends for tank collecting while the companies making 1/30 scale are competing with eachother and continually improving the product. The Corgi, Minichamps and Dragon products never evolved or improved. And there were no Forums for those tanks as active as this one.


Terry

 

[Andanna]

I think some companies are charging to much though, for polystone. Other's have gone the extra mile with metal tracks and details. But I see it keeps getting better and better with all of the manufactures. /QUOTE]

I agree with the assessment that Minichamps is a dead end for any collector who regularly needs his fix - which is about 99.9% of participants on this forum. Also agree that sharing on a forum like this is an enrichment of the collecting hobby - and Minichamps does not offer this.

Having said that, may I ask you as the expert your opinion on this:

http://www.treefrogtreasures.com/forum/showthread.php?p=198326#post198326