New release: Sturmgeschutze ausf. G! (2 Viewers)

[The Collectors Showcase]

NEW RELEASE: STURMGESCHUTZE AUSF. G!​

TCS is pleased to announce our brand new Sturmgeschutze Ausf G.

The Stug was the be all end all for Germany’s depleted Wehrmacht. Initially proposed as a cheap turretless self propelled gun to aid advancing infantry, the Sturmgeschutze quickly developed into a defensive stop gap weapon to slow the Russian Juggernaut. Built on the PzKfw III chassis it was cheap and easy to build. With a low silhouette and a high velocity gun it was a dangerous adversary.

TCS brings this beast to life with our Normandy and Winter versions. Comes with one figure and an open and closed hatch option. These releases will be available in our May catalog release. More goodies to be announced in some days. Enjoy the new Stug when you get your mits on it, it’s a really beauty!

Tally Hooo!

Brian

 

[Mitch]

Little surprised at some of the features and would have expected the MG shield also but, could I just say that you should now address the winter wash that you apply to your AFV's. It does just not do them justice IMO.
Mitch

 

[katana]

Nice model Brian. I have your first Stug III Ausf. G and I consider it one of my best pieces and the equal of any other 1/30 scale Stug IMHO. The interior detail is a neat feature and the figures were very well done. Brian; can you confirm this model is an Ausf. F? I think a repaint in Panzer Grau would work very well for a Diorama I am working on of the 3rd battle of Karkov early 1942 which will also use a Panzer Grau CS Panzer III. Regards

 

[The Collectors Showcase]

Nice model Brian. I have your first Stug III Ausf. G and I consider it one of my best pieces and the equal of any other 1/30 scale Stug IMHO. The interior detail is a neat feature and the figures were very well done. Brian; can you confirm this model is an Ausf. F? I think a repaint in Panzer Grau would work very well for a Diorama I am working on of the 3rd battle of Karkov early 1942 which will also use a Panzer Grau CS Panzer III. Regards

Actually as an Ausf. F it works well. Folks have to know that so many Ausf G's and F's had mix and match parts at the factory as to make the two variants akin in many ways. For instance Ausf F transmission covers were used in Ausf G's and so on.

Cheers!

Brian

 

[villagehorse]

Nice machine Brian, have 2 of your originals, but will get this, never can enough Stug's. Robin.

 

[wayne556517]

What a beast count me in and agree with Robin 1 of my favorite German AFV,s can't have to many STUG,s.

 

[Blowtorch]

Actually as an Ausf. F it works well.

That's because it's an F!

 

[katana]

Brian; Issue this Stug and the Panzer III in Panzer Grau with Liebstandart markings for the Ostfront 1943 and they will sell like hotcakes at your current price point! Follow up with an Sd. kfz. 232, Hanomag and an early Tiger I in Panzer Grau and you will own the early war in the east as far as armor! You already have the molds for these pieces and their are plenty of T-34's out their needing opposition . The great thing is they would all be in 1/28 scale and would work with the majority of figures already produced. A new product to offer would be a KV-1; which to my knowledge has not yet been done in 60MM. A great market opportunity for a neglected front in WWII, but which is far more interesting in the complexity and scope of the battles than Normandy or Market Garden. First Legion owns Stalingrad. Collectors Showcase could own Karkov and Kursk! Regards

 

[Proteus]

I'm sad to say as a big fan of Collectors Showcase and I own more than 15 varieties of tanks, that this new offering continues to reinforce my feelings that CS has been downgrading the quality and detail of there new issues. In my mind, it seemed to start with their Panzer III issue last year, I then bought one of each of the two new Panthers last fall! I couldn't believe how the quality had slipped since my earlier Panther releases like 213. I have all three side by side and the lost of quality is shocking! As far as this new offering when compared to my earlier Sturmgeschutze from Arnhem it can't even be compared, the Arnhem Stug is a superior AFV, two crew, an opening to see the internal gun compartment and so much more! I realize all companies have to fight raising production cost in China but I would rather see Brian raise prices and restore the quality we had come to expect. If things don't change last fall's Panther's will be my last Collectors Showcase WW2 armor and that makes me very sad and disappointed.

 

[Mitch]

We were told that Brian makes his stuff now in the US. I think, for me a correlation between that move and the quality drop which, I have also noticed is a factor.

I would also like to see a return to some of the quality CS have made in the past and even if they raised their prices a little to accommodate this they are still miles away from other manufacturers current prices
Mitch

I'm sad to say as a big fan of Collectors Showcase and I own more than 15 varieties of tanks, that this new offering continues to reinforce my feelings that CS has been downgrading the quality and detail of there new issues. In my mind, it seemed to start with their Panzer III issue last year, I then bought one of each of the two new Panthers last fall! I couldn't believe how the quality had slipped since my earlier Panther releases like 213. I have all three side by side and the lost of quality is shocking! As far as this new offering when compared to my earlier Sturmgeschutze from Arnhem it can't even be compared, the Arnhem Stug is a superior AFV, two crew, an opening to see the internal gun compartment and so much more! I realize all companies have to fight raising production cost in China but I would rather see Brian raise prices and restore the quality we had come to expect. If things don't change last fall's Panther's will be my last Collectors Showcase WW2 armor and that makes me very sad and disappointed.

 

[Hadrian]

We were told that Brian makes his stuff now in the US. I think, for me a correlation between that move and the quality drop which, I have also noticed is a factor.

I would also like to see a return to some of the quality CS have made in the past and even if they raised their prices a little to accommodate this they are still miles away from other manufacturers current prices
Mitch

I wonderid you buy "your" Sturmtiger ?
It is 189 USD ! plus "a little raised price " is NOT miles away from other manufacturers: WS219 K&C Panzer IV with 1 figure is 199 USD, Figarti ETG096 is 189 USD and MUCH better than any TCS tank in my eyes...

 

[Mitch]

I don't buy in USD so, that price system is rather irrelevant when I am pricing things. TCS in the UK is around £125 or thereabouts. Other manufacturers are a lot more in the UK prices ranging from very small AFV's to large anywhere between £189 to £200 plus with the recent exception being the Figarti Tiger I which in the UK was £145

TCS and I have been collecting them from really day one when they released LAH and then the early SS and US para's were always high quality. This was followed by the DAK range which, I still think can hold its own today in terms of quality. The Market Garden stuff Marders etc were superb.

Some of the new stuff is just not as sharp IMO and yes Sturm is now in the house.
Mitch

I wonderid you buy "your" Sturmtiger ?
It is 189 USD ! plus "a little raised price " is NOT miles away from other manufacturers: WS219 K&C Panzer IV with 1 figure is 199 USD, Figarti ETG096 is 189 USD and MUCH better than any TCS tank in my eyes...

 

[katana]

The quality of all 60MM Toy Soldier manufacturers has dropped significantly. I think do to the ecconomy demand is down and maintaining prices is the priority at the expense of quality. I agree that Brian should raise his prices and maintain his previous high quality. All 60MM manufacturers are cutting corners. My Figarti T34-85 arrived with missing parts. My Figarti Panther G has paint quality inferior to the pre-production photos. Also the Panzer Kommander had tan paints ???. First Legion is having scale consistancy issues i.e. giant SS troups and midget Falschirmjager. K&C figure quality is inferior to several years ago. All manufactures are having paint color issues as well as semi-gloss instead of matte finish. As demand for a product decreases the quantity contracted for drops and price per unit increases, further decreasing demand in a downward spiral to oblivion! I think a shake out of the Toy Soldier business is going to occur in the near term!

 

[Proteus]

I have been the advertising and marketing field all my life, and I have many times seen this death cycle of a business. Its like a plane going into a spin, if you don't pull it out after the 3rd loop you probably are going to buy the farm as they say. I'm glad to see that a number of my fellow collectors have witnessed the declining quality of TCS, my original DAK AFV, like the Tiger, and MKIV had excellent detail, occasionally I had to sand down a turret and some other minor problems but overall the quality that first brought me to this hobby was super, and I was proud to showoff my collection. I have a lot of great pieces, like Tiger 007, SO4, the Kursk Tiger, the Winter Tiger 213 which I personally think is one of the best of the best. But the last two Panthers, both the summer and fall paints didn't even match TCS's sale photos, the armor shoulder skirts were a horrible mess...not fitting correctly...the front armor slope problems and in general just look like $%#@&&% I think you get my point. I can't speak to the other manufacturers because I have only collected TCS. After, the Panther debacle last fall I decided not to even take a chance on the Sturmtiger and from what I have heard I'm glad a steered away from another disappointing release. And as I have mentioned, the new STUGs just drives home the point of a deteriorating quality/value issue. Oh, and one last issue, these AFV are being made in China, not the USA, I have had a number of discussions with Brian about delays of a new release and he always tells me the product is being held up in customs!

 

[Jack]

Not an armour collector myself but I do sometimes feel that the manufacturers are trapped in a goldilocks moment i.e where nothing is quite perfect. One manufacturer can be critiqued in a thread where there is a discussion of price increases with no discernible improvement in quality. At the same time another manufacturer can be critiqued for keeping prices stable but allowing the quality to decline. Each manufacturer would appear to have their own strategy for staying in business. Although it has not occured in this thread, I am surprised, however, when the AFVs of a company that is in business are compared unfavourably with the AFVs of a company that is out of business. At some level it is a reminder that any company still running at a profit must be pitching products at a sufficient number of collectors who see value in their releases.

 

[RAFTyphoon]

Not an armour collector myself but I do sometimes feel that the manufacturers are trapped in a goldilocks moment i.e where nothing is quite perfect. One manufacturer can be critiqued in a thread where there is a discussion of price increases with no discernible improvement in quality. At the same time another manufacturer can be critiqued for keeping prices stable but allowing the quality to decline. Each manufacturer would appear to have their own strategy for staying in business. Although it has not occured in this thread, I am surprised, however, when the AFVs of a company that is in business are compared unfavourably with the AFVs of a company that is out of business. At some level it is a reminder that any company still running at a profit must be pitching products at a sufficient number of collectors who see value in their releases.

I too am concerned with the quality of some of the new releases. I have 17 TCS AFV's and they are by far my favorite make. I bought both new Panthers and was appalled with the front slope. It looked awful and destroyed the accuracy of the tank. Brian has always been very responsive and I wish I felt differently but I am not likely to make a new purchase until the quality issue is addressed.

 

[cnq]

Wow....looks like TCS will have to up their game or risk losing sales from royal customers. I've always like TCS armors and own four of them. The last one I purchased was 007 Whittman Tiger and it was an excellent tank and go very well with most current figures. I'm not too much into armors now but will buy again if they make something that I like.

 

[katana]

All manufacturers have occasional quality problems, what is important is that the manufacturer recognize the problem and corrects it where possible. Brian has a good track record of addressing quality issues affecting individual products damaged or incorrectly assembled. A design flaw in a limited production product is a difficult thing to correct other than scraping the product and starting over. A small company cannot do that and survive very long in a competitive environment. Repeated major errors in design i.e. the Panther G glaces plate angle, the wheel location on the early Tiger I etc, requires a review of your design process; which is not catching these problems before manufacturing begins. A comprehensive design review by all design team members and idealy a select group of customers should identify design flaws and correct them prior to production.

I have not yet heard of a problem with the Sturmtiger; can someone advise me what it is?

 

[hajipavt]

I'm sad to say as a big fan of Collectors Showcase and I own more than 15 varieties of tanks, that this new offering continues to reinforce my feelings that CS has been downgrading the quality and detail of there new issues. In my mind, it seemed to start with their Panzer III issue last year, I then bought one of each of the two new Panthers last fall! I couldn't believe how the quality had slipped since my earlier Panther releases like 213. I have all three side by side and the lost of quality is shocking! As far as this new offering when compared to my earlier Sturmgeschutze from Arnhem it can't even be compared, the Arnhem Stug is a superior AFV, two crew, an opening to see the internal gun compartment and so much more! I realize all companies have to fight raising production cost in China but I would rather see Brian raise prices and restore the quality we had come to expect. If things don't change last fall's Panther's will be my last Collectors Showcase WW2 armor and that makes me very sad and disappointed.

I've been banging on about the deteriorating quality now for about a year and a half - mainly the quality of the sculpts and paint. I understand this is someone's business and most probably their livelihood and sometimes its difficult to make enough margin when prices of raw materials and labour increases and you try and keep your base low. BUT if you don't produce quality products that are both innovative and interesting then ultimately you loose your client base and then you have no business. Roughly speaking I would estimate that I've purchased about $10,000 worth of Collectorsshowcase WWII Germans over the past five years but its been at least six months since I've purchased anything. My last purchase was the Panzer Lehr infantry and the paint quality was poor. Even before that the I purchased the entire set of Normandy Fallschirm and the whole lot are currently with a friend in Greece who is repainting them for me. Why couldn't they be painted correctly in the first place? I wont be purchasing the Stumgeschutze because it looks like an inferior version of the Arnhem version - so its neither innovative nor is it interesting. Infact I might just go onto ebay and buy the Arnhem version right after I post this. There are literally hundreds of German vehicles that have not been done by TCS or any of the other manufacturers so why are we re-hashing the same old releases. Do an Kubelwagen with four figures in it. Id buy that in a heart beat. DO an Ostwind, Wirbelwind, Nashorn, Elefant, SdKfz 4, Möbelwagen..etc etc etc .. the list is endless. How about some more SS figures in various poses? If the quality of the sculpts and paint is good enough id buy the lot. How about a whole series of figures for figures form all theaters. Ive got money to spend but nothing to spend it on. That's whats really annoying me.

 

[Jack]

I too am concerned with the quality of some of the new releases. I have 17 TCS AFV's and they are by far my favorite make. I bought both new Panthers and was appalled with the front slope. It looked awful and destroyed the accuracy of the tank. Brian has always been very responsive and I wish I felt differently but I am not likely to make a new purchase until the quality issue is addressed.

I am not suggesting that there has not been a decline in quality any more than I am suggesting there has. I am not in any position to make that assessment. My view was a very generalised observation that the manufacturers are caught trying to pitch their product to the greatest number of people at a price the greatest number of people can afford. Any price point will be too high for some, too low for others, and for that special group, it will be just right. In the final analysis, it becomes the personal choice of each collector as to whether to buy a product or not.