iHobby Expo 2011 Show Report
By Chris Banyai-Riepl
This year's iHobby Expo marks the end of an era, as next year's show moves to Cleveland in the hopes of a better venue and more traffic. As someone on the West Coast, I would disagree a bit with their press release stating that Cleveland is a 'more central location' (that would be more like Omaha or Kansas City), but if it does generate more traffic, that can only benefit our hobby. Given that this would be the last year in Chicago, I had wondered if there would be an all-out effort to go out with a bang, with lots of companies on display, but it looks like the lackluster economy won out on that battle. Turnout appeared much lower than previous years, and there were quite a few empty booths. What was on display, though, should let everyone know that our hobby is secure and growing, even if not at previous years' paces. The areas of focus that seemed to get the most in the way of new releases this year are with naval and automotive subjects, with armor close by. Aviation is lagging for new releases, but that just means that we have a bit of a break to build all those backlogged kits, right?
Normally I would break the listings down by booth, which generally meant discussing the releases by distributor. This time around, I thought it would be easier to follow if I listed them according to manufacturer, in alphabetical order. Which means we will start with:
Academy
Academy is represented by Model Rectifier Corporation, and as usual MRC had their large spot close to the entrance. For new Academy releases, there was their 1/48 Grumman F-14A Tomcat on display in VF-111 Sundowners colors, complete with "Miss Molly" noseart markings. The Academy 1/48 Su-30MK was also on display, a re-release that added color to the cabinet. In 1/72, the F-22 and F-16 was on display as well. For ships, the big news is that Academy was chosen to provide the plastic scale model for the RMS Titanic Centennial Anniversary. Their detailed 1/400 kit will get some impressive enhancements in the form of photoetch details and a wooden deck set. Additionally, MRC's Bob Lewen wrote a booklet for inclusion with the kit. Look for this enhanced kit to show up next year at your local hobby shop as well as any number of the Titanic displays that are bound to show up around the country. For a more military shift, the 1/350 Oliver Hazard Perry class Frigate is coming out in the markings of FFG-57, the USS Reuben James. This kit will include photoetch.Accurate Miniatures
Also on display at the MRC booth, Accurate Miniatures continues to re-release their quality kits. On display were several iterations, including their Douglas SBD-4 Dauntless and North American P-51C Mustang. The latter comes with the colorful markings of Race # 46 from the Bendix Transcontinental Race, while the SBD-4 Dauntless comes with markings for the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Also on display was a set of US WWII Armament with Ground Service Equipment, the 1/72 Air Combat Legends box containing both a P-51B Mustang and a P-40N Warhawk, and a 1/48 Fw 190A-8 in the markings of Josef 'Pips' Priller.Airfix
Airfix continues to amaze and impress modelers with their nicely detailed and low cost new tool subjects. They have jumped on the 1/48 scale hard this time around, and we will see new-tool kits of the Merlin and Lynx helicopters, as well as modern British soldiers and a Land Rover vehicle. In 1/350 Airfix is tackling the new Daring Type 35 air defense destroyer. This boxy destroyer will definitely be popular with ship modelers. We will be looking closer at Airfix USA here at Internet Modeler, so stay tuned for a detailed review of that company.
Cyber Hobby
A branch of Dragon Models, Cyber Hobby continues to put out some impressive stuff. In 1/72 they had the de Havilland Sea Vixen on the wall, alongside the new-tool SB2C-4 Helldiver and Aichi Type 99 D3A Val. The Val is exciting to see, as that is one we have needed a new tool kit of for quite some time. It will be interesting to see how the Cyber Hobby Helldiver stacks up to the Academy release, though. In 1/200, Cyber Hobby has a trio of interesting releases. First up is the Northrop YB-49 Flying Wing. Always a popular subject, this comes out to a nice finished size in 1/200. Going along the flying wing genre, the second kit is the Avro Vulcan. Finally, we have the impressive North American XB-70 Valkyrie. All three kits are nicely detailed, although personally I would have liked to have seen them in 1/144, to better fit in with huge range of other kits in that scale.The Cyber Hobby ship line gets a couple interesting additions in 1/700. First up is the USS Freedom LCS-1, followed by the USS New York LPD-21. Both of these subjects were extensively covered at this iHobby Expo, with new kits of one or the other appearing from several manufacturers. For those interested in these ships, there will be no shortage of subjects to choose from.
Dragon
Easily the most impressive item on display from Dragon were the cutaway 1/144 Boeing 747 models. There were four on display, ranging from the 747-100 of Braniff to the 747-400 of the Japanese government. Air Force One was also in the mix, but the most impressive was NASA's 747, complete with a cutaway Space Shuttle mounted on top. While the cutaway version is great, what is even better is the fact that we have a new-tool 1/144 747 family, from the early -100 to the later -400. Who knows, maybe we'll even see a future release of the 747-8 as a cutaway as well.On the naval end, Dragon has the next 1/350 CVL variant in the works, with the CVL-23 USS Princeton due out next. For those familiar with the CVL-22 release, I'm sure this one will hold no surprises. It is a great kit, and this will give modelers another chance to pick one up. In 1/700 we have the Dragon USS Arizona, which is nice to see, but easily the most dramatic release is the 1/700 USS Enterprise CVN-65. This kit will be released first as a 1969 fitting, and it will be stunning, without a doubt.
Eduard
Eduard was just coming off a highly successful E-Day over in Europe, and they had examples of their giveaway model on display. Each year at E-Day, Eduard has produced a special model to give away at the show, and this year they decided to scale down their very impressive 1/48 MiG-21 to 1/144. In doing so, they have created one of the best 1/144 models I have seen to date. The level of detailing is stunning, and for those of us who didn't make it to E-Day, they are releasing this kit as a Dual Combo kit with no less than eight marking choices in the box. As it is a Dual Combo release, you get two kits in the box, so you'll only need to buy four boxes to finish all eight schemes.Speaking of MiG-21s, the next variant due up is the MiG-21bis, which will include Finnish markings. The box art is great, and next to the MF, I think the MiG-21bis will be the most popular variant. Well, until they get into the earlier marks, then all bets are off. They are going slow with the MiG-21 family, but all indications point to the entire line being produced, from the MiG-21F on. Whether they tackle some of the Chinese derivatives remains to be seen, though.
Finally, the highly successful Eduard 1/32 Bf 109 family will be getting hit by the shrink ray. Unfortunately for me (a hardcore 1/72 modeler), they didn't set the shrink ray quite high enough, and the kit will show up in 1/48. Expect the whole family to show up here, from the Bf 109E-1 through to the Bf 109E-7. The test shot of one sprue was on display, and the surface detailing looked incredible. Recessed panel lines and even more petite recessed rivet lines.Gallery Models
Filling out a corner of the MRC booth, Gallery Models had a bunch of 1/350 kits on display. There are two ships in their product line. First is the 1/350 LHD-7 Iwo Jima, of which a build-up was on display. This is pretty much the same kit as their earlier LHD-1 USS Wasp, and it is simply stunning. The second ship will be out in March 2012 and it is the 1/350 USS New York, LPD-21. In addition to the ships, Gallery Models will be releasing the various accessory sets, such as carrier deck equipment, USMC aircraft, USN LCACs, and USMC armor. All of these are designed for use on their ship kits, but they could just as easily be used with any 1/350 ship or diorama.Hasegawa
Hasegawa had their corner in the Hobbico booth, with several models on display, both current and future releases. The most impressive is the upcoming 1/350 NYK Line Hikawa Maru ship. This big liner plied the Pacific between Japan and Seattle, and this kit looks to be highly detailed right out of the box. Of course, for those wanting even more detail, Hasegawa will have accessory detail sets, including a wooden deck set and two different photoetch sets, a basic and a super. For those looking for something a bit smaller, Hasegawa is also coming out with a 1/72 Manned Research Submersible Shinkai 6500 minisub. A build-up of this was on display, and it will make for a very interesting subject on the shelf.
For aviation, the new 1/72 EA-18G Growler was on display. This was expected, as the 1/72 F/A-18F kit from Hasegawa required only a bit of effort to convert it into a Growler. What's more impressive, and quite a bit of fun, was the Hasegawa F-22 Egg Plane. This comes with a detailed pilot figure and it almost makes the F-22 attractive. Almost. Due out in November, it will be released with fellow Egg Planes coming out in re-release. These include the AV-8 Harrier, the SR-71 Blackbird, and the A-6 Intruder. We will also see some new Limited Edition subjects, including the 1/48 P-39 Airacobra in Cobra II Thompson Trophy Race markings and the 1/48 F-104G as the CCV test aircraft.For the automotive end, Hasegawa is coming out with a 1/24 new-tool BMW MINI Cooper Countryman. The new Mini Cooper is slowly growing on me (it doesn't hurt that the dealership is just down the street from me), so it is good to see a new-tool kit of this on coming out. Hasegawa is also continuing their focus on 1/12 Honda motorcycles, with a new 2001 Honda NSR250 "Team Telefonica Movistar Honda" release. This one was the mount of the 2001 WGP250 champion Daijiro Kato and is quite colorful.
Hobby Boss
The Squadron booth had Hobby Boss on display, and while their catalog listed a whole slew of new items, many of these have already been released. On display was a build-up of their 1/72 Grumman F-14 Tomcat, though, and it looked quite nice. I might have to get me a stack of these and finally use up all those Microscale Tomcat decals I've been storing for decades. Also on display was an example of the big 1/35 M1070 truck, which I am sure will be quite popular with armor modelers. Test shots of the 1/48 Corsair sprues were on display, and initial reaction suggests that modelers will be quite happy with this one.Announced in their catalog, but not on display, were several submarines, including a 1/700 HMS Astute, 1/350 French Le Triomphant SSBN, Russian Barei SSBN, and Russian Yasen SSN. For ships, those wanting more USS New York LPD-21 options, Hobby Boss will have examples in both 1/700 and 1/250. Also in 1/700, the catalog listed all seven LHD ships and three Arleigh Burke DDG variants. For armor, it looks like Hobby Boss will be producing 1/35 kits of darn near everything the Chinese have in their inventory. There's a whole bunch of APCs and IFVs listed, and I am not even going to attempt to identify any of them. If you're an armor modeler and want to know more, visit the Hobby Boss website. If nothing else, these will offer some new opportunities for interesting camouflages.
ICM
Also on display at the Squadron booth, ICM has quite a few interesting items listed in their catalog for release. Some of these have come out already, but the most interesting upcoming release will be their 1/144 Tu-144 supersonic transport. For armor modelers, ICM has quite a few interesting vehicles planned, including the big three-axle G4 staff car. Ship modelers are catered to as well, with a 1/350 Kronprinz WWI German battleship and a 1/144 Type IXC U-boat.
Ibex
This is a new name in the modeling world, and they have chosen a great subject for their first release. On display at the Squadron booth, they had the boxtop and a full buildup of the new 1/48 T-6A Texan II. This aircraft is now the primary trainer for both the US Air Force and US Navy, so it will be quite popular at airshows around the country. As the aircraft is also used in slightly different configurations around the world, I am sure we will see this kit re-released in a plethora of markings down the road.IMC
The Illinois Model Company is doing some great stuff that will excite the automotive modeler. They are reissuing some of the old classic Jo-Han kits, enhancing them where possible, and apparently the '59 Rambler wagon is already sold out. On display was the 1/25 Chrysler Turbine Car and '75 Olds Cutlass S. Also on the table was the odd-scale SSGN USS Halibut, complete with Regulus missile. Keep an eye on this company, as they're really looking to reinvent some great old classics.Italeri
Filling up another cabinet at the MRC booth, Italeri had quite a few interesting subjects. Of course, the most impressive is the upcoming 1/35 Vosper MTB. A test shot of the main deck was on display, and this one is going to be a biggie! It will make for a great counterpoint to your 1/35 Elco. The 1/48 OH-58D Kiowa is due out shortly, for helicopter fans. Italeri continues to chip away at some of their older, yet still good subjects, with a Vintage Collection line.
New to this country is the Italeri paint line. These are water soluble acrylic paints that come in a 20ml bottle with a flip-top lid for squeezing out a drop at a time. For those who like to paint from the bottle, that same lid can be unscrewed, allowing the modeler to dip their brush into the cap for painting. The coverage looks to be quite good for brush painting, and I was told that airbrushing these works quite well. I will put them through their paces here shortly and give a more detailed report soon.
Kinetic
Kinetic took up a corner of the Stevens International booth, and they had a whole line up of built examples showing their latests releases. The only new kit on display was the C-2A Greyhound, of which we will have a inbox review here at Internet Modeler shortly.
MiniArt
Filling out a corner of the MRC booth was the display of MiniArt. In addition to the product line, the owners of MiniArt flew over from the Ukraine to talk about their kits. This was great to see, as the enthusiasm displayed by those behind the company shows that MiniArt truly does care about those of us on the purchasing end. For new subjects, they will continue to add to their impressive 1/35 building line, with new fences being the latest addition. For vehicles, we will see a 1/35 Mercedes Benz type 170V Personenwagen in November and GAZ-MM mod 1941 and GAZ-AAA trucks in December. Smaller subjects include a couple horse-drawn items, including a Soviet Divisional Army horse-drawn artillery piece. While the MiniArt kits are outstanding, what is truly above and beyond what others are doing are their figure sets. These 1/35 figures have to be seen to be truly appreciated, and once you lay eyes on them, you won't want any other figures. New sets coming out are aimed at tanks, with a DAK tank crew, Italian tank crew, French tank crew, US (NW Europe) tank crew, and British tank riders all scheduled for release. These will be excellent additions to their growing figure line, and armor modelers will definitely want to grab these when they come out.Minicraft
Minicraft's booth highlighted many of the upcoming and current re-releases from their product line, with one new upgrade that is exciting to see. They have decided to upgrade their B-52H tooling to modernize it with all the bumps and bulges. I am not sure how modern they will be taking the kit, but at the very least it will have the nose bumps. Noticeably absent was the Convair twins and the KC-135 from their display case, and upon inquiry, the slow economy has forced them to shelve those projects for now. Work continues on them, but we won't see the tools cut until things bounce back a bit. That's sad to hear, but also perfectly understandable given the status of the economy. Hopefully things will improve soon and we'll see these get back on track.
Moebius Models
Okay, I'm a bit biased as a submarine nut, but easily the most impressive model on display has to be the Moebius 1/72 Skipjack submarine. This thing is HUGE (yes, that is a 1/25 car sitting next to it in the display case). Submarine guru David Merriman has had extensive input in the production of this kit, and it is his handiwork that will be heading off to China for tooling. While big, it actually will have relatively few parts, so while the example on display is the original pattern, they are still expecting a first quarter 2012 release, and a MSRP of only $120. A similar release schedule and MSRP is for the 8-window Seaview submarine, which is also a big kit.For car modelers, Moebius is continuing to work on their Chrysler 300. I know, I know, you wanted to see this kit out months and months ago, but the guys at Moebius are working very hard to get that body shape just right. They've got the roof finally down to the right shape, and now are working on the rear window a bit more. It's close, very close, and we might see it before year's end. It will be well worth the wait, though, as those who have seen the Moebius Hudson can attest.
Platz
Platz was split between two booths, with MRC and Dragon both having subjects on display. At the MRC booth, the Platz 1/72 Predator drone and Global Hawk UAV were on display. These really are stunning kits and in 1/72, that Global Hawk is a very impressive aircraft.Showing up at the Dragon booth was the Platz 1/72 Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star. This is a plane that we have desperately needed in 1/72, and this release from Platz looks like it will be an absolute winner. Both sprue shots and a built example were on display, and this one will definitely excite 1/72 modelers.
Revell
Another company that was exciting to see, Revell is on the move again. A whole slew of new releases, in addition to re-releases of some classics, the Revell line will be an exciting one to follow in the coming year. Starting with the short list, new aircraft kits will include the US release of the Revell Germany 1/72 F-22 Raptor. This should come in a bit cheaper than the Revell Germany import, making it more accessible to modelers. A bit delayed, but very close to release is the all new 1/48 Lockheed PV-1 Ventura. A build-up example was on display, and it was impressive, to say the least. I did ask about what will follow the Ventura, and while I got no specifics, I did get confirmation that they are working on their next aviation subject, it will be in 1/48, and it is a subject that has not been done before. In 1/48 scale, that's a pretty large range of potential subjects, so let the suppositions begin. On the automotive end, car modelers will be quite happy. There are a whole bunch of great kits coming out this coming year. At the simple end of things, we will see a 1/24 snap-together Ferrari Enzo around April. For full kits, December will bring us the 2010 Camaro SS. This kit has two styles of wheels, a detailed engine and a full interior. In spring of next year, it gets quite busy, with a 1957 Ford Custom 2'n 1 and a 1962 Corvette Roadster 2'n 1 due out in May. June will bring the 1932 Ford Roadster and the 1950 Oldsmobile Coupe 2'n 1. The booth had test shots of all of these except the '32 Ford (the full size example was on display, though!), and the test shots will have modelers quite excited. It's a good year to be a car modeler, that's for sure!Round2
Speaking of car modelers, Round 2 has lots to drool over as well. Vehicles from the entertainment industry abound, with new releases of the Polar Lights Green Hornet Black Beauty (in 1/32), the classic AMT Munsters Drag-U-La and Munster Koach, and the AMT Ghostbusters Ecto 1. Other AMT kits include the 1976 AMC Gremlin, Meyers "Manx" Dune Buggy, Dirty Donny Vantasy Chevy Van, '66 Ford Mustang, and '57 Chevy Bel Air. If trucks are more your speed, the AMT Diamond Reo and White Western Star are back, along with the 40-foot Fruehauf Exterior Post Van. For accessories, AMT is releasing the M&H Custom & Competition dragster slicks as a standalone set. These pad-printed vinyl tires are finished and ready to go for your next dragster kit. Moving outside of the automotive realm, we'll see a lot of new Star Trek stuff. AMT had their 1/350 USS Enterprise on display, and this is proving to be quite popular. There are several accessory and detail sets also available for this kit. In addition to this big kit, there is also a new Klingon Battle Cruiser in the AMT collector's tin series, as well as in a regular release. The USS Enterprise is re-released in a 1/650 Tholian Web edition that glows in the dark. Other Star Trek releases include a 1/1400 Enterprise 1701C, 1/3200 Romulan Warbird, and a 2 Piece Adversary Set. Related to Star Trek, AMT is re-releasing for the first time since 1968 the Matthew Jeffries' designed S.S.C. Leif Ericson. Jeffries is the person behind the design of the Enterprise, and this kit comes with an updated LED light kit. For figures, there are quite a few new releases. The Polar Lights KISS Destroyer figures are back again, while the Beatles Yellow Submarine figures make an appearance. In the MPC Snapit line comes Spiderman and the Incredible Hulk, while Polar Lights adds another Spiderman and Captain America. From the Dark Shadows TV show come the classic MPC Barnabas and Werewolf. These haven't been seen in several decades, and in addition to the figures MPC is also releasing the Barnabas Vampire Van in 1/25. AMT adds to their Snapit line of glow in the dark figures with the release of Bigfoot. Finally, the Round2 people have started a new 1 Run of Fun series, where they pull out some of the less popular subjects and release them in limited quantity, one time only. This round brings out the classic Strange Change series, with the Time Machine, Vampire, and Mummy.Trumpeter
Taking up one wing of the Stevens International booth, the Trumpeter display did not reveal anything we did not already know was coming. On display were test shots of several new kits, including the 1/700 Queen Elizabeth from 1918 and the 1/350 Queen Elizabeth from 1941. The USS Freedom LCS-1 in 1/350 was also on display as a built example. Although out for a while, also on display were built examples of both the 1/700 and 1/350 RN Roma Italian battleship, and those were quite striking with their red and white striped foredecks. Due out in December, the 1/72 Chinese J1B Flanker was on display in sprues. Also in sprues was the 1/35 Russian T-64A mod 1972 MBT, 1/35 SdKfz 6 5-ton medium halftrack, which should be available now, and 1/35 German Neubaufahrzeug Nr. 2 Rheinmetall Heavy Tank. As Stevens International is pretty good at getting pre-release information out, any future releases from Trumpeter will be well documented, so the lack of surprise announcements here should not be of any concern.Zvezda
Zvezda was on display at the Dragon booth, and on the wall was box art for the 1/144 Sukhoi Super Jet 100 and the 1/72 Yakovlev Yak-3. Also of interest is the 1/72 Mi-35, 1/48 Bf 109F, and 1/72 Ju 88A-17/A-5. For ships there is a new 1/350 HMS Dreadnought and a glow in the dark Flying Dutchman. The catalog lists a whole slew of new releases, including quite a few 1/72 figure and armor pieces, as well as a similar selection in 1/35. As these are released, we will try to keep everyone posted, but it looks like a nice time for armor modelers.Conclusion
While the new release count is down over past years, the stuff that is coming out is quite good, both for re-releases and new-tools. It is good to see companies like Revell, MiniArt and Moebius working hard on exciting new subjects, and the stability from well established companies like Trumpeter, Dragon and Hasegawa should ensure that our hobby continues to provide plenty of great kits for us in the next year.