60% of the 1/16 Tamiya range has been discontinued?

[tankme]

The Sheridan was a weird one though. Such an obscure tank in the tank world that wasn't used very long. The Centurion was a good choice as it is probably still in use by some army somewhere in the world and it has so many variants. I'm not even sure what Tamiya would release *if* they released a new tank.

[ColemanCollector]

The Sheridan was a weird one though. Such an obscure tank in the tank world that wasn't used very long. The Centurion was a good choice as it is probably still in use by some army somewhere in the world and it has so many variants. I'm not even sure what Tamiya would release *if* they released a new tank.

Absolutely about the Sheridan. I was always surprised to see Tamiya ignore the T34, unless the walk of shame from copying a HL would be too much for them to bear! Of course these are the opinions from a person whose frugality will never ever see their wallet to be crowbarred open for one of 'em. Sigh...

Mike.

[jarndice]

Taigen release batches of a particular model every other year then they wait for the sales to die down before doing it again the M16 AA Half track being an example as well as the PZ4 metal rolling chassis, I would not be surprised if Tamiya was doing the same.

[r32]

Tamiya does what Tamiya wants. Even when a counterpart manufacturer (Bandai) attempts a parallel line in 1/15th scale they had not cared. Recall they have the oddball 1/25th scale Centurion which some have said was their basis for scaling up to make the 1/16th offering…


My 2c on the T-34 is that Tamiya hasn’t been averse to releasing tanks after someone else - see their Panther (WeCoHe), Abrams (Heng Long) and Centurion (arguably Haya and TongDe).

If they do a T-34, I’m buying it. But I wouldn’t be cross if they made a whole different model altogether. Up until recently, the 1/16 RC tank market was either occupied by Tamiya, or companies that copied their tanks. I do have to tip my hat that Heng Long was one of the first to start making their own models and that’s where things started growing

[tankme]

I would have to say right now TongDE is producing new tanks faster than anyone else. In the last couple of years they have released 3 different M60s, the Churchill, the Centurion, the Bradley and now the Chaffee.

[HERMAN BIX]

Be they the first to do a Hetzer and watch them go !!

[dingobattler]

Taigen release batches of a particular model every other year then they wait for the sales to die down before doing it again the M16 AA Half track being an example as well as the PZ4 metal rolling chassis, I would not be surprised if Tamiya was doing the same.

This one is different, as the models are completely wiped off the catalogue of both Tamiya jp and USA - listed as discontinued, next to the ancient stuff like Gepard

Also, they started the process pre-COVID with the Pershing, which is probably the rarest Tamiya tank by far, even moreso the Gepard and Leo 1.

Be they the first to do a Hetzer and watch them go !!

IIRC, warprints does a Hetzer. There's one floating around on ebay.

I don't think any tank will be a bigger seller than the big 4 they have on now, which makes this seem even moreso like a business, rather than production decision.

I feel Sheridan was a test subject to see if a rarer tank would do well. It had a lot of new and innovative electronics too, but based on what I've seen, it hasn't done well at all. So they went back to the popular kits, before canning the whole thing. I feel the Sheridan is the 2nd rarest kit next to the Pershing. Unlike today where any of the rare Tamiya kits get snapped up straight away, I remember KVs, Jagds, and Panzer IVs sitting at the top shelf of various LHS untouched and dusty for decades. That's $1k stock on hand x 5% debtor's loan for a whole decade, which compounds to $500 ignoring compounding, half the value of the kit, so very uneconomical to keep.

Also, Mr Tamiya has retired, and the whole RC line was his pet project, a throwback to the Tamiya panther in the 60s, which was the 2nd plamo they ever made. So the new CEO might have a hand in starting to can the entire line.

[Kaczor]

Hooben have Hetzer but it's Hooben

Tamiya has a feature that its competitors do not have - their models must be assembled by yourself. There are of course exceptions, such as the aforementioned Hooben. But compared to it, Tamiya's construction is like Lego or Ikea compared to their cheap imitations.

[jarndice]

Hooben have Hetzer but it's Hooben

Tamiya has a feature that its competitors do not have - their models must be assembled by yourself. There are of course exceptions, such as the aforementioned Hooben. But compared to it, Tamiya's construction is like Lego or Ikea compared to their cheap imitations.

I would have to add the research that Tamiya put into their models such as recording the Tiger 1s engine sound which is reflected in the accuracy and the detail which is part of the reason that a Tamiya kit is understanderbly so much more expensive than any competition.

[r32]

The Pershing is rare? Maybe this is anecdotal but my first tank was a Tamiya Pershing, I bought a used one and I know where I can get a new in box one still. It’s a local sale, so I might just pick it up for collecting.

And Tamiya really got their money’s worth out of that recording session at the Musée des Blindés in Saumur - it’s gone into at least four different tanks!