Tristar and Dragon did........ [/quote] No, they were Welkbikes, not Motor Bikes. [/quote] This new Tamiya kit contains Welbikes - not Flying Fleas....[/quote] Pity, but the Tristar welkbikes are a good kit. Hopefully they will replace the rifles. Al

Given that the only other Mk IV is the unmotorised Emhar POS, it's a new tool. As to why it is motorised, who can say other than that Tamiya believe it is a good business decision. Amongst modellers, I can't see it being a good thing. If the price (even locally in Japan) is low enough that they can get more teenagers to buy it because it is motorised, then it nmay be a good thing for them. But even if not one rivet's accuracy is sacrificed for the motorisation stuff, it can't be a good thing for static modellers, because we'll be paying for motors and gearboxes we simply don't want. So who knows. Paul

Taking into consideration Tamiya's reboxing deals, it looks like everything but the Mk IV is a rebox from Italeri, Tasca or ICM. Should make Sherman fans happy, though, if it means making Tasca's kits easier to source. The ICM and Italeri repops will most probably be overpriced and thus easier to find cheaper, older versions online..for instance I just bought the T 70 (r) with 7.62 (r) for twenty odd bucks...

It is possible that the M4A3E8 is new, since Tamiya did just come out with a new E8 suspension for their M51. And, I would imagine, the Achilles is probably new molding for their M10.

The M4A3E8 and Sherman V as being Tasca/Asuka products has already been confirmed.

There was an interview with the founder of Tasca/Asuka in the May issue of Armor Modelling here in Japan. I didn't read the whole thing, but the guy mentioned that there wasn't enough market recognition/presence for Tasca's 1/35 range, and he hopes that he'll have better luck in the 1/24 niche. Hence the Bantam. Tamiya is probably thanking their lucky stars that they no longer need to compete with them.

Oh, if only that was true.... Tasca have never been (commercially) any kind of competitor to Tamiya. Technically? about three generations ahead.... It's been many moons since Tamiya was the technical leader in the industry - that particular title has passed to various manufacturers...

Oh, if only that was true.... Tasca have never been (commercially) any kind of competitor to Tamiya. Technically? about three generations ahead.... It's been many moons since Tamiya was the technical leader in the industry - that particular title has passed to various manufacturers...[/quote] They've released some great 1/32 aircraft kits over the past few years (even if they have rubber tyres) but when it comes to tanks and figures they certainly don't seem to be the technical leaders any more.

Happened onto the Tamiya website and indeed they say the 7.62 pak (r) is ICM, the Shermans are Asuka/Tasca (no mention of the Calliope), the SdKfz 10 is Italeri. They say the WWI Brits are a new design. Of interest is the Welbike image - perhaps their own tooling? The tires are not as "extreme" as the Tristar ones....interesting anyway.