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Zvezda BMW R12 and War Dogs
exer
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Posted: Wednesday, May 06, 2009 - 04:04 AM UTC
Zvezda have released a kit of the BMW R12 motor cycle combination and are to release a set of Soviet anti tank dogs.



Link to Item

If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!
afv_rob
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Posted: Wednesday, May 06, 2009 - 04:47 AM UTC
Nice looking release. I have to say I love zvezda artwork, they seem to produce the most stirring, dramatic looking box artwork. The artwork for the motobikes looks amazing, certainly looks based on the film 'Come and see'. Lets hope the product inside is as excellent...
SGTJKJ
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Posted: Thursday, May 07, 2009 - 12:32 AM UTC
Two very nice kits.

It will be nice to have some new motorbikes instead of the old Italeri and Tamiya Zundaps. Do I understand the review correct - one can build two full BMW kits from the box?

Interesting kit with the dogs. It will be interesting to see what poses they use for the dogs. There might be a great basis for a diorama.
alanmac
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Posted: Thursday, May 07, 2009 - 12:48 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Two very nice kits.

It will be nice to have some new motorbikes instead of the old Italeri and Tamiya Zundaps. Do I understand the review correct - one can build two full BMW kits from the box?



Are you aware that Lion Roar and Masterbox released motorcycle combination kits in the last twelve months as well.

Masterbox

Lion Roar

As for the Zvezda kit, it does say in the description two kits, armed and unarmed so my understanding is you can make two motorcycle combinations per box.

By the way, save your money and forget about the Lion Roar solo bikes versions, they never existed.

Alan
lespauljames
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Posted: Thursday, May 07, 2009 - 01:05 AM UTC

Quoted Text

By the way, save your money and forget about the Lion Roar solo bikes versions, they never existed.

Alan



i thought they were a rare field mod?
jimbrae
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Posted: Thursday, May 07, 2009 - 01:10 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Are you aware that Lion Roar and Masterbox released motorcycle combination kits in the last twelve months as well.



Thanks Alan, makes you wonder why we bother with either a News or Reviews section...
bill_c
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MODEL SHIPWRIGHTS
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Posted: Thursday, May 07, 2009 - 02:54 AM UTC
It's great there are now so many new motorcycles coming into production, as the Wehrmacht made tremendous use of them, not only as couriers, but also as mechanized light infantry. It's one of my dreams at some point to build a recce battalion with a $#%#load of bikes!

And Jim, I read the "News" section EVERY DAY!
alanmac
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Posted: Thursday, May 07, 2009 - 03:12 AM UTC

Quoted Text


Quoted Text

By the way, save your money and forget about the Lion Roar solo bikes versions, they never existed.

Alan



i thought they were a rare field mod?



So rare that nobody has yet come up with a picture of one yet. You may see images of the bike detached from the sidecar for maintenance etc but the bike and sidecar where designed to work together as one unit.

Apart from the obvious fact that the sidecar wheel was driven from a differential on the motorcycle rear wheel the weight distribution of the vehicle as a whole was designed with the sidecar included. Sure, some enterprising mechanic could seal off the drive shaft at the rear wheel housing but there's no getting over the fact the bike in a solo configuration weight distribution is completely wrong. I doubt if the rake on the front forks was ideal for solo riding either.

Of course this doesn't mean other solo motorcycles from BMW and Zundapp were not employed by the German Armed forces during WW2 just not these models.

Bear in mind the kit from Zevzda depicts a different machine to the ones already released by Tamiya, Masterbox and Lion Roar.

Alan
newfish
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Posted: Thursday, May 07, 2009 - 03:13 AM UTC
I saw a great diorama in a MMI mag with a dispatch rider!. Im tempted to get one now and do something like a dispatch rider.

A nice set I like the one on the left with the passenger firing the MG that could
turn into a great diorama. Also the other side car has a rather intereasting passenger

jimbrae
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Posted: Thursday, May 07, 2009 - 03:16 AM UTC

Quoted Text

So rare that nobody has yet come up with a picture of one yet. You may see images of the bike detached from the sidecar for maintenance etc but the bike and sidecar where designed to work together as one unit.



Thanks again for another useful comment. I've spoken to experts in the subject who have all said the same thing - neither images nor evidence exist to go against this...
alanmac
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Posted: Thursday, May 07, 2009 - 03:18 AM UTC
Here is a link with images to give you some info.

R12

Alan

bill_c
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Posted: Thursday, May 07, 2009 - 07:53 AM UTC
Alan, you're ignoring that photo of the 112th Bavarian Fliegerkorps who went around putting on shows for the troops--





There is ONE image of a lone bike:



The exception that proves the rule?
alanmac
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Posted: Thursday, May 07, 2009 - 10:06 AM UTC
Bill

Are these images of R75's

Alan

P.S .I only say that in in case other readers think that you are disputing the fact that solo versions of the R75 didn't exist and that you hadn't taken those two images of R12's from the site I linked to.
lespauljames
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Posted: Thursday, May 07, 2009 - 10:08 AM UTC
lr have a singual zundapp ks 750, like th eones in the pics
DaveCox
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Posted: Thursday, May 07, 2009 - 10:15 AM UTC
Some good dio ideas for the unarmed version with the porker in the chair..........now, pork chops, apple sauce, sausages...........a troop of guys waiting with their mess kit ready........
alanmac
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Posted: Thursday, May 07, 2009 - 10:15 AM UTC

Quoted Text

lr have a singual zundapp ks 750, like th eones in the pics



The Zundapps in the pictures are BMW's

Alan
alanmac
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Posted: Thursday, May 07, 2009 - 10:21 AM UTC
I can't help but think that Zvezda may have drawn inspiration for the curly tailed sidecar passenger from another Russian company, the Imperium figure company with their resin figure set they brought out some time ago.



Although I think I've seen another version elsewhere but can't remember who, maybe good old Verlinden, had a pig passenger

Alan
lespauljames
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Posted: Thursday, May 07, 2009 - 10:22 AM UTC
i see now on the top pic, so LR mis labeled them? strange,
exer
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Posted: Thursday, May 07, 2009 - 10:35 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Although I think I've seen another version elsewhere but can't remember who, maybe good old Verlinden, had a pig passenger

Alan



Legend have one I think.
alanmac
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Posted: Thursday, May 07, 2009 - 10:40 AM UTC
Hi James

No they named them correctly. The only thing that Lion Roar did wrong was to produce solo versions of the bikes. But then so did Tamiya all those years ago.

Both bikes share the horizontally opposed twin cylinder design, which later became commonly known for the BMW's as the "Boxer twin" configuration, which I think still lives on as a configuration today in some of their bikes. Certainly in my days as a active biker the Boxer was used in all BMW's bike engines.

Alan
lespauljames
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Posted: Thursday, May 07, 2009 - 10:47 AM UTC
ah, i feel like a twerp for getting that wrong when i did that build review then!
ah well, you cant get everything right!
alanmac
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Posted: Tuesday, June 02, 2009 - 11:18 PM UTC
Hi

further information on this kit. A link to a review, in Russian with translation, has been posted on another site.

It was still unclear from the review how many bikes you can actually make from the kit so I asked the question. One complete motorcycle combination was the answer. So the description in the news item appears incorrect.

Quote
"This kit includes:
- 2 kits in armed and unarmed versions"
Unquote

Obviously things can get lost or misunderstood in translation.

Looks pretty good and no doubt in due course will be reviewed here on Armorama as well.


Review

It also said cost in Moscow 4-5 euros.....wow !! Nice price if we get it in the UK for that.

Alan
CReading
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Posted: Tuesday, June 02, 2009 - 11:42 PM UTC
Didn't someone years ago make a version of the trussed up pig in the sidecar? I remember a diorama (possibly by Brock Hopkins?) showing a Motorcycle w/pig in sidecar crossing a river on (I think) a small boat, entitled "Bacon on the Rhine" or something to that effect.
Cheers,
Charles
alanmac
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Posted: Tuesday, June 02, 2009 - 11:44 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Didn't someone years ago make a version of the trussed up pig in the sidecar? I remember a diorama (possibly by Brock Hopkins?) showing a Motorcycle w/pig in sidecar crossing a river on (I think) a small boat, entitled "Bacon on the Rhine" or something to that effect.
Cheers,
Charles



What a great title
bill_c
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Posted: Wednesday, June 03, 2009 - 04:43 AM UTC
I hope PETA doesn't get wind of the Tank Dogs kit. Sounds like a lot of blown-up pooches!
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