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British Paratroopers
CMOT
Staff MemberEditor-in-Chief
ARMORAMA
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England - South West, United Kingdom
Joined: May 14, 2006
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Posted: Tuesday, November 12, 2013 - 02:29 AM UTC
Tamiya has released a new set of British paratroopers with folding bicycles. Here is a look at how the set will build up.

Link to Item

If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!
russamotto
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Utah, United States
Joined: December 14, 2007
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Posted: Tuesday, November 12, 2013 - 04:48 AM UTC
Thank you again, Darren. This set is typical Tamiya-falls together with no problems.
JPTRR
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RAILROAD MODELING
#051
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Tennessee, United States
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Posted: Tuesday, November 12, 2013 - 05:12 AM UTC
Interesting pair. Neat little set.
1stjaeger
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Wien, Austria
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Posted: Tuesday, November 12, 2013 - 08:13 AM UTC

Hmm, I don't know....some major concerns IMHO are

The spokes....maybe OK in the 70s, but today..!?
The helmets....don't look the part. I have an original, and I worked with the old Esci set back then...and these do not really qualify! One of the 2 berets is not that convincing either..nor is the strange dangling chin strap.

I'm not even talking about "soft" details because these can be remedied by careful painting.

All in all, the set resembles their recent MP motorbike which would have been more than welcome 30 years ago, nowadays however Tamiya has to compete with resin figs, other plastic manufacturers, etc ....and they must watch it!

Cheers

Romain

CMOT
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ARMORAMA
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England - South West, United Kingdom
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Posted: Tuesday, November 12, 2013 - 09:00 AM UTC
The only thing that bothers me is the lack of photo etched spokes which have come to be the norm today.
russamotto
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Utah, United States
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Posted: Tuesday, November 12, 2013 - 11:16 AM UTC
My take on Tamiya kits is that they are in their own category-designed to be simpler and often lacking many of the more advanced upgrades in other model kits, they are made for easy assembly and for less demanding modelers. If you read the forums here, Tamiya is usually the first recommendation made for beginners. As such, I think they do fine.

I agree that more detail in the set, such as finishing the sculpting of the figures and etch for the bike spokes, chain and hand brakes would be great to see, but those are details I expect from other manufacturers. I doubt Tamiya will ever offer them for a set like this, though Voyager, Aber or some other aftermarket brand may come out with improvements.
RECON22
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Queensland, Australia
Joined: February 10, 2012
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Posted: Tuesday, November 12, 2013 - 10:52 PM UTC
I welcome any Airborne kit, as it is an area truly lacking with manufacturers. More so in fighting poses as the Dragon and Wee Friends resin figures are as close as you get. Again I'm surprised no one has cashed in on the area....! But then some are seeing the light like Bronco with an airborne 6 pounder and airborne jeep around the corner. More Paras the better.
1stjaeger
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Posted: Tuesday, November 12, 2013 - 10:59 PM UTC

Quoted Text

I More Paras the better.




Agreed!!

Listen up you manufacturers!!!!
Biggles2
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Quebec, Canada
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Posted: Wednesday, November 13, 2013 - 01:56 AM UTC
Diopark has, or will release, a set of folding Para bicyles with plenty of PE. Great for D-Day Brits and Tamiya Paras.
dioman13
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Indiana, United States
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Posted: Wednesday, November 13, 2013 - 07:54 AM UTC
Better this than nothing. Agree with you about the Tamiya kits Russ. A bit of T.L.C. and it will perc these up, and we all know how to do that don't we? Still a welcome set and very usefull too.
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