WW2 AFV sillyness in pop culture

[Andrew_McGuire]

As for the Hello Kitty tanks, there are some scary designs out there - look for them at your own risk.

I'm not sure what kit the Tiger is, but it's probably a Meng Toon, as I found the image after searching for them. There have also been threads on LAF discussing them, one quite recently. The commander must come from another source, possibly a Nendoroid Petite, as I'm pretty sure the Meng kits have no crew figures. I'll take Arrigo's word on the respective accuracy of this and the kit he mentions (Battlefront, I assume, which is a mite worrying).

I think Meng have recently produced a Panther, though I was unable to find an image in my quick search. I would not be remotely surprised if it is pink, or has the option of pink, as some of their other kits come in cute pastel colours.

One manufacturer - I'm not sure who, but I think it may be Fine Molds - produces a highly detailed regular kit of a Pzkpfw. IV in 1/35 with a chibi crew at a quite hefty price. That manufacturer certainly produces a set of (normally proportioned, relatively speaking) female crew figures in 1/35 based on the characters from the anime Girls und Panzer. They are all full figures in standing poses. I know this because I own the set.

This is all taking us some distance from the OP, though I persist in my belief that the mentality of WWII tank designers is much closer to that of AFV kit manufacturers than 'normal' people suspect.

[Arrigo]

BF was is the Battlefield game for PC/PS and whatever you want. They did a single player campaign on a Tiger at the end of war, and I watched the cutsences on youtube. Once at Bovington, I had the opportunity to look inside the turret, they had removed it and placed on some support that, due to my low stature, allowed me to look inside. It is cramped. In the videos for the game it is giant, there is plenty of space, the gunner stands instead of sits, and the gun is suspended from the ceiling... 

[Ultravanillasmurf]

If you want roomy, try the tank in the pilot/second episode of The Walking Dead, considering the exterior was a Chieftain tank in dress up.

[Andrew_McGuire]

It seems there is a subgroup of Meng Toons called Pinky, though only the Sherman, thus far, is produced in pink plastic. There is indeed a Pinky Panther, but it is not pink in hue:



Has anyone seen more than the box illustration?

[Ballardian]

 The Modelling News had some pictures  (some time last year, sorry I can't be more specific) from one of the major Japanese trade shows - I do remember a particularly vivid pink & mauve Sherman from the range.

[Andrew_McGuire]

Thanks. I do subscribe to The Modelling News, so have seen their reviews of several of the World War Toons kits. I've just perused that show report, and, while I've yet to come across the toon Sherman, have reacquainted - or just plain acquainted - myself with other forthcoming offerings in this genre from Platz, whom I may have earlier misidentified as Finemolds, as it appears it is the former who have the Girls und Panzer licence.

[Andrew_McGuire]

The only images I have found of the pink Sherman from the Shizuoka show are group shots, such as this, which also features the similarly eyeball-scorching KV2, and some chibi warships.



I have come across the toon Panther, but only in its 'conventional' guise:

[Andrew_McGuire]

A brief eBay search reveals that some of these kits are now available to purchase direct from Japan, at prices best described as intimidating, particularly when one takes the size of the Kettenkrad into account.  I don't know of a UK distributor, but it would be unlikely to make much difference to the price, particularly as customs charges would have to be factored in by the purchaser. At any rate, here's another pic of the cute Kettenrad and crew:

[Andrew_McGuire]

I've just discovered why the Platz kits are so expensive. Something to do with what they're made of:




P.S. I don't suppose there's any chance of making this topic a sticky? I take it there has to be more than one person interested...?