iHobby Expo 2012 Show Report
By Chris Banyai-Riepl
Overview
This year's iHobby Expo has come and gone, and 2012 marks a dramatic change over years previous. For many years, iHobby has called Chicago home, taking advantage of the convenient location at the Donald E Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont. This year, though, the location shifted eastward to Cleveland, Ohio, to the I-X Center. While the costs at the I-X Center are undoubtedly less than the Stephens Convention Center, it is decidedly less convenient as well. This is perhaps a bit easier for a small selection of the country, in terms of air travel, but for the vast majority of the country Cleveland means connecting flights. For me, that meant flying from Seattle to Houston to Cleveland (yes, I saw both Canada and Mexico from the air on this trip).
Once in Cleveland, the other challenge of the I-X Center arises: there are no hotels within walking distance. This was a huge benefit of the Stephens Convention Center, as there were several hotels literally across the street. This made it much easier for buyers and vendors alike. For those wanting to save a few dollars, one could get a hotel a bit further out, and still take advantage of hotel shuttles to and from the convention center. None of the hotels in the region offer shuttle service to and from the I-X Center, although the iHobby organization did set up a charter bus service that did a regular route to the three sponsored hotels. So some effort was made to make this move convenient for the attendees, but it still was not anywhere near as convenient as the location in Chicago.
So, after my 8+ hours of travel, it was with great interest that I entered the I-X Center on Thursday. In times past, I would find myself standing in a crowd of people waiting to get in. This time, there was a handful, tops. In talking with many of the vendors, this lack of buyers was definitely seen. At the same time, though, improvements in the economy could also be seen, as while fewer people were wandering the aisles, more were completing deals. That is definitely a good sign for our hobby.
The light turnout was not the only surprise in store as I walked through the giant converted hangar that is the I-X Center. Just as apparent as the limited population was those companies that were not present. Testors, always a popular sight with their thick carpet and padding (a true joy after walking for hours on concrete) was nowhere to be found. Also absent was Hobbico, who handle Hasegawa and own Revell. Lindberg/Hawk Models was also missing, and those three all had a significant presence at the iHobby Expos in Chicago. Also absent was Minicraft Models and Eduard, and several companies had smaller booths, such as Round 2 Models. A noticeable increase, though, came in the form of retail space, which looked to be about double from what I remember in Chicago. As I have not stayed for the public days, I do not know how big a crowd showed up for that, but it looks like many retailers were well prepared for that.
So, with my initial impressions of the overall show out of the way, let's turn towards the actual items on display. As usual, to keep things simple we'll go in alphabetical order here, starting with:
Airfix
Airfix was represented by Hornby America, and on display were several interesting new items. For the 1/72 modeler who already has a couple of the Airfix Valiant kits in their closet, Airfix has released a conversion set for that kit. This will take your stock Valiant and convert it into either a B(PR)K Mk. 1 or a B(K)Mk.1. These are regular injection-molded parts and the set includes decals. In talking with the Airfix rep, we can expect more of these conversion sets in the future, which will definitely be exciting to see.
For the 1/48 crowd, there were test shots of the Merlin helicopter. This looks to be quite an impressive kit, with a good looking interior and what looks to be a pretty accurate shape. Do take note this is going to be a big helicopter when finished, and hopefully the kit will come with the option of folding the main rotor blades. As the Merlin is quickly becoming popular around the world, expect the aftermarket decal folks to have some fun with this one.
Just when you thought that 1/48 armor was tapering off, Airfix has jumped in with both feet and come out with a great range of British Army equipment and soldiers in this scale. The first sets cover modern British Army vehicles and figures as deployed in Operation Herrick in Afghanistan. These include Land Rovers, figures, and a pair of buildings. New to the line is the Supacat Jackal, which looks to be superb.
Alclad II
Alclad II was there in Cleveland, with their entire line of quality metal finish paints on display. For those who are not familiar with Alclad II, I highly suggest you become familiar with them, as few other metal finishes are as good and durable as these. New to the product line aren't paints, though, but rather airbrushes. They have two airbrushes, both single-action Badger 200 types, that are ideal for putting down a fine coat of Alclad II. These are relatively inexpensive and would make for an ideal metal-only airbrush to your painting tool lineup.
Alpha Abrasives
Alpha Abrasives should be a very well known name to modelers, as their line of tools help simplify the model building process. Probably their best-known line is their Flex-i-File line, but they have quite a few other useful products that are worth checking out. New for this year is a complete line of high quality paint brushes. These have a comfortable triangular handle and come in sizes ranging from 10/0 up to 3. Their Sticky Micro Stix offer an interesting method of holding parts for painting for other detail work, and their Flowthru set opens up great potential in precision adhesive and paint application.
On the very impressive scale, though, goes their new line of Ninja Hyper Cut Saws. These super-fine saws are precisely engineered for accurate cutting with minimal effort. There are five saw types: regular straight cut, angled fine cut, and precision radius cut cover the generic ones, with separate saws for metal only and resin only completing the five. These are not cheap, as they are handmade in Japan to very high tolerances, but as you can see, their cutting capability is truly remarkable.
Iwata
Iwata-Medea was showing off again this year with their quality airbrush systems. While not always featuring something new every year, going by their booth and seeing what they're painting is always fun, and this year it was a large alien head, complete with veins, shading, and more. In terms of products to talk about, though, they do have a new compressor designed to work in conjunction with their Neo line of airbrushes. This compressor is very simple, with a single button for power and speed control. That button is color-coded, too, so you can visually see which mode you're spraying at. Priced at $149.95, this is designed for those starting out in airbrushing as a viable alternative to the inefficient disposable canned air systems.
Merit International
Merit International probably isn't well known to most modelers, but the products they carry probably are. Merit International handles AFV Club and HK Models, and now is bringing in the popular yet hard-to-find 1/144 Big Bird series of pre-finished models. For new items coming in from AFV Club, while not on display they did have flyers showing a 1/35 Churchill Mk III, LARC-V, and AEC "Dorchester" Armored Command Vehicle. For those interested in submarines, AFV Club also has a kit of the I-27 in their list.
Speaking of 1/350 ships, on display was the very impressive USS Hornet CV-8, as seen on April 18, 1942. For those who are not up on their World War Two dates, that is the day the Doolittle Raid began, so this version of the Hornet features those B-25s and the special deck markings for that mission. For those wanting a later Hornet, coming soon is the Hornet from the Battle of Midway.
In the HK Models lineup is their next 1/32 B-25 release. This is the B-25J with the gun nose and side fuselage guns, marketed as a 'strafer' Mitchell. For those who haven't seen this kit in the flesh, it is definitely one of the better 1/32 kits I have seen, and will look quite nice finished with that colorful bird's head nose. Coming soon is the 1/32 B-17G Flying Fortress (yes, that's big!) and a 1/32 Gloster Meteor Mk4. The latter will open up some really colorful markings, and won't take up nearly the shelf space that either the B-25 or B-17 will.
Moebius Models
The Moebius Models booth was easy to spot, as they had a giant submarine on their display case. A nice build-up of their 1/72 Skipjack SSN was on display, and it looks as good as the pre-production example did last year. Stay tuned here for a full build article in the very near future. The Moebius Models' lineup of Battlestar Galactica kits continues apace, with the Battlestar Pegasus due out soon and a pre-finished Colonial Viper Mk II.
For the automotive enthusiast, two new vehicle kits are in the lineup: a 1/25 International ProStar truck and a 1/25 Ford 1971 Ranger Pickup truck. The build-up example of the ProStar looks good, and the '71 Ranger will undoubtedly be a big hit. Other vehicles come from the Batman series, with the Batmobile and Catwoman on the Bat-Pod coming out soon, both from The Dark Knight Rises movie. Also on the automotive side is an HO-scale model of Mel's Drive-In, that iconic restaurant seen in American Graffiti.
MMD
MMD had their usual display going on, highlighting the broad range of kits they import. For those not familiar with the MMD name, this is Squadron Mail Order. Their newest Encore kit was shown on a placard: a 1/32 Blue Max Pfalz D.III. This kit features all the variations found on the movie aircraft, including the Gipsy engine and the unique lozenge camouflage. The base plastic is the quality Roden kit, and with the added Encore bits you'll have a piece of movie history on your shelves.
Also on display were several Hobby Boss subjects, including the latest 1/350 submarine kits: the Victor III and Alfa Soviet boats. More impressive, though, were the test shots of the 1/32 Douglas Skyraider. The detailing on the parts is quite good and this one will definitely be popular with modelers due to the wide variety of colorful markings. Time will tell, but undoubtedly we will see many variants of this kit, hopefully dating back to Korean War AD-4s and perhaps some of the AEW variants.
MRC
MRC had their usual large booth full of all sorts of great stuff. MRC is the importer for Academy, Gallery Models, Italeri, and MiniArt, and all of these were on display. From Academy we saw their new-tool 1/48 F-4B Phantom II. This will truly be an amazing kit, and colorful to boot. It will be molded in multiple colors, with a one-piece main fuselage mating up to a one-piece lower fuselage/wing piece. This will greatly simplify assembly and minimize seams. Full intakes back to the engine face and deep exhausts are other nice features on this one.
Other Academy releases include the 1/35 RQ-7B UAV, complete with crew figures. While the markings for the UAV are pretty basic, the uniforms for the figures are the complex digital design. The kit answers that challenge by providing the uniform design as a decal, which will simplify things greatly. Also presented was the Academy 1/35 Jagdpanzer 38(t) Hetzer, which features included masks for the camouflage pattern. Finally, Academy is re-releasing the Accurate Miniatures 1/48 B-25G Mitchell. For those who remember that kit, it's a high quality model that has always been quite popular and it is good to see it coming out again.
Gallery Models had a couple interesting subjects in their display. First up was a nice built model of their 1/350 USS New York. This kit features all sorts of great accessory kits, such as the V-22 Osprey, CH-53 Stallion, and LCACs with vehicles. These various subjects are also available as separate kits. Also shown in boxart only is an upcoming release, a 1/48 kit of the UH-34 US Marines helicopter. With the release of the Revell and Italeri kits it might seem that this is a bit much, but given the detail found in other Gallery Model kits, this UH-34 is likely to be much better than the other two.
Italeri had several models on display, most of which we have seen already. Their 1/35 PT-109 is an updated version of their earlier Elco PT boat, and for those interested, no, it won't come with a JFK figure. A built example of the impressive 1/72 Short Sunderland was on display, and there was boxart for the James Bond 007 "Skyfall" AW101 helicopter in 1/72.
MiniArt continues to impress, and their corner of the MRC booth had built examples of several of their recent kits, including the Ya-12 tractor and several figure sets, including Soldiers at Rest and Military Police.
Pegasus Models
The Pegasus Models booth had quite a few interesting things on display. The most impressive was the 1/144 Nautilus from Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. This model is superbly detailed, both inside and out, and really has to be seen in person. Every rivet is there on the exterior, and for the interior, it looks much like I remember from the movie, with the globe and couches represented.
Also impressive is the 1/18 Great White Shark with shark cage. The detail presented in this kit is amazing, and it really calls out for some creative display work. The shark will come with two heads, one with an open mouth and one in regular 'swim mode' appearance. Staying with the animal theme, there are two 1/32 dinosaur kits as well: the Triceratops and the Tyrannosaurus Rex. The detail on these is excellent as well, and in 1/32 scale, they'll fit nicely with, say, a Revell Piper Cub.
Other upcoming releases from Pegasus include the 1/35 Terminator 2 HK Machines and a 1/8 Tarzan figure, along with three new 1/72 tanks: a German Tiger II, a Soviet Su-85/100, and a Soviet Su-122.
Stevens International
Finally, Stevens International had several interesting kits on display. On the Trumpeter side, there was the 1/200 Bismarck built up in raw plastic. This is big and very impressive, and the photoetch definitely helps add to the realism. Some features include photoetch canopies for the Arado Ar 196 aircraft and propellers for the motor launches. This is definitely an impressive model, but be sure to have a large shelf ready for displaying it (or just storing the unbuilt kit box).
On the Kinetic side, there were several subjects on display. Their 1/48 F-5A was presented as a built example, and the T-45 Goshawk was there in box form. Stevens handed us a review sample of the T-45, and the inbox is already posted here for those interested. Stay tuned for the build article. Along the same lines, Kinetic is coming out with a 1/32 Hawk 100, and test shots of that were also presented. Also in test shot form was the Kinetic 1/35 RG-31 Mk 3 APC.
Conclusion
Overall, the impressions I got from the various people at iHobby were positive for the hobby, with solid investments in new tooling and some great subjects coming out in 2013. Sales seem to be picking up as well, which is always a good sign given the uncertain economy we've had for the last couple of years. While the move to Cleveland might have had a negative impact on the iHobby Expo, our hobby looks to be on positive footing.
