Mine already are!
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Thanks, Ryan. for posting up the Zimi org chart.
For myself, the Panda models logo on the Zimi org chart doesn’t inspire huge confidence… I don’t have any firsthand experience with Toucan or Kittyhawk.
It appears that Zimi might just be a molding production company and not particularly responsible for the accuracy or fidelity of the designs, themselves, buying molds from other sources and re-popping the kits.
Issues with DML were never really about their production quality, anyway. As long as Zimi squirts the molds at least as well as DML did…
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Well, even though Dragon still thinks: it is so darn historically accurate in research and has not been behind the competition and technology of the times, there is a lot of silver lining here.
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We are certainly at the best time in this hobby, with plenty of offerings, better molding technology, 3D printing, better tools, e-commerce making things more readily available, more information readily available, etc.
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Given the rate of inflation globally, the kit prices have not risen too drastically in the last 5 years, relatively.
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Zimi may continue making the legacy DML products available from 20-30 years ago hobbyists still like.
“Competition is good for consumers for the simple reason that it compels producers to offer better deals.”
-Sir John Vickers
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In the maintime, I think Dragon kits (especially on ebay) are going to get a bit more expensive!
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Assuming competitive prices and the most up to date molds, I would like Drami to release the Dragon Jagdpanzer IV late/final (the sleek version) with Magic Tracks and the Dragon Sturmgeshutz IV late/final with Magic Tracks. Those are two of my favorite models in the Dragon catalog. I prefer the accurate but fixed position Panzer IV suspension units. I do not need separate tires. I do not need all the brass stuff.
The best molds of the Dragon Panzer IIIs and Stug IIIs would also be welcome.
ScaleMates shows 1,405 models in 1/35 scale by Dragon.
Dragon definitely focused heavily on World War II German stuff.
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We’ve already seen some very positive comments about Zimi’s in-house model of the ACV. One of the less desirable kits from Panda was being completely revamped, but that project is on hold until everyone discovers that the competitor’s version is as equally flawed as was Panda’s. Kitty Hawk - well, they’ve certainly added quite a few 3D printed parts to one of the recent re-releases. And Toucan? I’ve got the figures that go along with the quad Bofors kit (also very nice) so I’d say we can expect further goodness in the future. As for Dragon’s old kits - I’ve already suggested many similar fixes - just improve upon some of their better kits, and forget about trying to rehabilitate the bad ones.
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I appreciate the observations. The Panda kit of the MRAP is the only one of their kits that I have any direct experience with.
It’s encouraging to get some observations about Zimi’s own, in-house work to improve the kits they’re making. I’m no particular “fan boy” of any kit manufacturer (aside from great respect for Tamiya) and generally buy on a kit-by-kit basis for any subject, shopping around and getting the best, most fundamentally accurate kit available from the available choices. In that respect, I’m sort of a “the more the merrier” kind of guy, believing that the more kit makers there are, the more options there will be, and, consequently, the greater the odds of someone manufacturing a kit of some subject (that’s either unique as the only kit of that subject or a better detailed and more fundamentally accurate kit compared to its competitors).
In the end, Zimi re-popping DML kits is likely an overall positive circumstance for the hobby and, at worst, not likely to be a negative in any significant respect. I wish Zimi luck and success. Perhaps re-popping DML kits will provide the profit to reinvest into their own unique subjects, and Zimi grows into a new, major kit maker.
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That sounds like a big win for Zimi and for us armor modelers.
Beware the Panda MRAP - I know 3 guys who have built it and nobody could get the windshield \ hood cowl to fit no matter what they tried.
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I gave mine away to a buddy since I got the RFM kit lol.
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What would the world be without good friends …
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lol he might feel differently after he starts to build the kit !
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