Recently, I heard of another manufacturer wanting to scale back their production (semi-retire maybe??) so I contacted him to see what lines I could possibly purchase to add to RRB Minis growing collection. I was looking in particular for WWII vehicles or heavy gear to add to our infantry. And we hit the jackpot. Not only was there a nice selection but nothing was duplicated between John McEwan’s pieces, Stan Johansen’s pieces, or these new ones. I could not have hopped for it to work out any better. Well, cheaper maybe. But, as opposed to Stan’s infantry which need new molds made, these are ready to run. In fact, the molds are on the their way there now to be spun so we should have stock ready to sell in around 4 weeks (without delaying any of the other projects in the pipeline). And hopefully, John’s pieces will be restocked by then also. We should end up with a very nice WWII collection once we get fully stocked.
In the meantime, the purchase arrived with some bonus already cast pieces that had been in a box for quite a while. I got them glue up last night and I’m showing them off in the raw state. I’ll post about them again later after they are cleaned up and painted. These might have some pieces mixed up or missing but like I said, they were a bonus. I’m glad to have them. It gives me a chance to test the ease of build and get some painted samples ready while I’m waiting for stock to show up. And, yes of course, I’ll do some play testing with them and post the AARs. (Ugh, I owe two of those as it is right now). Anyway, flip though the photos below to get a taste of what is coming soon-ish.
Besides the pieces shown above, the purchase also included rights/molds for a T-26B, L3 Tankette and Flame Thrower, L6, Semovente da 47/32 SPG, M10 T.Destroyer, Autoblindo Fiat-Ansaldo 40/41, Cannone da 75/32 modello 37, 6 Pdr. A.T., plus a Polish Armored Car (I forget which one), Russian&Italian Cavalry, Italian paratroopers, and some spare parts for dioramas, kit bashing, or scratch builds. I’m getting several of the new items into production right now so they can hopefully generate some sales dollars so I can get the rest out of layaway. We are still a bit light in US, Polish, and British troops as well as Traditional German vehicles. Also support items for all sides such as mortars and HMGs.
In addition to the metal items, I was sent some resin items to have to try-out or review in case I want to carry them in the shop. They look like they are nicely scaled and well detailed. It will be fun to see how they paint up. These are a turret with unfortunate soul, 2 destroyed tanks, a house, and a wrecked shed. They should add a lot to tabletop and/or be useful for dioramas.
Besides the WWII stuff, there is some WWI and interwar period items as well. I’ll post about them one that part of the deal is sorted/finalized. I did get this one item from that portion already. An German A7V. I don’t have a model yet but the two molds for it arrived yesterday. Here is half of each. It’ll likely be 2-3 month before I have stock back from this one.
Also, the online shop is now open! Check it out here
RRB Minis & More 