I want to start this post by saying I have no quarrel with or see nothing wrong with building German subjects. I enjoy looking at them and see them for what they are, are replica of a historical person or machine. I am in no way saying anything bad about those that focus on German subjects.

With that said I often wonder what is so appealing about it and wonder why such a huge percentage of the kits are German. The simple answer is they sale so companies make them, but why do they sale so well. I myself don’t have the German bug so I would like to hear from those who do to better understand it. Is it because for the time the equipment was so much better (by better I mean lethal) than the allied equipment? That can’t be completely it because my limited figure experience shows a big leaning toward German subjects also and I don’t think they were a whole lot better if they were at all, but I could be wrong. Is it the many different subjects, I do know that the Germans used many more types of tanks or other AFVs that the allies did so maybe everyone got tired of building Shermans. Is it the paint schemes, maybe people got tired of olive drab? I just want to hear from those who have the bug and find out why it looks like we lost the war every time I make a trip to a hobby store. Even though I don’t build German armor, I do enjoy looking at it.

Weil Deutschland die Welt anordnet!

OK, just kidding! I am in a funtime mood right now but I will try to answer seriously on what I think.

I believe it is due to the fact that for one thing, like it or not, there is a mystique regarding the Third Reich and a fascination with it. I have been labeled a Nazi lover, and other various pseudonyms for studying the subject since I was a young boy and I am far from it.
I also believe because of the diversity in items to be produced, the better color schemes as far as armor goes (WWII) and uniforms.
And lastly, because some marketing genius figured out along time ago that it is what modelers want and they can make more money!!

Perhaps modellers buy them because apart from a few subjects (Shermans and their derivatives, one Churchill,the Cromwell/Centaur & Crusader) all the Allied subjects are only available in resin or are conversions not available in the local shop.On my last visit to my local Model Zone I saw only one Tamiya Sherman in 1/35 and a couple of 1/72 scales Italeri kits - everything else was German. If there were more allied subjects on the shelf then perhaps the casual buyer might pick them up and make them!
Almost every possible variation of Panzer from I to VI and theoretical machines that only ever existed in prototype or paper form is available in mainstream plastic.
Off topic == The manager in Model Zone complained while we were talking that they are losing business to the internet - perhaps because only the internet shops carry stocks of allied subjects! I go there for paint & glue, can't remember when I last bought a model there.

This is merely a thought: E-100, Maus, King Tiger, 88mm......Unusual, deadly. Granted, the first two really didn't do diddly...but what IF?

I personally like the German stuff...maybe because my Father-in-Law fought on the Eastern Front (he's German) and was awarded the Iron Cross 1st and 2nd, along with a steel plate in his skull. Nothing against the Shermans, but....any one of the above would smoke what we had.

On another note, what bowjunkie35 and DaveCox said is probably quite true. "...is a mystique regarding the Third Reich" and "..."Perhaps modellers buy them because apart from a few subjects (Shermans and their derivatives, one Churchill,the Cromwell/Centaur & Crusader) all the Allied subjects are only available in resin or are conversions not available in the local shop.


Mike

I honestly believe that people build more German stuff for the simple fact they were the enemy to the Normal world. You know look at all the former Soviet Stuff during the cold war that is now becoming more and more noticable in the modelling community. And the simple fact that the Germans had tons of variations to their armor. On more small Thing to is they were good, they did almost rule Europe and Africa, who has done that in Modern time (last 500 years). Although I totally disagree with their outlook, they were still very immpressive with their domination, and some of their stuff just looks better built more color, Zimmermit, powerful guns, mean look, although most of it really wasnt German, but other countries ideas that they stole as they conquered, I believe the PZII or PIII was someone elses Idea and the germans used it, Much as they way we used thier V2 Technology to develop some of our Long Range weapons. I dont know maybe i am wrong. I am NOT a German Lover or Nazi follower, they were sick!, but nontheless they were powerful.


Herky

For me its the diversity of subject matter ,so many standard vehicles and tanks were converted into so many other types ,then theres the never was types
you can do a "what if! ?
and lets face it they had about the best technology of the time all be it troublesome for the most part ,and certainly a knack for the impressive and or colossal ,
thats why i like them not to mention the minor challenges like replicating zimmerit ,etc...

hmmm quite honestly, i havnt built many tank, on japanese to try afv out, then one sherman, and was in love with the sherman because of all the extras i had and the low price, about 50 bucksthen bought a tiger 1 late version 70 bucks, and was desived enormly( both sherman and tiger are from tam) i had one figure, and spare plastic tracks! then i bougth a churchill and was happy with it, because i had 5 figures and a gun etc included with it agai nfrom tam, then bougth a jagdpanther for 50 bucks with nothing more than one figure and the minumum required fro buildign hte tank, and my brotehr bougth anotehr tam sherman and had plenty of stowage and extras with i...

so personally allied vehicles have made me much happier than german, maybe dragon kits iwht individual tracks and photo etch would be better, thats why iam thinking of putting a cross on tam.

Frank

This article kind of wraps up my thoughts ... why I model the "good guys" ...

http://www.usarmymodels.com/ARTICLES/whymodelthegoodguys.html

Lol...and the fact that the site is "US Army Models" is not an indication of bias? Maybe we need to write something on this. But more a "Why I model Allied" and alternately "Why I model Axis".

Personally I just think German tanks are cooler.

You have the ability to drive, manuver and fire the gun of the following tanks...

1. Sherman
2. Tiger II

Which is it going to be?

Jim

I think this goes hand-in-hand with an even larger "phenomenon": why WW2 German Nazis are considered "cool" by some people. Ranges from their uniforms, to the propaganda they produced, to the weapons. For a group that was defeated in war and committed gross atrocities, their evil nature still fascinates people, some of whom actually find it "cool", most unfortunately. You can see this in some movies (Starship Troopers is a concrete example IMO), commercials (especially the Hugo Boss cologne/perfume commercials), re-enactment groups, documentaries (I heard the "The History Channel" has often been derided as "The Hitlery Channel" for its many documentaries on Nazi Germany and Hitler), etc.

BTW, I'm not saying that all those building WW2 German subjects are all neo-nazis or potentional Hitler fans. Nothing of the sort. To each their own, I say, much like people focus only on a certain subject to paint etc.

The fact that Nazi Germany lost WW2 and the atrocities they committed is one reason why I've decided to sell/give away almost all of my WW2 German kits (the only one left being a "rare" Gunze Sangyo 1/35 Jagdpanther multimedia kit - one that I spent too much money so much so that I wouldn't sell it unless I get a profit). The other reason being that I'm sick really of seeing German WW2 subjects in hobby shops or competitions/exhibits, so not building them is my "act of protest". One reason why "Seeing Red" was conjured...

Jim: If given a choice, I'd pick the Sherman. I don't want to get trapped in a steel coffin just because the Tiger II's suspension was snagged by a tree, and the main gun is being barred by a standing tree hehehehe

jim: id definatly drive a sherman

Frank

I have a hard time recognizing Sherman variants. They all look the same to me. Not exactly but you know what I mean. There's not really a big difference between a M4A3 and a M4E8 at first glance. Whilst the Germans, from Pzkpfw I to VI. From Sig to Maus. Not that I'm putting down the Allies designs. I dig the LRDG, Stuarts, Lee, Greyhounds, M3 Halftracks. But German designs are meaner looking plus the cool camouflages. I'n not talking about the uniforms yet. And the soldiers bearing during the parades. When you watch those jackboots thumping the ground. You can feel the discipline. Have you watched the Allies entry in parade formation in Paris? Compare that to the Germans entry. Although their politics where way off the mark.

As so often happens this seems to be in danger of becoming a political/idealogical argument, so lets try and keep it to modelling.
How can anyone say that Panzers look 'cooler'? Apart from the 'paper panzers' of the Maus and E series each side had very few tanks that bought in technolgy such as sloped armour - Sherman glacis plates & M10/M18 TDs, T34s and Panthers/Tiger IIs - everything else was basically a box with a turret. The mix of angles and curves on the Churchill is much more interesting than the 'all the same' panzer IIIs & IVs, and allied subjects give more scope for hanging crew gear & stowage on the outside. I can understand the fascination for the Tiger I with it's appearance of brute strength, but do we really need so many kits of it? There were actually more variations in shape between the early WW2 British tanks of the 'A' series than between the Panzers I to IV, and it was these early cruiser tanks that actually led to the best (IMO!) allied tanks of WW2 - the Cromwell/Comet - and directly to the most succesful and longest serving MBT of all time - the Centurion.

Hi Gang,

First of all, I have to say I am a true Shermaholic!! I know it wasn't the best tank around, but I simply love it's appearance....
Now for the subject, for me it's fun to build something completely different once in a while, and it is very challenging to try to make a German tank with those very nice camo-schemes, although the color of my blood must be Olive Drab!!!!LOL.

That's my reason to build German armor once in a while, Grtz, John.

I love german tank becouse you don't see them (a lot) in musea.
Also they are ''sexy'' to look at
I'm just kidding. But I like also german tanks becouse they are huge!! not only 1/1 scale but also in model

And ofcourse the paint schemes.

The reason why there is more German stuff in plastic is due to the market in the far east such as Japan the kits are made for the demands of home market not the ConUS or europe modellers. Now I think I can understand were some of it comes from Jap armour wasn't up too much during WW2 and was often very small, theres a famous pic of a Sherman with a tankette of sorts tied down onto the rear deck . I've also seen something that quoted that for the Japanese comming up against a sherman was like the equivillant of an allied tank crew ect facing a Tiger or similar. Now if you put a Sherman beside the likes of a Jadgpanther/KT /Tigeror hunting tiger it is pretty small. So if they were in awe of a Sheman imagine what one of those must be like to them...........as for me I'll build anything as long as I like it and it's not a dog of a kit be it allied axis or modern

IMHO there are 2 main reasons why this is so (the kit producers bias is not a factor, as it must have been led by market demand in the first place).
Partly amongst the older modeller it's historical. When I was young there were surprisingly few German subjects around. Airfix (basically the only game in town at the time) particularly tended to concentrate on Allied armour, & Alllied aircraft always way outnumbered Axis subjects. So building something German was different. When the Japanese manufacturers came on the scene, they were offering German subjects so we bought them.
The second reason will be familiar to anyone who watches Pantomime or films - the "baddie" has a curious attraction. A work colleague who wargames with Warhammer figures bears this out - the various goblins, orcs and other monsters are far more popular than the more "goodie" type figures. Also modelling Nazi subjects sits nicely with some people as a protest against conformity - there's nothing more calculated to get people going than a swastika - look at the papers this week. This symbol has also been adopted by many "rebel" motorcycle gangs.
Maybe this is all a bit deep.
I think I make them partly from habit. I can't & won't afford the high prices for resin kits - I just can't justify the expense with a growing family, & I have other interests which conflict with my limited cash supply. I tend to make also what the local model shop stocks - and this is mainly German. I'd quite like to tackle some Allied subjects, I'm particularly drawn to the Churchill & the 25 Pounder Field gun, but whenever I'm there I always get tempted by something German. I do sometimes find myself questioning why I do it when I'm seeing spots from painting the nth SS camo uniform!
Yes, there are interesting Allied subjects - I couldn't resist the "knobbly" look of the Tamiya Cromwell, so I bought one (it's also a superbly easy kit to make, it just falls together, & if it's got inaccuracies, I don't care). But there's nothing Allied with quite the mystique of a Tiger tank, as mentioned elsewhere in this thread. It's iconic, & similar to say, the dragon in mythology, something frightening, but curiously appealing...

Ciao everyone,
I believe, first, that it's marketing and the bottom line. So many German subjects are done because they make money. Secondly, I think that (as said before) it's due to the variation of equipment and uniforms. Plus, you are going to have items that go together (German soldiers with German tanks). The only thing that kills me is that I can't ever find Italian soldiers to model. Yes, I know they have them, but I can't afford to pay those prices. Resin is just too expensive for me. I have been hounding DML for years to produce more exotic figures (Ghurkas, Japanese, Italians, Polish, Chinese, Italian, Greek, Finnish, French, Italian). Imagine the possibilities.
Ciao for now
Rob

Apropos of nothing, I'm currently working on Dragons Normandy British infantry set & their older Commonwealth infantry (total of 10 figures). I'd definitely recommend these to anyone interested in Allied subjects. First, they are a comparitively rare subject, & they're ridiculously cheap at the price. Also they capture the look of the British WW2 squaddie very well IMHO (I particularly like the Bren gunner in the jerkin - I think he's my favourite, & he's wearing a Mk111 helmet). They have the sleeve badges moulded on to help guide the painter (even the corporals stripes). I'm sure someone will say they aren't as good as resin figures, but I don't care, I think resin figure prices are silly anyway, Dragon get my vote.

Ciao Steve,
That is my point exactly. Resin is out of reach for myself (and I would wager, the average modeler). But, isn't it wonderful to do different sets of soldiers from different countries. I mean, their were all kinds of Allied soldiers fighting in Italy (from Brazilians to French Goums).
I think that it is wonderful that their are approximately 1,567,000 versions of the Panther tank, but variety is good, too.
Ciao for now
Rob

Ciao Steve,
I almost forgot. I did the Commonwealth soldiers, also. I did them as Canadians in Sicily and they came out beautifully. DML is my favorite (in fact, that's all I do.) I swore off Tamiya years ago.
Ciao for now
Rob

I've just been thinking, reading some of the other entries, is this a generation thing? A shop owner told me once that the two best selling subjects were WW2 German & American Vietnam subjects. Sure enough there are quite a lot of US Vietnam era figure sets from Dragon etc, & M113's aplenty, but no plastic FV432! M60s & Sheridans, but no decent Centurion or Conqueror. Who makes them, Vets? Or is it younger modellers brought up on Apocalypse, Platoon & The Green Berets? No, I'm NOT suggesting the US were the baddies in Vietnam!!!

Ciao Steve,
No problems with offending anyone. We're all family here.
You might be on to something, but I don't know. I am 41 and when I was young, I remember MRC/Tamiya to the champion of all models. It could have been the culture at the time. We were inundated with Vietnam movies, and that could have sparked interest in them.
But that still begs the question of why we don't have more variety of subjects. I mean, 25 Million Russian soldiers died in World War II and Britian was in the war for 6 years. Neither group well represented.
Ciao for now
Rob