"New Modern Vehicles at Target (I/72)" Topic

I went to into Target yesterday with my wife and kids to do some grocery shopping and swung by the toy section. Okay, Target stores (in the US) used to carry the Forces of Valor range, which included a few modern 1/72 vehicles (M113, M2 Bradley, M1 Abrams, Challenger II, and T-72 for around $8.00 USD per and Blackhawk helicopters for about $15). Those are pretty much gone now so I didn't expect to find much, but low and behold, they are carrying a new batch of stuff. The new stuff is Bravo Team in 1/72, plastic and not metal. I picked up two Strykers and a LAV-25 (each with 6 figures and some minor scenary pieces). Also available were a Blackhawk and an Apache. Each for just under $10. USD Supposedly an M113 is also available in the line, but I did not see any at the store.

The Strykers looked okay, but their paint job really needs some work (as in, I think they didn't paint them at all). The LAV-25 appears decent in general with a nice woodland painted, but the MG on the roof really needs to be cut off as it is atrocious.

I'm thinking of doing a project for either Ambush Alley or AK47, so this may be the kick I needed to get cracking.

Now if somone would make a reasonably priced BTR or BMP in a similar range…

Rob

(May have accidentally cross-posted to medieval--sorry guys, didn't mean to do that.)

Everything i found online refers to it as the Forces of Valor Bravo Team in 1/72nd scale. Not sure what to make of it. Just wish it was in a different scale. :-)

Grimm

I saw them at my local Target today and wasn't impressed at the quality. But you really couldn't beat the price. As I play AA & modern in 20mm I might just have to pick up some and see what a better paint job will do to them. You can't beat the price.

FYI Target also had the vehicles packaged with out the infantry & scenery for $4.99.

Amalric

Rob,
Trumpeter makes a decent BTR 80 model in 72nd. I have a platoon of three.
Natokina.

I've been looking for some Strykers and LAV for my games. I'll have to grab a couple.

Yeah….could use some LAVS. My local Target didn't have anything yet. Not uncommon for this state. We didn't get the Classic Diecast stuff until months after the rest of you lot :)

Natokina--I've seen the Trumpter BTRs for sale, but they end up costing about $20 USD per when you factor in shipping even on sale (at least from the web sources I've found) and that's just too much for my cheap self.

Amalric--didn'tknow they had just the vehhicles. I'll have to look around at other local targetrs to see if I can find some more LAVs. $5 USD is certainly better than $10!

Grimnar--The boxes don't mention Forces of Valor, but do say these are made by Unimax, which I believe is the same company that makes Forces of Valor.

Thanks!

Rob

Found examples of all five at the local Target today – Stryker, LAV, M113, M2A3 and M1 MBT. Priced $4.99 USD each. Even saw the AH-64 for $9.99.

These are definitely new product packaged as "Forces of Valor: Bravo Team". They really live up to the 'B-team' label. The LAV, M1, M2, M113 and even the AH-64 looked really toy-like compared to their predecessors in the FOV line. The external MG mounts are all poorly cast and should be removed. All lack external stowage or much of the detail that made the previous generation so attractive for tabletop gaming. These won't compete with Dragon or Trumpeter in the detail department.

I'm almost wondering about the scale. The kits all seem a bit under-sized for 1:72, but may be my subjective perception. That LAV looked really small.

Still $5 USD for a Stryker was a cheap deal, so I picked up one for my Ambush Alley game.

As to scale, I picked up the LAV and Stryker model to do a size comparison. I put the LAV next to my IXO LAV. The Bravo Team Lav is just a few mm shorter lengthwise. On the table, they'd have to be lined up right next to each other to notice the difference. However, it is noticeably shorter in the height department. The Stryker, likewise, is a few mm shorter lengthwise than the Easy Model Stryker, but a little more pronounced than the LAV. Height wise, the Strykers are even. I already have 12 blackhawks and 10 M113's, so I didn't pick them up.

Only one Stryker in Waco (now none). It did not look like they even had spaces to have stocked the others. I am going to play with various washes to get some black stains and rust going. Maybe finish up with a light dusting of spray yellow for dust and aand.

I wonder if they will make it to Australia Target. I will take a peek and report back.

David
wardepot.blogspot.com
6to20painting.blogspot.com

I went to Target in Houston TX today and I saw some for $3.99 USD that were smaller than a matchbox car (Bradley and a soviet looking APC (don't remember the name)) that did not come with any infantry. COuld these be the ones you're talking about?

I saw some of this stuff at a Target over the weekend. I didn't pay too much attention to it due to the scale. The things that caught my eye were the Star Wars Crab Droid (largish and pretty much scale-less) and the faux-Lego Halo tank (Scorpio).

Thanks for the lead Rob!

Went to Target on Sunday and bought a number of these. I had given up on my 15mm and 20mm modern projects. 15mm product line coverage was just too limited and availability spotty while 20mm (1/72) vehicles are really expensive (eg typically $20 USD US for a LAV-25).

At $5 USD per vehicle these are a great value! They need to be re-painted and "weathered" but otherwise they're fine for wargaming purposes.

MB

Just got back from a run over to Target. Picked up a LAV but passed on the others. If you have any of the previous metal sets these are a letdown. The M113 is really bad compared to the previous one they put out. There is no "baggage" on the new vehicles. Seeing the Stryker made me glad I grabbed the ones I did at Historicon, as these look poor. The M1 is a poor cousin to their previous offering. They have the vehicles both as a single vehicle and packaged with some infantry and a couple of terrain peices, but these look worse than the previous sets. Mixed sets were $9.99, the singles are $4.99. Definitely need the repaint and whethering as MajorBlundor states, and the MG's on them are very think compared to the old ones.

Flicking makes a good point: if you've bought other 1/72 metal vehicles (eg Forces of Valor) and demand attention to detail, you'll be disappointed with these. With respect to detail they're definitely more "toy-like".

That being said, they have two significant advantages over "real" 15mm and 1/72 wargame/model kits:

1. They're readily available (eg I've tried buying a particular 15mm product line in the US but online catalogs usually list most vehicles as being unavailable/out-of-stock)

2. They're inexpensive (ie $5 USD vs $8+ and $20 USD for 15mm metal and 1/72 plastic model kits respectively)

Also, while "toy-like", anyone who has battled excessive flash on warped 15mm metal kits will enjoy the process for getting these on the battlefield:

1. open box
2. cut packaging wires
3. (optional) re-paint/weather

Having had to virtually "re-sculpt" 15mm metal vehicles I like the time savings! :-D

MB

Picked up a batch of these today, about cleared out the Target. I got a poopy load of modern 1/72 plastic troopies, but no vehicles. These were a godsend.

I checked out the new Forces of Valor, "Bravo Team" 1:72 modern vehicles (aka 20mm game scale), available only at Target, today. They are $4.99 USD per vehicle. I have the following comments about them, based on the actual U.S. vehicle dimensions:

As far as detailing, in general they are decent, but won't win any awards. They are all plastic. Adding some additional bits, details and/or repainting details would add to their appearance. But hey, for only $5 USD each, it's a bargain.

I bought these, so can attest to their sizes.

M1126 Stryker: After actual measurements, it is only slightly smaller than 1/76th scale. If you put it next to a 1/72nd scale model kit, such as by Academy or Trumpeter, it is noticeably smaller. For war-gaming use, sure for $5, why not mix in a couple. If you don't have any of the model kits, certainly buy them as they will work for games.

Lav-25: After actual measurements, it is only slightly smaller, by a hair, than 1/72nd scale. It's so close, that you could easily use them for war-gaming. Again, for $5, why not get a couple.

I didn't buy any of these, but have the following comments about all three.

MA1A Abrams, M3A2 Bradley, M113 APC

In general they looked smaller than my 1/72nd vehicles. Based on the two I did buy, I would estimate that these three vehicles are closer to 1/76th scale too. Again, for war-gaming, you could probably mix them in.

I am a little disappointed in the scale discrepancies. It seemed that the old ‘Forces of Valor' plastic and metal vehicles were dead-on 1/72nd scale vehicles. These ‘Bravo Team' ones are advertised as 1/72nd scale, but clearly are not, and somewhat smaller.

Also available, in the Hot Wheels aisle are some other ‘Forces of Valor: Micromachines' for $3.99 USD each. They look to be about 1/100th scale or about 15mm? Also, next to them are some "Skyward X" planes, probably about 1/100th scale as well, for $3.99.

-David G.

Thanks for the heads up.

I found some at my local store as well.

The LAV's paintjob is much nicer than that of the Stryker, which is just in a molded green plastic (no paint to be detected, other than the tires).

The LAV can probably be used as is, but the Stryker will definitely need some paint splashed on, or some weathering to tone down the monotone green plastic color.

As mentioned, the vehicles aren't anywhere near as nice as the diecast metal ones for just a few bucks more, but at $5.00 USD apiece, they are a great value.

Nothing a little spare detailing, painting, and weathering can't fix.

I passed on the other vehicles, but am coveting the helos, since they look decent enough. The Apache even has one crew figure in the cockpit – not sure why the second one wasn't included, which would have been the pilot, in the rear seat.

It appears that the Stryker platoons consist of 4 vehicles, with nine soldiers in three of them, and a seven man heavy weapons squad in the fourth vehicle.

The LAV-25 platoons seem to also consist of 4 vehicles; 13 to a company, with 4 x LAV-A/T's (TOW missiles), and 2 x LAV-Mortar vehicles.

Does anyone know if the LAV's work independently, or in concert with other vehicles, e.g. Strykers, AAV7's, M-12 tanks, M2 or M3 Bradley's, etc.? I didn't run across any info on that?

I did find a nicely detailed military manual on the LAV-25 though – pretty much everything, and more, you wanted to know about it, and the doctrine of its use on its own:

PDF link

Does anyone produce spare parts for TOW and air defense variants in this scale?

Any good line drawings, or photos from above for the mortar vehicles?

Found this for Canadian Tactics:

link

Their companies consist of 14 LAV's, apparently.

Anybody know if they are gonna do OPFOR forces?

I hope so, but won't hold my breath, since that seems to be rarely done in the past by the model manufacturers.

Also, for the American Stryker company, not sure if the info I saw was a typo, a modified strength unit, or the ships just couldn't hold any more vehicles, but apparently some Stryker companies consist of 14 vehicles (2 x HQ, plus three platoons of four), plus 4 x ATGW armed, and 2 x mortar carriers (6 total in a heavy weapons platoon). There are also a few others as well, e.g. an ambulance, fire control vehicle, etc.

For the overseas ship transfers, only 13+4+2 were listed on the TO&E's several times for various company units, so I suspect it was not a typo, but more an issue of cargo space, or a smaller unit being used at the time.

Katz,
The Bravo team vehicles are not bad. I bought 5 Strykers to rplace the 5 Trumpeter ones I built, painted, and lost.
They are 1/76th [I've been told], but will do fine. The figures are the same as the FoW ones.
Natokina.