"Skytrex 2013 - Anyone ordered yet?" Topic

Dear All,

You may be aware that last year, after an unfeasably high price hike, Skytrex went into recievership amidst media mudslinging. (As with all these things, its hard to establish the truth, so I have no position except that I personally didn't loose out and never had anything but top class service from the old firm…)

A successor company, Skytrex 2013, is now back up and running and has returned to more sensible pricing for both its 15mm WW2 and Post War ranges…

skytrex.com

I need to complete my complement of FV432s from their range, which for my money is the best out there in this scale;

But I hesitate to order given the previous issues and the difficulty of recovering an order if anything goes wrong from Down Under – has anyone successfully ordered yet?

Not yet but I need more BMPs so may be soon.

I notice that they still have pictures of the metal models that have been replaced with resin castings that aren't as good.

Old Glory USA produces the same vehicles, as far as I can tell, and if you buy one of their Army cards, you get 40% off the price, so that works out to slightly under $5.00 USD each, or roughly 3.00 GBP.

Even with international shipping at 100% of the cost, which it won't be, you still are at equivalent UK pricing, so definitely worth considering.

I wish they'd make some other vehicles too, like a Chieftian V, FV-438 Swingfire, and a bunch of Bundeswehr kit, as well.

I bought some BTR-60Ps from them. Overall, they're excellent models (though one BTR had a weirdly large resin undercarriage that I'm not entirely sure how to remove). I'm going to buy more from them when I move into my new place.

I'm not as much a fan of the Old Glory models. I bought some M52 105mm SP howitzers and M44 APCs and the castings were pretty poor – I spent a lot of time removing flash and one of the M52 chassis was missing a chunk of superstructure. That being said, I can't be too upset with them, as they're the only 15mm M52s and M44s I've been able to find. They've also got an Atomic Annie I'm half-tempted to order…

Also, I got my stuff from the Oldglory15s.com/Quality Castings people. I'm not sure what the overlap with the Old Glory Miniatures site is, though the latter doesn't have the M52s and M44s.

Dremel, based upon feedback from another diehard.

He did mention that you need to be prepared for a mess, like in one of those mafia movies, only with resin dust.

Wear goggles, and a good mask to keep the resin out of your lungs. It's dangerous.

I thought the price hike happened before a successful sale to others?

OG 15s does tend to let molds get a bit too old before redoing them. Certain lines are very good though. Not sure what their remolding cycle is or if they even have one.

Just ordered some 15mm section packs about a week ago, good service, arrived within a couple of days.

To be honest I hadn't realised they had gone into receivership or it would have made me more wary.

I thought the price hike happened before a successful sale to others?

As far as I know, the sale to others was the 20mm line, which is quite stunning in terms of detail.

Cheers Ross, I'm reassured.

Yes it would be great if they were to expand this range if they have retained the services of the original sculptor – lovely models cleanly cast…

Once again, people are conflating OG15s/19th Century Miniatures with Old Glory. These are separate and distinct commercial entities. It's the latter that has always made the 15mm Skytrex/Command Decision range.

I haven't ordered from the 'new' Skytrex yet but did want to mention one of the pros regarding Old Glory over Skytrex. Now I will admit that the Skytrex castings I have ordered were crisper than the Old Glory; however the Old Glory figures came in packs of three for only slightly more than a single Skytrex figure(when you have an OG membership). So, I do think that is worth considering. :)

At least OG UKs FV432 moulds are fine – I ordered a pack of three from them few months back. Though no GPMG included, sadly.

I went to see Skytrex last year, when they were selling off the ranges. They were trying to focus on railways – I think they got hit hard by Battlefront and PSC's success, so I think the price hike was because they were only producing 15mm to order not stock.

They had (have?) an agreement with Old Glory where OG produced CD vehicle moulds in the USA and OG helped them produce a complementary 15mm infantry range.

They seemed very nice people, and the models were meticulously researched and produced using high quality white metal from excellent low volume moulds – probably the best out there. Their former general manager went to GW early on, and not having the GW marketing savvy, their 1970s style 'cottage industry' was overwhelemed by the new mass market rules-linked-to-miniatures business model.

But they are real enthusiasts with a passion for high quality products. Good luck to them now.

Yip I have ordered some obscure 1/3000 ships from Skytrex2013. All went well, reasonable time 7 days from online order submission to delivery (in UK) including a weekend and a holiday.

I think they may have raised lazarus from the grave! And hopefully they will stick around.

PS I ordered them over xmas aound Dec 26 2013 so 7 days was a good shout.

I ordered some decals from them. They arrived promptly within 3 days of the order . I think that's not bad at all

+ they "just released" T-62 (If I got it right, its been available since early 2013 via "under the desk" sales), now I just hope they would expand their ranges. T-62M (with sandwich package) or T-64A would be nice if they want to stick in 1970s themes.

Though their brits are notably more recent.