Death_at_Midnight
07-05-2010, 08:31 PM
Greetings!
There's been quite a lot of PM's and msn queries about the photos I've posted concerning the armored suit(s) and mech of the Maschinen Krieger line. I hope this thread helps answer some of the questions and help stir up some interest in an awesome line of models that can enhance a Joeverse.
Back in the mid 80's I first came across them in a hobby shop. The box is in German, not much English or Japanese, and the Internet didn't exist back then. The kits were $120 on average, and very little photos on the box. I.e. not much info about them. Now they are considerably less, and via the 'Net, much easier to find info on them and to purchase them. Here is what I know:
It's a pure Japanese model line developed by three artists for a magazine in Japan back in the 80's called Hobby Japan. You can still find the magazine and books (mooks for "magazine books") of nothing but diorama stories of these things. The creators of the line are WWI and WWII fans and kitbashed their designs. They were also heavily influenced by Star Wars and NASA. A small Japanese model company took up the line (NITTO). The kits are 1/20 scale, and the original designs were modeled around the Microman figures of the time, which happen to closely scale to 3 3/4". The original name is 3DFS, later to become known as Ma.K, and then later to be called Maschinen Krieger (machine warrior).
It's a universe of the future where Earth is laid waste in WWIV. Colonists return to Earth and settle it. Earth is assigned to the German republic for governing. The colonists don't like it and eventually hire mercenaries to help fight for independence. The suits and mechs are between German and mercenary armies. It's tempting to think of a universe where WWII never ended, but no.. nothing like that.
Where I buy them? I've been buying directly from Japan (friends ship them or via web site). The costs on average is about $25 on up. The most expensive is over $1,500 for a 1/6 scale suit with figure. They are mostly 1/20 scale, with a few at 1/35 scale. These are injection kits, model kits that you have to glue/paint/cut to assemble. They are considered "multimedia" kits also because they contain brass, metal tubes/springs, rubber, plastic, and photo-etch parts (not common for sci-fi kits). The figures/ppl that come with them are not pose-able, unless you modify them. The suits/mechs you can pose. These are true model kits, though, and not made to be moved about like the Joes can. These kits also require a lot of research if you want to be accurate to the MaK universe. A good place to buy them is Hobby Link Japan (www.hlj.com).
The official site of the creator of the MaK universe. Has some good close ups for reference. You can see how some suits open for the pilot to fit.
http://homepage3.nifty.com/kow/2003pageindex.html
Here is a FAQ for a MaK site I'm also a member of:
http://www.maschinenkrueger.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15:mak-faq&catid=17:mak-related&Itemid=20
And at the site I'm a member of, the old gallery area has some good photos. Their forums has some good galleries and excellent tips on painting techniques. Interesting they are modifying Star Wars heads for use in MaK much like how we modify them for our Joeverse.
http://www.maschinenkrueger.com/joomla/
Wonderfest in Japan with some MaK stuff. It does show how difficult but possible fans have for finding and collecting these kits. Many kits are resin "conversion" kits used to modify an existing kit into something else.
http://www.roboterkampf.com/html/jason/08wf.htm
MaK Timeline which is interesting to understanding their universe:
http://www.maschinenkrueger.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=16:mak-timeline&catid=17:mak-related&Itemid=20
1/6 scale:
http://pooyantoys.com/safs2.htm
http://www.hlj.com/product/MED30205
There's been quite a lot of PM's and msn queries about the photos I've posted concerning the armored suit(s) and mech of the Maschinen Krieger line. I hope this thread helps answer some of the questions and help stir up some interest in an awesome line of models that can enhance a Joeverse.
Back in the mid 80's I first came across them in a hobby shop. The box is in German, not much English or Japanese, and the Internet didn't exist back then. The kits were $120 on average, and very little photos on the box. I.e. not much info about them. Now they are considerably less, and via the 'Net, much easier to find info on them and to purchase them. Here is what I know:
It's a pure Japanese model line developed by three artists for a magazine in Japan back in the 80's called Hobby Japan. You can still find the magazine and books (mooks for "magazine books") of nothing but diorama stories of these things. The creators of the line are WWI and WWII fans and kitbashed their designs. They were also heavily influenced by Star Wars and NASA. A small Japanese model company took up the line (NITTO). The kits are 1/20 scale, and the original designs were modeled around the Microman figures of the time, which happen to closely scale to 3 3/4". The original name is 3DFS, later to become known as Ma.K, and then later to be called Maschinen Krieger (machine warrior).
It's a universe of the future where Earth is laid waste in WWIV. Colonists return to Earth and settle it. Earth is assigned to the German republic for governing. The colonists don't like it and eventually hire mercenaries to help fight for independence. The suits and mechs are between German and mercenary armies. It's tempting to think of a universe where WWII never ended, but no.. nothing like that.
Where I buy them? I've been buying directly from Japan (friends ship them or via web site). The costs on average is about $25 on up. The most expensive is over $1,500 for a 1/6 scale suit with figure. They are mostly 1/20 scale, with a few at 1/35 scale. These are injection kits, model kits that you have to glue/paint/cut to assemble. They are considered "multimedia" kits also because they contain brass, metal tubes/springs, rubber, plastic, and photo-etch parts (not common for sci-fi kits). The figures/ppl that come with them are not pose-able, unless you modify them. The suits/mechs you can pose. These are true model kits, though, and not made to be moved about like the Joes can. These kits also require a lot of research if you want to be accurate to the MaK universe. A good place to buy them is Hobby Link Japan (www.hlj.com).
The official site of the creator of the MaK universe. Has some good close ups for reference. You can see how some suits open for the pilot to fit.
http://homepage3.nifty.com/kow/2003pageindex.html
Here is a FAQ for a MaK site I'm also a member of:
http://www.maschinenkrueger.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15:mak-faq&catid=17:mak-related&Itemid=20
And at the site I'm a member of, the old gallery area has some good photos. Their forums has some good galleries and excellent tips on painting techniques. Interesting they are modifying Star Wars heads for use in MaK much like how we modify them for our Joeverse.
http://www.maschinenkrueger.com/joomla/
Wonderfest in Japan with some MaK stuff. It does show how difficult but possible fans have for finding and collecting these kits. Many kits are resin "conversion" kits used to modify an existing kit into something else.
http://www.roboterkampf.com/html/jason/08wf.htm
MaK Timeline which is interesting to understanding their universe:
http://www.maschinenkrueger.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=16:mak-timeline&catid=17:mak-related&Itemid=20
1/6 scale:
http://pooyantoys.com/safs2.htm
http://www.hlj.com/product/MED30205