MARVELLOUS MINIATURES SHOWN BY AMERANG AT THE LONDON TOY FAIR 2015

AMERANG IS NOW PART OF the RipMax Group, and continues as one of the main importers of both specialist model vehicles and science-fiction figures. There were ranges of both subject areas on display at the 2015 London Toy Fair.


Mat Irvine: Collectibles featuring subjects from the movie franchises Iron Man, Guardians of the Galaxy and Batman are riding high in the popularity charts, and of course Star Wars is having a resurgence of interest with the seventh - and subsequent - movies in production. So there were plenty of reasons to see growing numbers of ready-built scale figures at the Amerang stand.

Ready-builts are hugely popular with miniatures fans who don’t have the time or inclination to put the effort into building a kit.

First though, let's look at some non-science fiction models on the Amerang stand. TSM Models (below) displayed this highly detailed 1:43 scale Land-Rover recovery vehicle. Note the neatly engineered retro fuel pump, made to the larger 1:18 scale.

1:18 scale TSM Bentley Speed 8 (below) as raced in the Sebring 12-hour Race, 2003.

1:18 scale racing driver figures (below) from TSM. Wearing the winner's laurels, Mario Andretti, who won the 1977 French Grand Prix. Wearing the blue overalls, Ronnie Peterson.

The TSM 1:18 scale six-wheeled Tyrrell F1 (below) as raced in 1977 at the Monaco Grand Prix. This model is a limited edition, with just 1000 examples available. Note the detachable cockpit fairing.

From Kyosho (header and below) a 1:18 scale classic British car, the Mini Countryman.

The new 1:18 scale Bentley Flying Spur (below) from Kyosho.

1:6 scale Falcon figure (below) from Sideshow Collectibles, as featured in the movie, Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Igor figure (below) by Hot Toys, from the movie, Iron Man 3.

More 1:6 scale Iron Man 3 figures from Hot Toys (below, back left to right) include a battle-damaged Silver Centurion, LED-equipped Red Snapper, and highly-detailed Mandarin.

A double-set of Sideshow Collectibles Chitauri figures from The Avengers (left below) though in this case, as featured briefly in the excellent movie Guardians of the Galaxy. There's also a neat figure (right) of the star of Guardians, Star Lord.

1:6 scale Catwoman (below) from Sideshow Collectibles. The figure seems to most closely resemble the Anne Hathaway character from The Dark Knight Rises.

From the 1960s Batman TV series (below) with figures of Burt Ward as Robin and Adam West as Batman. These are both to 1:6 scale, but are from different manufacturers - Robin is a Hot Toys item, Batman from Sideshow Collectibles.

Star Wars returns (below) with a new range of classic figures from Gentle Giant Studios. They mimic the look of the original Kenner play figures, but at 1:5 scale, are satisfyingly larger.

Dragon had a range of Iron Man figures (below). These are to 1:24 scale, much smaller than most others at the Amerang stand, but a really useful size for kit modellers. Just think of the diorama possibilities with 1:24 scale aircraft models. For example, how about a time-travelling sci-fi figure battling in mid-air with a World War II Stuka dive bomber...?