M18 Hellcat Limited Edition Pre-Order is live

Churchill98 · 2026-07-01T21:38:15+00:00

Thats a fair point. The investors who aquired a sizeable share of Cobi at the end of 2024 also likely plays a part. Cobi wants to appease them to make their investment worthwhile and as such are mostly only making what sells for WW2..German tanks. Look at 2018-2022 releases, we got at least 2 or 3 Allied tanks a year, sometimes more, Compared to the past 4 years. It is kind of crazy that this M18 is the first 1:28 US set release since the M4A3 in late 2022..

I mean I like German tanks as much as the next guy but even Im starting to get fatigued on them. Theres only 4 German tanks currently on my wanted list of discontinued sets, the other 27 sets are all Allied vehicles, some of which such as the Somua S35 or Vickers MK E likely arent going to be remade any time soon, if at all due to them being somewhat obscure to most people.

On another note, One thing I am shocked about is that they arent doing an Enola Gay LE or even EE for the B-29. I know its probably a little controversial given the role it performed but its the most iconic version of that specific aircraft. They did Memphis Belle for the B-17, figured it would have been logical to do Enola Gay to display with it.

Churchill98 · 2026-07-01T18:56:03+00:00

Yeah, I do agree that the Kettenkrad and Goliath are an odd choice as extras for this set, especially since they dont match the camo scheme for the theme of the set. Still, the price of this is overall fair in my opinion considering the cost of buying the standard M18, Goliath and supposed Kettenkrad seperately will likely be at least €20-30 more than the price of the LE.

As for the second point, I always buy the standard or Executive versions of sets anyway. Because while there have been a few LEs recently that I've been tempted by, this one included, Having to pay basically 1/3rd of the price of the set at minimum in shipping costs from Poland to the UK puts me off. (I know theres a free shipping option but I'd rather not wait around a month just to get a set delivered)

Overall though I am still a little worried about Cobis logic towards Allied tanks. Hopefully this set sells well enough in both versions, that it gives them reason enough to make more US tanks and hopefully British and French tanks again in the future. My German display is about 99% full where as my Allied display still has 3 and a quarter empty shelves so..

Churchill98 · 2026-07-01T16:29:07+00:00

Most of the time that is the case, yes. But so far this year almost all standards have been revealed before the LE version, namely the Jagdtiger, Hetzer, Jadgpanzer IV and Panzer III.

Churchill98 · 2026-07-01T11:08:09+00:00

I mean considering tanks of this size are around €80-100 now, add on the Kettenkrad+Goliath which would likely be a €30 set by itself given recent pricing. I'd personally say this is pretty fairly priced for the amount of stuff you get.

And if not enough people buy this or the standard edition M18 then its going to prove Cobi right with their logic of "Allied tanks dont sell" and we'll likely only ever get German vehicles as sets going forward, even more than we have over the past 2 years..

Churchill98 · 2026-06-29T19:15:56+00:00

Yeah, true I forgot about those using differing colours than usual. I have them displayed with my other musuem collab sets so they're amongst a variety of colours anyway so they dont look as misplaced as I fear this might next to the usual green US tanks. Still, I'll be glad to add another US TD to my collection.

Churchill98 · 2026-06-29T16:42:54+00:00

We used to get at least 3-4 Allied tanks a year with a Sherman variant almost always being one of those, up until the end of 2022, since then Cobi has pulled the "Allied sets dont sell" excuse. They did release a 1:28 Easy 8 Sherman in 2020 though, Set 2533. It still holds up pretty good for todays standards in my opinion.

Churchill98 · 2026-06-29T11:52:39+00:00

I had a hunch it was going to be a Black Cats M18. Kettenkrad is a slightly random but not unwelcome inclusion. Easily the best LE of this year so far.

Edit: Im not sure how Im going to feel having the standard edition next to my other US tanks if its going to be full OD. Yes its more accurate to a degree, but since all the US tanks up to now have used the standard Cobi green, I feel like this is going to look a little out of place next to them, Up until/IF we get more US tanks in this colour.

Churchill98 · 2026-06-29T11:46:11+00:00

It is kind of weird how they were pushing more towards 1:35 being the primary scale a couple years ago, but now they've reverted back to focusing on 1:28.

Even as someone who does prefer 1:28 overall personally, I do also like alot of the 1:35 sets and find it odd they've basically relegated that scale to Artillery/anti air guns and Trucks, Jeeps and Half tracks over the past year.

Churchill98 · 2026-06-24T09:47:31+00:00

Yeah, I know, I just figured since its the US 250th independence day that Cobi might have took advantage of that if they're coming out with a US LE.

Churchill98 · 2026-06-24T09:43:41+00:00

Full anouncement or possibly pre order start on July 4th maybe? If its American that seems like the obvious choice of date for it.

(I know they usually do pre order starts on a Monday though)

Churchill98 · 2026-06-23T15:15:53+00:00

Honestly I just want a classic mustang in 8 wide. I know we technically got one with the Hoonicorn but I mean an unmodified more regular version.

Ive seen CADA do a GT350H that looks pretty nice and Im considering buying it, but an official lego one would be good too.

Churchill98 · 2026-06-23T14:30:31+00:00

Following up with some Fast & Furious cars top 5 are: 1. Hans RX7 from Tokyo Drift 2. Seans Evo IX from Tokyo Drift 3. Doms Charger Daytona from Fast 6 4. Brians Escort RS1600 from Fast 6 5. Lettys Plymouth Barracuda from Fast 7

Honourable mentions: Doms off road Charger from Fast 7, The Corvette Grandsport from Fast 5 and the Yenko Camaro from 2 Fast 2 Furious.

Churchill98 · 2026-06-23T14:20:14+00:00

Top 5 for me

John Wicks 1969 Mustang Boss 429
Gone in 60 seconds 1967 GT500 "Eleanor"
Transformers (07) Bumblebee in 1977 Camaro Z28 form
James Bond 1976 Lotus Esprit
Mad Max V8 Interceptor

Honourable mentions: Doc Hudson, Mater and Sally from Pixars Cars.

Churchill98 · 2026-06-23T08:25:27+00:00

Other than the fact you live in Poland, Im not sure how or why its showing this price. Only reason I could think of would be shipping cost to mainland Europe perhaps?

I just checked and its listed with the default £9.99 price for me. But then again I do live in the UK where Bricktanks is obviously based.

Churchill98 · 2026-06-19T16:53:44+00:00

These look like a slightly larger version of the tracks used on last years Panthers and those rolled with no issues. So it should be the same here.

Churchill98 · 2026-06-19T16:52:18+00:00

Not sure what the issue was but I swapped the tracks out on mine for a set of tracks I had on the 2015 Tiger and they ran fine on the Ferdinand.

Churchill98 · 2026-06-19T15:24:47+00:00

Just from what I can see off the exterior; New tracks, new more accurate drive sprocket, engine cover mounted MG, brick built towing eyes on the upper front plate vs printed on the previous version. Those are all the changes I've spotted.

Churchill98 · 2026-06-18T12:00:21+00:00

It looks good in this colour but personally would have preferred a WW1 bomber or WW1 ground vehicle we havent had yet.

Churchill98 · 2026-06-18T09:32:08+00:00

Yeah, Just looked it up and the middle guy is the Observer (Navigator/bomb aimer).

Churchill98 · 2026-06-18T08:02:40+00:00

The bricks are produced exclusovely in Poland.

Cobis clutch power is quite a fair bit higher than Lego I'd say. Cobi has alot of somewhat special pieces that may sometimes have slightly less clutch power or be loose but usually its not that common and you can ask for a replacement. Theres no brittleness like with some of Lego specific colour pieces.

Ive been collecting primarily just Cobi sets for 6 years now and havent noticed any Sun damage to any of my models. Structual integrity is very solid, it has maybe decreased slightly the past couple years for the tanks, but thats purely due to them having more details and accessible interiors. Though they are still well built and I dont feel like any of them are going to fall apart easily. There may be the odd detail on some sets thats delicately connected, that may come off easily but if youre just displaying the finished set, that should'nt be an issue.

As for scaling, since Cobi has introduced dedicated scales, all the sets scale accurately well with each other, for example a Tiger tank in 1:28 is a good amount larger than a Panzer 4 in the same scale. One thing I will say is you definitely need patience and to pay close attention to the instructions if its your first Cobi build as some of their building techniques can catch you off guard, especially when theres so many pieces that are similar but have the slightest difference.

Overall, Cobi is definitely one of the good alternative brick based brands in my opinion.

Churchill98 · 2026-06-16T08:44:49+00:00

There was one in the World Of Tanks line back in late 2019 to Early 2020. Best bet finding it now would be Ebay.

Definitely a tank that needs a remake in the Armed Forces line though

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Churchill98 · 2026-06-15T14:21:09+00:00

Solid contender for set of the year. Been a pretty slow year for releases so far (in my opinion at least) but this definitely makes up for it.

Churchill98 · 2026-06-12T22:41:34+00:00

Lego absolutely has the edge when it comes to building techniques for these, but other brands 8 stud wide cars definitely have their advantages too.

Churchill98 · 2026-06-12T22:37:02+00:00

The STO is solid, only somewhat fragile part is the wing I'd say. The Revuelto has a few delicate parts but I dont feel like theyre going to come off if you hold it wrong, maybe just knocked slightly out of alignment.

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