January 2015 – The Motor Pool

The Motor Pool’s ‘Happy Valentines Day’ 15% Off Sale!

Love is in the air! What better way to say I love you to your sweetheart than with a fire-breathing tank, stealthy warplane or sneaky submarine! No. Well, that’s just fine cause we’re kicking off our annual 15% off ‘After Christmas’ Sale. This sale begins on Saturday, January 31st, and ends on Saturday, February 14th, 2015 This discount can be used for any type of item except radio controlled military vehicles, from in-stock merchandise to pre-orders, back orders and special orders.

As always, we would greatly appreciate it if you could keep these orders separate and do not combine non-qualifying items with sales merchandise. Please note that this discount cannot be used for any of the radio controlled vehicles we sell. If you have any questions, feel free to call or email us. Customers must apply discount code “TMP134” at the point of checkout in the coupon code box. Sale ends Saturday, February 14th, 2015, 12AM EST

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Winter Storm Warning

There is a winter storm warning up for the northeast section of the country where we are located which will begin late Monday and extend through Wednesday. Possible snow accumulations could exceed 24 inches with blizzard conditions in effect through much of that time. Therefore, Monday may be the last day we can ship out parcels for several days, particularly if both UPS and the USPS are unable to stop by to deliver or pick up our shipments. We apologize for the inconvenience and hope you understand that these things are beyond our control.

Update: The storm wasn’t as bad as had been expected for the city of New York, with total accumulation for our area of around 12 inches of snow. The USPS and UPS are reportedly back on the job, so we anticipate the resumption of normal deliveries and pick ups at this time (posted Wednesday 11:00AM EST).

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RIP Otto Carius

They say winter is the roughest time of the year for the elderly and lately those words seem to be ringing true. Yesterday, famed German tank ace, Otto Carius, passed away at the age of 92 from a brief but serious illness.

Carius was a German tank ace within the German Army who fought during World War II and was credited with destroying more than 150 tanks. He was a recipient of the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub). The Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves were awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.

After the war he studied pharmacy at Heidelberg University. In 1956 he started his own pharmacy shop called Tiger Apotheke in Herschweiler-Pettersheim, Rhineland-Palatinate, named after the Tiger tank, which he managed till 2011. He also wrote a book about his own experience in the war, entitled Tigers in the Mud.

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RIP Bryan Evans

According to a posting on the french-based Mil-info-over-blog, Bryan Evans, the one-man shop behind the rise of Stretton Models and Tank Museum, passed away at the age of 72 on January 8th, 2015. At one time, we were a big importer of his line, who created a wide array of 1:43/1:50 scale military vehicles which can still be viewed on our site. Several years ago, when Solido stopped making military vehicles – which served as the basis for many of his creations – and in conjunction with his poor health, we had to suspend their availability, hoping one day we could resurrect the line.

We will miss Bryan, who was a true gentleman and spent many hours on the phone with us discussing the industry at-large. We extend our condolences to his family.

More information concerning his passing can be found here:

http://milinfo.over-blog.com/

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Air Force 1 Toasts the Memory of the Doolittle Raiders

Air Force 1 Model Company intends to honor the memory of the April 1942 Doolittle Raid over Tokyo with a 1:72 scale replica of General Jimmy Doolittle’s North American B-25B bomber. What makes this announcement even more poignant is the fact that some will come with a nameplate signed by his co-pilot, Lt. Richard E. “Dick” Cole, one of the last surviving members of the low-level bombing raid designed to lift morale back at home. The replica is expected in May, which is almost 73 years to the day when they took off from the deck of the USS Hornet and flew into history. A commemorative such as this comes along very infrequently, so even if you have a passing interest in WWII aviation, you may want to consider putting this one on your wish list.

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The Future of E-Commerce?

Yesterday, Microsoft announced the impending release of Windows 10, which will represent an impressive departure from operating systems of the past. One of the most important features found in Windows 10 will be HoloLens, a device which will enable end-users to see everything on their computer screen within an augmented reality universe, complete with interactive holographic imagery.

For a retailer such as ourselves, we believe this could usher in an entirely new experience for our customers, who could, potentially, see an object from multiple viewing perspectives and compare it against other products in real-time.

At this point, Microsoft has not officially announced the release date for Windows 10, the cost of the HoloLens device, computer specs to run the software, and a myriad of other considerations that could affect the device’s roll out. For now, you can learn more about the software here:

http://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-hololens/en-us?ocid=MSCOM_HoloLensGlobe

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Oxford Schools ‘Em on the Ground

As promised, Oxford plans on introducing several new vehicles later this year. The posse includes a Bedford MWD Truck (MWD006), Bedford QLB Bofors Gun Tractor (QLB001), AEC “Dorchester” Armoured Command Vehicle (DOR001, and Austin Tilly Bomb Disposal Truck (TIL009). Enjoy!

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And Oxford Educates ’em in the Air

As the British Toy Fair draws to a close, word from Oxford is that we can expect four new diecast military aircraft later this year. Up for your consideration is a Gloster Gladiator Mk.II Biplane (AC056), Focke-Wulf Fw 190D-9 fighter (AC057), Boulton Paul Defiant Mk.I night fighter (AC058), and Hawker Sea Hurricane Mk.I fighter (AC059). All are competitively priced, are feature-rich, and model subjects that have always been popular amongst the collecting community.

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Altaya Sails into History

Even though they aren’t available just yet in the North American marketplace, that doesn’t mean we can’t go hog wild over Altaya’s latest venture – a range of 1:1250 scale WWII-era warships. Unlike the Eaglemoss Warships of the World series, which is heavily focused on Japanese warships, the Altaya collection serves up a much wider array of ships from around the world. Currently, it appears as if the series is only available in Spain, with each ship’s accompanying literature printed in Spanish. Hopefully, the series will be localized for the English-speaking market and become available in the not-too-distant future to naval buffs on this side of the pond.

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Wings of the Great War Dons its Floaties

Fully assembled, scale WWI-era aircraft have always been in short supply, and when they are finally offered, then tend to focus on the fighter aircraft of the time. It is therefore with great pride that we can finally put forth something a bit different – a WWI-era float plane. Expected this April, Wings of the Great War breaks with tradition and plans to roll out a 1:72 scale resin representation of a German Hansa-Brandenburg W.29 Float Plane (WW17001), which saw service at the tail end of WWI.

Also slated for an April fly over is a German Roland D.VIa Fighter (WW16001) as well as their second look at the German Pfalz D.IIIa Biplane Fighter (WW11002), both painted in a dazzling lozenge pattern. Its been 100 years since many of these aircraft took to the skies, but that doesn’t mean they still don’t conjure up the wild swirling dogfights which came to symbolize the war in the air in the War to End All Wars.

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