November 14, 2016

The First Wave of Forces of Valor Gets Set to Hit the Beach

pzkpfw-iv

Earlier this year, when Waltersons announced they had purchased the entire product portfolio comprising the Forces of Valor brand, it was unclear which items would be offered first and when. Well, we now have an answer. The first four vehicles in their 1:24 scale radio controlled military vehicle range have been shipped out to their distributor network and, barring any unforeseen issues, could conceivably make it under the Christmas tree this holiday season.

t-34

The quarter includes a Tiger I heavy tank, PzKpfw IV Ausf. H medium tank, US M4A3 Sherman medium tank and even a Soviet T-34/85 medium tank. The remaining vehicles in the original range have been given the green light for a 2017 release, although that could occur further down the road.

tiger-i

Since no information was disseminated concerning their static model range, and pictures have yet to be shown, we are assuming that the first wave won’t arrive until early 2017, at the earliest. New items will likely be discussed at the upcoming Nuremberg Toy Fair, held in German in early February, although the manufacturer has already hinted at quite a few new vehicles for release next year.

sherman

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Films in Focus: Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk

There seems to be no shortage of war films coming to market, the vast majority of which seemed to be based upon real-life events in WWII. This week, a new military-themed movie hits theaters, this time around examining the fictional exploits of a US Army squad caught up in the War to liberate Iraq in 2003. Directed by Ang Lee, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk is a novel written by Ben Fountain, which was published in early May 2012 by Ecco Press, a publishing imprint of HaperCollins. The novel chronicles the experience of a group of Iraq War Veterans who are hailed as heroes and sent on a victory tour following their engagement in an intense firefight that happened to be caught on camera. Set during a single day, the story primarily focuses on Specialist Billy Lynn’s perspective as he struggles to reconnect with his family and come to grips with the huge disconnect between the realities of the war at home and the war overseas as Bravo Squad is sent to participate in the Dallas Cowboys’ Thanksgiving halftime show. The novel’s primary themes include brotherhood, the commercialization of war, and what it really means to support the war when the real costs are barely felt by the majority of U.S. citizens at home.

A sharp satire, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk is Fountain’s first novel and received highly positive reviews from critics and won several year-end awards, including the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction. Fountain also won the Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize and was a finalist for the 2012 National Book Awards. The novel was especially praised for its dialogue and “pitch-perfect ear for American talk.” A film adaptation of the novel directed by Ang Lee is scheduled for release in November 2016.

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