May 18, 2017

Dragon Looks to Get Back in the Saddle Again

Look for Dragon’s second 1:72 scale Sturmgeschutz Ausf. F assault gun, along with several new pieces, some time in July

Late today we learned that Dragon does indeed plan to get back in the 1:72 scale armor game, perhaps even in a big way, judging by the number of new introductions earmarked for the Dragon Armor arsenal. A marketing email was sent to us indicating that a further eight models are slated for a July release, although line art was provided for many of the models instead of actual pre-production imagery, meaning the release dates for several models could slip a bit. The eight new models includes a second StuG Ausf. F assault gun (DRR60512) and a new take on the Panzer IV Ausf. G medium tank (DRR60700).

While these were expected at some point, the remaining six new vehicles harken back to the old days of Dragon Armor, where some vehicle types are simply no longer available. The six include two Soviet T-34/85 medium tanks (DRR60255 and DRR60256), two German early production Tiger I heavy tanks (DRR60343 and DRR60344), and a pair of Elefant tank destroyers (DRR60355 and DRR60356).

A new whitewashed Panzer IV Ausf. G medium tank has been added to the Dragon Armor collection

We have listed each of these new vehicles in our Dragon Armor section and hope to have photographs of the actual items some time soon.

Update: We’re pretty good at reading the tea leaves so when we saw Dragon announce a bunch of new 1:72 scale model kits yesterday, we figured that some of them would eventually be used as the basis for a number of new pre-assembled Dragon Armor candidates. We have therefore added two new categories to our Dragon Armor section, one for the A and B variant of the Sturmgeschutz III assault gun and a second for the C and D versions. Obviously, we will populate these new subcategories with actual product information once it has been passed along to us.

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Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

 

Our new Live Chat feature connects you with a live representative during normal business hours

As David Bowie once lamented in his hit song, “Changes”, we’re making a few improvements to our business model that are all aimed at making our shopping experience better and faster, plus more in tune with present e-commerce trends. For starters, we re-implemented our Live Chat feature, which can be found in the lower right hand portion of the screen. So, you can now talk to a live representative during normal business hours as well as during our expanded business hours throughout the busy holiday season.

Pitney Bowes SendPro system enables us to compare rates for all three major US carriers

Second, we have switched from Stamps.com to Pitney Bowes’ SendPro system, which enables us to compare rates across the three major carriers (USPS, FedEx and UPS) in real-time. Based upon the weight of the parcel and the shipping destination, it is now entirely possible we may be using either FedEx or UPS as opposed to relying completely on the USPS for our outbound shipping needs.

The Live Chat features can be brought up on a desktop, tablet or mobile device as seen here

Third, Volusion, our e-commerce platform that hosts The Motor Pool site, is and plans to make some important changes in its next major roll out that will seamlessly permit us to host listings on all of the major marketplace sites (Ebay, Amazon and Walmart, to name a few) and maintain a simple-to-use stock balancing software system that is aimed at keeping our in-stock positions correct and up-to-date across all retail channels. We will discuss this at greater length as we become more familiar and comfortable with this new functionality.

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Films in Focus: Star Trek Discovery

Over night, the first trailer dropped for the upcoming series Star Trek Discovery, which will air this fall on CBS All-Access. Frankly, the teaser looks quite good, and explains the timeline as it relates to the Star Trek universe. According to the trailer, Discovery takes place ten years before the Original Series, Star Trek, which aired on CBS some fifty years ago, and before any mention of Captain Kirk or Commander Spock. Enjoy!

According to CBS, “As an added bonus, Star Trek: Discovery has expanded its original series order from 13 to 15 episodes—which means even more sci-fi goodness in Season 1.

CBS All Access has also announced that Star Trek: Discovery is getting its very own after-show, called Talking Trek.”

Eaglemoss, the makers of the highly successful Star Trek starships series, is purportedly hard at work replicating several of the ships seen in the upcoming series and will integrate them in their range once they are approved by Paramount.

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