June 2020

Panzerkampf Keeps the Home Fires Burning

Panzerkampf’s 1:72 scale Russian (Object 695) Kurgenats-25 infantry fighting vehicle with four Kornet-EM guided missiles

While other modelmakers still seem to be recovering from the effects brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, Panzerkampf seems to be stoking the diecast fires, announcing an ever widening array of diecast products for the months ahead. This week, for instance, the Company announced plans to replicate the Russian Kurgenats-25 infantry fighting vehicle in 1:72 scale, thereby adding yet another new vehicle to the pantheon of Russian armor first debuted a few years ago at the Moscow Victory Day Parade. The Kurgenats-25 is a tracked, 25-ton modular infantry fighting vehicle and armored personnel carrier being developed for the Russian Army. The Kurganets-25 will evolve into various models, gradually replacing BMP, BMD, MT-LB and other types of tracked Soviet armored platforms. The Kurganets-25 will have modular armor that can be upgraded for specific threats. Two variants of the Kurgenats-25 are initially being offered: the Object 693 is the armored personnel version and bears the insignia used during the Moscow Victory Day Parade while the Object 695 comes equipped with four Kornet-EM guided missiles and is painted in a camouflage scheme.

Panzerkampf’s 1:72 scale Red Army KV-220-2 Heavy Tank – Multi-Colored Winter Camouflage

Additionally, the Company intends to bring out two versions of the WWII-era KV-220-2 heavy tank, a vehicle that never entered into mass production but was seen as one potential antidote to the growing array of German armor massed along Russia’s European borders prior to the run-up to Operation Barbarossa. Previously, the Company showcased their KV-3 heavy tank, which should be rolling in shortly, so the impending release of the KV-220 tank made sense from a design standpoint. Other combat vehicles are expected to be announced shortly, along with a dizzying array of additional aircraft, helicopters and who knows what else they have in the pipeline. Keep an eye on Panzerkampf as they continue to gain traction in the diecast military space.

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The Forces of Valor Update: On a Wing and a Prayer

Waltersons, the new owners of the Forces of Valor brand, has finally revealed details concerning their eagerly awaited aircraft line. While no mention has been made concerning their over-sized 1:32 scale aircraft, the manufacturer decided to pull back the curtains on several different 1:72 scale military aircraft now being developed. Thus far, only line art drawings are being used to show off those fighter planes purportedly in the pipeline, all of which will carry a $49.99 MAP. We’re not sure how they will differ from previous Forces of Valor aircraft, seeing as how the manufacturer likes to revamp each existing mold and incorporate added features, particularly removable engines, as evinced in their 1:32 scale military vehicle range. The Company has taken down information concerning a couple of twin-engine bombers that were also expected, so its unclear if or when they will turn up.

We’ve listed many of the upcoming fighter planes in our Forces of Valor military aircraft category but please keep in mind that we do not know when they will actually hit the market. It could be late 2020 or they could slip into the next year’s lineup.

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Hobby Master Heads Down the Street with No Name

Just days after Calibre Wings announced their intent to model the famous Lockheed U-2 reconnaissance aircraft comes word that Hobby Master plans to bring the spy plane to market ahead of its wily competition. While we are still awaiting word concerning pricing, the street date for the initial release has been set for February. This announcement certainly serves as a clear shot across the bow of the Calibre Wings warship, and perhaps signals their designs for the diecast military aircraft space, stealing thunder away from other modelmakers to prevent them from gaining further traction in the widening marketplace.

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Tales of Transparency: Web Site Facelift

Our web site’s facelift was implemented on June 18th. Obviously, we now have to work on some of the technical issues the update caused and have already asked our design team to look into most of them. The New Arrivals scroll on the home page does not reflect any of the newest items to come in. Likewise, the sliders have not been added, and some technical issues, such as a somewhat smallish font size, may make it difficult to read text across our web site. If you feel the new font is too small, press the Control key and the “+” sign to increase the font size. Conversely, press the Control key and the “-” size to reduce the font size should it get too enlarged. Hopefully, we’ll have most of the most glaring issues addressed over the course of the next few days.

In other news, we’ve been asked to join the eBay Partner Network which, as far as I can tell, serves as a means of driving additional traffic to eBay by adding product links to third party e-commerce sites, blogs, and social networking sites that point directly to items that can be purchased on eBay. In a nutshell, it acts much like the Amazon affiliate advertising program introduced some ten or more years ago, something most retailers have abandoned in recent years. That pretty much shows how far eBay is in its relationship with Amazon, its principal online competitor. Although sales are up at eBay — largely due to increased ordering as a result of the pandemic — they pale in comparison to Amazon, who seems to routinely add associate positions while eBay has shed itself of thousands of workers. Its no wonder eBay is reportedly up for sale, after having divested itself of its StubHub and Classified businesses to generate added capital. While we will likely add several links to our blog to support this initiative, don’t be a bit surprised if eBay decides to accept an offer from the likes of Walmart, Google or someone else, thereby conceding that it can no longer stay apace of Amazon or even Walmart.com in the aggregate e-commerce business. Sad considering it had an early lead and squandered it by not recognizing industry trends that others had either fostered or accepted over the years. Goes to show that it pays to stay current.

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Atlas Fires Up their Armored Assault

Atlas Editions’ 1:72 scale USMC LVTA-1 Amtank with 37mm Howitzer

While June has turned out to be an extremely dry month for new arrivals, Atlas saw it as an opportunity to announce six more tanks to its growing arsenal. Priced to perfection at just $19.99 apiece, these introductory level 1:72 scale military vehicles represent an ideal way to build out a battlefield on an affordable budget. Here’s what you can expect from the folks at Atlas Editions later this month:

#ATL4660114 – British Crusader Mk. VIA Medium Tank (1:72 Scale)

#ATL4660115 – German Sd. Kfz. 138/2 Jagdpanzer 38(t) Hetzer Light Tank Destroyer (1:72 Scale)

#ATL4660116 – US M26 Pershing Main Battle Tank (1:72 Scale)

#ATL4660117 – German Sd. Kfz. 184 Elefant Heavy Tank Destroyer with Zimmerit (1:72 Scale)

#ATL4660118 – Finnish Kliment Voroshilov KV-1 Heavy Tank (1:72 Scale)

#ATL4660120 – USMC LVTA-1 Amtank with 37mm Howitzer (1:72 Scale)

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Panzerkampf Believes What’s Old is New Again

Several years back, TWH, which makes a wide range of 1:50 scale construction models, offered up a subset of military vehicles under their Sword Models moniker. One of the most popular vehicles they developed was a US Army Oshkosh M10 tank transporter, which, when coupled with a 1:43 scale M1 Abrams tank sitting atop a M1000 flat bed, made for an excellent display set that made many collectors “green” with envy. We sold loads of these sets, both in the traditional tri-color camouflage pattern and a sun-baked desert motif, until our supplies quickly ran out and collectors had to seek them out in the after market venues.

Yesterday, we learned that Panzerkampf will soon be releasing a 1:72 scale version of the M1070 tank transporter, which can obviously be used with a wide range of 1:72 scale modern era military vehicles. As is customary with Panzerkampf, they will likely create several schemes besides the one shown here, and quite possibly offer them in the liveries of other user nations. We don’t as yet have a price for this item nor do we know for sure when they will be motoring on down the highway. So, for now, these pictures will have to do until everything gets firmed up and we can begin to open up the pre-order window. Pretty sharp, huh?

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Panzerkampf Super-Sizes its Rotary Collection

When Amercom release its line of diecast military helicopters several years ago, certainly one of the most popular if incredibly large items was the Sikorsky MH-53 Sea Dragon. Big and beefy, it sold incredibly well and was one of only a handful of choppers that proudly bore the US Navy logo.

Well, chopper aficionados will be glad to learn that as part of the burgeoning Panzerkampf line up, three different versions of the Sea Dragon will soon make its way onto diecast shelves this summer. Earlier this morning, three liveries were posted to the Panzerkampf web site — one based upon the JGSDF and two connected to the US Navy — although no price was set. With the COVID pandemic still fresh in everyone’s minds, its conceivable that all three items are still several months off and likely signals Panzerkampf’s intent to enter the helicopter market in a “big” way.

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Tales of Transparency: New Motor Pool Home Page

Please be advised that we have given our designer the go-ahead to update our home page which we alluded to earlier this year. The update will likely be implemented and undergo rigorous testing over the next 24-72 hours. During this time frame, all of the internal links will be tested to ensure they are working properly and point to the correct destinations. None of the category landing pages or product pages will be affected by this update. You may experience some issues viewing our web site and/or placing orders during this time frame so we would appreciate it if you could bear with us until the home page has been updated.

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Solido Hops Back in the Saddle Again

According to a recent post by a member of the Model Hangar III forum, Solido plans on re-entering the military market, this time around with a range of 1:48 scale diecast military vehicles. Certainly welcome news, the scale, nevertheless, seems a bit odd for them since they started out years ago in the 1:43/1:50 scale regime and, in recent years, switched over to the more lucrative 1:72 scale category. If the accompanying illustration is correct, six modern era vehicles are expected, although dates of availability, like everything else these days, are still up in the air. As a guess, these will likely show up for the all-important fourth quarter although its not certain if our present Solido distributor will actually stock these vehicles or defer to another entity.

In related news, Solido plans on offering these vehicles as a bundle with a flat-bed rail car, thus catering to the model railroad enthusiast. Its not clear if these vehicles are produced in conjunction with War Master, who had previously supplied Solido with a wide range of 1:72 scale military vehicles, aircraft and helicopters. Its conceivable that War Master has now entered the larger scale military market since there hasn’t been any further indication that they are remaining a player in the 1:72 scale market. Time will tell when we get official word from whomever plans on offering these products in the North American market.

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