June 2021

Its Beginning to [Not] Look Like Christmas

As we alluded to in an earlier post, this could be one of the worst holiday seasons in recent memory. While much of the United States appears to be recovering from the pandemic, other parts of the world aren’t faring as well, which will have a dire impact on the upcoming holiday season. We’ve already discussed the current port congestion all along the western United States, which has delayed the receipt of countless goods bound for US distributors. It has also had a dramatic effect on the cost of shipping, oftentimes tripling in price as compared with shipping fees in 2020.

Now comes word that Bangladesh is extending their lockdown to more regions within the country in an effort to stem the spread of the COVID-19 virus. This is an important development because over the last several years, more and more manufacturers have been moving their manufacturing resources out of China and into several southern Asian countries, most notably Banglasdesh, largely in response to rising labor costs in the PRC. Unfortunately, this strategy seems to have backfired at least in the short term as much of southern Asia is beset by the virus with no clear avenue towards recovery in site.

Diecast manufacturers such as Hobby Master, Solido, Panzerkampf and others are affected by this expanding lockdown, which is playing havoc with their production schedules. As a result, it is becoming increasingly more difficult to predict when product will come to market and equally vexing to determine when new product will be announced. Please bear this in mind when you contemplate placing new orders with us.

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Hobby Master Signals More Aircraft are Taking to the Skies in 2022

Hobby Master 1:72 scale USAF Convair F-102A Delta Dagger Interceptor – 70907, 460th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, 337th Fighter Group, Portland IAP, Oregon, 1962

Like clockwork, Hobby Master announced its latest compendium of aircraft models, all scheduled to land in February 2022. Its a bit of an eclectic mix, with models catering to the needs of collectors dabbling in different military eras and scales. Interestingly, the newest US Navy Northrop Grumman EA-6B Prowler Electronic Warfare Aircraft isn’t really a newbie at all: its a second rendition of this icoinc bird sans the shark mouth at the front of the aircraft. Some collectors have said it doesn’t look all that appropriate for an aircraft of this nature. Hobby Master listened, and decided to offer this aircraft without “its teeth”, a wise move that demonstrates Hobby Master’s commitment to its fans. Here’s a quick-and-dirty look at what you could be adding to your aircraft collection in early 2022:

Hobby Master 1:72 scale German Lockheed F-104G Starfighter Interceptor – 26+69, Marinefliegergeschwader 2, 1985
Hobby Master 1:72 scale German Lockheed F-104G Starfighter Interceptor – 27+79, Marinefliegergeschwader 2, 1985
Hobby Master 1:72 scale JASDF Mitsubishi F-2A Multirole Fighter – 13-8508, 8th Squadron, Tsuiki Airbase, Japan, 2018
Hobby Master 1:72 scale USAF McDonnell F-4E Phantom II Fighter-Bomber – 74-1040, 704th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Nellis AB, Nevada, 1989 “Gunsmoke ’89 Competition”
Hobby Master 1:72 scale RAF Eurofighter EF2000 Typhoon Multi-Role Fighter – ZJ914, IX(B) Squadron, RAF Lossiemouth, England, 2020 [Aggressor Scheme]
Hobby Master 1:72 scale USAF Boeing F-15E Strike Eagle Multi-Role Fighter – “Tiger Meet of Americas 2005” [Tiger Meet Scheme]
Hobby Master 1:72 scale Russian Sukhoi Su-35S “Super Flanker” Multirole Fighter – “Red 04”, Russia, 2019 (1:72 Scale)
Hobby Master 1:72 scale US Navy Northrop Grumman EA-6B Prowler Electronic Warfare Aircraft – 160437, VAQ-142 “The Gray Wolves”, Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, Operation Enduring Freedom
Hobby Master 1:48 scale USN Chance-Vought F4U-1 Corsair Fighter – 17-F-13, VF-17 “Jolly Rogers”, USS Bunker Hill CV-17), 1943
Hobby Master 1:48 scale USMC Chance-Vought F4U-1A Corsair Fighter – Major Greg Boyington, VMF-214 “Black Sheep”, January 3rd, 1944
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“The Sky is Falling”

Let’s face it, no one wants to be seen as a Foxy Loxy, running around like a chicken without its head screaming, “the sky is falling!” Nevertheless, things in the supply chain aren’t looking particularly good, with dozens of containers ships still sitting offshore all along the US west coast awaiting their turn for offloading. Just to give you an ideas as to how bad things are, our May shipment of Hobby Master products, which was originally scheduled to show up in early May, will now likely show up the first week of July (keeping our fingers crossed) and the subsequent shipments will no doubt get pushed back even further as they fall victim to the same port congestion issues.

But that’s just the start of the problem. As August and September draws nigh, mass merchants such as Walmart, Target et al., typically start receiving their holiday ware, meaning lots more containers arriving and sitting idle until its their turn for berthing and unloading. On top of that, COVID seems to be once again raising its ugly head in South China, forcing containers and ships, already in tight supply, to pile up as those workers who haven’t contracted the virus do their utmost to keep things rolling along.

So what does this all mean for the average consumer? While we don’t sell Tonka trucks, Barbie dolls or Mr. Potato Heads, the same issues affecting the toy industry at large are playing havoc with the collectible diecast market. For starters, there won’t be nearly as much product available this holiday season as in year’s past, which, in turn, forces up the price of those items that are in stock and ready for immediate shipment. It also means retailers won’t have to do quite as much promoting to sell what they do have in stock, and instead will likely push product out the door at full price instead of having to slash prices.

We’ve already seen a number of newly arriving products sell for more than their original asking price and others, such as the soon-to-be-arriving Hobby Master U-2 spyplane, pre-sell out, and already fetching prices in the aftermarket venues well above their sticker price.

So, as always, we urge everyone to place their pre-orders sooner rather than later, even if it means having to wait an eternity for your prized possession to show up. While its not the optimal situation for collectors with fist fulls of cash, its probably the wisest recourse, particularly if you are looking to lay your mitts on some of the more coveted introductions expected this year.

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June Swoon: This and That for the Summer Doldrums

You may have noticed that there are very few new products coming in and that loads of items promised for months now keep getting delayed. The reason for this can be summed up in two words: port congestion. With the world trying to get back to normal in the wake of the pandemic, and consumers looking to spend their hard-earned money on the latest wares, ports located along the western US have been inundated with cargo ships, which, in many instances, have had to drop anchor for several weeks awaiting their turn to be unloaded. This has meant that many new items keep getting delayed, sometimes by as much as several months. So, while certain items such as Hobby Master’s U-2 spy plane may be available for purchased elsewhere in the world, that same item is still sitting in the bowels of a container ship moored off Los Angeles. Unfortunately, there isn’t much we can do about the present situation which could, theoretically, get worse in the not-too-distant future, as mass merchants such as Walmart, Target et al. start receiving their key shipments in preparation for the upcoming holiday season. Bloomberg claims that the port congestion will be cleared by August but we continue to have our doubts as distributors look for alternate means of bringing in product from east and southern Asia. That said, we ask for your patience during these trying times as we and other retailers wait to take delivery of several long overdue shipments.

Many of you have asked what the situation is with Forces of Valor, who keeps announcing lots of new items but seems to routinely have problems delivering on their promises. The short answer is we don’t know. For five years now, they have intimated that their VS Tanks radio controlled series is in the offing yet here we are, with nothing to show for it. The same holds true for their 1:24 scale tanks released under their Forces of Valor moniker. The M1 Abrams and M26 Pershing tanks were originally slated to roll in last November, yet here it is June 2022 and we still have no further word on when to expect them. Back in May 2021, they even posted that “the wait is over” for their 1:16 scale T-72 tank, yet here we are over a year later with nothing to show for it. I’m not sure why they are okay with this tact, and have indicated our displeasure on more than one occasion.

The same holds true for all of their static 1:32 scale models, which are regularly hinted at online and are still posted as “coming soon” on the manufacturers web site, but show no signs of further progress. Like you, we aren’t happy about the situation and seem to get conflicting information when we ask about their likelihood of release. We don’t want to pull down these listings from our web site for fear that new information could, in fact, suddenly surface but we’re in the same situation as everyone else, regularly spoon fed erroneous information that oftentimes never materializes. At this point we strongly recommend that you contact the manufacturer directly to see why they continually post items to their web site that seems to languish on the drawing board for an eternity. You can reach them both on Facebook and through their own web site.

There’s some other important information that has arisen over the last couple of weeks that we aren’t comfortable sharing just yet with our customers. Its an important development, but one which we do not feel we can discuss at present until the manufacturer decides to explain it more fully. Anyway we will keep you apprised of any further developments as soon as we can.

That’s about it. Make sure to get vaccinated and enjoy the summer season. Everyone certainly deserves it after a tough 2021.

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Santa Loads up his Sleigh with Tons of Hobby Master Christmas Goodies

Hobby Master’s 1:72 scale USAF Fairchild Republic A-10C Thunderbolt II Ground Attack Aircraft – “Demo Team 2021” 81-0962, Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, 2021 [Heritage Scheme] 

If you like jets, and who doesn’t, then you’ll be delighted by the news that Hobby Master checked its latest list of models twice for the upcoming holiday season. While no new toolings were announced, there was a wide range of models in the announcement covering virtually every conflict and user nation. Here now the latest list of aircraft you can expect to ogle this December:

Hobby Master’s 1:72 scale NASA Lockheed F-104N Starfighter Chase Plane – NASA Dryden Flight Test Center, Edwards AFB, CA, 1979
Hobby Master’s 1:72 scale NASA Lockheed F-104N Starfighter Chase Plane – NASA Dryden Flight Test Center, Edwards AFB, CA, 1987
Hobby Master’s 1:72 scale RAAF Boeing F-18A Hornet Strike Fighter – No.77 Squadron, “Hornet 33 Years”, December 2020
Hobby Master’s 1:72 scale RCAF Boeing F-18A Hornet Strike Fighter – 425 Squadron, QIAS 2016
Hobby Master’s 1:72 scale Russian Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-29SMT ‘Fulcrum-C’ Fighter – Kubinka AB (UUMB), 2019
Hobby Master’s 1:72 scale German Navy Panavia GR. Mk. 1 Tornado IDS All-Weather Bomber – Marinefliegergeschwader 1, 1980s
Hobby Master’s 1:72 scale USMC Lockheed-Martin F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter – VMFA-211 “Wake Island Avengers”, HMS Queen Elizabeth, “Operation Fortis,” 2021 [Low-Vis Scheme]
Hobby Master’s 1:72 scale RAF Lockheed-Martin F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter – No.617 Squadron, HMS Queen Elizabeth, “Operation Fortis,” 2021 [Low-Vis Scheme] 
Hobby Master’s 1:72 scale US Navy Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornet Strike Fighter – VFA-25 “Fist of the Fleet”, USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72)
Hobby Master’s 1:72 scale US Navy Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet Strike Fighter – VFA-103, USS Truman (CVN-75), “Operation Inherent Resolve” 2016 [Low-Vis Scheme]
Hobby Master’s 1:72 scale US Navy Grumman F-14D Tomcat Fleet Defense Fighter – VF-213 “Blacklions,” Final Cruise, 2006
Hobby Master’s 1:72 scale Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force Grumman F-14A Tomcat Fleet Defense Fighter – 82nd TFS, Khatami AB, Iran, 1987
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