We were a tad disappointed to learn that several 2021 Corgi items originally forecast for a March arrival will likely show up a month later in April. Its not clear why these items are being delayed since most have already been released in Europe and elsewhere. We can only assume that logistical issues are once again playing havoc with the release schedule for a number of diecast manufacturers.
With the recent spike in COVID-related cases in China, delays are being reported by several producers, most notably Hobby Master. Several items, originally earmarked for an April ship, still haven’t had their final images posted anywhere on the web, which generally means that they are nowhere near being completed. We are currently awaiting the latest shipping schedule from our distributor but I can say with some degree of certainty that similar indicators from the past usually point to extended delays. The question is by how many months will these items languish before they are actually produced.
This same distributor has indicated that they are already sold out of the latest Forces of Valor tanks, which include the second Sturmtiger, German Tiger I heavy tank and US M4 Sherman medium tank. We were able to procure some additional stocks on each of these vehicles, but we will eventually run out given supply and demand issues, the success of these items despite the recent price hikes, and lack of new product filtering into the market. Currently, the next major shipment is slated to make port in May, but given their inability to hit their forecast dates and recurring problems with the supply chain, it could be June or later before they actually storm our shores.
We were overrun with orders for the newly minted metal tracks for the Tiger I/Sturmtiger and made the mistake of listing a few remaining pieces on eBay, all of which were quickly gobbled up by eager collectors. We’ve placed a re-order for these tracks and are keeping our fingers crossed that they will be replenished with the next shipment. Meanwhile, the manufacturer is advertising metal tracks for the Sherman tank, so we strongly recommend pre-ordering them as soon as possible so we have a realistic idea as to how many to order.
Bear in mind that several different types of Sherman tracks will eventually be made, so please make sure you are ordering the correct set of tracks. We’ve made a concerted effort to match each pair of tracks with the correct Sherman tank, but fully realize some of you may want to mix-and-match the tracks with any of the Sherman variants they already own or plan to purchase at a later date. We haven’t opened the pre-order window for several upcoming Shermans because the manufacturer has a habit of changing the prices as the vehicles get nearer to release. Once the manufacturer has set the price for each vehicle, we will update our site accordingly.
We received an update concerning the long-awaited Panzerkampf M1070 heavy equipment transporters. The tri-color version is expected to arrive at our distributor’s facility this Friday, which means we should have our shipment in hand sometime towards the end of next week, perhaps by the 31st. They also reported that the desert version is leaving China on or around April 15th, so barring any unforeseen problems, they should have them several weeks later. As a result, we have moved up their receiving date to May instead of the somewhat nebulous summer arrival date we originally listed. We believe there’s a good chance the balance of the M1 Abrams tanks will also show up along with the desert M1070. Considering the success of the first batch of Abrams that are still in stock, the second batch should sell equally well. Keep in mind that a great many schools let out around May, and vehicles such as the Abrams tank make exceptional graduation gifts, if past performance with the larger FOV Abrams serve as any indicator.
In an interesting turn of events, Panzerkampf also noted that they are distributing a new line of 1:72 scale military vehicles under a heretofore unheard of brand called Legion. Thus far only a GMC CCKW 2-1/2-ton truck has been shown on their Facebook account although they are touting the fact that it is priced well within everyone’s budget. Its quite possible that these were originally sold under the Amercom license and are now being repurposed by Panzerkampf to both bolster their lineup and give these older toolings new life.
Curiously, Panzerkampf’s first warship, a 1:1250 scale rendition of the USS Enterprise (CV-6), is now being marketed under the Legion brand although it is still listed on the Panzerkampf web site. We can only assume that this will be their marketing strategy going forward – items that do not live up to the exacting standards Panzerkampf has set forth will be sold under the Legion banner.
We’ve dropped Herpa from our lineup and are cancelling any orders we’ve received to date for any of the items we had up on our site. Our distributor reported several issues with the line, most notably the receipt of damaged items, so, at least for now, we’ll put them on the back burner and hope for the best once these and some other problems get resolved.
This week Minichamps indicated that they were cancelling all four of the 1:35 scale tanks they had announced several years ago. Three vehicles were actually re-releases, while the fourth, the Leopard tank, was simply a new version of an existing mold, so none of the vehicles required new tooling. I’m always mystified how a manufacturer can reach this decision when all along retailers such as ourselves were accepting pre-orders and continuing to tell our customers that the product was coming albeit at some point in the future. Its almost as if they could care less how they treat both their retail partners as well as collectors, happy to do as they please since they are perhaps the largest diecast model maker. They claimed that the recent hike in trans-oceanic transport costs led to this decision but if true this would affect their entire line, not just their military vehicles, as well as several dozen other items they also decided to cancel. Candidly, if they would produce what they claim was coming within the same calendar year of its announcement, they wouldn’t have to hike the costs nor face the wrath of retailers and collectors tired of this tact. Moreover, this isn’t the first time they elected to cancel a product several years after first being announced, all the while hiking its cost and asking price. I believe it took them seven years to formally indicate that a 1:12 scale Brough Superior bike was being nixed. Seven years. To sum up, we’re done with Minichamps. While we wish them the best of luck going forward, issues such as this continue to sour my stance and dim my viewpoint. While they make a wonderful product that typically escalate in value, they have a lot to learn when it comes to working with the retail trade and how they treat their customers.
And then there’s our scheduled move to Florida sometime this summer. I’ve never had a house built before so near as I can tell its approximately 1/3-1/2 finished. In fact, my eldest daughter and her family recently stopped by the build to autograph the cinder block walls with everyone’s names before the drywall process begins. In case you’re wondering, we’re putting down roots in Wesley Chapel, an up-and-coming community on the port side of Florida and about 30 miles inland, almost 30 miles northeast of Tampa. The next town over is Zephyrhills, home of the Zephyrhills Museum of Military History. In addition to showing a wide array of WWII-era armor, they regularly run reenactments and next week plan to hold one based upon Operation Husky, the Allied invasion of Sicily. But more about all of this at a later date.
So why bring this up? At some point in the next couple of months we will have to suspend all inbound shipments in an effort to lessen the amount of inventory we must ship roughly half way across this great nation of ours. While we will continue to ship outbound orders until such time as we have to pack up our inventory ahead of our move, we thought it important to bring this up now in case anyone is desperately expecting certain items this summer. Candidly, we do not have a firm date for the resumption of both inbound and outbound shipments since this hinges upon how quickly we can get set up. Moreover, it may take some time before the shipping carriers (USPS, UPS and FedEx) are able to both send and receive deliveries to and from a brand new community. We will revisit this scenario at a later date when we have more concrete information to work from.
Finally, and this could very well be conjecture on my part, has to do with the diplomatic pressure the US is exerting on China should they decide to back the Putin regime in the Russo-Ukrainian Conflict. If the PRC decides to back the Russian government and send both lethal and non-lethal aid to Russia, the US may be forced to place additional sanctions on China, which could very well include the ban on Chinese imports or, at the very least, exceedingly high tariffs to dissuade them from providing help. I know a great many global companies are anxiously awaiting news of China’s decision and the lengths the Biden administration may be willing to go to prevent China from aiding their supposed ally in their hour of need. Time will tell if this is an issue that could have both short- and long-term adverse effects on the production schedule for the diecast industry and the economy at large.