Product Announcements

Merit International: One in the Hand, Three in the Bush

Every so often, we receive press releases regarding new product announcements that give us pause for consideration but nevertheless take a pass on for any number of reasons. Yesterday we learned that our friends over at Aiken’s Airplanes had entered into a partnership agreement with Merit International to release a 1:18 scale Avenger torpedo plane that was flown by former President George H. W. Bush during the closing stages of WWII. According to the press release, “this model features a moving canopy with cockpit detail, movable flaps, movable landing gears, positional torpedo bay doors folding wings, and includes the pilot, top gunner and belly gunner.”

Only 330 pieces are being produced, so if you are interested in purchasing one of these limited edition replicas, run, don’t walk over to the following link: http://www.aikensairplanes.com/tbf-avenger-x-2-vt-51-uss-san-jacinto-1944-lt-george-bush-aikens-exclusive/

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The Return of Dragon Armor?

At long last, Dragon resurfaces with a new piece of armor: a 1:72 scale Pz. Kpfw. IV Ausf D. medium tank – – 3.Kompainie, Panzer-Regiment 3, 2.Panzer Division, Western Front, 1940 (DRR60693)

“The objective of offensive Yellow is to deny Holland and Belgium to the English by swiftly occupying them; to defeat, by an attack through Belgium and Luxembourg territory, the largest possible forces of the Anglo-French army, and thereby to pave the way for the destruction of the military strength of the enemy. The main weight of the attack across Belgium and Luxembourg will be south of the line Liege-Charleroi. Forces engaged north of this line will break through the Belgian frontier forces. Continuing the attack westwards they will parry any immediate threats to the Ruhr Basin from northeastern Belgium, and will divert to themselves the strongest possible Angle-french forces. Forces operation south of the line Liege-Charleroi will force a passage of the Meuse River between Dinant and Sedan (both inclusive) and will advance through the French frontier defenses towards the Somme estuary.”

– Fuhrer Directive No. 10, February 1940

We were beginning to wonder if Dragon was backing out of the preassembled military vehicle space, much as they have done in other categories over the past few years. Then, this morning, we noticed that they posted a brand new piece of Dragon Armor diecast to their website, one based upon a Pz. Kpfw. IV Ausf. D medium tank (DRR60693). According to their web site, this new piece of long awaited military memorabilia is slated for a May appearance, perhaps in conjunction with the 77th anniversary of the Wehrmacht’s invasion of France and the Low Countries in 1940. Guess we will have to wait and see. Interestingly, the wholesale price for a typical Dragon Armor piece has dropped appreciably, which had been creeping up in cost for a couple of years. This could, perhaps, point to good things for Dragon Armor aficionados, who were forced to shell out more and more as the sheet cost inched skywards. Taking a page from their playbook, we expect Dragon will be announcing a bunch of other Pz. Kpfw IV Ausf. D medium tanks, so stay tuned for further announcements in the days and weeks ahead.

German Sd. Kfz. 161 PzKpfw IV Ausf. D Medium Tank – 4.Kompanie, Panzer-Regiment 7, 10.Panzer Division, France, 1940 (DRR60694)
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You Call it War Master, We Call it Solido

Solido’s all-new FAMO prime mover and towed 88mm FLaK gun, likely reaching the diecast battlefield this summer

There seems to be some confusion of late whether to call the new 1:72 scale military range produced by War Master for french manufacturer Solido, War Master products or Solido, since both marques appear on the packaging. Be that as it may, we’ve caught wind of some of their newest models likely scheduled for a summer release, which continue to introduce a wide array of combatants and their weapons of war to the 1:72 scale regime. Among them are this German FAMO prime mover hauling a 88mm FLaK gun. Also expected is a German Wirbelwind Anti-Aircraft gun, a British Cromwell tank, a USMC LAV-25 Piranha light armored vehicle and French LeClerc T5 Main battle tank. In the air, look for a British De Havilland Mosquito and Grumman Martlet fighter.

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Air Force 1 Pushes Up More than Flowers this May

Air Force 1’s brand new 1:72 scale look at the PLAAF Shenyang J-31 stealth fighter

It’s no secret that Chinese-based Air Force 1 has an affinity for modern aircraft fielded by the Peoples Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF), so when we received their latest sales brochure we were wondering what took them so long to offer up their latest fare? This May, no less than nine new models are slated for the collector’s market, all based on platforms used by the PLAAF. Perhaps the most intriguing new replica is this 1:72 scale take on the Shenyang J-31 stealth fighter (AF10131), largely viewed by Western analysts as a pirated version of the US F-35 stealth fighter. Larger than the F-35, the J-31 may not be as capable or as stealthy as the F-35, so it remains to be seen how the PLAAF will operate their newest system.

The Chengdu J-20 stealth fighter, offered up in splendid 1:144 scale

In addition to the J-31, AF1 will make available an octet of 1:100-1:144 scale fixed- and rotary wing aircraft, which we are in the process of uploading to our site. While some critics point to a few inconsistencies and inaccuracies with the AF1 models, no one can take issue with their pricing. Most of the new items weigh in at around $20-$25, with the J-31 topping out at $49.99, certainly a bargain compared to other new modern aircraft being rolling out by other manufacturers.

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Eaglemoss Warps in with Their 2017 Star Trek Lineup

Hardbound Star Trek graphic novels will begin to appear in 2017.

Somewhat quiet for several months, our distributor shed light on what’s to come from Eaglemoss the first half of this year as it pertains to their Star Trek role call. Lots of new products were announced, covering everything from new special and larger scale starships to reference material, hard-to-find convention exclusives to graphic novels. The graphic novels represent a very nice tangential look at the Star Trek universe, essentially gorgeous, perfect bound, hard cover books that, in many instances, serve as superb compilations of previously related comics.

USS Yorktown NCC1717, a Star Trek show-exclusive, now becomes available later this year

Three Mirror Universe standard sized starships are also being offered up, each complete with their own full-color magazine. Best of all, many of these new introductions are expected to ship shortly, and carry us through the first six months of 2017.

Star Trek Constitution Class Cruiser – USS Franklin NCC-1743, the eighth special edition Eaglemoss Star Trek starship
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Atlas Toasts the French

Every so often, we’re forced to sit on the fence about a new line that may or may not do well with our collecting audience. Yesterday, we learned about a new range of large 1:24 scale unpainted figures and vehicles from Atlas Editions. What makes this line questionable for us is the fact that they come unpainted, are all based upon World War I subjects, and all focus on the french army. On the plus side, they are relatively inexpensive, given their size and heft. The vehicle seen here sells for only $29.99, while most of the two-figure sets can be sold for as little as $14.99. Each even comes with a certificate of authenticity as can be seen in the accompanying photograph, and attractive packaging to boot. If you’ll notice, the tank tracks and wheels are molded to the body, which means these vehicles are really designed to sit in a curio cabinet than on a wargaming battlefield. For now, we’ll take a wait and see attitude since they aren’t due to arrive for a few months but we’d love to hear your opinion concerning the range, which covers some 24 SKUs and even a wooden display base with a felt top.

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Solido Continues to Mystify

Its now mid-March, a full month after the conclusion to the Nuremberg Toy Fair, and we are still in a quandary concerning french manufacturer, Solido. Last year, they made it public knowledge that they are working with War Master to produce a new range of 1:72 scale diecast military vehicles and, last month, showed off several larger 1:43 scale military vehicles within one of their Toy Fair booths, several of which we have never seen before.

Now, on their web site, they’ve added a new collage of War Master products to their home page, which includes a British Cromwell tank and a Martlet fighter, the British equivalent of the Eastern Aircraft FM-1 Wildcat. That said, no further details concerning either new  issue are contained within their military category page, so for now we assume they are nothing more than teasers with release dates much further out. Likewise, we still aren’t sure if the range will be made available in North America since no distributor has stepped forward yet to indicate they will supply the range. We aren’t sure what this means to collectors but will keep everyone abreast should anything change.

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Panzerkampf Orders its Assault Troops Forward

 

Even though we’re still awaiting the first 1:72 scale tanks from newcomer, Panzerkampf, it appears as if they have lots more armor in the pipeline just itching to find a new home. According to their web site, four more tanks are pretty far along in the development process – so far, in fact, that they even have pictures of the replicas rather than 2-D line art. The four newest showings include what appears to be a WWII-era German Panther Ausf. D medium tank with side armor skirts, Russian T-90MS main battle tank, and a pair of German Leopard armored fighting vehicles: a 2A5 as well as a 2A7. No dates of availability were listed, so they could be a ways of before they hit the street.

Other vehicles seem to be in the works too, most notably a US-built M60A3 Patton tank clad in explosive reactive armor as well as a vehicle we cannot identify. Further details will no doubt surface in the coming weeks.

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Atlas Beefs Up Their Armored Assault

Atlas Editions’ 1:43 scale US T19 halftrack in olive drab

Our distributor reports that ten new 1:43 scale World War II era military vehicles are about to make landfall, along with a restock of their wildly popular World War I era German Ehrhardt Strassenpanzerwagen E-V/4 armored car. The ten vehicles cover a wide range of combatants, theatres of action and vehicle types, so without any further ado, here’s what you can lay your mitts on this March:

ATL2690941 – German Steyr Raupenschlepper Ost (RSO) with Pak 40 Anti-Tank Gun

ATL6690013 – German Sd.Kfz.4/1 Panzerwerfer 42 auf Maultier

ATL6690014 – British Humber Mk. IV Armored Car

ATL7123106 – US Navy Dodge WC51 6×6 1-1/2 Ton Weapons Carrier

ATL7123107 – German Wurfkorper M F1 50 Stuka zu Fuss Halftrack with Rocket Launchers

ATL7123109 – Soviet GAZ 67B Staff Vehicle

ATL7123110 – US Army T19 Howitzer Motor Carriage (HMC)

ATL7123119 – German Opel Blitz 3-Ton Truck – 7.Panzer Division, Eastern Front, 1942

ATL7123120 – Italian Autoblinda AB 41 Armored Car

ATL7123121 – Italian Morris Portee Gun Truck

Priced at just $24.99 apiece, these vehicles are designed to complement several recently introduced military series from the likes of Altaya, Eaglemoss, Schuco, Solido and others and we wouldn’t be surprised if they shared some parts and/or pedigree with a number of them.

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Eaglemoss: A New Month, a New Navy

 

German Kaiserliche Eaglemoss 1:1100 scale Marine Derfflinger Class Battlecruiser – SMS Derfflinger

As the saying goes, March roars in like a lion, and apparently so does the Eaglemoss navy. Four new warships have put to sea and are expected to make our port of call next week, further adding to our growing fleet of World War I/II-era warships. The four new 1:1100 scale warships include the following:

EMGC58 – German Kaiserliche Marine Derfflinger Class Battlecruiser – SMS Derfflinger

EMGC59 – Imperial Japanese Navy Sendai Class Light Cruiser – Sendai

EMGC62 – Imperial Japanese Navy Myoko Class Heavy Cruiser – Nachi

EMGC71 – Imperial Japanese Navy Akizuki Class Destroyer – Akizuki

All four come in their original bookcase format packaging and are bundled with a Japanese-written magazine outlining the history, details and war record of the ship in question. Enjoy!

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