Product Announcements

Calibre Wings Feels the Need for Speed

CA721402

Recognizing the need to differentiate themselves from all of the other makers of 1:72 scale F-14 Tomcats, Calibre Wings has finally provided information concerning a pair of fleet defense fighters due out this fall. The list of features is rather long and includes a number of robust additions others have thus far sidestepped including:

  • Diecast construction
  • Martin Baker GRU-7 ejection seats
  • Realistic pilot and RIO figures
  • Canopy in open or closed position
  • Working glove vanes
  • Positional airbrakes
  • Movable sweep wings & horizontal stablizers
  • Interchangeable engine nozzles in open or closed positions
  • Landing gears extended or stored
  • Jet intake covers
  • Wheel chocks
  • Rubber tires
  • Operational pay load ordnance
  • Deluxe display stand
  • Limited edition serialized metal plate
  • Collector’s box

CA721401

Two warbirds are thus far being readied: one portraying VF-1 Wolf Pack” (CA721402) and the second VF-103 “Jolly Rogers” (CA721401) on their last flight. Both models have been listed on our web site and we hope to have photos of them some time soon.

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When the Leaves Fall, Hobby Master Flies High this Autumn

HA5303

Hobby Master is continuing to push forward its “jet-centric” approach by announcing a litany of modern era diecast military aircraft this fall. While several aircraft were previously announced, the new warbirds include two takes on the soon-to-be-released MiG 23 Flogger – one flown by the Lybian Air Force during the 1989 Gulf of Sidra Incident (HA5302) and a second in Russian livery but flown by the USAF’s 4477th Test Squadron at Tonopah, Nevada (HA5303) to determine its flight characteristics.

HA1209

Also up for consideration is one of the F-14s that tangled with the Lybian MiGs during the same crisis (HA5206), another look at the F-22 Raptor (HA2815), a third take on the S-3 Viking Anti-Submarine Aircraft (HA4903), and a 1:48 scale model of Adolf Galland’s Messerschmitt Bf-109E3 fighter. These and other new introductions have now been added to our May 2016 New Additions section.

 

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A Case of Ritchie Deja Vu

 

HA1973a

If you missed Hobby Master’s Steve Richie 1:72 scale F-4 Phantom on its first high-speed pass several years ago then you may want to sit up and take notice of this second sortie. Hobby Master just announced that an all-new F-4D version of his Vietnam era warbird is expected this summer, this time bearing all five MiG kills (“red stars”) on the fuselage but more importantly, flashing Ritchie’s signature on the display base.

HA1973

Naturally enough, this extremely sought after replica will set you back a few dollars more than when his first mount was released, but when you consider what his autograph brings to the table and the relatively low number of models being produced (only 800), we believe that HA1973 is going to be snapped up in a heartbeat. Keep your eye on this one!

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Air Force 1 Spends a Night at the Museum

AF10140

Some times a company pivots when you least expect it. With their eagerly awaited 1:72 scale Boeing B-17 bomber just a month away, and little else on the docket for the forseeable future, Air Force 1 Model Company announced their intent to create a brand new series of military miniatures in conjunction with the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. Dubbed simply as their Smithsonian Series, plans call for an initial batch of five aircraft to be produced, all in differing scales and, naturally enough, based upon aircraft they’ve previously researched and produced in much larger, standard formats.

AF10137

The five aircraft include a B-25 Mitchell bomber, B-29 Superfortress, SR-71 Blackbird, P-61 Black Widow and a MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft.  Look for the quintet to arrive some time in July.

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Eaglemoss Pushes its Star Trek Franchise into New Frontiers

Eaglemoss Star Trek The Graphic Novel Collection

Never one to shy away from a challenge, Eaglemoss, the maker of the wildly popular Star Trek Starships Collection partworks series, intends to bring out an entire library of Star Trek-related graphic novels. According to the Trek Collective web site, “The fortnightly series will deliver a hardcover editions of comics drawn from the entire fifty year history of Star Trek comic publishing. The books will feature spine-art building up a single image, plus new introductory texts:

With this collection you can revisit all the classic characters and incredible art from the STAR TREK comic archives. Every edition has a specially-commissioned introduction to provide context to the story. Every book contains a number of collected comics and a bonus reprint of one of the comic archive’s classic stories.”

No word as yet who will distribute the perfect bound graphic novels here in North America. Page counts, pricing, exact content and delivery dates are also in the ether, so for now, all we can do is drool over the photos posted and hope they boldly go sooner, rather than later, before the next feature film and CBS-owned TV-series hits the large and small screens. Live long and prosper.

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Altaya Counterattacks

ALT0049

One of our suppliers has managed to unearth a huge cache of Altaya 1:72 scale military vehicles, several of which we either have never had before or have sold out for some time. We’ve posted many of the new ones to our site and have reactivated those items that look to make an encore performance. All of the vehicles are expected in May. Priced at just $14.99 apiece, you simply cannot go wrong with any of these selections.

ALT0065

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Dragon Returns to the Eastern Front

DRR60453

Never one to say no to a good panzer, Dragon marked its return to the WWII battlefields of the eastern front with two renditions of a mid production PzKpfw IV Ausf. H medium tank. Expected in June, neither tank seems to have specific unit markings, but that doesn’t mean they still aren’t going to be widely accepted into the diecast armor ranks.

Image processed by CodeCarvings Piczard ### FREE Community Edition ### on 2016-04-13 16:31:34Z | |

Featuring turret girdles and schurzen side armor skirts, both DRR60453 and DRR60654 have been posted to our web site.

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Eaglemoss States, “It’s Time to Kill”

Eaglemoss Watches

We’ve been quietly watching from the sidelines as Eaglemoss’ Military Watch collection continues to gather momentum, tantalizing customers world over with classic time pieces from around the globe. Inspired by the foremost military forces from the early twentieth century onwards, we are now happy to report that we will be stocking a select group of watches, just in time for Father’s Day. Priced at just $19.99, each time piece features Japanese quartz movement and are water resistant, although we dare say a watch this handsome may be better off in a curio cabinet than out in harm’s way. Eleven time pieces are expected by the end of the month — including three special edition releases — and, if sales are strong, expect to strap on a bunch of other time keepers very soon. Enjoy!

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Solido Returns to the Fold

famo-trailer

There’s an age-old proverb that states what comes around, goes around. In the case of french manufacturer, Solido, it now appears as if they are once again entering the fray by offering a new line of diecast military vehicle and aircraft. When we first started out some sixteen years ago, Solido was one of the dominant players in the military space, offering a steady diet of 1:43/1:50 scale soft-skinned military vehicles and tanks that came in different patterns and schemes. Many were even used as the basis for the after market builders at Tank Museum and Gaso.Line, an excellent testament to their strength, durability and workmanship even to this day. As the years ticked by, however, Solido slowly withdrew from the military scene although you can still find some of their products on eBay and elsewhere.

Fast forward to 2016. Instead of rehashing these tired old molds that few might take an interest in, Solido has apparently entered into a partnership agreement with War Master, maker of a fine line of 1:72 scale military vehicles and aircraft that were themselves reinvigorated from a previously developed line of IXO Models molds. Anyway, to cut to the chase, they have quietly put together a brand new range of military vehicles and aircraft that will start reaching the market place some time this summer. What will happen to the War Master brand is anyone’s guess at this point, seeing as how it may make more sense for them to crank out greater numbers of product under the Solido marque than under the War Master label. It’s unclear if the new Solido range will come with limited edition packaging, like their War Master counterparts, which has greatly contributed to their success in the market place. We will keep you posted as more information is passed along.

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Hobby Master Fires Up their Production Machine

HA5002

We were beginning to wonder what happened to Hobby Master in the wake of February’s Chinese New Year. Turns out, they had several projects in the offing, all slated for an August release. Among them are their second portrayal of the Grumman EA-6B Prowler Electronic Warfare Aircraft (HA5002), two eagerly awaited F-111 Aardvark Strike Aircraft (HA 3017 and HA3018), an Iranian F-14 Tomcat (HA5205), all-new 1:48 scale P-51B Mustang (HA8508) and another take on their 1:72 scale M48A3 Patton tank (HG5508).

HA3018

All of these items along with several others have now been posted to our web site and we are now accepting pre-orders for them.

HA4507

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