When they acquired Greenlight Collectibles earlier this year, Waltersons also inherited a new range of armored fighting vehicles in the form of their 1:64 scale “Battalion 64” sub brand. With so many different ranges already in their vast product portfolio, however, it wasn’t clear what they planned on doing with this new brand and how it fit within their overall lineup. When taken in conjunction with their own extensive line of 1:72 scale vehicles, a line originally produced by Unimax and dormant for several years running, it wasn’t certain if this new range had a place in their strategy going forward. Well, we now have an answer.

Eight WWII-era vehicles — complete with updated images and various cosmetic and physical improvements — were recently posted to their new and improved Chinese-based Forces of Valor web site, although pricing was omitted along with release dates. All are based upon US made vehicles, from jeeps to ambulances, tanks to half-tracks. If they are looking for the brand to succeed, we are assuming the manufacturer will eventually create an adversarial range composed of Axis vehicles, and possibly other vehicles to further flesh out the brand.

At this point, we do not know what the new packaging will look like. The original series, developed for several big box retailers, featured J-hook packaging so that it could be displayed alongside other peggable merchandise. However, its not clear if Waltersons will attempt to re-invent the brand by introducing standard-sized boxed packaging that is more in line with their other proprietary ranges.

Interestingly, no word as yet concerning their own range of 1:72 scale combat vehicles, and information concerning their other brands and lines were scanty at best.

We’ve learned that the June/July shipment of Forces of Valor products will contain the oft-requested early production Tiger I metal track set. We were laboring under the impression that the initial batch of tracks were sold out and that we might have to wait for the manufacturer to produce a second batch, which could take months if not years to happen based upon prior experience. So, when we heard that more were on the way we jumped on them (figuratively, not literally), and should have them in hand and ready for shipment some time in July. Frankly, when you consider how many more Tiger tanks are in the pipeline we thought it made sense to have an ample supply on hand to keep the Tigerwaffe rolling along for the foreseeable future.

In other news, Waltersons has completed in principal their acquisition of Greenlight Collectibles. Based in Indiana, Greenlight has carved out a respectable business amongst many of the big box retailers, selling all sorts of budget-minded toys from fire-fighting equipment to, you guessed it, smaller 1:64 scale military vehicles under their Battalion 64 sub brand. Indeed, some of the vehicles were recently on display at the Waltersons booth at the Shizuoka Hobby Show in Japan. Greenlight’s 1:64 scale tanks will no doubt serve as the basis for Forces of Valor’s newest line of military collectibles, although these will likely be weathered or outwardly reworked to make them dovetail within their entire spectrum of Forces of Valor military vehicle ranges.

Greenlight will also serve as the central warehouse for all things Forces of Valor, which had been operating in concert with American Diorama on the west coast since the beginning of 2023. We bring this up because it will no doubt make our job of acquiring Forces of Valor merchandise far easier and similarly cut down on the turn-around time it takes to first place an order with them then get our order delivered to our own warehouse in Florida. It also means that we will at last have a salesperson in North America that we can reach within a matter of minutes rather than have to speak to someone in eastern Asia, which, because of the time difference, typically took a half day to get a response.

We expect Forces of Valor to make a number of product announcements shortly now that they have begun handling their own distribution within North America. Some items, such as their first King Tiger tank, F-16 Viper, HMS Invincible aircraft carrier and V-22 Osprey, have been hinted at on Facebook for several months running, although nothing concrete has turned up in their sales solicitations. With their logistical network now having been worked out, we anticipate a steady stream of new product announcements to follow shortly.

Now, if they could update their web site in a more timely fashion we would be supremely grateful…