Product Announcements – Page 50 – The Motor Pool

Oxford Graduates from Flying School

As college students by the thousands are graduating from university, it makes sense that Oxford would cash in on the educational theme, if you can call it that. As part of their ever-expanding History of Flight Collection, this British-based model maker intends to bring out a Percival Proctor radio trainer and communication aircraft for the new semester. Not an aircraft that instantly springs to mind amongst the aviation community, the Proctor is, nonetheless, an important aircraft within RAF circles, since it was developed from the Percival Vega Gull in response to Air Ministry Specification 20/38 for a radio trainer and communications aircraft. To meet the requirement, the aircraft based on the Vega Gull had larger rear cabin windows and the fuselage was six inches longer. Modifications were made to the seats to enable the crew to wear parachutes, and other changes to enable a military radio and other equipment to be fitted. In early 1939 an order was placed for 247 aircraft to meet operational requirement OR.65.

Other new air and ground units were also announced by Oxford, so it may take another day or so before they are all up on our site.

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Eaglemoss Puts Four More Vessels to Sea

Earlier today, we learned that four more Eaglemoss warships are pegged for an early June release. The four newbies include Imperial Japanese Navy Nagato Class Battleship – Mutsu (@EMGC13), Imperial Japanese Navy Tone Class Heavy Cruiser – Tone (#EMGC24), Imperial Japanese Navy Zuiho Class Light Aircraft Carrier – Zuiho (#EMGC29), and German Kriegsmarine Deutschland Class Heavy Cruiser – SMS Admiral Graf Spee (#EMGC40). All will likely sell out fast, each covering important subject matter and packed in their traditional bookcase packaging including a full-color magazine.

As an aside, we will not be stocking any of the warships in the series that come simply in the clam shell packaging without the accompanying literature or box. We have just a couple of the German U-Boats left in stock, so if you’re interested, now would be a good time to jump on them.

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Eaglemoss Claims, “Revenge is a dish best served cold!”

Building upon the success of their Star Trek starship series, Eaglemoss has officially announced that their fourth special edition installment will be based upon a Klingon D4 Class Bird-of-Prey. Larger than the standard ships in the series, this one will come with a specially constructed display stand, box, full-color magazine and other paraphernalia that are designed to bring this issue to life. Priced at just $49.99, look for the Bird-of-Prey to swoop down on collectors this July.

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Still More Fabbri Enters the Battlefield

There doesn’t seem to be a week that goes by when we learn of more Fabbri military vehicles headed our way. This isn’t a bad thing; far from it, we love the line because it tackles subjects no one else has done and are priced at a paltry $11.99. Anyway, several new prosucts are expected in July, so here’s the run down: a French AMX Leclerc T5 Main Battle Tank in United Nations livery (#EMCV017), a Russian T-44 Medium Tank – Summer Camouflage (#EMCV018), a US M548A1 Tracked Cargo Carrier (#EMCV028). a Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces Type 90 Main Battle Tank (#EMCV029), a Russian 2S5 Giatsint Self-Propelled Gun (#EMCV034), and a British Centurion Mk.3 Main Battle Tank (#EMCV035). We regret that a number of photos show the product still in their blister packaging and will replace them once more suitable imagery becomes available.

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Hobby Master Super Sizes the Hornet

Ever since Hobby Master came out with their first F/A-18 Hornet, it was long speculated but never confirmed that they would eventually up the ante by producing its larger successor, the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. Earlier today, the Company finally fessed up by indicating that a Super Hornet is indeed in the works and expected some time in early 2016. Their first bird is a US Navy McDonnell Douglas F/A-18E Super Hornet Strike Fighter that was attached to VFA-14 “Tophatters”, and bears their 90th Anniversary commemorative scheme (HA5101). Frankly, if you like modern US warbirds, then this is a no brainer, simply because its the inaugural release. While an operational scheme always seems to do better at retail, its going to be hard to pass this one up.

As an aside, we hope they also decide to produce the Advanced Super Hornet, which is designed to maintain fleet requirements well into the 2030s. More information can be found here

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Signature Goes on Parade

One of the reasons we love Signature Models is that they aren’t afraid to tackle a subject at any scale. Take, for example, their 1:18 scale 1938 Mercedes G4 limousine, which has been a hit amongst the largesse community for several years running. Now, miniaturize it down to 1:43 scale. and you’ve got the same crowd pleaser rumbling down the pre-WWII streets of Berlin for an entirely different audience. Priced at just $59.99, the G4 comes in three flavors: a white and black convertible, as well as a deep blue portrayal with its top up. Look for these in May.

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Hobby Master Spirits Us Away this October

As is customary for Hobby Master, the Company has just announced their lineup for the October time frame. There’s a smattering of aircraft and vehicles that cover virtually every epoch and conflict, which is cause for celebration for a great many folks. We’re still in the process of listing all of these goodies on our site and hope to have everything up for sale by the close of business today. Enjoy!

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Can Air Force 1 Drop the Bomb in Time?

To further flesh out their 1:144 scale catalog, Air Force 1 today announced plans to build a replica of “Enola Gay”, the B-29 Superfortress piloted by Paul Tibbets when it dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan (#AF10112). Thus far, only a line art drawing has been added to their corporate web site, even though they claim the model will be released at the end of May. Still, this comes as welcome news, since there are a great many post WWII-era bombers that could be integrated into their 1:144 scale range that collectors have been requesting for as long as we’ve been around.

Keep in mind that August 6th represents the seventieth anniversary of the dropping of the A-Bomb on Hiroshima, so it will be interesting to see if this manufacturer can get this bird up and flying in time for the event.

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Fabbri Loads ‘Em Up Again and Fires

Just when you thought it was safe to dip your toe again in the diecast waters comes news that a further eight 1:72 scale military vehicles are being released this month by Fabbri (and distributed through Eaglemoss). The latest grouping includes a Su-100 tank destroyer (#EMR0026), BTR-60 armored personnel carrier (#EMR0027), 2S9-S Nona amphibious tank (#EMR0059), GAZ 2330 infantry mobility vehicle (#EMR0060), British-built Matilda Mk. II infantry tank in Rusian livery (#EMR0061), US-built M3 Lee medium tank in Russian livery (#EMR0062), T-34/85 medium tank in winter camouflage (#EMR0063) and finally a PT-76 amphibious light tank (#EMR0069). All eight vehicles are reportedly available now at our distributor so we should have them in stock in a few days.

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Fabulous Fabbri

Its a strange business we’re in. Some lines seem to take months or even years on end for them to materialize, which, naturally enough, causes angst for both the customer and ourselves. On the other hand, there are occasions when we get a news blast indicating that a brand new range has just arrived, surprising both us and the collecting community in one fell swoop. In the case of Fabbri (which is distributed by Eaglemoss), our distributor put us on notice that nine new vehicles are now in circulation, meaning they should be hitting our command post in a week or so. While several vehicles have been done ad nauseum, others are new on the scene, meaning they will likely get snapped up the moment they roll in.

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