Product Announcements – Page 52 – The Motor Pool

Imex Fires on all Cylinders this Winter

Imex has gone to the trouble of creating a handsome online catalog that shows off their entire radio controlled product portfolio from soup to nuts. We noticed several new items slated for a 2016 roll out, including 1:16 scale M4 Sherman tanks – one with a 76 mm gun and another with a 105mm gun – a Panther Ausf. F medium tank, 1:16 scale figures, and even a terrific assortment of 1:72 scale “Perma-Scene” back drops, ideal for displaying with your 1:72 scale diecast armor collection. Pricing and dates of availability are still in the formative stage, so for now, enjoy their wares by visiting this link:

Imex Catalog

Share This:

The Hiryu Drops Anchor

One of the key players in the surprise attack at Pearl Harbor in December 1941, and again at the pivotal Battle of Midway some six months later, the Imperial Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryu has put into port and is now being doled out to our customers worldwide. The ship completes both battle’s orders of battle, thereby enabling collectors to display the entire array of aircraft carriers that participated in both naval actions. Unfortunately, the ship does not come with a magazine nor its outer box, and will ship out to customers solely in its clamshell packaging.

As a result, collectors can nab this ship for a wee bit less than it would ordinarily cost. Our distributor has indicated that they may never get the version that comes with all of its accompanying paraphernalia, so if you’re a serious naval buff, you may want to settle for this version instead of holding out hope for the deluxe set.

Share This:

A Trio of New Fliers for Wings of the Great War

As 2015 starts winding to a close, Wings of the Great War disclosed plans for three new aircraft scheduled for a January release.

Firstly, a new aircraft type was announced — a French-built Salmson 2 A2 scout plane in the livery of the US Air Service (WW11301). Also shown was a Spad XIII Biplane Fighter piloted by Lt. Armand de Turenne during 1918 (WW15003) and a German Luft-Fahrzeug-Gesellschaft Roland D.VIa Fighter flown by Emil Koch, of Jasta 32b, during 1917 (WW16002).

Share This:

Air Force 1 Shows Off their Mitchell

First announced several months ago, Air Force 1 has finally taken the wraps off of their upcoming pair of Doolittle Raider B-25 Mitchell bombers.

Earmarked for early 2016, the 1:72 scale twin-engine bomber, famous for its role in bombing Tokyo after launching from the aircraft carrier, USS Hornet, features fixed, lowered landing gear, a rotating top turret, spinning propellers, and all of the hallmark detail we’ve come to expect from this relatively new model maker.

While the signature edition replica is already pre-sold out, you can still nab the standard edition, sans Lt. Richard E. Dick Cole’s autograph, for the paltry price of just $79.99.

Share This:

Atlas Adds More Firepower to its Winter Assault

A precursor to Eaglemoss Collections highly-successful Military Vehicles of the Second World War collection, Atlas Editions Editions is continuing to make more of their military vehicles available to collectors in the North American market. We’ve learned that five more 1:43 scale combat vehicles comprise their January order of battle, including a White M3 scout car, Horch Kfz. 15 command car, Canadian Willys jeep with Bantam trailer, US Army Dodge WC 54 ambulance and Dodge US Army WC 63 cargo truck. Priced at just $21.99 apiece, these integral members of the world’s motorized forces are sure to please anyone this winter.

Share This:

Hobby Master Confirms a Messerschmitt Bf-109 is on the Horizon

Apparently the rumors are indeed true. Hobby Master confirmed that they are working on a 1:48 scale replica of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter, although no word as yet as to which version will make the early cut. When you consider the many liveries, variants and schemes available, aviation enthusiasts will likely be thrilled by this decision, making it a great companion piece to their growing array of 1:48 scale warbirds.

Share This:

Fabbri Maintains, “They’re Cheaper by the Dozen”

Earlier today, we learned that another dozen 1:72 scale Russian military vehicles are being released into the North American marketplace by Fabbri. There’s loads to choose from in this tidal wave, including armored cars, half-tracks, tanks, self-propelled guns, and anti-tank guns.

Priced at just $11.99 apiece, you simply cannot go wrong with any or all of these little gems.

Share This:

Eaglemoss Enters the Graveyard of Sunken Ships

In a departure, of sorts, from their heavily slanted look at the warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, Eaglemoss announced plans to raise the USS West Virginia from the dead this fall (EMGC73) and add it to the ranks of the Warships of the World Collection. The West Virgina has a storied past, sunk at the Battle of Pearl Harbor in December 1941, raised, drained and refitted by the US Navy over the following months, so it could eventually rejoin the fleet in several important actions at the end of the war. A Colorado-class battleship, the West Virginia was first laid down after WWI in April 1920, and eventually struck from the US Navy’s roster some 27 years later after making three trips to Asia to return thousands of US servicemen to friendly soil.

Share This:

Dragon Orders its Panzers Forward

First hinted at several years ago in their print catalog, Dragon is finally idling its engines no more and ordering its newest family of panzers forward. Expected some time before the year is out, two new PzKpfw IV Ausf. J medium tanks are in the offing (DRR60656 and DRR60657), both featuring schurzen side armor skirts and turret girdles. We don’t see any unit insignia on either of these vehicles and their descriptions are rather vague, indicating they are from unidentified units serving on the Western Front in the latter half of 1944.

We’re hoping that Dragon is back at producing scale, pre-assembled vehicles, which seems to have become an on-again, off-again passion of theirs over the past few years.

Share This:

Hobby Master Gets Vectored into MiG Alley

If rumors are true, and why wouldn’t they be in this industry, Hobby Master intends to pursue several Mikoyan-Gurevich subjects in 2016. According to sources, the Company is already hard-at-work developing the MiG 23 Flogger, a third generation jet fighter likely boasting a variable geometry swing-wing like its soon-to-be-released counterpart, the F-14 Tomcat. It therefore wouldn’t be a stretch to imagine that a MiG 27 Flogger ground attack aircraft is also on the drawing board, since it was based, in large part, upon the Russian designed MiG 23. What’s nice here is that there was a slew of client nations that operated both the MiG 23 and MiG 27 during the height of the Cold War period, meaning lots of liveries to choose from and loads of potential theaters of war to portray.

Share This: