Product Announcements – Page 53 – The Motor Pool

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Air Force 1 Streaks Over the Hot Desert Sands

If you like ’em fast, like ’em high, and even like ’em signed then you better sit up and take notice because Air Force 1 may have the goods for you. Earlier today, we learned that they plan on coming out with a new take on the SR-71 Blackbird, this time around available in both an unsigned (“clean”) and signed (“dirty”) configuration (AF10088A and B). Their newest surveillance plane is based upon a mount flown by Major Terry Pappas and Captain John Manzi, which was operated over the Persian Gulf in 1987. The “dirty” version features Major Terry Pappas signature on the display base and is a paltry $10 more than the unsigned version. Look for both fliers some time in December.

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Mattel Feels a Disturbance in the Force

Two new Star Wars: The Force Awakens ships were announced today as part of Mattel’s Hot Wheels Elite series, as well as details concerning the mystery ship first announced several months back but never fully discussed. Expected some time in March 2016, the undisclosed 1:18 scale ship is actually Poe Dameron’s X-Wing fighter (HWDAG08), a central protagonist in the upcoming film and likely an important figure in the Sequel trilogy.

Slated for September, look forward to nabbing an X-Wing Resistance Fighter (MTDMK63) as well as a First Order TIE Fighter (MTDMT90).

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Eaglemoss Goes Off-Roading

Thus far, Eaglemoss 1:43 scale Military Vehicles of the Second World War series has been confined to those subjects we typically see on the battlefield. However, their seventieth introduction changes things up a bit, by offering a field grey version of the Mercedes-Benz W31 Type 4 parade limousine (EM070). For those of you still searching for the long sold out grey and white Francisco Franco version by Minichamps, this entry should serve as an excellent stop gap measure, perhaps better representing the ignominious “Grey Column” that toured the streets of Germany during the run up to WWII. While the Eaglemoss version is bereft of the side-mounted pennants and swastikas, it does comes complete with rolled up bullet proof windows. Priced at just $21.99 as compared with the Minichamps version, which is fetching four times that amount, you simply cannot go wrong with this vehicle.

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