Product Announcements – Page 55 – The Motor Pool

Wings of the Great War Dives into the Trenches of World War I

With a name like Wings of the Great War, you’d think the manufacturer would be content to stick to replicating aircraft of the Great War. In a turn about of sorts, the manufacturer announced today plans to offer a complete line of 1:72 scale combat vehicles that saw action in the War to End All Wars. Their first pair of tanks, which are expected in October, bring to life two of the most iconic vehicles ever to see action during the conflict – the British Mark IV Male tank (#WW10003) and the German equivalent, the Sturmpanzerwagen A7V Infantry Support tank (#WW10002).

Composed of resin and bundled with a decorative display base, their new armored vehicle series takes aim at a sorely overlooked segment of the pre-assembled market place. All we need now are the infantry, trenches, a “no man’s land” – festooned with barbed wire, craters and scorched earth – and we may just yet have a fully comprehensive look at the first war of the twentieth century.

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Halo 5: Guardians – Combat Continues to Evolve

Ever since Robert Heinlein’s Starship Troopers captured my imagination several decades ago, I’ve been fascinated with the sub genre of military science fiction. With the imminent release of Microsoft’s video game, Halo 5: Guardians, it made perfect sense to start checking out some of the new products being developed that will appear in the game and likely make an important impact on the industry at-large.

Besides all of the scale figures and vehicles currently on the docket, Dark Horse Comics, makers of the Halo comics series, has been tapped to create a squadron of warships that also form an integral part of the back story. Three ships are expected ahead of the game’s release, including the USNC Infinity, USNC Pelican drop ship and a Halo Covenant Truth and Reconciliation Cruiser.

Each comes fully painted and attached to a handsome display stand, and measure, on average, eight to nine inches in length. You can find all three ships within our redesigned Halo Universe section.

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Dragon Tip Toes into the Cold War

World War II has long been a bastion for Dragon, serving as a breeding ground for literally dozens of fighting vehicles from around the world and from virtually every theatre imaginable. Happily, the Company may have finally moved beyond its roots to other epochs, by offering a 1:72 scale model of the US M103A1 heavy tank (#DRR60691). Based upon a tank that served with the 24th Infantry Division in Germany during 1959, its refreshing to see that they are willing to step out of their comfort zone every so often. Since the M103 shares the same chassis used on both the M48 and M60 series of medium tanks, its a fair bet collectors will likely see these subjects in the not-too-distant future.

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Wings of the Great War Adds 3 More Fliers to its Roster

Relative newcomer Wings of the Great War announced three more single-engine fighters to their WWI lineup, which now includes a 1:72 scale take on the famous Sopwith Camel. Their first Camel, naturally enough, is based upon the craft that brought down the Red Baron, with Canadian Roy Brown credited for the kill (#WW18001). Other war winners include a Fokker Dr.I Triplane Fighter that was piloted by Oberleutnant Lothar von Richthofen, younger brother of Baron Manfred von Richthofen (#WW12002), and a reddened Pfalz D.IIIa Biplane Fighter flown by Hanns Muller (#WW11003). Look for all three aircraft to take to the skies over the Western Front some time in September.

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Eaglemoss Hits the Ground Running in July

With nineteen 1:43 scale military vehicles scheduled to begin shipping next week, Eaglemoss has a further ten vehicles comprising the second wave in July. The list of vehicles is varied, ranging in scope from a German Steyr RSO 0/1 raupenschlepper to a Chevrolet CBA transport in British markings. The entire range now sells for $21.99 apiece, again a real bargain considering their size, breadth of subjects, durability and collectability. Incidentally, the M3A1 scout car in New Zealand livery has been moved up to a June ship.

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Land Ho! Another Model Maker Christens its Fleet

Great news for all you nautical buffs. We’ve learned that DeAgostini’s line of warships will be leaving port and making its way to our shipyard this September. Scaled at 1:1250 (which is slightly smaller than the Eaglemoss range), the DeAgostini collection examines some of the most iconic warships of the Second World War, with a little less emphasis on the Imperial Japanese Navy and more insight into some of the other ships and navies that sailed the high seas. Priced at just $21.99, these are going to make excellent stocking stuffers this holiday season!

The warships include US Navy Iowa Class Battleship – USS Missouri (BB-63) (#DGWS003), Imperial Japanese Navy Yamato Class Super Battleship – Yamato (#DGSW002), Royal Navy Ark Royal Class Aircraft Carrier – HMS Ark Royal (91) (#DGSW006), US Navy Pennsylvania Class Battleship – USS Arizona (BB-39) (#DGSW008), German Kriegsmarine Deutschland Class Heavy Cruiser – SMS Admiral Graf Spee (#DGSW007), German Kriegsmarine Scharnhorst Class Battleship – SMS Scharnhorst (#DGSW001), US Navy Yorktown Class Aircraft Carrier – USS Hornet (CV-8) (#DGSW004), Royal Navy Renown Class Battlecruiser – HMS Repulse (#DGSW005), German Kriegsmarine Admiral Hipper Class Heavy Cruiser – SMS Prinz Eugen (#DGSW010), and US Navy Lexington Class Aircraft Carrier – USS Lexington (CV-2) (@DGSW009).

Best of all, each replica comes with a full-color, multi-page magazine (written in English, no less!), with the proposed series covering some sixty subjects in total.

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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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