Shout Outs

The Forces of Valor Update: Is that a Tiger in Your Tank?

As we await the arrival of their 1:32 scale Sturmtiger assault mortar, Waltersons posted a short, low-light teaser for their inaugural Tiger I heavy tank. Created for their Japanese audience, the trailer makes use of the “Metal Proud” moniker Forces of Valor has developed over the course of the last couple of years as a means of demonstrating how much diecast material is actually being employed in the reworked series. As many collectors pointed out towards the end of the Unimax era — the original manufacturer of the Forces of Valor brand — the Company was using less and less metal in the composition of its 1:32 scale military vehicles, largely as a means of reducing costs. This, of course, didn’t sit well with the collecting community despite the manufacturer passing along repeated price hikes and seemingly offering more lackluster products that lacked the imagination the series aimed at recreating.

While the Waltersons’ version will carry a MAP of $124.99, which is substantially more than the last Tiger I produced in the late 2000s, it is, in effect, a completely different vehicle than its predecessors, boasting a removable engine, heavier content and a more realistic painting process that involves repeated over-spraying and various weathering effects. The manufacturer has acknowledged that at least 20 separate vehicles are slated to be re-produced over the course of the next few years, to say nothing of the Panzer Ace series hinted at some time ago, which will replicate some of the more famous tanks and their storied commanders that have become the stuff of legend since the end of the war.

In other news, Waltersons has posted three different videos for their soon-to-be-released trio of ROC AH-1W “Whiskey” attack helicopters. Each video showcases the differences between the three helicopters being portrayed, as well as the obligatory commonalities that have enabled the manufacturer to release three helicopters at once in an effort to reduce manufacturing costs. Thus far, a pair of USMC attack helicopters are set to ship later in the year, so we expect videos and imagery to be unveiled in due course.

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West Coast Port Congestion Could Last Through the Summer

U.S. West Coast Port Congestion Could Last Until Summer Peak Season

Things seem to be going from bad to worse as far as getting in new merchandise is concerned, with many of the US west coast ports reporting huge bottlenecks that has prevented them from offloading cargo in a timely manner. In some instances, product has been waylaid for several months, sitting in limbo and awaiting their turn for release by customs officials. As a for instance, the Forces of Valor Sturmtiger, which was received in the Port of Los Angeles back in December, is just now receiving clearance and is currently expected to arrive at our distributor some time in mid April. Please bear this in mind when placing or awaiting delivery of your orders since the problem will likely last well into the summer and perhaps into the busy autumn months.

Needless to say, product we expected to be in earlier this year has been delayed by months, causing all sorts of issues for us as well as our customers. We bring this to everyone’s attention because in this business its extraordinarily important to have the patience of a saint if you expect to lay claim to many of the item’s listed on our future release schedule. Having said that, we do not, under any circumstances, accept “conditional orders” whereby the customer tells us that s/he needs to receive his or her order by a certain date otherwise they are cancelling their order. Friends, we are in the collectible business, which by its very definition means product seems to get completed then shipped to our door all according to their own schedule no matter how much we try to predict their actual dates to market. In this day and age, when people seem to think that virtually everything they order, from bleach to pet food, will arrive to them within 24-hours after order placement creates quite a bit of a problem for us and everyone involved in the process not to mention consternation on our part as we are forced to answer the same question over and over again. If you cannot accept this vexing situation, then we strongly advise you to pursue other interests and/or hobbies until such time as when the product does come out. Contacting us over and over again, asking us when an item is expected, does no one any good particularly when we are completely up front about the release schedule and how best to pay for product. Pre-paying for an item using a debit card, PayPal or AmazonPay also does not mean you move to the front of the line or the item in question will get to us any sooner. All it means is that we now have your payment in hand, rather than billing you when the item does materialize. We thank you for your understanding and look forward to quenching your diecast appetite now and well into the future.

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Panzerkampf Picks Up the Pace for March

Panzerkampf’s 1:72 scale French Dassault Mirage 2000B Multirole Aircraft

Typically, March is one of the slowest months in the industry largely because it falls one month after Chinese New Year and, as such, means there usually isn’t all that much to ship out of Asia to the rest of the world. Add to that the fact that there is record congestion in many of our port of entries, tying up goods that were destined for our markets months earlier. That said, we learned today that Panzerkampf has cleared customs and several eagerly awaited items are expected towards the end of this month.

A new Mirage 2000B is slated for arrival as is a pair of Russian Kurgenats-25 Infantry Fighting Vehicles. The complete list of what we are expecting can be found by clicking on the Mirage image located above.

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The Forces of Valor Update: 2021 and Beyond

Forces of Valor’s 1:32 scale German Early Production Sd. Kfz. 181 PzKpfw VI Tiger I Ausf. E Heavy Tank – “100”, schwere Panzerabteilung 505, Kursk, Russia, July 1943 [Bonus Maybach HL 210 TRM P45 Engine]

Our distributor was kind enough to pass along the latest Forces of Valor production schedule which encompasses all of 2021. Its an ambitious run rate, to say the least, calling for multiple items to be released each and every month and cutting across virtually every category and sub-category. It even includes their on-again, off-again 1:16 scale radio controlled T-72 tank, which, according to a Facebook posting by Waltersons, was originally supposed to come out way back in May 2020. Interestingly, the production schedule passed along to us does not contain any of their 1:24 scale radio controlled tanks, nor any of the VS tanks they were supposed to start producing after they acquired the line several years ago.

We have updated all of our Forces of Valor sections using the information at-hand, but padded the release dates by at least sixty (60) days to address any production mishaps, delays in shipping and any other issues that will likely affect each item’s true release date. Moreover, we highly doubt that several of the items expected in the fourth quarter will actually hit their mark as manufacturers of all stripes and colors attempt to bring in their own merchandise during these hectic months. More likely several products will either come in towards the tail end of 2021 or, quite possibly, the early part of 2022.

Forces of Valor’s 1:72 scale USMC Chance-Vought F4U-1D Corsair Fighter – Lt. Ira Kepford, VF-17 “Jolly Rogers”, 1944

While a couple of new items were added to the roster, such as a second version of the USS Enterprise and a handful of metal track upgrade kits, most of the product shown on the list have already been discussed in detail and are simply awaiting their turn in the production cycle. Many vehicles, such as the Tiger I and Sherman tanks have been spaced out by several months to avoid oversupply in the supply chain and logjams in the production pipeline. No new photos were shown apart from some placeholder line art imagery and other similar faux photos. Should the anticipated dates of delivery change, we will update our web site accordingly.

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Calibre Wings Kills Two Birds with One Stone

No stranger to YouTube, Calibre Wings has posted yet another instructional video to their YouTube account, this time offering a close-up look at their latest F-14 Fleet Defense Fighter. Based upon a Tomcat flown at the NFS/NSAWC, the latest release should appeal to both Top Gun fans as well as F-14 enthusiasts, striking a chord with both communities along with diecast aficionados. Enjoy!

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The Forces of Valor Update: Whiskey Anyone?

As we await notification that our distributor has received the first batch of 1:32 scale Sturmtigers, Forces of Valor released a new instructional video to their YouTube account, this time taking a closer look at their soon-to-be released trio of 1:48 scale AH-1W Whiskey attack helicopters. Although the video seems to have been created for their Asian consumers, viewers can nevertheless get the gist of how to remove the helicopter from its base then put together its various components. The first three helicopters to come out are based upon ROCAF machines; USMC versions are expected to roll out some time this spring.

In other news, the manufacturer has begun talking up their range of 1:32 scale Sherman tanks, which has been languishing on their drawing boards for over two years. The Company claims that each of the new Shermans will boast features and components typically found in their larger 1:16 scale Extreme Metal series, thus making them heavier in the hand and ultimately more realistic for the diehard FOV collector. To that end, the manufacturer has produced a short video that focuses on the removable engine located in the rear of the vehicle, and will likely follow up this video with additional clips showing off some of the other detail. They have mused that the first vehicles will street this spring, right around the same time as the first Tiger Is are expected. Hope they’re right!

Incidentally, we noticed another pair of Sherman tanks were announced on the FOV website, although no images were posted for either model. This brings the total number of new Shermans to eleven. No doubt there are other versions in the works, possibly as many as three vehicles for each type of Sherman tank being introduced. That’s a lot of Sherman tanks although this probably comes as no surprise since it would seem as if this is their strategy going forward.

One final note. While it appears as if the tempo of operations has finally improved at the manufacturer’s end, and they are now posting anticipated release dates on Facebook and elsewhere, this does not mean it will be in our hands and ready for shipment to our customers at the same time as they are forecasting. Generally, it can take upwards of a month to transit the Pacific Ocean, clear customs and get offloaded from a container ship. Afterwards, the goods must then be shipped to our distributor, who, in this case, is located in Las Vegas, Nevada. After they review the shipment, it can then take another week or so before it reaches us here in New York thereby enabling us to finally ship out said product to our customers. So, please bear this in mind when they indicate that their first 1:32 scale Tiger I will be completed some time in April. From our standpoint, we are expecting to take delivery of the item around the end of May, fully six weeks after the item was “finished” at the manufacturer’s facility.

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Dragon’s MGS Makes a Return Engagement

Dragon’s 1:72 scale US M1128 Mobile Gun System

For the last couple of years, its been a bit of a hit or miss situation with Dragon, who seems to have made a flurry of new product announcements then goes eerily silent for extended periods of time as everyone waits to hear further word. One of their most sought after Neo Dragon Armor releases in modern memory was their US M1128 Mobile Gun System (DRR63007), which sold out quickly and was unavailable for re-order. That said, we learned recently that the manufacturer has unearthed a cache of these vehicles. This is certainly good news for the collector, who, in many instances, has been waiting for the second version of the M1128 to come out to help complete their set of modern era vehicles. We have a number of these vehicles winging their way to us, which should be ready for sale in early March. We strongly recommend re-ordering these vehicles ahead of their arrival to be guaranteed a shot at owning one of these sleekly designed combat vehicles.

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The Forces of Valor Update: The Sturmtiger

While much of China is celebrating their New Year, Waltersons decided to post a video of their soon-to-be-released 1:32 scale Sturmtiger assault mortar. A cinematic tour de force, the 2-1/2 minute video shows off the Sturmtiger in all of its exquisite detail, both inside and out, thereby cementing its position as the preeminent maker of pre-assembled, large scale diecast military vehicles.

We are still anticipating taking delivery of the first batch of Stumtigers some time in March, so there is still time to place your pre-order. No word as yet as to when the other two Sturmtigers in the three-vehicle series are expected to be released.

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Introducing the AFVs of WWII at a Break the Bank Price!

AFV’s of WWII 1:43 scale German Sd. Kfz. 186 Jagdpanzer VI Jagdtiger Heavy Tank Destroyer with Henschel Turret – “211”, schwere Panzerjager Abteilung 512, Germany, 1945

Even though they are well behind schedule, our distributor claims that the first four vehicles in the AFVs of WWII series are still pegged for a March release. We’re pretty jazzed about this lineup, largely because there aren’t very many high quality 1:43 scale military vehicles on the market today, particularly when it comes to armored fighting vehicles. To help communicate our enthusiasm, and hopefully get you to order more of the vehicles when they finally roll in at a more predictable rate, we’ve decided to lower the price of the Jagdtiger heavy tank destroyer (#AFV00004) to just $24.99, a whopping $10 off the regular price for each of the other vehicles in the series. Frankly, that’s a huge savings and brings the item well below the price of some of the smaller 1:72 scale vehicles we also offer. Heck, you can buy several and give one to a friend at that price!

Our hope is that once you see the detail, heft and fabulous affordability of the range, that you’ll want to collect more, provided, of course, you are willing to wait for the entire series to make it to market. If you’ve already pre-ordered this particular vehicle then we will adjust your invoice to reflect this introductory price once the vehicles start to ship out. If you haven’t, well then you’re getting in on the ground floor of one of the most highly sought after series released in recent memory. These are incredible finds and certainly well worth your time collecting. Panzers vor!

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Calibre Wings Fires Up the F-16

As was the case with their previous releases, Calibre Wings has crafted an elaborate tutorial explaining the inner workings of its latest release, the F-16 Viper. The 15-minute instructional video is hosted by the Company’s owner, Noel Lee, who does a marvelous job of discussing the packaging, model, and all of its attendant detail, going so far as to show how to attach and detach various parts of the model to the main body of the aircraft. The video can be viewed here, within the body of each product listing on our web site, or seen on YouTube.

As a reminder, the first pair of F-16s are expected to land on our tarmac some time in February and Noel has publicly indicated that the inaugural model, the USAF F-16C Block 50D, is already sold out at the factory level. A second pair of F-16s is likely expected some time this spring.

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