Shout Outs

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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Rotorheads Rejoice

I’m convinced that January must mean rotorcraft in Latin even at a time when they had no idea what it meant when it was included in the Julian calendar. Dopey innuendoes aside, we are finally going to be receiving our second shipment of MH-47G helicopters from Forces of Valor and will likely have to place a further order once this allotment has evaporated. Also in the shipment are the first pair of Royal Australian CH-47 choppers, both clad in a desert yellow paint scheme.

Additionally we are heard that all three MH-53 Super Stallion helicopters from Panzerkampf are en route. The MH-53s are big and beefy and represent a great way for Panzerkampf to kick off their entry into the helicopter category. Rumor has it that a Hind is in the works, also these won’t likely touch down until the latter half of 2021.

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Is that a Tiger in Your Tank?

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]

Looking to cause a little stir on the very last day of 2020, Forces of Valor has finally posted pictures of one of their upcoming Tiger I heavy tanks to their Facebook account. While the vehicle sports its tactical number, its iconic knight on a red charger symbol hasn’t been applied just yet, nor have any of its balkenkreuz nationality insignia markings. Still it represents an important first step in the launching of this oft-discussed range, which is expected to begin fanning out this spring. According to the manufacturer 20 Tiger Is are in the offering, covering everything from the initial production machines that rolled out in 1942 to the late production versions responsible for defending the Reich towards the latter stages of the war.

We’ve doctored the photos somewhat to make them a bit more presentable since the original images sported a very dark background with extraneous errata thrown in. That said, you can get an overall idea as to how the model will look in its final form, complete with opening hatches and other equipment unique to this version. So please keep this in mind if you’re planning on ordering this model, which will no doubt be updated with better photos once the vehicle has entered its final building stages. Panzers vor!

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Forces of Valor Presents the Sturmtiger to the Fuhrer and the Collecting Community

Forces of Valor’s 1:32 scale German Early Production RW61 Sturmtiger Rocket Assault Mortar with Loading Crane – Prototype Presentation to Hitler, Ehrenfriedhof Arys Proving Grounds, East Prussia, October 20th, 1943 [Bonus Maybach HL 210 TRM P45 V-12 Water-Cooled Engine]

It appears as if Waltersons has at last posted final images of its upcoming 1:32 scale Sturmtiger assault mortar. The gallery shows the vehicle from a number of perspectives and even includes interior photos that show off its detail and working features. While the Company claims that the vehicle will be completed in early January, we believe that shipping delays and other issues points more towards either a February or possibly a March release.

We’ve learned that the price for a pair of metal tracks offered as an upgrade to the Sturmtiger is being pegged at $34.99, although its not clear if they will be available day and date with the arrival of the first Sturmtiger.

Forces of Valor Metal Tracks for the Sturmtiger Assault Mortar

The same tracks can likely be used for their upcoming torrent of Tiger I tanks, which should start to appear sometime in the first quarter of 2021.

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Corgi Slides into Bed With World of Tanks

Corgi’s “Fit-to-box” German Sd. Kfz. 182 PzKpfw VI King Tiger Ausf. B Heavy Tank with Henschel Turret [WOT]

Earlier this year, we learned that Corgi decided to launch a new “fit-to-box” military vehicle range that leveraged the highly popular World of Tanks name as a means of gaining product awareness and, hopefully, spurring impulse sales during the holiday season. For those of you unfamiliar with World of Tanks, its a free massively multiplayer online game that has been around for a number of years and gained quite a hefty international following thanks, in large part, to huge multi-tank engagements in which players gain fame and notoriety by knocking out their opposition in a sort of last man standing battle then leveling up afterwards with the aid of rewards and other perks.

Up until now, however, it wasn’t clear what each of the seven vehicles would look like or when they would be released. With Christmas fast approaching and most of their other ranges already in the sales pipeline, Corgi has finally unveiled the lineup, along with its packaging, and provided details concerning their impending release. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that we’ll get all or some of them in for the holidays thereby making them excellent stocking stuffers, and will, of course, update our release schedule as further word is passed along.

Note: Corgi has announced another addition to the World of Tanks range: an M3 Stuart light tank. While images for this late lineup addition were posted, we’re of the opinion that it will get released some time after the first batch of vehicles hit the streets this Winter.

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Calibre Wings Explains the Fencer in Detail

One of the reasons some model makers succeed in this business where others fail stems from the fact that a select few actually take the time to fully explain their model(s) in detail. Rather than rush their products out the door, Calibre Wings is one such company, oftentimes opting to take a few moments out of their busy schedule to describe their latest offerings so that customers can fully appreciate all of the work that went into the design process. Either through Facebook postings or YouTube videos, Noel Lee, the architect behind the Calibre Wings phenomena, has never shied away from the lime light and, with the release of their second pair of Su-24 Fencers, has created a polished 8-minute plus video showing off all of the model’s details as well as the procedure for assembling and dis-assembling the model both to prevent damage from occurring and showcasing all of the components found throughout the build. We invite you to watch the accompanying video, which will no doubt be followed up with additional post-release videos and testimonials.

We’ve decided to integrate these videos within the affected product listing, whenever and wherever possible. In the past, we were hesitant to do so since we had heard that embedded videos can have an adverse effect on a product’s search ranking on Google. Be that as it may, we’ve decided to change course and, where applicable, incorporate these videos into our listings since its value as a selling aid far exceeds its impact on the search ranking charts.

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The Chinook Update

I’m sorry to say that we’re all out of the Forces of Valor 1:72 scale MH-47G Chinook helicopter. Of course, it didn’t help that we were short-changed, receiving one case of a Japanese CH-47JA instead of the MH-47G we were counting on. We decided to keep it instead of returning it and have listed it on our web site. Typically, the Far Eastern liveries of US-built equipment (Japanese, Taiwanese, Singapore, Korean, etc.) don’t sell as well as models based upon machines designed for the primary user nation. However, seeing as how well all of the previous Chinooks have sold, we decided we could be making a mistake by rejecting it out-of-hand. Be that as it may, we are expecting a follow-on shipment probably towards the middle of December but this could change based upon all manner of issues. We highly doubt that we will be able to turn around all of the helicopter models in the follow-on shipment as soon as they come in and have them arrive at their appointed destinations in time for Christmas. More likely, they will arrive some time thereafter, perhaps as late as the New Year, if the shipping carriers run into problems getting all of their Christmas deliveries out and on time. My gut instinct is to say they are going to get slammed for the holidays, so I’ll err on the side of caution and say that the second wave will more than likely arrive at their final destinations the first week of January.

I know a great many of you have been waiting for a long time for this model, and more orders were placed once word got out that the helo arrived over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. On the plus side, I think there’s a good chance that the manufacturer is quite content with its sales and will more than likely offer a larger scale version of it sometime down the road seeing as how several 1:48 scale helicopters are expected in early 2021.

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