Shout Outs – Page 17 – The Motor Pool

What Goes Up Must Come Down

Forces of Valor’s 1:32 scale German Sd. Kfz. 186 Jagdpanzer VI Jagdtiger Heavy Tank Destroyer with Henschel Suspension – Kampfgruppe Goggler, 3/schwere Panzerjager Abteilung 653, Neustadt an der Weinstrasse, Germany, 1945 [Bonus Maybach V-12 HL 230 P30 Engine]

Forces of Valor has formally announced plans to revise their pricing structure for their 1:32 scale military vehicle line beginning in early 2020. Essentially, smaller scale vehicles, such as their jeep and zundapp, will carry a MAP of $69.99. Medium sized vehicles, which includes the Sherman tanks and other similarly-sized items, will be pegged at $79.99, while the larger vehicles, including their upcoming Jagdpanther, Jagdtiger and Tiger tanks, will sell for $89.99. These increases are designed to cover the costs associated with upgrading all of the existing molds to the revised specifications, the inclusion of larger display bases as well as the creation of new toolings for some of the vehicles expected to appear in 2020. As an aside, we will honor the price of any pre-orders that have already been submitted to us for the larger sized vehicles.

Dragon’s 1:72 scale US M1296 Dragoon Armored Personnel Carrier

In other news, Dragon has set the retail price of its upcoming 1:72 scale Stryker family of military vehicles at $29.99, $10 less than what we originally had them listed for. Here again, we will honor the new lower price and refund any differences due for those individuals that may have pre-paid for these vehicles. Refunds will be issued at the time of shipping, which is now expected to occur in January.

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We’ve Got the Fixins for Thanksgiving!

Air Force 1’s 1:72 scale USAAF Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress Heavy Bomber – “Swamp Fire”, 524th Bombardment Squadron, 379th Bombardment Group, Kimbolton, England, 1944-45

Seems as if everything is rolling in two-by-two these days. A pair of Air Force 1 B-17 bombers, a duet of Forces of Valor T-34/85 tanks and well, a lonesome Air Commander F-4 Phantom fighter-bomber that makes me look like a liar from a literary standpoint. More importantly, these and other new items have been trickling in days before Thanksgiving Day weekend, making them ideal gifts for the holidays even if some of them may not fit in your favorite Christmas stocking.

Forces of Valor’s 1:32 scale Soviet T-34/85 Model 1944 Medium Tank – 55th Guards Tank Brigade, 7th Guards Tank Corps, Berlin, 1945 [Bonus Model V-2 Diesel-Fueled 12-Cylinder Engine]

Lots of additional new products are still expected to come out for the holidays, so make sure you peruse our newsletter, visit our blog and check out our web site on a daily basis to see what just arrived from the North Pole.

Air Commander’s 1:72 scale USN McDonnell F-4J Phantom II Fighter-Bomber – 155532, CAG Bird VF-33 “Starfighters”, USS Dwight Eisenhower (CVN-69)

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The Forces of Valor Update: Message in A Bottle

Forces of Valor’s 1:32 scale German Sd. Kfz. 173 Jagdpanther Ausf. G1 Tank Destroyer with Zimmerit – “234”, schwere Panzerjager Abteilung 654, Normandy, August 1944 [Bonus Maybach HL230 P30 Engine]

Some times a message can get lost within another message, especially when it gets stuck in the crevices of a castaway’s bottle. That’s the case with Forces of Valor when they recently discussed their upcoming 1:32 scale Tiger and Sherman tank variants last week. While reading through some of the ensuing comments and their own remarks it appears as if the Company is finally getting set to discuss their military aircraft line, which was hinted at well over two years ago but has seemingly laid dormant ever since. This December, Waltersons plans on discussing how they will re-purpose some of their existing aircraft tooling, which was never truly a hit with the aviation community. They’ve listened to the community, done their due diligence by researching the competition and believe they are now ready to discuss their plans in detail now that they are competing in a space long dominated by others.

In other news, the Company is hard at work touching up some of their existing tank toolings, particularly the M24 Chaffee light tank, which, according to consumer sentiment, was one of their fan favorites and required little work to bring up to date. New molds are in the offing too, including their first ever Leopard 2A5 and 2A6 main battle tanks, likely offered in German markings and paint schemes. We are hoping that the Stryker, which was cancelled by Unimax before its release, will be drawn out of storage while other tanks, such as the Abrams, gets a face lift to bring it up to today’s standards.

Lastly, pictures have finally posted for their upcoming Jagpanther tank destroyer, which models the earlier G1 variant complete with zimmerit anti-magnetic mine paste. Reading between the lines we’re willing to bet a G2 version will eventually be made, which featured, among other things, a two-piece gun barrel and the omission of any zimmerit. Finally, a pair of 1:32 scale T-34/85 tanks are finally en route, and should be ready for immediate shipment right before Thanksgiving. Gobble gobble!

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The Forces of Valor Update: Tigers on the Rhine

Recently, Waltersons posted several comments concerning their upcoming 1:32 scale Tiger tanks to their Facebook page. According to the FOV rep, 24 versions will eventually be offered, although its not clear if all of them will come out in 2020 and how many involve repaints which the Company considers as a separate SKU. What is known is that the manufacturer has spent an inordinate amount of time and effort retooling the original mold which first surfaced way back in 2003, thereby ensuring that it will pass muster amongst the FOV community of 2019. Four versions of the Tiger I will be produced (initial, early, mid and late revisions) each with their own intricate features, characteristics and shortcomings that should sit well with discriminating collectors. For starters, all of the vehicles feature a reworked suspension enabling them to smoothly roll along a flat or uneven surface. Each will come with their appropriate road wheels, which ranged from the initial rubber rimmed wheels that tended to get bogged down in the mud to the more efficient steel rimmed wheels used in the latter versions of the Tiger I.

According to Waltersons, the Sturmtiger, which was never a part of the original Unimax line up of combat vehicles, will likely come out in mid-year and feature a fully detailed crew compartment, although its not clear at present if collectors will be able to remove the superstructure to peer inside the vehicle. Likewise, its not certain if the vehicle will come with stacks of ammunition stored inside the vehicle and/or a crane that was used to lower the ammunition into the gun’s breech. Since the manufacturer tends to take the high road when it comes to replicating armored fighting vehicles of World War II its more than likely going to occur, albeit at a slightly higher price considering all of the extra work, labor and material going into the effort.

Lastly, the Company claims that the first batch of Tigers will be completed some time in January. Even if this pans out, its not likely we will see any of the models before March, at the earliest, due in part to the upcoming Chinese New Year, continued tension in the streets of Hong Kong and trade war currently underway between the Peoples Republic of China and the US.

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Our Facebook Shop Goes Live

Even though its taken us some time to get around to it, customers can now purchase a select group of items from our Facebook page. While not every item in our growing catalog will be added to our Facebook shop, we will put up for sale many of the most recent arrivals, taking them down once inventory has been depleted. Thus far, only a handful of items have been included within the “shop” but expect many more items to be added as more new items come in this holiday season. Keep in mind, these very same items can be purchased from our web site, which contains everything we sell as well as those items not yet released by the manufacturers. We will likely build out our Instagram shop next, followed, in rapid succession, by our Target + and Toys ‘R” Us sales channels in early 2020.

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Tales of Transparency: Lagging Indicators

With the end-of-year tariff imposition looming, it appears as if several manufacturers and distributors are doing their utmost to stuff as much product into the supply chain to avoid unwarranted and potentially expensive fees that are then tacked on to the asking price of most hobby-related items. As a result, several late year deliveries, which were expected in early November, now seem to be delayed by several weeks, possibly arriving after the all-important Thanksgiving Day weekend. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that a late November/early December time frame will see the arrival of a number of shipments, among them Forces of Valor, Eaglemoss, Air Commander and Air Force 1. Where this puts our December shipments is anyone’s guess so we’ll stay on top of this issue as best we can and report any further delays should they arise.

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Happy Veteran’s Day

To all who have served, and to all those that continue to serve. Thank you for protecting our nation. Happy Veteran’s Day.

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The Forces of Valor Update: Tanks for the Memories

Forces of Valor’s 1:32 scale German Sd. Kfz. 186 Jagdpanzer VI Jagdtiger Heavy Tank Destroyer with Henschel Suspension – schwere Panzerjager Abteilung 653, Neustadt an der Weinstrasse, Germany, 1945 [Bonus Maybach V-12 HL 230 P30 Engine]

Behind-the-scenes, we’ve had some frank discussions with the powers-that-be at Waltersons, the new caretakers of the Forces of Valor line. While the Company is doing its utmost to maintain the highest levels of quality to ensure satisfaction and value at every level, they’ve also stepped up the rate at which they are bringing new product to market, with several 1:32 scale military vehicles due out before the 2020 Chinese New Year. In other news, they will begin including numbered limited edition collector cards with each new item beginning with their upcoming Jagdpanther tank destroyers. Also being included will be a warranty card, thereby making it easier for collectors to obtain replacement parts should the need arise.

Forces of Valor’s 1:32 scale German Sd. Kfz. 173 Jagdpanther Tank Destroyer with Zimmerit “302”, schwere Panzerjager Abteilung 654, Normandy, 1944 [Bonus Maybach HL230 P30 Engine]

In other news, we’ve signed off on our first Forces of Valor print advertisement, which is scheduled to run in the February issue of World War II magazine and be picked up in the March issue of Military History magazine. While the format will likely remain the same throughout the year, the ad’s contents will be updated periodically as new products begin to filter into the marketplace and other older vehicles are slowly phased out. These ads will likely be bolstered by other complementary advertisements designed to showcase several of their other product categories, particularly their aircraft, helicopters and, dare I say, the Extreme Metal series, of which so many people have been asking about over the years.

That’s it for now, but keep an eye out on our blog and web site for the latest information as it pertains to the Forces of Valor series.

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The “Shock” -tober Update

PMA’s 1:72 scale German Mid Production Sd. Kfz. 181 PzKpfw VI Tiger Ausf. E Heavy Tank – Obersturmbanfuhrer Otto Carius, ‘217’, schwere Panzerabteilung 502, Malinava, Russia, 1944 [Bonus Maybach HL 230 TRM P45 Engine]

There were several lines that we expected to arrive around the end of October that have apparently been shunted into November. Modelcollect and PMA have fallen victim to this shipping delay, as has Eaglemoss, which owes us a great deal of Star-Trek-related merchandise. Presently, its not clear if Corgi is on the docket for a “fright-fest” showing, which would have included two of their eight Military Legends combat vehicles and a pair of 1:72 Aviation Archive aircraft. Right now, we are assuming they will make it on time as will the October Hobby Master shipment. Even the two Air Force 1 1:72 scale B-17 Flying Fortresses have been asked to go round the tower one more time and are now scheduled for a November landing.

We bring this up because November is oftentimes a tough month in the industry, since its punctuated by the Thanksgiving Day weekend, as well as both Black Friday and Cyber Monday – two key selling days for the industry at-large. So, if new product hasn’t arrived before these second half events kick off, then we’ll have to keep our fingers crossed that they somehow still show up by early December in time to make it under the Christmas tree.

Corgi’s 1:50 scale British Cromwell Mk. IV Tank – “Blenheim”, 2nd Armoured Battalion, Welsh Guards, 6th Guards Armoured Brigade, Brussels, Belgium, September 1944

On the flip side, the upcoming holiday season looks to work in favor of sellers for other reasons. Thanksgiving comes late this year (November 28th) as does Hannukah (December 24th). FedEx is making Sunday deliveries thereby speeding up the supply chain, as will UPS in early 2020. It also appears as if the US has worked out a deal with members of the International Postal Agreement, which means the international landscape will change somewhat for both imports and exports, particularly as it applies to shipments coming out of mainland China.

As we alluded to in a previous post, we plan on building out our new web site some time in January, as well as spin up two more sales channels, bringing us up to four. Two more will be spun up in mid 2020, once we feel comfortable our new order fulfillment system is working without major incident. That’s pretty much it for now so enjoy Halloween and make sure to submit your orders as early as possible to avoid disappointment.

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Hobby Master Closes Out the Month of September in Stealthy Fashion

Hobby Master’s 1:72 scale USAF Lockheed F-117A Stealth Fighter-Bomber – “Vega 31”, 7th Fighter Squadron “Screamin Demons”, “Operation Allied Force”, Kosovo War, 1999

True-to-form, the September cache of Hobby Master products have arrived at our distributor and are now headed our way, come what may. Without further ado, here’s what you can look forward to adding to your diecast arsenal in just a few days time:

On the Ground…:

#HG3812 – US M8 Light Armored Car – “C-30”, Unidentified Unit, Ardennes Forest, December 1944 (1:72 Scale)

#HG3813 – US M20 Greyhound Light Armored Car – Unidentified Unit, Ardennes Forest, December 1944 (1:72 Scale)

…And in the Air:

#HA0195 – Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21SMT “Fishbed-K” Fighter – “Blue 22”, Krasnodar Higher Aviation Training Facility, Soviet Union, 1980 (1:72 Scale)

#HA0196 – Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21SMT “Fishbed-K” Fighter – “Blue 60”, 296 IAP, Soviet Union, 1980 (1:72 Scale)

#HA1222 – USN Grumman TBF-1C Avenger Torpedo-Bomber – “White 93”, VT-15, USS Essex (CV 9), November 1944 (1:72 Scale)

#HH1206 – Taiwanese Boeing AH-64E Apache Guardian Attack Helicopter (1:72 Scale)

#HH1207 – Republic of Korea Boeing AH-64E Apache Guardian Attack Helicopter (1:72 Scale)

#HA5309 – Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23MLD “Flogger-K” Fighter – “White 55”, 120 IAP, Bagram AB, Afghanistan, 1989 (1:72 Scale)

#HA5805 – USAF Lockheed F-117A Stealth Fighter-Bomber – “Vega 31”, 7th Fighter Squadron “Screamin Demons”, “Operation Allied Force”, Kosovo War, 1999 (1:72 Scale)

#HA3022 – USAF General Dynamics EF-111A Raven Electronics Warfare Aircraft – ECS/48th TFW(P), Operation Desert Storm, Saudi Arabia, Early 1991 [Low-Vis Scheme] (1:72 Scale)