To all who have served, and to all those that continue to serve. Thank you for protecting our nation. Happy Veteran’s Day.
Shout Outs
The Forces of Valor Update: Tanks for the Memories
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.
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.
The “Shock” -tober Update
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.
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.
Hobby Master Closes Out the Month of September in Stealthy Fashion
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…:
…And in the Air:
#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)
History on Display
Its been rather quiet of late with little in the way of product news to share with our valued readership. On the upside, we’ve been contacted by Mr. Axel Hernborg who would like to share his thoughts and opinions on several important museums and historical sites that would likely be of interest to our viewership. So, if you like to get out every once in a while, and would take great pleasure in seeing actual weapons of war as opposed to scale models, we strongly recommend you pay a visit to his website and review his article.
Corgi’s Harvest Moon
As we gear up for the holiday season, Corgi seems to be hard-at-work harvesting their latest crop of diecast delicacies. Here’s a quick look at what you can expect from the English modelmaker in the month of September:
For the ground pounders:
For our aviation enthusiasts:
#AA37908 – French SPAD XIII Fighter – S7000, Rene Fonck, Escadrille 103, Autumn 1918 (1:48 Scale)
As an aside, we were curious as to why the inboard panels of each engine cowling and panel forward of the windscreen was painted green instead of the natural metal finish shown throughout the aircraft’s exterior. This appears on both the Corgi B-17 shown here as well as the upcoming B-17 from Air Force 1. Apparently, after the bare metal finish was adopted by the USAAF, it was discovered that the glare from the metal finish forward of the cockpit and on the inboard sides of the engine cowlings was blinding the pilots inside the cockpit. As a result, khaki green shields were repainted on these selected parts.
Whose Top of the Heap?
We’ve pretty much given up on the Top Gun: Maverick line of military aircraft and accessories that was supposedly coming out from TSM Model Wings. The film is slated to debut on June 26th, 2020, so we would have thought that any new products based on the film would already be in the pipeline. Likewise, the Company doesn’t seem to be making any aircraft or accessories connected with the original film, which tells us they can no longer do so. They haven’t officially said anything as yet, but sometimes silence speaks louder than words.
Furthermore, with the announcement on July 26th that Mattel had inked a deal with Paramount, the producers of the Top Gun franchise, we are assuming that Mattel now has complete merchandising rights to both films and will likely begin showing new product for both films at the upcoming Toy Fair held in early February. While Mattel intends to produce a full range of Top-Gun-related products including toys, figures and playsets, it isn’t clear if they will address the high-end collectible market which has sustained TSM Model Wings for the past several years.
We have therefore decided to remove any product that had been announced by TSM Model Wings almost two years ago at Toy Fair and show only those items we still have in stock. We hope TSM still retains some merchandising rights and can continue producing Top Gun-related merchandise but right now we have our doubts and must act accordingly.
Hobby Master Hits the Dusty August Trail
We’ve learned that the August cache of Hobby Master products has arrived at our distributor so we should have them in stock by week’s end, barring any unforeseen issues. Here’s what’s headed our way:
Mattel and Paramount Feel the Need for Speed
Toymaker Mattel has inked a global deal with Paramount Pictures to produce a line of diecast toys, aircraft, playsets and other pertinent products based upon the upcoming film, Top Gun: Maverick. The agreement also covers the original film, Top Gun, which came out in the mid 1980s.
According to NBC, which broke the news back on July 26th, the line will be available ahead of the film’s debut, which is currently set for June 26th, 2020. Its not clear if this is an exclusive agreement, thereby shutting out TSM Model Wings from making or selling any Top Gun-related diecast products. TSM has held a licensing deal with Paramount for some time and, as of last week, still maintains that they will be producing a range of diecast aircraft based upon both films.
Are You Sure that’s a Tiger in Your Tank?
Recently, Corgi talked up the release of their 1:50 scale military vehicle series on Facebook, showing photos of the packaging as well as other pertinent material from their marketing department. One forum goer responded that the Tiger shown in the promotional material did not properly represent the vehicle in question. According to the sales literature, the tank being offered is an initial production Tiger I Ausf. H, one of 100 vehicles that comprised the first batch of tanks to reach the battlefield in late 1942.
We took a closer look at the image and, lo and behold, the critic was right. Not only does the tank shown sport steel road wheels, a feature commonplace among some of the late model Tigers and designed to prevent mud from building up between the wheels. But it didn’t end there. The initial production Tiger did not come with armored side skirts as shown on the Corgi tank. Furthermore, the initial production Tiger came with side-mounted storage boxes attached to the turret, which is clearly absent on the Corgi replica.
Corgi’s Tiger is slated to come out in December so they still have a few months to correct these issues by either building an initial production Tiger — not likely to happen this late in the game — or going with a late model vehicle that perhaps saw action towards the latter stages of the war. This would require different packaging, an altogether different camouflage scheme, and, of course, different markings and insignia. While its great to see Corgi make a return to the diecast battlefield, we hope they’re doing their due diligence by matching up historical records with the right vehicle being portrayed.