Spring seems to agree with Waltersons, the new owners of the Forces of Valor line, with two 1:32 scale vehicles now completed and under their belt and another pair scheduled to go into production the first week of May. According to the manufacturer, both the German Jagdpanther tank destroyer (#FOV801007A) and Russian T-34/85 medium tank (#FOV801013A) have been given the green light, and will likely make it to market towards the end of June or early July. This comes as good news to collectors, who will likely see the fruits of Walterson’s labors at the upcoming hobby show in Shizuoka, Japan, held on May 8th. Its entirely possibly other items, such as the Liaoning aircraft carrier (#FOV861010A), have moved past the prototyping stage with finished packaging and detailing now being shown for the first time.

While the Company is still lagging behind their original production schedule unveiled two years ago, its comforting to see that they are finally picking up speed and talking optimistically about the all-important fourth quarter. In other news, it would appear as if their radio controlled 1:16 scale T-72 main battle tank is moving along nicely, if you don’t mind the feeble pun, so we may re-open the pre-order window shortly once we feel more confident it has entered the production phase. Three different versions are reportedly in the works, each aimed at catering to three segments of the marketplace: the casual hobbyist, hard core user, and the extreme enthusiast.

With March just a day away, I sit here, yet again, having to explain why the eagerly awaited Forces of Valor 88mm FLaK gun has been further delayed. Back in early February, just before the start of Chinese New Year, we were told that our shipment of 88mm FLaK guns could be expected to ship out in late February after Chinese New Year had concluded. That meant we would see our merchandise in early to mid-March, barring any shipping or customs issues. Earlier today, we were told by our distributor that their shipment of FLaK guns was being delayed again and could now be expected sometime in May, two months beyond the original forecast date. Ordinarily, I hem and haw, but typically accept the news with a grain of salt since there isn’t all that much we can do, except tell our clientele that they must wait even longer to receive their order.

What I find troubling is that for the past few weeks the manufacturer has been selling the product online through Facebook while retailers and distributors are left wondering when they will be receiving the product. I’m not sure why this issue is playing out the way it is but it simply does not sit well with me nor should it sit well with everyone that pre-ordered the gun. Moreover, I’m not clear why the manufacturer has decided upon this course of action or can justify their decision to sell it to interested parties while their distribution network continues to wait.

Thus far, the new caretaker of the FOV brand has done a marvelous job of producing some fan favorites, taking existing tooling and tweaking them to bring them up to today’s standards. The problem is that they are promising the moon but delivering moon dust – continually changing the production schedule, delaying the release of certain items and generally not keeping up with requests for background information in any reasonable fashion. In years past, we heavily advertised the line in various enthusiast print publications and planned to do the same with the revamped range later this year. The problem is that putting together an ad campaign for FOV is akin to aiming at and attempting to hit a moving target, with information changing to the point where it becomes utterly useless. So, we’ve made the decision not to advertise the line at this time, which would have attracted even more buyers to the fold and likely would have led to even greater demand. We’ve also amended the timetable for previously announced FOV releases, pushing them out to the end of the year since no hard-and-fast information is still on the table.

Right now, its upsetting to have to share this information with you but I thought you ought to know where things stand. It’s frustrating to be sure, and we certainly hope that they get their act together soon before we throw in the towel. It wouldn’t be the first nor the last time we gave up on a line.