Shout Outs

Forces of Valor Makes an Encore Performance

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Waltersons, the new owners of the Forces of Valor marque, made sure their newly announced 2016 lineup was on display at the 56th All Japan Models & Hobby Show 2016 held in Tokyo, Japan. Shown is one of their relaunched warships, complete with its new display plinth and etched metallic name plate. Also highlighted were some of the past 1:32 scale favorites, which may come with updated paint schemes and revised packaging to differentiate them from the Unimax releases. Its not clear when these items will make it into the retail channel, so for now we would suggest not counting on them making it under the Christmas tree or by the Hanukkah bush. They’ll likely show up towards the end of the year.

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Calibre Wings Shows Off its Wares

At the 56th All Japan Models & Hobby Show 2016 held in Tokyo, Japan, Calibre Wings revealed the first set of photos of their soon-to-be-released pair of F-14 Tomcat fighters. Expected in October, the inaugural pairing of Tomcats will be based upon both an A and B variant of the fleet defense fighter: the first from VF-1 “Wolf Pack”, then embarked upon the USS Enterprise (CVN-65), during Operation Frequent Wind in 1974 while the second was attached to VF-103 “Jolly Rogers”. Each plane shows off the unique tri-stanchion display stand developed expressly for these models along with the product packaging.

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If You Like ’em Big, then 2017 Could be Your Year

For several years, collectors have been wondering when or even if Forces of Valor would get around to releasing their next big 1:16 scale tank. Dubbed their Extreme Metal Series, these vehicles were certainly “extreme” in nature, oftentimes weighing more than 20 pounds and accompanied by all sorts of accessories, equipment and other items that helped them to stand out from the pack. While most retailed for around $400-$500, many have escalated in value, oftentimes commanding prices two or three times what they originally went for.

Under Unimax, their original owners, its been a long time since anything new was introduced, much to the consternation of collectors worldwide. Indeed as the Company pared down inventory of their last vehicle, a US M4A3 Sherman tank, and wound down operations to get out of the business, it looked as if the series might be doomed, with no new product in sight. Fortunately, all that may have changed. Now a member of the Waltersons family, who purchased the line in its entirety, the new owners of Forces of Valor seem to be genuinely interested in reinvigorating the brand from top to bottom. On Facebook, they let it be known that a new 1:16 scale vehicle is indeed in the works and slated to be shown for the first time at the upcoming Nuremberg Toy Fair in February.

Its not clear what they have in store for us, although they have indicated that, in an effort to preserve the value of the original set of vehicles, they have no intention of reintroducing any of the former liveries. That’s not to say they wouldn’t consider offering, say, an Otto Carius Tiger I tank, or perhaps Richard Wilfred Harry Erich Freiherr von Rosen’s King Tiger, who passed away in 2015. Or, they could pivot in an entirely new direction and offer, say, the “Easy 8” Sherman tank that Brad Pitt commanded in the feature film, Fury. So, while we’d love to speculate, the purpose of this post was just to whet the appetite of the collecting community and get them geared up for the Nuremberg Toy Fair which is just a few months away. We don’t know what they plan to offer, however, if any information should surface before the show, which is entirely possible, we will let everyone know as soon as possible.

Update: According to a Facebook post from the All Japan Hobby Show, Waltersons plans to build a mid production Tiger I heavy tank as its next 1:16 scale vehicle and have it ready for shipment some time in 2017. No details were provided concerning the livery, commander, production numbers and attendant accessories, and no information was given about the price or anticipated date of delivery.

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Air Force 1 Pays a Visit to the Smithsonian

We are thrilled to report the arrival of the first set of aircraft in Air Force 1’s all-new Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Aircraft of Our Time series. While the marque could use some pruning, these multi-scale warbirds pay homage to many of the most iconic aircraft in the US inventory, from the venerable B-25 Mitchell medium bomber to the super-sleek, super-fast SR-17 Blackbird, all of which have been replicated previously in larger scale formats. Affordably priced and attractively packaged, these aircraft make wonderful gifts for the holidays and a great way for new collectors to gain a foothold in the hobby.

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Variants? We’ve Got a Few

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While researching some of the latest models coming to market, we thought it fascinating to see the multitude of other “what-if” aircraft that either entered service with all the world’s air forces or were left languishing on the drawing board in favor of other designs. For instance, while most collectors and historians are eminently familiar with the iconic shape of the North American P-51 Mustang fighter, we are willing to bet that many never heard of the A-36 Apache. The North American A-36 Apache (listed in some sources as “Invader”, but also called Mustang) was the ground-attack/dive bomber version of the North American P-51 Mustang, from which it could be distinguished by the presence of rectangular, slatted dive brakes above and below the wings. A total of 500 A-36 dive bombers served in North Africa, the Mediterranean, Italy and the China-Burma-India theater during World War II before being withdrawn from operational use in 1944.

Single Fin F-14

Fast forward to the late 60s, and Grumman even contemplated a single fin F-14 Tomcat as its entrant in a new naval fleet defense fighter fly-off, as opposed to the twin fin version settled upon by the designers. Apparently, during the design process, some 9,000 hours of wind-tunnel testing were performed on some 2,000 different configurations and nearly 400 combinations of air inlets and exhaust nozzles. In 1968, the design studies of the Grumman engineers concentrated on 8 layouts before the E version became the winning design (See table below). Thoughts during the design process incorporated the behavior during high speed (supersonic) flight, supersonic combat ceiling performance, trouble-free engine performance, engine growth potential and subsonic longitudinal stability. The fixed-wing version was rejected because of its weight, carrier suitability and because of its low-altitude performance. Some of the basic design background for the F-14 (and also for the F-111) was gathered using a German x-plane which was built during 1944.

In summation, it would be nice to see the model makers take a long and hard look at some of the other aircraft designs that saw combat, requiring, in some instances, minor modifications to their existing tooling to properly pull off. When every one else is producing loads of standard fare F-14s to go against one another, perhaps the answer lies in living life on the edge and doing something a bit out of the ordinary.

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Forces of Valor: Out with the Old, In with the New

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As the new owners of the Forces of Valor brand move closer to announcing their initial product offerings, we have decided to make some changes to the way in which we present the brand to the public. Because the new owners will likely reintroduce some of the older items in updated packaging or with different accessories and features, we will be distinguishing old inventory from new with some minor SKU modifications to lessen confusion yet extend the brand.

Any of the products remaining in inventory that were offered by Unimax, the original makers of the line, will have a product code that begins with UNI. Any new items being offered by the new manufacturer, Waltersons (Walter & Sons), will sport a FOV product identifier. So, a Unimax-built 1:32 scale Tiger I tank will carry the code UNI80003, while a similar Waltersons release will be identified as FOV80003, unless, of course, the new owners decide to introduce a completely different set of product codes.

Enterprise

Speaking of new, Forces of Valor has released details concerning their first new static model. According to their Facebook page, the Company plans to reintroduce a 1:700 scale replica of the USS Enterprise (CVN-65), which is reportedly set for production some time in September. We’ve posted CAD images showing the new warship and some of its embarked aircraft atop the flight deck.

Enterprisea

Note that the manufacturer has elected to go with a more elegant wooden base and machined metal supporting pillars over the previous plastic design, as well as an etched metal name plate. Nice improvements meant to make the diorama look even more attractive.

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Forces of Valor Lays Out Their R/C Plans

80002

Since their success lies in the radio controlled business, Waltersons, the new owners of the Forces of Valor marque, recently addressed how they plan to resurrect and improve upon the radio controlled military vehicles that once formed the cornerstone of the Forces of Valor brand.

“Forces of Valor (Unimax) first introduced the 1/24 scale radio controlled tank line back in early 2010, unfortunately this R/c line had been discontinued 36 months later due to electronic supplier issue. Ever since then, these 8 tank models have been sleeping quietly in their warehouse. And once the buyout of Forces of Valor had finally been completed, the first thing Waltersons did, was to bring the 1/24 scale R/c tanks back to life.

And after nearly 6 years since the introduction of this R/c line, are you thinking that Waltersons is just simply re-cooking the same dish? still 27MHz control system, complicated drive system, simple sound effect, average paint job and regular Infrared battle system?

Not at all!!!! We are about to re-define the standard of 1/24 scale R/c tanks, and check the following features list to see if there is anything you like 🙂

Exterior:
– CNC machined aluminum gun barrel
– Hobby grade painting
– Weathering effect
– Zimmerit pattern on Tiger I tank
– Natural casting surface effect on Sherman tank

Hardware:
– Coils suspension system
– Individual track links (Clipping type)
– Turret rotates 320 degrees
– Gun barrel elevates 25 degrees
– Drives forward, backward, left and right (Check our demo video later to see how good the handling is)
– Infrared shooting target board (Standard equipment)

Electronics:
– New 2.4GHz FHSS radio system with a minimum coverage of 60 meters
– ARM Based MCU architecture
– Remote control volume adjustment
– Remote control headlight
– Left & Right hand throttle interchangeable
– 12 steps throttle responsiveness control
– Auxiliary control mode -> can rotate turret, elevates gun barrel, fire machine guns and main gun
– Engine running mode -> drive tank forward, backward, left, right, battle with other tanks plus everything you can do in auxiliary power mode (** This feature was unseen in 1/24 scale R/c tanks in the past, and now we have brought this to you as a standard feature)

Sound:
– REAL sound recorded from museums + private tank collectors
– Maybach 231 engine sound for Tiger I, Continental V8 for Sherman M4A3 and V-2-34 for Soviet T34/85… every type of tank produce its unique engine note just like the real machine
– Class D amplifier
– 1W output speaker
– 4 Channels sound chip, can play up to 4 sound effects simultaneously
– 14 sound effect profiles
1. Engine ignition
2. Engine shut off
3. Engine idling
4. Acceleration
5. Maximum acceleration
6. Deceleration
7. Machine gun (recorded from real weapons)
8. Main gun – obtained from sound library, unfortunately many vehicles at the museum has disarmed the main gun feature 🙁
9. Turret rotation
10. Turret braking
11. Gun barrel elevation
12. Tank explosion (when you get hit by enemies)
13. Caught fire (after you are defeated)
14. Headlight switch on

Power:
– 4 x 1.5V Alkaline battery (Transmitter)
– 6 x 1.5V Alkaline battery (Tank on board)
– Optional Ni-MH rechargeable battery (Tank on board)

Battle system:
– Team A & B battle system, now support up to 16 players. You can form a team up to 15 players against 1 opponent player. Team combination can be 8:8, 7:5, 4:3 etc…
– Team N battle mode: last man standing (Fight everyone, no team)

Safety:
– Tank shut off reminder system
– Automatic power cut off after 4 minutes of idling

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We are working with our distributors now on packaging, we should be able to offer “Tank only” pack or complete Ready to run package. We have received a lot of emails from collectors saying that there is no need for them to keep 5 transmitters because they want to collect 5 tank models.”

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When War Becomes a Conversation Piece

War and Peace

Our friends across the pond have announced the publication of a beautifully illustrated, coffee table-sized book based upon the world’s largest military vehicle show. According to the publisher, the “War and Peace Show Remembered: A Celebration of the World’s Largest Military Vehicle Show.” is a 400-page hardback book with over 500 illustrations, that captures the essence of the event through hundreds of photographs, plus images of show programmes, posters and vintage adverts that date as far back as the early 1980s, when the show was only a tiny gathering of Invicta Military vehicle Preservation Society (IMPS) members with about 100 vehicles.

A Kickstarter campaign has been launched http://kck.st/2aboHFQ, complete with several stretch goals, all aimed at raising funds to help produce the book and get the word out about their archives and future events. You can find other related information on their web page: http://www.warandpeace.uk.com/

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Celebrating 100 Years of the Tank

Tank 100 Vignette

To commemorate the first tank engagement, which occurred at the Battle of Flers, in northwestern France, The Tank Museum is holding a special event on September 17th, 2016, called TANK 100. According to the web site, “TANK 100 is being held in conjunction with The Royal Tank Regiment and will feature living history, commemorative tank displays, talks and more.

Visitors can expect to see a display of modern British Army vehicles as well as a variety of historic vehicles from The Tank Museum collection, to exemplify the legacy of those first tanks and the men who fought in them.

There will also be a First World War mock battle, including pyrotechnics, living history reenactors and an aircraft display from the Great War Display Team. The arena displays will end with a short commemorative service, led by the Royal Tank Regiment.”

You can find more information on the event at http://www.tankmuseum.org/whats-on/events/bovevt53512.

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Eaglemoss Rings the Ship-to-Shore Bell

EMGC73

Our distributor for the Eaglemoss Warships of the World line has confirmed that a massive fleet of models has weighed anchor from Asia and should be arriving in port sometime towards the end of July. Oddly, at this late date, we still don’t know which ships are expected, both new and old, so we are unable to update our web site accordingly and possibly assign new anticipated release dates for any late comers. On the other hand, its entirely possible all of the new ships could be headed our way, which would obviously require some work on our part to get all of our old orders ready for processing and shipment. So, if you’re thinking about placing an order for some of the ships currently unavailable, we would strongly recommend you do so quickly, because it its entirely possible all of the new ships will be spoken for as soon as they do arrive. We hate to disappoint, but don’t say we didn’t warn you, if the fleet heads back out to see as soon as they land.

Update: The Eaglemoss navy has made landfall. In addition to all of our back ordered warships, the following new ships are expected to head into port by the end of this week:

EMGC42: IJN heavy cruiser Kako, 1942. The second vessel in the two-ship Furutaka class.
EMGC44: IJN aircraft carrier Hosho, 1944. The world’s first commissioned ship designed and built as an aircraft carrier.
EMGC45: IJN battleship Satsuma, 1910. A semi-dreadnought design, Satsuma was the first battleship built in Japan.
EMGC46: HMS Prince of Wales, 1941. Prince of Wales fought in the Battle of the Denmark Strait (the sinking of the Bismarck) before being sunk herself in the Pacific in 1941.

Better take a look at them soon, cause they will likely get gobbled up quickly.

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