Shout Outs

One Flew Over the Eagle(moss) Nest

For several months running, we were receiving a steady diet of 1:43 scale military vehicles from Eaglemoss. Big and beefy, not-to-mention priced competitively at only $19.99 apiece, these vehicles have continuously been flying off our shelves since making it to our shores and proves that the market for 1:43 scale vehicles is still alive and well. While their web site has been overhauled in recent weeks (https://shop.eaglemoss.com/military-vehicles-of-the-second-world-war), they still aren’t showing any new vehicles for sale, even though several dozen new items have been announced and released in Europe and elsewhere. We know a great many of you are waiting with baited breath to lay your hands on the next vehicles in the series, so we’ll certainly keep you abreast should anything change in the not-too-distant future. For now, I guess we just have to jealously ogle these vehicles from afar, or suggest you try and pick some up on eBay.

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Retailing 101: When 2+2 No Longer Equals Four

We’ve been grappling with rising wholesale costs for some time, watching how it has slowly had a detrimental effect on the hobby we know and love. We had thought that with the drop in the price of oil over the last six months, together with worldwide economic stagnation, that product prices would remain level or, heaven forbid, actually decline a tad. It hasn’t.

Recently we decided to drop one line that we’ve carried from the very start simply because we no longer think that the consumer is willing to pay their MAP price. Now, we’re faced with a similar problem with another longtime vendor, and may have to drop them as well for much the same reason. We’re not going to name names, or poke a company in the eye when we understand that they are faced with increasing manufacturing costs and finding a way to make ends meet, but the fact remains that at some point someone has to blink. Well, we’re blinking.

Our job as a retailer is to regularly curate our product portfolio, ensuring that our customers get the very best product available at the lowest possible price while we make a residual margin that keeps us in business. We bring in new lines that we think the consumer will enjoy, try to stay current on market trends, and drop under-performing lines that are no longer holding their own. We’ve been doing this for fifteen years and know the business well enough to keep the lights on and the bill collectors away. But when someone says you now have to sell a loaf of bread for $5 that once upon a time not too long ago sold for $1, then compare it to loaves of bread from other vendors available for a fraction of the price, then it no longer makes sense for us to peddle their wares despite our sentiments or history.

We’re not sure where this vent will lead or if if will have any effect on the hobby at large. We will, however, be closely monitoring this situation and take the necessary steps to keep our inventory in line with consumer demands.

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Disney Adds Two More Star Wars Films to its Roster

Speaking at an investor meeting, Disney chairman, Bob Iger, announced two more feature-length Star Wars films are on the near-term horizon. An unnamed Episode VIII has been pencilled in for a May 2017 opening, while Rogue One, the first stand-alone film set in the Star Wars universe, is scheduled to debut in December 2016. More information concerning the announcements can be found here: http://www.starwars.com/

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The Vincent Saga

We believe that Minichamps first announced their plans to build a 1:12 scale replica of the Vincent Black Lightning motorcycle some six years ago. When it was first announced, the minimum advertised price was set at $109.99. Six years later, and with no sign of the bike showing up, that price has steadily crept up to its new price of $179.99. Likewise, the Rollie free version has inched up in price, and is now quoted at $229.99. Ordinarily, we would absorb these price hikes if they were within reason, however, we simply cannot do that in these particular cases.

So here is where we stand with these bikes. Anyone that has prepaid for either of these bikes via PayPal has two options. They can request a refund or accept the price hike and they will be billed the difference when the bike finally materializes. If you pre-ordered these bikes with a credit card, then the new prices you will be billed are $179.99 and $229.99 respectively. If this is unacceptable, please contact us and we will cancel your order. If we do not hear from you, then we will assume that the new prices are acceptable to you.

Keep in mind that although the bikes have been marked up dramatically, we still do not have any idea when either bike will come out, much less post a picture of the hand sample. So, it is entirely possible that the bikes can be delayed further, in which case the price might rise again. We do not know why the bikes have still not been released and are just as frustrated as our valued customers. We apologize for this predicament and hope that you understand that this situation is beyond our control.

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Star Wars Celebration 2015

“What is thy bidding, my master.”

– Darth Vader

While no secrets were revealed at Toy Fair concerning the upcoming Star Wars film, that doesn’t mean there won’t be goodies galore at the next Star Wars Celebration. Scheduled to run from April 16th-19th, at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California, several important luminaries will be in attendance, among them both Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher, two key actors in the first film trilogy. Also slated to appear is J.J. Abrams, the director for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, as well as Kathleen Kennedy, who took over from George Lucas as the head of Lucasfilm.

There’s a good possibility that several merchandising lines could be shown to the public or behind closed doors, all designed to tempt the senses and tantalize the consumer. We’ll have more information concerning the event in the weeks to come.

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The Motor Pool’s ‘March Madness’ 15% Off Sale!

He drives, he shoots, he scores! Scores with our annual 15% off ‘March Madness’ Sale, that is. This sale begins on Monday, February 23ed, and ends on Tuesday, March 31st, 2015. This discount can be used for any type of item except radio controlled military vehicles, from in-stock merchandise to pre-orders, back orders and special orders.

As always, we would greatly appreciate it if you could keep these orders separate and do not combine non-qualifying items with sales merchandise. Please note that this discount cannot be used for any of the radio controlled vehicles we sell. If you have any questions, feel free to call or email us. Customers must apply discount code “TMP136” at the point of checkout in the coupon code box. Sale ends Tuesday, March 31st, 2015, 12AM EST

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2015: One Must Rise and One Must Fall

We’ve been in this business for fifteen years now, and have seen a number of curious developments take hold in the diecast military space. Over the last year or so, for instance, we’ve witnessed the rise of both Air Force 1 Model Company and Eaglemoss Collections – the former a newcomer to high-end diecast modelmaking while the latter has steadily built a multi-tiered portfolio of partworks product ranges. Both companies have done well over the past year or so, perhaps too well, which has caused seismic changes in the market place.

Earlier today, our principal distributor reported that both Falcon Models and Panzerstahl were ceasing production, at least for the forseeable future, neither company offering anything new at the recently-concluded Nuremberg Toy Fair. We had heard that Falcon Models factory in China had closed, and that the owner was seeking another factory to take over production. We can only surmise that they were unsuccessful. What does come as a surprise is the end-of-the-line for Panzerstahl, a German-based company that we thought had carved out a respectable niche in the military vehicle arena. In fact, their last few efforts were tied, in part, to the World of Tanks online massively multiplayer game, so we thought that might be enough to keep the wind in their sails. Apparently, it was not.

So, we will be selling off our existing stocks of both Falcon Models and Panzerstahl, and we hope other newcomers will step to the fore to take their place. In a related news story, we still haven’t heard any word from the Unimax Forces of Valor camp, despite rumors from their new distributor that they were still alive and kicking. That too isn’t a good sign and it may mean another player is being scratched from the lineup. Fortuitously, smaller companies such as Modelcollect, Amercom and and Altaya seem to be picking up the slack, and manufacturers such as Lucky Diecast are picking up the pieces from the Yat Ming closure.

If anything changes in the near-term, we will certainly keep everyone informed, and keep our fingers crossed that this bit of doom and gloom we are seeing in early 2015 will give rise to green chutes in the latter half of the year.

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Eaglemoss Hoists its Colors for February

According to our distributor, five new Eaglemoss warships are expected to set sail for our home port next week. The next squadron includes EMGC09 — IJN battleship Haruna, 1928, EMGC12 — IJN battleship Hyuga, 1941, EMGC20 — IJN aircraft cruiser Mogami, 1944, EMGC23 — IJN light aircraft carrier Ryuo, 1933, and EMGC28 — USN battleship New Jersey, 1944. Aside from the standard Japanese text adorning the plinth, box and accompanying magazine, this series has been remarkably well-received, and we look forward to taking delivery of the warships.

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Winter Storm Warning

There is a winter storm warning up for the northeast section of the country where we are located which will begin late Monday and extend through Wednesday. Possible snow accumulations could exceed 24 inches with blizzard conditions in effect through much of that time. Therefore, Monday may be the last day we can ship out parcels for several days, particularly if both UPS and the USPS are unable to stop by to deliver or pick up our shipments. We apologize for the inconvenience and hope you understand that these things are beyond our control.

Update: The storm wasn’t as bad as had been expected for the city of New York, with total accumulation for our area of around 12 inches of snow. The USPS and UPS are reportedly back on the job, so we anticipate the resumption of normal deliveries and pick ups at this time (posted Wednesday 11:00AM EST).

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The Future of E-Commerce?

Yesterday, Microsoft announced the impending release of Windows 10, which will represent an impressive departure from operating systems of the past. One of the most important features found in Windows 10 will be HoloLens, a device which will enable end-users to see everything on their computer screen within an augmented reality universe, complete with interactive holographic imagery.

For a retailer such as ourselves, we believe this could usher in an entirely new experience for our customers, who could, potentially, see an object from multiple viewing perspectives and compare it against other products in real-time.

At this point, Microsoft has not officially announced the release date for Windows 10, the cost of the HoloLens device, computer specs to run the software, and a myriad of other considerations that could affect the device’s roll out. For now, you can learn more about the software here:

http://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-hololens/en-us?ocid=MSCOM_HoloLensGlobe

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