Shout Outs

UPS Dimensional Rates Will Soon Take Effect

UPS_Logo

Please be aware that UPS and FedEx live rates will be calculated in a new way, beginning December 29th, 2014 (UPS) and January 1st, 2015 (FedEx).

In an effort to encourage efficient packing and decrease fuel usage for delivery trucks, both carriers will now use “dimensional weight” to help determine the most accurate shipping cost for a package. Dimensional weight is different from actual weight, and is more representative of the amount of truck space a package actually occupies.

As a result, the shipping cost for a number of larger items we stock will go up dramatically, particularly if it needs to be shipped cross-country. We will be monitoring these adjusted shipping rates and will either have to increase their individual shipping costs, raise our free shipping threshold, or, in a worse case scenario, drop an item altogether if it proves to be uneconomical for us to ship. Over the past few months, we have already systematically eliminated those items we feel will be impacted by these shipping adjustments, and will continue to curate our product portfolio to see which items may need to be examined more closely going forward.

We strongly recommend that if you are interested in purchasing any of the larger items we stock that you do so now before we reach the December 29th deadline.

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The Motor Pool: Looking Ahead to 2015

Yesterday

As 2014 draws to a close, we are already looking ahead to the new year with a great deal of excitement. For openers, we will be migrating our web site to a more responsive design, using a cutting edge template that is both informative and attractively conceived. Likewise, our mobile interface will change substantially, so that it looks more appealing on today’s larger phone and tablet screens. Look for the changes to take effect in early 2015.

In other news, we will be dropping a number of under-performing lines where we see little growth going forward. Some lines have been languishing for some time, either no longer supported by the manufacturer or in need of a redress. This is actually good news for us, since we plan to bring in a great many new lines in 2015, several of which are tied to the expanding military science fiction universe heralded in by such brands as Star Wars and Star Trek. Moreover, a number of new military themed lines have been moving aggressively to market, which portends good things to come for our collector audience.

We hope you enjoy many of the changes coming your way.

The following lines are being drawn down and closed out:

Gaincorp aircraft, Easy Model warships, aircraft and military vehicles, Tamiya Masterworks, older Minichamps racing motorcycles, figures and racing helmets, Minichamps classic cars, Dragon Warbirds, Blitz 72, Schuco, Sky Defenders, Air Commander, Sword Models, The Collectors Showcase, Merit International, BBI, Gearbox Toys, IXO Models, Sky Guardians Europe, Marushin

The following lines look to be dramatically expanded going forward:

Air Force 1, Hobby Master, Eaglemoss Collections, Fabbri, Wings of the Great War, Luft-X, DeAgostini, Oxford, Hasbro, Bandai, Modelcollect, Panzerstahl, Disney

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Star Wars: The Force Awakens Trailer

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plwVRYEQG_I&w=560&h=315]

Black Friday seems to have several meanings this year, as filmmaker J.J. Abrams can mutely testify. Earlier today, the Star Wars director for Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens released the first trailers for the upcoming film, which is slated to premiere December 18th, 2015.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RsQd7hn9bg&w=560&h=315]

Interestingly, we can hear Darth Vader’s aspirator at the end of the film, the black caped figure who purportedly died in episode VI, but will likely make a flashback or “Force”-reinvigorated cameo appearance for the upcoming film. Anyway, sit back and enjoy!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyfTIU02jFQ&w=560&h=315]

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Star Trek Boldly Goes to London

Paramount

According to StarTrek.com, the proposed Paramount London Resort, scheduled to open southeast of London in 2020, will feature a Star Trek-themed area, that will include rides, attractions and other Star Trek-related cornucopia.

Paramount 2

More information concerning the planned park, as well as other areas within the resort, can be found here: http://www.startrek.com/article/paramount-london-resort-with-trek-attraction-2020-opening

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Hobby Master Hears Ya

HA4502

Perhaps its growing competition from Air Force 1 or possibly the steady decline in oil prices, but Hobby Master has taken the bold step of reducing the retail prices of several of their forthcoming aircraft. All of their F-15s, including the one we recently received (HA4501), now sell for $99.99, which drops them below the so-called price resistance barrier of $100.

HA4601

Likewise, all of the F-35s have been lowered to $82.99, down a few bucks that puts them on more equal footing with the Air Force 1 offerings. Hopefully, this may signal the willingness of several diecast manufacturers to begin lowering their prices which will spur sales and gain added collectors.

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Falcon Models – Tough Times Ahead?

FA721104a

Our distributor has just informed us that the factory Falcon Models had been using has closed down and that they are currently searching for a new factory to build their models. At this time, no further information is available, so it could be some time before we begin to see their models in the production pipeline. We still have a number of their replicas in stock, although when word like this leaks out, its just a matter of time before they get snapped up by concerned collectors. With the holidays looming, we strongly recommend you check out what’s still available while you can still obtain them.

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DeAgostini Ponders, “Fancy Yourself a Ship Builder?”

Akagi

Every so often, when we receive word of an impending shipment, we troll the web in search of similar products our customers might be interested in. Yesterday, we learned that a new shipment of Eaglemoss warships were headed our way, which got us to thinking about some of their competitors in the warship space. In the case of DeAgostini, we discovered that they are offering a build-it-yourself, 1:250 scale version of the IJN aircraft carrier, Akagi. Measuring over a yard in length, and bearing incredible craftsmanship, this baby has got to be seen to be believed and will likely take several months to fully kit out.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0bQXwcW_dA&w=560&h=315]

For those of you looking to showcase their modelmaking capabilities, we invite you to view the accompanying video then pay a visit to the manufacturer’s web site at: http://www.model-space.com/gb/build-the-akagi.html

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Just How ‘Fury’-ous can Panzerstahl Get?

Fury2

Since Panzerstahl has based many of its most recent vehicles on top tier vehicles found in World of Tanks, it makes sense that they should consider the ‘Easy 8’ Sherman tank known as “Fury” as an upcoming model for 2015. Wargaming, the publisher behind the massively multiplayer online game, World of Tanks, has already confirmed that they will soon be offering a look alike vehicle of “Fury” for their US tank commanders, complete with strapped on logs, crew and other tidbits that ought to score a kill or two in online battles. You can find more information on the latest WOT caisson here:

http://ftr.wot-news.com/2014/10/08/fury-premium-shop-package/

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Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens

Star Wars Logo

With filming on the upcoming Star Wars movie now at an end, director J.J. Abrams tweeted out the name for the latest installment in the space opera: Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens. We anticipate additional details concerning the new film and its merchandising tie-ins in the days and weeks ahead. Stay tuned my young apprentices.

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