Corgi’s 1:72 scale USAAF Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress Heavy Bomber – 43-37756, “Milk Wagon”, 708th Bombardment Squadron, 447th Bombardment Group, RAF Rattlesden, England, 1945 has been cleared to land in early October
Let’s face it. New product is the lifeblood of our industry. While re-stocks are fine and re-issues are dandy, most customers want to see what new product has arrived or, at the very least, what’s on the horizon when grandma’s birthday check turns up and you begin planning like a fiend on the best way to spend it.
Forces of Valor’s 1:32 scale German Initial Production Sd. Kfz. 181 PzKpfw VI Tiger I Ausf. E Heavy Tank – “100”, schwere Panzerabteilung 502, Leningrad, Russia, February 1943 [Bonus Maybach HL 210 TRM P45 Engine]
Turns out, we have a lot of new stuff showing up the first week of October, from brand-spanking new warbirds from the house of Corgi to several eagerly awaited tanks and an aircraft carrier mock-up from your friends at Forces of Valor. Together with the latest batch of warbirds from Hobby Master, there’s certainly loads to choose from as we slowly transition from the hot sunny days of summer to the dazzling color foliage of fall. So, we strongly recommend you check out both our New Arrivals and Product in Transit sections to get a better idea of what’s in store for the week ahead. We promise you won’t be sorry!
Forces of Valor’s 1:200 scale aircraft carrier set. Ideal as a holiday gift and/or introductory level product for upcoming collectors
Note: The latest FOV Tiger, shown above, has already gone to back order status. Originally, these were being sourced from our regular supplier, but we had to switch to FOV direct since it wasn’t clear when or if they were coming in from our usual source. With our upcoming move, we will likely get additional stock sometime in January after we have completed our relocation. So, its doubtful this vehicle will get listed on any of our marketplace sites until early 2023. Update: We’ve sold through our allocation of FOV’s newest Tiger tank. They claim another FOV shipment is expected in November, so we will check and see if more are headed our way before Thanksgiving rolls around.
Berlin or bust! FOV’s re-imagined 1:72 scale series will feature interlocking base plates and standardized appearances so that collectors can display an entire vignette as opposed to a single, solitary vehicle devoid of obstacles, flora or detriment of war
Waltersons, the new caretaker of the Forces of Valor brand, has decided to share some insight as to their plans moving forward. In an effort to increase its exposure in the North American market, they have elected to partner up with a west coast distributor to import the entire line from model kits to the huge 1:16 scale Extreme Metal series they alluded to in a recent Facebook post. To further its reach, they plan to open a second distribution center in the middle of the country in early 2023. This can only be viewed as good news for collectors who have been asking for a more reliable and steady stream of product that they can pick and choose from. It isn’t clear as yet if this move will help to decrease prices for many of their most recent works, several of which are pegged at $130 or more in the retail landscape. Its certainly a tall order to both increase market share and maintain margins in what many currently see as a country headed into recession but one they feel they can adequately address.
The manufacturer also has a few tricks up its sleeve for 2023, such as re-launching their 1:72 scale military vehicle line as well as christening a new range of AFVs catering to the 1:64 scale enthusiasts. Instead of offering a hodgepodge of vehicles that cut across all eras and theatres, their goal, this time around, is to build out an expandable diorama setting much like their recently released 1:200 scale aircraft carrier set, whereby the collector can create a stylized vignette such as the invasion of Normandy or the Battle of the Bulge. So, you might have a Sherman tank clad in olive drab attempting to pierce the Norman bocage countryside which can then sit alongside a group of heavily laden trucks trying to haul supplies up to the front lines or perhaps an artillery battery blasting away at the enemy’s defenses. An Ardennes Forest scenario might depict a King Tiger navigating along a treacherous dirt road while an accompanying set might show some of the smaller vehicles following behind, perhaps a knocked out Sherman sitting off to one side.
In other news, the manufacturer has finally realized that they have an almost inexhaustible supply of 1:32 scale vehicles that needn’t be overhauled quite as dramatically as say their Sherman and Tiger tanks to get them into the hands of collectors more quickly. Vehicles such as their Panther and Sturmgeschutz may only need a fresh coat of paint and a few minor upgrades to make them worthy introductions to tread heads world over, who are desperate to fill out their armored ranks with vehicles that are no longer to be found at affordable prices. Best of all, some of these “legacy” releases will carry sticker prices that are far more affordable to the average fan, in some cases fetching between $69-$100.
We’re hoping to get a list of which vehicles will be tapped for front line service very soon, and, if possible, open the pre-order window well ahead of their debut. Stay tuned.
While they haven’t signed off on it yet, it’s looking as if the next installment in the Extreme Metal series will be based upon this legendary vehicle. No telling what the final price will be but expect to cough up a pretty penny if you want to own this beast.
Lastly, while no final decision has been made as yet, it appears as if their upcoming 1:16 scale King Tiger heavy tank will bear the markings of SS-Oberscharfuhrer Kurt Sowa’s mount, which was attached to 2.Kompanie, schwere SS Panzerabteilung 501, Kampfgruppe Peiper, then deployed to the Ardennes Forest during December 1944. They enlisted the aid of several industry experts to come up with this choice, which will purportedly come with four riders from the 3.Fallschirmjager Division. Presently, its not clear what other features will be included, although they are making a concerted effort to reduce the pitting shown on the first two Unimax King Tigers as well as ensuring all of the parts fit as advertised without fear of breakage when being attached to the vehicle. It also looks as if the newest 1:16 entrant will fetch close to $1,000 and a smaller chunk of change to ship it within the lower 48 states. Better save up!
Recently, the Association of Women Surgeons celebrated forty doctors under the age of forty for their achievements in the field of surgery. My eldest daughter, Linda, was included in the list and, according to their statement, will be profiled in-depth shortly along with each of the other luminaries. Considering there are just shy of 14,000 women surgeons in the United States, I’d say that’s a tall accomplishment and one we’re very proud to acknowledge that takes into account all of the schooling, work and effort she put in to achieve this professional nod. Well done Linda!
Incidentally, Linda is an accredited trauma surgeon at Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas. Three years ago, she was promoted to Medical Director of the Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU). So, if this was November 22nd, 1963, well, just saying…
After talking about it for some time, it finally appears as if we have a date for our move to Florida – January 1st. Our new home will likely be completed by the end of November, but packing up and attempting to move 1,100 miles during the busiest time of year is simply not in the cards. It wasn’t planned to take this long so this is probably the best course of action we can take given the issues confronting us.
Our original plan was to run a clearance sale just before our move, which was supposed to occur last month. The delay isn’t anyone’s fault and is largely due to the inability of our builder to obtain certain finished materials from China in the wake of the PRC’s Zero COVID policy. Be that as it may, we will now run our clearance sale during the peak holiday shopping season, which will hopefully lessen the amount of “stuff” we have to transport. And with hopefully lower transportation costs, we won’t be confronted with a huge fuel surcharge on top of everything else.
So what does this mean to you? Beginning Thanksgiving we will be running a 25% off sale that will continue through the holiday season and end, more or less, right before Christmas. Said discount will only apply to in-stock merchandise and may not be applied to back ordered or pre-order merchandise. In light of the new MAP enforced policy for recently released Hobby Master products, we will have to adjust their prices accordingly.
When the sale ends, we will stop shipping out product and use the holiday lull to pack up our remaining stock in preparation for our move to Florida. I’m not certain when we will resume shipping. Depending upon the mover, it can take them up to three weeks to actually make it down the eastern corridor to our new digs then several more days before we are set up and ready to resume business. Obviously, we will delay any inbound shipments until such time as we can accept them. Of course, you may place new orders on our sites during this hiatus, however, it is with the understanding that they will not be reviewed or addressed until we are back up-and-running in January.
Please do not ask us to apply this clearance sale discount to any orders you are contemplating placing in the near term. For now, the prevailing discount of 15% will remain in place until Halloween. Also, we will not hold any merchandise until the clearance sale has begun. Keep in mind we sell limited edition collectibles so if an item or two sells out before the clearance sale, well, then you’re out of luck. Lastly, any orders that combine in-stock and pre-ordered merchandise will simply be cancelled outright. During the holidays we simply do not have the time to explain this to every customer and with the increased activity we anticipate this sale will generate there is no point in reiterating everything that has already been discussed. Sorry, but there’s only so much we can or are willing to do. Peace out!
Panzerkampf’s Pair of 1:72 scale M1083 Medium Tactical Vehicles
As the holiday season looms large, more and more new products are making the transition from simple line art drawings to actual photographed images. In the case of Panzerkampf, the manufacturer recently posted pictures of their upcoming M1083 medium tactical vehicle, an important workhorse of the US Army over the last few years that is often seen hauling troops and supplies to and from the front lines.
The Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) is based on an Austrian truck, the Steyr 12M18, but considerably re-engineered to be available as the 4×4 2.5-tone Light Medium Tactical Vehicle (LMTV) and the 6×6 5-tone Medium Tactical Vehicle (MTV). Both models have over 90 percent of components in common such as the cab, engine, drive train, tires, wheels, front suspension, axles, etc, and involve many commercial components. There was also an 8×8 heavy tactical vehicle, however only a couple of its prototypes were built and it never reached mass production. The basic LMTV is the M1078 cargo carrier while the 6×6 baseline model is the M1083.
Thus far two versions have been shown to the public – one in the familiar NATO woodland camouflage and the other in the obligatory desert sand scheme. Two other releases, both sporting machine guns atop the passenger compartment (and one featuring a single rear axle) are likely due out later, perhaps nudged into early 2023 due to supply chain issues. Ironic, yes?
For those of you residing in the UK, we thought you might like to know that the Bovington Museum is holding a model show on September 10th. We’re not certain if diecast collectibles will be on sale but the idea that these types of shows are back is enough to get this would-be attendee happy as a clam. For more information, visit the South West Model Show. And, for those of you that already plan to attend, have fun!
Bandit, wearing her characteristic “lion cut” doo. Two months later, and you would never know she had a hair cut because her coat grew in as fast as bamboo. Rest in Peace baby. You will be sorely missed.
It is with a heavy heart that I have to announce the untimely passing of our second dog, Bandit. Like our first dog, Cookie, Bandit was a pure bred Pomeranian that ran the roost, so-to-speak, tugging at my heart the moment I first laid eyes on her as a pup some nine years ago. While some might disagree with the way I let dogs take over our lives, I also like to remind them that their only requirement is to love and be loved.
We got Bandit roughly nine months after the passing of Cookie, largely as a way of dealing with Cookie’s passing and the hole she left in our hearts. My youngest daughter, April, accompanied me after first seeing her photo online and wondering if she would be a good fit for our family. When we arrived at the puppy store, we noticed that they had all of the puppies in a see-through enclosure located in the middle of the store, where potential buyers could see them interact with other breeds. “Happy”, as she was known by her online photo, was sitting atop a scrum of other puppies, proclaiming, in dog-speak that she was king of the hill. We decided to bring her home and, as is our family tradition, let April rename her Bandit, since she was stealing everyone’s socks and hiding them under the bed.
Unlike Cookie, Bandit passed away at only 9 years of age, succumbing, according to the the vet, from fluid in one of her lungs and quite possibly suffering a stroke. She passed away on Friday afternoon and its taken me this long to find the composure and wherewithal to actually comment on her death. Like Cookie, we hope you had a good life with us and hope we can see and play with one another once again in the hereafter. Rest in Peace baby
Armored Fighting Vehicles of WWII 1:43 scale US M26 Pershing Heavy Tank – “Alles Kaputt”, 2nd Armored Division, Cologne, Germany, April 1945
After waiting for what seemed like an eternity for several delayed shipments, it would appear as if lots of new product will finally be rolling in by month’s end. From AFVs of WWII, you can look forward to nabbing no less than nine new 1:43 scale tanks, thereby substantially enlarging your collection of mid-sized combat vehicles. The nine new vehicles include some heavily asked for favorites such as a Panzer IV medium tank, M26 Pershing and even a ponderous Matila infantry support tank. We’ve move the nine new vehicles to our Product en Route section, even though they are slated to hit the highway on Monday.
The same distributor who stocks the AFV line says that several new Panzerkampf tanks are right behind the AFV shipment, the most important of which is their 1:72 scale M1A1 Abrams painted up in a NATO standard woodland camouflage scheme. Its an important release since it pairs up quite nicely with their NATO standard M1070 heavy equipment transporter. So, we’ll be kneep deep in armored fighting vehicles by week’s end and will work tirelessly to get out all of the pre-orders over the next weekend.
In other news, our principal distributor says that both the June and July Hobby Master shipments are scheduled to arrive at their facility in Atlanta this week. Quite likely the July shipment will be received first then the June container. Strange? Not really. In this day and age there really is no rhyme or reason why this sort of hodge-podgery [sic] is happening — basically it all comes down to when customs gives the go-ahead for a container to hit the road. Furthermore, Hobby Master products, which are produced in Bangladesh rather than mainland China, takes a bit longer to transit both the Indian and Pacific Oceans. They then have to navigate through the Panama Canal rather than land at any of the west coast ports because their port of entry is in Savannah, Georgia, which is closer to their ultimate destination in Atlanta. So, its also entirely possible that one ship could arrive before the other, making forecasting for their arrival that much more difficult to determine.
Hobby Master’s 1:72 scale USN Douglas A-1H Skyraider Attack Aircraft – VA-176 “Thunderbolts”, USS Intrepid (CV-11), 1966
Moreover, with lots of holiday shipments beginning to arrive for many of the big box retailers (Wal-Mart, Target, Costco, etc.), we’ll take these shipments any which way they come just as long as they arrive within time for us to actually promote and sell the product for the upcoming holiday season.
Many of the remaining manufacturers seem to be in limbo there is really no point in discussing them at present. As far as our move to southwest Florida goes, our newly built house is still progressing, albeit well behind schedule. Without cabinetry and countertops its a shell at present, so there’s no point in discussing when we will actually take possession of the home until we have a clearer idea as to when the missing components will arrive and get installed.
Note: We will begin processing any pre-orders we’ve thus far received for the AFV line beginning this week. As always, we would greatly appreciate it if you could refrain from contacting us about your order. If we keep our head down and concentrate we can get everything out within a couple of days. Interruptions always slows down this process. The Panzerkampf shipment will then be addressed once we have a better idea as to its arrival time.
We decided to end our Dog Days of Summer sale one week earlier than originally indicated in order to make some administrative adjustments and prepare for our annual Labor Day Sale. Considering the sale began on July 7th, I don’t think anyone is going to quibble about the shortened length of time we set for the sale. In the future we will do our best to make these announcements before the sale needs to be cut short.
Panzerkampf’s 1:72 scale US M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tank with TUSK I Survival Kit – 1st Battalion, 35th Armor Regiment, 1st Armored Division
In a surprise announcement, Panzerkampf plans on shipping out several 1:72 scale military models this month. We had all but given up hope that anything would materialize from them given the issues still affecting the West Coast ports and their persistent delays. That said, several armored fighting vehicles should be rolling in next week, including their highly coveted M1A1 Abrams tank painted in a NATO woodland camouflage scheme and sporting the TUSK I survival kit. Its an important release because it pairs well with their recently released M1070 tank transporter that is painted in the same tri-color camouflage scheme. Also expected is a M1A2 Abrams donning a desert scheme and clad in the TUSK I kit as well as a pair of new M42 Duster anti-aircraft vehicles we’ve had advertised on our site for months on end but couldn’t quite pin down as far as release dates go. We strongly recommend submitting your orders for these vehicles as soon as possible since its very possible these will sell out quickly and may not be available for general sale once word spreads.
On Monday, our distributor released product information pertaining to Hobby Master’s latest spate of aircraft models. What piqued our interest wasn’t so much the new models slated for a mid 2023 release. Rather, what caught our eye was this single sentence that appeared in the body of the announcement’s cover letter. “In the coming days, we will announce an assortment of fully licensed US Navy replicas.” As part of the announcement, they also indicated that one of their upcoming F/A-18 Hornets, one clad in a US Navy Blue Angels aerobatics squadron scheme, was being upped in price, meaning that any additional aircraft models paying homage to the Blue Angels would likely carry a “licensed by the US Navy” logo emblazoned on its packaging. Or the sentence could mean something else entirely.
With Top Gun: Maverick continuing to do exceptionally well at the box office its plausible to presume that Hobby Master has or is about to lock up the coveted Top Gun license, otherwise why claim an assortment of aircraft will be announced instead of a lone Blue Angels model. If true, collectors can likely expect to see a wide range of aircraft models based on not only the 2022 film but quite likely the original flick. Done right, and with a wide range of accessories to support them, running the gamut from aircraft revetments to action figures, its quite possible that Hobby Master may have pulled off quite the coup, ponying up the big bucks for what many believe is an evergreen license that will continue to sell well for years to come. We don’t want to jump the gun and claim that all manner of Top Gun merchandise is in the works even if we’d love to shout it out from the mountaintop depicted in the film. What I will do, however, is watch for further announcements in the days and weeks ahead and update our blog post with any further developments just as soon as they’re passed along.
