An October treat: a 1:43 scale replica of an Italian Centauro Tank Destroyer
Looking to expand their foothold in the North American market, Atlas Editions will soon make available a quartet of new 1:43 scale military vehicles this October. On the land, expect to see a Willys jeep (ATL7123101), Italian Centauro Tank Destroyer (ATL7123112), USMC LAV-25 Piranha Light Armored Vehicle (ATL7123117), and Italian Fiat Iveco Oto Melara Type 6614 Armored Personnel Carrier (ATL7123117).
Germany’s most advanced submarine of WWII will surface this October. Clear the decks for a German Kriegsmarine Type XXI U-Boat – U-2540, Germany, 1945
By sea, two German U-Boats will surface soon: a German Kriegsmarine Type VIC U-Boat – U-552, Germany, 1941 (ATL7169103) and a German Kriegsmarine Type XXI U-Boat – U-2540, Germany, 1945 (ATL7169105). The latter is, perhaps, the most coveted warship in the Atlas submarine series, since it represents the most advanced submarine ever to set sail with the Kriegsmarine.
The U.S.C.S.S. Nostromo from the blockbuster sci-fi film Alien
Eaglemoss is no stranger to both the Alien and Predator sci-fi universe, having released a bevy of figures tied to each license over the last few years. However, when to comes to some of the ships portrayed in the feature films, the Company has thus far sidestepped the issue, perhaps looking to take the Star Trek starships series as far as it can go before tackling another ship-based line up.
That said, it appears as if Eaglemoss has finally begun to take the ships a bit more seriously, announcing their intent to offer a range of larger ships beginning later this year. The first ship in the brand new series is based upon the U.S.C.S.S. Nostromo.The Nostromo was a modified Lockmart CM-88B Bison M-Class starfreighter captained by Arthur Dallas, registered to the Weyland-Yutani Corporation out of Panama. The Nostromo operated as a tug, connecting to and pulling loads like a tractor truck rather than carrying those loads on board like a traditional freighter.
The ship was destroyed in 2122 when its reactor was set to self-destruct by Warrant Officer Ellen Ripley in an attempt to kill the lone Xenomorph that was loose aboard the vessel. The ship and its cargo were completely destroyed in the resulting explosion.
According to reports, the Eaglemoss rendition of the Nostromo will measure approximately eight inches in length and be composed of diecast metal and ABS. Its not clear presently if it will come bundled with a magazine as is customary with the Star Trek starship series nor the frequency of releases once the Nostromo hits the streets. Likewise, we do not have any indication if Eaglemoss plans to offer any subscription-based rewards for ordering directly from the manufacturer. We hope to have further details concerning the new series in the coming weeks. Rumor has it they may also introduce another series connected to the Battlestar Galactica sci-fi universe, although nothing has been announced thus far.
With Hurricane Irma due to make landfall in Florida some time this weekend, we may elect to hold any outbound shipments destined for the region for several days until such time that it is prudent to resume shipments. The same may hold true for the Carolinas and up along the eastern seaboard as we get a better sense of the hurricane’s impact on the entire region. We apologize for the decision but hope you understand that sometimes prudence is the better part of valor.
Note: On Friday, September 8th at 5PM EST, FedEx, UPS and the US Postal Service all announced that they have suspended service to the affected region for the next several days and will wait until the storm has passed before determining when they can resume service.
Needless to say, we wish everyone in the affected region the best of luck ahead of the storm. Stay safe and heed the warnings of the local authorities.
With summer all but a distant memory, we’ve updated our Calendar of Events page to reflect both domestic and international shipping deadlines for the upcoming holiday season. If you plan on sending a gift or want to know the drop dead dates to mail an item amidst the hustle and bustle of holiday shopping, we strongly suggest you peruse the calendar to see how it fits within your shopping plans.
Corgi’s 1:72 Scale German Junkers Ju 88C-6 Medium-Bomber – F8+BX, 1-3/Kampfgeschwader 40, Lorient, France, 1943
The Luftwaffe’s Junkers Ju 88 was a twin-engine, multi-role aircraft. Among the most versatile planes of the war, it was used as a bomber, close-support aircraft, nightfighter, torpedo bomber and reconnaissance aircraft. A solid aircraft with great performance, it went on to be one of the Luftwaffe’s most versatile aircraft. It carried out almost every kind of mission ever imagined, even as a giant flying bomb. It was used in every theater, with many nations, including nations allied against Germany.
Kampfgeschwader 40 (KG 40) was a Luftwaffe medium and heavy bomber wing of World War II, and the primary maritime patrol unit of any size within the World War II Luftwaffe. It is best remembered as the unit operating a majority of the four-engine Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor maritime patrol bombers. The unit suffered from the poor serviceability and low production rates of the Fw 200 bombers, and from repeated diversion of its long-haul capability aircraft to undertake transport duties in various theatres, especially for the airlift operations to supply encircled forces in the Battle of Stalingrad. Later in the war, KG 40 became one of several Luftwaffe bomber wings to use the Heinkel He 177A heavy bomber.
The wing was formed in July 1940 at Bordeaux-Merignac under the control of Fliegerfuhrer Atlantik. The unit flew reconnaissance missions in the North Atlantic searching for Allied convoys and reported their findings to the Kriegsmarine’s U-boat fleets. On October 26th,1940, Oberleutnant Bernhard Jope bombed the 42,000 ton liner Empress of Britain, the ship later being sunk by U-32. Between August 1940 and February 1941, the unit claimed over 343,000 tons of ships sunk. The newer Fw 200C-2 was then available and differed only in having the rear ventral areas of the outer engine nacelles recessed with dual-purpose bomb racks fitted to carry a pair per aircraft of the quarter-tonne SC 250 bombs, or standard Luftwaffe 300 litre (79 US gallon) drop tanks in the bombs’ place for longer ranged patrols.
The crest for Kampfgeschwader 40
On February 9th, 1941, five Focke-Wulf Fw 200 of I/KG 40 in cooperation with the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper and U-37 attacked the British convoy HG 53. The convoy lost 967-ton Norwegian freighter Tejo and British freighters Jura, Dagmar I, Varna, and 2490-ton Britannic to aerial attacks.
With the lack of suitable long-range air cover to counter KG 40 in mid 1941 the Allies converted several merchant ships to CAM ships (‘catapult aircraft merchant’ ship) as an emergency stop-gap until sufficient RN escort carriers became available. The CAM ship was equipped with a rocket-propelled catapult launching a single Hawker Hurricane, dubbed a “Hurricat” or “Catafighter”. KG 40 crews were then instructed to stop attacking shipping and avoid combat in order to preserve numbers. Their objective was to locate and shadow convoys and continually report by radio their composition and course changes to allow the Kriegsmarine to direct the ‘wolf-packs’ of U-boats to close, intercept and engage.
Collecting diecast memorabilia can be a wonderful if daunting past time, particularly if your collection starts to get out-of-hand, is stored in multiple locations, or you just can’t remember what you have and the price you paid. Enter a web site called Collectorz.com, which just might have the answer in this grab-and-go economy. Geared more towards collectors of movies, books, comic books, games and music, the site, nevertheless, offers some interesting software solutions that could easily be re-purposed towards the miniatures business. Essentially, you enter all of the information about each new treasure into a database, which can then be viewed as a mobile app, web-based program or desktop software solution, depending upon which option suits your fancy. Given the relative value of the average diecast collection and the ease with which anyone can forget what they paid for each item, it makes sense to catalog each acquisition the moment they come in, particularly if one day you decide to put things up for sale or turn it over to someone that doesn’t have a clue as to the value of each item. Think of it as an insurance policy that could one day pay off as handsomely as each collectible you own.
Put out the pumpkins and bake the apple pies cause we’re starting up our 15% off Autumn Harvest Sale! From now until September 30th, you can take 15% off of any item we have in stock simply by entering our latest coupon code at the bottom of your shopping cart just prior to final checkout. Please enter discount code “TMP169” in the coupon box just prior to final checkout. Note: The following lines are excluded from this promotional offer: Air Force 1, Calibre Wings, Hobby Master, Luft-X and Wings of the Great War. Sale ends midnight, Saturday, September 30th, 2017. May not be combined with any other sales discount.
With several Amercom items returning to stock, we learned today that the range is finally being bundled together with their accompanying magazines. The magazines may be a bit dated and originate in Poland, but they are written in English and designed to shed some background information on the item in question, much like the Eaglemoss partworks line of Star Trek starships. Please note that not every item we currently stock comes with the magazine, so as we run out of an item each follow-on replacement will purportedly come with the full-color booklet, although this too could change should our distributor indicate they are no longer available or not included with each shipment. We’ve uploaded the cover for one particular magazine and its accompanying model, so you can get a better idea as to what to expect going forward. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that more partworks lines will come in this fashion, much as they are issued across the pond in Europe. Best of all, the additional magazine will have no impact on the item’s pricing. Henceforth, we will amend the header for each item indicating whether or not it comes with the magazine.
“1. The outcome of the battles in Albania is still uncertain. In the light of the threatening situation in Albania it is doubly important to frustrate English efforts to establish, behind the protection of a Balkan front, an air base which would threaten Italy in the first place and, incidentally, the Rumanian oilfields.
2. My intention is therefore:
(a) To establish in the coming months a constantly increasing force in Southern Rumania.
(b) On the arrival of favorable weather—probably in March —to move this force across Bulgaria to occupy the north coast of the Aegean and, should this be necessary, the entire mainland of Greece (‘Undertaking Marita’). We can rely upon Bulgarian support.”
– Fuhrer Directive 20 “Undertaking Marita”, the Invasion of Greece in early 1941
Throughout the early part of the war in Europe, the Dornier Do 17 light bomber established itself as a workhorse of the Luftwaffe, able to provide close air support for advancing Wehrmacht forces and, to a lesser extent, provide strategic bombing over Great Britain in concert with other bombers. It was therefore no surprise that it would again be pressed into service when the Axis High Command deemed it necessary to invade both Yugoslavia and Greece as a prelude to Operation Barbarossa due to their leaning with the British camp.
Developed during the early 1930s under the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles, the Dornier Do17 was originally described as a freight aircraft for the German State Railway and a high-speed mail aircraft for Lufthansa. The aircraft was in fact a new breed of fast attack aircraft, or Schnellbomber, which was intended to carry out lightning bombing attacks, at speeds making it almost impervious to enemy fighter attack. With its sleek tapering fuselage, the Do17 was nicknamed “The Flying Pencil” and whilst this design certainly prevented the aircraft from carrying anything other than a modest bomb load, its profile made it more difficult to target in the melee of a dogfight. Seeing extensive service in the early part of WWII, the Do17s of KG.2 would support Luftwaffe operations during “Operation Marita” as the Wehrmacht attempted to invade Allied occupied Greece, following a failed Italian offensive. Attacking ground and coastal targets, the Dorniers also took a heavy toll of Allied shipping in the Mediterranean theatre.
During the invasion of the Balkans, Kampfgeschwader 2 “Holzhammer” (KG 2) I. Gruppe committed 29 Do 17s with 28 operational. It participated in the bombing of Belgrade, the Battle of Greece and Battle of Crete, attacking ground and naval targets. On May 20th, 1941, the unit claimed many Allied ships sunk north of Crete. It reported the loss of 6 Do 17s and 7 damaged. II. Gruppe did not take part. III. Gruppe participated with 30 Do 17s, 29 operational. It reported losses of 6 aircraft shot down and 5 damaged during the campaign. During June 1941, I./KG 2 was partially converted to the Do 217.
Look for Corgi’s rendition of this bomber (AA38807) to take to the skies in September.
Summer may be over, the kids are back in school and everyone has returned to work, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have one last fling by picking up some of the latest and greatest diecast replicas rolling off the assembly lines. From now until September 4th, you can take 15% off of any item we have in stock simply by entering our latest coupon code at the bottom of your shopping cart just prior to final checkout. Please enter discount code “TMP168” in the coupon box just prior to final checkout. Note: The following lines are excluded from this promotional offer: Air Force 1, Calibre Wings, Hobby Master, Luft-X and Wings of the Great War. Sale ends midnight, Monday, September 4th, 2017. May not be combined with any other sales discount.
