The grand daddy of online payment systems, PayPal has become the de facto method of purchasing items online, and can even be used to transmit funds from person to another. The accompanying video demonstrates how it works and why you may wish to use it as your principal means of online payment instead of a debit/credit card.
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Wings of the Great War Dons a Scarf, Gloves and Medals
Wings of the Great War has steadily produced a diet of fantastic WWI fliers, so it came as no surprise earlier today that they would get around to creating aircraft based upon some of the famous fliers of World War I. Three iconic aircraft have been added to the collection – a Fokker F1 flown by Lt. Werner Voss of Jasta 10 (WW12004), a Nieuport 28C.1 piloted by 2nd Lt. Ralph A. O’Neill attached to 147th Aero Squadron (WW13003), and finally a new tooling based upon a S.E.5a operated by Capt. Albert Ball of No. 56 Squadron. All three new aircraft have been posted to our site, with anticipated ship dates ranging from July to September.
Product Spotlight: Royal Navy Admiral Class Battlecruiser – HMS Hood (51)
“That the sinking of the Hood was due to a hit from Bosmarck’s 15-inch shell in or adjacent to Hood’s 4-inch or 15-inch magazines, causing them all to explode and wreck the after part of the ship. The probability is that the 4-inch magazines exploded first.”
– British Board of Inquiry convened in the aftermath of the sinking of the HMS Hood
As we near the release date for Walterson’s relaunched fleet of 1:700 scale Forces of Valor warships, we take our fourth close-up look at some of the ships you can expect to see. The Royal Navy’s Admiral Class Battlecruiser, HMS Hood (51), will forever be remembered as the ship that tangled with the Bismarck almost on an even basis yet, despite its promise as a viable combatant, suffered an ignominious fate on the morning of May 24th, 1941.
Just before 06:00 on May 24th, 1941, while Hood was turning 20 degrees to port to unmask her rear turrets, she was hit again on the boat deck by one or more shells from Bismarck’s fifth salvo, fired from a range of approximately 16,650 metres (18,210 yd). A shell from this salvo appears to have hit the spotting top, as the boat deck was showered with body parts and debris. A huge jet of flame burst out of Hood from the vicinity of the mainmast, followed by a devastating magazine explosion that destroyed the aft part of the ship. This explosion broke the back of Hood, and the last sight of the ship, which sank in only three minutes, was her bow, nearly vertical in the water.
Hood sank with 1,418 men aboard. Of the 1,418 crew, only three men – Ordinary Signalman Ted Briggs, Able Seaman Robert Tilburn, and Midshipman William John Dundas – survived; they were rescued about two hours after the sinking by the destroyer HMS Electra. Electra spotted a lot of debris, but no bodies.
The HMS Hood is expected to be resurrected from the ocean depth’s some time in May.
Merit International: One in the Hand, Three in the Bush
Every so often, we receive press releases regarding new product announcements that give us pause for consideration but nevertheless take a pass on for any number of reasons. Yesterday we learned that our friends over at Aiken’s Airplanes had entered into a partnership agreement with Merit International to release a 1:18 scale Avenger torpedo plane that was flown by former President George H. W. Bush during the closing stages of WWII. According to the press release, “this model features a moving canopy with cockpit detail, movable flaps, movable landing gears, positional torpedo bay doors folding wings, and includes the pilot, top gunner and belly gunner.”
Only 330 pieces are being produced, so if you are interested in purchasing one of these limited edition replicas, run, don’t walk over to the following link: http://www.aikensairplanes.com/tbf-avenger-x-2-vt-51-uss-san-jacinto-1944-lt-george-bush-aikens-exclusive/
The Return of Dragon Armor?
“The objective of offensive Yellow is to deny Holland and Belgium to the English by swiftly occupying them; to defeat, by an attack through Belgium and Luxembourg territory, the largest possible forces of the Anglo-French army, and thereby to pave the way for the destruction of the military strength of the enemy. The main weight of the attack across Belgium and Luxembourg will be south of the line Liege-Charleroi. Forces engaged north of this line will break through the Belgian frontier forces. Continuing the attack westwards they will parry any immediate threats to the Ruhr Basin from northeastern Belgium, and will divert to themselves the strongest possible Angle-french forces. Forces operation south of the line Liege-Charleroi will force a passage of the Meuse River between Dinant and Sedan (both inclusive) and will advance through the French frontier defenses towards the Somme estuary.”
– Fuhrer Directive No. 10, February 1940
We were beginning to wonder if Dragon was backing out of the preassembled military vehicle space, much as they have done in other categories over the past few years. Then, this morning, we noticed that they posted a brand new piece of Dragon Armor diecast to their website, one based upon a Pz. Kpfw. IV Ausf. D medium tank (DRR60693). According to their web site, this new piece of long awaited military memorabilia is slated for a May appearance, perhaps in conjunction with the 77th anniversary of the Wehrmacht’s invasion of France and the Low Countries in 1940. Guess we will have to wait and see. Interestingly, the wholesale price for a typical Dragon Armor piece has dropped appreciably, which had been creeping up in cost for a couple of years. This could, perhaps, point to good things for Dragon Armor aficionados, who were forced to shell out more and more as the sheet cost inched skywards. Taking a page from their playbook, we expect Dragon will be announcing a bunch of other Pz. Kpfw IV Ausf. D medium tanks, so stay tuned for further announcements in the days and weeks ahead.
Product Spotlight: USS Missouri (BB-63)
“It is my earnest hope, and indeed the hope of all mankind, that from this solemn occasion a better world shall emerge out of the blood and carnage of the past — a world dedicated to the dignity of man and the fulfillment of his most cherished wish for freedom, tolerance and justice.”
– Gen. Douglas MacArthur, aboard the USS Missouri at the conclusion to the signing of the Instrument of Surrender, September 2nd, 1945
Several years ago, we had the great pleasure of visiting the US naval base at Pearl Harbor in Oahu, Hawaii. Part of our trip involved seeing the USS Arizona Memorial, as well as a trek through the Iowa-class battleship, USS Missouri, which is fittingly moored aft of the Arizona. I remember pausing when we came to the end of the guided walk through, and looking, quite fondly, at the spot on the deck where delegates of the Imperial Japanese Empire formally signed the instrument of surrender in Tokyo Bay on September 2nd, 1945, thus formally ending hostilities in the Pacific Theatre of Operations.
Therefore, it is, with great pleasure that Waltersons’ will soon be re-releasing a 1:700 scale replica of the USS Missouri in its WWII-era configuration, reworked and remastered to conform with their all-new warships lineup.
The ceremony aboard the deck of the Missouri lasted 23 minutes and was broadcast throughout the world. The instrument was first signed by the Japanese foreign minister Mamoru Shigemitsu “By Command and on behalf of the Emperor of Japan and the Japanese Government” (9:04 am). General Yoshijirō Umezu, Chief of the Army General Staff, then signed the document “By Command and on behalf of the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters” (9:06 am).
At 9:08 a.m., U.S. General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, the Commander in the Southwest Pacific and Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, accepted the surrender on behalf of the Allied Powers and signed in his capacity as Supreme Commander.[4]
After MacArthur’s signature as Supreme Commander, the following representatives signed the instrument of surrender on behalf of each of the Allied Powers:
- Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz for the United States (9:12 a.m.)
- General Hsu Yung-chang for Republic of China (9:13 a.m.)
- Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser for the United Kingdom (9:14 a.m.)
- Lieutenant General Kuzma Derevyanko for the Soviet Union (9:16 a.m.)
- General Sir Thomas Blamey for Australia (9:17 a.m.)
- Colonel Lawrence Moore Cosgrave for Canada (9:18 a.m.)
- Général de Corps d’Armée Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque for France (9:20 a.m.)
- Lieutenant Admiral C. E. L. Helfrich for the Netherlands (9:21 a.m.)
- Air Vice-Marshal Leonard M. Isitt for New Zealand (9:22 a.m.)
On September 6, Colonel Bernard Theilen took the document and an imperial rescript to Washington, D.C., and presented them to President Harry S. Truman in a formal White House ceremony the following day. The documents were then exhibited at the National Archives.
Look for the USS Missouri (FOV861003A) to weigh anchor some time in May.
Eaglemoss Stokes the Fires of the Star Trek Universe
Apparently, late March is shaping up to be a big month for all things Star Trek. Not only were a number of new Star Trek-related merchandise announced by Eaglemoss last week, the Company also primed the pump and is now delivering on several products that were announced several months ago.
Perhaps the most noteworthy newcomer is their inaugural large scale starship, which is based upon the iconic USS Enterprise NCC-1701. Measuring some eleven inches in length (as compared with a 5-inch standard-sized Enterprise) and packaged with the customary collector magazine, we predict this one to sell out quickly, no doubt forming the cornerstone to an entirely new segment of the Eaglemoss universe. Also arriving is their first Designing Starships reference guide, a 160-page full-color, hardbound book detailing the creation of many of the earliest standard-sized starships. Of course, no discussion would be complete without a survey of the newest standard-sized ships to join the Eaglemoss navy. They are, in chronological order:
EMST0086 – Star Trek Gorn Starship [With Collector Magazine]
EMST0087 – Star Trek Federation Aeon Timeship [With Collector Magazine]
EMST0088 – Star Trek Vulcan Civilian Trasport – Vahklas [With Collector Magazine]
EMST0089 – Star Trek Federation Starship – USS Enterprise NCC-1701-J [With Collector Magazine]
EMST0090 – Star Trek Romulan Scout Ship [With Collector Magazine]
EMST0091 – Star Trek Federation Starship – USS Saratoga NCC-31911 [With Collector Magazine]
All of these highly sought after items are now in stock.
You Call it War Master, We Call it Solido
There seems to be some confusion of late whether to call the new 1:72 scale military range produced by War Master for french manufacturer Solido, War Master products or Solido, since both marques appear on the packaging. Be that as it may, we’ve caught wind of some of their newest models likely scheduled for a summer release, which continue to introduce a wide array of combatants and their weapons of war to the 1:72 scale regime. Among them are this German FAMO prime mover hauling a 88mm FLaK gun. Also expected is a German Wirbelwind Anti-Aircraft gun, a British Cromwell tank, a USMC LAV-25 Piranha light armored vehicle and French LeClerc T5 Main battle tank. In the air, look for a British De Havilland Mosquito and Grumman Martlet fighter.
Air Force 1 Pushes Up More than Flowers this May
It’s no secret that Chinese-based Air Force 1 has an affinity for modern aircraft fielded by the Peoples Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF), so when we received their latest sales brochure we were wondering what took them so long to offer up their latest fare? This May, no less than nine new models are slated for the collector’s market, all based on platforms used by the PLAAF. Perhaps the most intriguing new replica is this 1:72 scale take on the Shenyang J-31 stealth fighter (AF10131), largely viewed by Western analysts as a pirated version of the US F-35 stealth fighter. Larger than the F-35, the J-31 may not be as capable or as stealthy as the F-35, so it remains to be seen how the PLAAF will operate their newest system.
In addition to the J-31, AF1 will make available an octet of 1:100-1:144 scale fixed- and rotary wing aircraft, which we are in the process of uploading to our site. While some critics point to a few inconsistencies and inaccuracies with the AF1 models, no one can take issue with their pricing. Most of the new items weigh in at around $20-$25, with the J-31 topping out at $49.99, certainly a bargain compared to other new modern aircraft being rolling out by other manufacturers.