Eaglemoss Warps in with Their 2017 Star Trek Lineup

Hardbound Star Trek graphic novels will begin to appear in 2017.

Somewhat quiet for several months, our distributor shed light on what’s to come from Eaglemoss the first half of this year as it pertains to their Star Trek role call. Lots of new products were announced, covering everything from new special and larger scale starships to reference material, hard-to-find convention exclusives to graphic novels. The graphic novels represent a very nice tangential look at the Star Trek universe, essentially gorgeous, perfect bound, hard cover books that, in many instances, serve as superb compilations of previously related comics.

USS Yorktown NCC1717, a Star Trek show-exclusive, now becomes available later this year

Three Mirror Universe standard sized starships are also being offered up, each complete with their own full-color magazine. Best of all, many of these new introductions are expected to ship shortly, and carry us through the first six months of 2017.

Star Trek Constitution Class Cruiser – USS Franklin NCC-1743, the eighth special edition Eaglemoss Star Trek starship
Share This:

Forget Stocks and Bonds, Stamps and Coins. Invest in Collectibles

While most collectors don’t pay attention to the value of their collection, it’s nice to know that should you run into a bit of financial trouble, selling off your collection might prove to be a valuable lifeline. According to the Financial Times, https://www.ft.com/content/a44ba202-f9bb-11e6-bd4e-68d53499ed71, some legacy Star Wars memorabilia, many of which sold for a pittance in relation to today’s market, are commanding prices, at auction, into the tens of thousands of dollars. While not every item in every conceivable segment of the hobby has gone up in value by such stratospheric numbers, its nevertheless nice to know that some collectibles could serve as a retirement nest egg should things start to go south.

Share This:

Product Spotlight: DKM Bismarck

“Sink the Bismarck!”

– Prime Minister Winston Churchill, after learning of the demise of the battlecruiser HMS Hood, May 1941

Earlier this month, we began examining some of the reworked warships due out shortly from Forces of Valor. Many have been reworked, repainted and repackaged, all in an effort to bring the series up to speed and attract new collectors into the fold. Our second warship spotlight focuses on the German Kriegsmarines infamous battleship, DKM Bismarck, pride of the German fleet and one of its earliest victims in the Battle of the Atlantic (FOV861006A).

Operation Rheinubung (“Rhine Exercise”) was the sortie into the Atlantic by the new German battleship Bismarck and heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen from May 18th-27th, 1941, during World War II. This operation culminated in the sinking of the Bismarck.

During both World Wars, the island of Britain was dependent upon huge numbers of merchant ships to bring in food and essential raw materials, and protecting this lifeline was one of the highest priorities for British forces. Likewise, Germany recognized that, if this lifeline could be severed, Britain would be defeated, regardless of any other factor.

Operation Rheinubung was the latest in a series of raids on Allied shipping carried out by surface units of the Kriegsmarine. It was preceded by Operation Berlin, a highly successful sortie by Scharnhorst and Gneisenau which ended in March 1941.

By May 1941, the Kriegsmarine warships, Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, and Admiral Hipper were at Brest, on the western coast of France, posing a serious threat to the Atlantic convoys. Two new warships now became available to the Germans: the battleship Bismarck and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, both initially stationed in the Baltic Sea.

The aim of the operation was for Bismarck and Prinz Eugen to break into the Atlantic and attack Allied shipping. Raeder’s orders to Lutjens were that “the objective of the Bismarck is not to defeat enemies of equal strength, but to tie them down in a delaying action, while preserving her combat capacity as much as possible, so as to allow Prinz Eugen to get at the merchant ships in the convoy” and “The primary target in this operation is the enemy’s merchant shipping; enemy warships will be engaged only when that objective makes it necessary and it can be done without excessive risk.”

To support and provide facilities for the capital ships to refuel and rearm, German Naval Command (OKM) established a network of tankers and supply ships in the Rheinubung operational area. 7 tankers and 2 supply ships were sent as far afield as Labrador in the west to Cape Verde islands in the south.

Lutjens had requested that Grand Admiral Erich Raeder delay Rheinubung long enough either for Scharnhorst to rendezvous at sea with Bismarck and Prinz Eugen or for Bismarck’s sister-ship Tirpitz to accompany them. Raeder had refused. The crew of the newly-completed Tirpitz was not yet fully trained, and Raeder cited the coming German invasion of Crete as a reason for disrupting Allied supply lines and diverting strength from the Mediterranean.

To meet the threat from German surface ships, the British had stationed at Scapa Flow the new battleships HMS King George V (sometimes referred to as KGV) and HMS Prince of Wales (PoW) as well as the elderly battlecruiser HMS Hood. Elsewhere, at Gibraltar, at Halifax, Nova Scotia and at sea in the Atlantic were the battleships Revenge, Rodney and Ramillies, the battlecruisers Repulse and Renown, and aircraft carriers HMS Ark Royal and Victorious. Cruisers and air patrols provided the fleet’s ‘eyes’. At sea, or due to sail shortly, were 11 convoys, including a troop convoy.

OKM did not take into account the Royal Navy’s determination to destroy the German surface fleet. To make sure Bismarck was sunk, the Royal Navy would ruthlessly strip other theatres of action. This would include denuding valuable convoys of their escorts. The British would ultimately deploy six battleships, three battlecruisers, two aircraft carriers, 16 cruisers, 33 destroyers and eight submarines, along with patrol aircraft. It would become the largest naval force assigned to a single operation up to that point in the war.

Share This:

Films in Focus: SS-GB

With Amazon’s alternative reality series, The Man in the High Castle, now in its third season, BBC One is getting set to air its own look at a “what-if” scenario arising from WWII. According to Wikipedia, SS-GB is a 2017 British drama series produced for the BBC and based on the 1978 novel of the same name by Len Deighton. It is set in a 1941 alternative timeline in which the United Kingdom is occupied by Nazi Germany, having won the Battle of Britain.

Share This:

Iran Debuts Its Own Tank

This picture released by the official website of the Iranian Defense Ministry on Sunday, March 12, 2017, shows domestically manufactured tank called “Karrar” in an undisclosed location in Iran. Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency is reporting that the country has unveiled a domestically manufactured tank and has launched a mass-production line. (Iranian Defense Ministry via AP). The Karrar bears a striking resemblance to Russia’s T-14 Armata, so it would not come as a surprise if the Russians helped them to design the vehicle

In a move aimed at preventing reliance on foreign made weapons systems, the Iranian military unveiled its first domestically produced tank. Associated Press reports that it has been dubbed the Karrar (“Striker”), which is strange, in and if itself, since Wikipedia claims that the Karrar is a UCAV, not a tank. No matter, Iran’s Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan says that “the tank has the capability to fire missiles and precisely guide them.”

Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency indicates that the “Karrar” is equipped with an electro-optical fire control system and laser range-finder and is capable of firing at both stable and mobile targets day or night. Dehghan also says the tank can compete with the most advanced tanks in the world in the three main areas of “power, precision and mobility,” although its unclear if these claims can be corroborated by Western analysts. Still, the fact that Iran can produced its own main battle tank, much as it does for other equipment including missiles, fighter jets and submarines, comes as a stark reminder that they wish to control their own destiny should they become embroiled in another conflict.

Share This:

Atlas Toasts the French

Every so often, we’re forced to sit on the fence about a new line that may or may not do well with our collecting audience. Yesterday, we learned about a new range of large 1:24 scale unpainted figures and vehicles from Atlas Editions. What makes this line questionable for us is the fact that they come unpainted, are all based upon World War I subjects, and all focus on the french army. On the plus side, they are relatively inexpensive, given their size and heft. The vehicle seen here sells for only $29.99, while most of the two-figure sets can be sold for as little as $14.99. Each even comes with a certificate of authenticity as can be seen in the accompanying photograph, and attractive packaging to boot. If you’ll notice, the tank tracks and wheels are molded to the body, which means these vehicles are really designed to sit in a curio cabinet than on a wargaming battlefield. For now, we’ll take a wait and see attitude since they aren’t due to arrive for a few months but we’d love to hear your opinion concerning the range, which covers some 24 SKUs and even a wooden display base with a felt top.

Share This:

Solido Continues to Mystify

Its now mid-March, a full month after the conclusion to the Nuremberg Toy Fair, and we are still in a quandary concerning french manufacturer, Solido. Last year, they made it public knowledge that they are working with War Master to produce a new range of 1:72 scale diecast military vehicles and, last month, showed off several larger 1:43 scale military vehicles within one of their Toy Fair booths, several of which we have never seen before.

Now, on their web site, they’ve added a new collage of War Master products to their home page, which includes a British Cromwell tank and a Martlet fighter, the British equivalent of the Eastern Aircraft FM-1 Wildcat. That said, no further details concerning either new  issue are contained within their military category page, so for now we assume they are nothing more than teasers with release dates much further out. Likewise, we still aren’t sure if the range will be made available in North America since no distributor has stepped forward yet to indicate they will supply the range. We aren’t sure what this means to collectors but will keep everyone abreast should anything change.

Share This:

Entering the Third Dimension

Shortly, Microsoft plans on releasing Windows 10 Creators Update, which looks to take the operating system to the next level. One feature heavily touted is Paint 3-D, which enables users to merge 3-D content with stylized 2-D images. After we gain some familiarity with this app, we plan to gradually migrate all of our new product images to this new standard, which will hopefully give customers a better understanding and appreciation of each item. Stay tuned for further details.

Share This:

Panzerkampf Orders its Assault Troops Forward

 

Even though we’re still awaiting the first 1:72 scale tanks from newcomer, Panzerkampf, it appears as if they have lots more armor in the pipeline just itching to find a new home. According to their web site, four more tanks are pretty far along in the development process – so far, in fact, that they even have pictures of the replicas rather than 2-D line art. The four newest showings include what appears to be a WWII-era German Panther Ausf. D medium tank with side armor skirts, Russian T-90MS main battle tank, and a pair of German Leopard armored fighting vehicles: a 2A5 as well as a 2A7. No dates of availability were listed, so they could be a ways of before they hit the street.

Other vehicles seem to be in the works too, most notably a US-built M60A3 Patton tank clad in explosive reactive armor as well as a vehicle we cannot identify. Further details will no doubt surface in the coming weeks.

Share This:

Product Spotlight: IJN Super Battleship Yamato

 

 

IJN super battleship Yamato, flag ship of the post-Midway Japanese navy

“Yamato was simply built to stand up to and utterly outclass any conceivable American or British opponent by sheer weight of gunfire and elephant-like armor. As such, hers is a sort of ‘brute force’ approach to protection. Her armor layout isn’t the most efficient, but she has a lot of armor, so it doesn’t really matter.”

– Jon Parshall, historian and author of Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway

This April, we expect to take delivery of the first of several redeveloped warships from Waltersons, the new owners of the Forces of Valor brand. As such, we thought it made sense to preface their release with a little history of each warship and their relative importance in naval history. To kick things off, we look at the Imperial Japanese Navy’s super battleship Yamato.

The Chrysanthemum Seal, effectively the Imperial Seal of Japan, which was placed prominently on the bow of the IJN Yamato

The Forces of Valor rendition of the famed warship portrays her during Operation Ten-Go, a fateful and last ditch effort by the IJN to thwart the US landings at the island of Okinawa towards the end of the war. Operation Ten-Go was a Japanese naval operation plan that consisted of four likely scenarios. Its first scenario, Operation Heaven One (or Ten-ichi-gō天一号) became the last major Japanese naval operation in the Pacific Theater of World War II. The resulting engagement is also known as the Battle of the East China Sea.

In April 1945, the Japanese battleship Yamato (the heaviest battleship in the world), along with nine other Japanese warships, embarked from Japan on a deliberate suicide attack upon Allied forces engaged in the Battle of Okinawa. The Japanese force was attacked, stopped, and almost destroyed by United States carrier-borne aircraft before reaching Okinawa. Yamato and five other Japanese warships were sunk.

The battle demonstrated U.S. air supremacy in the Pacific theater by this stage in the war and the vulnerability of surface ships without air cover to aerial attack. The battle also exhibited Japan’s willingness to sacrifice entire ships, even the pride of its fleet, in desperate kamikaze attacks aimed at slowing the Allied advance on the Japanese home islands. This extremism reportedly contributed to the US decision to employ nuclear weapons against the Japanese.

Share This: