With the holidays nearly upon us, we just wanted to take a moment and wish all of our customers and their families a very Happy Hannukah and a Merry Christmas. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for making this another joyous year at The Motor Pool and we hope you continue to stop by our stores into the New Year! There’s lots more ahead!
Its cold outside, the snow is piling up and you have a wad of cash you’re dying to spend on your favorite piece of diecast. If that’s the case, why not take advantage of our 15% off “Winter Sale” now in progress! This discount may be applied to any item listed on our web site except for the following lines: Hobby Master, Wings of the Great War, Air Force 1, Luft-X and Aviation 72. Please enter discount code ” TMP163” in the coupon box just prior to final checkout. Sale ends midnight, Sunday, January 8th, 2017. May not be combined with any other sales discount.
There was a time during the Reagan era when it was inconceivable to permit the US Navy to fall below a 600-ship threshold as it stood toe-to-toe with its Cold War adversary, the Soviet Union. Fast forward 30 years and the US Navy is now down to less than half that number, patrolling the high seas, safeguarding certain sea lanes, and standing sentry near a number of geopolitical hot spots, despite being stretched to the limit. With Trump taking office this January, and lots of campaign promises to increase the size of the Navy to a more respectable total to fulfill its global mission, the magazine Popular Mechanics postulated what the Navy might look like in the coming years if he decides to stick to his renewed claims of glory for the country’s military. You can read the entire article here: http://www.popularmechanics.com/military/navy-ships/a24284/trump-350-ship-navy/?src=nl&mag=pop&list=nl_pnl_news&date=121716
Even though it might have made more sense to unveil it earlier in the season, the USPS announced yesterday that it has created a free smart phone app that heightens the experience of giving and receiving a gift that comes packed inside a USPS Priority Mail box.
“The Postal Service is offering a free app for smartphones that aims to build excitement among customers who send and receive Priority Mail boxes during the holidays.” said the Postal Times.
“Customers who send a gift inside a Priority Mail box can use the app to send a personalized multimedia greeting to the recipient. The messages let the recipient know that a package is on its way. Recipients can also use the app to send the customer a holiday-themed thank-you message.
“Our app adds that special touch by delivering cheer when mailing and receiving holiday gifts via Priority Mail,” said Chief Customer and Marketing Officer James Cochrane.
The app is available on the Postal Service’s DeliverCheer.com holiday site, which has downloading instructions. The site also allows customers to buy stamps, order free boxes, schedule a free package pickup, find Post Office and collection box locations and determine mailing dates.”
We routinely get asked why we leave items up on our site when they are no longer available. Frankly, there is any number of reasons, from acting as points of reference should someone look to collect an entire range that may be available elsewhere to the oft chance that some of these items will return to stock. In the latter case, two long sold out items were recently uncovered by one of our distributors, who is now making them available for a limited time only. Both are from Dragon’s Can.Do series of pocket miniatures, which although small at 1:144 scale still pack plenty of punch in terms of beauty and collectability.
Expected some time in January are the King Tiger heavy tank series (CAN20020) and the equally handsome Jagdpanther heavy tank destroyer series (CAN20019). We aren’t sure if more products in the Can.Do range will be unearthed, but its nice to know that every so often some hard-to-find items make it back into the mainstream market, even if its for a limited time.
After a long hiatus, it would appear as if Minichamps is once again cranking out some classic motorcycles. The first bike up for consideration and now in stock is a 1:12 scale 1975 Benelli 750 Sei Motorcycle that is finished in silver (MIN122123001).
Like the red version released way back in 2010, the silver bike features loads of detail and highly engineered parts, making it one of the most sought after collectibles in the motorcycle market. From working brake calipers to hoses and cables, no diecast motorcycle collectino would be complete without one of these handcrafted replicas.
The Benelli 750 Sei is a motorcycle that was produced by Italian manufacturer Benelli from 1972-1978. It was the first production motorcycle with a 6-cylinder engine. The engine was based on the four-cylinder Honda CB500, but with two extra cylinders. The cylinder head fins of the Sei were squared off to provide a cosmetic individuality; but otherwise the engine is in most respects obviously derived from the Honda.
Despite the extra cylinders, the Sei’s width was kept to a minimum by siting the alternator (which, on the Honda, is at the left-hand end of the crankshaft) behind the cylinders. Cooling was improved by having air passages between the cylinders. The Sei had three carburetters, compared to the Honda’s four. After four years of production, Benelli developed the 750 Sei into a 900cc motorcycle, with six-into-two exhausts.
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Perhaps as a fitting tribute to the 75th Anniversary of the Attack on Pearl Harbor, Waltersons posted images of their resurrected USS Arizona battleship, an integral part of their reinvigorated Forces of Valor warships range (FOV86013). As you can see, Waltersons has been making adjustments to each of the former models where deemed necessary, all designed to bring them up today’s standards. In the Arizona’s case, Waltersons states that “the colour scheme had been revised to the 1941 Pearl Harbour version, with bright red turret roof and medium blue colour on the hull body.” The model sits atop a wood-like display plinth with metallic rods and, when completed, will boast a metallic nameplate featuring the name of the warship. Look for the first warships to set sail some time in early 2017.
Its not difficult for me to remember my eldest daughter’s birthday since it falls on December 7th, the anniversary of the Japanese Empire’s attack on Pearl Harbor in Oahu, Hawaii, way back in 1941. Several years ago, to celebrate her graduation from medical school, we were fortunate enough to take a family trip to the Hawaiian Islands, where I dutifully attempted to explain how the attack went down while standing at the mouth of the harbor, just in sight of the Arizona Memorial. I’m not sure if my family understood the gravity of the attack or how it took place that fateful day, as I pointed towards the low mountains in the distance which were used by the Japanese aviators to mask their approach as they began their aerial assaults.
Anyway, 75 years have passed since the surprise attack, which drew our nation into World War II, easily the greatest conflict in human history. On a personal level, I also remember showing my family where the surrender documents were signed by all parties concerned on board the USS Missouri, which is berthed, rather fittingly, just behind the USS Arizona, signifying both the start and end of the Second World War in the Pacific. So, while we celebrate this day as a means of honoring our daughter and her vast achievements, we also take a moment to reflect on what the attack meant to the greatest generation in American history, their role in safeguarding our way of life, and price paid so that my daughter, and others like her, could celebrate their lives as free and productive members of society.
“I feel the need — the need for speed.”
– Lieutenant Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, Top Gun
Announced over a year and a half ago, TSM Model Wings has confirmed that they are finally in receipt of a pair of 1:72 scale F-14 Tomcats that pay tribute to the feature film, Top Gun. One aircraft pays homage to the aircraft flown by “Maverick” and “Goose” (TSMWTP001) while the other models the one flown by “Iceman” and “Slider” (TSMWTP002). Both are now on allocation basis by the manufacturer/distributor, who has indicated the next batch aren’t expected until mid-2017. As a result, we won’t list them on eBay, Walmart or Amazon, and will simply sell off the remaining allocated quantities on our web site. All of the accessories and figure packs are still expected in early 2017.
Over the weekend, Waltersons, the new owners of the Forces of Valor brand, uploaded an intriguing post which disclosed how the Company is supporting the curious if successful Girls und Panzer brand within Japan by offering a wide array of licensed 1:24 scale military vehicles. Four of the new Forces of Valor vehicles have obviously been repainted to fit the Girls und Panzer theme, however, what really caught our attention are some of the vehicles included in the brochure that are designed to widen the license’s appeal in 2017. Some of the vehicles featured in the Girls und Panzer handbook include a US M3 Lee medium tank, German Hetzer tank destroyer, German Sturmgeschutz assault gun, Russian IS-2 heavy tank, Russian T-34/76 medium tank, Russian KV-2 heavy tank, French B1bis heavy tank, German VK4501(P) heavy tank, Japanese Chi-Nu heavy tank, Japanese Chi-Ha medium tank, US T-28 super heavy tank, German Morser Karl self-propelled gun, British A41 main battle tank, variants of the M4 Sherman tank, British Churchill infantry tank, Italian CV33 light tank, Russian BT-42 light tank, and Japanese Ha-Go medium tank. Whew! Quite a proposed lineup. These same vehicles will more than likely be included in the Forces of Valor R/C lineup going forward with more to follow, if intuition serves as any guide.
