Adverse Weather Could Impact Shipments

Larry Bartle shovels new snow from around his cars in Lafayette, Colo., on Friday, Jan. 5, 2007, where an overnight winter storm left a foot of snow. This is the third snowstorm to hit the Colorado front range in three weeks. (AP Photo/Peter M. Fredin)

A blizzard watch has now been posted for the New York City region where we are located, which will take effect early Saturday and into Sunday. As a result, we will not be making any outbound shipments on Saturday, and, depending upon the weather conditions, may hamper further operations into Monday. Currently we are expecting a minimum of 6-12 inches of snow, with greater accumulations possible depending upon the track of the storm. So, we will conclude any outbound shipments this Friday and ride out the storm, hopefully resuming normal operations on Monday.

Aftermath: Well, we got socked pretty hard here in New York City. In fact, news reports are indicating this was the second snowiest storm on record for NYC. Unofficially, I’m guessing we got around 28 inches of snow, so its going to take us some time to dig out and get things up to speed. Likewise, its going to take other businesses, such as the Post Office, some time before they too can resume operations. We’re hoping that by Monday everything is back on track, otherwise we’re looking at Tuesday to resume accepting inbound and making outbound shipments.

Share This:

The USA’s FVL Begins to Take Shape

V280

As 2016 dawns, so does the look and feel of the the US Army’s FVL (Future Vertical Lift) program. Intended to replace the aging AH-64 Apache and UH-60 Black Hawk in the not-too-distant future, the FVL looks to incorporate advances in technology that will help keep the aircraft flying well into the mid 21st Century. Two competing designs are beginning to take shape; one by Bell, dubbed the V-280 Valor, and the other by Sikorsky-Boeing, and known as the SB-1 Defiant.

 

S1Defiant

The Valor resembles the V-22 Osprey, in that it makes use of a tilt-rotor wing for added lift and range, while the Sikorsky design makes use of a pair of contra-rotating overhead blades for improved performance.

According to Flightglobal, “No funding has been allocated for FVL thus far, but the army expects to firm its performance requirements once the demonstrators fly. FVL might not surface in the army’s upcoming fiscal year 2017 budget submission, but Bell hopes funding will be made available in 2018 or 2019 to get things moving.”

Share This:

Odds and Ends for the New Year

 

usps-logo

Well, we’re back from vacation and thought we’d kick off the new year with a few odds and ends that typically come up at this time of year. First off, the USPS is expected to increase rates by 9% beginning Wednesday, January 20th. For now, we’re going to hold the line on the $4.99 flat rate shipping model, but may have to raise this price should shipping costs start to get out of hand, particularly for packages that need to be mailed to the western portion of the country.

Secondly, Chinese New Year begins on February 8th, which creates a bit of a lull from a manufacturing perspective for about two weeks. So, expect shipments to slow down for the latter half of February into March until the manufacturers start to ramp things up after their return.

Lastly, a number of important Toy Shows are held at this time of year around the globe, with the most important being the Nuremberg Spielwarenmesse held in Germany beginning January 27th. We’ve posted an update to our Calendar of Events page which delineates when each show is held. Obviously, we’ll share any important product announcements with our clientele the minute we hear about them. Hopefully, there’s lots of new products on the horizons and perhaps a few new players in the diecast military space.

Share This:

Parting Shots

DRR61020

Before we head off on vacation, I just wanted to share an interesting bit of news with you that you may find fascinating. While the global stock markets may be off to one of their rockiest starts in recent history, its nice to see that it hasn’t had a material impact on certain segments of the collectible industry, particularly highly desirable diecast items. Take, for instance, the Dragon Cyber Hobby Otto Carius Tiger tank that is packed in a metal tin with a collector card (DRR60120) and is no longer available through normal sales channels. Released way back in 2004 for a paltry $49.99, this item has steadily risen in value, far exceeding all expectations even we placed on this item when we started to hike its asking price. Recently on eBay, an example of this item, admittedly with the now deceased panzer ace’s signature emblazoned on the packaging, fetched a whopping $700 overseas, or more precisely 14 times what it originally sold for in just eleven years. Not bad when things seem topsy turvy on the financial scene…

Ottos Carius Auction

Share This:

The Arsenal of Democracy: Chrysler Chronicles its Role in WWII

Chrysler’s role as a tank manufacturer during World War II is chronicled in a new, six-minute documentary featuring its role as a supplier of military weapons to Europe during the war.

The release of “Automakers and the Arsenal of Democracy” was timed to coincide with the 75th anniversary of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s historic “Arsenal of Democracy” radio broadcast on Dec. 29, 1940.

“The people of Europe …do not ask us to do their fighting,” Roosevelt told the nation on that day. “They ask us for the implements of war…which will enable them to fight for their liberty and for our security.” (courtesy Detroit Free Press)

Share This:

Six More Ships Join the DeAgostini Fleet

DGWS013

Whether you’re a landlubber or ruler of the seas you’ll be happy to learn that six additional ships are being added to the growing fleet of DeAgostini 1:1250 warships. The six comprise four British and two German warships and include the HMS Warspite, HMS Ramillies, HMS Exeter and HMS Rodney, along with the Kriegsmarine’s Admiral Scheer and Tirpitz. Look for the latest squadron to weigh anchor some time in February.

DGWS012

Share This:

Dragon Re-equips its Armored Forces

 

DRR60656

Dragon has indicated that DRR60656, its first of two 1:72 scale Panzerkampfwagen Ausf. J medium tanks, is now en route to us and expected the first week of January. Along with numerous restocks, two long sold out 1:35 scale vehicles also make up the consignment: an Elefant tank destroyer (DRR61004) as well as a German Morser Karl Super Heavy Self-Propelled Mortar (DRR61010). Both should sell out quickly since its been a long time either vehicle has been available for sale.

DRR60691

In mid-January, their second Panzerkampfwagen Ausf. J is on the docket (DRR60657) along with a pair of US M103A1 heavy tanks (DRR60691 and DRR60692). Here again, these vehicles have been heavily pre-ordered, so we are not sure if we will have any available for general sale once we fill all of our pre-orders.

DRR61010

Share This:

Gaso.Line Returns to The Motor Pool

mf48562box

Several years ago, we decided to discontinue the Gaso.Line line of military vehicles and accessories, in part because of high shipping costs since they had to be imported from France. With the reduction in the price of oil and rising value of the US dollar vis a vis other forms of currency, we decided to take a second look at this fabulous line. We are happy to report that as we close out 2015, we have decided to once again resume shipments, and hope to start taking delivery of their products in the first quarter of 2016.

Unlike their previous efforts, which came in white cardboard boxes, their all-new line of Master Fighter 1:48 scale military vehicles comes packaged with an etched display base, acrylic cover and attractive outer box (as seen here), which more closely resembles some of the larger manufacturers in the military space. And, with the resurgence of 1:43 scale military vehicles, courtesy of Eaglemoss, Atlas Editions and Altaya, these vehicles can be displayed side-by-side with these crowd favorites, or with some of the older Gaso.Line military vehicles that have risen in value over the years.

With the New Year looming, and several projects already in the queue, we hope to begin listing all of the Master Fighter vehicles and figures sets we intend to bring in shortly, and can start taking pre-orders immediately thereafter.

Share This: