The Motor Pool – Blog – Page 169 – Pureveyors of Fine Diecast Collectibles

The Motor Pool’s ‘Winterize Your Arsenal’ 15% Off Sale!

Take heart, winter warriors! Even though you may be shivering while staring at your private war museum you can beef up your arsenal courtesy of our annual 15% off ‘After Christmas’ Sale. This sale begins on Tuessday, January 13th, and ends on Saturday, January 31st, 2015 This discount can be used for any type of item except radio controlled military vehicles, from in-stock merchandise to pre-orders, back orders and special orders.

As always, we would greatly appreciate it if you could keep these orders separate and do not combine non-qualifying items with sales merchandise. Please note that this discount cannot be used for any of the radio controlled vehicles we sell. If you have any questions, feel free to call or email us. Customers must apply discount code “TMP133” at the point of checkout in the coupon code box. Sale ends Saturday, January 31st, 2015, 12AM EST

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Dragon Goes for a Dip at Dieppe

No stranger to the ranks of the Churchill tanks, Dragon announced plans to reinvigorate the line with a vehicle involved in the disastrous Dieppe Raid of 1942 (DRR60419). This particular vehicle sports an extended exhaust pipes for deep wading purposes and bears the markings of the 14th Canadian Army Tank Regiment (Calgary Regiment).

On a side note, we anticipate that the manufacturer will soon announce a number of “Hobart’s Funnies”, which were specialized Churchill tanks developed for the D-Day landings at Normandy. Stay tuned…

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Unimax Studies War No More?

According to a post on the Diecast Hangar Pub forum, a prominent UK distributor is indicating that Unimax, the makers of the Forces of Valor range of military vehicles, aircraft and warships, are throwing in the towel and calling it quits, at least as far as military diecast is concerned. They claim that the manufacturer has cancelled all of their upcoming projects slated for 2015, instead of postponing them indefinitely as had been rumored. Recently, Unimax had closed their North American distribution arm and sold off all of their inventory to a US distributor.

If true, this marks a particularly sad state of affairs for collectors, who were expecting a number of key items for several months running. Moreover, the departure of another long time stalwart in the diecast military space represents a nod to some of the manufacturers who have gained market share either by offering untapped subject matter, cheaper items, other scales, or a combination of all three mitigating factors.

Please note that we have yet to confirm these findings with our North American distributor so the information provided could still be sketchy. For further information, please review this thread:

http://tdhp.fr.yuku.com/topic/19329/Re-FOV-items-Cancelled-totally?page=-1#.VLUoOXsYNM4

Update: In early January, our distributor informed us that the list of product originally slated for release was nixed by the manufacturer in favor of a new group of items. It is now February, with the Nuremberg Toy Fair behind us, and we are of the opinion that Unimax has withdrawn from the marketplace, perhaps permanently. We hope it isn’t true but at this point fear the worst.

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Dragon Surges with the Panther D

First announced over two years ago, the very first 1:72 scale Panther Ausf. D medium tank is finally en route to us and expected shortly. We expect them to sell out quickly since this is a key introduction many collectors have been waiting eons to drive into battle.

No longer content to sit on their laurels, the manufacturer is also showing the fourth iteration of this popular warhorse on their site, which is pegged with a March release date. While its refreshing to see so many versions to choose from, we can’t help but wonder if this is a sound strategy since it floods the market with a wide array of choices in a short period of time. (Shown from left to right: #DRR60645, DRR60683 and DRR60684)

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Toy Fair Cometh

On January 28th, the Spielwarenmesse Toy Fair in Nuremberg, Germany, throws open its doors and welcomes buyers, exhibitors and visitors to its annual showing. While we will not be attending, we will be posting information gleaned from the manufacturer’s web site, newsletters, and promotional literature so that our audience can learn about the very latest piece of diecast memorabilia headed to market.

Years ago, we used to attend the Toy Fair here in New York City at 200 5th Avenue, which has since transitioned to the Jacob Javits Center. Yesterday, I paid a visit to the old 200 5th Avenue building which stands opposite the world famous Flat Iron building. 200 5th Avenue has since been changed into an Italian market, complete with restaurants, salumerias, groceries and other faire. It was strange and a bit sad to walk through the revitalized building, which held all sorts of memories for me and my family. The march of time has certainly swallowed up another tradition, be it for better or worse, and I can only hope the new tenants understand the history and allure their building once meant to the toy business.

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Air Commander Resurrected

It has been awhile since we saw any stirrings out of the Air Commander camp, but just as we were beginning to give up hope comes an all-new Phantom II for 2015. Based upon a warbird that flew with the 58th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 432nd Tactical Fighter Wing, this southeast Asian painted beauty is known as the “Supersonic Gun Kill“, so named because it was one of the fastest recorded shoot downs ever claimed, and piloted by Major Phil “Hands” Handley who was flying east of Hanoi in June 1972.

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The Motor Pool’s 15% Off After Christmas Sale!

Put down the egg nog and step out from underneath the mistletoe cause we’re doing that one better with our annual 15% off ‘After Christmas’ Sale. This sale begins on Thursday, December 25th, and ends on Sunday, January 11th, 2015 This discount can be used for any type of item except radio controlled military vehicles, from in-stock merchandise to pre-orders, back orders and special orders.

As always, we would greatly appreciate it if you could keep these orders separate and do not combine non-qualifying items with sales merchandise. Please note that this discount cannot be used for any of the radio controlled vehicles we sell. If you have any questions, feel free to call or email us. Customers must apply discount code “TMP132” at the point of checkout in the coupon code box. Sale ends Sunday, January 11th, 2015, 12AM EST

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West Coast Port Delays Have an Impact on Business

The work slow down affecting many of the West Coast’s ports is now having a material impact on business across the country. In our particular case, several shipments that were expected to arrive in December have now been postponed until January, and many of the items we were expecting in January will likely come in one month later. We apologize for the delay but wanted to point out that these types of circumstances are beyond our control.

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UPS Dimensional Rates Will Soon Take Effect

Please be aware that UPS and FedEx live rates will be calculated in a new way, beginning December 29th, 2014 (UPS) and January 1st, 2015 (FedEx).

In an effort to encourage efficient packing and decrease fuel usage for delivery trucks, both carriers will now use “dimensional weight” to help determine the most accurate shipping cost for a package. Dimensional weight is different from actual weight, and is more representative of the amount of truck space a package actually occupies.

As a result, the shipping cost for a number of larger items we stock will go up dramatically, particularly if it needs to be shipped cross-country. We will be monitoring these adjusted shipping rates and will either have to increase their individual shipping costs, raise our free shipping threshold, or, in a worse case scenario, drop an item altogether if it proves to be uneconomical for us to ship. Over the past few months, we have already systematically eliminated those items we feel will be impacted by these shipping adjustments, and will continue to curate our product portfolio to see which items may need to be examined more closely going forward.

We strongly recommend that if you are interested in purchasing any of the larger items we stock that you do so now before we reach the December 29th deadline.

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Atlas Editions Orders a Crash Dive in 2015

As the holidays rapidly approach, we were pleasantly surprised to see a new line of 1:350 scale warships taking to the sea in early 2015. Atlas Editions will be releasing the first five 1:350 scale submarines in January, with lots more expected to get underway as the year progresses. Priced at just $34.99, these warships look first-rate, serving as great complements to some of the other warship ranges already sailing on the diecast high seas.

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