Tales of Transparency: In Extremis

“Anything that just costs money is cheap.”
― John Steinbeck

Pursuant to their announcement of a new 1:16 scale King Tiger tank, Waltersons has since indicated in their Facebook posting that the tentative price for the upcoming King Tiger will be between $899.99-$949.99, although this could change based upon market conditions. We’re assuming that their newest vehicle will not ship with the heavy wooden crate that came with the Unimax version a couple of decades ago. As a result, the likely weight of the vehicle and its attendant accoutrements will probably be in the neighborhood of 35 pounds. Its anyone’s guess how that will translate into shipping cost since the rates for all the major carriers keep changing, but expect to fork out an additional $100 or more for domestic shipping within the Continental 48 states since this vehicle will not qualify for our free shipping discount. Having said all that, it looks like a sale will probably set you back close to $1,100 US if you feel you really must own their latest entrant in the Extreme Metal series. That’s a pretty price to pay for a diecast collectible that may or may not appreciate in value based upon all sorts of intrinsic and extrinsic factors, from sell through to global demand. Food for thought if you really want this upcoming vehicle but don’t mind raiding the piggy bank to do so.

So why do I bring all of this up now, when the vehicle may not be available for a year or more? Essentially, I’m a pro, having learned and practiced successful marketing techniques for well over four decades. In college, my major was industrial psychology, an offshoot of traditional psychology that attempts to quantify why people do what they do when they make purchasing decisions. Back in the day, a book entitled Future Shock came out in different softbound packaging, using different colors to help determine why a consumer might pick up say a red book jacket as opposed to an orange or even a green one. That’s my academic background.

I learned a lot of things back then, which includes the use of restive colors on our web site to help increase its so-called “stickiness” — the length of time a customer spends on a web site which could but does not necessarily increase the likelihood of making a purchase. The use of certain fonts, category landing pages, multiple exposures to a product all help to contribute to added sales and a healthier balance sheet.

Your point being? Its simple, really. An item such as the upcoming King Tiger is, for many, a major purchase that could set them back for several months or more before they are once again able to make a follow-on purchase. Moreover, many collectors are hoping to get in on the ground floor of the next “shooting star” – that one collectible everyone seems to be talking about that may or may not appreciate in value far in excess of its original selling price. Yes, some of the earliest entrants in this series have appreciated in value far above its original asking price. On the other hand, their Sherman tank has “tanked” — figuratively as well as literally — meaning you can probably pick one up nowadays for less than its initial selling price.

In a round about way what I am trying to say is that my tradecraft is in marketing and I will use this prowess to help sell this item once we have learned more about it. It is up to you, the consumer, to take everything we and others say about this item with a grain of salt, then determine why you are looking to purchase this item. If its to sit on a credenza for all the world to ogle then you have already made the decision to covet this item purely as a collectible. However, if you are looking to purchase this item in the hopes that it will radically appreciate in value and help fund your child’s education then I seriously suggest you look at this item purely from a speculative stance much like crypto currency. It could go up in value, it could remain the same or it could decrease in value. There is no barometer that will faithfully predict its value in two, three or ten years. Please make sure you understand that to its fullest if you are contemplating making a purchase. As I said in a previous post, caveat emptor.

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Corgi Fires Up the Holiday Kiln

Corgi’s 1:72 scale German Messerschmitt Bf 110E-2 (Trop) Destroyer – Zerstorergeschwader 26 “Horst Wessel”, Sirte, Libya, 1941

As promised, Corgi unveiled the third and last installment in their 2022 product roll out earlier this month. Several new aircraft are being introduced that are largely tapping into existing ranges, be they WWI fighters or WWII fighters. That said, one new range was launched — WWII: War Under the Sun, which, as its name implies, looks at aircraft flown by both sides of the conflict in the expansive Mediterranean Theatre of Operations. Here now the aircraft you can look forward to treating yourself this holiday season.

Corgi’s 1:72 scale German Messerschmitt Bf 109G-2 (Trop) “Gustav” Fighter – “Red 1”, Hpt. Werner Schroer, 8./Jagdgeschwader 27 “Afrika”, Gazala, Libya, 1942
Corgi’s 1:72 scale RAF Supermarine Spitfire Mk. IX Fighter – Wing Commander James Edgar “Johnnie” Johnson, No.127 (RCAF) Wing, 1944
Corgi’s 1:72 scale RAF Hawker Hurricane Mk. I Fighter – Squadron Leader Ian Richard “Widge” Gleed, No.87 Squadron, Exeter, England, 1940
Corgi’s 1:48 scale German Albatros D.V Fighter – 2263/17, Otto Kissemberth, Jasta 23, Puxieux, France, August 1917
Corgi’s 1:48 scale German Fokker D VII Fighter – Ltn. Kurt Monnington, Jasta 18, Halluin, France, March 1918

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Is Panzerkampf’s Pantsir Pricey?

We learned today that Panzerkampf’s upcoming Pantsir S-1 Mobile Self Defense System will carry a MAP of $114.99, a bit higher than where we thought it might be pegged when it was officially announced. Also, only one version will make it out the door in 2022. Six versions were originally displayed in their 2022 catalog but we’re guessing the manufacturer wants to see how the initial roll out goes before committing to the other schemes they touted.

It’s a bit difficult to forecast how the Pantsir will do at retail as compared with, say, their recently released M1070 heavy equipment transporter, a so-called “no-brainer” by some in the industry that will likely sell exceedingly well for the foreseeable future. For one its Russian as opposed to a US built piece of equipment, although that shouldn’t be considered a strike against it. Second, the inaugural vehicle sports the infamous “Z” plastered across it, which was used by Russian forces during the opening stages of their attack into Ukraine back in February 2022. Its a bit like hawking models of German Messerschmitts on September 2nd, 1939, with those big flamboyant swastikas adorning the aircraft’s tail fin. And lastly, there’s the price tag to consider, which is a bit more than we thought it would weigh in at prior to its main bout debut.

So, if you’re interested in this item, I would suggest pre-ordering soon because we will likely stock this item in very limited numbers for the holiday season. And, with our upcoming move to Florida, we cannot predict when we will have it available for restock should sales not live up to expectations.

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The Forces of Valor Update: To the Extreme

Waltersons posted an image of their 1:72 Tiger I, 1:32 scale Tiger I, and their newly announced 1:16 King Tiger to demonstrate the size comparison between the three models. Anything larger, and we’d be forced to drive it off the dealer’s lot and to the customer’s home instead of mailing it.

When Waltersons resurrected the Forces of Valor brand some six years ago, we were under the impression that they would immediately bring back many of their fan favorites, including their beastly 1:16 scale Extreme Metal series. Previous releases in the series now command $3,000 or more in the marketplace, so consumer interest is, to say the least, quite voracious given its value as a collectible and importance as a piece of military history. For one reason or another, however, that was the last we heard of the sub brand — at least until today.

In a surprise Facebook posting, the manufacturer indicated they would be bringing back the 1:16 scale series beginning with their King Tiger heavy tank. According to Waltersons, the newest vehicle will be available some time in 2023 although little else is known about the model including its cost, what it will look like, which extras will be included, etc. In other words, we have little to go by other than to say that a new King Tiger is in the offing.

Rather than speculate further, we are providing the following link so you can put your sleuthing skills to the test and help us ascertain more information about the vehicle. Obviously, we will hold off accepting pre-orders until we have more concrete information to go by.

One last thing. Before you reach for your wallet or log in to your PayPal account, there are some important points to consider. Their last 1:16 Tiger I tank came out way back in 2006 and initially fetched $400; their last King Tiger was unleashed in 2005 and also carried a $400 sticker price. Both now command prices well in excess of these figures. However, their last 1:16 scale release, a Sherman medium tank, was unleashed in 2008 and also carried a $400 price tag. How did that do? We had to help Unimax sell off their remaining stock of Shermans for around $100 a pop, otherwise they would have sat in inventory til the cows came home. Its anyone’s guess where a King Tiger in today’s market will initially sell for — as a guess closer to $1,000 or possibly more plus shipping. So, if you’re looking to turn this around and make some quick cash I would suggest you evaluate the marketplace as best you can and decide if spending that kind of dough, possibly during a recession, will pay off handsomely in the short term, long term or if at all. Caveat emptor, my friends.

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Tales of Transparency: Hobby Master and MAP

For some time now, there are several diecast manufacturers who require retailers selling their product to adopt a MAP policy that is aimed at preserving the value of their merchandise. MAP, or Minimum Advertised Price, isn’t exactly a uniform policy that applies to all manufacturers nor does it mean the same thing to everyone concerned. Indeed, there are some manufacturers that politely ask you to advertise their product for a stipulated period of time to avoid discounting their product in the marketplace. Others are more stringent and may, quite possibly, stop selling you their product if you are routinely out of compliance.

There are, as you might have guessed, all sorts of problems with the usage of MAP in the global marketplace. While a MAP policy might have worked years ago when two retailers were located across the street from one another in Anytown, USA, the issue become a bit murky when a retailer such as ourselves ends up competing with retailers from around the world. In mainland China, for instance, where many diecast collectibles are made, oftentimes we see fly-by-night retailers selling a product well below the stipulated MAP, even if their shipping fees may seem excessive. They may be retail arms of the manufacturer or they could be underselling other retailers because their currency could be undervalued against the US dollar. So, while we may be asked to sell an item for say $99.99, it doesn’t necessarily mean a retailer in China, Bangladesh, or Indoneisa is being asked or even required to follow that same policy.

In my mind, and perhaps I’m being mistaken, a MAP means that the retailer may not “ADVERTISE” said item for less than the stipulated price. It does not mean they must “SELL” the item at that price, particularly if they may be running promotions that permit their customers to purchase an item at a reduce price. I oftentimes use the analogy of a Keurig K-cup coffemaker being sold at Bed, Bath and Beyond as a means of demonstrating my position. Keurig may require Bed, Bath and Beyond to sell their newest coffeemaker at $199.99. But we all know that Bed, Bath and Beyond regularly bombards their customers with fliers and other marketing paraphernalia containing discounts that may offer 15% or 20% off of a single item or perhaps a dollar figure off the entire sale. These coupons can then be brought into the store or used online, which, in effect lowers the price of the item by the redemption amount. To sum up, the manufacturer, retailer and customer are all happy with this format.

This article attempts to discuss the idea of MAP pricing in greater detail.

I bring all of this up because we seem to have run into an issue with Hobby Master. Hobby Master has always indicated that their products are to be sold at MAP and that this policy must remain in effect for six months following the item’s release. No problem. When their sales literature is sent out, we list each item at the MAP indicated and, because these are limited edition collectibles, rarely if every lower its selling price depending upon supply and demand. Oftentimes, we increase the selling price as we start to run low on inventory. We are, after all, in the collectibles business. Back in the day, I used to be a coin collector, I fully recognize I cannot expect to walk into a coin dealer’s shop and demand that they sell me an 1878 Morgan Dollar for one dollar. They’ll laugh me out the door and my lonely dollar bill will end up going back in my pocket along with some hurt feelings.

Last week, things changed a bit. Our Hobby Master distributor has changed their stance somewhat which has led to the reason why I am writing this blog post. We are no longer required to indicate that our customers may not apply a discount to a Hobby Master item, however, the final selling price cannot fall below the MAP price. This means we now have to go back to all of the upcoming Hobby Master products and adjust their selling price so that customers clearly see they may not purchase or pre-order the product for less than MAP. Of course, once the MAP has expired, it also means that customers can now freely apply any sales discounts we may be running to whatever price is posted, meaning they can still obtain said item at less than MAP. Great, right? Yes and no. By the time the MAP has ended, its quite possible we could have sold out of the item, so they may be waiting for naught.

Whenever we run a sale, all of the upcoming Hobby Master releases, which include those available within the six month release window, will have the following disclaimer shown in the description pane (see image). So, while you can apply the sales discount at checkout, the final net price will not fall below it’s preset MAP. When it comes to our marketplace sites (eBay, Amazon, Walmart, Facebook, etc.) the same rule of thumb will apply. If we are running a 10% off sale on eBay, for instance, the price listed will reflect a 10% increase over the MAP. Once the six month MAP enforced period has ended, we will remove the MAP Protected shield and any text indicating that the item still falls within the MAP enforced release period.

While I’m not a big fan of this strategy, and loathe having to deal with MAP. I understand its intentions. But, it also means we must manually go through our listings, month-by-month, to adjust the selling price each time we decide to run a promotion. The revised price must take into account whatever the sales discount is pegged at. So, if we are running a 15% off sale, we must increase the MAP to reflect this discount. On the other hand, if no promotion is being run, it means we must change the price back to the MAP, item-by-item, month-by-month, until we are in compliance. Not only is this confusing but extraordinarily time-consuming since this must be done expeditiously and accurately to avoid any further issues. With hundreds of upcoming items, its a tedious process. I took a break from this re-pricing format to pen this blog post in part to explain what is going on and hopefully give us more time until a more elegant solution can be found.

Please note that this policy change affects all retailers that stock Hobby Master products within North America. No one is permitted to sell upcoming or newly released Hobby Master products below MAP. If someone is failing to follow this policy or is in flagrant violation, we would appreciate learning who it is so we can pass along this infraction to our distributor.

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Remember the Falklands

Forces of Valor’s 1:700 scale Royal Navy Invincible Class Light Aircraft Carrier – HMS Invincible (R05), Falkland Islands, 1982 [Full Hull Version]

It was forty years ago when the Royal Navy was forced to steam thousands of miles away into the South Atlantic in an effort to liberate the British territory known as the Falkands Islands — a relatively small chain of islands off the South American coast that was claimed and forcibly seized by Argentina. The Malvinas, as the Argentinians called them, were unexpectedly occupied in 1982 as a means of diverting political attention away from failed domestic policies at home and an attempt at galvanizing a nation beset by all manner of turmoil.

To celebrate their achievement, Forces of Valor plans on relaunching one of the key warships involved in the conflict — the HMS Invincible, a medium-sized aircraft carrier that proved instrumental in providing air support for the Royal Marines. Thus far, the manufacturer has released this lone picture of the warship, and haven’t as yet indicated its retail price or expected date of delivery. Nevertheless, we’ll keep an eye on this new release and update our site once information is passed along.

In other news, we’ve been told by our distributor that the September shipment of Forces of Valor product has been pushed back until October. As a guess, they are still awaiting some items to be completed so they can fill a container. We aren’t sure if this will the last container from FOV for the 2022 calendar year based upon performance to date. Moreover, we do not know if several items, such as their recently announced waterline version of the Yamato, will be repackaged for their English-speaking audience, or if it will be solely available in Japan. Lots of speculation at this point and little to go by.

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The Other House of the Dragon

Dragon Neo Armor’s upcoming 1:72 scale US M103A2 Heavy Tank with Reliability Improved Selected Equipment (RISE) IR/White Light Spotlight

Earlier today, Dragon announced two more new vehicles that will join their Neo Dragon Armor line. The newest of the new are both M103A2 heavy tanks, immensely powerful vehicles that served our country well if for a short period of time during the Cold War. While Dragon is indicating that these vehicles will be available in September we will more than likely stock them towards the end of this year.

Which brings me to the real purpose of this post. When Dragon Models USA closed their doors last year, it created a void in the marketplace whereby product was still being made by Dragon Models but not being stocked by any distributor here in North America. We had the opportunity to import the line ourselves but declined because we are unable to store that much new product to make it worth our while. A month or so ago, one distributor did decide to step up to the plate and will be importing the Neo Dragon Armor range into North America. Because they must purchase the product in larger lots so they can fill a container, we fully expect that it could be some time before they are able to fill each new container with the latest product. More likely, they will be bringing in merchandise once per quarter, based, in large part, upon what is ready in Asia at the time they are placing their order. Of course, should the manufacturer decide to delay the release of new product, then this will have a detrimental effect on when the latest new items will actually reach our shores. Hopefully this won’t occur too often but I thought you might want to take notice of this should there be extended delays from here on out.

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Bovington Museum South West Model Show

For those of you residing in the UK, we thought you might like to know that the Bovington Museum is holding a model show on September 10th. We’re not certain if diecast collectibles will be on sale but the idea that these types of shows are back is enough to get this would-be attendee happy as a clam. For more information, visit the South West Model Show. And, for those of you that already plan to attend, have fun!

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Rest in Peace Bandit

Bandit, wearing her characteristic “lion cut” doo. Two months later, and you would never know she had a hair cut because her coat grew in as fast as bamboo. Rest in Peace baby. You will be sorely missed.

It is with a heavy heart that I have to announce the untimely passing of our second dog, Bandit. Like our first dog, Cookie, Bandit was a pure bred Pomeranian that ran the roost, so-to-speak, tugging at my heart the moment I first laid eyes on her as a pup some nine years ago. While some might disagree with the way I let dogs take over our lives, I also like to remind them that their only requirement is to love and be loved.

We got Bandit roughly nine months after the passing of Cookie, largely as a way of dealing with Cookie’s passing and the hole she left in our hearts. My youngest daughter, April, accompanied me after first seeing her photo online and wondering if she would be a good fit for our family. When we arrived at the puppy store, we noticed that they had all of the puppies in a see-through enclosure located in the middle of the store, where potential buyers could see them interact with other breeds. “Happy”, as she was known by her online photo, was sitting atop a scrum of other puppies, proclaiming, in dog-speak that she was king of the hill. We decided to bring her home and, as is our family tradition, let April rename her Bandit, since she was stealing everyone’s socks and hiding them under the bed.

Unlike Cookie, Bandit passed away at only 9 years of age, succumbing, according to the the vet, from fluid in one of her lungs and quite possibly suffering a stroke. She passed away on Friday afternoon and its taken me this long to find the composure and wherewithal to actually comment on her death. Like Cookie, we hope you had a good life with us and hope we can see and play with one another once again in the hereafter. Rest in Peace baby

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Tales of Transparency: August Ends with a Bang

Armored Fighting Vehicles of WWII 1:43 scale US M26 Pershing Heavy Tank – “Alles Kaputt”, 2nd Armored Division, Cologne, Germany, April 1945

After waiting for what seemed like an eternity for several delayed shipments, it would appear as if lots of new product will finally be rolling in by month’s end. From AFVs of WWII, you can look forward to nabbing no less than nine new 1:43 scale tanks, thereby substantially enlarging your collection of mid-sized combat vehicles. The nine new vehicles include some heavily asked for favorites such as a Panzer IV medium tank, M26 Pershing and even a ponderous Matila infantry support tank. We’ve move the nine new vehicles to our Product en Route section, even though they are slated to hit the highway on Monday.

The same distributor who stocks the AFV line says that several new Panzerkampf tanks are right behind the AFV shipment, the most important of which is their 1:72 scale M1A1 Abrams painted up in a NATO standard woodland camouflage scheme. Its an important release since it pairs up quite nicely with their NATO standard M1070 heavy equipment transporter. So, we’ll be kneep deep in armored fighting vehicles by week’s end and will work tirelessly to get out all of the pre-orders over the next weekend.

In other news, our principal distributor says that both the June and July Hobby Master shipments are scheduled to arrive at their facility in Atlanta this week. Quite likely the July shipment will be received first then the June container. Strange? Not really. In this day and age there really is no rhyme or reason why this sort of hodge-podgery [sic] is happening — basically it all comes down to when customs gives the go-ahead for a container to hit the road. Furthermore, Hobby Master products, which are produced in Bangladesh rather than mainland China, takes a bit longer to transit both the Indian and Pacific Oceans. They then have to navigate through the Panama Canal rather than land at any of the west coast ports because their port of entry is in Savannah, Georgia, which is closer to their ultimate destination in Atlanta. So, its also entirely possible that one ship could arrive before the other, making forecasting for their arrival that much more difficult to determine.

Hobby Master’s 1:72 scale USN Douglas A-1H Skyraider Attack Aircraft – VA-176 “Thunderbolts”, USS Intrepid (CV-11), 1966

Moreover, with lots of holiday shipments beginning to arrive for many of the big box retailers (Wal-Mart, Target, Costco, etc.), we’ll take these shipments any which way they come just as long as they arrive within time for us to actually promote and sell the product for the upcoming holiday season.

Many of the remaining manufacturers seem to be in limbo there is really no point in discussing them at present. As far as our move to southwest Florida goes, our newly built house is still progressing, albeit well behind schedule. Without cabinetry and countertops its a shell at present, so there’s no point in discussing when we will actually take possession of the home until we have a clearer idea as to when the missing components will arrive and get installed.

Note: We will begin processing any pre-orders we’ve thus far received for the AFV line beginning this week. As always, we would greatly appreciate it if you could refrain from contacting us about your order. If we keep our head down and concentrate we can get everything out within a couple of days. Interruptions always slows down this process. The Panzerkampf shipment will then be addressed once we have a better idea as to its arrival time.

We decided to end our Dog Days of Summer sale one week earlier than originally indicated in order to make some administrative adjustments and prepare for our annual Labor Day Sale. Considering the sale began on July 7th, I don’t think anyone is going to quibble about the shortened length of time we set for the sale. In the future we will do our best to make these announcements before the sale needs to be cut short.

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