While we have temporarily discontinued stocking the Calibre Wings line of military aircraft, we thought it still made sense to cover them as if we did. Of late, the Company has come under fire from some of its most vocal critics, who delight in lambasting them on every conceivable issue, from quality control to licensing. While we are not going to agree or disagree with some of the online comments posted to their Facebook account, the point of this blog post isn’t to throw more fuel on the fire. Rather, it is designed to point out some of their positive achievements, which includes not only what they have brought to market thus far but what’s ahead from this rising star in the diecast community.
By now, most of you are no doubt aware that the Company has a MiG-31 “Foxhound” in the works, which can still be pre-ordered direct from the manufacturer and is currently listed as a 2023 release. What you may not know is that they are also working on their long-promised if oft delayed Convair B-58 Hustler, a supersonic bomber that saw yeoman service with the USAF during the Cold War. While the mold is still being finalized and pre-orders are not yet being taken by the manufacturer, they did take time out to cobble together this short video which discusses their labor-of-love. Enjoy and don’t forget to support your favorite manufacturers any way you can! BTW, Noel Lee, the owner of Calibre Wings, has hinted that the retail price of the B-58 could be as high as $300, although its likely he will offer it at a far lower price on Kickstarter, a crowdfunding site, for a limited time only. The Hustler is an iconic Cold War aircraft that helped to form the backbone of our so-called Triad nuclear response for several decades. As such while it may be expensive vis a vis other diecast aircraft, we feel confident that Calibre will do it justice and thus represent a worthwhile investment.
Next to the Apache and Cobra gunships, perhaps the most feared helicopter gunship ever to take wing is the Russian built Mi 24, NATO reporting name HIND. Designed as a combination heavy attack platform and low capacity troop transport, the HIND has been around since the late 1970s, a testament to their endurance and ability to take enemy fire at the forward edge of the battlefield area where fighting is oftentimes the most intense.
It therefore comes as no surprise then that Panzerkampf would choose the Mi-24 as one of their latest rotary wing models. Recently two versions were shown to the public on their Facebook account, although no other information was provided. So, while we’d love to begin taking pre-orders for either or both of their upcoming helicopter assault gunships, for now we will simply post images of both models and await further information. In our opinion, their success will likely eclipse that of the MH-53 Super Stallion that was released last year, and has already gone on to become one of their most successful subjects. And, if the HIND sells well, you can bet they will be looking at other Russian attack helicopters down-the-road, capitalizing on the success of these battlefield weapons and their own ability to model them at scale. Curiously, it appears as though the HIND will be marketed under their Legion sub brand, even though these are brand new toolings not based upon other previously released models as is the case with their newly-launched military vehicle line.
Dragon’s 1:72 scale US Army M4A3E8 Sherman Tank – “Tiger Face”, “Rice’s Red Devils”, 89th Tank Battalion. Han River, Korea, March 1951
Psychological warfare (PSYWAR), or the basic aspects of modern psychological operations (PsyOp), have been known by many other names or terms, including Military Information Support Operations (MISO), Psy Ops, political warfare, “Hearts and Minds”, and propaganda. The term is used “to denote any action which is practiced mainly by psychological methods with the aim of evoking a planned psychological reaction in other people”.
Various techniques are used, and are aimed at influencing a target audience’s value system, belief system, emotions, motives, reasoning, or behavior. It is used to induce confessions or reinforce attitudes and behaviors favorable to the originator’s objectives, and are sometimes combined with black operations or false flag tactics. It is also used to destroy the morale of enemies through tactics that aim to depress troops’ psychological states.
Dragon’s 1:72 scale US Army M4A3E8 Sherman Tank – “Tiger Face”, 25th Infantry Division, Han River, Korea, March 1951
Psychological warfare was still in its rudimentary stages when war broke out on the Korean Peninsula in 1950. Back then, military commanders understood the importance of fooling the enemy as a means of gaining the upper hand, even if the resources to pull off such a ruse was basic at best. Operation Ripper (March 6th-31st, 1951), as it was known, represented the UN’s attempt to liberate Seoul, South Korea’s capital, from North Korean occupation and push back the combined communist forces to their starting positions along the 38th Parallel. The Chinese Volunteer Army (CVA), who entered the war on the side of North Korea after it was attacked by UN forces in the latter half of 1950, did not possess any tanks and was largely an infantry-based formation that relied heavily upon human wave attacks to seize their objectives. The North Koreans, on the other hand, had lost most of their tanks during the fighting in 1950, and therefore posed little in the way of a threatening force as it had once been a year earlier.
Dragon’s 1:72 scale US Army M4A3E8 Sherman Tank – “Tiger Face”, “Rice’s Red Devils”, 89th Tank Battalion. Han River, Korea, March 1951
For this offensive, the US Army employed a bit of psychological warfare against the Chinese forces who were supposedly very superstitious, and whose culture feared both the tiger and dragon. Interestingly, the tiger is considered to be brave, cruel, forceful, stately and terrifying, the symbol of power and lordliness. In ancient times, the Chinese people usually compared emperors to the tiger. So, in an effort to boost the morale of the UN troops facing them and instill fear in the Chinese troops opposing them, it was decided that US tank crews were to paint their tanks with tiger heads/faces, bloody sharp teeth and claws on the front of their vehicles. These schemes were the most elaborate and colorful markings ever applied to US tanks and it was hoped these tiger faces would help to strike fear in the hearts of the Chinese troops ahead of any advance.
Dragon’s 1:72 scale US Army M4A3E8 Sherman Tank – “Tiger Face”, 24th Infantry Division, Han River, Korea, March 1951
Unfortunately, this colorful plan might have worked a year earlier but due to some misinformation regarding the dates of the Chinese New Year, never achieved its stated aim of forcing the Chinese to flee. In 1951, The Year of the Tiger as it was known by the Chinese, actually ended on February 5th, 1951, one month prior to the start of the UN attack. On the other hand, February 6th, 1951 ushered in the Year of the Rabbit, which had no detrimental effect on the average Chinese soldier. Changing the painted images of the tiger to a rabbit on many of the Allies’ tanks was obviously a moot idea so the tiger faces that adorned the tanks were left as is. After the offensive ended in late March, the elaborate guise was no longer needed so the paint schemes were either left to fade or were painted over to their original schemes.
Dragon’s 1:72 scale US Army M4A3E8 Sherman Tank – “Tiger Face”, 24th Infantry Division, Han River, Korea, March 1951
Never one to shrink from a daunting task, Dragon, under their Neo Dragon Armor brand, plans on re-producing these battle wagons with not one but five different iterations of the famed “Tiger Face” Sherman. Each has been painstakingly researched based upon information obtained from actual photos and other historical documents. Look for the entire collection to roll out sometime this fall.
Forces of Valor’s 1:32 scale US M4A3(75) Sherman Medium Tank with VVSS Suspension – Training Vehicle, C Company, 10th Tank Battalion, 5th Armored Division, New York, 1943 [Bonus Ford GAA V-8 Engine]. Something is amiss but only a trained eye will spot it
Recently I had a short but poignant discussion with the owner of Waltersons, who produces the wildly popular Forces of Valor range of military products. While we pointed out a number of glaring errors in two of their recent releases, they took the observations in stride, perhaps acknowledging that they are oftentimes their biggest critic when they get things wrong. Its refreshing to see that they are at least willing to hear about any errors they may have caused, given the price tag many of their newest efforts are commanding.
What we did learn, however, is that they are amending their strategy slightly for 2023, perhaps in an effort to get more product into the hands of collectors who have regularly been asking for new items since taking over the line in 2016. While the Company will continue to overhaul existing molds to bring them up to today’s standards, they have finally recognized that they have a tremendous amount of exisiting tooling sitting on the sidelines that doesn’t need to be changed all that much. Although no vehicles were mentioned specifically by Waltersons, the upcoming “20th Anniversary of Forces of Valor” range will likely encompass perennial favorites such as their Sturmgeschutz assault gun and Panther medium tank, two stalwarts that never seemed to get criticized all that much by military buffs despite being released ad infinitum year after year. Its not clear if this new strategy will see the employment of additional metal parts to give them more heft or the proposed price tag for these off-the-shelf armored reinforcements. What is known is that new figures and accessories are almost certain to be included along with new paint schemes so that they aren’t confused with previous releases.
In other news, sold out items such as their Jagdpanther and best-selling MH-47 helicopter will almost certainly make a comeback at some point, perhaps three years down the road, once space has been made in their tight production schedule. The manufacturer has never categorically stated that these are limited edition collectibles, so keeping the door open by reintroducing certain fan favorites has always been a part of their overall strategy even if they have never gone on record to say so.
From a marketing perspective, we will likely not distinguish these re-released products from other products already produced and simply place them in our Forces of Valor Legacy products section. Frankly, I think its getting far too confusing at present with all of the marketing hype used to date. Monikers such as “Metal Proud”, “Engine Plus” and “Inside Out” are already bewildering to veteran and newcomers to the hobby, all of whom are simply looking to acquire a vehicle first without all of the bells and whistles marketing gurus can needlessly bolt on. Adding yet another new category will only help to keep the customer guessing, wondering which item is which when contemplating a purchase. Sometimes you don’t have to reinvent the wheel even if others are telling you it needs to be updated.
And the error? On the left hand portion of the transmission housing, the symbols indicate this vehicle is from the 3rd Armored Division, 10th Tank Battalion, when the manufacturer advertised it as a vehicle from the 5th Armored Division. Que sera, sera.
As many of you may know, Dragon pulled up stakes in the US about a year or so ago, although no reason was given for the sudden move,. To date, no one has stepped forward to import the line, that is, until now. Rumor has it that one of our distributors is looking to bring back some, most or even all of the many ranges Dragon produces, beginning with their flourishing Neo Armor line. This, of course, comes at a crucial yet opportune time since Dragon has begun rolling out a number of new Neo Armor products that now cover both WWII as well as modern era subjects. We hope to have more concrete information by the weekend so bear with us as we wait to hear back from our source as they continue to hammer out the details.
Update: Great news for all you Dragon tread heads. We learned today that our distributor struck a deal with Dragon Models to import the Neo Dragon Armor line into North America. The first batch of vehicles are expected as early as this September, with additional shipments expected each month thereafter. We will be listing all of the new vehicles over the weekend and should have everything completed by Sunday. Bear in mind that the range has grown somewhat from its earlier iterations a couple of years ago and continues to gain momentum and new additions on a weekly basis. Furthermore, there are several items that we do not plan to stock, such as their JGSDF and South Korean AAVPs, as well as their JGSDF Bushmaster. These models have limited appeal here in North America and frankly we think it will take us a month of Sundays to move the inventory when we can best stick with those items we know we can sell without difficulty. Of course, these can still be ordered direct from Dragon on their web site. Lastly, we are exploring the feasibility of obtaining many or potentially all of the Cyber Hobby versions of each vehicle type that they plan to offer. Vehicles such as the Bushmaster and Boxer already have Cyber Hobby variants in the works, so its a good bet many if not all of their most recent introductions will be available as Cyber Hobby exclusives too.
After several years of lying dormant, it now appears as if Dragon is once again betting big on their smallest line of vehicles to see them through the post-pandemic world. Five new Shermans were recently announced, all sporting “Tiger Faces” on the front of the vehicles. During the Korean Conflict, it was rumored that the Communist Chinese soldiers were deathly afraid of anything that resembled a tiger since 1951, the second year of the Korean Conflict, represented the “Year of the Tiger”. We’ll post all of them to our web site shortly…
We strongly suggest pre-ordering those items you may be interested in obtaining as quickly as possible because our pre-order with the distributor is due to be placed early next week. I know some of you like to create dioramas with multiple vehicles of the same type, so please bear this in mind if you hope to have your order filled as completely as possible.
Its noon Sunday. I’m bleary-eyed and over caffeinated but it appears as if we have successfully listed all of the newest Neo Dragon Armor items to our web site. We are still checking with the manufacturer to determine if any of the assortments come with limited edition “chase” vehicles. If so, we will offer them separately. We are still in the process of uploading ancillary images for each vehicle so the lone image uploaded for each vehicle will have to suffice for now. Again, please peruse these new listings at your earliest opportunity and submit your orders early so we can best determine the quantities we will need to order from our distributor. Since we are no longer ordering from Dragon Models USA, its very possible that we will only be able to order each new item once before it is sold out and no longer available for re-order.
Forces of Valor’s 1:32 scale US M4A3E2 Sherman Jumbo Assault Tank with VVSS Suspension – “Cobra King”, C Company, 37th Tank Battalion, 4th Armored Division, Bastogne, Belgium, December 26th, 1944 [Bonus Ford GAA V-8 Engine
To this day, there is some debate whether or not the beleaguered 101st Airborne Division, who were tasked with defending the Belgian crossroads town of Bastogne during the Ardennes counteroffensive, were in need of rescuing against vastly superior German forces then encircling the area. Ask the “Screaming Eagles” holed up in the town and they’ll say they were simply holding out against ferocious if failed Nazi assaults for several days running. Patton’s 3rd Army, on the other hand, who had ceased attacking German forces well to the south of the so-called “Bulge”, pivoted 90-degrees then marched through the thick of winter for two days, will answer differently, acting like saviors for the men of the 101st who, for all intents and purposes, were cut off from the world and hanging on by a thread.
On the morning of December 26th, 1944, as part of a concerted effort to relieve the 101st Airborne (“Screaming Eagles”) defending the all-important crossroads town of Bastogne, the 4th Armored Division’s (“Breakthrough”) Combat Command Reserve (CCR) was ordered by Division HQ to link up with Combat Command B (CCB), which was still fighting for the town of Chaumont in southeast Belgium. Colonel Wendell Blanchard, commander of CCR, called together Lt. Colonel Creighton Abrams of the 37th Tank Battalion, and Lt. Colonel George L. Jaques of the 53rd Armored Infantry Battalion.
He told them to attack and seize the village of Chaumont, which was just 3 miles from Bastogne. From there, they were to advance in earnest up the main road, break through the German cordon, and make contact with the beleaguered 101st, which was rapidly running out of ammunition.
After capturing Chaumont, the two commanders initially planned to attack the town of Sibret, but because it was so heavily defended, they instead chose to assault the nearby village of Assenois, which was located on a secondary road but still provided access to Bastogne. With artillery firing in support, the leading element of CCR, comprised of three Shermans followed by a halftrack full of infantry, then two more Shermans, stormed the village. Abrams’ tanks blasted their way through the obstacles, while dismounted infantry mopped up the remaining strongpoints. After eliminating several enemy soldiers laying Teller mines along the road, Abrams command linked up with elements of the 101st at 1700 hours. The siege had been lifted and with it came the collapse of Hitler’s “Wacht am Rhein” operation.
Look for the “First in Bastogne” Sherman from Forces of Valor to break the siege in the Ardennes Forest early this fall.
Death by a thousand cuts. One Abrams that landed on the cutting room floor
We received some unexpected and disappointing news from Panzerkampf late Friday. Apparently, the model maker has decided not to produce one of the M1 Abrams tanks they had advertised for some time, #PZK12209PA, which was a US M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank with TUSK I Survival Kit in a tri-color camouflage pattern with side-mounted desert sand colored ERA. No explanation was offered for nixing this item so as of now only one tri-color camo version of the Abrams is still being made – the US M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tank with TUSK I Survival Kit that served with the 1st Battalion, 35th Armor Regiment, 1st Armored Division (PZK12208PA). The decision seems odds given the number of desert sand versions produced to date but one we have to live with nonetheless. If you pre-ordered and pre-paid for this item we will automatically switch the order to the latter vehicle, which is still expected later this summer.
The manufacturer also indicated that they have no plans to produce their hot-selling M1070 heavy equipment transporter in arctic winter white although the solid green version is still on the table. So, if you see one in the marketplace, we suggest you grab it while you can.
Hobby Master’s 1:72 scale USN Douglas A-1H Skyraider Attack Aircraft – VA-176 “Thunderbolts”, USS Intrepid (CV-11), 1966
If you thought there was congestion at the nation’s airports this summer then you haven’t paid attention to the arrivals board at the Hobby Master terminal. As it stands right now, it appears as if both the May and June shipments are expected late next week, possibly one container right behind the other. That means lots of new warbirds all showing up at the same time. But the conga line doesn’t end there because there’s a strong chance that the July shipment won’t be too far behind thereby adding to the mayhem. Don’t get me wrong, its always nice to see new product arriving — its just when they all arrive at once, for one reason or another, then it creates a bit of a logjam for retailers such as ourselves. Needless to say we will update this blog post just as soon as we receive more concrete information from our distributor. In the mean time, we will start making room in our warehouse for all of the new goodies set to show up and begin listing them on our marketplace sites once they’re ready to get turned around.
Update: According to our distributor, both the May and June shipments are now expected to arrive the week of August 2nd-8th, and the July shipment won’t be too far behind them. So, strap in, cause August will be another heavy outbound shipping month for us, with lots of new Hobby Master aircraft models to choose from. At this point, there really is no point in trying to distinguish which models in our August 2022 Hobby Master releases are coming in and when (fifty models of all sorts and sizes is a lot to choose from) so we’ve lumped them all together and await word from our distributor as to which models are arriving and in what order. I know that’s a tall order for everyone concerned but one we are forced to accept given the inelastic nature of the shipping troubles still plaguing our nation. In the mean time, tally ho!
Eaglemoss, the maker of the Star Trek Starships line of Star Trek model replicas, seems to be on the brink of collapse according to Trek Central, a fan site that delves deeply into the Star Trek franchise. According to their recent posting, the British manufacturer has reportedly filed a Notice of Intention to appoint an administrator back on July 12th, and English way of saying they are filing for bankruptcy protection from their creditors. Its not clear what led to the decision to file or how the Company ended up in such a disastrous state-of-affairs when things seemed to be on the upswing and new lines and agreements were being forged as late as last year. At this juncture, its not clear if another entity will look to take over the flagging model maker or if the Company will simply sell off its assets at fire sale prices to raise funding before permanently closing its doors. We’re hoping for the former but recognize that in today’s economic climate anything is possible. For more information on the story, visit Trek Central.
Forces of Valor’s 1:32 scale US M4(105) Sherman Medium Tank with VVSS Suspension and Deep Wading Gear – 713th Tank Battalion, Okinawa, April-June 1945 [Bonus Continental (Wright) R-975, Radial 9 Engine]
Its no secret that Waltersons, the new caretakers of the Forces of Valor brand, changed course a couple of years ago, announcing a bevy of M4 Sherman and Tiger I tanks in lieu of other vehicle types they had hinted at when they first took over the brand. Highly requested vehicles such as the Su-85 and M10 tank destroyer have taken a back seat to a litany of Shermans and Tigers the likes of which we haven’t seen in years. Its great if you love both vehicle types — not so awesome if you’ve been patiently awaiting other vehicles to add to your diecast arsenal for several years running.
Be that as it many, the Company showed off the next pairing of Sherman tanks expected later this year – an M4(105) Sherman Medium Tank with VVSS Suspension and Deep Wading Gear as well as a US M4A3E2 Sherman Jumbo Assault Tank with VVSS Suspension. Like the previous pairing of Shermans, these two vehicles feature lots of moving parts, a removable engine and a mostly heavy metal exterior, making them excellent testaments to the weaponry that helped to defeat the Axis powers during the Second World War. The problem, as I already touched upon, is where are all of the other vehicles Unimax once produced that are crying out to be re-purposed for the modern age — vehicles such as the M26 Pershing, Panther, Sturmgeschutz and M1 Abrams, along with perennial stalwarts such as the diminutive Zundapp motorcycle. Instead, we get more of the same thing year after year while other vehicle types languish on the back burner, to say nothing of the vehicles collectors have been demanding they make for years on end. I get the fact that it costs quite a bit of money to produce a new tooling hence the abundance of Tigers and Shermans rolling off the Waltersons assembly line, however, when you keep returning to the wishing well expecting to drain it for all its worth, the law of diminishing returns eventually comes into play, as diehard collectors begin to poo-poo the newest releases and wonder when their dreams will finally be fulfilled.
Forces of Valor’s 1:32 scale US M4A3E2 Sherman Jumbo Assault Tank with VVSS Suspension – “Cobra King”, C Company, 37th Tank Battalion, 4th Armored Division, Bastogne, Belgium, December 26th, 1944 [Bonus Ford GAA V-8 Engine]
Don’t get me wrong — these new vehicles will sell well largely because collectors don’t have much to choose from and competitors such as 21st Century Toys have folded up years ago. But after awhile you begin to ask what was the point of taking over the line if you’re going to confine your production to just a handful of new items while doing your best to tamp down anxieties that seem to gather momentum as the years tick by?
In any event, now that we know what they actually look like, their respective price tags and an approximate release date, we’ve opened up the pre-order window for both of these models. They’ll no doubt get snapped up due to their quality and uniqueness. We just wish that the manufacturer would jump off of the Tiger and Sherman bandwagon and hop on another.
