So, as some of you may know, we purchased a new home in Florida back in April, with construction beginning in a week or two. Barring any issues with the build, we hope to move in sometime this summer, likely in July, if everything goes according to plan and all of the materials arrive as advertised instead of sitting in the belly of some cargo ship. As a result, we will likely have to start packing up our belongings as well as our inventory in June and postpone any new inbound shipments until such time as we can accept their delivery in Florida. That said, we will likely run an inventory reduction sale beginning in May which will run for the entire month, possibly increasing any discount by an added percentage each week in an effort to reduce our physical footprint both here and in Florida, thereby lessening the amount of merchandise we have to transport 1,500 miles. We will discuss this in greater detail as we get a better idea if the move is going according to plan. One final thought. By moving to Florida, I guess it means I’ll have to start taking up pickleball, dining at 4PM and driving by staring through the steering wheel instead of over it. Ah, the price we pay not to have to shovel snow anymore…
In other news, we have begun introducing “pricing uniformity” across all of our categories. In keeping with our philosophy of leaving sold out items up on our web site purely as a means of reference, we also realized that this created a bit of confusion in terms of pricing. For instance, we sold some of the earliest Hobby Master A-10 Warthogs for around $50 back in the late 2000s but the latest versions are commanding prices of around $115. So, we’ve raised the prices on the earliest releases to conform with today’s prices all in an effort to demonstrate how their value has likely appreciated over the years. In point of fact, many of the early releases are fetching even higher prices than current market prices so please take these new prices with a grain of salt. Again, it does not mean we have them in stock, but if we did, we would be selling them at today’s prices since they are, after all, limited edition collectibles that are highly sought after world wide.
With the holiday shopping season in full stride, Hobby Master seized the opportunity to announce their release schedule for August of 2022, which, as they like to do, covers just about every era and scale they offer up. Of particular note is their first ever Lockheed F-15EX, the latest in a long line of upgraded air dominance platforms in the longstanding and highly regarded series of Eagle twin-engine fighters. While stealth is still of paramount importance to the US Air Force as we head into the mid 2020s, its clear that we still need an effective aircraft capable of carrying a huge load of air-to-air missiles to the FEBA should the stealth aircraft run out of weaponry. The F-15EX, working in conjunction with more stealthy aircraft such as the F-22, F-35 and upcoming sixth generation fighter, fits that bill nicely demonstrating that older air frames still serve a useful purpose on the aerial battlefield. Here now the rest of the August line up:
Hobby Master’s 1:72 RCAF Canadair CF-104 Starfighter Interceptor – 104733, 1 Canada Air Group, West Germany, 1964Hobby Master’s 1:72 Imperial Japanese Navy Nakajima B5N1 “Kate” Torpedo Bomber – 9-348, Sanzao Dao, 14th Kokutai, South China, 1939Hobby Master’s 1:72 Imperial Japanese Navy Nakajima B5N1 “Kate” Torpedo Bomber – A11-311, Lt. Ichiro Kitjima, Aircraft Carrier Kaga, December 1941Hobby Master’s 1:72 USMC Douglas SBD-2 Dauntless Dive-Bomber – Major Lofton Henderson, VMSB-241 “Sons of Satan”, June 4th 1942Hobby Master’s 1:72 US Navy Douglas SBD-3 Dauntless Dive-Bomber – Commander Howard Young, Commander of the Enterprise Air Group, 1942Hobby Master’s 1:72 USAF McDonnell YF-4E Phantom II Reconnaissance Aircraft – 65-0713, Air Force Test Center, Edwards AFB, California, 1985US Navy Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat Fighter – Warrant Officer Donald Runyon, VF-6, USS Enterprise (CV-6), 1942Hobby Master’s 1:72 US Navy Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat Fighter – Lt. Commander John Raby, VF-9, USS Ranger (CV-4), November 1942Hobby Master’s 1:72 USAF Lockheed-Martin F-22 Air Dominance Fighter – “Cripes A’ Mighty,” 192nd Fighter Wing, Langley-Eustis, Virginia [Low-Vis Scheme]Hobby Master’s 1:72 US Navy Northrop Grumman E-2D Hawkeye AEW Aircraft – 168599, VAW-121 “Bluetails”, USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72), September 2018
Oftentimes we have our heads down, nose to the grindstone, working on the mundane and as a result fail to take notice of news that could have a significant impact on our business. For instance, back in July, Hornby, the parent company of Corgi, completed an acquisition of the Oxford Diecast Group, a British-based maker of diecast cars, aircraft, train accessories and other segments of the hobby industry. The take over involved the purchase of the remainder of LCD Enterprises it did not already own, a holding firm that represented Oxford and its owners Lyndon Davies and his wife Catherine Davies. Lyndon Davies is currently the CEO of Hornby after having moved over from Oxford a few years ago.
Thus far, we aren’t certain how this will impact things going forward, since neither our present distributor of Oxford nor the new owners have said anything regarding the take over. We expect further news in January, since this is the time both Hornby and Corgi typically announce their new wares for the coming year.
For more information on the take over, visit this link.
Over the last few months, we’ve slowly been building out our JC Wings military diecast aircraft section aimed at reflecting some of their newest warbirds looking to take wing. Earlier today, we added a batch of new models that were first announced back in September but, for various reasons, we had to wait until December to list properly. Currently we do not have firm release dates for any of these models, so we are assuming they’ll reach us some time this spring, which of course, could change if the issues with the supply chain haven’t been remedied. Anyway, here now the latest models added to our catalog:
JC Wings US Navy Grumman F-14D Tomcat Fleet Defense Fighter – VF-2 “Bounty Hunters”, 2002 [Low-Vis Scheme] (1:72 Scale)JC Wings US Navy Grumman F-14D Tomcat Fleet Defense Fighter – VF-2 “Bounty Hunters”, 2002 [Low-Vis Scheme] (1:72 Scale)JC Wings USAF Boeing F-15E Strike Eagle Multi-Role Fighter – 4th Fighter Wing, 75th Anniversary Edition, 2017 [Anniversary Scheme] (1:72 Scale)JC Wings Vietnamese Sukhoi Su-30MK2V “Flanker-G” Fighter – 923rd Fighter Regiment, 2012 (1:72 Scale)JC Wings USAAF North American P-51D Mustang Fighter – Raymond S. Wetmore, 370th Fighter Squadron, 359th Fighter Group, 1945 (1:72 Scale)JC Wings Israeli Defense Force General Dynamics F-16I Sufa Fighter – 253 Squadron “The Negev Squadron”, 2015 (1:72 Scale)JC Wings US Navy Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornet Strike Fighter – VFA-14 “Tophatters”, 2019 [Anniversary Scheme] (1:72 Scale)JC Wings Ukrainian Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-29MU1 ‘Fulcrum-C’ Fighter – 2019 (1:72 Scale)
To borrow a catchphrase from baseball, “we’re headed into the bottom of the ninth and things ain’t looking that good for the home team.” Today we learned that the December Forces of Valor shipment that was supposed to come in around the end of November will likely arrive at our distributor in early January. Despite re-routing the shipment from Savannah, Georgia, to New York, virtually all of our ports are too congested to be of much good taking in product for the holidays. Between the ports getting slammed to the shortage of truckers hauling the goods around the nation, 2021 is stacking up to be a dismal year. Likewise, the September/October shipment of Hobby Master products, which was also diverted to New York, will almost certainly suffer from the same fate and get delayed again. There’s a possibility it could arrive in late December, but I think you know as well as I that is most likely wishful thinking on everyone’s part. Follow-on shipments are, from a figurative sense, almost certainly “in the same boat”, meaning they will likely get pushed back as well, although there’s no telling by how many days, weeks or even months. Its conceivable that a lot of what we were expecting could arrive en masse within a 30-90 day time frame some time in 2022, although here again there’s really no way of knowing since everyone is remaining mum, shrugging their shoulders and twiddling their fingers, although not necessarily in that order.
We’ve also put in a call to Corgi to determine where they stand but here again we fear the worst. Its entirely possible that everything still to come in for 2021 may get pushed back into early 2022. If that’s the case, we’ll certainly have a bang up New Year, Presidents Day, or Easter, depending upon when all of this stuff finally gets here. Obviously we will continue to update everyone should things suddenly take a turn for the upside, but we’re trying to remain realistic instead of optimistic based upon everything that has transpired thus far. Black Friday may have one meaning for some retailers but quite another for others.
Note: After we put this post to bed, we learned that three Corgi Aviation Archive aircraft arrived at our distributor and are now on their way to us. Also, our Solido military vehicle order came in so we will be making shipments to everyone that pre-ordered these vehicles later this week. Additionally, our first pair of JC Wings military aircraft are now en route to us, although it appears as if the balance of our order will likely arrive some time after the New Year. As it stands now, the only remaining shipment still AWOL for 2021 is our September/October Hobby Master shipment. No firm date of arrival has been set and our distributor is working in earnest to ensure that this shipment still comes in for holiday disbursement.
On December 2nd, our distributor reported that their Forces of Valor shipment, originally slated to arrive in late November/early December, is now expected in late January. As a result, we have pushed back this shipment to February, since its more than likely it will still be affected by port issues, warehousing problems or trucker shortages. We’ve also pushed back other FOV products that were purportedly due in early 2022 to spring 2022, although here again these items could be delayed even further for any number of reasons.
As a bit of bright news, Corgi reported that several Aviation Archive models are expected to clear customs shortly and arrive at their facility in Portland, Oregon, within the coming days. Of course, they are also indicating that they have been inundated in orders, largely due to the late arrival of these and other items that have been repeatedly delayed by disruptions in the supply chain. So, while the models listed below may be reaching their warehouse soon, it likely means they will transit the US and reach our facility in NYC around the second week of December, barring any further calamity. Its possible these models will be available in time for Christmas although we aren’t making any promises since several of the major carriers (USPS, UPS, FedEx) could themselves be overwhelmed with late orders as more product, stranded at sea for weeks and in some instances months, finally make it off the cargo ships and on their way to their ultimate destinations.
Under ordinary circumstances, things are typically very fluid for the month of December, as product updates are passed along to us on a weekly basis. This year, said updates are being exchanged almost on a daily basis, as the manufacturers and distributors struggle to get their cargo containers offloaded, into their facilities and on their way to their retail network. While some items are being shunted into 2022 others look like they may still make it under the tree for 2021. Fingers crossed.
Every year, we don our Santa caps and put together a gift-giving guide based upon what we think you or your loved one would appreciate this holiday season. What follows are several links to each gift-giving category featured on our web site. Just click on the button embedded within each image and off you go to our workshop but keep in mind that many of these items will likely sell out quickly as the holiday season wears on.
We are regularly reviewing these sections on a daily basis, deleting those items that have moved to back order status and adding other items appropriate for each gift-giving level. We therefore recommend that you periodically check these sections for product updates and other changes we may have to make over the course of the next several weeks.
Back when they were first offered about a dozen or so years ago, Forces of Valor’s model kit line didn’t exactly light the world on fire, perhaps because they concentrated on the smaller 1:72 scale category instead of the more lucrative larger sized category where they had a more loyal following. While we stocked their armor line, we backed off of their aircraft line since the vehicles weren’t selling all that well.
Fast forward to today and Waltersons, the new owners of the Forces of Valor line, has decided to both re-launch their 1:72 scale model kit line as well as kick off a brand new series: 1:32 scale armor kits. While we’re going to beg off the 1:72 scale category for reasons already mentioned, we believe that their 1:32 scale range will do quite well in today’s market, since a great many of our clientele continue to build models, provided they still have the patience, expertise and eyesight to turn bits and pieces of unfinished raw material into works of art. FOV’s first foray into the 1:32 scale build category is based upon their first pre-assembled Tiger I tank – an early production Sd. Kfz. 181 PzKpfw VI Tiger I Ausf. E that served with schwere Panzerabteilung 505, then deployed to Kursk, Russia, during July 1943. While model makers can certainly compare their skill and prowess against what FOV has produced by duplicating the vehicle in every sense of the word, they also have the ability to portray a completely different vehicle from a completely different unit that served on a completely different front. Ah, the joy of model making!
Presently, we do not have a price for the kit or a firm release date, nor do we know if it will come with an engine, metal or vinyl tracks, or the commander figure, all commonplace in their pre-assembled vehicles. And, since FOV is hawking the fact that their 1:32 scale armor now contains more metal, its not clear how much metal will be used in their model kit line, if at all. We hope to have more complete information shortly as well as insight concerning other vehicles, aircraft and/or warships that will also be available in kit form.
By mid November, we had hoped to have received a great many more items than what our November 2001 Arrivals section shows, thus enabling us to offer more new introductions for the holiday season. While there are some hopeful signs that a number of late comers will still trickle in, the fact remains that there’s going to be slim pickings going forward until the issues plaguing the supply chain get ironed out.
For instance, we had hoped that over a dozen new items from Corgi would arrive before Thanksgiving. Late yesterday we learned that barely four new products are expected this month: a single Tiger tank and a trio of 1:72 scale aircraft. It remains to be seen if the balance of their 2021 releases will arrive by year’s end or whether they will put into port in early 2022. Keep in mind that Corgi traditionally likes to announce their yearly lineup in January, so this year it appears as if they’ll be doing so while any number of 2021 introductions have still to put in an appearance.
Other manufacturers aren’t faring much better although we are still hopeful that both the September and October Hobby Master shipments will make it in time for the Thanksgiving banquet. Likewise, we haven’t heard anything further from the FOV camp, and with their very spotty track record of missing release dates, we’re inclined to believe that their late 2021 releases will more than likely show up in early 2022.
We aren’t expecting anything from Panzerkampf until early 2022, but we are crossing our fingers that both DeAgostini and PMA merchandise will be in more plentiful supply for the holidays. Other than that, there really isn’t all that much to crow about this holiday season since the port congestion issues continue to worsen despite efforts by the Administration and others to alleviate the congestion. And with transportation costs on the rise and inflation fears chiming in, it could be some time before our diecast ship rights itself and returns to the sea lanes as before. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but there’s only so much good tidings we can sing about this holiday season.
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]
Looks as if Waltersons, the new owners of the Forces of Valor brand, has begun showing off its second in a long line of M4 Sherman tanks, which are due out over the course of the next 12 months. Interestingly, Forces of Valor chose a training vehicle as the subject for its first M4A3(75) Sherman medium tank that features a VVSS suspension. The model is purportedly based upon a vehicle attached to C Company, 10th Tank Battalion, 5th Armored Division, which was still stateside here in New York during 1943 before being shipped overseas for the invasion of Europe in the summer of 1944. The 5th Armored did not see action until August 1944, two months after Operation Overlord, and took part in Operation Cobra, the Allies’ attempt to break through the stiff German defenses in and around Normandy, clear the Brittany countryside then sweep around the Germans’ flank in a wide enveloping move aimed at cutting off their retreat.
Its not clear when this Sherman will actually become available, based upon issues still plaguing the global supply chain, production schedules and whether or not our distributor is able to fill a container load to warrant higher than normal shipping costs. We’re guessing it will show up sometime at the beginning of the second quarter, seeing as how it took their first Sherman and inaugural Tiger I tank several months before they were fit for duty here in North America. There’s a good bet that a second Tiger tank is in the offing, so its possible that this Sherman may have to languish on the docks for a bit until the next Tiger is ready for combat.
Hobby Master’s 1:48 scale RAF Supermarine Spitfire Mk. Vb Fighter – Squadron Leader Jan Zumbach, No.303 (Polish) Squadron, Summer 1942 [Kemble Air Show, June 2011]
We’ve got a bit of good news to share with everyone. According to our distributor, both the September and October Hobby Master shipments have made port and should arrive at our distributor on or around November 19th, which means we, in turn, should be receiving our orders before Thanksgiving. This is great news since we should be able to make them available for general sale during the extended Thanksgiving Day weekend.
Moreover, our distributor claims that both the November and December Hobby Master shipments should make port by December 12th and they will likely receive these shipments during the run-up to Christmas. We doubt that these shipments will be available for sale prior to Christmas. They should, however, be in stock by year’s end, unless either adverse weather or trucking delays hamper their arrival. So, it would appear as if future Hobby Master shipments will arrive as advertised, again unless port congestion, adverse weather or trucking issues enters the equation.
We’re not certain if our Forces of Valor shipment, previously advertised as arriving around the end of November/early December, will still make it in time for the holidays since these items are likely included within a different container and on a different cargo ship bound for Savannah. Georgia. We’re still awaiting word from Corgi when their next major shipment is expected, leaving them as the only major supplier whose 4th quarter releases are still up in the air. They are located in Oregon and face their own set of difficulties receiving new shipments.
Our Solido supplier says they are expecting to take delivery of their shipment within two weeks, meaning here too product will be available for general sale for the holidays. Some of our other lines are still up in the air, both figuratively as well as literally, and we will keep everyone abreast of any further developments as they materialize. All in all, hopeful news given what we have seen over the last few months.
Oh, and one last thing. We recognize that a lot of products we had hoped would arrive for the holidays may not make it in time even if Herculean efforts are made throughout the supply chain. Therefore we have brought back our gift certificate, which can be found throughout our Gift Giving Ideas section. Essentially, you can send your love one a gift certificate in any denomination, which can be redeemed before, during or after the holidays, an especially useful tool for anyone still looking to obtain an item that may arrive after December 25th. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us and we will walk you through the process of ordering a gift certificate.
