To all who have served, and to all those that continue to serve. Thank you for protecting our nation. Happy Veteran’s Day.
Hobby Master Dashes Once More Unto the Breach
Certainly one of the most prolific model makers of our time, Hobby Master has nonetheless kept one eye on the mill stone and one on the clock ever since they came into being back in 2006, releasing a steady diet of replicas month in and month out that have become the envy of aficionados world over. For April, collectors can expect to look forward to taking delivery on the following models:
On the ground…
#HG5313 – Republic of China (Taiwanese) M41A3 Walker Bulldog Light Tank (1:72 Scale)
#HG5314 – Republic of China (Taiwanese) Marine Corps M41A3 Walker Bulldog Light Tank (1:72 Scale)
…and in the air
#HA0152 – Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21PFM “Fishbed” Fighter – “Red 50” (1:72 Scale)
This May, the following aircraft are scheduled to swoop in:
Product Spotlight: The Welsh Guards
The liberation of Belgium from German occupation was completed on February 4th, 1945, when the entire country was reportedly free of German troops. The operation began when Allied forces entered on September 2nd, 1944. The liberation came after four years of German-occupied rule. The Belgian government was returned to power on September 8th, 1944, after Allied forces captured Brussels, its capital, four days earlier.
The invasion began with the 2nd Canadian Division entering Belgium on 2 September. On the evening of September 2nd, Brian Horrocks briefed officers of the Guards Armoured Division in Douai that their objective for the following day would be Brussels, 110km further East. The announcement was greeted with “delighted astonishment”. The Division suffered casualties on their drive into Belgium but with the Germans still in disarray after their defeat at Falaise, the Household Cavalry on the British left and the Grenadier Guards on the right led the way with the Welsh and Irish Guards following close behind.
Citizens of the Belgian capital had not expected to be liberated that soon and huge crowds greeted and slowed the liberators.
The Welsh Guards landed and joined the fight on September 4th with minimal resistance. The British Second Army captured Antwerp, the port city on the river Schedlt in northern Belgium, close to the Netherlands, on September 4th as well. In the following days and weeks, the Battle of the Scheldt claimed many lives, as the port of Antwerp could not be operated effectively without control of the Scheldt estuary. Antwerp was the first port to be captured by the Allies in near perfect condition, making it very valuable, especially with its deep water facilities. On September 6th, the 4th Canadian Armoured Division crossed the border with Belgium and took areas around Ypres and Passchendale.
“Blenheim”, a newly released 1:50 scale British Cromwell Mk. IV tank produced by Corgi, is now in stock and ready to liberate the diecast military battle ground.
The Forces of Valor Update: Tanks for the Memories
Behind-the-scenes, we’ve had some frank discussions with the powers-that-be at Waltersons, the new caretakers of the Forces of Valor line. While the Company is doing its utmost to maintain the highest levels of quality to ensure satisfaction and value at every level, they’ve also stepped up the rate at which they are bringing new product to market, with several 1:32 scale military vehicles due out before the 2020 Chinese New Year. In other news, they will begin including numbered limited edition collector cards with each new item beginning with their upcoming Jagdpanther tank destroyers. Also being included will be a warranty card, thereby making it easier for collectors to obtain replacement parts should the need arise.
In other news, we’ve signed off on our first Forces of Valor print advertisement, which is scheduled to run in the February issue of World War II magazine and be picked up in the March issue of Military History magazine. While the format will likely remain the same throughout the year, the ad’s contents will be updated periodically as new products begin to filter into the marketplace and other older vehicles are slowly phased out. These ads will likely be bolstered by other complementary advertisements designed to showcase several of their other product categories, particularly their aircraft, helicopters and, dare I say, the Extreme Metal series, of which so many people have been asking about over the years.
That’s it for now, but keep an eye out on our blog and web site for the latest information as it pertains to the Forces of Valor series.
Eaglemoss Transitions from Impulse Power to Warp Drive in Birmingham
At the Destination Star Trek event held in Birmingham, England, Eaglemoss unveiled a bunch of new items for several of their Star Trek product lines. Here’s a quick look at all of the new ships you can expect to see in the months ahead:
Standard Sized Starships
#EMST0170 – Star Trek Penk’s Starship [With Collector Magazine]
#EMST0171 – Star Trek Denobulan Medical Ship – The Barzai [With Collector Magazine]
#EMST0172 – Star Trek Xindi Insectoid Fighter [With Collector Magazine]
#EMST0173 – Star Trek Antares Class Freighter – The Arcos [With Collector Magazine]
#EMST0174 – Star Trek Archer’s Toy Ship [With Collector Magazine]
#EMST0175 – Star Trek Pakled Transport – The Mondor [With Collector Magazine]
Special Edition Starships
Star Trek Discovery
#EMSTDISC24 – Star Trek Klingon Daspu Class Vessel [With Collector Magazine]
#EMSTDISC25 – Star Trek Section 31 Drone Ship [With Collector Magazine]
XL Sized Starships
The “Shock”-Tober Update, Part 2
So, news has been flooding in of late concerning the release schedule. To begin with, we now have a fair idea of which Eaglemoss Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica items are expected in November, and which have likely been pushed back to a late year arrival. Rather than list everything here, we’ve updated our Eaglemoss sections and release schedule accordingly. Bear in mind that Destination Star Trek, which is currently being held in Birmingham, England, will undoubtedly show off some new items, which we’ll add to our web site the minute the news rolls in.
We were under the impression that both Wings of the Great War and Luft-X were terminally ill and on their respective death beds and that we weren’t likely to see anything new from either line, much less receive our back orders, which have been languishing for months on end. Well, we’ve been set straight, so-to-speak, and can now happily report that both lines are expected to resume production in early 2020. We’re not sure what is happening with their distant cousin, AF-X, a similarly conceived line unveiled earlier this year, that has received little in the way of further reinforcements beyond the lone X-15 produced to date. Reading between the lines, that means AF-X will likely take a back seat until both Luft-X and Wings of the Great War have resumed their aerial campaigns.
Modelcollect seems to be back in the swing of things after lolling about with their fantasy-based Fist of War series. Two BMP-3s are schedule for a late year release and we’re willing to bet that other more-traditional AFVs are probably falling in behind them. While the Company has been making 1:35 scale model kits, it remains to be seen if they are giving the go ahead to a pre-assembled line of military vehicles.
As we indicated in a previous post, Dragon has caught its breath and is finally resuming production of their iconic Dragon Armor line. Three replicas, all based upon the Stryker family of Infantry Carrier Vehicles, are slated for a November roll out, although the manufacturer has been known to delay releases for extended periods of time. Stiff upper lip and all that chums as we await their release and hopefully more new items as we head into the new year.
That’s it for now, but expect further updates as we transition to a November war footing.
Dragon Rises from the Ashes
My heart beat still. After headed the way of the Dodo bird over the last year, Dragon has seemingly risen from the ashes and posted three new Dragon Armor pieces to their web site this morning. All three are based upon the US Army’s family of Stryker Infantry Carrier Vehicles. We had pretty much given up hope that the Dragon Armor line would ever return to its former glory, so the news that not one but three new vehicles are in the offing comes as quite a bit of a shock to us and I’m sure to others.
Right now, all three vehicles are listed as rolling out in November, although this shouldn’t be taken as gospel just yet since Dragon has posted optimistic forecasts in the past. Still, its nice to know that they are back and in a big way, no longer ceding the market to several companies that have carved out respectable shares of the marketplace while Dragon snoozed.
We are keeping our fingers crossed that this is but the start of something big for everyone concerned, and that other product categories in the Dragon catalog, long dormant but never quite counted out, will begin to make a return to their illustrious past.
The “Shock” -tober Update
There were several lines that we expected to arrive around the end of October that have apparently been shunted into November. Modelcollect and PMA have fallen victim to this shipping delay, as has Eaglemoss, which owes us a great deal of Star-Trek-related merchandise. Presently, its not clear if Corgi is on the docket for a “fright-fest” showing, which would have included two of their eight Military Legends combat vehicles and a pair of 1:72 Aviation Archive aircraft. Right now, we are assuming they will make it on time as will the October Hobby Master shipment. Even the two Air Force 1 1:72 scale B-17 Flying Fortresses have been asked to go round the tower one more time and are now scheduled for a November landing.
We bring this up because November is oftentimes a tough month in the industry, since its punctuated by the Thanksgiving Day weekend, as well as both Black Friday and Cyber Monday – two key selling days for the industry at-large. So, if new product hasn’t arrived before these second half events kick off, then we’ll have to keep our fingers crossed that they somehow still show up by early December in time to make it under the Christmas tree.
On the flip side, the upcoming holiday season looks to work in favor of sellers for other reasons. Thanksgiving comes late this year (November 28th) as does Hannukah (December 24th). FedEx is making Sunday deliveries thereby speeding up the supply chain, as will UPS in early 2020. It also appears as if the US has worked out a deal with members of the International Postal Agreement, which means the international landscape will change somewhat for both imports and exports, particularly as it applies to shipments coming out of mainland China.
As we alluded to in a previous post, we plan on building out our new web site some time in January, as well as spin up two more sales channels, bringing us up to four. Two more will be spun up in mid 2020, once we feel comfortable our new order fulfillment system is working without major incident. That’s pretty much it for now so enjoy Halloween and make sure to submit your orders as early as possible to avoid disappointment.
Anatomy of War: Things that Go Bump in the Night
Even as the US Army begins selecting candidates for its Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) program, and other conventional rotorcraft are considered finalists in the Future Vertical Lift Aircraft (FVLA) selection process, the Chinese may have lapped the competition with their own next-generation “chopper”.
The Type 075 helicopter, which some are calling the “Super White Shark”, looks more like a flying saucer than a true combat helicopter, sporting a circular fuselage with a center-mounted bulbous cockpit, all of which is purportedly clad in a coating of radar absorbent material designed to defeat radar detection at both low and high altitudes. Shown for the first time at the recently held Tianjin military expo, The Super White Shark concept model was described by Chinese State media as a two-seat turbojet stealth aircraft with a ceiling of 6,000 metres (19,685 feet), a top speed of 650km/h (404mph) and a range of 2,950km.
Although the Super White Shark’s developer – known as the Parrot Laboratory – claimed to have learned from designs such as the US’ AH-64 Apache ground attack helicopter and Russia’s Ka-52 reconnaissance and combat chopper, it said no country had yet succeeded in developing and perfecting such wing-body-fusion technology.
A static prototype was shown sitting atop several square pedestals so it isn’t clear if the rotorcraft can actually fly and maneuver in flight as advertised or whether the aircraft was simply meant to spook western defense analysts.
March Roars in Like a Lion at Hobby Master
Its no wonder that Hobby Master has established itself as one of the most prolific makers of diecast military collectibles. Operating like a well oiled machine even in the face of labor and trade issues, Hobby Master has consistently released a diet of eagerly sought after replicas that has earned it a special place in the hearts and minds of collectors worldwide. This March is no exception, with the following new models up for your consideration:
On the ground…
…and in the air
#HA6010 – Ukrainian Sukhoi Su-27 “Flanker-B” Multirole Fighter (1:72 Scale)