Product Spotlight: We Remember


Hobby Master’s 1:72 scale USN McDonnell Douglas A-4E Skyhawk Attack Aircraft – John McCain, VA-163 “Saints”, USS Oriskany (CV-34), Vietnam War, 1967

Merriam-Webster defines a commemorative as an item “issued in limited quantities for a limited time to honor or feature someone or something.” Poignant, to say the least.

As many of you may remember, Senator John McCain was a former US Navy attack aircraft pilot during the Vietnam War who was shot down over Hanoi and spent several fitful years in the ignominious “Hanoi Hilton” prison. The son of an admiral, he could have gone home early to nurse his wounds yet chose not to do so, deciding to remain in captivity with his fellow airmen for 5-1/2 years.

President George H. W. Bush, also a former US Navy pilot, flew an Avenger torpedo plane in WWII, one in which he too was shot down but fortunately made it back to friendly lines after being rescued by a US submarine. Both were dutifully remembered by our nation, McCain earning the Purple Heart, Silver Star, and Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions and Bush receiving the Air Medal, Distinguished Flying Cross and Presidential Citation for his exploits. Both men have since passed away, having served our nation on and off the battlefield as only they could.


Hobby Master’s 1:72 scale USN Grumman Avenger TBM-1C Torpedo-Bomber – “Barbara III”, Lt. George H. W. Bush, VT-51, USS San Jacinto (CVL-30), September 1944

Having said that, Hobby Master recently decided to pay both men an additional honor by re-releasing commemorative versions of the aircraft they flew into battle in their respective wars. In the case of Senator John McCain, we will soon take delivery of his A-4E Skyhawk attack aircraft when he was a member of VA-163 “Saints”, then embarked upon the USS Oriskany (CV-34) in 1967 (HA1429). And, in May, we will be accepting Bush’s Avenger TBM-1C torpedo-bomber, which he affectionately dubbed “Barbara III” in honor of his late wife and former first lady, Barbara, an aircraft that he flew into battle with VT-51 then embarked upon the USS San Jacinto (CVL-30) (HA1221). Both models are expected to sell very well at retail despite seeing the light of day for a second time around and produced in far greater numbers this go round than in the past. As we see it, sometimes quantity and recurrence on the collector’s shelf are superseded by fitting memorials to two of our nation’s monumental heroes. The true meaning of a commemorative.

It has been brought to our attention by the distributor that the name plate for the McCain A-4E Skyhawk has been misspelled and that the second “c” was not capitalized as shown in the accompanying photo. The manufacturer has included a corrected name plate with each model that can be easily affixed to the display base after first removing the original name plate.

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Product Spotlight” “Red Flag – Alaska”

Red Flag-Alaska (Color).

The origin of Red Flag was the unacceptable performance of U.S. Air Force fighter pilots and weapon systems officers (WSO) in air combat maneuvering (ACM) (air-to-air combat) during the Vietnam War in comparison to previous wars. Air combat over North Vietnam between 1965 and 1973 led to an overall exchange ratio (ratio of enemy aircraft shot down to the number of own aircraft lost to enemy fighters) of 2.2:1 (for a period of time in June and July 1972 during Operation Linebacker the ratio was less than 1:1).

Hobby Master’s 1:72 scale USAF General Dynamics F-16C Fighting Falcon Fighter – 18th Aggressor Squadron, 354th Wing, “Red Flag – Alaska”, Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, 2017 [Aggressor Scheme]

Among the several factors resulting in this disparity was a lack of realistic ACM training. USAF pilots and WSOs of the late 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s were not versed in the core values and basics of ACM due to the belief that BVR (Beyond Visual Range) missile engagements and equipment made “close-in” maneuvering in air combat obsolete.[c As a result of this BVR-only mindset that reached its zenith in the early 1960s, nearly all USAF fighter pilots and WSO of the period were unpracticed in maneuvering against dissimilar aircraft because of a concurrent Air Force emphasis on flying safety.

An Air Force analysis known as Project Red Baron II showed that a pilot’s chances of survival in combat dramatically increased after he had completed 10 combat missions. As a result, Red Flag was created in 1975 to offer USAF pilots and weapon systems officers the opportunity to fly 10 realistically simulated combat missions in a safe training environment with measurable results. Many U.S. air crews had also fallen victim to SAMs during the Vietnam War and Red Flag exercises provided pilots and WSOs experience in this regime as well.

Hobby Master’s 1:72 scale USAF General Dynamics F-16C Fighting Falcon Fighter – 18th Aggressor Squadron, 354th Wing, “Red Flag – Alaska”, Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, December 2017 [Aggressor Scheme]

RED FLAG-Alaska is a realistic, 10-day air combat United States Air Forcetraining exercise held up to four times a year. It is held at Eielson Air Force Base and Elmendorf Air Force Base in the State of Alaska. Each RED FLAG-Alaska exercise is a multi-service, multi-platform coordinated, combat operations exercise and corresponds to the designed operational capability of participating units. In other words, exercises often involve several units whose military mission may differ significantly from that of other participating units. RED FLAG-Alaska planners take those factors into consideration when designing exercises so participants get the maximum training possible without being placed at an unfair advantage during simulated combat scenarios.

RED FLAG-Alaska is a Pacific Air Forces sponsored exercise. Since its inception, thousands of people from all four branches of the US military, as well as the armed services of Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, have taken part in multinational RED FLAG-Alaska/COPE THUNDER exercises. Participating aircraft include A/OA-10, B-1B, B-2, B-52, C-130, C-160, E-2, E-3C, F-15C, F-15E, F-16, F/A-18, F-22, EA-6B, EA-18, KC-130, KC-135, KC-10, HC-130, various helicopters and Tornadoes, Nimrod, VC-10 and Jaguars as well as Stinger Teams from the Japanese Self-Defense Forces.

Look for both HA3871 and HA3872 to take to the skies this August.

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Eaglemoss Sticks Out Its Neck With its Latest Starship


Eaglemoss’ Star Trek Excelsior Class Starship – USS Excelsior Prototype MK1 [With Collector Magazine]

We were under the impression that only ships-of-the-line and other noteworthy vessels that appeared in Star Trek films or televised series were to be included in the standard starships line and that experimental craft would make up their separate exclusives range. Apparently the lines are being blurred somewhat as Eaglemoss continues to dig ever deeper into the Star Trek universe to come up with even more out-of-this-world additions.

That said, their 152nd entrant in the series represents the USS Excelsior Prototype MK1, an Excelsior class starship in service from the late 23rd to (at least the last quarter of) the 24th century. Originally dubbed the “Great Experiment”, Excelsior was the first Starfleet ship fitted with transwarp drive (EMST0152). Though the “experiment” apparently failed, the vessel played a role in the historic Khitomer Accords and became the prototype for Excelsior-class heavy cruisers, serving the front lines of Federation exploration and defense efforts until the end of the 24th century.

Look for the Excelsior to put its neck on the line later this year.

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Product Spotlight: Hobby Master Recalls that Tomorrow is Yesterday


Hobby Master’s 1:72 scale USAF Lockheed F-104G Starfighter Interceptor – Captain John Christopher, FG-914, “Bluejay 4”, RAF Waddington, England, 1960s

Every so often we sit back and are forced to do a double-take at some of the items coming to market. While there are many products rooted in the past – after all, we are selling historical collectibles – one looks to tear a page out of Star Trek lore to help generate interest and take a shot at melding fact with fantasy.

Such is the case with Hobby Master’s latest Lockheed F-104 Starfighter (HA1044), which was profiled in the nineteenth episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek. In the episode
dubbed “Tomorrow is Yesterday”, the crew of the USS Enterprise accidentally travels back to 1960s Earth and must correct damage they cause to the timeline.

On stardate 3113.2, the Federation starship USS Enterprise is thrown back in time to Earth during the 1960s by the effects of a high-gravity “black star“. The Enterprise ends up in Earth’s upper atmosphere, and is picked up as a UFO on military radar.

A U.S. Air Force F-104 interceptor piloted by Captain John Christopher (Roger Perry), is scrambled to identify the craft. Fearing an attack, Captain Kirk orders a tractor beam to be used on the jet, which tears the plane apart. The pilot is transported aboard the Enterprise.

Fearing Christopher could disrupt the timeline if returned to Earth, Kirk at first decides that the pilot must stay with the Enterprise. When Science Officer Spock later discovers that the pilot’s as-yet-unborn son will play an important role in a future mission to Saturn, Kirk realizes he must return Christopher to Earth after all.

After learning of the existence of film taken of the Enterprise by Christopher’s wing cameras, Kirk and Lt. Sulu beam down to the airbase to recover the film and any other evidence of their visit. They are caught by an Air Policeman, who accidentally activates an emergency signal on Kirk’s communicator and is immediately beamed aboard. Kirk and Sulu continue their search, after which Kirk is captured again and Sulu escapes.

Spock, Sulu, and Christopher, who knows the base’s layout, beam down to recover Kirk. After Kirk’s guards are subdued, Christopher grabs one of their guns and demands to be left behind. Spock, having anticipated Christopher would make such an attempt, appears behind Christopher and disables him with a Vulcan nerve pinch.

After they return to the ship, Spock and Chief Engineer Scott inform Kirk of a possible escape method by slingshotting around the Sun to break away and return to their time. The maneuver is risky, since even a small miscalculation could destroy the ship, or make them miss their own era.

Kirk okays the maneuver, and time on board the Enterprise moves backwards. Christopher is beamed back to his fighter jet at the instant he first encountered the Enterprise, preventing any evidence of the ship being produced, and erasing his memory of his time on the Enterprise. The same is done with the Air Policeman. Enterprise then successfully returns to the 23rd century.

While we don’t suggest performing the same slingshotting maneuver, or advocate turning back time to score higher on your college entrance exams, its comforting to know that at least one model maker is willing to take a chance by setting aside history and dabbling in the “What if.”

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Hobby Master Lives Up to the March Saying


Hobby Master’s 1:72 scale USAF Douglas A-1H Skyraider Attack Aircraft – 22nd Special Operations Squadron “Green Hornets”, 56th Special Operations Wing, South Vietnam (1:72 Scale)

Its been said that March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb. Apparently, the same could very well hold true for Hobby Master, who ushered in the month with a bevy of eagerly anticipated models and looks to go out in much the same fashion although with a bang instead of a whimper.

According to our distributor, the March shipment of Hobby Master releases are expected to hit their loading dock late next week, meaning they’ve received two shipments of new products in a single month instead of the usual one. If that wasn’t enough, we’ve also learned about their August shipment, which includes several models having been pushed back by a month along with ten or so new items not previously announced. We’re currently in the middle of listing all the new vehicles and aircraft and hope to have everything, including some eye-catching line art, uploaded by the close of business.

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DeAgostini Helps to Put Words in Our Mouth

Occasionally, we have precious little to report, as difficult as that might sound to the untrained ear. Its not that we’re at a loss for words – Lord knows that will likely never happen in our lifetime. Its just that news concerning our hobby is some times few and far between, usually occurring just after Chinese New Year when the factories are getting back up to speed and still counting heads to see which of their workers have returned from vacation.

So, we thought we’d look at a line that we’d like to stock but haven’t been able to nab largely because its another partworks line that has eluded us. We have nothing against partworks ranges, which typically wed a vehicle with a full-color magazine designed to explain the vehicle in question and its use on the battlefield. Rather, these lines are usually available in Europe first and must run their course before becoming available to other international suppliers.

In the case of DeAgostini, they are now up to their 20th 1:43 scale tank, and show no signs of abating, which, of course, is a good thing. Their first 13 tank replicas were based upon Russian-made designs that saw service with the Red Army during and after WWII. Interestingly they have diverged a bit since formulating that initial strategy, and are now starting to offer vehicles built by other nations, such as this US made M4 Sherman and British constructed Churchill. Other notable vehicles, such as a French made Char 2C super heavy tank and Valentine have also been released, making this one of the more sought after lines of mid-sized diecast military vehicles released in recent memory. The problem, as I alluded to earlier, is that we still can’t lay our grubby little hands on them until the series has concluded. Drats!

We’ll keep our fingers crossed that this series will eventually make it to our shores and keep you apprised of any changes as the line bulks up. In the meantime, keep one eye on the line and the other on our site for the latest news concerning the series.

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Eaglemoss Kicks its Star Trek Discovery Line into High Gear


Eaglemoss Star Trek Federation Constitution Class Starship – USS Enterprise NCC-1701 [With Collector Magazine]

While it looks as if their standard ships line has slowed down to impulse power, that doesn’t seem to be the case with the Eaglemoss Star Trek Discovery range. Three new ships were announced in recent days, bringing the total to fifteen entrants. Shown above is a Star Trek Federation Worker Bee (EMSTDISC13), which was a small utility craft in use by the Federation in the mid-23rd century. Both the USS Shenzhou and her contemporary starship the USS Discovery carried a complement of worker bees.


Eaglemoss Star Trek Klingon Cleave Starship [With Collector Magazine]

Number fourteen is a rather strange looking Klingon Cleave Starship (EMSTDISC14), a 23rd century Klingon warship in service to the House of T’Kuvma.


Eaglemoss Star Trek Federation Hoover Class Starship – USS Edison NCC-1683 [With Collector Magazine]

Finally, we have the fifteenth offering, the USS Edison (NCC-1683), which was an Hoover-class Federation starship operated by Starfleet during the mid-23rd century (EMSTDISC15). All three are expected this Spring and more, no doubt, are waiting in the wings as the series continues to pick up steam.

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Atlas Hoists Its Bomber Force on its Brawny Shoulders


Atlas Editions’ 1:144 scale Imperial Japanese Army Air Force Mitsubishi Ki-21 “Sally” Heavy Bomber (1:144 Scale)

As Spring approaches, so does Atlas Editions’ ever-widening range of 1:144 scale bombers of World War II. Although they are designed for the budget-minded collector, these models don’t skimp on detail nor do they miss the sweet spot of the average aviation enthusiast by offering tons of detail at an extraordinary price.

The usual suspects are included in the mix, as are some rare warbirds, such as an Imperial Japanese Navy Sally heavy bomber or an early war Lockheed Hudson. Best of all, each is priced at just $24.99, making them a great way to introduce collectors to the wonderful world of diecast collecting.

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Product Spotlight: Dance of the Doodlebugs


Corgi’s 1:72 scale German Heinkel He-111H-16 Medium Bomber with Fi 103 (Doodlebug) – A1+HK, 2./Kampfgeschwader 53, Air Launch V-1 Flying Bomb Unit, Late 1944

Year after year, the Heinkel He-111 medium bomber is one of the most popular aircraft in the Corgi Aviation Archive stable. Its sleek lines, handsomely applied paint schemes and wonderful attention to detail helps to explain way we sell out of this model almost as soon as we get them in stock.

This June, the latest entrant in the Heinkel line up is this He-111H-16, which is armed with a Fi 103 (Doodlebug), better known as a V-1 Flying Bomb (AA33716). A similar model was released way back in 2005 and instantly became one of the most sought after Heinkels ever to take wing, and now garners exceptionally high prices in many of the the after markets.


The newest Heinkel (AA33716) was operated by Legion Condor and wrought vengeance upon the Allied Armies following the invasion of Europe. Just one week after the D-Day landings and the successful Allied invasion of enemy occupied Europe, the Germans were determined to show that the war was far from over and launched the first of their V-1 Flying Bombs against Southern England. Described as their first “Vengeance Weapon”, these pulse jet powered unmanned flying bombs emitted a distinctive sound from the intermittently firing engine and quickly became known as “Doodlebugs”, with the indiscriminate nature of their targeting spreading panic amongst the British population. At its peak, more than 100 V-1s were hurled against England from their launch sites on the French and Dutch coasts, however, although they spread panic amongst the population, the range of these attacks was restricted to southern English counties.

In an attempt to extend the range of these attacks, a specialist bombing unit was formed and equipped with modified versions of Heinkel He-111H bombers, which could carry a Doodlebug slung beneath the starboard wing, between the wing root and the engine. With an electric connection running from the bomber to the V-1s engine, the optimum delivery method was for the Heinkel to reach a height of approximately 2,000 feet, before entering a shallow dive to reach a launch speed of 150mph. This was the speed needed for the V-1 to fly and once reached, the pulse jet engine was remotely fired, allowed to run for a few seconds, then released, with the parent aircraft diving away for a low level return to base. Many factors would then come into play and dictate where the V-1 fell, such as heading, wind direction and performance of the rather basic jet engine.

Look for Corgi’s rendition of its newest Heinkel He-111 to land some time in June.

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Tales of Transparency: Collecting Out-of-State Sales Tax

Earlier today, I read, with great interest, an email sent out by one of our competitors to their clientele regarding the collection of online sales tax. In it, the owner expressed his dismay regarding the onerous task of collecting sales tax for states outside his immediate purview. While I can understand his frustration and cause for alarm, I just wanted to point out something he and the rest of the collecting community may not be aware of after doing some due diligence of my own.

The following text was excerpted from the SalesTaxInstitute.com web site and may help to explain why some sellers are collecting sales tax and others are not: “On June 21, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., addressing South Dakota’s economic nexus law. This decision overruled the physical presence rule for sales tax nexus for sales made over the internet. States now have right to require tax collection from online retailers and other remote sellers that do not have physical presence in their states. Looking strictly at the South Dakota economic nexus legislation addressed in the case, South Dakota’s law minimizes the burden on online and out-of-state sellers. The legislation provides a safe harbor for small sellers: a remote seller must make in-state sales exceeding $100,000 or makes 200 or more separate sales transactions in the previous or current calendar year for the nexus provision to apply. The legislation also ensures that the nexus provision does not apply retroactively.”

So, in effect, unless the seller is doing a truly bang up job in a particular state, they are exempted from this Supreme Court ruling by this so-called safe harbor. Online sellers such as Amazon and eBay are clearly exceeding these thresholds, which is why they are currently tacking on sales tax to online transactions made in states mandating the collection of sales tax. Now, should things change from a legislative standpoint or we start doing incredibly well such that we are meeting or exceeding these thresholds, then I doubt a retailer of our size and stature will have to collect and remit sales tax for states other than New York, our nexus, which is where we are currently located.

As states seek to raise revenue in the wake of store closings and online sales continue to increase vis. a vis. brick-and-mortar businesses, this ruling will likely be reviewed again and possibly amended to reflect the state-of-affairs. Until such time, however, we will continue to collect sales tax from customers located in New York but will certainly notify everyone if it appears as if we must follow suit and start collecting sales tax from and for other states.

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