If you were looking to complete the six-ship aircraft carrier task force that set sail against the US to attack Pearl Harbor, then we may have some bad news for you. According to our distributor, the aircraft carriers Soryu (EMGC60) and Zuikaku (EMGC63) will not be made available for general sales. Frankly, we may be lucky if we get a couple of each warships when and if they are located. So, we are sorry to be the bearer of bad news but it looks as if we will not be able to fill any pre-orders we have received for either ship. We have taken down both listings from our web site.
On a separate matter, we have asked our distributor to provide us with an update list of warships Eaglemoss plans to reintroduce into the market, which we hope will include many of the Japanese aircraft carriers that have been out-of-stock for some time. Hopefully, we will have an answer shortly.
The all-new 88mm FLaK gun now comes with eight figures including the Desert Fox himself, General Erwin Rommel.
The Wehrmacht’s panzers never got as far as the Volga River during their assault on Bolshevism in the early 40s, no doubt a testament to the resolve of the Soviet Union and its war weary citizens. Seventy years hence, and those same tanks may have vaulted past the Soviet Union and reached the banks of Japan’s Ōi River. That’s because two important hobby shows are on the horizon, both situated on the doorstep of this Chinese manufacturer and therefore serve as excellent ways to showcase their Company’s progress.
Coming up in April is the Beijing Hobby Show (April 20th-22nd) and, one week later, is the all-important Japanese Shizuoka Hobby Show (April 26th-28th). Last year, if you recall, Waltersons, the new owners of the Forces of Valor brand, showed off snippets of their refurbished line at both shows, and are likely planning to do the same thing at this year’s events. That said, we know a great many of you are waiting with baited breath to see what’s in store for the coming year and when they’ll be hitting the virtual store shelves. Hang in there a bit longer and we feel confident you’ll get to see, hear and touch some of the latest and greatest military wares the hobby has ever seen.
A few months back, Hobby Master announced their intent to offer a 1:72 scale build of the Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot (HA6101), a ground attack aircraft designed along the sames lines as the US A-10 Warthog. However, late yesterday, we learned that a different version will ship first this June (HA6103) and that the original model has been pushed back all the way until February 2019. As one forum member pointed out when HA6101 was announced, “it would have been nice to have included that big red star on the tail of the aircraft, to give it that menacing look we’ve all associated with Soviet aircraft.” We’re betting this is the principal reason for the line-up change and that other Frogfoots will more than likely come clad with the same star.
Hobby Master’s 1:700 scale US Navy Ticonderoga Class Guided Missile Cruiser – USS Ticonderoga (CG-47)
In other news, Hobby Master revealed images for their forthcoming USS Ticonderoga (HSP1001), a 1:700 scale guided missile cruiser that will form the nucleus of the new Hobby Master navy. Finely detailed and designed to work in conjunction with other 1:700 scale naval forces, it looks as if Hobby Master is in the warship game for the long haul, with other meaningful releases not-too-far down the road.
He drives to the hoop, and scores! Scores with The Motor Pool’s March Madness 15% Off sale, that is! From now until Saturday, March 31st, you can take 15% off of any item we have in stock simply by entering our latest coupon code at the bottom of your shopping cart just prior to final checkout. Please enter discount code “TMP178” in the coupon box just prior to final checkout. Note: The following lines are excluded from this promotional offer: Air Force 1, Calibre Wings, Extreme Metal, Hobby Master, Luft-X and Wings of the Great War. Sale ends midnight, Saturday, March 31st, 2018. May not be combined with any other sales discount.
Eaglemoss’ 1:1100 scale US Navy New Orleans Class Heavy Cruiser – USS Minneapolis (CA-36) [With Collector Magazine]In what could be the last time the Eaglemoss navy weighs anchor, the latest, and perhaps greatest quartet of warships are leaving the manufacturer’s shipyard and heading towards our port of call. Expected this weekend are the following warships:
EMGC64 – US Navy New Orleans Class Heavy Cruiser – USS Minneapolis (CA-36) [With Collector Magazine]
EMGC77 – Imperial Japanese Navy Mogami Class Heavy Cruiser – Kumano [With Collector Magazine]
EMGC79 – Imperial Russian Navy Gangut Class Battleship – Gangut [With Collector Magazine]
EMGC76 – French Marine Nationale Richelieu Class Battleship – Richelieu [With Collector Magazine]
Priced at just $24.99, and bundled with a full-color magazine, these warships have become the de facto standard other replica navies have had to sail past to gain their own place in the sun.
The Panzer Museum, a highly regarded armored fighting vehicle museum based in Munster, Germany, indicated that they have lent their logo, photos, and other information to the makers of the board game, Monopoly, to create a game centered around WWII era tanks. Based upon photos posted to Facebook, it appears as if the game has been localized for the German market and likely their own gift shop, and therefore not meant for the global market. Still, its a fair bet they could offer the game in other languages, making it an ideal stocking stuffer for armored enthusiasts world over.
“The Chinese jet… passed the nose of the P-8 at 90 degrees with its belly toward the P-8 Poseidon, we believe to make a point of showing its weapons load-out.”
– Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby, August 22nd, 2014
If looks could kill, then this Chinese Shenyang J-11BH multirole fighter can be considered “dressed to the nines.” Noteworthy for its encounter with a US Navy P-8 Poseidon anti-submarine warfare aircraft, the J-11 is a single-seat, twin-engine jet fighter, whose airframe is based on the Soviet-designed Sukhoi Su-27 air superiority fighter, a fourth generation aircraft that rivals some of the best western aircraft in NATO’s inventory. As such, it is ideal for being vectored to and intercepting enemy aircraft that could be construed as violating its nation’s airspace, which is indeed just what happened almost four years ago.
On August 19th, 2014, a Chinese J-11B intercepted a U.S. Navy P-8 Poseidon anti-submarine warfare aircraft that was operating over the South China Sea. At a press conference three days later on August 22nd, 2014, Admiral John Kirby, the spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Defense told reporters that “On the 19th of August, an armed Chinese fighter jet conducted a dangerous intercept of a U.S. Navy P-8 Poseidon aircraft, patrol aircraft, that was on a routine mission. The intercept took place about 135 miles east of Hainan Island, in international airspace.” He elaborated on the incident, saying that the Chinese jet, “crossed under the aircraft with one pass having only 50-100 feet separation. The Chinese jet also passed the nose of the P-8 at 90 degrees with its belly toward the P-8 Poseidon, believed to be displaying its weapons load-out. Afterwards, the J-11 flew directly under and alongside the P-8, bringing their wingtips, as I said, to within 20 feet. And then conducted a roll over the P-8, passing within 45 feet.”
The Pentagon spokesman said that the U.S. had registered an official complaint with China through regular diplomatic channels. He also said that the Chinese pilot’s actions had been “unprofessional, it’s unsafe, and it is certainly not keeping with the kind of military-to-military relationship” that U.S. seeks to establish with China. Moreover, in reference to the plane’s proximity to China, the Pentagon said that, “Military activities may be conducted within the Exclusive Economic Zone of another nation as an exercise of the freedoms of navigation and overflight.”
During one of the high speed passes, the J-11BH reportedly exposed its belly to the pilots flying the Poseidon, a seemingly sly maneuver meant to signal that the fighter is fully armed and ready to take action if its warning goes unheeded. We will naturally assume that Hobby Master’s take on the J-11BH will come armed with much the same array of air-to-air ordnance that the actual plane was packing. Look for Hobby Master’s 1:72 scale take on the Shenyang J-11BH multirole fighter (HA6002) to expose its own belly some time in August.
Its no secret that Hobby Master has witnessed great success in the 1:48 scale aviation market, taking the hobby by storm with each new subject they put forward. So, it came as no surprise that their next 1:48 scale warbird would look to up the score, by turning back the hands of time to the earliest days of World War II when the conflict in the PTO was still very much in doubt. Scheduled for an August roll out, their latest aircraft is based upon the venerable Grumman F-4F Wildcat, a fighter that was outmatched by the Japanese Zero in virtually every category. Their inaugural aircraft pays tribute to the Cactus Air Force, a conglomeration of US military aircraft tasked with defending Guadalcanal and its newly conquered airfield dubbed Henderson Field (HA8901). Obviously, more versions are in the works, but we thought this particular warbird could be their most noteworthy of the bunch.
If the world works in mysterious ways, why would you expect anything less from its smaller inanimate cousin? Case in point, Modelcollect, and their soon-to-be-released take on the German Landkreuzer, an outlandishly proposed project that took form towards the latter stages of World War II and was intended to be the “be-all and end-all” of armored fighting vehicles. Going well beyond the idea of a so-called “land battleship”, the Landkreuzer was, nevertheless, a foolish idea that never got beyond the sketch book stage. It called for two and perhaps three main guns that rivaled anything on a warship, as well as a series of secondary armament designed to protect the vehicle from both aerial and ground attack. The reality was that the vehicle would never be able traverse the battlefield, could not transit bridges, roads or railways, and would need a battery of high-powered engines to get it to run fed by fuel reserves the Wehrmacht no longer possessed. Likewise, the Landkreuzer would have required an inordinate number of men to operate, all of which could have been better suited in other roles.
Despite its massive size and misguided aim, model company Modelcollect has been feverishly working on a 1:72 scale replica of what the Landkrezuer might have looked like had it been completed. In the accompanying image, they even posed their finished project alongside two other fairly large 1:72 scale vehicles, just to give everyone an idea as to its size, perspective and finished appearance. As you can see, the Landkreuzer is absolutely huge, requiring a vast amount of shelf space to properly display. Its still not clear if the Company will offer a pre-assembled or even partially assembled version of this build to the diecast collector market or consign it to the model kit sector. If they do, it will be costly, not just in terms of price but in terms of shipping, likely weighing in along the lines of a 1:16 scale Extreme Metal tank previously made available by Unimax. Keep all of this in mind should you decide to chase this replica down later this year.
Hobby Master’s 1:48 scale USAAF Republic P-47D Thunderbolt Fighter – “Penrod and Sam”, Capt. Robert Johnson, 62nd Fighter Squadron “Spike War Dawgs”, 56th Fighter Group, Boxted, England, April 1944
Today’s post is a bit eclectic if still accurate, borrowing a phrase from a Queen song that aptly describes two of our most recent arrivals. The first is this 1:48 scale Republic P-47 Thunderbolt dubbed “Penrod and Sam”, which was piloted by WWII ace Captain Robert Johnson, then attached to the 62nd Fighter Squadron “Spike War Dawgs”, 56th Fighter Group (HA8455). “Penrod and Sam” was, in fact, the fourth aircraft flown by Johnson in the ETO, who would go on to become a 21-victory ace and earn a reputation as a fearsome fighter.
Corgi’s 1:48 scale RAF English Electric F.6 Lightning Fighter – XR728/JS, 5 Squadron, RAF Binbrook, England, 1987
The second model, which some are already nominating as best aircraft model of 2018, is this 1:48 scale replica of an English Electric Lightning jet fighter (AA28401). Exceptionally detailed, this heavy-in-the-hand model has become Corgi’s toast-of-the-town in recent weeks, demonstrating that this longstanding model maker still has the skills necessary to bring an award winning product to market.
