Some times a message can get lost within another message, especially when it gets stuck in the crevices of a castaway’s bottle. That’s the case with Forces of Valor when they recently discussed their upcoming 1:32 scale Tiger and Sherman tank variants last week. While reading through some of the ensuing comments and their own remarks it appears as if the Company is finally getting set to discuss their military aircraft line, which was hinted at well over two years ago but has seemingly laid dormant ever since. This December, Waltersons plans on discussing how they will re-purpose some of their existing aircraft tooling, which was never truly a hit with the aviation community. They’ve listened to the community, done their due diligence by researching the competition and believe they are now ready to discuss their plans in detail now that they are competing in a space long dominated by others.

In other news, the Company is hard at work touching up some of their existing tank toolings, particularly the M24 Chaffee light tank, which, according to consumer sentiment, was one of their fan favorites and required little work to bring up to date. New molds are in the offing too, including their first ever Leopard 2A5 and 2A6 main battle tanks, likely offered in German markings and paint schemes. We are hoping that the Stryker, which was cancelled by Unimax before its release, will be drawn out of storage while other tanks, such as the Abrams, gets a face lift to bring it up to today’s standards.

Lastly, pictures have finally posted for their upcoming Jagpanther tank destroyer, which models the earlier G1 variant complete with zimmerit anti-magnetic mine paste. Reading between the lines we’re willing to bet a G2 version will eventually be made, which featured, among other things, a two-piece gun barrel and the omission of any zimmerit. Finally, a pair of 1:32 scale T-34/85 tanks are finally en route, and should be ready for immediate shipment right before Thanksgiving. Gobble gobble!

Recently, Waltersons posted several comments concerning their upcoming 1:32 scale Tiger tanks to their Facebook page. According to the FOV rep, 24 versions will eventually be offered, although its not clear if all of them will come out in 2020 and how many involve repaints which the Company considers as a separate SKU. What is known is that the manufacturer has spent an inordinate amount of time and effort retooling the original mold which first surfaced way back in 2003, thereby ensuring that it will pass muster amongst the FOV community of 2019. Four versions of the Tiger I will be produced (initial, early, mid and late revisions) each with their own intricate features, characteristics and shortcomings that should sit well with discriminating collectors. For starters, all of the vehicles feature a reworked suspension enabling them to smoothly roll along a flat or uneven surface. Each will come with their appropriate road wheels, which ranged from the initial rubber rimmed wheels that tended to get bogged down in the mud to the more efficient steel rimmed wheels used in the latter versions of the Tiger I.

According to Waltersons, the Sturmtiger, which was never a part of the original Unimax line up of combat vehicles, will likely come out in mid-year and feature a fully detailed crew compartment, although its not clear at present if collectors will be able to remove the superstructure to peer inside the vehicle. Likewise, its not certain if the vehicle will come with stacks of ammunition stored inside the vehicle and/or a crane that was used to lower the ammunition into the gun’s breech. Since the manufacturer tends to take the high road when it comes to replicating armored fighting vehicles of World War II its more than likely going to occur, albeit at a slightly higher price considering all of the extra work, labor and material going into the effort.

Lastly, the Company claims that the first batch of Tigers will be completed some time in January. Even if this pans out, its not likely we will see any of the models before March, at the earliest, due in part to the upcoming Chinese New Year, continued tension in the streets of Hong Kong and trade war currently underway between the Peoples Republic of China and the US.

While they’ve been slow to get product to market and have had to make several changes to their production schedule that has led to further release delays, Forces of Valor has been making major strides of late both updating their web site and showing imagery for several upcoming 1:32 scale German weapons due out before the year’s end. Here’s what you can expect to nestle under the Christmas tree this holiday season:

Originally developed as an anti-aircraft gun, the 8.8cm FLugzeugAbwehrKanone (“Flak”) was first employed in the anti-tank gun role in 1936, when the German Condor Legion was testing out its equipment during the Spanish Civil War. Amazingly, German war planners had designed the gun as an AA weapon with a heavy cruciform platform and central fire control operation, not as a multi-purpose anti-tank gun with proper anti-tank sights. Nevertheless, its capability was seen and quietly noted by commanders operating in the field. While the gun was occassionally used in the anti-tank gun role during the Polish and French campaigns, it wasn’t until the Afrika Korps joined battle in Cyrenaica with the British Eighth Army that the “88” really showed its prowess as a tank killer. Here the tactical situation was such that it was possible to deploy the guns in their anti-aircraft role in positions that would allow them to be re-trained as anti-tank guns. Moreover their range and penetrating power enabled their crews to dispose of British tanks long before the enemy was close enough to engage the guns with their own two- or six-pounder guns.

The German Waffenamt issued an order to design the VK4501(H) (as the PzKpfw VI Ausf. E was then known) in May 1941, just one month prior to the commencement of Operation Barbarossa. Interestingly, Henschel und Sohn of Kassel was charged with building the heavily armored chassis while Krupp, by far the largest munitionwerks in Germany, was given the task of developing the turret. The PzKpfw VI Ausfuhrung E (type E) was one of the first German tanks to feature a torsion bar with eight interleaved wheels, which was designed to support the weight of the mammoth 57-ton tank. The Ausf. E mounted a huge 8.8cm KwK36 L/56 cannon and featured two MG34 machine guns for close support against enemy infantry. By war’s end, 1,354 vehicles had been produced, some rolling off the Wegmann assembly line.

In the fall of 1942, the German Waffenamt issued an order to develop a heavy assault gun to combat the growing menace posed by Russian armored forces all along the eastern front. What resulted was the Sd. Kfz. 173 Jagdpanther tank destroyer, arguably the best long-range tank destroyer of the war. The Jagdpanther mounted a powerful 8.8cm Pak L/71 cannon within a fixed turret, which was situated atop a standard Panther V chassis. Although production of the tank was begun at MIAG in January 1944, it took another ten months before the larger NMH plant could expand the production run in time for the “Wacht am Rhein” counteroffensive. By war’s end only 392 vehicles had entered service with the Wehrmacht, but these had a telling effect on the prosecution of the war.

Early in 1943, orders were given to design a heavy, self-propelled anti-tank gun, which would mate a 12.8cm gun with a Tiger II chassis. On October 20th, 1943 a wooden mock-up of the enormous vehicle was shown to the OKH planners who authorized that a prototype be finished by April 1944. Two Jagdtigers were built with the Porsche-designed longitudinal torsion-bar suspension. During field testing, this arrangement proved entirely unsatisfactory, which further delayed production of the tank destroyer. The initial series was set at 150 vehicles, but an order issued in October 1944 stipulated that when these had been completed, production capacity was to be switched over to the Panther. This mandate was reversed in January 1945, and assembly of the Jagdtiger was to be resumed as fast as possible. By March 1945, only 77 examples were produced, all assigned to either Panzerjagerabteilung 653 or schwere Panzerabteilung 512.

The Elefant (Elephant) stemmed from the Porsche design for the PzKpfw VI Tiger. Henschel was awarded the contract for the new tank, but it was decided to use the Porsche design as a tank destroyer. Hitler demanded that the new vehicle be ready for the 1943 offensive on the Russian front, so development was rather hurried. As a result, many broke down to their first action at the Battle of Kursk, and the lack of proper armor and ponderous mobility made them easy targets for Soviet gunners in the battle. In addition, the lack of machine guns meant that there was no defense against Soviet troops disabling them with explosive charges in close-quarter combat. The survivors were withdrawn to Italy, where unreliability and lack of spares ensured their continued ineffectiveness.

Admittedly, all are based upon previous releases, however, that’s where the comparison ends. Each vehicle features more metal content, better painting and weathering and even a removable engine designed to better portray the horsepower necessary to get these vehicles moving.

In the wake of several recent Facebook posts, Forces of Valor has made significant strides updating their web site with relevant information that is designed to keep everyone informed about their progress to date. While some upcoming releases are still showing historical photos instead of product imagery, and not every section of the web site has been worked on in a consistent manner, its comforting to see that the Company is finally spending the requisite time to provide meaningful and pertinent information to both its customers and retail network alike. For more information on the Forces of Valor web site, click on the following link.

True-to-form, Waltersons posted another update to their Facebook account discussing their upcoming 2019 release schedule and how they plan to address the market place. If you’re good at reading between the lines then that means you’re likely in for a rude awakening come the next twelve months, as more and more iterations of several fan favorites hit the street. In fact, you’ll likely need a score card to tell the “players” apart as more and more new introductions get added to the production schedule and the list of variations grows longer every day.

As it stands now, virtually every new item scheduled to come out will come in at least two flavors: a heavily weathered version and one sporting a more subdued look. Case in point, the upcoming PLAN Liaoning aircraft carrier. We were under the impression that one version was due out later this year, portraying the ship when it visited Hong Kong in 2017. Apparently, a second example is in the works as well, this time around sporting subtle weathering effects that include take off and landing scarring as it undertook sea trials in the South China Sea a year prior. A third version could also be in the offing, this time around featuring a reconfigured rear flight deck that is intended to make more room for the stowage of aircraft.

FOV also plans on reworking the turret for their 1:32 scale Tiger I tank so that it better reflects some of the changes the German Army incorporated into some of the latter models. Moreover, some vehicles will be slathered with Zimmerit anti-magnetic mine paste while others will not, pretty much covering every conceivable variant that took to the battlefield from its onset in late 1942 to the closing stages of the war. In a related matter, the Company intends to add diecast tracks to its vehicles beginning with the Tiger I tank. They claim that the tracks will be produced in-house but its not clear if the inclusion of metal tracks will have an appreciable impact on the cost of each vehicle. Moreover, its not certain if the tracks will appear shiny like those that are included on the Minichamps tanks series or come muddied and weathered as if they had seen extensive service. If we had to guess, the weathered vehicles will feature muddied tracks while the less distressed vehicles will sport shinier tracks. On the downside, metal tracks have a habit of locking up while being rolled, something vinyl tracks neatly overcome even if they don’t look quite as realistic. So, it will be interesting to see how FOV addresses this issue if they hope to promote the series as having smoothly rolling metal tracks.

FOV hinted that a number of photos are forthcoming and that we could see some of the new toolings as early as later this year. If that’s the case, plan on making lots of room under the Christmas tree this holiday seasons, as the Company continues to prime the pump on the land, air and sea.