Hinted at a few years ago, Forces of Valor has finally unveiled details concerning their upcoming 1:32 scale Ferdinand tank destroyer. Like their Sturmtiger rocket assault mortar, the Ferdinand will feature a removable superstructure so that collectors can peer inside the vehicle and even monkey around with the vehicle’s ammunition, its stowage racks and other pertinent details they ordinarily wouldn’t get to see had the superstructure remained in a fixed position. According to their literature, the Ferdinand will come with two crewmen although neither figure was shown in the preview pictures. It also appears as if the vehicle will not come with removable engines that we assumed would come inside the package and have become a hallmark of the series. As a guess, they were omitted to keep the final cost of the item down to below a manageable price point.
On the downside, it seems as though the Ferdinand will come with a hefty price tag – $189.99, well above either of their previously released Sturmtigers or any of their other 1:32 scale armored fighting vehicles. Interestingly, only a couple of hundred vehicles are being built for each major market and, if their information proves correct, is pegged for a late summer release, perhaps in conjunction with several other new products.
At the recently concluded China Hobby Show, the Company also showed off the next Tiger I heavy tank, which we believe will hit the diecast battlefield as early as this summer. We haven’t listed it for pre-sale just yet as we are awaiting details concerning which unit it severed with and if the retail price has gone through a similar uptick in cost. So, for now, we’ve opened the pre-order window for the Ferdinand and will unveil their newest Tiger I as soon as information is passed along to us.
On a completely separate topic, a collector posted an image of a 1:32 scale US M60A1 Patton tank in what we are calling older Unimax packaging that carries the Green Light Collectibles logo on its front exterior facing.
We are assuming that Green Light is bringing back some of the old Unimax favorites as a means of bolstering their line up and will, presumably, offer these vehicles at a lower cost than their traditional Forces of Valor series. We’ve asked the manufacturer for clarification and hope to get an answer back after we return from vacation towards the second week of May.