Lets start things off on the right foot. Looks as though the USPS has resumed parcel shipments to both Australia and New Zealand. Previously they had suspended any shipments due to COVID, or at least that’s what they claimed on their web site. In any event, we are now accepting orders to both countries although I do want to make it abundantly clear that rates have once again increased, particularly for oversized parcels. Just this week, we had to cancel a U-2 order bound for Hawaii. The cheapest rate available was $95, so we can only presume shipping the very same item down under will cost quite a bit more. So, unless you have deep pockets, it might make more sense to source items like this from a local supplier rather than order from abroad. Just saying.

As we close out the month of April, we aren’t expecting anything of note, so we’ve updated our New Release section accordingly. However, I did want to make mention that Corgi is now providing outer corrugated boxes with all of its newest aircraft releases, something we were hoping more manufacturers would eventually employ if they are willing to go the extra mile towards selling their own products. The new boxes are designed to fit each aircraft model and its inner packaging to a T, thereby reducing the need to add cushioning material to prevent breakage in transit. We’d like to hear back from everyone that may have received these new parcels over the last week or so and hope to pass along any comments, good or bad, to the manufacturer.

When last we spoke to several distributors, each is expecting a major shipment in May, although when that might occur is still in a state of flux. We will be closed for business from May 4th-10th, so anything earmarked for that time period will be pushed back a week. Once we do have a firmer idea as to when the shipments are expected we will once again ask that everyone refrain from contacting us inquiring about their order. Frankly, answering queries slows us down considerably. If we need to contact you for any reason we will do so either by email or by phone. Again, if you do receive a text or call, we would appreciate it if you could respond as soon as possible so we can process your order in the most expeditious manner possible. That’s about it for now. Motor Pool out.

Update: We are continually looking at new and affordable ways to grow our business and potentially gaining new customers who may not be fully aware of the benefits and joy of collecting diecast military products. One such opportunity presented itself to me this past week in the form of TheMall. As its name implies, TheMall is designed from the ground up as an online shopping center much like a standard mall with a physical presence sans the food court, out-of-service escalators and baby changing stations. Unlike a standard mall, customers can shop online anywhere from around the globe and at any time of day or night, much like a standard web site. This mall, however, is being billed as having one hundred levels with 100 million square feet of online retail space, where retailers take out leases much like a standard store. With the Metaverse slowly gaining traction amongst younger consumers, TheMall looks to cater to those individuals who enjoy shopping but would rather do so from the comfort of their home without having to deal with parking, standing in line, rude salespeople, and no-good-niks who might frequent a mall for the wrong reasons.

What I like about a virtual mall such as this is that it allows us to create boutique shops within a shop, something I have been looking to do for a very long time. For instance, instead of setting up all of the Forces of Valor tanks on a single page, we can do so by theme, such as War in the European Theatre of Operations, then place those items that pertain to this theme within this particular boutique. We can dress up this boutique with marketing hype that might include pertinent artwork, period music, and an online salesperson or “avatar” dressed in a GI’s uniform who can answer a series of canned questions and help with the checkout process, all thoughtfully designed to further enhance the shopping experience. If, on the other hand, you’re interested in purchasing scale aircraft that are participating in the current Russo-Ukrainian Conflict, we could create a mini boutique that possibly discusses the war in greater detail and even include a fund raiser whereby your donation could be forwarded to Ukraine for humanitarian relief.

Anyway, we are taking a careful look at this type of selling outlet and will make a determination later this year if its the right fit for us. It will likely require us to take and upload rotoscoped images for every item we sell so that customers can get a better idea of how each item looks including its visual dimensions, an idea we have been toying with for some time. While all of this may seem interesting and intriguing, I’ll keep everyone in the loop should we decide to move forward with this or a similarly conceived project.