Today marks the opening day of shipping out the all-new 1:32 scale Sherman Jumbo Tank, “Cobra King”. Whenever we receive a heavily requested item such as this, we elect to ship out product in waves. So, wave one, as we like to refer to it, will be going out today and possibly into tomorrow, depending upon how quickly we can get the orders processed, labeled and ready for our USPS driver. Wave two will begin going out on Tuesday afternoon and lastly wave three will likely be wrapped up on Wednesday, perhaps into Thursday. Wave three usually encompasses orders where we have to contact the customer to go over their billing information or confirm quantities requested. Again we ask that you patiently await shipping information before contacting us to ask for an update. If you do not receive a shipping update by Friday, then you may contact us about your order.
In other news, Waltersons debuted some of their new products for 2023 at the recently concluded Nuremberg Toy Fair. While we do not as yet have any photos to share, it appears as if the upcoming Sherman with wading gear as well as an all-white Tiger were being shown for the first time. Also unveiled was their first 1:72 scale jet – a F-16 Viper complete with lots of bells and whistles to help differentiate it from the competition. It also looks as though the Company is finally getting back into the 1:72 scale market by employing the same strategy they used so successfully with their interlocking 4-inch Flight Deck series. Based upon the image we saw, it appears as if they are developing an interlocking vignette set on a D-Day landing area. So, some of the display bases will feature a beach background while others will sport bunkers and other obstacles. There will be landing craft, tanks and other military vehicles included with each individual vignette, all likely tied to vehicles previously released under the Unimax moniker several years back. Should the strategy succeed, there’s a good bet other vignettes will be offered too.
Lastly, the manufacturer has hinted at a number of projects still to come, such as more 1:72 and 1:48 scale helicopters, two iterations of the USS Enterprise, and several more 1:32 scale military vehicles that aren’t based upon either the Tiger I or Sherman vehicles. No word concerning their highly anticipated 1:16 scale tank that has been both privately and publicly discussed for some time. The Company could be waiting for the upcoming Shizuoka Hobby Show in Japan to formally announce and show these projects.
Update: Incidentally, we’re almost out of the initial batch of “Cobra King” Shermans. We ordered so many on the first go round that they had to be shipped via freight from California instead of a traditional carrier such as UPS or FedEx. We’ve already contacted the manufacturer to see if more are immediately available and will place our order shortly. But if you’re looking to nab a tank from the first batch and possibly avoid a delay in shipping, we have only two pieces left in stock as of the morning of March 1st.
Also, in case you missed it, Forces of Valor plans on coming out with a 1:32 scale model kit of the M4A3E2 Sherman Jumbo. While no price or ship date has been set, modelmakers are free to depict any Sherman they like, perhaps doing away with the “First in Bastogne” sobriquet that adorns the side of “Cobra King” for something more commonplace. Sweet, huh?