Tumbleweed..

[aferguson]

We seem to be in a bit of a lull these days. Not much happening.

This has caught me by surprise as i thought by late March '05 we'd be starting to get buried in product, both repaints and new issues.

Anyone else surprised by this dry spell?

No repaints of 109G, Pz IV at WM. No new planes from 21c. No new announcements from BBI. I still think this is going to be a crazy year but these last few weeks have been quite surprisingly dull.

Of course you realize that it means we are going to get bombed with new stuff all at once.

I anticipate no less than 9 new aircraft this year (from both 21c and BBI), 4 pieces of armour, at least 3 new series of figures, plus Sahara, Platoon, Bridge Too Far and a plethora (that means many) repaints.

[JUG63]

Speaking of Sahara, anyone know when we can expect that product to be hitting the shelves? The movie premieres in like two weeks. I saw that 21st is having their big Vegas party, but that's all I've heard of. I know they are a small outfit, but if they are going to capitalize on the movie hype, they better hurry up or everyone will have forgotten about the film when the toys arrive!
Has anyone seen any of Faded OD Shermans at Wal-Mart yet? All I've been seeing are the FW-190s collecting dust, a few Kepfords and Tropical 109s.

[digger]

I was thinking the same thing – what a slow time for our hobby. But when I tried to whine to a more mature (and patient) fellow board member, he reminded me that we have become spoiled, and expect too much. This year has already seen a new tank, new truck and new set of figures from 21st. They also just gave us some reissues that were much needed. I just got used to having something new EVERY month and so when there was nothing for a few weeks it seemed like forever!

I think the other problem is our expectations. I just don’t see any US WWII armor coming out this year – we have no reason to believe otherwise. I also doubt we will see 9 new planes – it would be nice but I doubt it. As for figures - the Japanese and maybe S2 USMC but I’ll believe the bbi guys when they’re in my hand or I hear it from BCA…..Hopefully bbi will explode in August with figures, vehicles, etc….but where we stand now I don’t see how we’re going to get to 9 new planes and 4 pieces of armor unless you count repaints .
Lastly, I would not be surprised if Platoon is held off until the 20th anniversary – next year.

Don't take this the wrong way - I want MORE, MORE as much as the next guy, but I'm trying to be realistic

[aferguson]

9 new aircraft: F-104, Avenger, Me-262, MiG 15, F-86 and one other from 21c plus Hind and at least two other new aircraft from BBI, maybe more (maybe a lot more).

4 new armour: King Tiger (i'm convinced of it) plus one other new armour from 21c and at least 2 armour pieces from BBI (one of which will be a US WWII, like a Pershing, Priest etc).

3 new figure sets: Japanese troops from 21c and US troops plus another set of figures from BBI.

The movie stuff (sahara, platoon, bridge too far) i agree is very up in the air.

I think BBI is going to explode this year and we are seeing the calm before the storm.

[digger]

9 new aircraft: F-104, Avenger, Me-262, MiG 15, F-86 and one other from 21c plus Hind and at least two other new aircraft from BBI, maybe more (maybe a lot more).

4 new armour: King Tiger (i'm convinced of it) plus one other new armour from 21c and at least 2 armour pieces from BBI (one of which will be a US WWII, like a Pershing, Priest etc).

3 new figure sets: Japanese troops from 21c and US troops plus another set of figures from BBI..

Droooooollllll.....I hope you know something we don't.......I wouldn't bet on half that stuff but I sure hope we get it.....
Oh, and I bet you'll see a Zero before the Hind

[Morian Miner]

I hope the Sahara merchandise hits the brick-and-mortar stores. If I can actually see them first, I probably will buy. But, I doubt I would mail order them (unlike the platoon figures, those are must haves).

Honestly, I wouldn't mind the lull to continue for about three more months. Otherwise, I'll be going broke.

[fredricchio]

I'd also like to know when the Sahara stuff will be out, but given that we still don't have the Sky Captain P-40 who knows when they might finally trickle out? Its looking more and more like they won't be out in time for the theatrical release, thats for sure.

I'm afraid centone might be right about bbi. I really hope they find another retail outlet, otherwise they might go down with TRU
But assuming they don't, we've got semi-confirmation on a Hind and the Corsair, a rumor about the Zero, and I'm still holding out hope we'll get a couple more modern fighters this year (A-10 and F-14, please! ) I hope they'll do some more armor, too, but it doesn't seem to sell as well as the helos and planes. Still a lot of modern stuff they could do there, as well as WWII. Oh yeah and hopefully we'll get those WWII figures, too.

Actually the biggest thing from bbi I'd like to find out about is that proposed sci-fi line. I was really looking forward to that, and it might be a great way to pull more Joe collectors in, especially now.

[digger]

Corsair? Where did that rumor start?
You can count on the Zero and the A-10.

[fredricchio]

Yeah, rmoore456 said he found a listing for the Corsair in the TRU computer, over in the bbi P-40 thread. The P-40, while having its own listing on amazon.com, uses the same SKN# as the P-51, so I guess that one isn't true after all.

I dunno why bbi wants to remake the same planes as 21stC, but it'd be nice if they at least stuck to the harder-to-find models like the P-51. And since they don't seem to be as concerned about box size a P-38 would be nice, too. Actually with the exception of the Me-109 and P-47, no 21stC plane got more than 4 paint schemes, correct? I guess as long as they avoid those two it won't be so bad, but yeah I'd rather see them concentrate on new stuff. But hey we are getting a Zero!

[digger]

There are 5 P-38s:
D-Day, SP, PPM, Shark & Haleakala.

There are also 5 Corsair if you count the Kepford repaint which is like a whole new plane....

[fredricchio]

Wow, I didn't know about the Shark version; and its different than the Haleakala II? I don't think I've ever seen it on ebay, is that one harder to find?

[digger]

very hard to find although I believe the wrong model bird for the scheme. It was originally a QVC exclusive and then had a small etail distribution. I bet it gets triple digits next time you see it on ebay. A waste imo

Haleakala is my fav - looks cool and is dead-on accurate .

[p51]

6 Corsairs acutally:
Original Kepford, RAF, Korean War, Checkered, Boyington, new Kepford.

[digger]

thanks P-51,
"If you DON'T count the Kepford repaint...."

[Teamski]

very hard to find although I believe the wrong model bird for the scheme. It was originally a QVC exclusive and then had a small etail distribution. I bet it gets triple digits next time you see it on ebay. A waste imo

Haleakala is my fav - looks cool and is dead-on accurate .

Roy told me that the Shark P-38 is the rarest of the lot since it was incorrectly painted and as such, was a very limited release. You very well might see this plane the rarest of the production runs. I don't want one, though, hehehehe......

I am kinda surprised as well on how quiet it is, but I figure that this is the calm before the storm. So, I'm not worried. We will all be jabbering like a bunch of girls when the hardware hits the pavement! I know I will!

-Ski

[p51]

I agree. Witht eh F-104 and Avenger coming out soon... it's a good time for us to catch our breath and save our money up!

[aferguson]

....You can count on the Zero and the A-10.

You know something we don't digger??


And by the by BBI is a HUGE company. 1/18 and even their 1/6 stuff is just a small drop in the bucket to them. They definitely won't go down with TRU but if TRU does go out of the toy biz that could discourage or at least delay new items from them.

I hope not, i have big hopes where BBI is concerned. BIG hopes

[JimBob55]

I know that I'm saving up... Looking forward to the Avenger for sure. Too many other tempting aircraft now and future.

I keep walking past FW190's and Galland ME109's at WM, while I'm waiting for the Avenger. I just don't have the room! Well, I guess we don't REALLY need a living room...so that'll solve the space problem!

(Spouse says NO WAY!!) Oh well!

Yep, probably the calm before the storm!

JimBob

[immeww2]

We've gone through these dry spells before so it's not that big a deal anymore. Looking forward to anything new that is coming out whether it be planes or armor. At least it gives us a chance to save for the next wave.

[bhallg2k]

I'm pretty new to the hobby, so I guess it seems normal to not have new stuff out all the time. I can't imagine new stuff monthly. And I don't think my account could handle it.

[lightning2000]

Hello All,
March is typically the quitest month of the year for one very good reason -- February is Chinese New Years, which means all of the Chinese factories shut down for the entire month (most of the collectibles you purchase nowadays are made in Asia, specifically China). Even if they begin shipping out new product in early March, it typically takes at least four weeks for the product to transit the Pacific and reach the various Ports of Entry (POE). As a result, April turns out to be one of the busiest months as new product starts to make its way into the distribution channel. Anyway, it gives vendors a chance to play catch up since we're all still recovering from Toy Fair in February...

Cordially,

Lightning2000
www.themotorpool.bigstep.com

[Morian Miner]

Never thought about it that way. Very interesting.

[Teamski]

I did not know that! Thanks for the heads-up Lightning. You learn something new every day here............

-Ski