BMC Toys Production Roundup: Thanksgiving 2022

Posted by Jeff Imel on

The BMC Toys American Hero imported product line should be well stocked through most of the holiday shopping season. There is a possibility some D-Day boxed sets could run out in December or January before the next shipment arrives around February 2023. There's several projects in progress for the imported line in 2023 that I'll announce when details are further along.

The Pennsylvania factory that manufactures the BMC Toys Classic product line (and now Tim Mee Toy) has been very busy over the past couple of months after moving to a larger building. Lots of popular items are back in stock, plus a few new items are ready in time for the holidays including recast of Louis Marx & Company Gold Mine Accessory sets in 3 colors and pack horse set in brown. Barbed wire and Palm trees are now available in smaller 'parts packs', and and we've repackaged some new old stock Processed Plastic Company imported city street accessories:

BMC Toys Classic November 2022
Production is ongoing for popular and out of stock items. The second production run of the BMC Toys Plastic Army People 100 Piece Bucket set should begin final assembly next week after lots of delays over the past couple of years. I'm hoping it will ready in time for a Mid-December arrival.

The classic Lido soldiers are scheduled to start production for the first time in Pennsylvania and will be getting 3 color variants. This is a very old and temperamental mold, so these might not be ready until early 2023 and current stock may run out before the new batch is ready:

BMC Toys Classic Army Men Lido Soldier Insert Art
Tim Mee Toy production moved to Pennsylvania this year after the factory in Michigan that produced the product line since 2011 closed. The new factory is still setting up equipment to produce large items like the Hercules AC-130 Gunship and Walker Bulldog Tanks, so unfortunately there won't be any Hercules sets available in time for Christmas 2022, and Walker Bulldog tanks will run out soon. My current estimate is Spring 2023 before those items are back in stock.

We're also not ready to produce anything with metal axles yet as a lot of the special equipment isn't available, and it's taking time to source new suppliers and machinery. Combat Patrol Willies and Artillery sets in Olive Green are just about sold out. Recon Patrol Modern Armored Car sets in Olive Green and Desert Tan will likely run out soon and I think the 2 packs of Olive Green M34 Deuce and a Half Cargo Trucks will run before the end of 2022 as well. These are all high priority items, but I don't have estimates when new production will be ready yet.

On the bright side, the folks in Michigan took great care to make sure the Tim Mee Toy line could continue elsewhere, and the former factory manager has been a huge help advising the PA factory on production setup. So far, the new factory has produced the Classic M16 Soldiers, Cowboys and Indians, M48 Patton Tanks, Battle Mountain, F14 / F-15 Jets, and WW2 Fighter Planes. These are all available now and some in more colors than ever before. 

Tim Mee Toy Army Men Colors November 2022 Tim Mee Toy Patton Tank Colors November 2022 Tim Mee Toy Combat Jets
Tim Mee Toy WW2 Fighter Planes
Molding of the Volcano (AKA Danger Mountain) should be starting soon. This is one of the last pieces we need for new production of the Tim Mee Toy Bucket of Army Men. One version will be close to the currently available bucket set (which is running low on stock) just updated to the PA factory colors, and the second will include a brown mountain, tan tank and od green jets. I don't know if these will be available in time for the holidays. We're also getting ready to produce prehistoric and space themed bucket sets by Spring 2023. Here's a color mockup of the Mars bucket:

Tim Mee Toy Space Bucket Mockup
Folks have been using the Louis Marx & Company Cape Canaveral accessories with the Tim Mee Toy Galaxy Laser Team figures together for ages, and now they can finally be offered in the same playset. BMC Toys and Tim Mee Toy will continue as separate brands, but now there can be some crossovers and team-ups when in makes sense. 

The past couple of years have been bananas. I'm very thankful for all your support and patience as we work through the various challenges of keeping this little corner of our culture available to share with current and future generations.

Happy Turkey Day,
Jeff at Tim Mee Toy and BMC Toys

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