HITLER'S FLYING SAUCERS FIGHT ON IN A POST-WAR FICTIONAL WORLD

 

NOT CONTENT WITH making Star Wars kits from 'a long time ago', Revell now journeys to another fictional past with the 1:72 scale Haunebu II. The kit is an absolute must for all Luftwaffe 1946 fans.

THE PHINAL PHLIGHT OF THE PHAREWELL PHANTOM

Here is a reissue of Revell’s standard 1:72 scale McDonnell Douglas F-4F Phantom, but this time the moulding is in a rich blue, with markings that represent a special scheme used to celebrate the Phantom’s final flight in Luftwaffe service, carried out on June 29, 2013.

INCOMING: REVELL JUNKERS Ju-88 A4 KIT TO 1:32 SCALE

World War II aviation fans can look forward to this big-scale model of the widely-used Junkers Ju-88.

AUDI R8 SPYDER - REVELL TEST SHOTS OF THE UPCOMING 1:24 SCALE KIT

SMN report

These pictures show a Revell’s-eye-view of its Audi R8 Spyder, a kit that’s due out this summer. To 1:24 scale, the model measures some 184 mm (7.25 in) long, with a component-count of 110. To judge from the test shots, the detail looks up to scratch, with a particularly well sorted engine under that lift-up cover. The cockpit too shows care and attention, with a steering wheel that has the correct flattened underside, and general layout that follows the real thing reasonably accurately.

For super-detail fans, we’ve included some official Audi promo pix, so you can add the extras that could turn a decent kit into a show-stopper. We’re not sure if it’ll be possible to reproduce that beautiful coloured stitching on the leather though - now there’s a challenge!

MESSERSCHMITT Bf109E TO 1:48 SCALE

 
SMN report
Talking of the Battle of Britain (see Monday’s post), it’s worth a closer look at another recent Airfix product: the 1:48 scale Bf109E, the popular ‘Emil’ version of this most-produced fighter of World War II. The biggish scale is one of our favourites here at SMN - 1:48 is large enough for detail aplenty, and for crew figures to look convincing - yet it’s still a shelf-top size for popular subjects like single-seater fighters.

Official Luftwaffe picture
This Airfix version offers three types of ‘E’, the E1, E3 and E4, and 107 components go into assembling the model, which includes an extremely convincing Jumo engine and mounting. As you can see from the official Luftwaffe picture above, taken the year before the Battle of Britain, Airfix have the look of Willy Messerchmitt’s design just about right.

Computer animated video
The video btw is a cgi effort. It lasts less than a minute but is a heap of fun, expecially towards the end when you get to see an animated parts breakdown. Do give it a look, and top marks to Airfix for going the extra mile to produce an item like this.

Neat details
Back to the model, and as you can see, the engine cover is removable, the canopy opens wide to reveal a nicely-sculpted pilot figure and detailed cockpit and - nicest touch of all - all the control surfaces are positionable: leading-edge slats, flaps, ailerons, elevators and rudder deploy to give the fighter a realistic look.

All in all, though there are many Bf109 kits out there, in bigger and smaller scales, this one is well worth considering. And for 1:48 scale fans, it's an addition to the 'must build soon' list.
    
Visit Airfix here.

The pictures show, top to bottom:
1, 2  Airfix 1:48 scale Messerschmitt Bf109E.
3  A parked Bf109E with crew, and a Junkers Ju 52/3m transport behind. The photo was taken in 1939.
4  Airfix Bf109E box art.

BATTLE OF BRITAIN MEMORIAL KITS AND BOOK FROM AIRFIX

SMN report
70 years ago, the skies over Britain formed the backdrop for the greatest aerial combat offensive ever known, as attacking Luftwaffe forces locked in conflict with Royal Air Force defenders. On August 23, after several weeks of the campaign, Hermann Commander-in-Chief Hermann Goring ordered his forces to bombard British fighter airfields, the first of a wave of heavy attacks over the next two weeks, during which some airfields were hit several times over.

Targeting fighter bases must have seemed like a good move to Goring, but it was difficult to knock out a grass airfield for more than a few hours at a time, and many historians agree that had the Luftwaffe concentrated on reducing radar defences to rubble, the Battle of Britain might have turned out differently. In any event, by late October 1940, the Luftwaffe had taken a beating and withdrew plans for further major air assaults.

Thousands of aircraft in the air
But the Battle of Britain lives on as one of the defining conflicts of World War II, and the aircraft that took part (more than 4500 machines were fielded by the two air forces) remain as popular as ever with kit manufacturers. So it’s no surprise to see the local-hero Airfix company releasing some special Battle of Britain products this month.

Airfix Hurricane and Bf110
Airfix has released a Hawker Hurricane Mk 1, the most numerous British fighter of the Battle of Britain, even if its rather workmanlike looks and performance never earned it the acclaim of the beautiful Spitfire. It’s a nice kit though, to 1:72 scale, and comes with a choice of two decal marking sets. Matching the ‘Hurri’ is a German Messerschmitt Bf110 twin-engine heavy fighter, again to 1:72 scale and also with a choice of markings. The real Bf110 was no match in a dogfight with a determined Hurricane or Spitfire pilot, who could both out-turn and out-shoot it - after heavy losses, the Messerschmitt was withdrawn from front-line service over Britain. Both kits look attractive in the now common and highly attractive kit-box art style.

Battle of Britain book
Also released this month is a handsome book, the ‘Special limited edition’ Their Finest Hour: Aircraft of the Battle of Britain by John G. Bentley. It’s a thoroughly decent work, with 80 landscape-format (wide, instead of tall) pages that cover the subject well, with a special emphasis on featuring relevant Airfix kits. The book is well-priced too, with a UK price of just £6.99 GBP ($10.85 USD).
  
Visit Airfix here.

View Airfix kits here, though don’t be surprised if some Battle of Britain-class steam locomotive kits have crept in too - that’s search engines for you! Hmmm... (thinks), those BoB streamliner locos were handsome beasts, so we should look at some BoB models soon.

The pictures show, top to bottom:
1  Airfix 1:72 scale Hurricane.
2  Airfix Bf110 box art.
3  The Bf110 builds into a neat and tidy 1:72 scale model.
4  The Airfix book makes a fine memento for those interested in this period of aviation combat history.

MEGA SALE OF DESIRABLES AT HOBBYLINK JAPAN

HobbyLink Japan (HLJ) is a well-established online supplier that has a particularly wide range of Japanese products on offer, ranging from aircraft and anime to military vehicles and robots. And now HLJ’s excellent site features a wide-ranging sale, with so many goodies on offer that it’s hard to know where to start - not that we’re complaining!

An item that caught our attention was the 1:48 scale World War II Luftwaffe personnel set, from Dragon. Neatly sculpted to represent pilots and ground crew from the Battle of Britain period, the eight-person group includes a table and chairs (four on-call pilots are playing cards while they wait for the next mission) and a pair of officers in easy chairs. There’s also a bomb loader pushing a bomb trolley.

This is just one item though - HLJ has an ocean of tasty stuff waiting for buyers, so do have a look. UK model makers might also like to know that HLJ will be exhibiting at the IPMS Scale ModelWorld on November 7-8, in Hall 2, Table 36.

Visit Dragon 1:48 Luftwaffe personnel here.

Visit HLJ main site here.

Visit the IPMS here.

Luftwaffe 1946: super-advanced aircraft that might have changed the course of World War 2

Secret projects that never went into widespread use, or that stayed as ‘blue sky’ sketches are a continual source of fascination. We’ll be looking at amazing designs from the UK and USA soon, but today it’s ‘Luftwaffe 1946’ that’s the focus.

By 1944, the Allies were achieving near-total air domination over Europe, but the Axis powers were not ready to give up, and dozens of super-science projects were underway. Of course, Hitler kicked his own forces in the rear by insisting that early Messerschmitt Me262s were equipped as light bombers instead of being flown as high-speed interceptor fighters. But other designs being cooked up in secret laboratories could have caused the Allies some real damage, at least to the vast bomber streams that were slowly destroying the Reich’s ability to wage war.

Today, Revell in particular produces a wide range of Luftwaffe 1946 kits, ranging from the Arado 234 shown here, to rocket interceptors and flying wing bombers. These are among my favourite kits, as they look great, and are so different to anything that’s flown before or since.

We'll have a look at more of these kits over the next few days.