EXCELLENT MODEL REFERENCE - MV-22 OSPREY AND AV-8B HARRIER AIR-TO-AIR REFUELLING OVER THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA

VIDEO CAPTURED IN JUNE, 2014 shows US Marine Corps aircraft carrying out air-to-air refuelling.

ACADEMY ONTOS TANK-KILLER KIT TO 1:35 SCALE

SMN reports
The ROK (Republic of Korea) kit maker Academy is on something of a roll at the moment - company representatives were delighted to collect 2010 Modell des Jahres (Model of the Year) awards at the recent Nuremberg Toy Fair for their quite superb 1:35 scale Merkava tank and 1:72 scale M977 cargo truck.

And now Academy has a new-release 1:35 kit of the somewhat less-known M50A1 Ontos tank-killer. This was a small tracked vehicle in service from 1959-1965, and used with some success in the Vietnam War, by the US Marine Corps for fire support. Armament was a central machine gun, surrounded by six 106 mm (4.2 in) recoilless rifles, three on each side. Like all weapon systems, the Ontos (from a Greek word meaning ‘thing’) had some weaknesses, not least being the fact that the crew had to reload the rifles from outside, leaving themselves vulnerable to enemy fire. Still, the Ontos was light enough to be airlifted by cargo planes and CH-53 helicopters, making it a highly mobile weapon.

Academy’s kit is loaded with detail - a pair of crew figures are included, plus rounds of ammunition ready for loading. As you might expect, photo-etched parts are supplied, including light guards and engine exhaust protective mesh. Decals are nicely printed and the wide tracks are particularly handsome, with the unique tread pattern captured nicely.

As you can see from the Ontos on display at the National Museum of the Marine Corps (bottom pic), a ‘used’ example looks very different from the ‘factory-fresh’ Academy offering, so there’s plenty of room in this kit for detailing, weathering, damaging, and kit-bashing in general. All in all, an unusual and interesting addition to any 1:35 scale AFV collection.

Pictures courtesy Academy, US Marine Corps.

Visit the USMC Museum here.

The Ontos will be available from model stores and online suppliers shortly. Meantime there’s a range of Academy kits at Amazon that include such tasty items as the 1/35 M1A1 Abrams "Iraq 2003"

US MARINE HARRIERS LAND ON HMS ILLUSTRIOUS

Here's a short movie showing US Marine Corps Harriers landing on this British aircraft carrier two years ago, when 14 AV8B Harriers joined HMS Illustrious ahead of a joint US-UK-NATO exercise off the eastern seaboard of the US.

It's worth watching, just to see the bunjee-jump landing style - you've never really seen undercarriage action until you see Harriers hitting the deck of a ship! And to think the UK Gov is planning to ditch the Harrier carrier force before replacement F-35s arrive, so the Royal Navy will have no fixed wing aircraft for years. Are they mad? Rearrange these letters for the answer: ESY.