In the “for the guy that has everything department”, army brats can break the piggy bank and shell out the big bucks for a set of sterling silver soldiers. According to Defense News, “They’re like the classic green Army men toy figures. But for grown ups, grown ups with money.
For $235 each, or $2,585 for a full “squadron” of 12, you can buy sterling silver versions of the Vietnam-era Louis Marx & Co plastic Army men, from Good Art Hlywd, a Los Angeles jewelry maker. They come in “classic,” “skull face” and “doughboy” variants.” No word if the jewelry maker plans to up the ante by casting a squad of 14K gold enemy soldiers.
Taking its’ cue from the fictionalized speeder bike seen in Star Wars: Revenge of the Jedi, the US Army, in conjunction with prime contractor Malloy Aeronautics, debuted a work-in-progress man-portable hoverbike at the Paris Air Show.
According to MSN News, “Malloy Aeronautics was testing hoverbike technology with a robot-carrying drone. A few months later, it’s partnering with a Maryland-based defense company to develop a hoverbike for the US military. Working with Survice Engineering Co., the UK aeronautics company will set up shop in Maryland as part of “an ongoing research and development contract.” The duo will also work with the US Army Research Laboratory on the project that aims to create “a new class of Tactical Reconnaissance Vehicle (TRV).
The goal is to replace some of the work a helicopter does with the hoverbikes, a vehicle that provides increased safety and costs significantly less. “With adducted rotors you immediately not only protect people and property if you were to bump into them, but if you ever were to bump into somebody or property it’s going to bring the aircraft out of the air,” Malloy’s marketing sales director Grant Stapleton told Reuters. Funds from a Kickstarter campaign for those compact UAVs was used to build scale models capable of carrying a human — one of which was on display at the Paris Air Show.”
No word as yet as to the carrying capacity, speed or altitude it can reach, and whether or not the vehicle can be weaponized with a lightweight anti-personnel or anti-armor combat system for close assault beyond its surveillance capabilities. Obviously, there are commercial applications implied by its development, as thrill seekers armed with the latest Go Pro modular filming device takes the vehicle through its paces off road in varying environments and conditions. Likewise, the vehicle can serve as a mobile search-and-rescue system, capable of crossing terrain that a surface-going vehicle might have trouble negotiating.
More information on the device can be found here: http://www.hover-bike.com/MA/news/
Relative newcomer Wings of the Great War announced three more single-engine fighters to their WWI lineup, which now includes a 1:72 scale take on the famous Sopwith Camel. Their first Camel, naturally enough, is based upon the craft that brought down the Red Baron, with Canadian Roy Brown credited for the kill (#WW18001). Other war winners include a Fokker Dr.I Triplane Fighter that was piloted by Oberleutnant Lothar von Richthofen, younger brother of Baron Manfred von Richthofen (#WW12002), and a reddened Pfalz D.IIIa Biplane Fighter flown by Hanns Muller (#WW11003). Look for all three aircraft to take to the skies over the Western Front some time in September.
