Corgi’s 1:72 scale Avro Vulcan boasts tampo printed markings and insignia, just like other aircraft in the Aviation Archive range
Earlier today, Corgi indicated that their long awaited 1:72 scale Avro Vulcan bomber (AA27203) had reached the US and was ready for shipment. Several months ago, collectors on the other side of the pond reported that the Vulcans they had received had decals instead of the usual tampo printed markings. Furthermore, some claimed that the decals were already peeling or cracking right out of the box. While we cannot comment on the issue and what steps were taken to rectify the matter, we did ask our US supplier to inspect the shipment they received to determine if they too suffered from the same type of issues. Upon inspection, our rep said that the Vulcans in their possession featured tampo printed markings and insignia not decals, and that they looked fine to even a trained eye. So, we agreed to accept our order, and now expect our allotment to arrive the first of week of August.
Bombs away! Looks as if this Vulcan is getting set to plaster a target
1990 was a very good vintage for the RAF’s F-4J Phantom II fighter bomber
Photos were released earlier today for Hobby Master’s upcoming pair of RAF F-4J Phantom fighter-bombers. Hailing from No. 74 Squadron, which was deployed to RAF Wattisham, England, the first represents a bird flown in 1990 (HA1985) while the second portrays one flown five years earlier in 1985 (HA1986).
Turn back the hands of time by another five years and you have this equally impressive F-4J from No. 74 Squadron
Both come with a nice weapons load out and all of the hallmark detail and craftsmanship you’ve come to expect from Hobby Master for well over a decade. Look for this deadly duo to appear over our skies some time in October.
“To this day, I am convinced that substantial deployment of Wasserfall from the spring of 1944 onward, together with an uncompromising use of the jet fighters as air defense interceptors, would have essentially stalled the Allied strategic bombing offensive against our industry. We would have well been able to do that – after all, we managed to manufacture 900 V-2 rockets per month at a later time when resources were already much more limited.”
– Albert Speer, Reichsminister fur Bewaffnung und Munition (Reich’s Minister for Armamants and Munitions), from his memoir “Inside the Third Reich”
With the advent of PMA’s V-2 long-range guided missile, and the imminent arrival of Modelcollect’s V-1 “Flying Bomb”, we naturally presume that there are additional scale reproductions of weapons of mass destruction waiting in the wings. Towards the end of the War in Europe, the Germans, in particular, were testing a number of advanced weaponry, among them the Wasserfall (“Waterfall”), which was a guided missile based upon the V-2, the Backebo Rocket, a V-2 rocket using Wasserfall radio guidance, piloted V-2s, and, of course, the rest of the Aggregat series of ballistic missiles, all of which were in varying stages of development.
So, the question we had, in light of this recent trend, is what place do these types of advanced weaponry have in a typical diecast collection? Should they garner the same respect and admiration from collectors as a tank or aircraft would cast from the crucible of battle, or, should they be held in a different regard since they are, at best, impersonal means of destruction, that were, in large part, aimed at civilian population centers, designed to bring about the moral collapse of the enemy when other means were no longer deemed possible? What say you?
