May 2018

Do the Hustle(r)!

Having spent much of my glory days in the seventies, I can tell you first hand that one of the most memorable songs of the period was “Do the Hustle.” While I’d prefer to forget about the Huckapoo shirts and platform shoes that helped me while away the weekend evenings, thank you very much, I can’t help but reflect on one of the most iconic aircraft of the era – the Convair B-58 Hustler, the first operational jet bomber capable of Mach 2 flight. Despite its place in the annals of aviation history and importance during the Cold War era, this iconic aircraft seems to have been overlooked from a diecast stand point, briefly offered in a 1:200 scale by Sky Defenders that never quite did the aircraft or the collecting community justice.

One of the reasons why diecast model makers seem loathe to offering a 1:72 scale replica of the Hustler was, as some claim, only a handful of variations are available to justify the costs associated with building a mold. This, however, is anything but the case, as shown by the accompanying infographic, which clearly shows five different variations and an equal number of paint schemes that could be easily adopted should a savvy manufacturer decide to take up our challenge.

So what say you collectors? Should a company such as Hobby Master pick up the gauntlet and take a shot at diecast immortality by building the Hustler or are you content with what you’ve gotten thus far? (Hint, nudge them with a quick jab to the abdomen so you too can add the B-58 to your diminutive collection)

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Product Spotlight: Down to the Sea in Planes

Oxford’s 1:72 scale German Arado Ar 196A-3 Shipboard Reconnaissance Floatplane – D-IHQI, Prototype, 1938

In October 1936, the RLM asked for a He 114 replacement. The only stipulations were that it would use the BMW 132, and they wanted prototypes in both twin-float and single-float configurations. Designs were received from Dornier, Gotha, Arado and Focke-Wulf. Heinkel declined to tender, contending that the He 114 could still be made to work.

With the exception of the Arado low-wing monoplane design, all were conventional biplanes. This gave the Arado better performance than any of the others, and the RLM ordered four prototypes. The RLM was conservative by nature, so they also ordered two of the Focke-Wulf Fw 62 designs as a backup. It quickly became clear that the Arado would work effectively, and only four prototypes of the Fw 62 were built.

The Ar 196 prototypes were all delivered in summer 1937, V1 (which flew in May) and V2 with twin floats as A models, and V3 and V4 on a single float as B models. Both versions demonstrated excellent water handling and there seemed to be little to decide, one over the other. Since there was a possibility of the smaller outrigger floats on the B models “digging in”, the twin-float A model was ordered into production. A single additional prototype, V5, was produced in November 1938 to test final changes.

Ten A-0s were delivered in November and December 1938, with a single 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 15 machine gun at the rear seat for defense. Five similarly equipped B-0s were also delivered to land-based squadrons. This was followed by 20 A-1 production models starting in June 1939, enough to equip the surface fleet.

The plane was loved by its pilots, who found it handled well both in the air and on the water. With the loss of the German surface fleet the A-1s were added to coastal squadrons, and continued to fly reconnaissance missions and submarine hunts into late 1944. Two notable operations were the capture of HMS Seal, and the repeated interception of RAF Armstrong-Whitworth Whitley bombers. Although it was no match for a fighter, it was considerably better than its Allied counterparts, and generally considered the best of its class. Owing to its good handling on water, the Finnish Air Force utilized Ar 196 solely on transporting and supplying special forces patrols behind enemy lines, landing on small lakes in remote areas. Several fully equipped soldiers were carried in the fuselage.

Look for Oxford’s second rendition of the German Arado Ar 196A-3 shipboard reconnaissance floatplane to slice through the waves this June.

 

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Films in Focus: Midway

Back in the seventies, director Jack Smight amassed an all star cast for the feature film, Midway, which, as its name implies, portrayed the pivotal air and sea battle that enabled the US Navy to wrest control of the war in the Pacific from the Japanese Empire. Fast forward forty years and now director Roland Emmerich (The Day After Tomorrow (2004), Godzilla (1998), Independence Day (1996) and The Patriot (2000) is looking to cast an equally star-studded ensemble that once again returns to the vast ocean waters near Midway Island. Emmerich is reportedly being backed with a $100 million budget, and has already locked up several prime time actors that include Woody Harrelson and Mandy Moore. For more details on the project, visit Film School Rejects.

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The Motor Pool’s Graduation 15% Off Sale!

 

They’ve worked hard all year, gotten the grades they’ve earned and now deserve a special reward for making their friends and family proud. Why not show them you care by giving them a special gift from The Motor Pool while taking advantage of our Graduates 15% Off sale! From now until Sunday, May 27th, you can take 15% off of any item we have in stock simply by entering our latest coupon code at the bottom of your shopping cart just prior to final checkout. Please enter discount code “TMP180” in the coupon box just prior to final checkout. Note: The following lines are excluded from this promotional offer: Air Force 1, Calibre Wings, Extreme Metal, Hobby Master, Luft-X and Wings of the Great War. Sale ends midnight, Sunday, May 27th, 2018. May not be combined with any other sales discount.

Promotion Duration: May 1st-May 27th

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Forces of Valor – What Goes Up, Must Come Down

“It’s a wasted trip baby. Nobody said nothing about locking horns with no Tigers.”

– Sergeant “Oddball”

A few diehard fans of the Forces of Valor range have pointed out that Walterson’s latest production schedule unveiled last week now indicates that the upcoming 1:16 scale Tiger I tank will be a late production model instead of the mid production version announced previously. To be frank, we haven’t had the opportunity to discuss this apparent change with the manufacturer so we’re not sure what’s in the cards as it stands right now. With the Shizuoka Hobby Show just a week away, we’re hoping that the manufacturer will provide some insight as to which model they indeed plan to portray, as well as its crew, commander and unit affiliation. So, before we get bombarded with requests for more information, please hang tight until we can get hard-and-fast details regarding which version they plan to offer. Lets just hope its not the T-34 conversion shown here.

In other news, we contacted the manufacturer to determine the feasibility of offering a Tiger I tank as depicted in the feature film, “Kelly’s Heroes”. Thinking outside the box, if you will, the hypothetical set would include a 1:16 scale figure of its commander, actor Karl-Otto Alberty, along with scale replicas of Clint Eastwood, Donald Sutherland and Telly Savalas as they approached the tank on foot in sort of a High Noon scenario. We’re not sure if the manufacturer would entertain such an idea, and if so, the costs associated with using the actor’s likenesses, not to mention the licensing fee from the film studio. In this day and age anything is possible so we’ll keep our fingers crossed and shrug off any “negative waves” that might come our way.

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