May 2025

Here’s Your Coat, What’s Your Hurry

To borrow a phrase my late mother-in-law oftentimes used when she felt as if a family gathering had run its course, Air Force 1 seems intent to produce the first diecast replica of a Chengdu J-36 Air Dominance Fighter. You may remember that the actual prototype was flown for the first time on December 26th, so getting a model of the aircraft out the door in such a short time frame is no mean feat even for the best of engineers. Interestingly, they are calling this first 1:144 scale offering a stealth drone, even though its clear from these images that the aircraft will be manned and quite possibly carry a crew of two, if the aircraft is intended to carry out long-range strike missions as some hypothesize or work in conjunction with multiple collaborative combat aircraft.

Nevertheless, we’ve passed along this information to our distributor and they are currently working on getting information about this product along with any buzz surrounding an even larger 1:72 scale version. Its also a good bet that this same manufacturer is working on developing scale versions of the Shenyang J-50 Strike Aircraft as well as the AVIC White Emperor Air Dominance Fighter. Air Force 1 is headquartered in China, so even if preliminary information is available, we don’t know if these products will be offered at an affordable price to make it worth the while of importing. Stay tuned…

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Enter the J-16

In a move that will likely be seen as shaking up the industry, Hobby Master announced plans to replicate the Shenyang J-16. The Shenyang J-16, also known as Qianong (NATO reporting name: Flanker-N) is a Chinese all-weather 4.5 generation, tandem-seat, twin-engine, multirole strike fighter built by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation and operated by the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). It is developed from the Shenyang J-11, the licensed production variant of the Russian Sukhoi Su-27.

Thus far, no official SKU designation has been assigned to the prototype model, nor has pricing, background information and a release date been discussed. Still, its refreshing to see Hobby Master building new models again when it seemed as if they were content to re-hash existing molds. While the J-16 may not be as sexy as say a US-built F-47 stealth fighter or some of the classified US Air Force projects still under wraps, it represents an important step in fleshing out all of the aircraft currently in service with the Peoples Liberation Army Air Force. We will have further information regarding the J-16’s inaugural model when Hobby Master provides additional details.

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The Art of War: A Twin-Engine Joint Strike Fighter

“We’re doing an upgrade, a simple upgrade, but we’re also doing an F-55. I’m going to call it an F-55, and that’s going to be a substantial upgrade, but it’s going to be also with two engines because the F-35 has a single engine. I don’t like single engines.” – President Donald Trump, May 16th, 2025

It pays to stay current whenever President Donald Trump speaks to the media because you never know what you’re going to get. At a press conference held earlier this week in Qatar, Trump said he welcomes the idea of developing and potentially funding a twin-engine F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, which he has dubbed the F-55. Essentially, the F-55 would combine the best attributes of the Lockheed F-22 Raptor Air Dominance Fighter with the technological advancements put forward by the F-35 Lightning II, thereby giving it more muscle and a more reliable power plant should a conflict erupt over the vast Pacific Ocean. Frankly, the idea isn’t as far-fetched as some might claim, considering how the US Navy has long advocated for an aircraft equipped with two engines over one, an important consideration when landing areas are few and far between should the aircraft have to put down in an emergency. Moreover, Lockheed, which recently lost out to Boeing in the NGAD competition, claims an F-55 would be far cheaper to produce than Boeing’s F-45 Air Dominance Fighter, which is equally important when you take into account how many different Air Force projects are currently in the works. Its not clear if an F-55 would perform as well as the F-45 the Air Force is currently betting on, but sometimes funding issues are just as significant as performance when it comes to bringing a new aircraft to fruition. For more information on what Trump shared, visit The War Zone.

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Panzerkampf Grips the Collective on the CH-53 Sea Stallion

No stranger to the world of rotary-wing aircraft, Panzerkampf announced this week their intent to model the ubiquitous CH-53 Sea Stallion heavy lift helicopter. Five versions are to be offered according to the Company’s Facebook page, meaning there’s lots to choose from when they take on the diecast community later this year. Because Panzerkampf is headquartered in China, its not clear when these models will actually make it to our shores given the uncertainty swirling around the administration’s tariff policy. Should things change, we will update our web site accordingly.

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Corgi Flies High this Summer

Earlier today, Corgi revealed their May-August Aviation Archive lineup of new aircraft models. Leaning heavily on the 85th anniversary of the Battle of Britain along with the 80th Anniversary of Victory in Europe, four of the six new introductions are tied to the pivotal days of the war over England, while the remaining two offerings represent a pair of “heavies” that pay tribute to both the US and UK bombing campaign over Nazi-occupied Europe. We’ve added all six new aircraft to our Corgi Aviation Archive section and are now accepting pre-orders for the entire batch.

In a related story, Corgi also provided a development update on their soon-to-be released Messerschmitt Me 410 Hornisse destroyer. The Messerschmitt Me 410 Hornisse (Hornet) is a heavy fighter and Schnellbomber (“Fast Bomber” in English) designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt. It was flown by the Luftwaffe during the latter half of the Second World War. Work began on producing a successor to the Bf 110 in 1937, however, the resulting Me 210 proved to be unsatisfactory, leading to production being halted in April 1942. Various options were considered, including the ambitious Me 310 derivative. Officials favored an incremental improvement which was represented by the Me 410. Although visually similar to the preceding Me 210, and was sharing sufficient design similarities that incomplete Me 210s could be converted into Me 410s, there were key differences between the two aircraft. Chiefly, the Me 410 was powered by larger Daimler-Benz DB 603 engines, had a lengthened fuselage, and automatic leading edge slats. The Me 410 is widely regarded as the best heavy fighter produced for the Luftwaffe.

While no pricing information was discussed nor a particular subject indicated, we anticipate taking delivery on their latest addition to the Aviation Archive before the year is out, unless tariffs prevent it from being sold on an economical basis.

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