US Army Air Force Douglas A-20G Havoc Medium Bomber – “Little Chief”, 321st Bomb Squadron, 1944 (1:72 Scale)

In a surprise announcement made late Friday, six new aircraft models were added to the Hobby Master air armada, all of which are tentatively scheduled to appear in May. Although no new toolings were shown, the roster did include a number of eagerly awaited warbirds by collectors world over, among them this handsome A-20G Havoc light attack bomber. So, without further ado or fanfare, here are the rest of the May introductions.

Chinese Peoples Liberation Army Air Force Chengdu J-7C Night Fighter – 69394, 2011 (1:72 Scale)

Czechoslovak Air Force Mikoyan-Gurevich Mig-21MFN Fighter – “Black 2500”, 41st Fighter Squadron, Caslav AB, Czech Republic, October 2002 (1:72 Scale)

USMC Boeing Harrier II AV-8B+ Plus Jump Jet – 164569, VMA-223 “Bulldogs”, MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina, 2025 (1:72 Scale)

USAF Republic EF-105F Thunderchief Wild Weasel Aircraft – 63-8301, “Jinkin Josie”, 357th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 355th Tactical Fighter Wing, Thailand, 1968 (1:72 Scale)

Chinese Peoples Liberation Army Navy Sukhoi Su-30MKK “Flanker-G” Fighter – 20694, 2013 (1:72 Scale)

Footnote: Incidentally, Hobby Master recently released preliminary photos for HA2826 (shown above), their newest F-22 Raptor Air Dominance Fighter. As some have correctly pointed out, the model is far too bluish in color, particularly around the nose cone and surface edges, and we pointed this out to Hobby Master. They responded by stating that the blues will be significantly toned down and that the final production images will have a more traditional greyish quality about it. So, take heart and don’t let the pre-production photos get you down. Like the second YF-23, which had to be re-shot to show off its true dark grey colors, the next F-22 will be touched up, re-photographed and re-examined to gauge its accuracy.

USAF Northrop F-5N Tiger II Fighter – “Red 117”, VFC-111 “Sundowners”, Naval Air Station Key West, Florida, 2014 [Aggressor Scheme] (1:72 Scale)

Earlier this week, Hobby Master indicated that a slew of new aircraft were in the works for an April release. While the list was indeed long, there weren’t that many new models that caught our eye, the bulk having to do with foreign air force’s that typically don’t sell all that well in the North American marketplace. For instance, while a Royal Thai F-16 looks promising, three are in the offing, meaning we have to tie up big bucks watching them sit for months on the shelf until we have a buyer. While it would be nice to stock everything under consideration, the fact remains that we have to be judicious in deciding which models fit our overall product portfolio. That said, only six new warbirds will be added, all of which have now been listed on our web site under the April 2026 release section. So, without further ado, here now the military muscle we’ll be offering to our esteemed audience this spring:

RCAF Northrop CF-116D Freedom Fighter – 116807, 419 Squadron, CFB Cold Lake, Canada, 1979 (1:72 Scale)

Japanese Air Self-Defense Force Boeing F-15J Eagle Multirole Fighter – 52-8858, Nyutabaru Air Base, Japan, 2025 (1:72 Scale)

USAF Boeing F-15A Eagle Multirole Fighter – 53rd Fighter Squadron “Tigers”, 36th Tactical Fighter Wing, Bittburg, Germany, 1981 (1:72 Scale)

USAF Lockheed YF-117 Nighthawk Stealth Attack Aircraft – 79-10782, 410th Flight Test Squadron “Baja Scorpions”, Edwards AFB, California, 2005 (1:72 Scale)

Chinese PLAAF Shenyang J-11A “Flanker-B” Multirole Fighter – 11230, “Falcon Strike”, Korat Thai AFB, Thailand, 2015 (1:72 Scale)

US Navy Douglas SBD-3 Dauntless Dive Bomber – 41-S-13, Lieutenant John M. DeVane, Jr., VS-41, USS Ranger (CV-4), November 1942 (1:32 Scale)

Another month passes by and even more models make it into the mix of Hobby Master military aircraft. For March, several scintillating models were tapped for production, including this 1:32 scale Douglas SBD-3 dive bomber shown here. We’ve culled the list of additions so as not to bring in some of their slower moving models and concentrate solely on the more popular models and liveries. The remainder tend to take up shelf space and oftentimes need to be price-adjusted to help get them airborne and into the collector jet stream.

Of note are several aircraft display bases that had been sold out for some time even though demand for them remained strong throughout the years.

Here now the list of models we plan to add to our ever-growing list of Hobby Master products.

USMC Lockheed-Martin F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter – 170533, VMFA-533 “Hawks”, Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina, 2025 [Low-Vis Scheme] (1:72 Scale)

Japanese Air Self-Defense Force Lockheed-Martin F-35C Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter – 49-8759, 8th Squadron, Tsuiki Air Base, Japan [Notional Scheme] (1:72 Scale)

USMC Boeing F/A-18D Hornet Strike Fighter – 164874, VMFA-112 “Cowboys”, NASJRB Fort Worth, Texas, 2025 (1:72 Scale)

USAF Lockheed U-2S “Dragon Lady” Reconnaissance Aircraft – 80-1094, 9th Reconnaissance Wing, Fairford AFB, England, 2025 (1:72 Scale)

Russian Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-31BM “Foxhound-D” Interceptor – “Red 12”, 2017 (1:72 Scale)

US Navy Modern Aircraft Carrier Deck (1:72 Scale)

US Navy Assault Carrier Deck (1:72 Scale)

Airfield Base (1:72 Scale)

With the re-introduction of their aircraft base series, we plan to offer special bundles that combine a popular military aircraft with one of these highly sought after decks. The end goal is to create a separate value-added series that will help bring these aircraft to life and save you some money. Bear in mind that Forces of Valor will soon be offering a pair of 1:72 scale aircraft carrier deck handlers, that can be added to these bundles to both heighten the experience and give these models added realism.

USAF Northrop/McDonnell Douglas YF-23 Air Dominance Fighter and Airfield Base Bundles (1:72 Scale)

Forces of Valor US Navy Aircraft Carrier Deck Crew [A] and [B} Figure Sets (1:72 Scale)

In a separate matter, our Hobby Master distributor has provided us with an updated list that shows the arrival dates for the balance of the year and into early 2026. Several models have been pushed back due to an Asian holiday as well as the adverse effects the tariffs have had on the production schedule for many of these models. We’ve updated our Hobby Master sections to reflect these changes. Our distributor also claims that after Chinese New Year — which typically plays out in early February — they should be back on track with monthly imports as opposed to combining shipments to best offset the effects of the recently introduced tariffs.

Looking to build out their assemblage of diecast military aircraft, Hobby Master debuted their February 2026 list of military muscle. While no new toolings were among their latest introductions, several significant models were included in the mix, among them two new General Dynamics F-16 Vipers including “Play to Win”.

Here now the balance of the recently announced models we plan to stock:

USAF North American F-86F Sabre Jet Fighter – 25333, 461st Fighter-Day Squadron “Deadly Jesters”, Hahn Air Base, West Germany, 1955 (1:72 Scale)

USAF Northrop F-5A Tiger II Fighter – 38381, 1960s (1:72 Scale)

USAF General Dynamics F-16A Viper Fighter – “Golden Bat Viper”, 185 Air Refueling Wing, Iowa Air National Guard, 2022 [Commemorative Scheme] (1:72 Scale)

US Navy Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornet Strike Fighter – 166817, VFA-136 “Knighthawks”, USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75), 2024 (1:72 Scale)

Chinese Peoples Liberation Army Navy Sukhoi Su-30MK2 “Flanker-G” Fighter – “Blue 08”, 2012 (1:72 Scale)

Russian Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25RBF “Foxbat-B” Interceptor – “Red 20”, 47th GRAF, Shatalovo AB, Russia, 2001 (1:72 Scale)

Admittedly, the prices of many of their newest introductions seem to be reaching stratospheric levels, in part due to the tariffs being applied to Bangladesh where the Hobby Master product range is currently manufactured. As a result, we are careful as to which of their newest introductions are included in our product mix, largely based upon past sales performance and the need to discount slow-moving items to improve turn. For instance, Typhoons and Red Arrows aerobatic aircraft seem to appeal more to European collectors than they do to home-grown collectors here in the US. Couple that with increasing international shipping costs and we end up being reluctant to carry these types of models in favor of what we feel would appeal to domestic collectors. We’re not happy about this situation but its one we have to abide by to prevent inventory build at our end and keep our stock levels to within reasonable limits.