Hobby Master recently unveiled their December offerings, which cover everything from a NASA-inspired F-15D Eagle fighter (#HA4503) to a signed 1:48 scale P-47 Thunderbolt (#HA8450) flown by Colonel Steve Pisanos.
All of their latest introductions have now been listed in their respective sections and we hope to take delivery of their December cache before Santa shimmies down the chimney.
Despite the warm summer weather, Century Wings unveiled its latest addition to its growing fleet of replica warbirds – a “Santa Cat”. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, a “Santa Cat” replaces the VF-103 “Jolly Rogers” familiar Skull-and-Crossbones logo with candy canes and a skull donning a floppy santa claus cap (#CW001613).
The new, holiday-inspired warbird is being billed as Century Wings last release of the year and will reportedly touch down in November. Only 1,200 pieces are being produced and carries a retail price of $145.
Dragon never ceases to amaze and their two newest Dragon Armor pieces should serve as a mute testament to their cause. Expected in September are a 1:72 scale rendition of a Japanese Ka-Mi amphibious tan sporting floating pontoons (#DRR60607) and a repainted PzKpfw III Ausf. M medium tank (#DRR60579) which served in southern Russia during 1943.
We expect further product announcements in the weeks to come.
Looking to give several heavily entrenched manufacturers a run for the money, newcomer Air Force 1 Model Company announced plans to release four new 1:72 scale warbirds in September.
All four new aircraft are part of their Shenyang Collection, which includes a Peoples Liberation Army Air Force J-8B fighter (#AF100034), J-11B fighter (#AF100045), J-15 fighter (#AF100048), and J-16 strike aircraft (#AF100053).
Priced between $53 and $63, these highly detailed aircraft come with a heavy display stand and loads of features offering value and subject matter no one has yet to match.
As they await licensing rights to both the Reaper and Predator unmanned aerial systems, Air Force 1 officially took the wraps off of their first government-sanctioned replica drone, the Northrop Grumman X-47B (#AF100115). Unlike the former systems, The Northrop Grumman X-47B is intended to fly off of an aircraft carrier, making it a more robust combat platform for the US Navy well into the 21st century.
Unlike the Italeri rendition offered earlier this year, the Air Force 1 replica will come in 1:72 scale and feature, among other things. folding wingtips and a fully-realized internal weapons compartment just like the real aircraft. Look for the drone to loiter over their competition some time in September.
Aviation enthusiasts have been lamenting the fact that no die cast manufacturer has made a credible attempt at modeling the venerable P-61 Black Widow Night Interceptor. Apparently, their pleas haven’t fallen on deaf ears after all, now that Air Force 1 Model Company has confirmed plans to replicate the Northrop aircraft in 1:72 scale (#AF10013A and B). Two versions of Major Lee Kendall‘s “Lady in the Dark” are proposed, one featuring the pilot’s signature adorning the display stand. Both versions are now listed on our web site, which is expected some time in September.
On the night of August 14th, 1945, “Lady in the Dark” was reportedly the last Allied plane to down an enemy aircraft in WWII.
Ordinarily, we tend to bypass the model kit category since most of our clientele would rather purchase a pre-assembled replica, ready-to-display right out of the box. However, when we received the sales literature concerning Merit International’s upcoming release, we had to sit up and take notice. Expected in September, this manufacturer plans to offer a 1:35 scale model kit of the legendary German Heavy railway gun, Dora (#MT35001). Huge by any measure, the 1:35 scale kit will cover 4-1/2 feet of desktop space, to say nothing of its height, weight or wow factor.
The manufacturer is offering drop shipping to the lower 48 contiguous states, so orders will be shipped out of their California warehouse once it arrives. Unfortunately, due to its overall dimensions, we cannot sell this item to overseas customers, so you’ll just have to make do with the images provided.
In what could well be the worst held secret in the diecast military community, Hobby Master confirmed today that they are working on a 1:72 scale replica of the Boeing F-15E Strike Eagle. Designed to waylay the countryside in October, their first ever “Mud Hen” is patterned after a bird that flew with the 391st Fighter Squadron, then deployed to Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, during 2012 (HA4501). Priced at $103.99, the F-15E is substantially higher in price than some of its recent releases, and could signal further price hikes are in the works for newly tooled aircraft.
Strange as it may sound, Aviation 72’s inaugural 1:72 scale replica of the Swedish Saab Viggen is already sold out at both the distributor and manufacturer level. Thankfully, a second version is already taking wing and should be in stores later this summer. On a like minded note, the Aviation 72 Saab Draken is also sold out at our distributor, although we still have a few pieces left to fill any late comer orders. Reviews have been very positive so you may want to think long and hard about these scale replicas before passing up either one of them.
Power lifting has never been a problem for German-based Panzerstahl, so it should come as no surprise that they plan on adding more weight to their bar bell in the form of the British Conqueror heavy tank (#PS89009). Slated to step on to the mat in the September/October time frame, the FV 214 Conqueror heavy tank was intended to stand toe-to-toe with some of the beefy Soviet tank designs that were fielded after WWII. Mounting a fearsome 1200mm main gun, the Conqueror never saw service due to lengthy design delays and other remedies offered by the British War Ministry.
