Product Spotlight

Product Spotlight: “The Aleutian Zero”

Hobby Master’s 1:48 scale Captured US Army Air Corps Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero Fighter – Tadayoshi Koga’s “Akutan Zero”, September 1942

“These flights covered performance tests such as we do on planes undergoing Navy tests. The very first flight exposed weaknesses of the Zero which our pilots could exploit with proper tactics … immediately apparent was the fact that the ailerons froze up at speeds above 200 knots so that rolling maneuvers at those speeds were slow and required much force on the control stick. It rolled to the left much easier than to the right. Also, its engine cut out under negative acceleration due to its float-type carburetor. We now had the answer for our pilots who were being outmaneuvered and unable to escape a pursuing Zero: Go into a vertical power dive, using negative acceleration if possible to open the range while the Zero’s engine was stopped by the acceleration. At about 200 knots, roll hard right before the Zero pilot could get his sights lined up.”

– Lieutenant Commander Eddie R. Sanders, test pilot for the captured Zero, in his classified report after undergoing flight testing, September-October 1942

In a previous installment of Product Spotlight, we pointed out the obvious disadvantages the Grumman F4F Wildcat possessed against the Japanese Mitsubishi Zero. While tactics were worked out in the short haul to deal with the Zero, it wasn’t until the US actually laid claim to a crash landed Zero that it could move forward and build an aircraft capable of defeating the Zero in a typical one-on-one engagement.

The Akutan Zero, also known as Koga’s Zero and the Aleutian Zero, was a type 0 model 21 Mitsubishi A6M Zero Japanese fighter aircraft that crash-landed on Akutan Island, Alaska Territory, during World War II. It was found intact by the Americans in July 1942 and became the first flyable Zero acquired by the United States during the war. It was repaired and flown by American test pilots. As a result of information gained from these tests, American tacticians were able to devise ways to defeat the Zero, which was the Imperial Japanese Navy’s primary fighter plane throughout the war.

The Akutan Zero has been described as “a prize almost beyond value to the United States”, and “probably one of the greatest prizes of the Pacific War”. Japanese historian Masatake Okumiya stated that the acquisition of the Akutan Zero “was no less serious” than the Japanese defeat at the Battle of Midway, and that it “did much to hasten Japan’s final defeat”. On the other hand, John Lundstrom is among those who challenge “the contention that it took dissection of Koga’s Zero to create tactics that beat the fabled airplane”.

The Akutan Zero was destroyed in a training accident in 1945. Parts of it are preserved in several museums in the United States.

Hobby Master’s rendition of the Aleutian Zero (HA8804) is expected to take wing in August.

 

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Product Spotlight: “The Thach Weave”


Hobby Master’s 1:48 scale USN Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat Fighter – Lt. Commander John Thach, “White 23”, VF-3, USS Yorktown (CV-5), June 4th-6th, 1942

One of the most important tactical developments arising from the early stages of the war in the Pacific was known as the Thach Weave. Created and tested by Lt. Commander John Thach, who served aboard the USS Yorktown (CV-5) as a member of VF-3, Thach was determined to come up with a solution to a problem daunting Navy pilots. Flying a Grumman F4F Wildcat, Thach and his fellow airmen were well aware of the issues the Wildcat faced against the Japanese Zero, which could out turn and out climb the Wildcat, thereby putting the Wildcat at a serious disadvantage in air-to-air combat. Thach examined the problem and eventually came up with a tactical solution that gave the War Department and US Navy time until it could field more versatile aircraft better suited at dealing with the Zero.

The Thach Weave (also known as a Beam Defense Position) is an aerial combat tactic developed by naval aviator John S. Thach and named by James H. Flatley of the United States Navy soon after the United States’ entry into World War II.

It is a tactical formation maneuver in which two or more allied planes would weave in regularly intersecting flight paths to lure an enemy into focusing on one plane, while the targeted pilot’s wingman would come into position to attack the pursuer.

Thach had heard, from a report published in the September 22nd, 1941m Fleet Air Tactical Unit Intelligence Bulletin, of the Japanese Mitsubishi Zero’s extraordinary maneuverability and climb rate. Before even experiencing it for himself, he began to devise tactics meant to give the slower-turning American Grumman F4F Wildcat fighters a chance in combat. While based in San Diego, he would spend every evening thinking of different tactics that could overcome the Zero’s maneuverability, and would then test them in flight the following day.

Working at night with matchsticks on the table, he eventually came up with what he called “Beam Defense Position”, but which soon became known as the “Thach Weave”. It was executed either by two fighter aircraft side-by-side or by two pairs of fighters flying together. When an enemy aircraft chose one fighter as his target (the “bait” fighter; his wingman being the “hook”), the two wingmen turned in towards each other. After crossing paths, and once their separation was great enough, they would then repeat the exercise, again turning in towards each other, bringing the enemy plane into the hook’s sights. A correctly executed Thach Weave (assuming the bait was taken and followed) left little chance of escape to even the most maneuverable opponent.

Thach called on Ensign Edward “Butch” O’Hare, who led the second section in Thach’s division, to test the idea. Thach took off with three other Wildcats in the role of defenders, O’Hare meanwhile led four Wildcats in the role of attackers. The defending aircraft had their throttles wired (to restrict their performance), while the attacking aircraft had their engine power unrestricted – this simulated an attack by superior fighter aircraft.

Trying a series of mock attacks, O’Hare found that in every instance Thach’s fighters, despite their power handicap, had either ruined his attack or actually maneuvered into position to shoot back. After landing, O’Hare excitedly congratulated Thach: “Skipper, it really worked. I couldn’t make any attack without seeing the nose of one of your airplanes pointed at me.”

Hobby Master’s 1:48 scale take on Thach’s F4F Wildcat (HA8902) is expected to deal with the Japanese nemesis this October.

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Product Spotlight: In Defense of Ukraine

 

Calibre Wings’ 1:72 scale Ukrainian Sukhoi Su-24MR “Fencer” Attack Aircraft – “Yellow 15”

“He maketh wars to cease in all the world. He breaketh the bow and snappeth the spear in sunder and burneth the chariots in the fire.”

– Matthew 16:21-28

In 2014, Russian ground forces invaded and quickly occupied wide swaths of Ukrainian territory which included, among other things, the entire Crimean peninsula. The Ukrainians, looking to resist Russian aggression, called upon its meager forces, both on the ground and in the air, to turn back the invaders, or at least give them a bloody nose and perhaps a moment’s pause. As attempts were made to seek help from the West and mediation by the UN Security Council, two aircraft in the Ukrainian inventory would answer the call in the name of freedom: both were produced by Suhkoi.

The Sukhoi Su-24 (NATO reporting name: Fencer) is a supersonic, all-weather attack aircraft developed in the Soviet Union. This variable-sweep wing, twin-engined side-by-side two-seater carried the USSR’s first integrated digital navigation/attack system. It remains in service with former Soviet air forces and various air forces to which it was exported.

The aircraft was officially sanctioned on August 24th, 1965, under the internal codename T-6. The first prototype, T-6-1 was completed in May 1967 and flew on July 2nd with V.S. Ilyushin at the controls. The initial flights were performed without the four lift engines, which were installed in October 1967. At the same time, R-27s were replaced with Lyulka AL-21Fs. STOL tests confirmed the data from S-58VD that short-field performance was achieved at the cost of significant loss of flight distance as the lift engines occupied space normally reserved for fuel, loss of under-fuselage hardpoints, and instability during transition from STOL to conventional flight. So the six-engine approach was abandoned.

Hobby Master’s 1:72 scale Ukrainian Air Force Sukhoi Su-25M1 “Frogfoot” Ground Attack Aircraft – 299th Tactical Aviation Brigade, Nikolaev, Ukraine, 2014

The Sukhoi Su-25 (NATO reporting name: “Frogfoot”) is a single-seat, twin-engine jet aircraft developed in the Soviet Union by the Sukhoi Design Bureau. It was designed to provide close air support for the Soviet Ground Forces. The first prototype made its maiden flight on 22 February 1975. After testing, the aircraft went into series production in 1978 at Tbilisi in the Soviet Republic of Georgia. Russian air and ground forces nicknamed it “Grach” (“Rook”).

Early variants included the Su-25UB two-seat trainer, the Su-25BM for target-towing, and the Su-25K for export customers. Some aircraft are being upgraded to version Su-25SM as of 2012. The Su-25T and the Su-25TM (also known as Su-39) were further developments, not produced in numbers. The Su-25, along with the Su-34, were the only armored fixed-wing aircraft in production in 2007. Su-25 is in service with Russia, other CIS states, and export customers.

Look for both defenders of the sovereign state of Ukraine (CA722402 and HA6103) to fly again in the name of freedom this September.

 

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Eaglemoss Reckons its Time to Test Star Trek Cadets with its Own Kobayashi Maru

Perhaps one of the most poignant moments in Star Trek lore was when Captain Kirk demonstrated his prowess as a star ship captain by skillfully defeating the Federation-created Kobayashi Maru training exercise. Thetraining exercise in the fictional Star Trek universe was designed to test the character of Starfleet Academy cadets in a no-win scenario. The Kobayashi Maru test was first depicted in the opening scene of the film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and also appears in the 2009 film Star Trek. Screenwriter Jack B. Sowards is credited with inventing the test. The test’s name is occasionally used among Star Trek fans or those familiar with the series to describe a no-win scenario, a test of one’s character or a solution that involves redefining the problem.

The notional primary goal of the exercise is to rescue the civilian vessel Kobayashi Maru in a simulated battle with the Klingons. The disabled ship is located in the Klingon Neutral Zone, and any Starfleet ship entering the zone would cause an interstellar border incident. The approaching cadet crew must decide whether to attempt rescue of the Kobayashi Maru crew — endangering their own ship and lives – or leave the Kobayashi Maru to certain destruction. If the cadet chooses to attempt rescue, the simulation is designed to guarantee that the cadet’s ship is destroyed with the loss of all crew members.

Look for the Eaglemoss replica of the Kobayashi Maru (EMSTSP14) to test your knowledge some time in August.

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Product Spotlight: MERDC

Hobby Master’s 1:72 scale US M60A1 Patton Medium Tank with Reliability Improved Selected Equipment (RISE) IR/White Light Spotlight – Snow, Temperate Open Terrain MERDC Camouflage, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Armored Division, Gelnhausen, Germany, 1977 (1:72 Scale)

In 1972, the US Army started trials at the Mobility Equipment Research and Development Center to improve the camouflage of vehicles, soldiers and equipment. Until these trials, most vehicles deployed by the army were painted in monotone olive drab.

The goal of the trials was to produce a fairly simple vehicle camouflage that could be applied easily down to sub-unit level, would make battlefield detection of the vehicle more difficult for an enemy using the ‘Mk.1 eyeball’, and would also hopefully reduce the effectiveness of more technologically advanced methods of detection.

At the conclusion of the trials it was found that two of the three goals were met, but the paint available at the time wasn’t particularly more effective against methods like IR than the existing colour scheme. With the naked eye, though, the scheme was found to be very difficult to detect at distances beyond 800 meters.

By 1975, the trials were complete, and the familiar four-colur scheme had been selected. Technical manual 5-200 “Camouflage Pattern Painting” was released. This document contained the templates for color placement on all of the vehicles then in service as well as codifying regulations for how the pattern was supposed to be applied.

Boiled down, the templates should be followed as closely as practically possible with a difference of no more than two inches.

The templates set the colours to cover specific proportions of each vehicle so that the first two colors would each cover 45% of a surface with the remaining colors covering 5% each.

There were 8 colour combinations set to cover a wide range of climatic conditions: 

  • Winter Verdant: Forest Green, Field Drab, Sand and Black
  • Summer Verdant: Forest Green, Light Green, Sand and Black.
  • Tropical: Forest Green, Dark Green, Light Green and Black
  • Snow, Temperate Open Terrain: White, Field Drab, Sand and Black
  • Snow, Temperate with Trees: Forest Green, White, Sand and Black
  • Arctic: White
  • Grey Desert: Sand, Field Drab, Earth Yellow and Black
  • Red Desert: Earth Red, Earth Yellow, Sand and Black

Eight different camouflage patterns were chosen as the basis for masking armor during the height of the Cold War

Hobby Master plans to offer two M60A1 Patton tanks that make use of this camouflage scheme (HG5604 and HG5605), one set in the late 70s with the US Army and the other set in the 80s with the US Marine Corps. (Text courtesy of TeamYankee.com)

Hobby Master’s 1:72 scale USMC M60A1 Patton Medium Tank with Reliability Improved Selected Equipment (RISE) IR/White Light Spotlight – Snow with Trees MERDC Camouflage, 1980s (1:72 Scale)

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Hobby Master Lines Up Their Ghouls and Goblins for an October Haunting

Hobby Master’s 1:72 scale rendition of a Russian Sukhoi Su-34 “Fullback” Strike Fighter – “Red 03”, Khmeimim Air Base, Latakia, Syria, January 2015

Like clock work, Hobby Master debuted their list of product due out for an October hay ride. While most of the offerings are based upon existing toolings, we did take note that they have added the Suhkoi Su-34 Fullback strike aircraft to their ever growing array of modern era aircraft. Their inaugural aircraft (HA6301) is based upon a warplane that saw service in the Syrian Civil War and was likely deployed to the Russian controlled Khmeimim Air Base, located at Latakia, Syria. 

Hobby Master knows they a good thing going by offering a pair of USMC M60A1 Patton Medium Tank with Reliability Improved Selected Equipment (RISE) IR/White Light Spotlight. This one is clad in a MERDC camouflage scheme.

Other items of particular interest are a pair of M60A1 Patton tanks, this time around clad in European tri-color camouflage schemes (HG5604 and HG5605). Their first M60A1 tank, wearing a Vietnam-era olive green paint scheme, sold out within days of their release, so Hobby Master has certainly taken the cue by adding more Cold War era armor to their roster.

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Product Spotlight: “The Mosquito Hunter”

Corgi’s 1:72 scale German Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6 Fighter – “Red 8”, Kurt Gabler, “Mosquito Hunter”, III./Jagdgeschwader 300, Juterbog-Waldlager, Germany, July 1944

“We did not think about the personal nature of killing in the air. We were proud of every victory in the air, and particularly happy that we had not been hit ourselves. Of course, I tell myself in quiet moments today: “You’ve killed. In order to protect others and not be killed yourself.” But in the end: for what? The Third Reich trained 30,000 pilots. Ten thousand survived the war. One-third. This is the highest loss rate along with the U-boat sailors.”

– Oberleutnant Gunther Rall

When Mosquito production began in 1941, it immediately became one of the fastest operational aircraft in the world. Entering service in late 1941, the first Mosquito variant was an unarmed high-speed, high-altitude photo-reconnaissance aircraft. Subsequent versions continued in this role throughout the war. The first Mk. B.IV bomber, serial no. W4064, entered service with No. 105 Squadron on November 15th, 1941. From mid-1942 to mid-1943, Mosquito bombers flew high-speed, medium or low-altitude daylight missions against factories, railways and other pinpoint targets in Germany and German-occupied Europe. From June 1943, Mosquito bombers were formed into the Light Night Strike Force and used as pathfinders for RAF Bomber Command heavy-bomber raids. They were also used as “nuisance” bombers, often dropping Blockbuster bombs — 4,000 lb (1,812 kg) “cookies” — in high-altitude, high-speed raids that German night fighters were almost powerless to intercept.

Insignia of Jagdgeschwader 300 “Wilde Sau” (Wild Boar”), which famously adopted ramming tactics to bring down Allied bombers

To combat the effects of the Mosquito and hopefully intercept it before it could do further damage, several German Luftwaffe units came up with various proposals to deal with their wooden nemesis. “Red 8” as it came to be known, was a modified Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6 fighter that was piloted by Kurt Gabler, who was attached to III./Jagdgeschwader 300, then deployed to Juterbog-Waldlager, Germany, during July 1944. From war time photographs, the aircraft appears to have been sanded back from its original RLM74/75/76 finish, reportedly in an effort to increase its speed for intercepting RAF Mosquitos. Traces of paint are visible on the wing root and base of the elevators, and the swastika has clearly been sanded down, leaving only a faint trace of the geometrical figure. The gun troughs and various access panels appear darker than the rest of the aircraft because they are composed of darker metals (e.g., the gun troughs were iron). This same effect is seen in photographs of a sanded down Bf-109G belonging to the National Air and Space Museum (NASM), adding support to the claim that “Red 8” was natural metal rather than light grey.

Look for Corgi’s rendition of “Red 8” (AA27107) to circle our diecast air base some time this May.

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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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Hobby Master Ponders, “If Looks Could Kill”

Hobby Master’s 1:72 scale USAF Fairchild A-10C Thunderbolt II Ground Attack Aircraft – 107th Fighter Squadron “Red Devils”, 127th Wing, Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Michigan, August 2017 [D-Day Commemorative Scheme]
As the saying goes, “if looks could kill” then this menacing A-10 “Warthog” should be interred at a Maximum Security Facility instead of operating from a cold mid western air force base. Hobby Master’s latest A-10 ground attack aircraft (HA1326) is a blast from the past, paying tribute to the hundred year anniversary of the establishment of the 107th Fighter Squadron “Red Devils” back in August 2017. And, unlike some of its predecessors who typically wear a low-vis greyish scheme to blend in with the sky, this plane would prefer to hide at treetop level, thanks to its partially adorned olive drab exterior. Its also clad in bi-colored, striped identification markings, which was used by many elements of the USAAF during the WWII-era invasion of Normandy to lessen the chance of it being misidentified by AA gunners. Boasting a robust array of ordnance, and the over-sized “Red Devil” insignia of the 107th, look for this hellish warplane to take wing some time in September.

Face-to-face with Hobby Master’s latest and greatest A-10 Thunderbolt II ground attack aircraft

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Product Spotlight: Saburo Sakai’s Mitsubishi Zero

Back in the nineties, when I wrote for and led a few computer gaming publications, I was offered the chance by Microsoft to meet none other than Saburo Sakai, the leading Japanese naval ace during World War II. In those days, Microsoft was heavily into flight simulations, so getting the opportunity to meet and possibly discuss the exploits of Sakai was a dream come true. A few years earlier, Microsoft was able to gather together several surviving members of the Tuskegee Airmen – the famed all-black squadron that had served in the MTO and, through their own efforts, ably demonstrated to the world that they had the same abilities as white pilots in dealing with the cream of the German Luftwaffe.

By 2000, Sakai was already getting on in years, so I knew the trip for him from the Japanese home islands to the US Pacific Northwest was going to be arduous at best. Nonetheless, I boned up on his military career, and set about putting together a list of questions I would pose to him to better gauge his interest in flight simulations as well recount his wartime record in the South Pacific. A few days before I was scheduled to fly out to Seattle, however, Microsoft’s public relations point person called to indicate that Sakai had suffered a fatal heart attack while still in Japan, thus ending my chance to meet the man that had sent so many of my fellow countrymen down in flames fighting against the Japanese empire.

Yesterday, when I learned that Hobby Master planned on replicating his Zero, it gave me a moment’s pause as I reflected on the missed opportunity I was initially given and how a person of his standing could so easily get swept up over the course of time and the pages of history. So, from a personal standpoint, I just want to stress how important it is to remember the man as well as the machine we crave to collect in this wonderful hobby of ours.

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