“Sister. You have a Sister”

Anyone steeped in Star Wars lore knows the meaning of this casually said yet iconic line, first uttered by Darth Vader mid way through his confrontation with son, Luke Skywalker, in the feature film The Empire Strikes Back. Interestingly, it also has some bearing on today’s military diecast market now that Hobby Master has officially announced the second Northrop YF-23 fifth-generation fighter, the so-called “Black Widow II”.

Formally designated as the YF-23A, the first aircraft (serial number 87-0800), Prototype Air Vehicle 1 (PAV-1), was rolled out on June 22nd, 1990. PAV-1 took its 50-minute maiden flight on August 27th with chief test pilot Alfred “Paul” Metz at the controls. The second YF-23 (serial number 87-0801, PAV-2) made its first flight on October 26th, piloted by Jim Sandberg. The first YF-23 was painted charcoal gray and was nicknamed “Spider”. The second prototype was painted in two shades of gray and nicknamed “Gray Ghost”. PAV-1 briefly had a red hourglass painted on its ram air scoop to prevent injury to ground crew. The red hourglass resembled the marking on the underside of the black widow spider, further reinforcing the unofficial nickname “Black Widow II” given to the YF-23 because of its 8-lobe radar cross section plot shape that resembled a spider and as homage to the Northrop P-61 Black Widow of World War II. When Northrop management found out about the marking, they had it removed.

According to their latest literature, Hobby Master claims that we can expect the “Black Widow II” towards the end of the year, largely dependent upon the tariff situation with Bangladesh, where Hobby Master products are made. Word from our distributor is that the first YF-23 is pre-selling exceptionally well, so we anticipate sales of the second version to be as strong if not stronger largely due to its sinister appearance. As a guess, both models were on the assembly line simultaneously to take advantage of any cost savings associated with producing two models at the same time rather than in piece-meal fashion. If that is the case, we expect images of the second model to be forthcoming, perhaps over the summer.

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Legion Pays Tribute to the Flying Tigers

Earlier today we learned that Legion will be offering their take on the P-40 Warhawk fighter. Built by Curtiss, the P-40 was employed in China during the early stages of the country’s war with Japan, taking on the cream of the Japanese Air Forces with slower, less nimble and some would say outdated aircraft. Operated by US pilots looking to both help out China and earn some cash in the process, the American Volunteer Group, as it came be known, performed well in combat despite flying against more capable Japanese aircraft that were flown by skilled Japanese pilots. Later, when the US became embroiled in World War II, many of these very same pilots were called upon by the Department of War to leave the Flying Tigers, head home and serve with the fledgling United States Army Air Corps who badly needed veteran pilots of their own.

Modeled in 1:72 scale, four aircraft will make the cut, all bearing the distinctive shark mouth nose insignia that became the hallmark of the Flying Tigers. Currently, the P-40s are slated to roll out this September, however, with the tariff war still looming, its entirely possible they could be delayed.

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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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Tales of Transparency: “May be delayed”

We’re on the cusp of knowing if the Trump administration plans on following through with its proposed tariffs set to be imposed on May 2nd. As you are no doubt aware by now, we have no idea where we stand with certain manufacturers, particularly those located in China, where the bulk of hobby-related products are still made. What is clear is that many of these companies will not be able to ship their products to the US if the proposed 145% tariff is, in fact, imposed as many fear. Faced with rising inflation costs, the consumer will tolerate only so much before moving on and purchase other items. Supposedly, the Trump administration is in talks with China over the tariff issue, but even if some sort of lesser tariff is agreed upon its unlikely companies will still be able to import their products into our country and hope to turn a profit, or have their products available for the holidays. Part of the problem has to do with neither side wanting to back down first and be perceived as caving to the demands of the other party. This “Blink-manship”, as I like to call it, will end up hurting both countries, ensnaring innocents on both sides until a fair and adequate resolution can be reached. Some have even referred to the stand-off as the first shots in a Sino-Taiwanese War, which many believe will eventually occur some time in the not-too-distant future.

For now, we’ve grouped the affected companies and their products into our web site’s October 2025 Upcoming Release section. Should anything change we will, of course, update this section and attempt to provide the most accurate information possible to our clientele to keep you informed and up-to-date so you can plan your purchases. We recognize that this isn’t the best course of action given the level of uncertainty permeating the market but its all we can currently do given our own situation. In the meantime, we are asking that you refrain from asking us about the expected arrival dates of these products since we simply have no idea about their fate. And, as a cautionary move, we believe that many of the products we do have in stock may see their prices rise as demand remains strong and supplies begin to dwindle. Food for thought if you have your eye set on anything marked as being in stock.

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Tales of Transparency: Hong Kong Joins in On the Tariff War

On Wednesday, Hong Kong announced that it was suspending package shipments to and from the United States, in a move seen by many as a way of sticking it to the current US administration and its escalating tariff onslaught. The decision came in response to Trump’s plan to “eliminate the so-called de minimis exception for items posted from the city to the US. The exemption applied to international shipments worth $800 or less entering the US.”

While the suspension will no doubt come as a shock to some buyers who routinely like to purchase items from Hong Kong sellers because of cheaper prices than their US counterparts, it will almost certainly harm Chinese sellers too who rely upon the service to get their products into the hands of US buyers. Needless to say savvy sellers will find ways around this obstruction such as first shipping their wares to Singapore and then on to the US, but the added cost of trans shipping may be enough to discourage their US customers from making further purchasing moves.

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Congrats to Calibre

Earlier this month, Calibre Wings finally announced the pre-order price for their upcoming 1:72 scale Convair B-58 Hustler bomber. Decked out in a shiny metal finish and packed in a handsome wooden display case with all sorts of accoutrements, the B-58 was one of those oft-mentioned projects that seemed to take forever to finally come to fruition. Fortunately it has and now the manufacturer reports that they have completely sold out of the 1,000-piece production run scheduled to hit the streets shortly. We had hoped to stock this item, but weren’t sure if we could lay our hands on any of the pieces based upon the current tariff situation that seems to be permeating every facet of our business.

Calibre has officially said that they plan to make other schemes for the B-58, so if you weren’t able to nab one of these specimens from the first run take heart because other versions aren’t far behind. And, in the mean time, we’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate Calibre Wings for not only having the chutzpah to make a model of this nature but to sell it out within weeks of it being announced. Bravo!

Update: A bit of good news for fans of Calibre Wings. We heard back from the Company on Tuesday morning, April 22nd. Turns out they are holding four (4) pieces of the B-58 Hustler for us. Our wholesale cost is right around the previously announced retail price so we’ve had to list it for quite a bit more to reflect our cost and overseas shipping charges which is significant considering that the model is packed in a heavy wooden box. Due to the cost and weight of this item, we will only be accepting domestic orders within the Continental US. Sorry, no shipments will be made to either Hawaii, Alaska or any US territory.

Needless to say, based upon heavy popular demand, we will list and offer the second version of the B-58 once information has been disseminated. A second variant is likely due some time in 2026.

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