The Motor Pool – Blog – Page 156 – Pureveyors of Fine Diecast Collectibles

Russia Continues to Eye its Next Bomber

With the USAF set to announce its proposed Long Range Strategic Bomber (LRS-B) this September, Russia is continuing to develop plans for its own next-generation strategic bomber. Dubbed the Pak DA, the subsonic PAK-DA is destined to replace Moscow’s aging fleet of 63 Tu-95 Bear and 13 Tu-160 Blackjack strategic bombers.

According to the RIA Novosti, Russia’s Air Force commander insisted that the aircraft will be equipped with advanced electronic warfare systems and armed with new nuclear-capable long-range cruise missiles, and will be able to carry a wide array of conventional precision guided weapons.

With its flying wing shape and radar-evading capabilities, the new plane will enter production stage by 2020 with the first bomber in active service by 2025-2030 timeframe.

The PAK-DA will not be hypersonic (even if it will probably carry hypersonic missiles) as opposed to the American X-51, Falcon HTV-2 and other hypersonic development programs on which U.S.’s perspective strike capability will be based.

A supposed “sixth-generation” pilotless strategic bomber based on the PAK-DA could enter service around 2040-2050, provided Russia can afford its massively inflated defense budget put in place by President Vladimir Putin.

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Russia Takes First Steps to Militarize Space

According to The Diplomat, “Russia created a new military branch, the Aerospace Forces, by merging the Russian Air Force with the Russian Aerospace Defense Forces, TASS reports. The $60 billion reorganization appears to be a direct response to the perceived increased risk of NATO air and missile attacks on Russian soil — in particular, the United States military’s Global Strike program has the Kremlin worried.”

The change, which occurred on August 1st, is being officially called the Aerospace Forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. “The Aerospace Forces will be subdivided into the air force, air and missile defense troops, and space forces,” claims The Diplomat. And, according to Russia’s defense minister, Sergey Shoigu, “Now the single command unites aviation, air defense and anti-missile defense troops, space forces and means of the armed forces’”

The new service branch will be responsible for launching and operating intelligence/nuclear missile warning satellites, as well as coordinating air and missile defenses, next to having control over one of the largest air forces in the world along with its conventional weapons arsenal. Russia’s Strategic Rocket Forces will remain a separate service branch and will continue to control all of Russia’s land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, will remain a separate entity directly under the orders of the General Staff.

Back in May, former President of the Soviet Union, Mikhael Gorbachev, said that if the United States developed space-based weapons, the price could be not only an end to the Geneva talks, but “the scrapping of every prospect for an end to the arms race.” Apparently, members of the Russian military took note of his comments, and initiated steps that could conceivably begin to see advanced military projects enter the realm of space, in an effort to keep up with western initiatives.

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The Museum of American Armor

In the “duh, we had no idea this was in our backyard department,” we just learned about the existence of The Museum of American Armor. Located on the grounds of Old Bethpage Village, Long Island, right near the American Airpower Museum at Republic Airport, the Museum houses several dozen pieces of military hardware, and recently received a USMC LVT “Buffalo” from the estate of a deceased collector.

The Museum of American Armor in New York www.museumofamericanarmor.org is acquiring a rare World War II era LVT (Landing Vehicle Tracked) “Buffalo” amphibious assault vehicle from Thea Kronlund as part of a joint decision to create a permanent living tribute to her late husband and armor collector, Mr. Kevin Kronlund, and his leadership in keeping alive our nation’s military heritage.

Mrs. Kronlund stated, “On the eve of Kevin’s death the Museum of American Armor acquired his Long Tom cannon and M 4 artillery tractor for the purpose of making it a cornerstone of the museum’s armor collection on Long Island. Over the passage of time the museum has made repeated references to Kevin’s legacy when visitors come to tour their facility. Given that the museum is located within one of the largest veterans populations in the United States and some 35 miles from Manhattan, we thought his LVT would be an appropriate means to create a lasting tribute to Kevin’s legacy that would be appreciated by many.”

According to their web site, “visitors will walk through the museum’s camouflaged front doors that have been heavily sandbagged similar to the way important bunkers were protected some 70 years ago. Inside, a gift shop and administrative office will occupy a modest amount of space as the bulk of the building will be devoted to the display of some 30 vehicles. Half a dozen times a year, and in coordination with OBVR programming, these vehicles will be presented in the field or on the Village’s country roads as living historians offer displays on WW II tactics.”

For more information about the museum and its semi-regular events, you can visit their web site: http://museumofamericanarmor.com/

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Props to (and from) Air Force 1

Earlier this week, we posted a slide comparing the upcoming Air Force 1 Northrop-Grumman E-2C Hawkeye AEW aircraft against the one proposed by Hobby Master. While we didn’t catch it previously, we did notice that the Air Force 1 version featured four propellers on each of the engines, while the Hobby Master replica showed eight. We queried the distributor regarding this glaring difference between the two aircraft and they indicated that the Air Force 1 version will ship as is, but will also include a second set of 8-bladed propellers. Wikipedia explains why the changes were made:

“In 2004, the E-2C’s propeller system was changed; a new eight-bladed propeller system, named NP2000, was developed by the Hamilton-Sundstrand company to replace the old four-bladed design. Improvements included reduced vibrations and better maintainability as a result of the ability to remove prop blades individually instead of having to remove the entire prop and hub assembly. The system had previously been used in the C-130 Hercules, which also uses the T-56 engine, to great effect. However, one major difference between the C-130J and the E-2C is that the C-130J uses a six-bladed propeller. The E-2C needed to use a new eight-bladed configuration in order to maintain harmonic compatibility with the electronics that were designed for a four-bladed propeller. The propeller blades are of carbon fiber construction with steel leading edge inserts and de-icing boots at the root of the blade.”

Frankly, kudos go to Air Force 1 for including both sets of propeller configurations, which take into account the changes made to the aircraft design in 2004. Its these types of details that go a long way towards making the collector happy with their purchase, much like Hobby Master’s fix for its radome oversight which came to light a few weeks ago.

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Russia’s Mistrial with the Mistral

When Russian forces moved into neighboring Ukraine last year, France suspended the sale of two completed helicopter assault ships it had built for the Russian Navy. Undaunted, Russia now plans to build several ships of its own, according to their St. Petersburg navy design bureau, one intended to be larger, faster and more heavily laden than the French built Mistral warship. Dubbed Lavina (‘Avalanche’), the new ship, which is scheduled for completion by the end of this decade, “will have a full load displacement of 24,000 tons, as opposed to 21,300 tons for the French-designed ship. It will also have a maximum speed of 22 knots, compared to 19 knots for the Mistrals.

Just like the Mistral, Lavina will house 16 helicopters, about 50 armored vehicles (about 10 fewer than the French amphibious assault vessel) and a potential six smaller boats, as opposed to the Mistrals’ four. All figures are likely rough estimates, with numerous variables, and it is unclear how advanced the Lavina blueprints are at the current stage. ”

Other helicopter carriers are also in development, including the Priboy, a 14,000-ton helicopter carrier, capable of transporting 16 attack helicopters, and previously announced by Nevsky Design Bureau, another leading St. Petersburg design bureau.

According to Russia Today, “the Yantar shipyard also reportedly began construction of a smaller Ivan Gren-class assault vessel, which the Navy said would be ready by 2018.”

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Eaglemoss Orders General Quarters for the HMS Hermes

At the outset of the War in the Pacific in 1941, the Allies were woefully unprepared to take on the Imperial Japanese Navy operating in the Indian Ocean and western Pacific waters. One of the victims of the Japanese centrifugal offensive was the British aircraft carrier, HMS Hermes (95), which was sunk by Japanese dive-bombers on April 9th, 1942, after setting sail without its complement of aircraft on board.

Happily, Eaglemoss rendition of this venerable warship will feature some of its warplanes deployed on its flight deck, with the ship resplendent in a tropical tri-color camouflage pattern. Look for their newest entry in the Warships of the World Collection some time later this year.

On a related nautical note, four warships are expected to drop anchor at our port in early August. The list includes IJN battleship Musashi (EMGC04), IJN heavy cruiser Furutaka (EMGC27), IJN destroyer Fubuki (EMGC39), and the Marine Nationale battleship Dunkerque (EMGC43), the first French warship in the series.

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Luft-X Heads Back to the Drawing Board

The fundamental mission behind the creation of Luft-X is to offer up several of the more exotic aircraft that was under development by the Luftwaffe at the closing stages of WWII. It is therefore a tad ironic that their upcoming Horten Ho 229 fighter-bomber is being wheeled back to its hangar for a new coat of paint, one that is more in keeping with its historic roots and color plates. The new scheme has an earthy look to it (see above), likely treated so it could blend in with trees and other fauna if it was to operate from roadways and rural areas, while its original scheme had a more dazzling look to it (see below).

Their next pair of aircraft are expected in mid August.

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Russia Hosts an Armored Olympics

Just when you think you’ve heard it all comes news that Russia is in the midst of hosting a military biathalon – an Olympics for tankers – complete with gold covered combat vehicles for the winners. More information can be found here:

http://www.rt.com/news/169084-tank-biathlon-winners-gold/

2453016 06/25/2014 BMD-4M armored infantry fighting vehicles and T-72B tanks during Tank Biathlon 2014 competition held at the shooting range of the 2nd Guards Motor Rifle Tamanskaya Division in Alabino village. Kirill Kallinikov/RIA Novosti

Thirteen nations are competing including the Chinese, who are using their own vehicles to participate.

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Corgi Gets Swept Away by a Typhoon

Long asked for but never truly addressed, Corgi finally has a pair of Eurofighter Typhoons scheduled to attack the diecast community.

Two versions of the multirole fighter are expected later this year – one paying tribute to a warbird that participated in “Operation Ellamy” to bring down the Lybian regime in 2011 (AA36406) and the other paying homage to the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain (AA36407). Both look quite handsome and make great additions to anyone’s aviation collection.

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PMA Gets Comfortable in Its Own Skin

Long serving as the manufacturing arm for Blitz 72, PMA has stepped out of the shadows and is now producing its own line of 1:72 scale military hardware. Expected in September is this Sd. Kfz. 8 DB9 prime mover which mounts a FlaK 18 88mm anti-aircraft gun on the rear bed. Painted in a whitewashed camouflage scheme and bearing loads of incredible detail, this main stay of the Wehrmacht fills a niche long neglected by the other model makers.

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