Well, the first pix are in for Hobby Master’s forthcoming E-2C Hawkeye Advanced Early Warning Aircraft. Frankly, we think even the critics will be overcome with emotion, based upon the colorful motif and painstaking detail that has obviously gone into the making of this model.
Their first take on the Hawkeye is based upon a plane that flew with VAW-123 “Screwtops”, then embarked upon the USS Enterprise (CVN-65), as it conducted a tour of duty through the Atlantic Ocean, during October 2005 (#HA4801).
Cleared for takeoff in July, it looks like Air Force 1 will have its hands full trying to top this “screwtop”.
Presently, we are still on track to launch our site-wide Grand Re-Opening this Wednesday, June 10th. To mark the occasion, we will be kicking things off with a multi-day, 25% Off Grand Re-Opening Sale, which will only be good for items listed as being in stock. This sale will not include existing orders, pre-orders, back orders or special order merchandise, so it is important that your order meets this criteria to qualify for the discount. Non-qualifying items will either be deleted from the order or the order will be cancelled outright. This will be a first come, first served sale, so it is entirely possible that we could run out of merchandise in quick fashion and will not replenish the item(s) to meet the discount. In other words, no rain checks. The sale, as it now stands, will begin on Wednesday June 10th and end promptly on Sunday, June 21st, at 12AM PST. Enter code “NewStore” in the coupon box at checkout to redeem this sales discount. Should the store not be ready in time for the sale, we will alter the start and finish dates for the sale accordingly.
From a purely alpha-numeric stand point, the USAF is already well along in the design and development of its next long-range strike bomber (LRS-B), the B-3. In fact, right about now they are comparing the blueprints for both the Northrop-Grumman design as well as the one submitted by the competing Lockheed Martin-Boeing team, mulling over the proposed costs, military-industrial implications, capabilities of its adversaries and other factors to come up with the replacement for both the aging B-52 and B-1 bombers.
Slated to be about half the size of a B-2 Spirit stealth bomber and likely propelled by two F135 jet engines that power the F-35 joint strike fighter, the USAF’s LRS-B is scheduled to enter service in the mid-2020s, and therefore must meet the Air Force’s requirements for at least the next twenty years. Range, low observability, payload carrying capability, targeting and avoidance systems are fundamental to the new design, which some believe will resemble a smaller version of the B-2 and not entirely unlike a drone on steroids.
The LRS-B would likely be fitted with the soon-to-be deployed HELLADS (High Energy Liquid Laser Area Defense System). HELLADS can take down missiles, rockets and artillery shells without having to pause between shots to cool down – a problem associated with laser beam weaponry in the past. The HELLADS has a built in cooling system that allows it to fire rapidly in high intensity situations. It is still in testing, but estimates suggest that this game changing piece of defense weaponry will be in use within the next five years. A laser weapons system isn’t entirely out of the question either.
As college students by the thousands are graduating from university, it makes sense that Oxford would cash in on the educational theme, if you can call it that. As part of their ever-expanding History of Flight Collection, this British-based model maker intends to bring out a Percival Proctor radio trainer and communication aircraft for the new semester. Not an aircraft that instantly springs to mind amongst the aviation community, the Proctor is, nonetheless, an important aircraft within RAF circles, since it was developed from the Percival Vega Gull in response to Air MinistrySpecification 20/38 for a radio trainer and communications aircraft. To meet the requirement, the aircraft based on the Vega Gull had larger rear cabin windows and the fuselage was six inches longer. Modifications were made to the seats to enable the crew to wear parachutes, and other changes to enable a military radio and other equipment to be fitted. In early 1939 an order was placed for 247 aircraft to meet operational requirement OR.65.
Other new air and ground units were also announced by Oxford, so it may take another day or so before they are all up on our site.
Earlier today, we learned that four more Eaglemoss warships are pegged for an early June release. The four newbies include Imperial Japanese Navy Nagato Class Battleship – Mutsu (@EMGC13), Imperial Japanese Navy Tone Class Heavy Cruiser – Tone (#EMGC24), Imperial Japanese Navy Zuiho Class Light Aircraft Carrier – Zuiho (#EMGC29), and German Kriegsmarine Deutschland Class Heavy Cruiser – SMS Admiral Graf Spee (#EMGC40). All will likely sell out fast, each covering important subject matter and packed in their traditional bookcase packaging including a full-color magazine.
As an aside, we will not be stocking any of the warships in the series that come simply in the clam shell packaging without the accompanying literature or box. We have just a couple of the German U-Boats left in stock, so if you’re interested, now would be a good time to jump on them.
Ever since the dawning of the nuclear age, pundits have long claimed that the aircraft carrier has seen its due, a product of a bygone era that is no longer capable of defending itself against a litany of threats. If that were indeed true, then perhaps someone should discuss these conclusions with the Peoples Republic of China, Japan, India and Thailand, all of whom now posses an aircraft carrier of one sort or another.
While China is utilizing its first carrier, more-or-less, as a training platform and testbed for future aircraft designs such as the Shenyang J-31, they are currently building a more straightforward design, which includes the use of a catapult system and angled flight decks, and slated to get underway before 2020.
Other countries in the Pacific Rim and southern Asia are also seeking to expand their own capabilities despite the cost of building and operating a carrier. Like China, India has purchased an older Soviet Union-era aircraft carrier to serve as their operational fleet air arm, while quietly developing their own indigenous fleet of aircraft-carrying warships. Likewise, Japan, still prevented in part by its constitution to project power overseas, can transition its pair of carriers from carrying helicopters to US-made F-35B joint strike fighters.
Thailand still remains a bit of a mystery in the aircraft carrier equation, possessing a smaller and less capable warship bereft of any aircraft, due, in large part, to funding shortfalls. And, with Russia continuing to flex its muscles and threaten its neighbors around the world, it is perhaps only a matter of time before they get back into the aircraft carrier game with an entirely new design.
As the Peoples Republic of China continues to unnerve its neighbors in the South China Sea, the US has quietly been bolstering its southeast Asia allies, and, rather curiously, courted new ones some would never expect to see within the US sphere of influence. In his recent trip to Vietnam, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter agreed that “the US will provide $18 million to Vietnam to help procure coast guard patrol vessels, a first step in what Secretary of Defense Ash Carter hopes is a growing military relationship between those two countries”, according to Defense News.
This isn’t the first time that the US has peered over the spectacles of Communism and looked beyond its decades-long differences with a nation in order to shore up its other interests abroad. Currently, the US has begun the arduous task of normalizing relations with Cuba, has strengthened its ties to former Soviet controlled Baltic republics, stood with Ukraine and Georgia in their territorial disputes with Russia, and looked to bring other nations into the fold of NATO in the resource-rich Arctic region. As China continues to assert its influence over the South China Sea and the Spratly Islands, they have created a difficult diplomatic situation with Brunei, Vietnam, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan, while simultaneously transitioning the Peoples Liberation Army Navy from one of home waters defense to a blue water navy. Recently they concluded a joint exercise with Russian warships in the Mediterranean, underlying their growing allegiance with Russia and expanding role of its maritime forces.
Building upon the success of their Star Trek starship series, Eaglemoss has officially announced that their fourth special edition installment will be based upon a Klingon D4 Class Bird-of-Prey. Larger than the standard ships in the series, this one will come with a specially constructed display stand, box, full-color magazine and other paraphernalia that are designed to bring this issue to life. Priced at just $49.99, look for the Bird-of-Prey to swoop down on collectors this July.
While our designers are hard at work grafting our new responsive template onto our site, we thought it made sense to preview some of the new features being incorporated throughout the site. First off, we’re creating a brand new section called “Insterstellar Warfare”. Essentially, this is our Diecast Military Science Fiction section on steroids, which will discuss the genre as it relates to books, films and other related material. With Star Wars, Star Trek, Warhammer 40K, HALO and other brands expected to dominate the headlines for the next few years, we thought it made sense to give this genre its rightful due.
Also being work on is a brand new section called “War Stories”. While its name isn’t set in stone yet, the idea behind “War Stories” was something we always wanted to develop fully but never had the resources to flesh out. Here. we will be examining particular weapons systems, units, armies, etc. in detail, incorporating maps, videos, background histories et. al. from across the web. Hope you enjoy some of the new features headed your way.
Update: Currently, we anticipate rolling out the new site on Friday, June 5th. Stay tuned…
There doesn’t seem to be a week that goes by when we learn of more Fabbri military vehicles headed our way. This isn’t a bad thing; far from it, we love the line because it tackles subjects no one else has done and are priced at a paltry $11.99. Anyway, several new prosucts are expected in July, so here’s the run down: a French AMX Leclerc T5 Main Battle Tank in United Nations livery (#EMCV017), a Russian T-44 Medium Tank – Summer Camouflage (#EMCV018), a US M548A1 Tracked Cargo Carrier (#EMCV028). a Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces Type 90 Main Battle Tank (#EMCV029), a Russian 2S5 Giatsint Self-Propelled Gun (#EMCV034), and a British Centurion Mk.3 Main Battle Tank (#EMCV035). We regret that a number of photos show the product still in their blister packaging and will replace them once more suitable imagery becomes available.
