PMA Sallies Forth into the Desert

PMA’s British Long Range Desert Group Patrol Car – Sand or Sand/Blue Camouflage (1:72 Scale)

Precision Model Art (PMA) has been rather quiet of late and with good reason. It looks as though the Company has elected to hit the ground running on the hot desert sands of North Africa with their first ever take on the Long Range Desert Group patrol vehicle. Offered up in two paint schemes (P0325 and P0326), the LRDG vehicles come with removable bonnets and entrenching tools, making them ideal for dioramas or wargaming battles. Best of all, both vehicles are scheduled for a third quarter release, and will likely be joined with crew figures to give them an even more realistic look.

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Films in Focus: Operation Finale

Slated to open in US theatres in late August, Operation Finale tells the tale of the Israeli mission to capture the notorious Nazi henchman and architect of the Final Solution, Adolf Eichmann. The film stars Oscar Isaac as Peter Malkin and Ben Kingsley as Adolf Eichmann, with Lior Raz, Mélanie Laurent, Nick Kroll, and Joe Alwyn in supporting roles. The plot follows the story of the Jewish Nazi hunters as they set out to find and capture former SS officer Adolf Eichmann in 1960. Following his capture, Eichmann stands trial for his war crimes against humanity in Israel where he is later hanged.

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Anatomy of War: The UK’s Next Generation Fighter is Called the Tempest

In a bit of a surprise, the United Kingdom’s Defense Ministry announced that it was rolling out a brand new sixth generation fighter called Tempest. A twin-engine aircraft, the Tempest will fly in tandem with the RAF’s F-35 fighter, much like the US Air Force’s doctrine of pairing the F-22 with the F-35. At the press conference, little was discussed regarding the aircraft’s capabilities, but it likely rivals the USAF’s F-22 Raptor, meaning it will boast a minimal radar cross section, internal weapons bay, and integrated avionics suite as well as demonstrate supercruise flight characteristics. Other features being touted include cyber-resiliency and optional human piloting, meaning some versions may be designed with autonomy in mind and perhaps slaved to a control aircraft. Interestingly, the announcement comes just days after Russia announced that it was abandoning further work on the Suhkoi Su-57 and on the day of the Trump-Putin summit held in Helsinki, Finland. 

For more information on the announcement, visit UKDJ.

The Generational Divide: The Tempest, shown at the bottom of this three aircraft stack, flying alongside the RAF’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and Eurofighter

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Amazon’s Prime Day

Just a friendly reminder to indicate that Amazon’s Prime Day is this Monday, July 16th at 3PM EST and is scheduled to run for 36 hours. While it ordinarily costs money to join as a Prime member, you can sign up for their free trial membership, which is found on our Marketplace page, then cancel at any time without incurring any fees or penalties. And, while you’re at it, feel free to stop by our new Amazon web store and pick up an item or two.

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Eaglemoss “Cuts to the Chase” with a Couple of Bonus Starships

Eaglemoss’ Star Trek Federation Rick Sternbach’s U.S.S. Voyager Concept [With Collector Magazine]
Over the last couple of years, we’ve witnessed incredible success with several of Eaglemoss’ Star Trek exclusives. As a result, we’ve been waiting with baited breath over the next batch of “chase” starships, many of which are expected in the back half of 2018. Likely due our for Comic-Con is Rick Sternbach’s U.S.S. Voyager Concept, the first clean rendition of the curvy Voyager starship. First shown on June 16th, 1994, the Sternbach concept vehicle demonstrated how the smoothed hull could still be accented with interesting bits of Starfleet hardware.even if the nacelle placement was still being kicked around.

Eaglemoss’ Star Trek Klingon Bird-of-Prey (Landing Position) [With Collector Magazine]
Also due out in the next couple of months is a Klingon Bird-of-Prey, shown here in a landed position. The Klingon Bird-of-Prey was a type of warship utilized by the Klingon Empire that served the Klingon Defense Forces from the late 23rd century into the late 24th century. Typically we see it offered in a flying configuration, ready to do battle, so a ship with its defenses down and likely with its crew disembarked is a change of pace for Trekkies. 

Keep in mind that these bonus starships, which are not part of the standard starship range, sell very quickly and oftentimes command prices far in excess of their original asking price.

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Anatomy of War: Return of the Tank Destroyer and Death of the Su-57

Ever since the closing days of WWII, nations have eschewed the tank destroyer concept in favor of deploying fleets of main battle tanks that are designed to meet most military requirements on the modern battlefield. It was felt that the tank destroyer concept could just as easily be managed by battle tanks equipped with traversable turrets, thereby making them more versatile and less cumbersome to operate. And with the introduction of low-flying attack helicopters, the need for a dedicated tank destroyer was dubious at best.

Russia, however, sees things differently and plans to soon deploy a purpose-built tank hunter designed from the ground up to deal with two of the most feared pieces of armor in the western inventory – the M1 Abrams and Leopard 2 tanks. According to Defence Blog, “Since 2013, the KBP Instrument Design Bureau is developing a new long-range anti-tank missile system called the Kornet-D1. The Russian tank hunter is based on tracked chassis of the BMD-4M airborne combat vehicle.

Is expected that in 2018 the Russian Airborne Troops to receive first Kornet-D1 tank hunter to increase their ability to combat modern tanks on the battlefield.

The new tank hunter will able to destroy advanced and modern tanks fitted with explosive reactive armour, light-armoured vehicles, and fortifications. It is a simple and low-cost anti-tank missile system which has a range a range of up to 10 km.

Kornet-D1 is a laser-beam-riding system with a ‘fire-and-forget’ (*according to a press release of the KBP Instrument Design Bureau)capability that can penetrate explosive reactive armour and then penetrate 1,100-1,300 mm of conventional armour.”

Recently, Russia deployed their unmanned drone tank, the Uran-9, to Syria, to gauge its effectiveness in close quarter battles. The results were disappointing at best, oftentimes breaking down or maneuvering out-of-range of its handler, and many defense experts believe the vehicle was sent packing and is now undergoing further field testing before it can be deployed as a feasible weapons system.

In other news, Russia confirmed today that their Suhkoi Su-57 fighter — billed as a fifth-generation stealth fighter intended to take on the F-22 and F-35 — will not enter mass production as originally planned. Incorporating cutting edge radar technology that could be retrofitted onto other existing aircraft, military analysts believe that the Su-57 was a stealth fighter in name only, unable to overcome several design flaws to make it a match for either the F-22 or F-35. Twelve aircraft have been produced to date, and despite undergoing testing over the skies of Syria earlier this year, it never saw combat against a likely air-to-air opponent. India was supposed to accept the fighter into their own inventory but declined to do so recently and refused to pay for further testing and aircraft procurement. Without an export market and unable to compete with other fifth generation aircraft, the Su-57 was essentially doomed leaving Russia in the lurch and without an aircraft capable of staying apace with the West.

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Hobby Master Underscores Why its the Master

Hobby Master’s 1:72 scale USN Lockheed-Martin F-35C Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter – VFA-101 “Grim Reapers”, CAG Bird, 2013

Looking to build out a number of categories, add significant line extensions and provide imagery for many of its upcoming projects, Hobby Master showed off a wide array of new items due out later this year. Of note is their first ever F-35C variant of the Joint Strike Fighter (HA6201), which is a bit larger than either the A or B models and features reinforced landing gear aimed at withstanding the rigors of catapult launches and short-landing recoveries. On the ground, several new 1:72 scale military vehicles are being added to the roster, including a pair of late model Centurion tanks and a British Achilles tank destroyer wearing a flocked winter camouflage scheme (HG3422).

Hobby Master’s 1:72 scale British Achilles IIC Tank Destroyer – 75th Anti-tank Regiment, Royal Artillery, 11th Armoured Division, Belgium, Winter 1944-45 (1:72 Scale)

Many of the new products are earmarked for an October release, as well as several additions slated for a January fly-in.

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Films in Focus: Destroyer

No stranger to war films (Braveheat, The Patriot, We Were Soldiers, Hacksaw Ridge), Mel Gibson has picked up the directing baton once again to lead his next big budget film, Destroyer. Interestingly enough, Destroyer marks the second time he will return to Okinawa, the closing battle of WWII’s campaign in the Pacific in which the US Marines, Army and Navy paid a terrible price to wrest control of the island from the Japanese. His 2016 film, Hacksaw Ridge, about pacifist medic Desmond Doss’ heroic efforts to save wounded soldiers during the allied assault on the island received wide critical acclaim and was a commercial success. This time around, he’ll be manning the anti-aircraft guns aboard the USS Laffey (DD-724). Laffey, as USNI News points out, is famous for surviving a relentless attack by two dozen kamikaze aircraft while serving on radar picket duty early in the campaign to capture Okinawa. Laffey sustained substantial damage when it was struck by six planes and four bombs, yet was able to stay afloat and continue to fight.

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Forces of Valor Provides an Early Summer Update

We recognize that information coming out of the Forces of Valor camp has been a little sparse of late, so we’d like to share some news with you concerning the Company’s progress to date. Presently, they are putting the final touches on six different versions of the 1:72 scale CH-47 Chinook helicopter and have almost completed work on the packaging phase (front shown here). All six are expected to finish production by August with the SD version of the helicopter slated to be completed by September.

According to our contact, several 1:32 scale vehicles should be leaving Asia by September and will likely arrive in North America by October, barring any trade-related issues. These include the 88mm FLaK gun, the Sherman Firefly Vc medium tank, the Jagdpanther tank destroyer, Jagdtiger tank destroyer and finally the Elefant tank destroyer. Waltersons has indicated that they have developed a new method of weathering that gives each vehicle a more realistic appearance in line with many of the enthusiast edition vehicles released between 2003-2009. The balance of 2018 will see work continue on a number of other previously announced 1:32 scale projects as well as a bevy of 1:72 scale aircraft. Its not clear which items will be shown at the Nuremberg Toy Fair in February since the Company has already gone on record as having a wide array of products in the pipeline. 

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Anatomy of War: Dassault Hints at its 6th Generation Fighter

Heralding its legacy as a pioneer in both civil and military aviation, Dassault Aviation recently unveiled a slick video meant to underscore its past achievements and demonstrate why it too can build the ultimate sixth generation fighter. The video depicts a twin-engine stealth aircraft that will purportedly carry its ordnance internally, much like a F-22 or F-35 fighter. A tailless design with a cranked delta wing configuration, the aircraft will obviously feature stealthy attributes thereby giving it a first-look, first kill advantage over would-be opponents. Other than that, few details emerged from the video, other than to suggest that work has already begun and that both France and Germany will likely be its initial markets, thereby putting it in direct competition with other sixth generation designs being developed at Grumman, Boeing and Lockheed. Check out the video here:

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