Hobby Master’s 1:72 scale notional examination of a Ukrainian General Dynamics F-16C Viper Fighter
With Chinese New Year just a scant two weeks away, it appears as if Hobby Master is cranking up its production line and passing along imagery for many of its upcoming products. Keep in mind that Chinese New Year runs from February 10th-24th, so its important they get a head start on its spring line up if they are to meet their monthly production goals. We expect additional product photos will be provided as the holiday draws nigh as well as gain a clearer sense as to when their February models are due to reach the market place.
Of particular note is this upcoming F-16 Viper currently being flown by a cadre of Ukrainian pilots in Arizona and elsewhere ahead of their deployment and use in eastern Europe. The Ukrainian air force has repeatedly used this type of digitized camouflage scheme on other aircraft so its a good bet that this notional scheme will don their aircraft once they have completed training and returned home.
Hobby Master’s 1:72 scale US Navy Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet Strike Fighter – VF-102 “Diamondbacks”, Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan, 2005
Per Hobby Master’s MAP guidelines, we will be removing any price restrictions on all of the July 2023 Hobby Master arrivals. The price for each item has been reduced to their regular selling price and you may now apply any discounts we offer towards the purchase of these items. This process will recur on the first of every month in compliance with their updated MAP pricing program. You can tell if an item is no longer MAP protected if the blue MAP seal that appears alongside its image and just below its price has been removed. In effect, a retailer is no longer bound by the 6-month introductory MAP restriction policy and can sell the item for whatever price they deem appropriate.
On November 27th, 1957, four USAF pilots of the 363rd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing successfully completed Operation Sun Run by establishing three new transcontinental speed records in a McDonnell RF-101C aircraft. The record-breaking mission showcased the speed and range of the RF-101C, an improved version of the first supersonic photo reconnaissance aircraft, the RF-101A.
Operation Sun Run called for six RF-101C aircraft — two to fly round-trip from Los Angeles to New York and back again, two for the one-way flight from Los Angeles to New York, and two for backups if problems arose with the four primary aircraft. The undertaking required massive coordination of aircraft crews and radar and weather stations from coast to coast.
Six pilots of the 17th and 18th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadrons of the 363rd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing were chosen for Operation Sun Run. Each prepared for the round-trip flight, since they would not know which flight they were assigned until a few days before the operation. All six pilots had extensive experience in photo reconnaissance aircraft, although the RF-101 was relatively new to Tactical Air Command.
The success of Operation Sun Run also depended on the performance of the newly available KC-135 Stratotanker, the USAF’s first jet tanker. The KC-135’s speed allowed the RF-101s to refuel at an altitude of 35,000 feet and a speed of Mach 0.8. Crews from Strategic Air Command and Air Force Research and Development Command prepared for the 26 re-fuelings the Operation Sun Run RF-101Cs would require.
The so-called “Sun Run” RF-101C Voodoo reconnaissance aircraft is now in stock and ready for immediate shipment.
Hobby Master’s 1:56 scale German Sd. Kfz. 181 PzKpfw VI Tiger I Heavy Tank – “Red 131”, schwere Panzerabteilung 504, Medjed el Bab, Tunisia, North Africa, April 1943
When Hobby Master first came to the fore in 2006, one of their earliest offerings was a set of 1:56 scale Tiger I heavy tanks. Although a somewhat strange scale as far as collecting military vehicles go, the Tiger was soon followed up by a 1:56 scale Abrams tank, a slightly larger array of 1:48 scale King Tigers and Shermans, and lastly a long and ever evolving littany of 1:72 scale military vehicles. While a bit surprising that they would return to the 1:56 scale regime some 18 years later, this tank, in and of itself is rather special since it was captured by the British forces and is currently the only operational Tiger I heavy tank, trotted out regularly by Britain’s Tank Museum for all the world to see. But first its pedigree…
Although the Allies had become aware of a powerful new German heavy tank from its introduction on the Eastern Front in September 1942, British and Commonwealth forces would not encounter the mighty Tiger I until the final stages of the battles to capture Tunis in April 1943.
Schwere Panzerabteilung 504 was the second Tiger unit to be sent to Tunisia. It was issued 25 PzKpfw III plus two Panzerbefehlswagen Tiger in January, and 18 Tigers, comprising the battalion staff, workshop company, while the 1st tank company arrived in Tunisia on March 12th, 1943. Interestingly, the 2nd company remained in Sicily to help defend the island should Tunisia fall to the advancing Allid armies. The tank company had four platoons, each with two Tiger I tanks and two Pzkpw III support tanks. All of schwere Panzerabteilung 504’s Tigers were destroyed or captured. The surviving elements surrendered on May 12th, 1943.
During heavy fighting around Guriat el Atach, in Tunisia, one Tiger tank was abandoned by its crew and captured by British troops, who defended their impressive prize until it could be recovered and repaired. Highlighting the significance of this acquisition, Tiger “131” was later inspected by both King George VI and Winston Churchill and would become the most famous fighting vehicle in the world.
As it currently stands, look for Hobby Master’s newest 1:56 scale Tiger I to hit the hot desert sands of North Africa this summer. Its big, heavy in the hand and a fitting tribute to both the Panzerwaffe that operated the vehicle as well as the British forces tasked with its capture.
Hobby Master’s 1:48 scale German Messerschmitt Bf 109F-4 “Friedrich” Fighter – Oberleutnant Otto Kath, Stab/Jagdgeschwader 54 “Grunherz”, Staraya, Russia, December 1941
Jagdgeschwader 54 (JG 54) “Grunherz” (Green Hearts) was a Luftwaffe fighter wing during the Second World War. It was known as the Green Hearts Wing, and was the second highest scoring wing of all time, JG 52 being the highest. JG 54 flew on the Eastern Front, racking up over 9,600 kills, with aces such as Walter Nowotny, Otto Kittel, Freiherr Peter Grunhertz, Hans “Phips” Philipp, Gunther Lutzow, Emil “Bully” Lang (Lang holds the record for most kills in a day,18), Max-Hellmuth Ostermann, Dietrich Hrabak, Werner Schroer and Hannes Trautloft being the most famous Experten.
Having enjoyed initial success over the Channel and South-east England during the summer of 1940, the unit was transferred to the Eastern Front in the spring of 1941 for Operation Barbarossa – the German invasion of the Soviet Union. JG 54 would remain a Jagdwaffe stalwart in the east, flying firstly Bf 109Fs and then the Fw 190.
JG 54 was known for its non-standard camouflage schemes. For example, Bf-109F-4’s on the Leningrad front 1941-42 were painted in black-green/dark-green splinter finish with yellow under cowling and under the wing tips.
JG 54 was assigned to Army Group North during Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of Soviet Union on June 22nd, 1941 as part of the Luftwaffe’s Luftflotte 1. From the first days of the conflict, the unit proved to be one of the most effective units of the entire eastern front. June 30th was one of its most successful days of the entire war: JG 54 claimed no less than 65 kills (mostly bombers without fighters escort) over the town of Daugavpils. The “Grunherz” pushed on, still supporting Army Group North, towards the Gulf of Finland, fighting through Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. JG 54’s operations for 1941-43 had a twofold objective: to keep the pressure on the Leningrad sector, and to reduce Soviet pressure on the Lake Ilmen area at the German flank. The Geschwader remained on that part of the Eastern Front for most of its existence. In the period June 22nd – December 5th, 1941, the unit destroyed 1,078 Soviet aircraft in return for 46 losses in aerial combat and a single fighter on the ground. Such was the pace and scale of fighting that JG 54 celebrated its 1,000 kill on August 1st, 1941, thanks to Lieutenant Max-Hellmuth Ostermann.
Hobby Master’s latest 1:48 scale release, a Messerschmitt Bf 109F-4 “Friedrich” Fighter that was piloted by Oberleutnant Otto Kath, is now in stock and ready for immediate shipment.
Per Hobby Master’s MAP guidelines, we will be removing any price restrictions on all of the June 2023 Hobby Master arrivals. The price for each item has been reduced to their regular selling price and you may now apply any discounts we offer towards the purchase of these items. This process will recur on the first of every month in compliance with their updated MAP pricing program. You can tell if an item is no longer MAP protected if the blue MAP seal that appears alongside its image and just below its price has been removed. In effect, a retailer is no longer bound by the 6-month introductory MAP restriction policy and can sell the item for whatever price they deem appropriate.
Ever since man took up arms against his fellow man, humankind has sought out ways to gain the upper hand in battle. In the case of cloaked or stealth aircraft, a number of nations have attempted to develop ways to detect that which is supposedly “un-seeable”, or at least get a better understanding of what they are confronting in the modern battlespace so that measures can be brought to bear to unravel their advantages.
One of the latest developments arising from the so-called “stealth wars” is IRST. An infrared search and track (IRST) system (sometimes known as infrared sighting and tracking) is a method for detecting and tracking objects which give off infrared radiation, such as the infrared signatures of jet aircraft and helicopters.
IRST is a generalized case of forward looking infrared (FLIR), i.e. from forward-looking to all-round situation awareness. Such systems are passive (thermographic camera), meaning they do not give out any radiation of their own, unlike radar. This gives them the advantage that they are difficult to detect.
However, because the atmosphere attenuates infrared to some extent (although not as much as visible light) and because adverse weather can attenuate it also (again, not as badly as visible systems), their range compared to a radar is limited. Within range, an IRST’s angular resolution is better than radar due to the shorter wavelength.
To date, Hobby Master has done an admirable job of modeling some of the latest experimental aircraft still undergoing testing by the USAF, all in an effort to once again gain the upper hand in aerial warfare. Their “chrome” covered F-22s sold out almost the moment they became available and are now commanding prices well in excess of their introductory price. That said, the USAF is conducting field testing of other experimental aircraft, eventually choosing the best means of protecting their aircraft in combat for the foreseeable future. The so-called “symbiote” F-22 represents another step towards remaining stealthy in aerial combat.
Nicknamed “Disco” or Symbiote F-22, the new Raptor with a reflective coating has been one of the highlights for the photographers gathered outside Nellis Air Force Base for Red Flag 22-2.
A second F-22 with a mirror-like coating has been spotted flying out of Nellis AFB, Nevada. As already explained, the new coating on this second stealth aircraft appears to be much different than the one on the Raptor [IDed as airframe #04-4065] that made its first appearance in November 2021: it features smaller, mirror-like tiles applied on the nose section, weapons bay doors, fuselage and also inner and outer face of the twin tails.
Hobby Master is already hard at work developing a model based upon the symbiote scheme. While pre-production photos are still a couple of months off, the manufacturer did release a four-sided illustration that ably demonstrates the look of their newest F-22. It is our belief that HA2828, as it is currently known, will instantly become a hit when it is released in 2024, and become hard to get in the after market. That said, there’s still time to pre-purchase this model before it flies off for the great blue yonder.
Hobby Master’s 1:72 scale US Navy North American RA-5C Vigilante Strike Bomber – 150834/604, RVAH-13 “Bats”, USS Kitty Hawk (CVN-63), 1966 [Experimental SEA Camouflage Scheme]
In Greek mythology, Ganymede is a divine hero whose homeland was Troy. Homer describes Ganymede as the most beautiful of mortals and tells the story of how he was abducted by the gods to serve as Zeus’s cup bearer in Olympus.
Like Ganymede, the North American RA-5C Vigilante strike bomber was one of the most beautiful aircraft to ever serve in the US Navy’s arsenal, swept up from its original purpose to serve in a completely different role.
Despite being designated by the US Navy as a “heavy”, the A-5 was surprisingly agile for such a large aircraft. Without the drag of bombs or missiles, even escorting fighters found that the clean airframe and powerful engines made the Vigilante very fast at high and low altitudes. However, its high approach speed and high angle of attack in the landing configuration made returning to the aircraft carrier a challenge for inexperienced or unwary pilots.
Given its original design as a carrier-based, supersonic, nuclear heavy attack aircraft, the Vigilante’s main armament was carried in a novel “linear bomb bay” between the engines in the rear fuselage, which provided for positive separation of the bomb from the aircraft at supersonic speeds. The single nuclear weapon, commonly the Mk 28 bomb, was attached to two disposable fuel tanks in the cylindrical bay in an assembly known as the “stores train”. A set of extendable fins was attached to the aft end of the most rearward fuel tank. These fuel tanks were to be emptied during the flight to the target and then jettisoned with the bomb by an explosive drogue gun. The stores train was propelled rearward at about 50 feet per second (30 knots) relative to the aircraft. It thereafter followed a typical ballistic path.
In practice, the system was not reliable and no live weapons were ever carried in the linear bomb bay. In the RA-5C configuration, the bay was used solely for fuel. On three occasions, the shock of the catapult launch caused the fuel cans to eject onto the deck resulting in one aircraft loss.
Hobby Master’s first set of Vigilantes has been out-of-stock for some time, neglected, some say, in favor of other more popular aircraft. Nevertheless, December marks the return of the Vigilante and a fitting tribute to any aviation enthusiast’s pantheon of diecast warplanes.
Hobby Master’s 1:48 scale German Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6 “Gustav” Fighter – “Christl”, Gerhard Barkhorn, II./Jagdgeschwader 52, Ukraine, September 1943
Per Hobby Master’s MAP guidelines, we will be removing any price restrictions on all of the April 2023 Hobby Master arrivals. The price for each item has been reduced to their regular selling price and you may now apply any discounts we offer towards the purchase of these items. This process will recur on the first of every month in compliance with their updated MAP pricing program. You can tell if an item is no longer MAP protected if the blue MAP seal that appears alongside its image and just below its price has been removed. In effect, a retailer is no longer bound by the 6-month introductory MAP restriction policy and can sell the item for whatever price they deem appropriate.
“In the fight of his life, Royce Williams had accomplished what no other American fighter pilot would ever accomplish: shoot down four MiG-15s in one fight.”
– Thomas McKelvey Cleaver, author of Holding the Line
Hobby Master’s 1:48 scale US Navy Grumman F9F-5 Panther Fighter – Captain Royce Williams, “Actions Speak Louder than Medals”, VF-781 “Pacemaker”, USS Oriskany (CV-34), November 1952
In 1952, then-Lieutenant Williams was serving with VF-781 aboard the USS Oriskany (CV-34) as part of Task Force 77. On November 18th, 1952, on his second mission of the day, while on combat air patrol near Hoeryong, North Korea, his group of four pilots spotted seven MiG-15s overhead. The other three pilots had to return to the carrier and the MiGs began to fire on Williams, putting him into a one-man dogfight with seven MiG-15s that lasted 35 minutes. It is believed to be the longest dogfight in U.S. Naval history. Commanders on his carrier ordered him away, but Williams had to tell them that he was already fighting for his life. He shot down four of the MiGs and likely hit two others. By the end of the 35-minute engagement, only one of the MiGs was still in the air with him, and he managed to escape back to his carrier, out of ammunition and having lost his hydraulics. He was uninjured, but 263 holes were counted in his Panther jet. He never saw the plane again; reportedly, it was pushed into the sea.
The US Navy’s record of the November 1952 incident said only that Williams had shot down one enemy (not listed as “Soviet”) plane and damaged another, for which he was awarded the Silver Star in 1953. However, the dogfight was recorded in Soviet archives which were released after the fall of the Soviet Union in the 1990s. The Soviet records confirmed that of the seven MiGs, only one returned to its base. A 2014 Russian book, Red Devils over the Yalu: A Chronicle of Soviet Aerial Operations in the Korean War 1950-53, reported the battle and named Williams. The four MiGs were flown by Soviet Naval Aviation pilots, with Captains Belyakov and Vandalov, and Lieutenants Pakhomkin and Tarshinov being shot down. In his book Holding the Line about Task Force 77, Thomas McKelvey Cleaver described the fight, saying “On November 18th, 1952, Royce Williams became the top-scoring carrier-based naval aviator and the top-scoring naval aviator in a Navy jet of the ‘forgotten war’.” He added, “In the fight of his life, Royce Williams had accomplished what no other American fighter pilot would ever accomplish: shoot down four MiG-15s in one fight.”
Williams’ battle with the Soviet-piloted MiGs led to him being debriefed at the time by admirals, the Secretary of Defense, and a few weeks later by newly inaugurated President Dwight D. Eisenhower. These authorities made a decision to cover up the specifics of the battle, because at that time the Soviet Union was not officially a combatant in the Korean War and it was feared that publicity about the air battle would draw the Soviets further into the conflict. The dogfight was scrubbed from U.S. Navy and National Security Agency records, and Williams was sworn to secrecy about the incident – so much so that he never told anyone about it, not even his wife nor his pilot brother, until the Korean War records were declassified in 2002.
Two versions of Williams’ F9F-5 Panther fighter are scheduled to take to the skies in November.
