Arma Hobby’s New Tool P-51A To Launch New Family of P-51A, A-36 Kits
Arma Hobby has announced the upcoming release of a new tool P-51A Mustang in 1/72 scale.
The P-51A was an early version of North American Aviation’s World War II fighter, first flown in February 1943. Unlike the later Merlin-powered Mustangs, it used a 1,200-horsepower Allison V-1710-81 engine, giving it strong low and medium-altitude performance but limiting its effectiveness at high altitude. Armed with four wing-mounted .50-caliber machine guns and able to carry bombs or external fuel tanks, it reached roughly 390 mph and served mainly in the China–Burma–India theater on fighter and escort missions. Only 310 were built before production shifted to the Merlin-powered versions that made the Mustang famous as a high-altitude bomber escort.
The upcoming release will be the first in Arma’s new family of kits covering the P-51A Mustang and A-36 Apache. As a scratch design using modern tooling, it will “bring a new standard of detail and buildability to the early Mustang in 1/72 scale.”
The first boxing will feature three USAAF marking options from different theatres of operation. It is slated for release in December. Check out the box art below.
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1962 Cessna P172D Powermatic Skyhawk For Sale: “Meticulously Maintained, Consistently Hangared”
A 1962 Cessna P172D Powermatic Skyhawk has been spotted for sale. The listing states (in part):
This 1962 Cessna P172D Powermatic Skyhawk is a distinctive factory-built, high-performance variation of the legendary Cessna 172, offering additional power, a constant-speed propeller, and an impressive maintenance history. Powered by a Continental GO-300-E engine producing approximately 175 horsepower… With only 2,875 hours of total airframe time and 203 hours since major engine overhaul, this Powermatic has been meticulously maintained and consistently hangared. The Continental engine was overhauled by Performance Aero Engines, and the aircraft is equipped with a McCauley constant-speed propeller. The most recent annual inspection was completed in September 2026, and the aircraft has complied with applicable airworthiness directives.
The aircraft is located in Tehachapi, California with offers currently being accepted. Click here to check out the eBay listing, which includes additional photos and details.
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Bomber Command to Royal Command: A Lancaster Pilot’s Journey from Bomber Raids to Civil Aviation Pioneer
Coming soon from Air World is From Bomber Command to Royal Command: A Lancaster Pilot’s Autobiography: Thousand Bomber Raid’s to Civil Aviation Trailblazer, which tells the story of Albert “Johnny” Meagher from his service flying dozens of missions over Germany through introducing the Bristol Britannia airliner into BOAC service and flying royalty.
Though he was in a reserved occupation, Albert Meagher, known to everyone as ‘Johnny’, volunteered for training as a pilot and was called up in July 1941. He duly completed his training as an RAF bomber pilot and joined the Avro Lancaster-equipped 61 Squadron in June 1942.
Johnny’s first operational sortie – an attack on Bremen – came on the 25th of the month. During the next six weeks Meahger’s crew attacked eleven more cities including Frankfurt, Munich, Kiel and the industrial targets in the Ruhr. On 16 January 1943, Bomber Command attacked Berlin, and for the raid the prominent American NBC reporter, Stan Richardson, was assigned to Meagher’s crew. After 34 sorties over Germany, it might be thought that Squadron Leader Meagher would have sought a less precarious posting. But nothing was further from his mind. Instead, he flew another 20 missions before finally leaving the frontline to become an instructor. Continue reading Bomber Command to Royal Command: A Lancaster Pilot’s Journey from Bomber Raids to Civil Aviation Pioneer
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First Look: Test Prints For MDesign’s Upcoming Farman F.40
MDesign has released the first test print images for their upcoming Farman F.40 in 1/32 scale.
The Farman F.40 was a French two-seat reconnaissance biplane introduced in 1915 during World War I, developed jointly by brothers Henri and Maurice Farman from their earlier designs. Its distinctive “pusher” layout placed the engine and propeller behind the crew, leaving the observer’s forward view unobstructed. Typically powered by a 130-horsepower Renault engine, it served in reconnaissance, artillery observation, and limited light-bombing roles with France and several other Allied air services. Rapid advances in fighter aircraft made it increasingly vulnerable, and by late 1916 it was considered obsolete on the Western Front, although it continued to serve elsewhere and as a trainer.
The recent report states that the model will incorporate engineering solutions such as the use of steel rods to reinforce the wing struts, landing gear structure, and open tail boom truss. This, combined with the use of a new type of resin, is expected to eliminate part deformation. Design work on the Renault engine and machine gun will be completed shortly and once post-processing of the parts is finished, test assembly will begin.
Click below to check out the new test print images.
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1962 Piper Comanche For Sale: “Zinc-Chromated Fuselage, Complete Logs”
A 1962 PA24-250 Piper Comanche has been spotted for sale. The listing states (in part):
Complete aircraft. It includes many desirables such as zinc-chromated fuselage (corrosion proofing), long-range fuel tanks, and electric flaps. Times are approximately 3,600 TT, 1,300 SMOH, and 900 SPOH. Excellent opportunity to bring a desirable Comanche 250 back to life. Complete airframe, engine, and prop logs. Known damage history of gear-up about 30 years ago (see logs). Stored since 2010. Will require inspection and recommissioning before flight… it does have complete logs.
The aircraft is located in Shelby, North Carolina and is currently available for bidding. Click here to check out the eBay listing, which includes additional photos and details.
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Tidal Wave: Highly Anticipated Saga of Courage and Survival in WW2 Now Available
Now available from NYT Bestselling author Adam Makos and Ballantine Books is Tidal Wave: The Pilots, the Princess, and the Enemy Ace – A True Story of Courage and Survival in WWII.
It’s summer 1943, and the world is on fire. Lieutenant Ernie Poulson, a twenty-two-year-old outdoorsman from Utah, finds himself at the controls of America’s most advanced bomber, the B-24, brought to North Africa for a top-secret mission. On the far side of Europe, Lieutenant Constantin Cantacuzino, Romania’s most daring ace, duels Soviet fighters on the Eastern Front while searching for purpose in an unwinnable war.
In Nazi-aligned Romania, Princess Catherine Caradja walks a perilous line between loyalty to her country and quiet defiance, as German forces dig in around the oil refineries in her backyard. And in the royal palace, twenty-one-year-old King Michael of Romania—mocked and sidelined by a Nazi-backed dictator—quietly plots to seize his nation’s destiny before it is lost forever. Continue reading Tidal Wave: Highly Anticipated Saga of Courage and Survival in WW2 Now Available
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Coming Soon: MiniArt’s Highly Detailed P-47N-2-RE Thunderbolt Advanced Kit
MiniArt will soon release a new P-47N-2-RE Thunderbolt advanced kit in 1/48 scale.
The P-47N-2-RE was a rocket-equipped modification of Republic’s long-range P-47N fighter: specifically, an early P-47N-1-RE retrofitted with underwing rocket-launching stubs rather than a separate new-production model. Developed for the vast distances of the Pacific during World War II, the P-47N featured enlarged, squared-tip wings with additional fuel capacity, enabling long-range missions including B-29 bomber escort. Powered by a turbo-supercharged Pratt & Whitney R-2800 radial engine producing up to 2,800 horsepower, it combined eight .50-caliber machine guns with bomb- and rocket-carrying capability, making it a heavily armed escort and ground-attack aircraft during the war’s final Pacific campaigns.
The upcoming release (48066) is described as “highly detailed” with realistic metal surface, fine rivet and panel details. It includes photo-etched parts and marking options for four aircraft. As of this writing, an exact release date has not yet been announced.
Check out box contents and livery profiles below.
Continue reading Coming Soon: MiniArt’s Highly Detailed P-47N-2-RE Thunderbolt Advanced Kit
1963 Beechcraft B33 Debonair For Sale: “Always Hangared, Fresh Annual”
A 1963 Beechcraft B33 Debonair has been spotted for sale. The listing states (in part):
This 1963 Beechcraft B33 Debonair combines classic straight-tail styling with updated avionics and a well-documented foundation for personal travel. Powered by a 260-horsepower Continental engine, this aircraft has 4,180 total airframe hours and 900 hours since engine overhaul. Cruise performance is 180 knots with a fuel burn of approximately 14.5 gallons per hour, making it an appealing choice for pilots seeking cross-country capability in a classic Beechcraft. The panel features a Garmin 430, dual Garmin G5 instruments, and a new autopilot, bringing modern navigation and flight instrumentation to this established airframe. The aircraft has always been hangared, has no damage history, and comes with a fresh annual inspection.
The aircraft is located in Richmond, Minnesota with offers currently being accepted. Click here to check out the eBay listing, which includes additional photos and details.
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New Book Compiles Air Combat Recollections From Pilots in Every Theater of WW2
Coming soon from Air World and author Martin Bowman is Voices in Flight: Squadrons Scramble!: RAF and Commonwealth Fighter Pilots of the Second World War, which offers air combat stories and follows fighter pilots scrambling under alarms, from southern England and Malta to the Blitz.
Feel your pulse race and your heart pound as you follow the pilots of The Few running for their aircraft as the alarms sound and the enemy attack for a second time on a day of glory and death over the sunny skies of southern England. Then, beyond the Spitfire Summer of 1940, how the RAF’s pilots scrambled to defy the enemy over the battered ruins of Malta, the George Cross Island, or to defend Britain at night during the blacked out months of the Blitz.
The prelude to D-Day, the disastrous raid on Dieppe was the scene of the RAF’s biggest air battle up to that point in the war, and Operation Overlord was shielded by the overwhelming aerial might of the 2nd Tactical Air Force. All these momentous events are told through the words of those pilots who fought in the unforgiving arena of the dogfight where a single moment can turn victory into defeat, life into certain death. Continue reading New Book Compiles Air Combat Recollections From Pilots in Every Theater of WW2
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Eduard Releases 1/32 Malcolm Hood P-51B/C Mustang Hybrid Kit With Resin, Plastic Parts
Eduard has released a new “Hybrid Edition” P-51B/C Mustang (Malcolm Hood) model kit in 1/32 scale.
The P-51B and P-51C Mustangs fitted with the Malcolm Hood were modified versions of the Merlin-powered, long-range Allied fighters used in Europe from late 1943. Their distinctive British-made, bulged Perspex canopy replaced the original framed, hinged cockpit hood with a rearward-sliding design, providing more headroom and improved sideways and rearward visibility while retaining the “razorback” fuselage. Fitted to many USAAF P-51B/Cs and RAF Mustang IIIs, the Malcolm Hood was a canopy modification rather than a separate production variant. Both types carried four .50-caliber machine guns and combined strong high-altitude performance with the range needed to escort bombers deep into Germany; the improved canopy helped pilots maintain situational awareness before the later P-51D introduced its characteristic bubble canopy.
Eduard’s new release (932013) includes Eduard plastic parts, PE parts, resin parts (cockpit, undercarriage bays, wheels, guns, exhausts), painting masks and Eduard decals with marking options for five aircraft.
Click here to buy the kit on eBay. Check out box contents and livery profiles below.
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