Category: News

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HpH Announces Development of B-52H Stratofortress Model Kit in Massive 1/48 Scale

Following the release of their massive 1/48 B-36 Peacemaker, HpH Models has announced a new addition to their “extreme” model line in the form of a B-52H Stratofortress.

The kit will reportedly include fiberglass main assemblies, vacuum cast resin details and clear parts made of transparent resin. Also said to be included are photo-etched and metal parts, a wet transfer decal sheet and painting masks.

The kit (HPH 48052L) will contain a complete interior, undercarriage, open bomb bay and bomb racks with a basic armament fit. Extra accessories will also be released as separate sets that include a complete maximum payload of “steel bombs” (including their appropriate racks), ALCM cruise missiles (including the internal rotary launcher and external racks) and a huge landing flaps kit (it is necessary to order this kit simultaneously with the B-52 kit in order to prepare the basic wing parts for the flaps installation).

The kit is currently priced at 775 Euro (or about US$962) incl. VAT and is available for pre-order with an expected release in March 2019. A 40% cash advance (310 Euro) is required to get on the list of BUFF buyers, as this allows reportedly allows work on the kit to be accelerated.

Click below to check out additional images.

Continue reading HpH Announces Development of B-52H Stratofortress Model Kit in Massive 1/48 Scale

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“The People’s Mosquito” Awards Contract to Build, Test DH Mosquito RL249

An effort by Leicestershire-based charity The People’s Mosquito, Ltd. (TPM) to return a de Havilland Mosquito to UK skies has taken a major step forward with the announcement of a contract with East Sussex-based Retrotec, Ltd. to construct and test the machine.

The deal will provide Retrotec’s restoration experts with full access to TPM’s massive collection of Mossie engineering drawings and allow the aircraft to be to constructed in the UK. TPM Managing Director John Lilley states: Continue reading “The People’s Mosquito” Awards Contract to Build, Test DH Mosquito RL249

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Spitfire Mk V, Hispano Buchon Offered For Sale

Please Note: This is an archived post. The information presented here may not be current and the associated listing may no longer be active.

Westland Spitfire MK V EE602 (G-IBSY) and Hispano HA-1112-M1L Buchon (ME109 C4K) G-AWHH have hit the market.

The Spitfire was constructed by Westland in 1942 and served with 66, 129 and 453 Squadrons. It completed over 100 missions in WW2 and even escorted the famous B-17F “Memphis Belle.” The machine was painstakingly restored and finished in 129 Squadron markings. The airframe, propeller and Merlin engine have reportedly amassed only 30 hours since restoration and the aircraft is said to be supplied with a full CAA Permit to fly on its British civil registration.

The Merlin-powered Buchon, a licence-built Me 109G, was constructed in Tablada Seville in 1958 and served with the Spanish Air Force until 1965. In 1968, it participated in the filming of The Battle of Britain before being stored in Texas. It was shipped to Air Leasing in 2017 for restoration and will reportedly be completed by June. It will wear the colors of “White 9” flown by Uffz Edmund Roβmann of Luftwaffe III./JG 52 and, like the Spitfire, will reportedly come with a full CAA Permit to fly on its British civil registration.

Prices for each machine are said to be available on application. The full listing for the Spitfire is available here. The Buchon listing can be found here.

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Flyzone Announces Upcoming C-47, DC-3 RC Models

RC model manufacturer Flyzone has announced the upcoming release of C-47 and DC-3 micro RC model airplanes.

The models are said to offer smooth, stable flight characteristics and impressive micro scale looks. The C-47 variant is depicted in the colors of 42-100882 “Drag ’em Oot,” which participated in D-Day and now operates with Aero Legends of Kent, England. Meanwhile, the model representing the commercial DC-3 configuration is adorned with the colors of C/N 2268 (NC28391) of Eastern Air Lines.

Each model spans 23″ and will be available in RTF (Ready to Fly) versions complete with a Tactic 4-channel SLT radio system with built-in battery charger, 1S LiPo flight battery and 5 AA batteries.

Click below to check out promo videos for the upcoming releases.

Continue reading Flyzone Announces Upcoming C-47, DC-3 RC Models

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F-4 Phantom Arrives At New Home Following Community Effort

Following a community effort begun by two USAF veterans, F-4E-48-MC Phantom II 71-0247 has arrived at its new home in Grove, Oklahoma.

The aircraft performed its maiden flight in 1972 and went on to serve with the 4th, 52nd and 37th Tactical Fighter Wings, operating in North Carolina, Germany and California, respectively. The machine was retired from service in 1990 and was parked for a time in Arizona before being transferred to Holloman AFB in New Mexico, where it saw use as a ground trainer.

By 2017, the Phantom was awaiting donation through the GSAXcess SASP system, which prompted “Friends of the F-4 Phantom” and the Grove, Oklahoma city council to request the aircraft for use as a memorial for current and past members of the military.

The request was granted in April 2016 and last month Worldwide Aircraft Recovery began the process of relocating the Phantom to its new home. The move was completed on Wednesday, and the aircraft is now positioned on property donated by Ferra Aviation and located adjacent from its facility at Grove Municipal Airport.

Click below to check out photos of the relocation and display at the new site.

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Blue Sky Simulations Announces Spitfire FR.XIV For Flight Sim World

Following on their P-40F Warhawk, Blue Sky Flight Simulations has announced the upcoming release of a Spitfire FR.XIV for Dovetail’s new Flight Sim World.

The model represents a type powered by a Rolls Royce Griffon 65 engine, and is reportedly in the early stages of development. A time frame for completion has not yet been announced although a series of in-sim screenshots have been released, additional examples of which can be seen below.

Continue reading Blue Sky Simulations Announces Spitfire FR.XIV For Flight Sim World

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World’s Only Hispano HA-1112-M4L Offered For Sale

Please Note: This is an archived post. The information presented here may not be current and the associated listing may no longer be active.

After performing its first post restoration flight at Sywell Aerodrome in November, Hispano HA-1112-M4L S/N 40/2 (G-AWHC) has hit the market.

As previously reported, the aircraft is the only remaining example of the two-seat, dual control aircraft built by Hispano Aviación. Constructed in 1954, it served with the Spanish Air Force until the type was retired in 1965. Soon thereafter it became one of 27 Buchóns gathered by Hamish Mahaddie for use in the 1967 film The Battle Of Britain.

The production included input from WW2 aces Robert Stanford Tuck (RAF) and Adolf Galland (Luftwaffe) who reportedly went flying together in G-AWHC in order to “compare notes.” After filming was complete, the machine became part of Connie Edwards’ collection in Texas before being acquired by Air Leasing, Ltd. and relocated to the UK for restoration to airworthy condition.

The Merlin-powered machine is said to be “very attractive from an investment point of view” with “enormous potential as a revenue earner providing passenger flights to history and movie buffs alike (subject to authority approval).”

The HA-1112-M4L is currently available for $5,999,999. Click here to check out the complete listing.

(Top Photo via Sywell Aerodrome)

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Special Hobby Releases Photos of Fuselage Mold for Upcoming 1/32 Westland Whirlwind Kit

Special Hobby has released new photos of the galvanic molds for their upcoming 1/32 Westland Whirlwind model kit. The new images add on to previous mold photos released last year, this time showing the fuselage and small parts.

As previously reported, the molds are being created using an electroplating process, sometimes also known as galvanic deposition. The kit’s development has been talked about for some time in the modeling community, and although a timeframe has not yet been announced, its release is anxiously awaited.

The twin-engine single seat Whirlwind fighter-bomber was developed in the 1930s and went on to serve in WW2, where it saw use in a variety of roles including bomber escort and ground attack. It was eventually withdrawn from service in 1943 and succeeded by the Hawker Typhoon. No examples of the type exist today, although a full-scale reproduction is reportedly under construction.

Click below to check out the new mold images.

Continue reading Special Hobby Releases Photos of Fuselage Mold for Upcoming 1/32 Westland Whirlwind Kit

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A Two-Seat Hawker Hurricane is on the Horizon

Hawker Hurricane IIB G-HHII will reportedly be converted into a two-seater by UK-based Hawker Restorations, Ltd.

The aircraft was manufactured by the Canadian Car & Foundry Company in 1942 and served with the RCAF until 1944. It then passed through a succession of owners, including Tony Ditheridge of Hawker Restorations, who restored it to a fighter-bomber configuration in the markings of BE505 of 174 (Mauritius) Squadron. The machine was acquired by the Hangar 11 Collection in 2007 and performed its first post-restoration flight in 2009. After being offered for sale, the machine once again joined the Hawker Restorations family and performed a short flight from North Weald to its new home at Elmsett on January 19.

Warbird Lovers has reported that the modification to a two-seat configuration will take roughly a year, with the second seat being positioned behind the pilot’s seat with an elongated cockpit and canopy. It is said that the machine will retain its fighter-bomber appearance.

Future plans for the machine have not yet been announced. It is also unclear whether the conversion of G-HHII is related to the Hawker Restoration’s recently announced opportunity to own the “only two-seater Hurricane in the world.”

(via Warbird Lovers and Hawker Restorations, Ltd. Photo: Paul Nelhams via Wikimedia Commons)

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Tamiya Releases New Tool Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 Model Kit

Tamiya has released their new tool Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 model kit in 1/48 scale.

As previously reported, the G-6 (kit 61117) joins the E-3 and E-4/7 Trop stablemates in Tamiya’s 1/48 Aircraft Series and reportedly includes a complete engine, a cowling designed for open or closed display and marking options for for 9./JG54, 7./JG27 and 9./JG52 machines.

Product Page ($37.79)

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