Category: News

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First Look: Sword Models’ AF-2W Guardian “Hunter” Test Build

Sword Models has released the first test build photos for their new tool AF-2W Guardian “Hunter” model kit in 1/72 scale. The company is also developing an accompanying AF-2S Guardian “Killer” kit.

As previously reported, the Grumman AF-2W Guardian “Hunter” and AF-2S Guardian “Killer” were a paired U.S. Navy anti-submarine warfare system in which the AF-2W carried the search radar and detection gear in a large ventral radome, while the AF-2S carried the weapons load such as torpedoes, depth charges, bombs, and rockets. Flown together as hunter-killer teams beginning in 1950, they were the Navy’s first purpose-built carrier-based ASW aircraft, but their size and poor low-speed handling made them accident-prone, and they were soon replaced by the more efficient S2F Tracker.

The kits (SW72162 and SW72163) include plastic parts, painting masks and decals with two marking options per variant. Regarding the new test build images, Sword states:

I am also attaching 2 pictures with warnings during construction. It’s different in the instructions.I recommend for the SF-2W version first assembling half of the fuselage and radar and then gluing the entire fuselage together.

Check out additional images below.

Continue reading First Look: Sword Models’ AF-2W Guardian “Hunter” Test Build

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1995 Mooney M20M TLS Bravo For Sale: “New Paint, Needs Nothing”

A 1995 Mooney M20M TLS Bravo has been spotted for sale. The listing states (in part):

For sale 1995 Mooney M20M TLS Bravo. BRAND new 2025 Paint job with ceramic coating. Garmin/Avidyne Panel with Coupled Bendix King Autopilot. Low time and engine and prop, this airplane needs nothing except a new owner to bring her home. Times subject to change as owner flies regularly!

The aircraft is located in Louisville, KY and is currently available for bidding. Click here to check out the eBay listing, which includes additional photos and details.

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Operation Amherst: The Last Airborne Operation of WWII

Coming soon from Pen and Sword Military and authors Joël Stoppels and Harold de Jong is Operation Amherst: The Last Airborne Operation of WWII, which covers the final airborne operation of WWII, detailing French paratroopers’ landings, rapid combat in Drenthe and Friesland, and subsequent liberation efforts in Groningen and beyond.

In preparation for the liberation of the northern part of the Netherlands, Operation Amherst was launched on the night of 7 to 8 April 1945. This last airborne operation of the Second World War was carried out by 702 French (SAS) paratroopers. The fighting developed quickly after the landings in the province of Drenthe and a part of southeast Friesland. Canadian and British forces would then engage in the liberation of Groningen and the Westerbork concentration camp, and the elimination of the Delfzijl Pocket.

The 224 page hardcover book is currently available for pre-order with release set for October 30.

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Hobby Boss to Release New F4U-5N Corsair [Late] Night Fighter Model Kit

Hobby Boss is reportedly preparing to release a new F4U-5N Corsair [Late] Night Fighter model kit in 1/48 scale.

The F4U-5N Corsair [Late] is a radar-equipped night-fighter version of the ultimate piston-engine Corsair, the F4U-5, featuring a longer nose, all-metal wings, a raised cockpit, and a 2,450 hp Pratt & Whitney R-2800-32W engine that made it the fastest carrier-based piston fighter (about 462 mph). Carrying an AN/APS-19 radar pod on the right wing, flame-dampened exhausts, and four 20 mm cannons, it traded a bit of performance for night operations but retained a heavy bomb and rocket load for night intruder and close-support missions. In the Korean War, F4U-5Ns with VMF(N)-513 and Navy detachments hunted “Bedcheck Charlie” Po-2s, attacked supply convoys and trains, and even produced the conflict’s only Navy ace, Guy Bordelon, who scored all five of his kills at night in an F4U-5N.

As of this writing, details on the new kit (80391) are nonexistent, although release is planned for some time in September.

(via AeroScale and Scalemates)

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1946 Aeronca Chief 11AC For Sale: “2023 Best in Class Winner”

A 1946 Aeronca Chief 11AC has been spotted for sale. The listing states (in part):

Airframe logs start Jan. 1970 at an estimated Airframe TT: 376 Hrs. Current AFTT: 980. Total restoration in 1998. EAA Oshkosh Best in Class 1999. Sensenich prop TT: 224.7. Continental A-65-8, 65HP. Total Time: 932.9, Since Major Overhaul: 93.9 By Lycon with Millenium Cylinder/Piston kits. At April Annual Inspection compressions were #1 79/80 #2 80/80 #3 80/80 #4 79/80. No electrical system, so you are the engine starter by hand propping. Includes Icom handheld radio with mount and external antenna, ELT and Dynon GPS attitude, heading, altitude and airspeed indicator, all battery powered. Continuously hangered since restoration. Fabric, wood, metal and paint in very good condition. New Maule 8″ certified tailwheel installed at last Annual in April. Won Best In Class at 2023 WAAM Hood River Fly-In, Hood River OR. Nearby regional delivery possible.

The aircraft is located in Richland, WA and is currently available for bidding. Click here to check out the eBay listing, which includes additional photos and details.

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Bird Men: The B-29 Superfortress and WW2 American Airpower

Coming soon from Mariner Books and bestselling author A.J. Baime is Bird Men: The Rise of American Airpower and the Machine That Ended World War II – A WWII History of American Airpower and the Superfortress That Changed the Course of the War.

Of all the feats of American ingenuity in World War II, perhaps none was as impressive in scale or vital to the Allied victory as the creation of American airpower. Just a few years before the start of World War II, the American military was stuck in the dark ages of aviation, with the U.S. Army’s Air Corps mainly focused, not on combat, but on mail delivery. Fast forward to end of the war, and America had launched the most impressive flying machine the world had ever seen: the B-29 Superfortress, a weapon so essential to ending the war that its research and development process cost more than the Manhattan Project. Continue reading Bird Men: The B-29 Superfortress and WW2 American Airpower

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First Look: Test Build of Arma Hobby’s New Tool Curtiss Hawk 81-A2

Arma Hobby has released the first test build photos (and additional sprue shots) for their upcoming, new tool Curtiss Hawk 81-A2 model kit in 1/72 scale.

As previously reported, the upcoming release (70094) is the first in Arma’s new family of 1/72 Curtiss Hawk 81, Tomahawk II and P-40B/C kits. It represents the export version of the Hawk 81-A2 operated by the AVG in China during 1941–1942. These aircraft wore a distinctive camouflage scheme based on British specifications and applied using American-made DuPont paints. Three Flying Tigers marking options will be included.

The model seen in the new photos was built straight from the latest pre-production test parts and was quickly assembled and left completely unpainted for a more detailed look at the plastic itself. The company states that these are still pre-production parts, and final evaluation is underway.

Shipping is currently planned for the second half of August. Check out additional photos below.

Continue reading First Look: Test Build of Arma Hobby’s New Tool Curtiss Hawk 81-A2

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1946 Aeronca Champ For Sale: “Turn Key With O-235 Upgrade”

A 1946 Aeronca Champ 7AC has been spotted for sale. The listing states (in part):

1946 Aeronca 7AC Champ with many mods. Originally a 7AC, but converted to a 7EC with full electrical system, and then the airplane received an O-235-C1B upgrade with a full IFR instrument panel and wing fuel tanks. It’s basically a Citabria now inside of a Champ skeleton. Airplane is turn key and ready to go. Airborne in a little under 200 feet with average weight, climb at 1000fpm and cruise at 125mph TRUE on 6.5gph. No damage history, no liens, and complete logs all the way back to new.

The aircraft is located in Louisville, KY and is currently available for bidding. Click here to check out the eBay listing, which includes additional photos and details.

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ICM to Release 1/48 Lockheed Hudson Mk.III Kit: “100% New Molds”

In August ICM will release a “100% new molds” Lockheed Hudson Mk.III model kit in 1/48 scale (48331).

The Hudson Mk.III was a light bomber and maritime reconnaissance aircraft derived from the Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra airliner and built for the RAF just before World War II. This variant featured upgraded 1,200 hp Wright R-1820 Cyclone engines and a Boulton Paul dorsal turret with twin .303-inch machine guns, and was used extensively by the RAF, RAAF, and RNZAF for coastal patrol, anti-submarine work, and general reconnaissance from 1941 onward.

Additional details have not yet been announced. Check out kit renderings below.

Continue reading ICM to Release 1/48 Lockheed Hudson Mk.III Kit: “100% New Molds”

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Spotted: 1954 Lockheed C-130A Hercules For Sale

An “unregistered, privately owned” 1954 Lockheed C-130A Hercules has been spotted for sale. The listing states (in part):

Rare early-production C-130A. Delivered USAF 1954. Converted to be the first RC-130A for photo-recon, later returned to C-130A config by Hayes International. Low hours, flawless safety record. Stored in Arizona desert mothball condition to USAF standards. Would be the centerpiece of any museum.

The aircraft is located in Tucson, Arizona and is currently available for bidding. Click here to check out the eBay listing, which includes additional photos and details.

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