Category: WW2 Era (1939-45)

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Arma Hobby Releases PZL P.11c Kit With 3D Printed Details, Four Liveries

Arma Hobby has released a new PZL P.11c “Pursuit Brigade” model kit in 1/72 scale.

The PZL P.11c was a Polish single-seat fighter of the mid-1930s, distinguished by its all-metal construction, high-mounted gull wings, open cockpit, and fixed landing gear. Powered by a Bristol Mercury radial engine, it reached about 375 km/h (233 mph) and carried two or four 7.92 mm machine guns. An advanced design when introduced, it had become obsolete as faster fighters entered service, yet remained Poland’s principal fighter when Germany invaded in September 1939, bearing much of the country’s air-defense effort against the Luftwaffe.

The kit (70018) includes includes fine 3D-printed details replacing the photo-etched parts from the earlier edition, and Cartograf decals with marking options for four aircraft representing all four squadrons of the Polish Pursuit Brigade: 111, 112, 113 and 114.

The kit is now available (Buy on eBay). Check out livery profiles and kit contents below.

Continue reading Arma Hobby Releases PZL P.11c Kit With 3D Printed Details, Four Liveries

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USAF Museum to Restore CASA 2.111H / Heinkel He 111 [Video]

The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio has announced the upcoming restoration of their CASA 2.111H (Spanish HE-111H).

The CASA 2.111H was a Spanish-built development of the German Heinkel He 111H-16 twin-engine medium bomber, manufactured under license by Construcciones Aeronáuticas S.A. First flown in May 1945, the CASA 2.111 retained the Heinkel’s distinctive glazed nose and broad wings. Early aircraft used German Junkers Jumo engines, while later examples received British Rolls-Royce Merlins because of engine-supply difficulties. The type served with the Spanish Air Force into the early 1970s and became familiar to cinema audiences portraying Luftwaffe bombers in the 1969 film Battle of Britain.

The museum’s example was donated by the Spanish Air Force and has been in the museum’s storage facility for some time. The newly released photos / video, which can be seen below, appears to show the aircraft being relocated to the restoration hangar. As of this writing, additional details, such as a timeframe for completion, have not been announced.

Continue reading USAF Museum to Restore CASA 2.111H / Heinkel He 111 [Video]

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Coming Soon: Four-Volume History of Lend-Lease and Soviet Aviation in WW2

Coming soon from Helion and Company and author Vladimir Kotelnikov’s new series Lend-Lease and Soviet Aviation 1941–1945 which examines how Allied Lend-Lease aircraft supported Soviet aviation during the Second World War and influenced its postwar development.

Volume 1 traces the programme’s diplomatic origins, delivery routes, and early operational use in 1941–42, highlighting the challenges of introducing Hurricanes, Kittyhawks, and other Western aircraft into Soviet service. Volume 2 focuses on British and American fighters—including the Hurricane, Spitfire, P-40, Airacobra, and Kingcobra—examining their delivery, deployment, technical characteristics, and influence on Soviet tactics. Volume 3 covers bombers, transports, and maritime aircraft, including the A-20 Boston, B-25 Mitchell, C-47, and PBY Catalina, assessing their contributions to combat operations, frontline supply, and naval warfare. Volume 4 evaluates the programme’s overall impact from 1941 to 1945, weighing operational successes and shortcomings, examining maintenance and supply challenges, and exploring how Allied deliveries relieved pressure on Soviet industry and shaped postwar aircraft development and doctrine. Drawing on Soviet and Western archives, operational records, and first-hand accounts, the series combines rare photographs, colour profiles, maps, and technical and statistical tables to document Lend-Lease aviation’s contribution to Soviet victory and its lasting legacy.

The books will be available in paperback format. Vol 1 has 72 pages, while vol 2 has 104 pages. Both will be available on January 15, 2027. Vol 3 has 104 pages and will be released on November 30, 2026. Vol 4 has 104 pages and will be released on December 31. All four volumes are currently available for pre-order.

Product Page (Vol 1)
Product Page (Vol 2)
Product Page (Vol 3)
Product Page (Vol 4)

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Allison-Powered P-51 Mustang Development, Design, Service and Tech Details Detailed in New Book

Coming soon from MMP Books and author Robert Pęczkowski is NAA P-51 Mustang with Allison engine (Yellow Series), which traces the development, wartime service, design evolution, and technical features of the Early Allison-engined P-51 Mustang through detailed illustrations.

This book presents the history, development and operational service of the early Allison-engined versions of the North American P-51 Mustang. It covers the aircraft’s design evolution, wartime use and technical features. Illustrated with wartime and detailed photographs, colour profiles, scale plans and technical drawings, it is a valuable reference for aviation historians and modellers.

The paperback book is currently available for pre-order with release set for January 15. The date will also see the release of the second edition publication on the NAA A-36A Mustang dive-bomber variant.

Product Page

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First Look: Liveries for IBG’s Upcoming Fieseler Fi 156D-1 Storch Ambulance

IBG has released livery profiles for their upcoming Fieseler Fi 156D-1 Storch Ambulance in 1/72 scale.

The Fi 156D-1 was a purpose-built ambulance version of Germany’s famous short-takeoff-and-landing liaison aircraft, produced during World War II. It featured an enlarged loading hatch on the starboard side of the rear fuselage and accommodation for a single stretcher patient and a medical attendant, allowing wounded personnel to be evacuated from forward areas. Its high-lift wing, fixed leading-edge slats, large flaps, and long-legged landing gear enabled operations from small, rough landing grounds, making the D-1 particularly useful where conventional aircraft or ground ambulances could not readily reach.

As previously reported, IBG released teaser images in September and stated that all production variants would eventually be represented. To date, renderings have been released for the 156C-2 “Storch At War” which is slated for release at the end of the month. The Fi 156D-1 Storch Ambulance will reportedly be available “very soon.”

Check out full livery three-views below.

Continue reading First Look: Liveries for IBG’s Upcoming Fieseler Fi 156D-1 Storch Ambulance

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Study of Mustang Dive Bomber Variant Gets Updated Second Edition

Coming soon from MMPBooks and author Przemyslaw Skulski is NAA A-36A 2nd edition (Yellow Series), which documents the history, development, and combat service of the rare A-36 dive-bomber variant.

This second edition presents the history, development and combat service of the North American A-36, the rare dive-bomber variant of the Mustang. It covers operations in the Mediterranean and Far East, as well as the aircraft’s technical features. Illustrated with wartime and detailed photographs, colour profiles, and newly added scale plans and technical drawings, it is a valuable reference for aviation historians and modellers.

The 120 page book is currently available for pre-order with release set for January 15.

Product Page

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Spitfire V vs Fw 190: An Illustrated Account

Coming soon from Osprey Publishing and author Andy Saunders is Spitfire V vs Fw 190: Northwest Europe 1941–42 (Duel, 153), an illustrated account of the challenge posed to RAF Fighter Command by the Luftwaffe’s Fw 190, and the ways in which Spitfire crews adapted to the deadly new threat.

The introduction of Focke-Wulf’s Fw 190 to Luftwaffe service presented RAF Spitfire VB and VA pilots with a formidable new foe that could quite literally run rings around them. First encountered over France in September 1941, the Fw 190 – or ‘Butcher Bird’ – soon demonstrated its startling capabilities, wrong-footing RAF Fighter Command and forcing the swift development of new tactics and methods. The actions that ensued were some of the most fiercely contested of the air war in northwest Europe and would lead to the production and eventual fielding of the Spitfire IX.

In this new study, air war expert Andy Saunders details how the RAF – having perhaps become complacent about the superiority of the Spitfire – found itself left behind with an inferior fighter. Covering the introduction to service of both the Spitfire V and the Fw 190, the fighters’ first encounters and the battles that shaped subsequent tactics and design, it combines combat reports and first-hand accounts with archive photographs and newly commissioned artwork and formation diagrams to convey what it was like to be a fighter pilot in both aircraft from 1941 to 1943.

The 80 page paperback book is currently available for pre-order with release set for January 19.

Product Page

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First Look: Liveries, Box Contents For Italeri’s Upcoming Macchi MC.202 (Early Series)

In November, Italeri will release a new Macchi MC.202 (Early Series) model kit in 1/32 scale.

The MC.202 Folgore (“Lightning”) was one of Italy’s most capable Second World War fighters, entering service with the Regia Aeronautica in 1941. Designed by Mario Castoldi, it combined the basic airframe of the radial-engined MC.200 with a streamlined fuselage and a Daimler-Benz DB 601 liquid-cooled engine, also manufactured under license by Alfa Romeo. This combination delivered excellent handling and a maximum speed of approximately 600 km/h (373 mph). Early production aircraft carried just two synchronized 12.7 mm Breda-SAFAT machine guns above the engine, lacking the supplementary wing guns introduced later. Fast and maneuverable, the early-series MC.202 represented a major improvement in Italian fighter performance, although its light armament limited its combat effectiveness.

The upcoming release (2524) will include new parts, 3D decals for the “highest level” of cockpit detail, photo-etched parts for enhanced realism, and decals with six marking options. It is based on the new tool MC.202 released in 2023 (2518 / Buy on eBay).

Check out livery profiles and box contents below.

Continue reading First Look: Liveries, Box Contents For Italeri’s Upcoming Macchi MC.202 (Early Series)

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Surface Details Progressing on Airscale’s 1/32 Bristol Blenheim Mk IV

Airscale has provided a new update on the development of their 1/32 Bristol Blenheim Mk IV kit focusing on surface details.

As previously reported, the Mk IV was the principal later version of the Blenheim light bomber, entering production in 1938 with a longer, redesigned glazed nose that gave the bombardier more room and visibility, plus added armor and more powerful 920-hp Bristol Mercury XV radial engines. Flown by a crew of three, it could carry roughly 1,000 lb of bombs and served widely with the RAF during WW2 in Europe, the Mediterranean, North Africa, and the Far East. Although fast by mid-1930s standards, it was increasingly vulnerable to modern fighters and anti-aircraft fire as the war progressed.

There will reportedly be an early version with the single VGO drum fed gun and no canopy blisters, and the later one with twin Brownings and blisters. The October update states that completion of the plastic parts is “getting closer.” Click below to check out the latest renderings.

Continue reading Surface Details Progressing on Airscale’s 1/32 Bristol Blenheim Mk IV

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“Enemy Engaged” Explores the RAF’s Aerial Offensive from the Blitz to Dieppe

Coming soon from Air World and author Dilip Amin is Enemy Engaged’: The Story of the Battle of Britain Bunker as The RAF Goes on the Offensive from the Blitz to the Dieppe Raid, which details Fighter Command’s transition from defense to offense as an integrated air defense system as well as nocturnal battles, high-stakes raids, and coordinated operations over occupied Europe and Dieppe.

‘Enemy Engaged’ follows the men and women of the RAF’s Fighter Command, fresh from victory in the Battle of Britain, as it begins to adapt from a defensive stance to one of a more offensive nature. Central to the story is the world’s first integrated air defence and control system, as well as Fighter Command’s Operations Rooms and Sector Stations, particularly that of No.11 Group at Uxbridge. In doing so, Dilip Amin weaves a tapestry of individual accounts and official documents to cover a backcloth of military and political upheaval.

Following on from the author’s ‘Enemy Sighted’ (Product Page), the journey continues beyond ‘Battle of Britain Day’ as the RAF duelled for air supremacy over Southern England to prevent Britain from being invaded. Then, as the bombers turn on London, Dilip transports the reader to the period known as the Blitz, as Fighter Command rises to meet the nocturnal assault. Read accounts from those at Uxbridge who witnessed the bombing and the night fighter pilots hunting the raiders in the night sky. Then, using source material, the author sets out Fighter Command’s policy of ‘Leaning towards France’ as it takes the fight to the enemy over Occupied Europe. Continue reading “Enemy Engaged” Explores the RAF’s Aerial Offensive from the Blitz to Dieppe

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