LN-KEH

We can expect a single or small twin engine aircraft in 1:72 or a single engine aircraft in 1:48. Start of a Yak-9 family in 1:72 would be nice - not well represented by kits and used by Poland, two aircraft survive in Polish museums and drawings by MMP are available. Fairey Battle in 1:72 that served with Polish units in exile, overlooked by Airfix (who should get an agreement to sell Arma kits in their boxes) - could make a family of Battles. Me 109E in 1:72 (who else could have prepared moulds of that quality in a hurry for Eduard / Special Hobby). Douglas Devastor in 1:72, these guys have a passion for USN aircraft.

From memory, I don`t have numbers and stats, I would say that RS releases within months of announcements. But it is not listed on their homepage yet - http://rsmodels.cz/en/modely-letadel/plastikove-modely

I saw one of these in Dresden displayed next to a Leopard 2 tank and a Panzerhaubitze 2000 - it looked almost like a remote controlled toy. My thoughts went to Lt Gruber and his beloved "My little tank" in "Allo, Allo", But for paratroopers and others who have to travel light, it does bring some additional firepower. Experiences in Afghanistan were that they did not stand up to IEDs very well.

MiG-3 in 1:48 and scaled down to 1:72 later in the year would plug two holes in the range of kits covering the Great Patriotic War.

Is it feasible for Airfix to release a Seafire F Mk IIc based on these mouldings by adding a sprue or two to cover the differences?

So will this be the first time in years with no advance leaks? If allowed to speculate / guess here what Airfix is going to include in its announcement: Large kit for 2021 - HMS QE2 in 1:600 or possibly 1:350 In 1:72 C-130K or C3 with RAF markings (Zvezda moulds) North American T-6 / Harvard - new mould with RAF/RCAF and RSwAF markings Hawker Sea Fury and Supermarine Walrus if they figure out how to reduce the 1:48 kits. Handley Page Hampden - new mould with RAF and Soviet markings based on the restoration in the Cosford workshop. DH 112 Venom DH Sea Hornet DH Mosquito - replacing the old mould which is getting worn out. MiG 21 (Zvezda moulds) MiG 15 and Sea Fury dogfight double T-34/85 (Zvezda moulds) Panther tank (Zvezda moulds) In 1:48 DH Vampire single and two seaters. North American T-6 / Harvard. F-4K Phantom scaled up from.

LimaNovember Decals has markings for S-61Ns - so this is welcome, saving the hassle of merging Whirlybirds conversion kit with Revell/Airfix SeaKings. Dreammodel should be able to make several versions of the S-61, they flew all over the world supporting the oil industry before the S-92 came along. Some of the Norwegian ones wore temporary green camouflage and RNoAF markings during mobilisation exercises.

I have been to a couple of E-days and AZ/KP has never been present there, I don`t remember missing any of the other Czech producers. AZ/KP have been present in Moson and Telford - located some distance away from Eduard.

I think it is worth bringing in this part of Vladimir Sulc editorial from Eduards December 2020 Info regarding the 1:72 Bf 109E kit April will see the release of Adlerangriff 1:72 and it will share the marking options of its bigger brothers, even though there may be minor changes made. In terms of the plastic. This will come from the Bf 109E Special Hobby kit, which came about as a co-operative effort between Special Hobby and Eduard. Our share of the work is less significant, and more of the work was handled by our colleagues at Special Hobby, who took our original 1:48th scale kit and altered it, corrected it, generally modernised it, brought it in line with the latest research available, and put it into production. Development of the kit was also taken part in by a third party, which, for now, would like to remain anonymous, but also put forth a wonderful effort. It was the third party that made the moulds, and that produces the plastic. We all worked together to put this kit into production within five months. If you would like to know if such co-operative efforts will continue, the answer is yes. This pilot project has shown that data used on past kits can be used for the development of newer and better versions of them. This provides a better and more user-friendly product than the still practised and, unfortunately, accepted method in the Czech Republic of illegally copying an older model, making epoxy short-run forms, and passing them off on an unsuspecting customers as corrected, 3D designed, items, or other such complete crap. The ‘3D’, in these instances, really stands for ‘Dishonest, Desperate and Disgusting’. This is exactly what this practice is. An avalanche of Bf 109E kits created in just this way are about to hit the market here under a traditional brand name. Although some see me as a kind of ‘modelling Don Quixote’ and my battle against plagiarism as doomed, I believe it is not. I hold out faith in the belief that modellers, as a whole, want quality for their money and they want sincere, hard work behind the products they purchase. These are the people that will not even (rightfully so) forgive an incorrect colour call-out on a handle in a cockpit in an instruction sheet, and, I believe, will prefer either a new, well researched and truly beautiful kit from Special Hobby or, later, Eduard, or even an older, but still relevant and less expensive original Tamiya kit. Take care of what you are purchasing, and don’t be afraid to ask where it originated from. It will be worth the effort. Eduard will get into the release schedule of the new Bf 109E in April. The Special Hobby kit will be accessorized with our usual items, placing it in a higher retail cost bracket, and so will be aimed at the more demanding segment of the modelling public. Later, we will continue with the Bf 109E with not just further Limited Edition kits, but also with ProfiPACK and Weekend editions as well. I think that, together with our friends at Special Hobby, we will demonstrate that a homerun can be hit with a small model So who is the third party able to produce high quality moulds and plastic in such a short time? They have to be located in Europe in or close to the Czech Republic in order to have the plastic available in Prague now.

It would have been more fun the apply them one stipple/dot at a time...

I have noticed that AZ/KP haven`t been present at E-day, while SH had one of the main non-Eduard presences there. Some time ago, I believe there were attempts at peace talks between the majors in the Czech model industry, but it didn`t last long.

For those who does not have access to a full size C-130H, I have placed a walk-through/around of the one in RNoAF "Flysamlingen" on WeTransfer. https://we.tl/t-FbYtLAQqjP For personal use / references only; if you want to publish any of the pictures, please check with me first.

I can confirm they are printed with 3d effect and will be more than sufficient for the cockpit area - you don`t get to see much from the outside. Ordered my C-130 sets directly from Microdesign in Russia, and they arrived in Norway a little more than two weeks later. I don`t think I will need the Eduard sets as well, plenty of fiddly bits included.

The Mach 2 kits I have worked on have been OK for the large parts and poor on transparencies and small parts. If someone is willing to make an upgrade set with cockpit transparencies and possibly undercarriage and engine parts, then I am in the maket for the SAS version and possibly for a later release of the longer DC8-63. I am quite sure Transport Wings will be willing to sell resin engines, their website lists the DC-8 as a -53 or -63 depending on where I look on the page: http://www.aim72.co.uk/page12.html

8L+FH is getting preserved in the museum at Stavanger-Sola, so far concentrating on the fuselage which was on display until recently - it has just been moved into the workshop for the winter. It is a great time capsule, especially if they succeed in keeping the original paint while dealing with the corrosion. They are missing one float and an engine which were removed before it sank.

Could we get an extension to Douglas DC8-63?

Hei, Two restored Me 109Gs have been added to Norwegian museums so far in 2020. With the current problems with travelling and visiting in mind, I have uploaded sets of pictures to https://we.tl/t-ybXphkUtuV Each set is close to one Gb, so probably not a good idea to try doing it to your mobile phone. They should be available to download for a week or so. Pictures are intended to be used as part of your reference libraries; publication and further distribution after agreement only.

For those who want a civilian C-130H, Coulson Air Tankers is converting ex-RNoAF airframes to firefighters.

Have to dig out the sales prospect from when Vought attempted to sell these aircraft to Norway in 39/40. The Army Air Arm liked it and their agent in Norway began to prepare for license production. Unfortunately, first deliveries were not possible until late 40, so the deal we to Curtis that could deliver half a year earlier.

With Zvezda kits previously been released by Revell and possibly other brands as well, I expect to see several boxings of C-130s next year.

A PBY from Zvezda is more likely than a Halifax in my opinion, Soviet operated a good number of various Catalina and Nomad versions before, during and after WW2.

Linking in the crew picture from the German site - it is impressive:

Microdisign has released 1/72 C-130 Hercules Cabin Detail set 072267 for Zvezda kit 1/72 C-130 Hercules Cargo bay PE Detail set 072268 for Zvezda 1/72 C-130 Hercules Exterior Detail set 072269 for Zvezda kit. Source: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Microdisign-1-72-C-130-Hercules-Cabine-Detail-set-072267-for-Zvezda-kit/303734469852 https://www.ebay.com/itm/Microdisign-1-72-C-130-Hercules-Cargo-bay-PE-Detail-set-072268-for-Zvezda/303734473676 https://www.ebay.com/itm/Microdisign-1-72-C-130-Hercules-Exterior-Detail-set-072269-for-Zvezda-kit-/303734478655

SOVA-M is related to Amodel in Ukraine - some versions released under the SOVA-M, others under Amodel brand name. Don`t expect Hasegawa or FineMolds quality, but decent kits with recessed panel lines that will need a bit of old fashioned modelling skills with putty and sand paper.

Blue 17 of JG5 based at Forus in May 45 is interesting - but Forus is located at Sola, just outside Stavanger in Norway.