The December Newsletter is here. By standard, it should be issued on the 10th of December, but as we would like to deliver the December goods to you as quickly as possible, we simply had to publish the Newsletter now on the 1st of the month. Everything is ready and we are just waiting for your orders so we could ship them.
    In this newsletter you will find four plastic models kits, two complete new releases and two reissues. Among the accessories there are mainly 3D prints, from the excellent engine for the 1/72 Tempest Mk.V, figures in the same scale, to some  1/35 small weapons.
    At the end of the year, it is appropriate to thank all business friends who cooperate with us and wish everyone who celebrates it a peaceful and happy Christmas. We only wish the new year be better than the old one. We look forward to working together next year as well and to meeting some of you at our stand at the Toy and Model Fair in Nuremberg at the turn of January and February. At this fair we are also going to unveil several new projects for the coming year.

A. Riedel

SPECIAL HOBBY PLASTIC MODEL KITS

CASA C-212-300/400 ‘Long Nosed Casas’ 1/72

  At the end of the 1960s, the Spanish air force begun to look for a type to replace the then widely used transport aircraft, of which the longest-serving were the Ju-52s built in the 1930s. The military issued requirements calling for a new transport and multi-purpose type and to fit these requirements, the CASA company brought forward their concept of a twin-engined, turbo-prop powered high-wing plane with fixed undercarriage and with STOL capabilities. The project known as the CASA C.212 Aviocar was accepted and a mass production was launched both in Spain and in Indonesia, there under a licence. First batches had all a short forward fuselage and were powered by various types of engines, later type designated C.212-300 sported longer fuselage, wings with winglets, more powerful engines, the TPE331-10R-513C and different propellers. 1998 saw the intoduction of the C.212-400 with TPE331-12JR-701C engines, upgraded avionics and higher payload.
   It is no overstatement to say that the C.212s fly all over the world and the list of the operators might seem to be almost endless. The C.212 keep flying with the militaries of the USA (C-41), Mexico, Central and South America (Panama, Chile, Ecuador, Colombia and Argentina), in Europe, they were flown or still are in Sweden, Spain, Portugal, France, Malta, in Africa they can be found from the very Norht to the southern-most tip, flying for instance with Tchad, South Africa, Botswana, Zimbwabe among others. Down under in Australia the C.212s are used in the training of the local Red Barrets and also with the Australian Antarctic Division of the Department of the Environment which operate them in Antarctica. And in Asia, the type flies with operators in Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam or the Philippines, among others.
  The model kit portrays the long-nose variety and offers the markings of the No.44 Sqn SAAF machine flown in South Africa, a Venezuelan airframe in service with the Escuadrón Aeronaval de Patrullaje Marítimo and a Argentina-based machine in the colours of Prefectura Naval (Coast Guard).

-    high levels of detail
-    interesting colour schemes of unusual operators

Sd.Kfz 250/1 Ausf.B (Neue Ausführung) 1/72

  The Sd.Kfz 250 was developed to the Wehrmacht requirements to increase the numbers of German half track vehicle units. To speed up the development, the chassis of already existing non-armoured Demag D7 (Sd.Kfz 10) vehicle was used for which the Bussing company designed a new armoured hexagon-shaped hull, consisting of armoured plates joined at rather significant angles. The first prototype vehicle was built in 1939 and after it succeeded in demanding tests, the production was launched in 1941. Large numbers of this vehicle were built during 1942 and also in early 1943, known as the Alte Ausfuhrung (literally the Old Version). In 1943 the Neue Ausführung variety of the Sd.Kfz 250 begun to leave the production lines, differing by the hull shape. A total of almost 6000 of these first rate vehicles was built in several subtypes, fighting in the frst lines until the end of the war. They could be found on the Eastern front as well as in the west with some of the vehicles also in Africa. In the post war years, the Sd.Kfz 250 saw service with a couple of armies, too, including that of Czechoslovakia. 
   Our Sd.Kfz 250 model kit offers nice levels of detail and the marking schemes cover three Wehrmacht vehicles wearing various camouflage patterns.
-    interesting colour schemes comprise also one vehicle from 1945 Berlin
-    top quality model kit

SIAI-Marchetti SF-260M/AM/W 1/72

  The SF-260 is an Italian trainer, sports and aerobatic aeroplane that can be found literally world-wide. Here in Europe, it is used by the militaries of Italy, Belgium as well as by the Irish Air Corps. 
Our kit set no SH72418 was first released in October 2020 and it took us only two months to sell the complete production, the modellers however still demand it to be re-released and so the SF-260 in 72nd is here once again. The box contains five styrene sprues including one with the clear canopy parts (of the earlier, low style) and sports schemes of Italian, Belgian and Irish airframes in the M, AM and W versions. The later machines of the second generation will find their way to the yet coming re-release with the taller canopy of the SF260EA/D versions.
   The decal sheet brings complete markings of a Belgian machine wearing anniversary scheme, an Italian one also in bright anniversary scheme and a military-looking Irish SF-260W with underwing pylons and armament.

-    colourful schemes
-    decals with complete sets of stencils, each machine with its own and compared with other available SF-260 models, our one prides with detail and crisp parts and a correct style of the canopy.
-    separately available pre-cut masks M72011 and figure set F72375 SF-260 Italian Pilots

P-40K-1/5 Warhawk 'Short Fuselage'  1/72

   A US-built WW2 fighter aircraft in its short tail variety known as the P-40K-1/5 also featured a wider style tail fin. The kitset comes on three grey styrene sprues with another one with clear injected parts. Decal sheet also included with markings for four schemes:

P-40K-1 (42-46040), white 13, pilot 1.Lt. Robert J. "Crash" Overcash, 64.FS, 57.FG, Africa, May 1943 (5 victories)

P-40K, white 23, sen.lt. Nikolai Fedorovich Kuznetzov, 436. IAP, 239. IAD, 6. Air Army, Northwest Front, Soviet Union, winter 1943. (25 victories plus 12 in cooperation)

P-40K-5 (42-9768), white 255, Maj. Edward "Big Ed" M. Nollmeyer, CO  26 FS/51 FG, Kunming, Chína, December 1943. (5 victories)

P-40K, white 15, 25 FS, 51 FG, Assam Valley, India 1944.

-    nicely detailed and highly accurate model, arguably the best 1/72 P-40 currently available
-    extremely easy assembly
-    wide variety of colourful schemes
-    accurate decals
-    also available: pre-cut masks M72015, figures and great many other detail sets to improve your model even further

Display Box for Cars (1/87 to 1/43)

  Transparent, block-shaped display box measuring 135x80x58mm, with a black styrene bottom, useful for model cars or military vehicle models of scales ranging from 1/87 to 1/48. For merchants, the minimum purchase is one package containing 6 display boxes.

RESIN MODEL KITS & SETS

PV-1 Ventura Pilot Cockpit 1/48

  Detail pilot and co-pilot's office set designed for Revell's PV-1 model or as reboxed by Academy. Besides the resin cast parts, it also contains 3D-printed control column, etches and instrument panel decal.

3D printed Parts

Sd.Kfz 251D / Sd.Kfz 250 MG 42 with armor shields and pivot mount 1/35  / for Tamiya and Dragon kits

 The German Sd.Kfz 251 armoured personnel carrier was most often equipped with a pair of machine guns, a forward mounted MG34 with a shield and a rear one of the same type on an anti-aircraft, hinged mount at the rear of the combat compartment where it was employed both against aerial and ground targets. The Sd.Kfz 251D was fitted with a different style shield of its machine gun compared with the earleir C version vehicles. Also the smaller Sd.Kfz 251C vehicles could carry the weapon on the same sort of mount.

Vickers Machine Gun (WWII) 1/35

  The Vickers machine gun was developed on the basis of the earlier Maxim weapon. The design prouded itself with great efficacy as well as almost a hundred percent reliability. These technically perfect Vickers guns were produced in really great numbers both for the army (these were water-cooled) and for the air force, where they were air-cooled. The British army had the Vickers in use well until the end of the 1960s, and in other countries' armies, the weapon served even much longer. 
   And as the Vickers machine gun remained in production for a long period, no wonder that the many production batches differed in various more or less important aspects. Our P35026 kitset features the WW2 style Vickers that was used during the war as well as in the post war years, namely in the Korea and Vietnam wars.

PPSh-41 Soviet Submachine Gun 1/35

  The iconic ‘Shpagin’ PPSh-1 sumbachine gun is among the most-well known guns of WW2 and now our 3D-printed set almost oozes with plentiful detail and also offers two styles of the ammo magazines, the rounded and the segment types. This weapon remained in service on the Eastern Front not just by the Red Army, but also by the Wehrmacht which captured several of them.In the post war era, the Shpagin was put into use by the armies of the Socialist Block and produced under licence in Vietnam and China.

Tempest Mk.V Engine and Fuselage Tanks (for Airfix kit)  1/72

  For those of you longing to build Airfix's new Tempest model with its power unit and fuel tanks exposed and at the some time not to loose the large radiator housing, a characteristic feature of the Tempest forward fuselage, we have now this 3D-printed set with really high levels of detail throughout. The set covers the top half of the Sabre engine along with the fuel and oil tanks, the appropriate bulkheads as well as the respective cover panels.

RAF (Tempest) Pilot, Dog and Mechanic with Accumulator Trolley 1/72

  A 3D-printed set offering a standing RAF pilot with his pet dog and an RAF mechanic handling a accumulator trolley. While the set has been designed for Airfix's Tempest Mk.V, there is no issue employing it with basicaly any other RAF fighter plane of the mid to late 1940s.