August 2022, 1/72 Scale news.

Aircraft

2022/08/01

RS-Models is about to re-release RS Models – 92183 – Flettner 282 B-0, it could happen with a new code number as the brand usually does. We’ll follow the events. The Me-509 kits are being also restocked, RS Models – 92203 – Messerschmitt Me 509 and RS Models – 92209 – Me-509 “Nachtjäger”. The last batch announced by the brand is about to reach distributors and available, including RS Models – 92274 – Nakajima Ki-201 “Karyu” and RS Models – 92275 – Dornier Do 17 P “Ostfront”, RS Models – 92276 – Junkers Ju-86P and RS Models – 92277 – Junkers Ju 86R.

Amodel is about to release 5 new models after months of silence. The new models coming, and expected for late this month are Amodel – 72380 – Da-42 Twin Star (updated with new parts previous kits), Amodel – NA72015 – P-15/P-15M Termit with PE details and transport cart and then a trio of Antonov An-14, Amodel – 72379 – An-14 NATO code “Clod”, Amodel – 72224 – An-14 NATO code “Clod” and Amodel – 72383 – An-14 NATO code “Clod”. We have little information about box content for those last three, we’ll update if possible in the future.

Good news from Avis too, looks like the two long time waited Bristol Bullfinch kit are about to happen by the end of the month, Avis – 72052 – Bristol Bullfinch-I and Avis – 72053 – Bristol Bullfinch-II.

Also Big Planes Kits has novelties with the second edition of the espectacular Boeing 737-800 kit, Big Plane Kits – 7219 – Boeing 737-800 KLM.

2022/08/04

Italeri is commemorating its 60th anniversary (the name of the company was Italaerei at the beginning) and releases a Italeri – 0106 – Caproni Ca. 313/314 Vintage Special Anniversary Edition which reproduces the original box art and package with reprinted decals. Is not confirmed yet if the brand will do the same for more 1/72 scale models. The Italaerei moulds are the only in 1/72 scale for the Caproni Ca.313 and they have not been released since the early 2000s.

ModelCollect announces a new kit, part of the “Fist of War” series, though this time the kit belong to a real design, the ModelCollect – UA72218 – Horten HoXVIII-A Intercontinental Amerikabomber (Fist of War). It’s unconfirmed when the kit will be ready.

Hasegawa announced three new kits in 1/72 scale, expected for October/November, Hasegawa – 02415 – F-15DJ Eagle “Aggressor Minokasago”, Hasegawa – 02414 – UH-60J(SP) Rescue Hawk “Naha Air Rescue 40th Anniversary” and Hasegawa – 02413 – AIR TECHNICAL FACTORY P1Y1-S GINGA TYPE 11 NIGHT FIGHTER “302ND AIR GROUP”, all of them limited editions of existing kits. The UH-60 seems to be adding new parts and PE parts.

As we speak of Hasegawa, the previous added batch is not yet released, Hasegawa – 30067 – TIGER I & PANTHER G GERMAN ARMY MAIN BATTLE TANK COMBO, Hasegawa – 02412 – F-35 LIGHTNING II (TYPE B) PROTOTYPE and Hasegawa – 65878 – REGULT (WITH SMALL MISSILE POD), but they are expected for late this month or early next one.

2022/08/05

Mirage Hobby is about to release a re-pack of their PZL W-3 Sokół kit as “Model Set” with brush, glue and paints. The new release is Mirage Hobby – 872096 – PZL W-3RL Sokół (Model Set).

2022/08/06

The major release by Airfix for this year, Airfix – A04064 – Gloster Meteor F.8, is getting close and we already had details enough to add the product page. This is a new tool that replaces the older F.8 kit.

2022/08/08

Great news as Roden announced a new 1/72 scale kit, Roden – 063 – North American AJ-1 Savage, till now only available in the Match 2 catalogue. The 3D renders of the kit looks great and promising. The kit is expected for late September or October.

2022/08/11

Special Hobby will be re-releasing this month Special Hobby – 72323 – Fouga CM-175 Zéphyr.

2022/08/17

Kora Models announced four new releases, all of them devoted to the Fairey Firefly IIM, an early 30s private venture of the company which only saw some success serving with the Belgium Air Force, the main user of the type. We have little information about the kit themselves.

2022/08/18

Both AZ Model and Kovozávody Prostějov (KP) are announcing a plethora of new models to appear during next months, but in the meanwhile AZ Model is re-stocking and old but interesting model, AZ Model – AZ7672 – Vought Kingfisher “In U.S. Service”.

2022/08/20

When AMG released the Arsenal Model Group (AMG) – 72604 – Hawker Demon kit, a Hart I version was also expected, but looks like it never happened on time. It’s possible that now it will be finally released and so we added AMG (Arsenal Model Group) – 72602 – Hawker Hart I.

Special Hobby will be releasing also this month a new repack of the Academy T-6 Texan kit in Special Hobby – SH72450 – AT-6C/D & SNJ-3/3C Texan “Training to Win”.

2022/08/22

Revell will be re-releasing next month their impressive and good A400M kit, as Revell – 03822 – Airbus A400M Atlas “RAF” with a new decal sheet that will delightfull British fans. The kit was tooled in 2011 and has not been seen since 2017.

2022/08/24

Updated Special Hobby – SH72450 – AT-6C/D & SNJ-3/3C Texan “Training to Win” with content pictures, including PE and Resin parts.

2022/08/25

Airfix is reissuing a number of Gift Sets (Old Starter sets) updating code numbers by adding A at the end of the previous number but keeping content of the box, though we have some doubt if decal has been updated though mostly looks like not. Seems there will be more “Gift Sets” in the short future, by now the updated packages are:

2022/08/26

Arma Hobby introduces a new tooled aircraft in their range, Arma Hobby – 70055 – P-39Q Airacobra and for sure we’ll see more releases using these new moulds, since no Soviet markings have been issued in this release, and Soviet Union was the main operator of the type. Arma Hobby also repacks the P-51 kit as Arma Hobby – 70041 – P-51B Mustang. These two releases doesn’t include PE parts, but for the pre-orders they include 3D printed detail parts. Is not clear if finally they will include these bonus parts in the standard releases.

2022/08/28

Updated box arts and finished sample models for both Fine Molds – 72936 – F-14A Tomcat “IRIAF” and Fine Molds – 72847 – F-4D Jet Fighter “IRIAF” (LIMITED EDITION) which finally are very close to appear. Same update also for Fine Molds – FP49 – JASDF F-2B FIGHTER, which is also being released in Japan.

2022/08/29

Big Planes kits (BPK) announced two models for September, by one a re-edition of the Boeing 737-200 as Big Planes Kits – 7203 – Boeing 737-200 Olympic and a new variant of the 737-800, the military variant Boeing P-8 Poseidon Big Planes Kits – 7222 – P-8A Poseidon. Both are in the big size side kits of the 1/72 scale and the brand has ensured a good quality in the past and deluxe packages, into the finest ever produced airliners in 1/72 scale. The brand is also working to produce a Bayraktar TB2 in 1/72 scale.

2022/08/31

Clear Prop shared more details about their coming and impressive Airco DH.9A, Clear Prop – CP72027 – Airco DH.9A Early Version, which contains over 150 parts. A fine kit for the finests. In comparison, the recent KP releases for the same topic are in around 76 parts. Release of the Clear Prop kit is expected for September.

The couple days ago coming sets by BPK (Big Planes Kits) are available for pre-order now Big Planes Kits – 7203 – Boeing 737-200 Olympic and Big Planes Kits – 7222 – P-8A Poseidon.

Vehicles

2022/08/04

Also from the “Fist of War” series ModelCollect announces a new vehicle, ModelCollect – UA72350 – German Ausf. vierfüßler 2cm Flakvierling 38 (Fist of War). It’s unconfirmed when the kit will be ready.

2022/08/05

ICM keep working and is about to release a new variant of the ZiL-131 truck, ICM – 72815 – APA-50М(ZiL-131) Airfield mobile electric unit. The kit is expected soon, late this month or early September. This is the fifth variant released by ICM using the ZiL-131 chassis which is a pretty decent coverage of the topic.

First to Fight announced a new Polish WWII small cart, First to Fight – 093 – Biedka Wz. 33 Under CKM Wz.30, which indeed is a very nice small model with the inclusion of a walking Polish soldier figure as well as the machine gun and some other tools loaded in the cart.

2022/08/18

UMMT seems to not having a good time, as their next release UMMT – 693 – Tank BT-7 On a Biaxial 20-Ton Railway Platform (Short-6.6 M) is just a mix of already seen models, and this is usually not a good symptom. We encourage to show support and purchase some of their nice models.

2022/08/22

Trumpeter keeps announcing models and we just added Trumpeter – 07194 – MAZ-537G intermediate type with MAZ/ChMZAP 5247G semi-trailer, a kit that in fact was announced in 2020 but has been delayed a bit. In this time Takom released the same topic, which may reduce the success of this kit.

2022/08/24

Meng announced a second set in the Armour 1/72 line, Meng – 72-002 – Leopard 2 A7. Looks like the brand took note of some of the flaws exposed in the first release, Meng – 72-001 – PLA ZTQ15 Light Tank, and this time added some inner detail to tracks.

2022/08/27

Vespid Models also joins the Leopard 2 family with Vespid – VS720015 – Leopard 2 A7+, a deluxe package with metal barrel, PE parts and steel tow cable. The chinese brand looks like also wants to join the ZTQ15 family soon, we’ll see.

2022/08/29

Recovered a missed entry from Aoshima released some ago, Aoshima – 23 (AO05784) – JGSDF Type 96 Wheeled Armored Personnel Carrier Type B.

After a long long wait, Armory announced that pre-order for Armory – 72443 – ZSU-23-4V1 Shilka mod.1970 is open, and model will be released shortly, has been a long wait but means the brand is working again, which are great news by themselves. The kit page has been updated with the definitive box cover and parts, decal sheet and markings images.

Figures

2022/08/03

Linear-A adds two more sets to the batch of releases, Linear-A – 031 – Peloponnesian War Sicilian Expedition 415-413 BC The Army of Athens Set 1 and Linear-A – 036 – Battle of Cunaxa Persian Cavalry SET 3, together with the previous two, Linear-A – 051 – Peloponnesian War Sicilian Expedition 415-413 BC SYRACUSE ARMY Set 1 (the box cover has been updated for this set) and Linear-A – 038 – Rome’s early period The Roman Army under King Servius Tullius 6th Century BC Set 1. All of them can already be ordered. All the batch is full of nice figures, but we specially want to mention the excellent work done in the Persian Cavalry set.

2022/08/20

While anything else happens in the 1/72 scale Figures world, we extended our review of Mars – 72031 – Swedish Army with Culverin (Thirty Years War) as well as added high-resolution pictures of the kit content. Despite the flaws it’s still a set we like and find useful.

2022/08/30

With little movement in this section, we added new images to Mars – 72015 – Swedish Artillery, a partial copy of the Revell – 02566 – Thirty Years War Imperial Artillery original.

As news, worth it to mention, that new master figures images by Red Box have seen in some forums, which means the brand remains active and is looking his path to produce new sets in the future after several hard years, worsened by the war in Ukraine.

Sci-Fi

2022/08/04

Updated Hasegawa – 65878 – REGULT (WITH SMALL MISSILE POD) with its definitive box cover. The kit is expected for very late August/early September in the Japanese market.

Miscellaneous

2022/08/06

We start the last journey of the Matchbox quest by adding two more references today, Matchbox – 40119 – Wellesley Mk.I and Matchbox – PK-123 (40123) – Wellesley Mk.I. Only a handful of references remains to go (seven to be exact).

2022/08/07

One less in the Matchbox list as we add today Matchbox – PK-402 (40402) – Wellington Mk.X/Mk.XIV, as well as the pair of A-7 Corsair released by the brand, Matchbox – 40137 – Corsair A-7D and Matchbox – PK-101 (40101) – A-7D Corsair II.

2022/08/08

The end for the Matchbox quest is really close, with another pair of references added today, Matchbox – 40143 – Yakovlev Yak-15 (an original Pioneer 2 kit) and Matchbox – PK-14 (40014) – F4U-4 Corsair, a classic kit in catalogue since 1972. Also added Matchbox – PK-108 (4018) – Westland Aerospatiale Lynx.

And finally Matchbox – PK-7 (40007) – Westland Lysander.

Only one kit remains to add of the Matchbox aircrafts kits in 1/72 scale, the strange F/A-18, code number 40419, so pretty hard to find that looks like it never existed, but did, and in fact it’s an Italeri F/A-18 re-boxed, the only time this happened. As soon as we can find a proper box cover image, will publish this last entry.

2022/08/22

Today we started to recover another big gap in our listings from the past, as we started to add the ESCI Aircraft range. The first edition is for a non ESCI original kit, the small ESCI – 9021 – Albatros D.III. As happened when we added the old Matchbox range, this quest will span through months till completion. To probe we are going series, the three variants of the UH-1 released by the brand has been added too, ESCI – 9005 – AB-205 Transport, ESCI – 9006 – AB-205 Ambulance and ESCI – 9009 – UH-1D “Huey Hog”.

2022/08/23

Continuing the ESCI quest, a series of Osprey V-22 kits, tooled when the aircraft was just a prototype, ESCI – 9082 – HV-22A Osprey, ESCI – 9083 – Osprey CV 22A, ESCI – 9084 – Osprey PV-22A and ESCI – 9087 – MV 22A Osprey with U.S. Assault Team, a series of kits that we can only recommend for collectors, or those interested in the early prototypes. Also added ESCI – 9122 – KC-135A Stratotanker, a quite good original AMT/Ertl kit released once under ESCI brand and also used by Italeri. Lastly for today, ESCI – 9059 – AH-64A Apache, a kit that did not succeed and is largely surpassed nowadays.

2022/08/24

A poker of ESCI Mirage F1s references added to the list, ESCI – 9061 – Mirage F1 C-200, ESCI – 9062 – Mirage F1 CR, ESCI – 9063 – Mirage F1 / AM 39 Exocet and ESCI – 9081 – Mirage F1 With Pilots and Ground Crew. The kit was quite finely engraved for the time but ESCI did a fatal mistake on the cockpit/canopy shape that ruined the kit till the point that never was re-issued by ESCI-Ertl after the 1988 original release.

Six new references added to the ESCI list, for one of the best Aircraft 1/72 scale kits that they produced, the A-4 Skyhawk. ESCI and later ESCI-Ertl squeezed the moulds to produce six releases, which basically were two, with our without the weapons and payload sprue, and which goes from the quite accurate A-4E to the less A-4F or A-4G variants. The kits in question are ESCI – 9003 – A-4F “Aggressor”, ESCI – 9004 – Navy Skyhawk A-4E, ESCI – 9008 – A-4E Israeli “Hot Rod”, ESCI – 9010 – Blue Angels A-4E, ESCI – 9090 – A-4G “Aussie” and ESCI – 9089 – A-4 “Scooter”, and after over 40 years of the initial release, the kits are still valuable.

This completes the first 20 references added, still a long way to go.

2022/08/27

The ESCI quest is getting harder than expected, the Italian brand did many specific releases just for some countries and is being complicated find boxes’ images covers for all of them.

Today we added 12 references, all of them for the same subject, the Douglas DC-3/C-47 Skytrain, an excellent ESCI kit released in 1981 and lastly in 1992 under ESCI-Ertl, still considered a good kit, bit superior for many than the Italeri kit tooled in 1979, and not surpassed till the Airfix new tool in 2014.

The references added are:

Another small addition to the ESCI list, ESCI – 9015 – Fokker D.VII, a small plane original from the 60s and also added the unuseful ESCI – 9093 – E.F.A. Eurofighter and its sequel ESCI – 9094 – E.F.A. with Ground Crew and Pilot.

2022/08/28

Added the famous or “infamous” Fokker F27 references by ESCI, ESCI – 9111 – Fokker F27-MK 400 Friendship, ESCI – 9112 – Fokker F27-MK 400M Troopship, ESCI – 9113 – Fokker F27-MK 400 MPA Maritime, ESCI – 9114 – F-27 Fokker Friendship and ESCI – 9115 – F-27 Fokker Friendship. A lost opportunity by ESCI-Ertl when released this in 1991.

2022/08/30

Added another pair of ESCI references, ESCI – 9068 – F-111A “Aardvark” and ESCI – 9072 – EF-111A Raven, a still nice kit despite detractors.

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