Kit Previews E – I
F-107 Ultra Sabre
North American F-107A Ultra Sabre by Trumpeter 1/72 scale Kit No. 1605 Cost: $17.00 Decals: Three versions - all U.S. Air Force prototypes Comments: Crisp detail, engraved panel lines History Developed by North American Aviation in the mid-1950's, the F-107 was the...
F-117 Nighthawk
Lockheed Martin F-117A Nighthawk by Hasegawa 1/72 scale Kit NO. 00531 Cost: $15.00 Decals: Two versions - both USAF Comments: Great kit for a quick build of the Stealth Fighter History The F-117 Nighthawk was developed under great secrecy for the U.S. Air Force by...
Fairchild 91
The Fairchild 91 was a single-engine, eight-passenger flying boat developed in the United States in the mid-1930’s in response to a Pan American Airlines requirement for a small amphibian aircraft. It would ultimately service a route along the Amazon River in Brazil, earning the nickname “Jungle Clipper.”
Fairey Delta
Fairey Delta by Novo/Frog 1/72 scale Cost: $10.00 Decals: One version, for the world speed record-breaking aircraft, WG774 Comments: Old kit, hard to find intact; engraved panel lines History First flown on October 6, 1954, the Fairey Delta II was a research aircraft...
Fairey Delta 2
The Fairey Delta 2 was a British supersonic research aircraft built by the Fairey Aviation Company in response to a specification from the Ministry of Supply for a specialized aircraft to investigate controlled flight at transonic and supersonic speeds. The Delta 2, featuring a delta wing and a drooped nose, influenced the development of the Concorde supersonic airliner, and allegedly the Mirage III fighter. It was the final aircraft to be produced by Fairey as an independent manufacturer.
Fairey Firefly Mk. I
The Fairey Firefly was the Royal Navy’s most capable two-seat fighter of World War II, entering service in late 1943. Designed to replace both the aging Sea Gladiator biplane and the relatively modern yet still obsolete Fulmar two-seat fighter. In Europe, it participated in attacks against the German battleship Tirpitz, and in the Pacific, it harassed Japanese aircraft and ground installations throughout the East Indies, attacking oil refineries in Sumatra, Palambang, and elsewhere.
Fairey Fulmar
The Fairey Fulmar was an underpowered Fleet Air Arm fighter that despite its shortcomings, helped protect British shipping at a critical stage early in World War II. Smer’s kit features engraved panel lines, a one-piece canopy and decals by Propagteam.
Fairey Seafox
Fairey Seafox by Matchbox 1/72 scale Kit No. PK-36 Cost: $10.00 Decals: Two British Royal Navy versions - 173 Catapult Flight, Kalafrana, Malta, aboard HMS Arethusa, 1939; and 702 Squadron Fleet Air Arm, detached to HMS Asturias, 1942 Comments: Interesting kit of a...
Farman NC 223.4
The Farman NC 223.4 was a mail plane commandeered by the French Aeronavale and was the first Allied plane to bomb Berlin during WWII…
General Dynamics FB-111 Aardvark
General Dynamics’ F-111 was borne of Defense Secretary Robert McNamara’s attempt in 1961 to shoe-horn Air Force and Navy requirements for new combat aircraft into a single airframe. It overcame bureaucracy and inter-service rivalry to prove itself a highly sophisticated, capable strike aircraft in Vietnam, but is most famous for the 1986 raid against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
FH-1 Phantom (Special Hobby)
The McDonnell FH-1 Phantom was was a small, straight-winged single-seat jet fighter, the first in the U.S. Navy inventory. It flew for the first time in January 1945 and entered service with the fleet in July 1947. Jet technology was advancing so rapidly that it was phased out by 1950, in favor of the larger, more powerful McDonnell F2H Banshee, but it made history as the Navy’s first jet fighter.
Fokker Dr. I
The Fokker Dr. I was Germany’s response to the impressive Sopwith tri-plane, which along with the S.E.5a, Bristol F.2B, Sopwith Camel, and Spad fighters, had by the Summer of 1917 outclassed the Albatros fighters which were the mainstay of the Imperial German Air Service. With its superb maneuverability, it became the “second Fokker scourge.”
Goppingen Go 9
The Göppingen Gö 9 was a one-off prototype commissioned by the Dornier-Werke and constructed by Schempp-Hirth, to test the idea of an airplane with a mid-fuselage engine driving a pusher propeller in the tail, and turned by a long driveshaft. This proof-of-concept development aircraft led directly to the Dornier Do 335 Pfeil (Arrow).
Israel Aircraft Industries Finger
IAI’s Finger was a Falklands War-era modernization program for the Dagger, a Mirage V derivative exported to Argentina…
Flettner Fl 282
Flettner Fl 282 by Huma 1/48 scale Kit No. 6500 Cost: $18.00 Decals: Two versions - both German Luftwaffe Comments: Engraved panel lines; Unusual and relatively rare kit; no pilot figure History The Flettner Fl 282 "Kolibri" (Hummingbird) was a small observation...
Flettner Fl 282 “Kolibri”
The German Navy used this tiny helicopter for reconnaissance during World War II in the Mediterranean Theatre. Work on designs for its offensive use had begun when Allied bombers destroyed the BMW factory producing it.
Focke Wulf Fw 187 A-0
Focke Wulf began development of the Fw 187 in 1936 in the hopes of being awarded a fighter contract with the Luftwaffe. The result, a remarkably advanced fighter, was shunted to the side in favor of the Messerschmitt Bf 110, despite a head-to-head performance comparison which proved the Fw 187 to be the superior aircraft in every critical category: lighter, faster, with a higher service ceiling, greater range and comparable armament.
Focke Wulf Fw 189A2
The Focke Wulf Fw 189 “Uhu” (Owl), was a German twin-engine, three-seat tactical reconnaissance aircraft that mainly served on the Eastern Front in World War II. Due to its success as an observation aircraft, it was known as “The Flying Eye,” and although slow, it was so maneuverable — it could out-turn even a Yak-3 — that Russian pilots had difficulty shooting it down.
Focke Wulf Fw190 w/Hagelkorn
The Focke Wulf Fw 190 was the most versatile single-engined fighter in the Luftwaffe inventory, and the best German piston-engined fighter to see widespread service during the war. It was often used as a test bed for new weapons, including the Blohm and Voss Bv 246 Hagelkorn (“Hailstone”), an air-to-surface glide bomb tested for use as a stand-off weapon, particularly against Allied shipping.
Focke Wulf Fw 190 D-9
Focke-Wulf 190 D-9 by Academy 1/72 scale Kit No. 1660 Cost: $10.00 Decals: 3 versions Comments: Engraved panel lines, excellent cockpit detail, the same for landing gear and wheel wells History The Fw 190, one of Germany's best fighter designs of World War II, made...