Hobby Boss HB82408

Building the F-4 Phantom. The iconic McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II was originally developed for the US Navy and entered service in 1960. Proving highly adaptable, it was soon adopted by the US Marine Corps and the US Air Force, and by the mid-1960s had become a major part of their air arms. The Phantom is a large fighter with a top speed of over Mach 2.2, and can carry more than 18,000lb of weapons on nine external hardpoints, including air-to-air missiles, air-to-ground missiles, and various bombs. The F-4 was used extensively during the Vietnam War, where it served as the principal air superiority fighter for the US Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps and became important in the ground-attack and aerial reconnaissance roles later in the war. The aircraft continued to form a major part of US military air power throughout the 1970s and 1980s, being gradually replaced by more modern aircraft such as the F-15 Eagle, Lockheed-Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon F-14 Tomcat and the F/A-18 Hornet. The F-4 Phantom II remained in use by the US forces in the reconnaissance and Wild Weasel roles in the 1991 Gulf War, finally leaving service in 1996. It was also the only aircraft used by both the USAF Thunderbirds (F-4E) and the US Navy Blue Angels (F-4J). The Phantom was also operated by the armed forces of eleven other nations, and Israeli Phantoms saw extensive combat in several conflicts, while Iran used its large fleet of Phantoms, acquired before the fall of the Shah, in the Iran Iraq War, and both the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy used the FG.1 and FGR.2 versions using Rolls-Royce Spey engines. As of 2019, sixty years after its first flight, the F-4 remains in service with Iran, Japan, South Korea, Greece, and Turkey. The aircraft has most recently been in service against the Islamic State group in the Middle East. This third book in the MA Extra Series contains fifteen model builds, colour profiles and scale plans, and will be a must for the Phantom-Phanatic!

More

Building the Supermarine Spitfire The iconic Supermarine Spitfire, the most strategically important British single-seat fighter of World War II. The Spitfire, renowned for winning victory laurels in the Battle of Britain along with the Hawker Hurricane, served in every theatre of the War and was produced in more variants than any other British aircraft. The Spitfire was designed by Reginald Mitchell of Supermarine Ltd., in response to a 1934 Air Ministry specification calling for a high-performance fighter with an armament of eight wing-mounted 0.303-inch machine guns. The airplane was a direct descendant of a series of floatplanes designed by Mitchell to compete for the coveted Schneider Trophy in the 1920s. One of these racers, the S.6, set a world speed record of 357 miles per hour in 1929. Designed around a 1,000-horsepower, 12-cylinder, liquid-cooled Rolls-Royce PV-12 engine (later dubbed the Merlin), the Spitfire first flew in March 1935. It had superb performance and flight characteristics, and deliveries to operational Royal Air Force (RAF) squadrons commenced in the summer of 1938. A more radical design than the Hurricane, the Spitfire had a stressed-skin aluminum structure and a graceful elliptical wing with a thin airfoil that, in combination with the Merlin's efficient two-stage supercharger, gave it exceptional performance at high altitudes. The version of the Spitfire that fought in the Battle of Britain was powered by a Merlin engine. Faster than its formidable German opponent the Bf-109 at altitudes above 15,000 feet and just as manoeuvrable, Spitfires were sent by preference to engage German fighters while the slower Hurricanes went for the bombers. More Hurricanes than Spitfires served in the Battle of Britain, and they were credited with more 'kills,' but it can be argued that the Spitfire's superior high-altitude performance provided the margin of victory. Meanwhile, Supermarine was developing more-capable versions of the Spitfire driven by progressively more-powerful Merlin's. The eight 0.303-inch machine guns gave way to four 0.8-inch automatic cannons, and by war's end the Spitfire had been produced in more than 20 fighter versions alone, powered by Merlin's of up to 1,760 horsepower. Though outperformed by the German Fw-190 on that aircraft's introduction in 1941, the Spitfire restored parity the following year and eventually regained the advantage. It remained a first-line air-to-air fighter throughout the war. Spitfires were used in the defence of Malta, in North Africa and Italy, and, fitted with tail hooks and strengthened tail sections, as Seafires from Royal Navy aircraft carriers from June 1942. Spitfires helped to provide air superiority over the Sicily, Italy, and Normandy beachheads and served in the Far East from the spring of 1943. Fighter-bomber versions could carry a 250 or 500lb bomb beneath the fuselage and a 250-pound bomb under each win One of the Spitfire's most important contributions to Allied victory was as a photo-reconnaissance aircraft from early 1941. Superior high-altitude performance rendered it all but immune from interception, and the fuel tanks that replaced wing-mounted machine guns and ammunition bays gave it sufficient range to probe western Germany from British bases. n late 1943 Spitfires powered by Rolls-Royce Griffon engines developing as much as 2,050 horsepower began entering service. Capable of top speeds of 440 miles per hour and ceilings of 40,000 feet, these were used to shoot down V-1 'buzz bombs.' During World War II, Spitfires were exported in small numbers to Portugal, Turkey, and the Soviet Union, and they were flown by the U.S. Army Air Forces in Europe. When production ceased in 1947, 20,334 Spitfires of all versions had been produced, 2,053 of them Griffon-powered versions. Fighter versions of the Spitfire were withdrawn from RAF service during the early 1950s, while photo-reconnaissance Spitfires continued in service until 1954. In Model Aircraft 'Extra Special' #6, the biggest book of this series some 22`Spitfire build projects will be included, in a 'how-to' format, and continue this fantastic series modelling guides from MA Publications, the new name in scale modelling.

More

Lockheed XF-90 Penetration Fighter By William Simone. 68-pages, including 21-pages of color. 212 B&W photos, 68 color photos, and 90 illustrations. Created by the famous Lockheed "Skunks Works" and highly publicized at the start of the 1950s, the futuristic XF-90 seemed to epitomize what a supersonic fighter ought to look like. I was one of the first Air Force jets to be equipped with afterburners and the first Lockheed aircraft to exceed the speed of sound. Its handsome good looks captured the public's imagination. Even the creators of the popular Blackhawk comic book series adopted the XF-90 as its hero's jet fighter of choice. The text covers the design criteria of the 1945 penetration fighter request-for-proposal and the 8 companies that submitted proposals. Lockheed made over 60 design studies for the XF-90 which included delta wings, V-tails, forward swept wings, variable sweep wings, and Navy proposals, many of which are discussed in the book. The text goes on to describe its development and testing and flight testing at Muroc/Edwards AFB by Tony LeVeir, Lockeed's chief test pilot. Also included is an extensive history (14-pages) of the second XF-90's involvement in the nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site and its subsequent retrieval. Additionally, 2-pages are devoted to Blackhawks and 9-pages to XF-90 models.

More

Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird (In Action Series) Lockheed produced the A-12 to meet the CIA's need for a high-altitude, high-speed surveillance aircraft with a low radar cross-section. In May 1967 the first Blackbird flew over Vietnam. When the CIA retired the A-12 from Vietnam in June 1968, its place was taken by the Air Force version of the plane with the now more familiar name of "Strategic Reconnaissance" SR-71. During the Vietnam War, SR-71 overflights averaged one per day, during which time the enemy unsuccessfully fired 800 surface-to-air missiles against it. In addition to the A-12 and SR-71, Lockheed also turned out the M-21, to launch D-21 drones. Another version, the YF-12, was tested as a high-altitude interceptor but never made it to series production. Uncover the once top-secret history of the famous Blackbird through this all-new 80-page book, packed with detailed line drawings and over 200 photographs.

More

M18 HELLCAT TANK DESTROYER (Soft cover) Though relatively lightly armored, Buick's M18 Hellcat could top 55 MPH, making it the fastest armored fighting vehicle fielded during World War II. The Tank Destroyer men who crewed these vehicles used this speed and the Hellcat's 76mm high-velocity cannon to destroy German tanks; firing at the vulnerable areas of the enemy, and then racing away before coming under fire themselves. This volume examines the three principal variants of the Hellcat - the preproduction T70, early M18, and late M18, using ample visual reference to document these vehicles - and their differences - inside and out. Engine and drive train, driver's compartment, weapons and sighting systems, and stowage - both interior and exterior - are all carefully presented. Illustrated with 230 color photographs, 5 color photographs, 5 line drawings, and 4 profiles; 80 pages.

More