We avoided showing you all of the Tristar re-boxings 🙊 in this month's new item preview from Hobbyboss. Instead, we have the boxart, colours, decals, plastic and everything else inside the boxes of their two other releases for this month of June in our preview...
Hobbyboss' June new Item Preview
Soviet BT-2 Tank (medium)
Model: #84515
1:35th scale
The BT tanks were a series of Soviet light tanks produced in large numbers between 1932 and 1941. They were lightly armoured, but reasonably well-armed for their time, and had the best mobility of all contemporary tanks.
The BT tanks were known by the nickname Betka from the acronym, or its diminutive Betushka. The successor of the BT tanks would be the famous T-34 medium tank, introduced in 1940, which would replace all of the Soviet fast tanks, infantry tanks, and medium tanks in service.
Model Length: 163.9mm Width:64.9mm
14 sprues, upper hull and lower hull
Photo-Etched Parts Included
The kit consists of over 260 parts
Multi-slide moulded hull and turret
“Persian Cat” F-14A TomCat - IRIAF
Model: #81771
1:48th scale
The sole foreign customer for the Tomcat was the Imperial Iranian Air Force, during the reign of the last Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. In the early 1970s, the Imperial Iranian Air Force (IIAF) was searching for an advanced fighter, specifically one capable of intercepting Soviet MiG-25 reconnaissance flights. After a visit of U.S. In early 1974, an order was placed for a total of 80 Tomcats and 714 Phoenix missiles as well as spare parts and replacement engines for 10 years, complete armament package, and support infrastructure.
Following the overthrow of the Shah in 1979, the air force was renamed the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) and the post-revolution Interim Government of Iran cancelled most Western arms orders. In 1980, an Iranian F-14 shot down an Iraqi Mil Mi-25 helicopter for its first air-to-air kill during the Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988). According to research by Tom Cooper, Iranian F-14s scored at least 50 air-to-air victories in the first six months of the war against Iraqi MiG-21s, MiG-23s, and some Su-20s/22s. During the same period, only one Iranian F-14 suffered damage after being hit by a nearby MiG-21 when it exploded. As fighting escalated between 1982 and 1986, the F-14s gradually became more involved in the battle.
They performed well, but their primary role was to intimidate the Iraqi Air Force and avoid heavy engagement to protect the fleet's numbers. Their presence was often enough to drive away opposing Iraqi fighters. The precision and effectiveness of the Tomcat's AWG-9 weapons system and AIM-54A Phoenix long-range air-to-air missiles enabled the F-14 to maintain air superiority.
In November 2015, Iranian F-14s had been reported to still be flying escort for Russian Tu-95 bombers on air strikes in Syria against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
22 sprues, upper fuselage, lower fuselage and tyres
Total Plastic Parts 390+
Model Length: 397.2mm Wingspan: 233.2mm(MIN.)/407mm(MAX.)
- Bubble-shaped canopy is 2-directional slide-moulded
- Wing sweep can be varied
- Optional position flaps
- External weapons load: AIM-9×2; AIM-7×2, AIM-54×6 & Fuel Tanks×2
Photo-Etched Parts Included
