We have box art, sprues, markings & decals of Hobbyboss two new kits of September already! The new early model "Dragon Lady in 72nd scale & the ever present Bergepanther Ausf.G in 35th scale are revealed in our preview.
Preview: Hobbyboss new items coming in September...
U-2A Dragon Lady
Kit No #87270
1/72nd scale
U-2 was built in complete secrecy by Kelly Johnson and the Lockheed Skunk Works, the original U-2A first flew in August 1955. Early flights over the Soviet Union in the late 1950s provided the president and other U.S. decision-makers with key intelligence on Soviet military capability.
The colour choices and decals supplied with this kit
In October 1962, the U-2 photographed the buildup of Soviet offensive nuclear missiles in Cuba, touching off the Cuban Missile Crisis.
The sprues of the kit
Model Length: 210.1mm Wingspan: 339.6mm
Total of 6 sprues
The kit consists of over 150 parts, including 6 clear parts
German Sd.Kfz.179 Bergepanther Ausf.G
Kit No #84553
1/35th scale
The Panther is the common name of a medium tank fielded by Nazi Germany in World War II that served from mid-1943 to the end of the European war in 1945. The Panther's excellent combination of firepower, mobility, and protection served as a benchmark for other nations' late war and immediate post-war tank designs, and it is frequently regarded as one of the best tank designs of World War II.
The colour choices and decals supplied with this kit
Generic numbers - this is OK, but does not reflect a particular vehicle...
While sharing essentially the same engine as the Tiger I tank, it had better frontal armour, better gun penetration, was lighter overall and thus faster, and could handle rough terrain better than the Tigers. The tradeoff was weaker side armour; the Panther proved to be deadly in open country and shooting from long range, but vulnerable to close-quarters combat. Also, the 75 mm gun fired a slightly smaller shell than the Tiger's 88 mm gun, providing less high explosive firepower against infantry, though it was still quite effective.
The sprues of the kit
The Panther was also far cheaper to produce than the Tiger tanks, and only slightly more expensive than the Panzer IV, as its design came to fruition at the same time that the Reich Ministry of Armament and War Production was making great efforts to increase war production. Key elements of the Panther design, such as its armour, transmission and final drive, were compromises made specifically to improve production rates and address Germany's war shortages, whereas other elements such as its highly compact engine and its complex suspension system remained with their elegant but complicated engineering. The result was that Panther tank production was far higher than what was possible for the Tiger tanks but not much higher than what had been accomplished with the Panzer IV. At the same time, the simplified final drive became the single major cause of breakdowns of the Panther tank, and was a problem that was never corrected.
Model Length: 257mm Width: 165.7mm
Total of 22 sprues, upper hull and lower hull
The kit consists of over 1300 parts
Multi-slide moulded lower hull, turret
Individual tracks
Clear parts and thread that is supposed to replicate cables are included - not really very good Hobbyboss...
Photo-etched parts included
These new kits are (or should soon be) available from Hobbyboss' Distributors Worldwide...
