Friday, May 20

Preview: Special Hobby's several releases for May in kits & aftermarket...

A trio of plastic kits and a bunch of aftermarket are the stars of Special Hobby/ CMK's releases in May. We look at them all in our preview...

Preview: Special Hobby's several releases for May in kits & aftermarket...

The month of May is traditionally associated with the end of the Second World War in Europe seventy-seven years ago. Special Hobby reminds you about May 1945 with the help of their SA72027 Captured Sd.Kfz.250 model which in his decal sheet offers a vehicle of Prague insurgent troops alongside vehicles captured by the US and Polish armies. The crew of the Czech vehicle fought in various locations in Prague for several days during the May 1945 Prague Uprising, only to get killed, save for only one man, by fire from an enemy armoured vehicle. Yes, even the winners can be defeated, and we should keep it in mind, especially these days.
Originally, Special Hobby wanted to commemorate the war’s end by the release of the 1/48 L-4 Grasshopper kit. It will have to postponed until June as they still need to tackle a few minor issues. But they do have the quarter scale Siebel Si 204E, now featuring the night bomber and bomber-trainer version which is associated which Czechoslovakia in a couple of respects – the few of this airframe which were operated by Germans were in actual fact used to suppress the Slovak National Uprising, and in the post-war years, the Siebel Si 204E type, now known as the Aero C-3B, became the backbone of the Czechoslovak Air Force until the arrival of jet-propelled bomber types.
Then we have the re-release of the 1/72 scale SH72406 Piaggio P.106B. When first re-released last year, the whole edition got sold out in only a couple of months. So we may assume now it is going to happen again.  Among the sets and models are the 1/32nd scale M35 Armament Subsystem Upgrade Set for AH-1G Cobra, and the 72nd Beaufighter Mk.II Late Type Conversion set or a trio of sets designed for the 1/72 Fw 190D made by IBG kits.

Special Hobby Plastic Model Kits

Piaggio P.108B ‘Quadrimotore’
Art.no. 100-SH72406 
1/72nd scale
The Piaggio P.108B kit had already been re-released once in June 2020. And we, unfortunately, did not manage to estimate the requested number of kits needed to satisfy all modellers. The kit got sold out fairly quickly. So, now the kit is being released once again. The type was the sole Italian four-engined bomber of WW2 and was mainly used to fly long-range bomber missions against Gibraltar and targets in Africa. Our model brings both styles of the nose section, with as well as without the gun turret. A total of four styrene sprues is joined by a fifth one, 3D-designed sprue, one clear parts sprue, a sheet of decals catering for three Italian airframes and one captured by the US troops.
- Re-release featuring a new sprue and new resin cast parts
- Both nose styles
- Decals for four aeroplanes including one US captured


Captured Sd.Kfz 250/1 Ausf.A (Alte Ausführung)
Art.no 100-SA72027 
1/72nd scale 
The earlier version of the Sd.Kfz 250 with a hexagon-shaped body armour was one of the most widely used German WW2 armoured personnel carriers. The type was in production and used since 1941. In 1943, the vehicles began to be subsequently replaced by a later type which allowed easier production, the Sd.Kfz 250/1 Neue Ausf.A. Both versions remained in service until the end of the war though. Some of them also fell into the hands of the Allies and were put into military service as well.

Our model with fine detail throughout comes with styrene tracks and offers three colour scheme options. First, there is a sand-painted vehicle with CSR letters on the body (abbreviation for the Czechoslovak Republic) which was used by Czech insurgents during the May 1945 Prague uprising. Next is a green-painted vehicle no.10 bearing the Polish Eagle markings, which was operated by the Polish Army during the liberation of Poland. And the final option is a white-star marked vehicle which was captured by the US troops at the Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes in the winter of 1944. The vehicle retained its original German camouflage with only the stars added.
- Interesting camouflage schemes
- Model with plenty of detail


Siebel Si 204E ‘German Night Bomber & Trainer’
Art.no #100-SH48212 
1/48th scale
The Siebel Si 204A and Si 204D were the transport and trainer versions of the twin-engined aeroplane originally built to be operated by the Lufthansa as well as (and mainly) by the Luftwaffe. In the war years, a trainer bomber version was built and later used in the night bombing role. This type was designated the Si 204E and a pair of prototypes and a small batch of Si 204E-0 production airframes were built. The planes were used in night air raids against the enemy, including operations against the Slovak National Uprising. After the war, the production went on in Czechoslovakia, the new airframes being known as the Aero C-3 type and were the mainstay of the air force bomber units well until the new Soviet jet bombers came in 1955.
The kit consists of ten grey styrene sprues plus two clear ones, and a sheet of decals with markings for three German airframes.

- The decal sheet features an eye-catching version
- plenty of detail both on the outside and in the cockpit areas
- more sets and figures are also available separately


Special Hobby Masks

L-4 Grasshopper Inside/Outside MASK
Art.no. #00-M48007 
1/48th scale
Pre-cut painting masks for the canopy glazing and undercarriage wheels of the new Special Hobby’s L-4Grasshopper model. As the canopy windows can be posed open, the masks are cut both for the inside and outside panels.


Gloster Meteor Mk.8/9 MASK
Art.no. 100-M72039 
1/72nd scale
Set of pre-cut painting masks for the canopy and wheels of Special Hobby’s Meteor Mk.8/9 kits. Contains masks for both styles of the canopy hood as well as the nose camera ports of the FR.9 type.


Resin Kits & Sets

Lancaster Mk.I/III Exhausts 1/48 (for HK kit)
Art.no. #129-4449 
1/48th scale
Resin cast exhausts offer much better levels of detail than the original styrene ones from the kit and will greatly enhance the otherwise quite nice model.


Beaufighter Mk.II Late Type Conversion set 1/72 (for Airfix kit)
Art.no. #129-7490 
1/72nd scale
The Beaufighters of all versions were powered by Hercules radials. The only exception was the Mk.II version which was fitted with the Merlin in-line engines. Along with the British squadrons of the RAF, the Mk.IIs were also operated by Polish, Canadian, Czechoslovak and Australian units. The set offers conversion parts to build the later type with two different exhaust manifolds. Etches and decals – for three RAF and one FAA airframes included.


Lancaster Mk.I/III Mainwheels and Tailwheel w/Leg 1/72
(for Revell, Airfix and other kits)
Art.no.#129-7499 
1/72nd scale
Finely detailed main undercarriage wheels with weighted tyres and hubs of wartime design plus equally detailed tailwheel. For Lancaster bomber models of various producers.


M35 Armament Subsystem Upgrade Set for AH-1G Cobra 
1/32 (for ICM and Revell kits)
Art.no. Scale Barcode #129-5144 
1/32nd scale
This M35 (adapted Vulcan cannon) set consists of both 3D-printed and resin cast parts and will significantly improve the levels of detail of the AH-1G kit whose styrene armament parts lack many of the important detail.


Focke Wulf Fw 190D-9 Exhausts / for 1/72 IBG kits
Art.no.# 129-Q72399 
1/72nd scale
Resin cast and nicely detailed exhausts directly replace the styrene ones of the IBG kit.


Focke Wulf Fw 190D-9 Main Wheels / for 1/72nd IBG kits
Art.no. #129-Q72400 
1/72nd scale
Weighed resin cast undercarriage wheels with nice levels of detail, a direct replacement of the IGB kit parts.


3D Printed Parts

Focke Wulf Fw 190A/D Seat 1/72
Art.no. #129-P72001 
1/72nd scale 
Superbly printed pilot’s seat with nice and sharp edges, mainly designed for the new IBG Fw 190D model. Comes with etched side armour plates and a hood winding wheel which is missing in the kit.

These new kits are available on Special Hobby's Website