The Modelling News: Two large scale kits from Trumpeter in October...

Trumpeter has added two large-scale / large projects to their latest releases in October. We have sprues, art, colours & decals of the 32nd STOVL F-35B & 16th scale Sd.kfz.251 in our preview...

Two large scale kits from Trumpeter in October...

F-35B Lightning

by Trumpeter

Model:03232

1/32nd scale

Price: $169 USD On the HLJ Website

The Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II, short take-off / vertical landing (STOVL) variant, is the world’s first supersonic STOVL stealth aircraft. It is designed to operate from austere bases and a range of air-capable ships near front-line combat zones. It can also take off and land conventionally from longer runways on major bases. The JSF Joint Strike Fighter program was set up to develop a new fifth generation “all-weather” multi-role fighter capable of being a valid replacement for the current ground attack aircraft of the United States and NATO countries.

The colour profiles included in this kit

Thanks to its STOVL capabilities, the F-35B was designed for vertical landing and take-off and to operate from aircraft carriers such as the Queen Elizabeth of the Royal Navy or the Cavour of the Italian Navy. Also used by the Marine Corps, it is characterised by the adoption of the Pratt & Whitney engine with afterburner and downward swiveling exhaust nozzle. The extreme operational flexibility, the offensive load that it is capable of transporting, the on-board technology and the strong innovation of the project, will make the F-35 Lightning II a sure protagonist of the 21st century air force. The U.S. Marine Corps' F-35B aircraft reached initial operational capability (IOC) on July 31, 2015, and as of January 2017, a squadron of F-35Bs is permanently based at MCAS Iwakuni, Japan.

The decal sheets included in the kit

F-35B aircraft have been delivered to the U.S. Marines and the UK. U.S. STOVL aircraft are stationed at the first operational F-35B base, Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona, and Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina, where F-35B training is taking place. The first UK F-35Bs are located at RAF 17 Squadron, Edwards AFB, California, where operational testing is being conducted. The Italian Air Force will also operate the F-35B. Nearly all components of the frame and chassis were reinforced as well increasing the total weight to 21.6tons (total gross weight 87tons) allowing a load of up to 50 tons to be towed.

Total of 18 sprues, upper fuselage, lower fuselage and tires

Model Length: 495mm / Wingspan: 413.7mm

Total Parts 400+

The parts of the kit

- Detailed fuselage & wing w/accurate design

- Highly detailed Engines

- Finely detailed cockpit, gear cabin

- Grooved rubber tires & clear parts

- Photo-etched parts

Sd.kfz.251 Half-track D-type

by Trumpeter

Model: 00942

1/16th scale

Price: $115 USD On the HLJ Website

The Sd.Kfz. 251 (Sonderkraftfahrzeug 251) was a German armoured half-track infantry fighting vehicle from World War II, developed by the Hanomag company on the basis of the unarmoured Sd.Kfz. 11 half-track vehicle. With at least 15252 vehicles and 23 variants produced by seven manufacturers, the Sd.Kfz. 251 became the most frequently produced German half-track vehicles of the war.

The colour profiles included in this kit

The Sd.Kfz.251/1 Ausf.D was introduced in the spring of 1943 as a set of small changes in design for mass-production. The previous versions, also known as the “Alte” (around 4650 from June 1939 to September 1943) included the A, B and C, but the Ausf.D, also known as “Neue” was different, and 10,602 were built by Hanomag, MNH, Schichau Wumag, Weserhätte, Borgward, Evans+Pistor, Deutsche Werke and Büssing-NAG between 1943 and ’45. The modifications included many changes in production design.

The decal sheet included in the kit

The number of armoured panels was reduced from 19 to 9, permanent stowage boxes with padlocked access traps were added, replacing the former rear mufflers. Simple vision slits, simple flat engine hood panels with relocated air intakes under the hull, simplified reverse sloping rear end with flat door panels and many other minor modifications allowed the simplification of construction while offering the same protection, and it was far less labour-intensive. A feat of engineering required in times of increasing Allied bombings and exhausting metal supplies. However, the internal configuration was unchanged since the Ausf.C, and the FuG Spr Ger f radio was still in use. By this stage in the war, the Ausf.D was more and more required for ad-hoc modifications and conversions due to a dramatic increase in the need of fire support platforms of all kind.

The parts of the kit