Post War Jet Aircraft

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Post War Jets

This massive bomber was built as an interim piece of hardware simply to fill a short term need

while more stealthy aircraft were under development. Even so it is a fearsome weapon able to deliver a truly impressive weapons load over long distances and at supersonic speeds. Built only in limited numbers this heavy bomber is still active in US inventories and the model is nearly as impressive as the real thing. Check out this massive kit from Revell of the Rockwell B-1B Lancer. 10/15/06

The was the first American four engined jet to fly, it was the first operational jet bomber to be used by the US Air Force,

the first jet aircraft to be refueled in the air and it was the first jet bomber to drop a nuclear weapon. On July 29, 1952, an RB-45C made the first non-stop Trans-Pacific flight, having been refueled twice by KB-29's along the way. Here Gary Buchanan takes us through the Mach-2 1/72 kit of the B-45 Tornado. 8/25/07

The supersonic B-58 Hustler derived from a concept developed in the late 1940s and early 1950s which took into account

the greatly increased capability of ground defenses, including radar tracking and ground-to-air missiles. Among the many revolutionary advances embodied in the B-58 Hustler was the use of new procedures and materials in constructing the aircraft. Today there are only six B-58s left in existence. Issued in 1986 by Monogram and seeing a few subsequent reissues from Revell here is the 1/48 Convair B-58 “Hustler”. 7/23/05

When Monogram released their B-58 Hustler in 1/48 they failed to open the aft crew compartments or provide

any details for those areas. Not long after that Engines and Things came along with a somewhat crude detail package for this area and development of the kit seemed to stop there. Now, years later, a small cottage industry, Golden Dragons Productions has issued an extensive set to remedy this problem. Somewhat sporadic in their production of the set it is the best detail set to date for this old Monogram kit. Here is the GDPR B-58 Cockpit Set. 8/27/05

In the late spring of 2003 Revell of Germany re-issued the 1/48 scale B-58 Hustler. It seemed like a good idea to

review the detail kit that "Engines and Things" had produced a few years ago for the more daring modelers.
For your enjoyment and information, here is the review for "Engines and Things" B-58 Back Seat Set
6/3/03

I like the s

trange and unusual and I think this aircraft definitely fits the bill. Coming from the Bedfordshire area of the United Kingdom, from the mist enshrouded shop of ARBA Resins, this is the British version of the Bell X-1 trans-sonic research aircraft. The De Havilland 108 “Swallow”, high speed version. For a review of this unusual and historically significant aircraft, click here…De Havilland DH-108
10/18/03 Construction completed 3/7/04

Design work on the Vampire series actually began in mid 1942. De Havilland utilized an egg shaped fuselage to house the

Goblin engine and a twin boom structure to avoid interfering with hot exhaust gasses. The Vampire did not take flight until 1943 and the final production version was not test flown until 1945 so the type never saw active service during the Second World War. While many single seat fighters were produced and sold to a myriad of air forces three predominant two seat version were manufactured and here we can take a look at all of those kitted by Classic Airframes in 1/48. Here are the Vampire Two Seaters. 6/15/08 Construction complete 7/24/08

I am not generally a Jet person but the A6 Intruder and it’s electronic warfare cousin the EA-6B Prowler hold a

special place for me. I like these aircraft because they perform more in the realm of older subsonic aircraft that I usually build. This is Monogram’s reissue of the 1992 1/48 scale EA-6B Prowler. For a review of this kit, click here…EA-6B Prowler Review
Here is a look at the CAM decals that will eventually end up on this bird...VAQ-130 Zappers Updated 11/28/08

One highly sought after kit in the world of 1/48 aircraft modeling has always been the Revell-Monogram

EA-6B Prowler and when this kit was put into production briefly in 2003 it prompted several aftermarket companies to release various upgrade packages. Here I would like to show you the new and improved replacement cockpit from V.M.D Studios just released in May of 2005. I think this is a “must have” accessory for any Prowler build. Without further ado here is the Black Box Prowler Resin Cockpit, Combat series. 6/3/05

In 1944 the Ministry of Aircraft Production was looking for a replacement for the DeHavilland Mosquito,

The task of developing a replacement was sent to English Electric, a well established manufacturing concern with no actual aircraft experience. With “Teddy” Petted heading their design team they came up with a winning creation that ultimately served in over a dozen contemporary Air Forces in cluding the USAF and only was retired from the RAF in 2006. Lets take a look at the limited run Classic Airframes E.E. Canberra B.2. 6/24/06

The idea that was to become the F-16 Fighting Falcon (Viper to its crews) began in the 1960s.

A group of individuals influenced by Colonel John Boyd known as the fighter mafia championed the development of a lightweight, high maneuverability fighter program which ultimately produced the F-16 in 1976. Still in use and in production today this workhorse of a jet can be found in air forces around the world. In April of 2007 Tamiya released this 1/48 version of the block 50 aircraft which is to date probably the most accurate 1/48 scale model of this particular aircraft. Let’s take a look at this wonderful kit of the Lockheed Martin F-16 C/J Block 50 ‘Viper’. 4/6/07

The F-22A Raptor built by Lockheed Martin in cooperation with Boeing represents the fifth generation of The United States air

superiority fighter. Not only is it an air superiority fighter but also fills several other mission functions including ground attack, electronic warfare and signals intelligence. The aircraft traces its origins back to 1981 when the Air Force first began to look for a replacement for the F-15 Eagle. From Academy this is the 1/48 F-22A Raptor. 1/23/2011 Construction complete 6/16/2011

In 1949 Republic gave its F-84 a new swept wing and tail and fitted it with a J35-A-25 engine in hopes of bringing its performance up to that of the F-86 Sabre. The F-84 designation was retained because it was thought that the F-84F would be a low cost improvement of the F-84 with around 55% parts commonality. Here Adam Longenecker takes a look inside the box of the 1/48 Italeri F-84F Thunderstreak. 1/09/2012

The Air Force called it the Thunderchief but the crews called her “Thud” because that was the sound she made when she crashed.

We've looked at this aircraft before in large scale, recently Trumpeter's little brother, Hobby Boss, released the kit in a downsized version. Based on the same drawings here is the smaller and slightly simplified 1/48 scale Hobby Boss F-105D Thunderchief. 2/5/2011 Construction completed 2/24/2012

Designed in the late 1940s with an orthodox configuration, the IL-28 was the first jet bomber to enter service with the Soviet air force. It was their equivalent to the British Canberra. This kit has gone through a strange evolution beginning with the original release by Bilek followed by a reissue from Italeri. This kit was rough to say the least but things really picked up when Trumpeter retooled the kit and issued it under their own banner. In 1/72 here is the final evolution of this kit of the Ilyushin IL-28 Beagle. 5/13/05

The 1/72 scale IL-28 Beagle kit went through a strange path of evolution before it was a competent model kit but the addition of some resin materials from a little Czech company called Pavla really makes for an outstanding model. This is not the only aftermarket set available for the IL-28 but it covers the most features that needed help on the kit be it from Bilek, Italeri or Trumpeter. For your consideration, from Pavla Models here is the IL-28 “Beagle” resin detail kit. 6/12/05

In 1950 Ilyushian engineers began design work for a close support aircraft whose pedigree obviously tracked back to the earlier IL-28 ‘Beagle’ and IL-2 Shturmovik. After five years of teething problems and design modification the initial production run began only to be terminated almost immediately. The type never made it into operational service but did prove itself to be a nimble and potentially effective support aircraft before fading into the annals of aviation history. Here is the limited run 1/72 Amodel kit of the early Ilyushan IL-40 ‘Brawny’. 12/13/2010 Construction completed 1/1/2011

The design requirements for this aircraft grew out of the perceived needs for bomber escort fighters during the last days of the Second World War. Originally designated the F-88 Voodoo the aircraft experienced so many changes during development that it was re-designated the F-101 Voodoo. Even after the initial production run enough modifications were made that it should have been given an entirely new designation but ended up with a B suffix and went into service in the US and Canada as an Interceptor. Originally kitted in 1985 let’s look at the current incarnation of Monogram’s 1/48 scale McDonnell F-101B ‘Voodoo’. 8/4/07

Some planes are marvels of technology while others are more the pilot’s machine – made for flying. The MiG-21 is one of those in the pilot’s machine category. It did not have seriously advanced avionics or targeting acquisition but it was fast, Mach 2, agile and in the hands of a well trained pilot a very dangerous weapon. Easily maintained this is one of the most produced aircraft since the Second World War. Here we take a look at the 1/32 scale kit from Trumpeter that is relegating the old Revell kit to the back of the stash or to the E-Bay listings. Here is the large scale MiG-21 MF. 12/16/06

During the 1950’s Northrop began an internally funded light fighter program with the intent to develop jet fighters capable of operating off of U.S. Navy escort carriers. While the U.S. Navy no longer had a demand for a light fighter there still existed a world market for the aircraft and the F-5A Freedom Fighter went into production for sale to U.S. Allies with 636 units manufactured. Several upgrades and variations of the type were produced and AFV Club is doing their best to give us all the late model Northrop F-5 aircraft and variants. 11/21/2010

The USAF called it the F-105 Thunderchief but the crews called it “Thud” because that was the sound it made when it crashed. If that doesn’t inspire you to fly safe then I don’t know what will. Here you can take a look at the 1/32 offering from Trumpeter Models of the largest single engine fighter ever used by the USAF and the primary strike bomber during the early days of the Vietnam War. A wonderful kit to behold this is the Republic F-105D Thunderchief. 2/24/08

The Sukhoi Su-27 was designed specifically to combat the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle As the F-15 program developed and the Russians learned more specifics of the aircraft their program saw continued modification to combat the American fighter’s capabilities. By time the aircraft entered service it was a formidable looking aircraft with amazing flight capabilities and is one of Russians premier multirole aircraft. From Academy this is the 1/48 Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker B. 7/22/2010 Construction Completed 12/21/2010

In 1947 Vickers-Armstrong submitted a proposal for the Valiant heavy bomber which was to become one of and the first of the Cold War V Bombers. While not as advanced in design as the A.V. Roe and Handley-Page proposals the Valiant was able to enter service by 1955 and this was what won it the primary contract. A poor choice of Aluminum type used in the main wing spar couplings resulted in it also being the first withdrawn from service. Here from Airfix is the first of the V Bombers, the 1/72 Vickers-Armstrong 'Valiant'. 10/3/12

When reporters first saw Douglas' racy, form-follows-function X-3 Stiletto on the flight line at Edwards, in October 1952, they were certain they were looking at the shape of things to come. Things didn’t work out quite as planned but a lot of crucial information was discovered during the program’s life and this sleek machine helped to develop construction methods using high-tech materials that resulted in more advanced and recognizable aircraft in the future. Come on, let’s take a look at the Douglas X-3 Stiletto 3/10/04

This is a gallery of my Special Hobby 1/48 scale X-15 A-2. The kit is built right out of the box with virtually no modifications. For gallery pictures and some ramblings about the kit, click here…X-15 A-2
Revised 9/18/03

Over the years there have been several models of the X-15 manufactured, almost all of them 1/72 scale or box scale. Each of these kits have had their issues from accuracy to fit. Special Hobby has taken care of most of these in this new 1/32 scale issue of the X-15A-2. Join me in examining this well detailed multi media kit of the legendary research space plane that lead to the development of the space shuttle. Click here for the Special Hobby 1/32 X-15A-2. 3/15/08

Developed by the infamous Lockheed Skunk Works as an add-on contract for Air Defense Command the YF-12A interceptor set records in virtually every category it cared to. Operated as a test bed for an interceptor that was never to be and the only aircraft that could ever really be considered a chase plane for the space shuttle, here is the old Testors 1/48 scale YF-12A Interceptor
12/12/03

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