History Brief

In 1936, the Imperial Japanese Navy requested bid submissions for a carrier-based bomber prototype from Mitsubishi, Nakajima, and Aichi. With Mitsubishi dropping out early, the contest was narrowed down to the two remaining competitors. The Aichi prototype made its initial test flight in 1938 and despite several R&D problems was officially adopted in 1939 over the Nakajima prototype on the merits of its superior speed and maneuverability.

The usual sincere “thank you and appreciate your providing us cool stuff!!!!” goes out to Hobbico for their continued, unflinching support of IPMS USA. I also am more than pleased to send out appreciation to our team leading the Reviewer Corps – Steve and Dick, glad you stick with us!

A re-release of the venerable Sea King from the Hasegawa stable, this kit provides the additional details to make an HAR. Mk. 5 in the form of the radome on the aft fuselage spine, the ice/sand filter in front of the engine intakes, a six-bladed rotor, and several cast metal parts such as a water-rescue stand for the lower right side under the door, a metal rod next to it (probably a grab-bar for the spec-ops types to hold onto), and metal spike antennas under the lower front fuselage area. There are also flare dispensers included in plastic, along with different antenna arrays for this particular mark.

A while back, I did an in-the-box review of this kit (click on the link above) that provided the basic info on what's in the box, etc., but I've now completed the model and thought I'd share that information as well.

Out of the box, this looks like a really nice kit and it falls into two categories that interest me, World War I and British ships, so I wanted to build it as well as I could. In addition, I wanted to try out one of those wooden veneer decks that so enhance the appearance of a finished model, and while a kit of this quality can make an impressive model right out of the box, I wanted to add the basic PE railings to finish it off. Conveniently, I was able to obtain both the PE railings and wood veneer deck from the company Artwox.

The Sopwith Triplane was a follow-up to the highly successful 80hp Pup that was widely liked by the young pilots of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). The Triplane prototype was powered by a 110hp Clerget rotary. The prototype was quickly accepted and sent to the front for trials with A Squadron of the RNAS. A Squadron took the new Tripe into combat as soon as it arrived in France. A second Triplane powered by the 130hp Clerget was sent to France in August of 1916. This new highly maneuverable aircraft was an instant hit with the RNAS pilots who had a chance to fly it in combat. Although similar to the Pup, the Triplane fuselage was redesigned for the larger 110hp & 130hp rotary engines. The wingspan was the same as the Pup, but the narrow chord wings allowed better visibility for the pilots. It was more maneuverable than the Pup and had a quicker rate of climb.

Through their intelligence gathering operations in the Spring of 1942, the Soviet Military Command became aware that Hitler and the Wehrmacht were planning a forthcoming summer offensive. In order to disrupt the Germans, Stalin ordered Soviet forces, under the command of Marshal Timoshenko, to prepare and launch a campaign to disrupt German plans. The area chosen was the Kharkov sector, the intent being to encircle and destroy the German Sixth Army. However, unbeknownst to the Soviets, the Germans were planning their own offensive in the Kharkov area, code named Operation Fridericus. What started as a promising Soviet push ended up with a German rout of Soviet forces, and one of the Red Army’s biggest defeats of the Second World War.