That's all for this month, we sincerely hope you enjoy the pictures and would love to hear from you if any of these magnificent models appeal to you. They are all now on our website www.tomgunn.co.uk and can be paid for upfront or over an extended monthly period.
All Gunn Club members qualify for a 5% discount on the website listed price, joining is free so well worth registering.
Our figures for July should be released this week from the docks and hopefully we can dispatch ASAP to all concerned.
The Westland Whirlwind emanated from an Air Ministry Specification of 1935 calling for a single-seat day/night fighter armed with 4 cannon. Of the six companies that responded, Supermarine, Boulton Paul and Westland were initially chosen to produce prototypes. A contract for two Westland prototypes was placed in February 1937 and associated work began, but neither Supermarine nor Boulton-Paul were able to proceed at that time. An order was finally placed with these 2 companies in December 1937 but cancelled the following month in recognition of Westland being well advanced. The first prototype Whirlwind took to the air on 11 October 1938. Powered by two Peregrine 885 hp engines, it exhibited very good handling characteristics. However, modifications were required that delayed development and it was not until January 1939 that a production order was placed for 200 machines.
No 25 Squadron at RAF North Weald was destined to be the first Whirlwind unit and received three machines in May/June 1940. However, with very slow aircraft delivery in prospect, it was decided to re-equip 25 Squadron with the Bristol Beaufighter and that No 263 should now become the first operational unit. Problems in production resulted in this squadron not becoming operational with the Whirlwind until December 1940. In September 1941, No 137 Squadron became the second Whirlwind unit and it was shortly thereafter in January 1942 that, with the realisation that the Beaufighter was just as good as if not better as a night fighter, production ceased. The two squadrons continued to conduct bomber escort missions until the summer of 1942 when, the aircraft’s role was changed. Racks to carry 2 x 250 lb or 500 lb bombs were fitted to supplement the 4 x 20 mm cannon and the Whirlwind was thereafter employed on Rhubarb missions and anti-shipping sorties. Pilots often wrote glowing reviews about the Whirlwind, others were less kind, had time been on it's side then it may have been developed into a great fighting platform for the RAF.
The final Whirlwind mission to be flown by 137 Squadron took place in June 1943 and by 263 Squadron in December of that year, the units re-equipping with Hurricane Mk IVs and Typhoons respectively. On 1st January 1944 the Whirlwind was officially declared obsolete. We have two of these 1/30 scale models available at a price of $799 plus shipping. This machine is in the markings of a bird from 263 Sqn that took part in 'Operation Starkey' in September 1943.
WOW322 Westland Wessex The Westland Wessex was a British-built turbine-powered development of the Sikorsky H-34. It was developed and produced under licence by Westland Aircraft (later Westland Helicopters). One of the main changes from Sikorsky's H-34 was the replacement of the piston-engine powerplant with a turboshaft engine. Early models were powered by a single Napier Gazelle engine, while later builds used a pair of de Havilland Gnome engines.
The Wessex was initially produced for the Royal Navy (RN) and later for the Royal Air Force (RAF); a limited number of civilian aircraft were also produced, as well as some export sales. The Wessex operated as an anti-submarine warfare and utility helicopter; it is perhaps best recognised for its use as a search and rescue (SAR) helicopter. The type entered operational service in 1961, and had a service life in excess of 40 years before being retired from British service. The Wessex saw service in Brunei where it was used to ferry troops during the Indonesian crisis and then later in the Falklands war where around 55 machines took part in the conflict.
Our 1/32 scale machine is one flown by the Royal Navy and is known to have operated during the Falklands war in 1982. We have a total of two models available priced at $1350 plus shipping. The K&C figures, TG Land Rover and mat are shown for scale reference purposes only and are not included.
The Douglas TBD Devastator was an American torpedo bomber utilised by the US Navy during WW2, ordered in 1934, it first flew in 1935 and entered service in 1937. At that point, it was the most advanced aircraft flying for the US Navy and possibly for any navy in the world. However, the fast pace of aircraft development quickly caught up with it, and by the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour the TBD was already outdated. The Devastator performed well in early battles but earned notoriety for a catastrophic performance during the Battle of Midway in which 41 Devastators recorded zero torpedo hits with only six surviving to return to their carriers. Vastly outclassed in both speed and manoeuvrability by the Zero’s they faced, most of the force was wiped out with little consequence except to distract the Zeros from the SBD Dauntless dive bombers that sank four carriers and a heavy cruiser. Although much of the Devastator's dismal performance was later attributed to the many well-documented defects in the US Mark 13 torpedo, the aircraft was withdrawn from frontline service after Midway, being replaced by the Avenger. Our 1/30 scale aircraft was one piloted by Ensign George Gay, an air crewman with the USS Hornet's air squadron. Gay along with 29 other crewmen took off in their Devastator's from the Hornet to intercept the Japanese fleet off Midway, all 10 aircraft were shot down, with Gay being the only survivor. He hid amongst the wreckage of his aircraft as Japanese aircraft strafed him and any other airmen they could see in the water. He spent 30 hours in the water watching 3 of the 4 carriers from the Japanese battle fleet being sunk. He was rescued and once he had recuperated, Gay later went on to fly again with the Navy, surviving the war, he then flew for another 30 years with Trans World Airlines.
This 1/30 scale model is one of only 5 available at present with another 5 on the way and is priced at $999.
Please note the JJD figures are for scale reference purposes only and are not included.
We have had a small restock of the Adolf Galland Me 109, the last batch of 5 were seriously over subscribed, we now have another 5 x 1/30 scale warbirds on offer for those who missed out, please email us at news@thomasgunnminiatures.co.uk if this bird flicks your switch. Cost of this unique wooden warbird is $650 plus shipping
The Messerschmitt Bf 109 was designed by Dr. Willy Messerschmitt, who it could be argued transformed aircraft design around the world for a generation. Messerschmitt helped Germany rebuild its Luftwaffe and enabled it to become one of the most potent air forces in the world. The initial prototype first flew in 1935, powered by a Rolls Royce Kestrel V12 liquid cooled engine. The wing was a low wing monoplane design that housed a narrow track retractable landing gear using spring loaded edge slats and manually activated trailing edge flaps. In other words this design allowed the aircraft to fly at high speed whilst retaining low airspeeds required for take-off and landing. Our latest version is a Bf 109E and was the first model to be powered by a Daimler Benz DB601A engine with a rating of just under 1,100 horsepower. The Bf 109 undertook many further improvements as the war progressed with over 30,000 being built, it soldiered on until the final days of WW2 and was flown by many of Germany’s top aces including Galland and Hartmann.
Our machine is one flown by Baron Franz von Werra, an Ace and recipient of the Knights Cross. Von Werra is best remembered for being 'the one that got away', in that he was the only German pilot to escape from Allied custody during WW2. Initially captured after bailing out over England in 1940 von Werra tried to escape as often as he could but was always recaptured. The Allies shipped him to Canada but he jumped from his prison of war train and made his way from Canada over the border to the USA which at the time was still neutral. The British and Canadian authorities tried to have him returned but he was smuggled out of the USA and returned to Germany via Mexico, Brazil and Spain. Greeted as a hero of the fatherland by Hitler, von Werra returned to flying duties where he tallied up another 14 kills. However in October 1941 just a few months after his escape, his aircraft crashed into the North sea due to engine failure, his body was never recovered and he was presumed dead.
We have 4 of these 1/30 scale models available priced at $650 plus shipping. All figures shown are for scale comparison purposes only.
The Nell was a Japanese navy bomber that first flew in 1935. Designed to have a greater range for operating over the Pacific ocean than existing bombers and to also be capable of carrying heavy enough offensive armament to sink battleships. The Nell was a revolutionary design for its time, its top speed of 170 miles per hours and a range of over 2,700 miles was bought at the cost of no self sealing fuel tanks, little armour or defensive machine guns for the crew (this was remedied later). However it was considered that its speed would be its greatest defensive asset and where needed the Mitsubishi Zero would protect it against Allied fighters where necessary.
The Nell saw its combat debut in China and took part in all the major WW2 campaigns up until the end of 1943, including the attacks on the Philippines, Wake Island and Singapore plus the sinking of the two British Battleships 'Prince of Wales' & 'Repulse' as they took to frustrate Japanese landings in the region. It along with the G4 Betty were the backbone of the Japanese bomber force for this period until more advanced designs became available.
Post 1943 the Nell was considered too vulnerable for front line combat operations and was relegated to transport missions and also used as a glider tug and for paratroop training.
This particular aircraft comes in a stunning green and golden yellow colour scheme with under belly bombs fitted and served with the 901st Kokutai, she was destroyed at Okinawa on the ground by Allied fighters in 1945.
We have 4 of these 1/30 scale models available priced at $999 plus shipping. All the K&C/TG figures shown are for scale comparison purposes only and are not included. The prototype Kurogane utility truck in the pictures will be available later in the year from TG.
Dear all, welcome to our July 2021 Aircraft newsletter featuring some exciting new products. Our shipment finally arrived after something like a 5 week delay, seems to be the norm these days since covid reared its ugly head. Anyway the goods are here now, so lets unleash some of them upon the world!
All our hand carved Mahogany aircraft take in the region of 250 days to manufacture plus many more hours of drying time. For this reason we only make small numbers of each model and every aircraft is a unique piece.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial, helvetica neue, helvetica, sans-serif]For those of you who wish to spread your budget when buying our aircraft, please note we do accept stage payments where you can spread the cost over several months. If you require further details of any of the aircraft in today's newsletter, please email [/FONT]welcome@gunnclub.co.uk and ask for a quote.
A big thank you to Mark Dyer with his assistance in the research and development of these models, it really has been invaluable.
All our aircraft now come with their own stands and can be displayed in flying mode if required.
Please note the Gunn Club discount has now been amended to 5% due to escalating costs such as transportation, packaging and price increases by our suppliers who make these goods. It seems everyone who has suffered during the recent Covid outbreak is now trying to recoup their losses over the last 18 months. Even our insurance cover has increased by over £1000 for the year with no explanation given. Unfortunately if we do not pass on some of these costs we will not be here in business this time next year. We thank you for your understanding in this matter.
Brilliant work on these aircraft. The Nell is outstanding but I find the Devastator to be one of the best TGM aircraft I have seen. It is just fantastic. -- Al
I received my Devastator today from DHL and I am deeply impressed with it. Exceptional cockpit details and the craftsmanship is simply top notch. The Devastator had prominent corrugated ribs on the wings and empennage, and this is painstakingly replicated on this model. In addition, the early USN insignia was masterfully applied over these corrugated areas with straight edges and all. Just a beautiful plane created by The Gunn Team.
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