Firstly, apologies for my silence following the preview of the Mosquitos at the June London Show. We've been working on improvements to the prototypes and I wanted to ensure all was A OK before formally launching.
So here we are, The first special commission of Figarti by Grey Goose Collectables Ltd. not 1 but 2 different Mosquitos.
To my mind THE iconic plane of WW11 and easily the most versatile of any Air Force during the conflict.
There have been some suggestions as to the versions here is the definitive;
ETA-050 Operation Jericho-Pickard
Group Capt Percy Charles Pickard at 24 was already a distinguished pilot with a string of "secret missions" behind him. On 18th February 1944, he was chosen to lead the attack of a combined Australian, New Zealand and British raid on the prison at Amiens where the Gestapo were holding over 200 French Resistance fighters. The mission was to firstly breach the outer wall with a second wave breaching the Northern wall of the prison building to allow the prisoners to escape.
As the prisoners sprinteded from the breached walls, Group Capt "Pick" Pickard radioed the code for success "Hello Daddy, Red-Red-Red" to divert the third wave of Mosquitos tasked with the grim alternative of destroying the prison and all within if no prisoners escaped.
Tragically, as Pickard made one last sweep to ensure his planes were all safely returning, his plane was attacked byFW190 fighters from 7./JG-26 severing the tail of his plane and killing both Pickard and his navigator, Flight Lieutenant John Alan "Bill" Broadley.
Offerred exculsively by Grey Goose Collectables, Figarti Miniatures proudly introduces its Jericho Mosquito (ETA-050) with markings of the 487 squadron RNZAF De Havilland Mosquito (DH.98) Fighter-Bomber MarkV1 representing Pickard and Broadley's aircraft.
This FBMKV1 packed devastating armament with four .303 Browning machine guns in her nose and four British Hispano 20mm cannon packed in her forward fuselage belly alongwith a potent bomb load. Interestingly for the time the "Jericho" Mosquitos were VHF equipped hence no aerial mast on her back. Also the exhaust shrouds were removed in order to save weight and provide maximum speed.
Both of these innovations have been incorporated in the model.
http://i623.photobucket.com/albums/tt319/clivegande/71677247-683.jpg
http://i623.photobucket.com/albums/tt319/clivegande/71677247-666.jpg
ETA-051 Coastal Command Banff Strike Wing
On 7th November 1944, 143 Squadron De Havilland Mosquitos flew their first sorties as part of the Banff Strike Wing whilst patrolling the Norwegian coastline.
They operated in this region until the end of the war in an anti shipping role as they raised havoc against the Kriegsmarine along the Norwegian Coast and Fjords.
Most of the missions were low level attacks against heavily defended targets of coastal batteries, flak emplacements, shipping and of course the Luftwaffe. Their contribution was costly but highly successful to the war effort.
Offerred exclusively by Grey Goose Collectables, Figarti Miniatures proudly introduces its "Banff Strike Wing" (ETA-051) with the markings of 143 Squadron RAF De Havilland Mosquito (DH.98) Fighter Bomber MarkV1.
With similar Machine Gun and Cannon armament to the "Jericho" version the "Banff" also carries eight devastating rocket projectiles (RP's) each with a 25pound warhead.
http://i623.photobucket.com/albums/tt319/clivegande/71677247-680.jpg
http://i623.photobucket.com/albums/tt319/clivegande/71677247-677.jpg
Prices are £299 for UK and Europe and $369 for rest of the World.
Although a Grey Goose Exclusive they are also available via Matt at Hobby Bunker.
Availability should be end of August/1st week of Sept given shipping time line.
Will it fit the shelf? Both models have the following dimensions;-
wingtip to wingtip 21.5ins(54cms)
length (gun barrels to tail tip 16.25ins (41cms)
height to cockpit 5ins(12.5cms)
height of tail from ground 4.5ins(11.5cms)
By the way no plans for a Guy Gibson version as it was a pathfinder i.e. bomber version and I much prefer the FB. Similarly no plans for a "Invasion stripe" version as they were very few in the ground attack role performed by the Typhoon around DDay.
Hope that helps and will try and answer any QandA's but will have limited access for the next week or so.
SHOP EARLY!!
Best Regards
Clive
So here we are, The first special commission of Figarti by Grey Goose Collectables Ltd. not 1 but 2 different Mosquitos.
To my mind THE iconic plane of WW11 and easily the most versatile of any Air Force during the conflict.
There have been some suggestions as to the versions here is the definitive;
ETA-050 Operation Jericho-Pickard
Group Capt Percy Charles Pickard at 24 was already a distinguished pilot with a string of "secret missions" behind him. On 18th February 1944, he was chosen to lead the attack of a combined Australian, New Zealand and British raid on the prison at Amiens where the Gestapo were holding over 200 French Resistance fighters. The mission was to firstly breach the outer wall with a second wave breaching the Northern wall of the prison building to allow the prisoners to escape.
As the prisoners sprinteded from the breached walls, Group Capt "Pick" Pickard radioed the code for success "Hello Daddy, Red-Red-Red" to divert the third wave of Mosquitos tasked with the grim alternative of destroying the prison and all within if no prisoners escaped.
Tragically, as Pickard made one last sweep to ensure his planes were all safely returning, his plane was attacked byFW190 fighters from 7./JG-26 severing the tail of his plane and killing both Pickard and his navigator, Flight Lieutenant John Alan "Bill" Broadley.
Offerred exculsively by Grey Goose Collectables, Figarti Miniatures proudly introduces its Jericho Mosquito (ETA-050) with markings of the 487 squadron RNZAF De Havilland Mosquito (DH.98) Fighter-Bomber MarkV1 representing Pickard and Broadley's aircraft.
This FBMKV1 packed devastating armament with four .303 Browning machine guns in her nose and four British Hispano 20mm cannon packed in her forward fuselage belly alongwith a potent bomb load. Interestingly for the time the "Jericho" Mosquitos were VHF equipped hence no aerial mast on her back. Also the exhaust shrouds were removed in order to save weight and provide maximum speed.
Both of these innovations have been incorporated in the model.
http://i623.photobucket.com/albums/tt319/clivegande/71677247-683.jpg
http://i623.photobucket.com/albums/tt319/clivegande/71677247-666.jpg
ETA-051 Coastal Command Banff Strike Wing
On 7th November 1944, 143 Squadron De Havilland Mosquitos flew their first sorties as part of the Banff Strike Wing whilst patrolling the Norwegian coastline.
They operated in this region until the end of the war in an anti shipping role as they raised havoc against the Kriegsmarine along the Norwegian Coast and Fjords.
Most of the missions were low level attacks against heavily defended targets of coastal batteries, flak emplacements, shipping and of course the Luftwaffe. Their contribution was costly but highly successful to the war effort.
Offerred exclusively by Grey Goose Collectables, Figarti Miniatures proudly introduces its "Banff Strike Wing" (ETA-051) with the markings of 143 Squadron RAF De Havilland Mosquito (DH.98) Fighter Bomber MarkV1.
With similar Machine Gun and Cannon armament to the "Jericho" version the "Banff" also carries eight devastating rocket projectiles (RP's) each with a 25pound warhead.
http://i623.photobucket.com/albums/tt319/clivegande/71677247-680.jpg
http://i623.photobucket.com/albums/tt319/clivegande/71677247-677.jpg
Prices are £299 for UK and Europe and $369 for rest of the World.
Although a Grey Goose Exclusive they are also available via Matt at Hobby Bunker.
Availability should be end of August/1st week of Sept given shipping time line.
Will it fit the shelf? Both models have the following dimensions;-
wingtip to wingtip 21.5ins(54cms)
length (gun barrels to tail tip 16.25ins (41cms)
height to cockpit 5ins(12.5cms)
height of tail from ground 4.5ins(11.5cms)
By the way no plans for a Guy Gibson version as it was a pathfinder i.e. bomber version and I much prefer the FB. Similarly no plans for a "Invasion stripe" version as they were very few in the ground attack role performed by the Typhoon around DDay.
Hope that helps and will try and answer any QandA's but will have limited access for the next week or so.
SHOP EARLY!!
Best Regards
Clive
