October Warbirds 2022 (1 Viewer)

[Gunn Miniatures]

​WOW 420 Focke Wulf 189 'UHU'

The Focke-Wulf Fw 189 Uhu (“Eagle Owl”) was a German twin-engine, twin-boom, three-seat tactical reconnaissance and army co-operational aircraft. It first flew in 1938 and entered service in 1940, production ran until mid-1944. Called the Fliegende Auge (“Flying Eye”) of the German Army, the FW 189 was used extensively on the Eastern Front with great success. It was nicknamed “Rama” (“frame” in the Russian, Ukrainian and Polish languages) by Soviet forces, referring to its distinctive tailboom and stabilizer shapes, giving it the characteristic quadrangular appearance. Despite its low speed and fragile looks, the FW 189’s manoeuvrability made it a difficult target for attacking Soviet fighters. When attacked, the FW 189 was often able to out-turn attacking fighters by simply flying in a tight circle into which enemy fighters could not follow. We have 1 variant on offer in very limited numbers, a two tone green camouflaged model with yellow theatre bands for the Russian front. This was a difficult project to complete in 1/30 scale due to the complex glass canopy but I am sure you will agree the finished result was well worth the effort

This model retails at $950 plus postage, the figures and accessories are shown for display purposes only. Only two of these super looking models are available worldwide.



























In other news we had our figure release in and are shipping the last of them now to all our customers, God bless each and every one of you!
For those of you who have Instagram you can follow us now here https://www.instagram.com/thomas_gunn_miniatures/where you will see exclusive content from Thomas Gunn Miniatures, including previews of new items coming soon. These items will also feature on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/TomGunnMiniaturesand its well worth visiting to see what will soon be on offer.

We have also some retired items available that a customer reserved but decided they no longer required, these include Egypt 006 Cleopatra, Korean War KOR001B/002B/003B/004B early patrol sets and a host of Zulu war figurines which we will be adding back to the website soon. If you are interested and don't want to wait for them to appear, then drop us an email to welcome@gunnclub.co.uk at earliest opportunity to avoid disappointment.

There will be a new version of Cleopatra available in time for Christmas hopefully, a great little stocking filler I hasten to add!

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 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.

Best wishes The Gunn Team

 

[Gunn Miniatures]

WOW 414 A-20 Havoc

The Douglas A-20 Havoc (company designation DB-7) was an American medium bomber, attack aircraft, night intruder, night fighter and reconnaissance aircraft of World War II.

Designed to meet an Army Air Corps requirement for a bomber, it was ordered by France for their air force before the USAAF decided it would also meet their requirements. French DB-7s were the first to see combat; after the fall of France the bomber under the service name Boston continued with the Royal Air Force. From 1941, night fighter and intruder versions were given the service name Havoc. In 1942 USAAF A-20s saw combat in North Africa.

In 1940, the US military’s indifference to the type was overcome by improvements made for the French and British Commonwealth air forces.
The USAAC was impressed enough by the A-20A’s high power to weight ratio and easy handling characteristics. Two variants were ordered, in a tranche of more than 200 aircraft: the A-20 for high-altitude daylight bombing and the A-20A for low- and medium-altitude missions. It was intended that the high-altitude variant would be fitted with turbosupercharged Wright R-2600-7 engines; after a prototype suffered technical problems, the USAAC changed its order and an initial shipment of 123 A-20As (with less-powerful R-2600-3 engines) and 20 A-20s (R-2600-11) entered service in early 1941. A further 59 aircraft from this first order were received as P-70 night fighters, with two-stage supercharged R-2600-11 engines.

This is a 1/32 scale model with the markings of Little Chief, an aircraft that served with the 90th bomber group and is priced at $1100 plus postage. The TG/K&C figures are shown for scale comparison purposes only and are not included.

 

[Gunn Miniatures]

WOW 411 Grumman F8F Bearcat

The Bearcat first flew in 1944 and by May 1945 was equipping USMC and Navy squadrons. The Bearcat was designated as a replacement for the Wildcat, which at that point was one of the only fighters capable of operating from the smaller escort carriers then in service.

Not only was the Bearcat superior to the Wildcat but when compared to the Hellcat, the Bearcat was 20% lighter, had a 30% better rate of climb and was 50 mph (80 km/h) faster. However it arrived too late to see combat service in WW2 but nevertheless went onto equip 24 USMC/Navy squadrons.

Postwar the Bearcat saw service with the French airforce and saw heavy combat use in support of French troops trying to suppress the Viet Minh Our 1/30 scale model is one that was photographed on the airfield at Dien Bien Phu and is is priced at $650 plus shipping. We have two models available.

The TG figures & accessories shown are for display purposes only and are not included.

 

[Gunn Miniatures]

WOW 403 Junkers Ju 388

The introduction by the USAAF of the B-29 Superfortress caused great concern in the Third Reich due to its ability to operate at a high altitude out of the range of the current Luftwaffe aircraft then available. Plans were drawn to to introduce new high altitude fighters and bomber destroyers to counter this perceived threat. One such solution presented to the Luftwaffe was the Junkers 388 with a pressurized cabin enabling it to intercept high flying B-29 bombers.

However when it became clear that the majority of B-29’s were going to be used against the Japanese, the threat receded. The Junkers 388 was then modified as a high altitude bomber/aerial photography reconnaissance aircraft of which we now proudly present for you in 1/32 scale.

Because of its perceived invulnerability to flak and Allied fighters the Ju 388 carried no forward firing guns, however it did have a sting in the tail featuring 2 x 13mm machine guns mounted in a remote controlled hecklafette turret.

Out of all the aircraft released this month, the Ju 388 was the most expensive to procure, mainly due to the bulbous cockpit which proved to be a real challenge for our factory.

We have one 1/32 scale model available and it is priced at $1100 plus postage.
The TG/K&C figures are not included and are shown for scale comparison purposes only.

 

[Gunn Miniatures]

​

Dear all, welcome to our October 2022 Aircraft newsletter featuring a new selection of our latest warbirds.

Also a big thank you to Mark Dyer and others with their assistance in the research and development of these models, it really has been invaluable. Its thanks to Mark's efforts we will be making a return to WW1 aircraft in the near future, watch this space as they say!

All our hand carved Mahogany aircraft now come with their own stands and can be displayed in flying mode if required. All have a fully detailed interior and a high level of detail that sets them apart from many other makers of wooden warbirds.

Each model takes over 9 months to manufacture, some take even longer and come in strictly limited numbers. If you want to spread your payments over a 6 month period for one of our warbirds we also are happy to accommodate you, please drop us an email to welcome@gunnclub.co.uk.

 

[jason foote]

The Bearcat and Junker are the picks of a great bunch.
Cant wait for the October figure announcements

 

[Grey Heron]

Beautiful planes this month. Thanks for sharing your great product.