wayne556517
Lieutenant General
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2007
- Messages
- 16,220
Wings of War January 2016 (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter wayne556517
- Start date
wayne556517
Lieutenant General
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2007
- Messages
- 16,220
wayne556517
Lieutenant General
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2007
- Messages
- 16,220
wayne556517
Lieutenant General
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2007
- Messages
- 16,220
Dear All,
First a Happy New Year and I hope the festive season was kind to you all. For those of you who 'forgot' to get yourself something I am hoping that one of the four new aircraft below may tempt you into spending something with us and on yourself at the same time!
Most of you will know that all our 1/30 scale wooden aircraft are hand carved in sustainable Mahogany with it taking something like 60 hours to make each one, all our aircraft are limited edition runs with some being more limited than others. All our aircraft can be paid for as a one off payment upfront or spread over 3 months if preferred and a little easier on the wallet.
Our first aircraft WOW041 Roland C2 Reconnaissance/artillery spotter 'Walfish' or Whale was a very advanced design with a top speed some 30Kph faster than other aircraft of the time including single seat fighters, thanks to its streamlined fuselage and Daimler Mercedes 160 HP engine. The first C2 came off the production line in 1915 with various improvements being built into it as production continued up to 1917. Although not the most manoeuvrable of aircraft its high speed meant it could outrun most Allied fighters should the need arise. It also had the luxury of side windows built into the fuselage for the crew which were indeed a novelty for any aircraft of this era. We have faithfully replicated these windows as well as a full interior with safety belts fitted to the seats and for the first time ever, a cast metal machine gun for the rear observer. This Roland was one of the most famous of WW1 and features on the box art of the1970's Airfix model kits. It was flown by Eduard Ritter Von Schleich an ace with over 35 victories to his name and a Blue Max recipient to boot. Von Schleich was wounded at least twice during the war but survived to go on and fight the Communists in 1919 before joining Lufthansa in the 1920's. With the outbreak of WW2 Von Schleich enlisted into the Luftwaffe and ended his career as General de Flieger in occupied Norway. Captured by the British he ended up in a POW camp where he unfortunately died in 1947 just prior to his release, aged 59 years old. Von Schleich's Roland has been faithfully replicated right up to the metal fish anemometer which was fixed to the top wing, as well as the eyes and teeth painted on the front, which made this such a distinctive and noticeable aircraft.
Limited edition of 20 aircraft and priced at $550 which also includes free GW054 German mechanic figure, smoking his pipe as well as a 'non smoking' sign which our mechanic seems to be ignoring!
WOW065 The Deutsche Flugzeug Werke company were responsible for manufacturing one of the most important 2 seat aircraft of its time the DFW C.V, a highly manoeuvrable and versatile aircraft with over 4000 being manufactured during the course of the war. Utilised as an artillery spotter it was also used in the ground attack role when fitted with bombs, as a fighter and also as a training aircraft. Several variants were built, ours is a late production DFW C.V with the names 'Gretel and Lo' adorned on the sides as it would have appeared in 1918. It appears that this aircraft underwent several in the field colour modifications, one of which included a hand streaky camouflage pattern on the top wings and tail fins. This DFW also was the subject of several repairs which included replacing top wing fabric, which according to photos of the time was not painted over and appears to be an off white cream colour.
It is unknown who 'Gretel and Lo' were, presumably sweethearts or possibly the daughter's of the crew but their names make an attractive addition to the side of this venerable Luftstreitkrafte workhorse. Priced at $499 this unique aircraft does not come with any figures, those in the photos are for scale reference purposes only, however with a limited edition run of 10 pieces worldwide, reserving one of these models early is strongly recommended.
WOW061 The FE2 type aircraft was a pusher type aircraft that helped put an end to the Fokker scourge of 1915/16. With a forward firing machine gun and in some cases another machine gun that was fitted between the pilot and gunner for rear defence, the FE2 proved itself highly adaptable as a bomber, fighter and training aircraft. Various modifications to the engine and landing gear took place during its career and the night bomber variant soldiered on until the end of the war. Our aircraft is one flown by Australian Frank McNamara a recipient of the Victoria Cross, which was awarded in 1917 for rescuing a fellow aviator from behind enemy lines whilst serving in the Middle East. On the day in question McNamara was on a bombing mission against the Turks when he spotted Captain David Rutherford had crashed his BE2 with Turkish cavalry fast approaching the downed pilot. The Turks had been known to hack downed airmen to death and McNamara despite being already wounded, landed near Rutherford and tried to take off with Rutherford attached to his wing! McNamara's plane crashed and the two airmen dashed back to Rutherford's BE2, managed to repair it and get it started before the Turks could reach them. In severe pain and on the verge of blacking out from loss of blood, McNamara flew the 70 miles back to his base where he nearly died on the operating table due to an allergic reaction to a Tetanus jab! He was awarded the VC for his actions and in fact was the only Australian airman to be awarded this decoration during WW1. McNamara was one of the original 21 officers taken on strength of the newly formed RAAF after WW1 and continued serving with the RAAF until the end of WW2 where along with many others was unceremoniously discharged. He was then offered a position with the British government in occupied Germany and later went to work on the board of the national Coal Board from which he retired from in 1959. Frank McNamara died in 1961 and asked that his Victoria Cross be donated to the RAF museum at Hendon in protest at the Australian government's early forced retirement of him from its service and the meagre severance pay offered to him! We have only 5 of these historic aircraft available (due to the complicated manufacturing process) for sale priced at $550 and each model comes with a complimentary Australian figure sentry as per the attached photos.
WOW062 Salmson 2A2 USAS variant flown by Lt William Erwin (8 victories) during his service with the 1st Aero Squadron in France. All 8 victories were scored between 15th September and 22nd October 1918, quite an achievement in such a short space of time. Erwin survived the war but sadly died in 1927 during the Dole air race when he failed to return. The Salmson was a larger French design of the successful but fragile British Sopwith Strutter. Fitted with Salmson's new 260 hp water cooled radial engine the type entered service with the French in 1917 swiftly followed by the American air service, which purchased 705 types of this rugged 2 seater bombe/fighter, the largest number of 2 seater aircraft flown by the Americans during WW1. The design was so successful that the Japanese also continued manufacturing the Salmson A2 under the name 'Otsu' after WW1 and continued using it up until 1933. It was also utilised post WW1 by the Russians, Czech's, Polish and the Belgians and even saw limited service as an airliner. Our aircraft comes in the standard 5 colour French camouflage scheme of beige, Chestnut brown, light and dark green which all contained a small amount of Aluminium in the paint content. This gave the aircraft the appearance of a pearlescent sheen or semi gloss appearance which we have faithfully replicated. The 5th colour black, contained no Aluminium and was of a dull matt colour. Production of this model has been limited to 8 pieces worldwide and is priced at $499 which also includes free, the American sentry figure with dog in the attached photos.
Sadly that is it for this first release, I am hoping to bring you news of 2 classic WW2 RAF aircraft later in the month as well as our new Romans which are also ready for shipping.
Best wishes
The Gunn Team
First a Happy New Year and I hope the festive season was kind to you all. For those of you who 'forgot' to get yourself something I am hoping that one of the four new aircraft below may tempt you into spending something with us and on yourself at the same time!
Most of you will know that all our 1/30 scale wooden aircraft are hand carved in sustainable Mahogany with it taking something like 60 hours to make each one, all our aircraft are limited edition runs with some being more limited than others. All our aircraft can be paid for as a one off payment upfront or spread over 3 months if preferred and a little easier on the wallet.
Our first aircraft WOW041 Roland C2 Reconnaissance/artillery spotter 'Walfish' or Whale was a very advanced design with a top speed some 30Kph faster than other aircraft of the time including single seat fighters, thanks to its streamlined fuselage and Daimler Mercedes 160 HP engine. The first C2 came off the production line in 1915 with various improvements being built into it as production continued up to 1917. Although not the most manoeuvrable of aircraft its high speed meant it could outrun most Allied fighters should the need arise. It also had the luxury of side windows built into the fuselage for the crew which were indeed a novelty for any aircraft of this era. We have faithfully replicated these windows as well as a full interior with safety belts fitted to the seats and for the first time ever, a cast metal machine gun for the rear observer. This Roland was one of the most famous of WW1 and features on the box art of the1970's Airfix model kits. It was flown by Eduard Ritter Von Schleich an ace with over 35 victories to his name and a Blue Max recipient to boot. Von Schleich was wounded at least twice during the war but survived to go on and fight the Communists in 1919 before joining Lufthansa in the 1920's. With the outbreak of WW2 Von Schleich enlisted into the Luftwaffe and ended his career as General de Flieger in occupied Norway. Captured by the British he ended up in a POW camp where he unfortunately died in 1947 just prior to his release, aged 59 years old. Von Schleich's Roland has been faithfully replicated right up to the metal fish anemometer which was fixed to the top wing, as well as the eyes and teeth painted on the front, which made this such a distinctive and noticeable aircraft.
Limited edition of 20 aircraft and priced at $550 which also includes free GW054 German mechanic figure, smoking his pipe as well as a 'non smoking' sign which our mechanic seems to be ignoring!
WOW065 The Deutsche Flugzeug Werke company were responsible for manufacturing one of the most important 2 seat aircraft of its time the DFW C.V, a highly manoeuvrable and versatile aircraft with over 4000 being manufactured during the course of the war. Utilised as an artillery spotter it was also used in the ground attack role when fitted with bombs, as a fighter and also as a training aircraft. Several variants were built, ours is a late production DFW C.V with the names 'Gretel and Lo' adorned on the sides as it would have appeared in 1918. It appears that this aircraft underwent several in the field colour modifications, one of which included a hand streaky camouflage pattern on the top wings and tail fins. This DFW also was the subject of several repairs which included replacing top wing fabric, which according to photos of the time was not painted over and appears to be an off white cream colour.
It is unknown who 'Gretel and Lo' were, presumably sweethearts or possibly the daughter's of the crew but their names make an attractive addition to the side of this venerable Luftstreitkrafte workhorse. Priced at $499 this unique aircraft does not come with any figures, those in the photos are for scale reference purposes only, however with a limited edition run of 10 pieces worldwide, reserving one of these models early is strongly recommended.
WOW061 The FE2 type aircraft was a pusher type aircraft that helped put an end to the Fokker scourge of 1915/16. With a forward firing machine gun and in some cases another machine gun that was fitted between the pilot and gunner for rear defence, the FE2 proved itself highly adaptable as a bomber, fighter and training aircraft. Various modifications to the engine and landing gear took place during its career and the night bomber variant soldiered on until the end of the war. Our aircraft is one flown by Australian Frank McNamara a recipient of the Victoria Cross, which was awarded in 1917 for rescuing a fellow aviator from behind enemy lines whilst serving in the Middle East. On the day in question McNamara was on a bombing mission against the Turks when he spotted Captain David Rutherford had crashed his BE2 with Turkish cavalry fast approaching the downed pilot. The Turks had been known to hack downed airmen to death and McNamara despite being already wounded, landed near Rutherford and tried to take off with Rutherford attached to his wing! McNamara's plane crashed and the two airmen dashed back to Rutherford's BE2, managed to repair it and get it started before the Turks could reach them. In severe pain and on the verge of blacking out from loss of blood, McNamara flew the 70 miles back to his base where he nearly died on the operating table due to an allergic reaction to a Tetanus jab! He was awarded the VC for his actions and in fact was the only Australian airman to be awarded this decoration during WW1. McNamara was one of the original 21 officers taken on strength of the newly formed RAAF after WW1 and continued serving with the RAAF until the end of WW2 where along with many others was unceremoniously discharged. He was then offered a position with the British government in occupied Germany and later went to work on the board of the national Coal Board from which he retired from in 1959. Frank McNamara died in 1961 and asked that his Victoria Cross be donated to the RAF museum at Hendon in protest at the Australian government's early forced retirement of him from its service and the meagre severance pay offered to him! We have only 5 of these historic aircraft available (due to the complicated manufacturing process) for sale priced at $550 and each model comes with a complimentary Australian figure sentry as per the attached photos.
WOW062 Salmson 2A2 USAS variant flown by Lt William Erwin (8 victories) during his service with the 1st Aero Squadron in France. All 8 victories were scored between 15th September and 22nd October 1918, quite an achievement in such a short space of time. Erwin survived the war but sadly died in 1927 during the Dole air race when he failed to return. The Salmson was a larger French design of the successful but fragile British Sopwith Strutter. Fitted with Salmson's new 260 hp water cooled radial engine the type entered service with the French in 1917 swiftly followed by the American air service, which purchased 705 types of this rugged 2 seater bombe/fighter, the largest number of 2 seater aircraft flown by the Americans during WW1. The design was so successful that the Japanese also continued manufacturing the Salmson A2 under the name 'Otsu' after WW1 and continued using it up until 1933. It was also utilised post WW1 by the Russians, Czech's, Polish and the Belgians and even saw limited service as an airliner. Our aircraft comes in the standard 5 colour French camouflage scheme of beige, Chestnut brown, light and dark green which all contained a small amount of Aluminium in the paint content. This gave the aircraft the appearance of a pearlescent sheen or semi gloss appearance which we have faithfully replicated. The 5th colour black, contained no Aluminium and was of a dull matt colour. Production of this model has been limited to 8 pieces worldwide and is priced at $499 which also includes free, the American sentry figure with dog in the attached photos.
Sadly that is it for this first release, I am hoping to bring you news of 2 classic WW2 RAF aircraft later in the month as well as our new Romans which are also ready for shipping.
Best wishes
The Gunn Team
Moe, my thoughts exactly. The whole range of releases look spectacular. TGM has really hit the ball out of the park with these releases. Some really unusual choices, like the USAS Salmson and the Fee. I stand up and applaud these aircraft. The rats nest of rigging on the Fee must have been a nightmare to do and it looks terrific, as does the engine detail. On top of which, this is a very large aircraft. All the models look really accurate and the new, cast Mgs look nice. In my opinion, this is the most impressive batch of aircraft the TGM have done. The Roland and the DFW look superb, the Salmson, superb, and the Fee, unequaled. The most amazing thing to me is how TGM managed to keep the cost of that big Fee, with that complicated rigging, to a very reasonable level. It is a true bargain. I would expect that this whole issue are going to disappear fast. A real 2-seat bonanza. :salute:: -- Al
