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Special Hobby have sent us details of their latest kits for the month ahead. The Me 163A and Vautour are joined by a cut-down release of their impressive Mirage F.1 (watch out for a review soon in it's full form here on Aeroscale).

SH72183 - Messerschmitt Me 163A with Scheuch Schlepper 1/72
The Messerschmitt Me 163A was the world´s first rocket-powered aircraft produced in larger numbers. Production aircraft were used for testing as well as for the training of the pilots who were to fly later with the true fighter version known as the Me 163B. On October 2, 1941, German pilot Heini Dittmar, flying in the Me 163A V1, became the very first man to exceed a speed of 1000 km/h (in fact, he reached 1003.67 km/h). The rocket-powered Komet took off using a two-wheel jettisonable dolly and landed on a skid retracting from under the lower fuselage. However, having already landed, the Komet was not able to move using its own powers and therefore Scheuch Schlepper vehicles (originaly agricultural tractors) were used with trailers equipped with inflation bags for transporting the plane back. The kit comprises a frame with Me 163A plastic parts, an injected clear canopy part, detailed resin parts to enhance the cockpit area and a PE-fret. All these are accompanied with Scheuch Schlepper vehicle components sprue and again with a specific resin and etched parts. The decal sheet caters for three Me 163A machines, one of which is interesting to be the very machine to have exceeded the 1000km/h speed limit, and a machine used in under-wing rocket trials is also catered for in the sheet.

SH72333 - Vautour IIN “Cyrano Radar” 1/72
The all-weather Vautour IIN jet fighters were operated in France not only by AF units, they were used also as a kind of test-beds long time after being withdrawn from military service. Development work for radars to be used in various and more advanced Mirage III, F.1 and even Mirage 2000 fighters were carried out using these Vautour aircraft. In the French Centre d´Essais en Vol (CEV, or Flight Test Centre) several IIN Vautours of various serial numbers were flown, amongst them also the very first IIN Vautour to be produced, this one was handed over to the CEV on Feb 7, 1957 and was equipped with a Cyrano radar connected with Mirage fighters development. This machine was also used for trials with fixed armament, rockets and missiles. It was sold to Israel in 1964 and operated at Ramat David AB by No.110 tayeset (or squadron) since 1967.The plane was fitted with extra long range fuel tanks in its bomb bay and modified to carry a Thomson CSF ECM „Yabelet“ Pod and used to blind Egyptian and Syrian SA-2 Radar systems in the opening hours of the Six Day War. On return from one such mission, an u/c trouble occured, the machine ran off runway and was grounded for the rest of the war. In 1968, a K-38 camera pack was installed in the belly and another camera systems in the gun bay, AAM Shafrir I was also carried under the wings and the plane was used in a photo recce role until 1970 when it was put into storage. Now it is on display at the IAF Museum in Hatzerim.

The model comes on four sprues of plastic part components, and comprises also a clear parts sprue, a PE-parts fret and detailed resin parts which offer the modeller with a Cyrano radar nose section, external fuel tanks and several other parts typical for this highly interesting and unusual Vautour test-bed and ECM variant. The decal sheet was printed by Italian Cartograf in exquisite quality and supplies markings for two French planes, No 348 in natural metal finish, the other, No 337 featuring French national colours overall. There are of course also markings for the Israeli "Fantomas" named machine, this one interesting also for carrying two different liveries, the earlier being also the NMF, the other in the standard Israeli three-tone upper camouflage colour scheme.

SS005 - Mirage F.1C 1/72
Mirage F.1C plastic part sprues with instruction sheet in a PE bag.

Please remember, when contacting retailers or manufacturers, to mention that you saw their products highlighted here - on AEROSCALE.