Items Available in Canada and from USA

JB II - Hawker Typhoon IB, John R Baldwin By the end of his first tour of duty in April 1944, pilot John Robert Baldwin had amassed at least 13 aerial victories, having flown an incredible number of missions supporting pre-D-Day operations in his trusty Hawker Typhoon. He would return to operational flying after taking a short break, having been promoted to the position of Wing Commander RAF No.146 Wing, again flying Typhoons and again embarking on a punishing schedule of flight operations, this time in support of the Allied ground advances through France and missions against V-1 Doodlebug sites. Leading the entire Wing on at least sixteen occasions, Baldwin’s logbook shows at least 110 sorties flown in support of these missions, with other official records suggesting that figure should be closer to 170, as this Wing Commander was determined to lead his men from the front during these dangerous missions. Baldwin’s reputation was such that he was assigned at least two Typhoons, each configured for different missions. One was equipped with bombs, whilst the one referred to as ‘JBII’ sported the rocket projectiles RAF Hawker Typhoons became so famous for using. One wartime picture shows two of Baldwin’s Typhoons parked next to each other, which is a fascinating record of this ace pilot’s wartime contribution. John Robert Baldwin would end the war as the highest-scoring Hawker Typhoon ‘Ace’, with 15 confirmed victories, 1 shared and 4 probables to his name.

Note any reference to MSRP MAP above in description are to be ignored. They represent USA $ pricing and are not valid for Canadian prices.

Supermarine Spitfire T.9 TE308 'Grey Nurse' - Biggin Hill Heritage HangarAs one of the most successful fighter aircraft of the Second World War and one which was produced in huge numbers, it can be a little surprising to learn that the Supermarine Spitfire was not produced in a two seat training variant during the war, meaning that pilots converting to this awesome machine would be making their first flight in the Spitfire as their first solo. The Vickers Supermarine company did propose the development of a two seat variant of the Spitfire to Air Ministry officials as far back as 1941, but as there was no official support for the project at the time, they simply returned to further development of single engined fighters.

Note any reference to MSRP MAP above in description are to be ignored. They represent USA $ pricing and are not valid for Canadian prices.

Messerschmitt Me262A-1a, 'Yellow 17', Lt Walter Hagenah III Jagdgeschwader 7 One of the most interesting engagements involving a Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter during WWII occurred on 10th April 1945, when pilot Lt Walther Hagenah and his wingman were ordered to intercept a heavy raid of USAAF bombers attacking an area north of Berlin. Knowing they would be massively outnumbered by Allied aircraft, the pair intended to attack the formation at high speed, using cannon and their underwing mounted R4M unguided rocket projectiles to break up the formation and spread confusion. With the mighty bomber stream in sight, Hagenah noticed a flight of six American P-51D Mustangs above them, which immediately dropped their external fuel tanks as they dived in to attack. Hagenah's experience told him that if he turned to face them, or made any violent evasive manoeuvre, the speed of the Mustangs would soon bring him into their gunsights, so instead, he pushed the throttles to full power and began a gentle dive towards the ground, but crucially, not changing heading. His wingman decided to take a different course of action, turning to face the Mustangs and immediately being enveloped in a hail of .50 calibre bullets. With his own jet now at full speed, Hagenah expertly positioned his Messerschmitt for an attack on the American fighters, opening up on them with everything he had, including ripple-firing his R4M rockets at the enemy fighter formation.

Note any reference to MSRP MAP above in description are to be ignored. They represent USA $ pricing and are not valid for Canadian prices.

Su-30SM Flanker - Russian Knights, Russian Air Force, 2019 With Decal Numbers 30 to 37

Note any reference to MSRP MAP above in description are to be ignored. They represent USA $ pricing and are not valid for Canadian prices.

Supermarine Spitfire MkIXc - GC Colin Gray - Operation Husky - July 1943Desperate to ensure the Spitfire maintained its ongoing combat effectiveness, designers at the Vickers Supermarine Company were almost constantly engaged in modifying, upgrading and improving their famous fighter throughout the Second World War, however, during that time, there were occasions when unexpected Luftwaffe advancements called upon their flexibility and ingenuity. With a significant new variant of the Spitfire at the advanced stages of development, the introduction of a capable new German fighter aircraft in the skies over occupied Europe caused great concern amongst RAF officials, who were now losing Spitfires at an alarming rate and needed an immediate response. With the proposed squadron introduction of the new Spitfire Mk.VIII variant still some months away, Supermarine designers had the idea of mating the intended new powerplant for this aircraft, the Rolls Royce Merlin 60 series engine, with existing Spitfire Mk.V airframes already on the production line, a temporary solution which might just buy them the time they needed.The idea was given official approval and the RAF's Emergency Interim Fighter Programme got underway, with the new variant given the designation Spitfire IX, a stop-gap solution which would actually prove to be something of a fighting thoroughbred. In actual fact, this undertaking was not without several rather significant challenges for the team at Supermarine to overcome and but for the severity of the situation in the skies over Europe, may have actually been regarded as too problematic. Attaching the powerful new variant of the Merlin engine to existing Spitfire airframes was fraught with challenges, as the new unit was larger, wider and featured a redesigned rear section, all of which made this far from a simple exchange of engines. Supermarine technicians had to remove all existing systems and connections, design a new engine mount, then replace all fittings with newly upgraded components, all of which were essentially hand built. In fact, it could be argued that many of the first Spitfire Mk.IX fighters were hand built, with each one having an incredible number of man hours devoted to their p

Note any reference to MSRP MAP above in description are to be ignored. They represent USA $ pricing and are not valid for Canadian prices.

Bristol Beaufighter TF10 No45 Squadron Operation Firedog RAF Kuala Lumpur Malaya 1949 Features Include:• Detailed crew figures• Drop Tank• Wood grain, rotating propellers • Rotating Turret • Optional Armaments • Flight stand• Wingspan 9.7" • Optional landing gear By the end of the Second World War, the Royal Air Force saw little need to retain the large number of Bristol Beaufighter squadrons it currently had in service, so most units were simply disbanded, a couple were retained for home duties, with the remainder prepared for deployment to the Far East. One notable exceptionto this rule were RAF No.45 Squadron,who replaced their wartime Mosquitoes with the Beaufighter TF.X fighter bomber, before moving out to operate from a new base in Ceylon. In August 1948, the squadron moved to Kuala Lumpur in response to the Malayan Emergency, where it would take part in the combined Commonwealth actions to quell the guerrilla activities of the Communist backed Malayan National Liberation Army. Using the legendary range and hard hitting attributes of this capable heavy fighter, the unit’sBeaufighters would loiter over the jungle, waiting to unleash a withering barrage of rocket and cannon fireon enemy positions, once given targeting instructions from Commonwealth troops patrolling in the vicinity. These ageing WWII warhorses were replaced by the new Bristol Brigand ground attack aircraft by the end of 1949, leaving the situationin Malaya to rumble on for a further ten years and with RAFsupport very much moving into the jet age during that time.

Note any reference to MSRP MAP above in description are to be ignored. They represent USA $ pricing and are not valid for Canadian prices.