News from Special Hobby 04/2026

Dear business friends,    in the April newsletter you will find more plastic model kits than we usually offer. Today we bring three brand new products, 1/72 SH72544 Mosquito Mk.XV, 1/32 SH32092 JB-2 Loon and 1/72 SH72521 WH-1 / model 139 ‘Early Dutch East Indies Bomber’. In addition, the April newsletter introduces two re-editions, 1/72 SH72192 Heinkel He 178 V-2 and 1/72 Sd.Kfz.250/1 Ausf.B(Neue Ausführung)1/72, both kits in limited quantities.    The newsletter also brings a couple of sets, most of which are 3D printed. First of all, these are sets for the 1/48 Hampden B Mk.I from ICM. For this very nice kit, we have prepared sets of defensive and offensive armament. We are also preparing a few more sets for the 1/48 Hampden.    The kit that is a bit behind the schedule is the long-awaited Heinkel He 177A-3 Greif. We have all the plastic mouldings ready for kit SH48210. But we are missing the rest, the box, instructions, decals and etches. We are working hard on all of these. We assume that the kit should be ready for distribution at the turn of April and May. We recommend that you place your orders now. Depending on how soon kit SH48210 is ready, we will distribute it either with April or May shipments.    Other May new releases are kits SH72537 AT-6 Texan ‘Little Warrior’ in 1/72 and SH72538 DH.94 Moth Minor ‘In war and peace over Europe and Africa’ also in 1/72. All May sets will be in the quarter scale. In addition to another set for Hampden, there will be, for example, an excellent rear gunner’s station for the B-26 Marauder, sets for the DB-7 Boston Mk.III (HK Model) or seats for the Fw 190 kits from Tamiya. You can also order these kits and sets now and we look forward to your orders. A.Riedel SPECIAL HOBBY PLASTIC MODEL KITS

WH-1 / model 139 ‘Early Dutch East Indies Bomber’ 1/72 Art.no. Scale Barcode 100-SH72521 1/72 8595593133843    The Martin company started the revolution in aircraft construction with their Model 139 bomber that was also designated by the USAAF B-10, B-12 or B-14 depending on the engines used. In the early 1930s, the air was dominated by fabric-covered biplanes and then suddenly an all-metal monoplane appeared, with closed crew cockpits and cowled engines. Those new bombers were not only faster than other competing bombers, they were also faster than the fighter planes of the day. This meant the need for new, changed fighter plane design worldwide.     The Model 139 also earned export success. The bombers were delivered to militaries of several countries, among which was also Dutch East Indies that got two versions, the WH-1 and WH-2 differing in versions of their R-1820 power plants and the type of the cowlings. This model kit portrays the first version, the WH-1 equipped with R-1820-F53 radials. The colour schemes and decals cover three blue and yellow machines of the ML-KNIL (Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force), two of which with segmented roundels, the third with the orange triangles instead of roundels, and the fourth machine is a Thai Air Force WH-1. Thailand placed an order for these bombers before the outbreak of the war plus also bought some more which were originally Dutch machines later captured by the Japanese. This fourth machine also has quite interesting colour scheme as through the Japano-Thai camouflage slightly peels off showing the underlaying Dutch yellow and blue scheme.    -    excellent model kit of a revolutionary aircraft -    the WH-1 version has never been released in styrene format before -    interesting colour schemes and markings -    pre-cut clear parts masks, sold separately, also offered for this model kit Read more

DH.98 Mosquito NF Mk.XV ‘High-Altitude Night Fighter’ 1/72 Art.no. Scale Barcode 100-SH72544 1/72 8595593133867    During the Second World War, the Junkers Ju 86P and R high-altitude reconnaissance and bomber aircraft appeared over Great Britain. Initially, the RAF was unable to intervene against them, until the high-altitude versions of the Spitfire Mk.VII and modified Spitfire Mk.IX brought about a turning point. The threat that the Luftwaffe would deploy more powerful bombers led to the development of a high-altitude fighter version of the Mosquito. This version had a pressurized cockpit, a radar in the nose, an extended wing with a span of 19 meters, high-altitude Merlin 76 engines with four-blade propellers. A small batch of ‘Fifteens’ was produced and assigned to No.85 Sqn. RAF for flight testing. Our finely detailed kit offers decals for two machines, one in PRU Blue and the other in Deep Blue.   -        The Mosquito NF Mk.XV has never been kitted in styrene format before -        highly eye-catching and attractive version -        superb levels of detail Read more

JB-2 Loon ‘US Version of V-1 Missile’ 1/32 Art.no. Scale Barcode 100-SH32092 1/32 8595593133508    The JB-2 Loon was an American copy of the German V1 missiles that were to be used against Japan,   but the use of the atomic bomb ended the war. Nevertheless, the JB-2 were accepted into service by the US Army, USAAF and US Navy and used until the mid-1950s. The kit comes on three styrene sprues joined by a fret of etches and 3D-printed parts. The decals cover markings for four US JB-2 missiles, three of which were in an Olive Green scheme and one white overall.   -        attractive colour schemes and decals -        etches and 3D-printed parts contained in the kit Read more

Heinkel He 178V-2 1/72 Art.no. Scale Barcode 100-SH72192 1/72 8594071081690     When the Heinkel He 178 hopped to the air for the first time on 24 August 1939, with pilot E. Warsitz at the controls, and three days later took off for an actual flight, these flights went down in the history of aviation as the very flights of the world's first jet aircraft. With ongoing tests, the aircraft was demonstrated to RLM top officers on 1 November. Later, the machine received a more powerful HeS 6 engine, a longer span wing and retractable landing gear. This variant is referred to in some sources as the He 178 V-2.    The He 178 V-2 with retractable landing gear and a longer wing is what we offer in our kit SH72192. It contains two sprues of styrene parts, an injection-moulded canopy, PUR parts, etchings and decals with markings for the prototype. -        a model kit of an aeroplane with huge significance to the history of aviation -        the kit also contains a fret of etches and resin cast parts Read more

Sd.Kfz 250/1 Ausf.B (Neue Ausführung) 1/72 Art.no. Scale Barcode 100-SA72005 1/72 8594071089665    The Sd.Kfz 250 was designed to meet the Wehrmacht's requirements calling for the development of  half-track transporter units. In order to accelerate the development, the chassis group of the unarmored Demag D7 vehicle (Sd.Kfz 10) was used. An armored superstructure was designed for the vehicle by the Büssing company. The superstructure was welded from armour plates connected to each other at significant angles, giving it a hexagonal form. The first prototype was built in 1939. The machines, which had been proven through demanding tests, began to be mass-produced in 1941. Large-scale production of the Sd.Kfz 250 version, later called the Alte Ausführung, ran throughout 1942 and part of 1943. In 1943, the Sd.Kfz 250 Neue Ausführung version with a different hull shape began to be produced. In total, almost 6,000 of these excellent machines were produced in many variants. Sd.Kfz 250 fought on the front lines until the end of World War II. They were deployed on both the Eastern and Western Fronts, and some of the vehicles also fought in Africa. After the war, they were briefly used in several armies, including the Czechoslovak one.    The Sd.Kfz 250 model kit is very detailed and offers colour options for three Wehrmacht vehicles in various types of camouflage scheme. -        interesting colour schemes, incl. a machine that fought in 1945 Berlin -        high quality and accurate model. Read more

RESIN AND 3D MODEL KITS & SETS

P-47D Intercooler Channel Correction Set 1/48 / for Miniart kit Art.no. Scale Barcode 129-P48048 1/48 8595593133812    The Miniart P-47D kit lacks the internal section of the intercooler air duct channel and so the empty fuselage is clearly visible through the opening. Our set fixes this omission and all you need to do is simply install the duct channel and the intercooler into the fuselage. Read more

HP.52 Hampden B.Mk.I - Control Column and Compass Detail Set 1/48 / for ICM kits Art.no. Scale Barcode 129-4510 1/48 8595593133874 Finely detailed control column with the handwheel and the compass. All these 3D-printed parts directly replace less elaborated items found in the kit. Read more

HP.52 Hampden B.Mk.I - Wing Bomb Ordnance Set, (250lb GP, 250lb SAP, 500lb GP Bombs) / for ICM kits1/48 Art.no. Scale Barcode 129-4511 1/48 8595593133881 3D-printed set with bombs and underwing bomb racks which all offer substantially better levels of detail than the styrene kit items. Read more

HP.52 Hampden B.Mk.I - Fuselage Bomb Bay Ordnance Set, (250lb GP, 250lb SAP, 500lb GP Bombs)  / for ICM kits 1/48 Art.no. Scale Barcode 129-4512 1/48 8595593133898 3D-printed set with bombs and bomb bay racks which all offer substantially better levels of detail than the styrene kit items. Read more

HP.52 Hampden B.Mk.I - Vickers K and Browning Machine Guns (single installation) 1/48 / for ICM kits Art.no. Scale Barcode 129-4513 1/48 8595593133904    The defensive armament of the Hampden is offered in this 3D-printed set and brings better detail overall that could not be achieved in the styrene format of the ICM kit. The set consists of a nose mounted, fixed machine gun operated by the pilot,  a flexible machine gun located in the nose gunner compartment and a dorsal (top fuselage) and ventral (belly) flexible machine guns operated by the other crew members, all these MGs in single installation. And of course the set also offers the plentiful drum shaped ammunition magazines for the fuselage sides. Read more

Heinkel He 177A-3/5 Mainwheels and Tailwheel 1/48 / for Special Hobby kits Art.no. Scale Barcode 129-4515 1/48 8595593133935    Nicely detailed set portraying the main undercarriage wheels and the tailwheel for Luftwaffe's only four-engined bomber plane. The wheels are weighted and offer more detail than the kit styrene items. Read more

MG 42 Machine Gun for Marder IIIM 1/48 / for Tamiya kit Art.no. Scale Barcode 129-8076 1/48 8595593133997    3D-printed MG42 machine gun for Tamiya’s Marder IIIM model kit. Even though the Marder was equipped with this weapon by standard, it is not offered in the kit. Read more