Wings Over Flanders Fields Ultimate Edition Review 

WOFF background

Wings Over Flanders Field started off as a WWI modification called Over Flanders Field for Microsoft CFS3. Over the years, work hasn't stopped and at several stages a new, improved version was sold, which, until recently, took us to WOFF Version 3. Version 3 also had some expansions - DLC yet again adding new planes and features to an already superb sim. Now, what is to be considered  the ultimate version of WOFF has been released. WOFF 3 and its expansions have been brought all into one package, as well as the addition of  a host of new features and improvements. Wings Over Flanders Field Ultimate Edition is the climax of over ten years of development, and boy does it shine because of it. Come, take to the skies above the Western Front during the Great War. WOFF UE, not just the ultimate version of WOFF, but the ultimate single player flight sim, period!

WOFF UE

Please, stick with me

Those who know me, or if you've been a regular reader of the blog (I thank you) will know I'm a WWI obsessive. Though, for reasons I can't put my finger on, the Eastern Front in WWI doesn't appeal, yet in regards to WWII it's my main area of interest. However, as WOFF UE is only concerned with the Western Front then it's of no consequence. The War has really grabbed me to the point where I devour book after book, mainly memoirs, of those who experienced it from all sides, both on land as well as in the air. WW2 seems more real, tangible, a time that is more easy to relate too. A War that was horrific and actually killed more than WWI yet for some reason WWI is the go to war when you think about the horrors, misery and futility of warfare. Yet,  WWI only ended two decades before WWII started and it seems like a different world. Maybe it's the staccato black and white footage which makes it seem more unreal. Then add the horror of new and more deadly ways of killing, coupled with old tactics, then years of living a primitive, underground existence with death a constant companion. Even the wounds you were liable to get caused more brutal, horrific damage to your flesh and bone. A reason for this being the shells in WWI  broke up into large, jagged pieces of shrapnel which could cause horrific injuries, whereas in WWII, they fragmented into much smaller pieces, just as lethal, but they wouldn't cause the awful visual damage the larger shrapnel did. Even the ground itself became deadly, with even minor wounds killing the poor chap, with gas gangrene, another horrific way to die, and a cruel one.  You think you have what the British called a "Blighty", a minor wound that would get you home for awhile, yet ten or so days later you're dying a horrific, painful death, as gas gangrene takes its course.

Honestly, from here on in it's all relevant

 Then we have the aircraft flown during the War. The ones from WWII are not that dissimilar to prop powered planes of today. With WWI, however, the technical marvel of flying, and the flimsy, lethal looking wood, canvas and wire contraptions used to take man into the skies were all very new. So, at the start of WWI the aeroplanes looked frighteningly primitive, just like all the other aspects of the War, primitive. Yet again, this all adds to the War's otherworldliness.

 Over the War's four plus years, aircraft technology moved forward rapidly, unlike the actual fighting on the ground. Also, at different periods during the War, one side or the other would have the upper hand, either through technological advance like during the so-called Fokker scourge, when in 1915 the Central Powers invented a mechanism that synchronised the firing of the MG and the propeller. The pilots flying the Fokker aircraft equipped with this new bit of kit soon reaped a deadly harvest and the first Aces of the War were born. Or it was just a case of one side managing to bring faster and more manoeuvrable aircraft out before the other.  So, until the other side caught up or even overtook them in this tech race, the side not in the  ascendency would find their machines getting knocked out the sky at an alarming rate, obviously adding to the ever growing casualty lists. Over the Western front the British decided to always be on the offensive in the air, crossing over into enemy lines to take on the enemy. Since the War, many have questioned this, as it meant British casualties were a lot higher than the Germans'. The RFC policy of no parachutes (as it was deemed the pilot may jump when he could have got the plane home) also meant the RFC casualty rate was higher than need be. It condemned many pilots to a horrific death, being burnt alive as their plane fell out the sky, adding another barbaric and primitive aspect to the War. The Germans had taken on a defensive policy, waiting to swoop on the enemy as they crossed over into their air space. Flying in their brightly coloured planes, the Germans flew in large numbers called Jastas. If you were an Entente pilot during '17 up until April '18 and you spotted a bright red plane leading the enemy Jasta [signalling the presence of the Red Baron, Manfred Von Richthofen], fear would overwhelm you, praying you wont become the next victim of who would be the Wars overall leading ace. The Germans did carry out bombing campaigns through out the War, using aircraft like the huge Gotha bombers or Zeppelins, even regularly bombing the UK.

 By the War's end both sides had some very good, reliable, fast and deadly planes. The Germans with the Fokker DVIIF and the Allies the SE5a or Airco DH5. For a good part of the War though, you were more likely to die in training, from either an error you made or from mechanical failure or a combination of both, than you were in actual combat.

I expect your wondering why you've just read the above, when this is supposed to be a review for WOFF UE? 

Well it's because pretty much everything I mentioned above you'll experience in WOFF UE. From the first planes of the War scrapping it out in the Skies of '15 until the end of the War; it's all here. Choose to enlist for either the British (87 squadrons), German (205 squadrons), French (139 squadrons) or American (23 squadrons). Fly in a Recon or Bomber squadron, each flight praying you aren't about to be prey whilst doggedly sticking to your task. Or join a fighter squadron, to take the enemy on in a duel in the sky. Over 80, yes that's right 80 aircraft you can take to the skies in.

The AI is also another excellent feat the OBD team have managed to pull off. With each iteration it has got better and better, until we have what is easily the best flight sim AI out there. No fight to the death AI here, each pilot has his own skill level, plus moral and fatigue are monitored, which all effects how he flies and can result in him breaking for home when risk outweighs reward. The AI also sticks within the limits of his plane's flight model, and, talking about the flight models, each plane has been researched and tested and I haven't seen any complaints about any of WOFF UE's many flight models in the forums. This has to be a very good sign. WOFF UE, in my opinion, is by far the greatest single-player, combat flight sim that has been released on the PC, finally taking over that top spot for WWI flight sims from The Red Baron, and personally, it takes the top spot for any combat flight sim covering any era. 

Nothing can come close to the dramatic scenes this sim produces, as you fly across the tortured landscape of No Man's Land. It manages to convey the immensity of the sky, and creates clouds like no other sim. I can't find the words to explain it, but I honestly haven't played a flight sim that manages to make you and your plane feel so small and fragile, so insignificant, as you fly among such huge, dark, foreboding clouds. The atmosphere the sim creates is second to none. I've ready many pilot memoirs and when they wax lyrical about flying and the sorts of vista they see up in the heavens when playing WOFF UE you can understand what they mean.  Each season has its own high definition terrain set. No Man's Land will move in-line with how it did historically. Now, with the free skin pack, all Squadrons and Jastas have historically accurate paint jobs, as well as the planes of every Ace on all sides having their own, unique, historically accurate paint work. We are talking thousands of skins here.

This is another visual treat WOFF UE has to offer.  It also enhances the sort of realism OBD is trying to achieve, with great success in my opinion. Another massive improvement that WOFF has recently acquired is that the high definition planes' skins will now show bullet hole damage etc. which they didn't do. Previously, you had a choice between hi def skins or bullet holes, now you can have both.

As I'm talking about damage, the damage model and the visual effects have yet again been improved for the many aircraft, creating more varied looking and realistic plane damage. For the first time now pilots and observers will slump in their seats if killed. I always breathe a sigh of relief, if I shoot a plane down in flames and notice the pilot is already dead.  That's the kind of effect the game has on you, drawing you in to the point of worrying about an AI pilot's death! Previously, before the "slump", you never knew if the pilot was dead or not as he and his plane fell to earth like some sort of grisly comet.

Weather is also modelled.  So, as you take off, you could be flying through a snow storm, yet once above the cloud layer, bingo you're bathed in sunshine,  with blue sky all around. So as you can tell by now visually it's one hell of a treat. Day and night is modelled is also modelled. Fly as a pilot in a Gotha desperately trying to stay out of the search lights, as they sweep the night sky above London. Or, as the sun has just gone down towards the end of your patrol, you come into land at your airfield in France being guided by the flames lit along either side of the run way.

I can imagine some being worried about it using the old CFS 3 engine. Honestly, you really would never know they had

anything at all in common. It really is something you only have to consider when installing, or, if you don't own it, when tracking it down.

Now onto the dynamic campaign.  For a single player sim, this is the meat on the bones. This means WOFF UE has the body of a Greek God! So much work has gone into creating an experience that draws you in, and soon you find yourself fully immersed as a pilot during WWI flying high above the Western front.  You can, if you want to, choose exactly which squadron and what date you enlist and start your campaign. Or you can choose a date, and start in training, learning how to fly well behind the lines. Once you successfully complete your training then you could be assigned anywhere in any type of plane! Just like it was for those trainee pilots, but without the high possibility of death before your training was completed, saying that your in-game pilot can still die at this point, if you have a terrible crash.

OBD have done a tremendous amount of research on each squadron, including its aces and at which airfield they were at through out the war.  As you can imagine, with the number of squadrons I mentioned earlier, how much work that must have entailed! The squadrons are also rated as either on defence or offence aswell as how good it is, which can change during the War depending on the squadrons circumstances at that particular time. Also, the morale of the squadron as a whole is considered. You can if you wish request a transfer, as well as request leave.

Historically accurate Medals are awarded both to yourself and to your squadron members. Also, just like the War, you have to fill in a claim form when you think you've shot down one of the enemy. On the harder difficulty levels this can be denied, just like it was for the pilots back then. As for options regarding both difficulty and visually the game has plenty to choose from, so you can customise the experience to suit both how you want to play and what sort of rig you have. So the dynamic campaign is fantastic and surpasses all previous WWI flight sims. Play dead is dead difficulty and see how many hours you can do over the Western Front!

One final thing I want to mention about the game is that you can check on what aces are around at the particular time of the current campaign. You'll find that many even have their biography written, and when you see how many have a written biography it dawns on you just how much work has gone into this Sim. Along side any biography you'll find the Aces kills upto the particular date of your campaign, and as you continue forward the kills will be updated keeping inline with the pilots historical tally. The kill can even state who the unfortunate pilot and in a two seater observer were! The amount of research here, at your finger tips , could easily be published as a book in its own right. My hat goes of to you OBD. Stunning work!

Oh little tip when you get the game. Click "Credits". A little treat is waiting for you there.

Go check out the excellent WOFF forum at Sim HQ. Also like to thank the forum members if I've used one of their screenshots. 

WOFF webpage.

What you get with UE and New Feature List

 WOFF UE incorporates

Wings Over Flanders Fields 1

Wings Over Flanders Fields Expansion 2

Wings Over Flanders Fields Expansion 3

Add On Fokker Scourge

Add On Balance of Power

Add On Motley Crew

Plus all the updates, in an easy to install package.

Some of the new Features for UE

Two new two seater planes Bregeut 14 A.2 and the Caudon G.4

Enhanced Direct X Shaders

Huge performance increase

Revised Damage Models for all planes

Revised and improved lighting systems

Fully revised French Squadrons

New Winter Trees

Revised Flak

and many more features and improvements

Note: Also the Skin pack add on is now free for everybody:)

Nearly forgot to mention a major highlight!!

Last but not least is Matt Milne's outstanding musical score! What would WOFF be without it? Missing one of its vital elements for sure. The music could easily sell in the classical music section of a music store. In fact, I'm pretty certain it could get into the classical charts. Honestly, it's absolutely first class and adds so much to the atmosphere. So you can see, from its music to its campaigns and on to its visuals WOFF UE won't let you down. It's my favourite ever flight sim and all flight simmers should own it!

Thomas Gunn Newsletter

  Dear All

 Welcome to October's release of our superb 1/30 scale WW2 wooden aircraft, all of which take over 60 hours to complete. This month we have news of 3 aircraft which are available now and 2 aircraft which are coming soon, all our aircraft are produced in limited quantities and can be paid for upfront or over several months on a payment plan if this is your preferred option. 

 WOW 093 The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang  was a single seat fighter/fighter bomber utilised by the USAAF and RAF during WW2.  Initially the Mustang was designed as a response for a requirement by the RAF for additional fighter aircraft and first flew on 26th October 1940, 102 days after the contract was first signed by the British purchasing commission. The Mustang was initially powered by the Allinson V-1710 engine but this
lacked the necessary high altitude  performance required by the RAF and the engine was substituted for the Rolls Royce Merlin. This modification transformed the Mustang into a first class aircraft capable of taking on any of the Luftwaffe's fighters. From 1943 the USAAF used Mustangs to escort the 8th Air Force in their bombing raids over Germany whilst the 9th Air Force used Mustangs as Fighter Bombers, in a combination that helped achieve air superiority in the European campaign by 1944. Mustangs were also used with great effect in North Africa, Italy the Mediterranean and the Pacific to help turn the tide of war in the Allies favour. Our version of the Mustang is one flown by  Captain Charles Weaver an American ace with several awards to his name including the Distinguished Flying Cross, The Air Medal and the French Croix de Guerre. Limited to 12 pieces worldwide, the US army sentry figure pictured in the attachments comes free with this model.

 The FW190 is known as one of the iconic aircraft of WW2, designed by Kurt Wolff in the 1930's it along with the Messerschmitt Bf 109 became the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force during WW2.  Powered by a BMW 801twin row radial engine the FW 190 was capable of lifting heavier loads than the BF 109 allowing it to be utilised in several different roles including, fighter, fighter bomber and ground attack aircraft. The FW 190 made its first appearance over France in 1941 and proved superior to the RAF's MK V Spitfire in all aspects except turn radius. The FW 190 maintained this superiority until the introduction of the Spitfire MK 1X in November 1942. By 1944 Long Nosed variants of the F version of the FW 190 were entering service and this aircraft finally gave the Luftwaffe the parity it needed to address Allied superiority, unfortunately for the Luftwaffe it arrived too late in the war to have any real effect. WOW 099 'Black 3' was built in 1942 at the AGO factory in Ocherlesben and allocated to the fighter bomber wing of JG 5 Eismeer. Based at Herdla outside Bergen before being moved to Petsamo in Finland. It was then flown by Sgt Hans Gunther Kleemann on several missions. However in October '43 Kleemann bailed out of Black 3, after running out of fuel in a snowstorm west of Kongsfjord. Kleemann survived his landing and eventually made his way back to his base 2 days later, Black 3 was left for over 40 years where it had crashed In 1986 the wreck was recovered by the Norwegians and restored over a lengthy period in Norway and the USA, being the subject of 2 rebuilds! She now stands in the Norwegian Armed Forces Museum in Norway and is one of only 2 surviving FW 190 A 3's in the world.
                   

 Our second FW 190 WOW 100 is a Desert version 'Yellow 3' and was flown by Oblt. Erich Rudorffer whilst stationed with 6.JG 2. Rudorffer was the 7th most successful Luftwaffe ace of the war with 222 victories claimed in over 1000 missions, he was a gifted pilot who served on all combat fronts, he was lucky to survive the war despite being shot down 16 times and having to take to his parachute 9 times! He is credited with 10 heavy Allied bombers, 58
Sturmovik's and 60 Allied fighters on the Western Front during a career which netted him the Knights Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords plus a German Cross in Gold. After the war Rudorffer flew DC-3's in Australia before going to work for Pan Am and the German Civil Aviation Service, he died this year in April aged 98 years old. Both FW 190's come with LUFT 008 Footballer ground crew figure Fritz Walter as a freebie.
 

 All the above aircraft are priced at $650 which includes free shipping worldwide and are limited to 12 pieces each, they can be purchased via our website www.tomgunn.co.uk or by dropping me an email. For those of you wishing to purchase more than one aircraft a discount on shipping will apply.

 I have pleasure in attaching pictures of our all new B 17 'My Devotion' and a Horsa glider from D-Day which will be making an appearance soon. If you are interested in reserving either of these pieces please send me an email as we only have 5 of each on offer at this moment in time. The guide price for the B17 will be $1500 and the Horsa (which is also an extremely large model) will be $1200 approx plus postage and packing as of yet to be determined.

 



GUNN WINGS OF WAR AUGUST 2016 RELEASE

 

 

 

 

Dear All

This month we have two all new iconic 1/30 scale wooden aircraft models from
WW2 that were considered the backbone of the Luftwaffe bomber force and saw
action throughout the war in every theatre. With production normally taking
60 hours to make each model, these really are one off master pieces with
full interior detail and authentic markings as standard.



The Heinkel 111 was designed by Siegfried and Walter Gunter in 1934
ostensibly as a civilian passenger liner, but in reality the aircraft was
intended to provide the Luftwaffe with a fast medium bomber.  The mainly
glazed Plexiglas nose of the HE 111 gave it a very distinctive and easily
recognised look, almost akin to a giant wasp or bee.  During the early
stages of the war the HE111 performed well but like many German aircraft its
weak defensive armament was exploited by the RAF during the battle of
Britain. Casualties amongst bomber crews were particularly high but with no
suitable replacement the HE 111 soldiered on until the end of the war as a
strategic bomber, transport aircraft, glider tug and was even used as an
experimental variant to launch the V1 flying bomb whilst airborne. Various
airforces operated the HE 111 including the Spanish, Romania, Turkey and
China amongst others. The last ones were retired by the Spanish in the
1970's who made a licence built variant, with some of these featuring in the
1969 film 'The Battle of Britain' directed by Guy Hamilton. 
The HE 111 was over 59ft in length with a wingspan of 74ft, this makes for a
very impressive looking model in 1/30 scale as the attached photos will
testify. 





Armament consisted of 7 x 7.92mm machine guns with a 2000 Kilo bomb load
carried internally, further ordnance could be carried externally. Our model
features markings of a Luftwaffe aircraft from Kg53 as it would have
appeared during the battle of Britain 1940 with an initial batch of 5
aircraft being available at a cost of $1200 each plus postage and packing.
Comes free with Luftwaffe pilot and lady with umbrella as per the photos.
We will make another batch of aircraft where payment can be made over 6
months if the demand is there, please contact us by email for details. 



WOW089 Dornier 17 also known as the flying pencil was a twin engined light
bomber designed to be able to outrun enemy fighters. Making its combat debut
in the Spanish Civil War, the Dornier was liked by its crews but was
considered inferior in performance to the HE 111. The DO 17 usually had a
crew of 4 all housed in the same compartment and comprised of a pilot,
bombardier and 2 gunners to help defend the aircraft. Production ended in
1940 with the DO 217 replacing the DO 17, however surviving examples carried
on serving until the end of the war in various guises.  Our model is one of
the most well known Dornier 17's that took part in the Battle of Britain. On
26 August 1940 5K+AR was taking part in a raid on RAF bases at Debden and
Hornchurch when it became separated from other unit members. A Boulton Paul
Defiant is thought to have intercepted it with one of the engines being
disabled, forcing the pilot Willi Effmert to make a crash landing on the
Goodwin Sands. Two of the crew survived and were imprisoned for the duration
of the war. 5K+AR lay underneath the waves for nearly 60 years before it was
discovered. In 2010 it was raised from the sea bed and is now being restored
by the RAF Museum and will be the only complete example in the world once
restoration is complete. The DO 17 was nearly 60ft in length and with a
wingspan of 59ft and once again makes this a very distinctive  looking model
in 1/30 scale. We have an initial batch of 5 aircraft being available now at
a cost of $899 plus postage and packing, a further batch will be made
available with payment over 6 months if the demand warrants.  Please note
FJ029 policeman or LUFT021 pilot with fox will be supplied free depending on
availability and preference. 



That's all for this month folks, we may have some British WW1 aircraft at
the end of the month and will advertise these as and when we can. If you no
longer wish to subscribe to our newsletter please reply typing 'UNSUBSCRIBE'
in the header title and we will remove you from our mailing list.

Best wishes
The Gunn Team

Sopwith Triplane Build. (Updated 20th Feb 2017)

 

 



Dear All,

Welcome to our 7th Anniversary newsletter comprising some unique WW2 offerings to complement our Romans which made an appearance last week. Kicking off with a new version of FJ020 but this time with 2 gunners with their MG34 set up in the HMG mode on a Lafette stand. There will also be an 'E' winter version but unfortunately it was not ready in time for this month's releases. FJ020D Anniversary set will be priced at $89/£70 and is strictly limited to 100 pieces worldwide.

 

 



The last of our FJ pieces for at least a year and a special promotion on this price for all orders received in the month of July. FJ028 set comprises 2 gunners with an MG42 in the prone position taking aim at the enemy. The A version is a winter variant with our 2 FJ's dressed in white smocks/trousers and the B version more suitable for Normandy with our gunners wearing late war style splinter pattern smocks and grey trousers. The normal price will be $89/£69 for the pair, but to commemorate our 7th anniversary this set will be available for the bargain price of $45/£35 for July thru ourselves and all of our dealers. After the discount period ends the price will revert to the standard price of $89/£69. Limited to 100 pieces of the winter and 80 pieces of the Normandy variant. Please note that a wooden DFS 230 glider will follow as well as JU 52 to accompany all of our Fallschirmjager pieces later in the year. Our new range of FJ's will make a reappearance next year in a format not previously released by ourselves and one we are very excited about.

 



RS042A/B Mortar: Two Aussies prepare to lay down a barrage on the enemy with their 8cm mortar. The A version Aussies are dressed in typical combat fatigues reminiscent for 1940's jungle warfare whilst the B version (to follow in the next month or so and not pictured) will be dressed in the early war style Battledress suitable for the Desert or Greek campaign. The A version is limited to 100 pieces and the B version will be limited to 80 pieces. Both versions will be priced at $95/£75.

 



RS043 Command Set comprises a super little set of an officer trying desperately to hear what is being said down the line whilst the noise of battle rages around. His number 2 patiently prepares to write down orders as and when they get through. This set also comes with spare weapons in the form of M1 carbine and Owen Machine gun for the 2 figures or to enhance your diorama elsewhere as standalone pieces. Limited to 100 pieces worldwide and priced at $85/£65 whilst stocks last. Our Japanese tank RS035 should be making an appearance soon with this being one of the final pieces for the RS series for the time being.

Roman Series: Don't forget ROM010, 012 and 013 released last week have already been heavily pre-ordered and have been as popular as ever, if you have not ordered yet I would strongly recommend that you do so. Next month will see the release of 4 new figures with some Auxiliary troops to follow later in the year in the form of archers and a few other surprises.

Wings of War WW2 Release This month we decided to combine our Mahogany WW2 aircraft with our figures and as such they are a splendid Axis forces selection, please read below for details:

 

 





WOW067 The Blohm & Voss BV 141 was originally developed from a 1937 requirement for a new reconnaissance aircraft with optimal visual characteristics. Arado were the preferred competitor but after the aircraft prototype failed to impress, the field was left wide open. Focke Wulf stepped in with the FW189 although this aircraft had two engines despite the RLM's requirements for a single engine aircraft design type. Blohm & Voss submitted a design with a highly unusual asymmetric design feature, which surpassed all requirements and was powered by a single engine. Unfortunately for Blohm and Voss the design was considered too radical and Focke Wulf were awarded the lucrative contract. Only 20 B&V aircraft were produced with some seeing action on the Eastern Front and several other examples captured by the Allies including the British, as they advanced through Germany. Our version NC+RI was the last from the initial production batch of 10 aircraft and is portrayed in standard Luftwaffe colour scheme for this period. Despite being a single engine aircraft the BV 141 was very large for its time with a wingspan of over 57ft and a fuselage of approximately 46ft in length. The BV 141 had a crew of three personnel and all in all this makes it larger than the Messerschmitt 110 we recently released! We have a limited number of 10 models available sometime in August, this very unique machine is priced at $799 and comes free with FJ029 Military police figure.



 

WOW086: The Messerschmitt BF 110 was a twin engine heavy fighter and served with success in the early stages of the war during the Polish and France campaigns but was hopelessly outclassed by the RAF's fighters during the Battle of Britain, where is served as a bomber escort. Redeployed as a nightfighter in the West the BF 110 was well suited to this role, especially when flown by aces like Major Schnaufer who claimed 121 victories solely in this type of aircraft. In other theatres such as the Balkans and the Russian front, the 110 soldiered on as a ground attack/fighter bomber and performed admirably. A 37mm cannon could also be fitted under the belly of the BF 110 which made this a formidably armed aircraft when used in the ground attack or bomber interceptor role. The 110 was also adopted by Italy, Romania and Hungary amongst others with over 6000 aircraft being produced during its operational career.

 

 

 

 



The BF 110 aircraft had a 53ft wingspan and was over 40 ft in length making it another large aircraft even in 1/30 scale. Our new version the C-6 was one of 12 converted with an experimental 30mm cannon fitted under the belly and was utilised by the Luftwaffe against RAF radar stations during the Battle of Britain. Comes free with Luftwaffe pilot and FJ figure as pictured in the promotion photos attached. Limited to 10 in number and available in August at a price of $799.

 

 

 



WOW087: The Kawasaki KI-100 was a superb fighter aircraft fielded by the empire of Japan in the last days of WW2. It was capable of intercepting the B-29 Superfortress that were plaguing Japan at the time, but was hampered performance wise by the lack of a suitable supercharger. No Allied name was given to the KI-100 as it arrived too late in the war to be to be christened, however its arrival came as something of a shock to the Allies nevertheless. An overall assessment of the effectiveness of the Ki-100 rated it highly in agility, and a well-handled Ki-100 was able to outmanoeuvre any American fighter, including the formidable P-51D Mustangs and the P-47 Thunderbolts which were escorting the B-29 raids over Japan by that time, it was also comparable in speed, especially at medium altitudes. In the hands of an experienced pilot, the Ki-100 was a deadly opponent and along with the Ki-100, the Army's Ki-84 and the Navy's Kawanishi N1K-J were the only Japanese fighters able to defeat the latest Allied types. Armed with 2 x machine guns and 2 x 20mm cannons the KI-100 could deliver a knock-out blow whenever it came into close contact with Allied aircraft. Our offering comes in a very colourful scheme of the 111th Sentai as it would have appeared in late 1945. The sentry and 2 officer Command set pictured with the aircraft are included free with the total package being priced at $550 plus P&P, with a limited availability of 10 models being produced worldwide.

 

 

 



WOW088: The afore mentioned N1K-J also makes an appearance in our catalogue and rightly so as it was one of the most effective Japanese Naval aircraft of WW2. Christened 'George' by the Allies this outstanding aircraft possessed heavy armament as well as surprisingly good manoeuvrability. This was due to a mercury switch that automatically extended the flaps during turns, these "combat" flaps created more lift, thereby allowing tighter turns. Unlike the A6M Zero, the George could compete against the best late-war fighters, such as the Hellcat and the Corsair. Despite its obvious capabilities, it was produced too late and in insufficient numbers to affect the outcome of the war. Our model is one based with the 301st hikoitai "Shinsen-Gumi", 343rd kokutai, Shikoku, during the Spring 1945. The sentry and 2 officer Command set pictured with the aircraft are included free with the total package being priced at $550 plus P&P, with a limited availability of 10 models being produced worldwide.

That's all for this month folks and I hope you enjoyed what was on offer. I am not expecting any WW1 aircraft in this month which I know will come as something of a disappointment to some, but hopefully August will see some all new biplanes. For those of you wishing to make a purchase directly thru ourselves please visit our website www.tomgunn.co.uk where all our figures will shortly be on display. For those of you wishing to purchase an aircraft please email me direct as these items tend to be slower getting loaded onto the site. Please note you can still make stage payments on all our wooden aircraft models, ask for details if this is of interest.

Best wishes The Gunn Team