Small Scale Military Headquarters

Title kind of says it all - it seems the S1 release of "La France Libre" came and went within a matter of days. Most places either do not have the plane stocked or simply don't have them. TheFlyingMule and Badcat had them briefly, but they lasted only a matter of hours or a few days at best. Cannot confirm whether anyone else got them. Even American Grenadier never made an announcement.

I did get lucky and purchased one from BadCat before they ran out, but find it pretty crazy that the plane disappeared so quickly! Did anyone else get one? I'd be curious to hear other thoughts!

As a primary workhorse for the USAAF and RAF, the A-20 was sorely needed in 1:72 diecast and long overdue. Hobby Master's reconditioning is overall pretty decent. The plane has the plug-in-place landing gear pieces (which fit nicely), removable cockpit canopy/cover with somewhat detailed cockpit, rotating turret, and rotating props. The aircraft is finished in a flashy D-Day scheme, but one that isn't too overdone.

Still, the new tooling leaves a little to be desired, especially when compared to similar-sized twin-engine WWII aircraft Hobby Master has made in the past like the Bristol Beaufighter and A-26 Invader. Cockpit detail on the A-20 is spartan - just the seat, control yolk, and instrument panel (which is detailed); no framing or other detail in the space behind the pilot. The turret guns do not elevate and you can't put a figure in the turret. There is no piece to display an "open" bomb bay or any other ordinance.

For me, the mos inexcusable issue are seams between different parts of the model and slight mis-alignments on some of the markings caused when a marking "straddles" a seam. On my model, this namely occurred on the bomb tally on the front left under the cockpit and on the unit markings on the right side on my plane. Its simple QC oversight more like what one got with 21st Century Toys stuff - not with $75 collectibles!

So, in the end, I am glad to have added the A-20 to my 1:72 diecast bomber collection both due to its historical significance as well as a family connection to the aircraft type - but it is not the best of Hobby Master's releases and is not the best overall quality for the price. We have gotten better from Hobby Master and from other diecast companies.

they sold out very fast and are hard to find

Normally I do not preorder things but in this case I am glad I preorder from Pete's Collectibles. I had no issues with fit and finish. You are right that the detail was not up to prior models

Turns out my local Hobbytown USA store did get them in, contrary to what I said above. This afternoon I found 3 there - now 2 after I picked up another that has better finishing on it than my original. I think I'll put my original up on ebay to see what happens...

And you are so right, AG! These sold like hotcakes. I'm guessing the production run was smaller, but I'm surprised that for something which was new just a week or so ago, they're practically gone. That doesn't seem to happen with a lot of diecast. I mean stuff will sell, but not overnight.

Only AR-15 rifles and .22 ammo seem to move faster than those A-20s did

Also very sloppy on the part of HM is the fact that its A-20G doesn't even show the outline of the bomb bay doors. Once they decided to forgo the bay and bombs, they simply forgot that the bay still exists and left it blank. I'm in no rush to buy an HM A-20G and prefer one in Pacific livery. Patience, patience.

I'm the one who suggested to Hobby Master that the original nose art of "Miss Laid" and the scantily-clad woman be included just barely visible under the "La France Libre" which is accurate for the real A-20.

I ordered mine about two weeks ago after Badcat and Flyingmule sold out.

Yeah, the lack of the bomb bay is what depresses me the most with the model (apart from the sloppy QC on my first one). I mean, their tiny 1:144 scale B-24 has an open bomb bay insert piece, so why couldn't the larger A-20?

Its kind of hard to look at this next to, say, the A-26. To me, Hobby Master did a near perfect job with the A-26. It captures the look of the plane, has a detailed interior, bomb bay insert, turrets.

But I just noticed the faded "Just Laid" noseart under the "La France Libre" livery on my A-20. Really neat - and accurate - effect!

I'll be curious to see what the RAF Boston variant of the A-20 looks like...

I was over at Onmark today and he had just got some more in.

www.Onmarkint.com