Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka - Desperation Weapon of the Pacific War

The Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka, meaning “cherry blossom” in Japanese, was a rocket-powered manned weapon developed by the Imperial Japanese Navy during the final stages of World War II. Introduced in 1945, the Ohka was designed specifically as a suicide attack aircraft intended to strike Allied naval vessels with overwhelming speed and explosive force.

The aircraft carried a 2,000-pound warhead mounted directly in the nose ahead of the pilot. Operationally, the Ohka was transported beneath a Mitsubishi G4M “Betty” bomber and released near the target area. Once detached, the pilot ignited the rear-mounted Type 4 Mark 1 Model 20 rocket motors, which could be fired individually or simultaneously. Although the Ohka had an extremely limited range of approximately 23 miles, it was capable of reaching speeds of roughly 400 miles per hour in level flight and up to 680 miles per hour in a terminal dive, making interception difficult once launched.

The Ohka saw combat primarily during the Okinawa campaign in 1945. Of the 74 aircraft committed to operations, 56 were destroyed either with their carrier aircraft or during attack attempts. Allied forces assigned the nickname “Baka” to the Ohka, a Japanese term meaning “foolish,” reflecting both its crude simplicity and the extreme human cost of its use. In total, approximately 852 Ohkas were produced. Today, only about 13 surviving examples are known to exist in museums worldwide.

The model presented here depicts an Ohka captured on Okinawa in April 1945. It is shown unarmed, without its warhead installed, and resting unsecured on its transport cradle and rear support. This configuration reflects how many Ohkas were discovered by Allied forces - as unfinished or unused weapons, emblematic of a program that arrived too late to alter the outcome of the war.

The intent of this build was to present the Ohka not as a curiosity, but as a physical representation of the desperation and industrial collapse facing Japan in 1945 - a weapon defined less by innovation than by circumstance.

WW2 Messerschmitt Me 262 HG III — Pushing the Limits of Germany’s First Jet Fighter

This build represents the Messerschmitt Me 262 HG III, one of the most radical high-speed development studies derived from the world’s first operational jet fighter. Conceived in the closing stages of the war, the HG program pushed aerodynamic refinement, propulsion integration, and overall performance far beyond the standard Schwalbe.

The model was finished using acrylics and Alclad II metallics, with oils and pigments applied selectively to suggest restrained operational wear rather than heavy service weathering. All national markings were airbrushed to maintain scale fidelity. Additional details include scratch-added seatbelts, brake and engine plumbing, a brass pitot tube, and subtly weighted tires, bringing a greater sense of realism to this experimental airframe.

The intent of this build was to capture the technical ambition of the HG III concept - a machine defined more by engineering possibility than operational history while keeping the finish believable, controlled, and grounded in late-war German jet development.

WW2 German Heinkel He219 A-7 Uhu - Germany’s Most Advanced Night Fighter

The Heinkel He 219 Uhu was one of the most advanced night fighters to see service during the Second World War, incorporating a number of innovations well ahead of its time. Designed specifically for the interception of Allied bombers under cover of darkness, the He 219 featured multiple radar array configurations, heavy forward firepower, and a purpose-built airframe optimized for night operations.

Among its most notable features were upward-firing cannons for oblique attacks, the first steerable nose wheel fitted to an operational German aircraft, and the world’s first operational use of ejection seats. Armament on the A-7 variant was formidable, consisting of two MG 151/20 cannons mounted in a detachable ventral tray, two additional MG 151/20 cannons in the wing roots, and two 30mm MK 108 cannons mounted in the upper fuselage at an angle for attacks from below.

Powered by two Daimler-Benz V-12 engines producing approximately 1,776 horsepower each, the He 219 had a top speed of around 420 mph at 23,000 feet. With a crew of two and a heavy weapons load, the Uhu represented the pinnacle of German piston-engine night fighter design, combining advanced technology with lethal effectiveness during the final years of the war.

WW2 Era German Focke-Wulf Triebflügel - Germany’s Vertical Takeoff Fighter That Never Flew

One of the most unconventional aircraft concepts to emerge from German design studies during the Second World War was the Focke-Wulf Triebflügel, a radical attempt to solve the problem of air defense through vertical takeoff and high-speed interception. Conceived late in the war, the Triebflügel was designed to operate without conventional runways, launching vertically and transitioning to horizontal flight once sufficient altitude and speed were achieved.

The aircraft was to be powered by three Pabst ramjet engines mounted at the tips of rotating wings. During takeoff, the rotors would spin vertically to generate lift in a manner similar to a helicopter. Once airborne, the pilot would gradually tilt the aircraft into level flight, with the rotors continuing to spin and provide forward propulsion. For landing, the process would be reversed, requiring the pilot to slow the aircraft, pitch the fuselage upright, and descend vertically back onto its landing gear.

Although the Triebflügel never progressed beyond wind tunnel testing, projected performance figures were remarkable, with an estimated top speed of approximately 621 mph and a service ceiling near 50,000 feet. For this build, I chose to explore a plausible late-war operational appearance, applying a worn Luftwaffe light blue RLM 76 base combined with a splinter-style camouflage. The intent was to present the Triebflügel as a war-weary interceptor, a machine pushed into service during desperate final conditions where radical engineering met urgent necessity.