|
Green Bay Packer Air Force
I find it rare that two hobbies intersect, but when they do, the
best parts of each hobby seems to stand out. In this case, I have
three of my favorite hobbies coming together...the Green Bay Packers
NFL football team, aviation, and collecting diecast models (of which
I mostly collect Oliver farm toys). Collected below are photos of
each of the (24) scale airplane and helicopter models in my collection
that are dressed up in Green Bay Packers team colors.
This is a Green Bay Packer bobble-head sitting in a tiny bi-plane. This
plastic model was on sale at ShopKo stores in Wisconsin in the late 1990's.
This is the Green Bay Packer team Boeing 727 transport. It was produced by
Danbury Mint, and it is still available new as a limited edition.
This is a P-47 Thunderbolt, a WWII era fighter plane, dressed up in Green Bay
Packers colors. This was available in 2002 as a limited edition.
This is a P-51 Mustang, another WWII era fighter plane, dressed up in Green Bay
Packers colors. This was available in 2003 as a limited edition. This model
has a number of nice details including rockets and working landing gear.
Here is the F4U Corsair, also a WWII era fighter plane, dressed up in
Green Bay Packers colors. This model was available in 2004 as a limited
edition in 1/100 scale. The Corsair has the unique gull-wing design that
lead to the nickname 'bent wing bird'. The Corsair survived WWII and
went on to fight in Korea with the United States Marine Corps.
Here is the P-40 Warhawk, a WWII era fighter plane, decorated in Green
Bay Packers colors. This model was available in late 2004 as a limited
edition in 1/48 scale. The Warhawk is famous for its battles in the
China-Burma theater of action, and sports a distinctive shark's mouth
design on the nose of the fuselage.
This is a Waco open cockpit bi-plane from the 1930's. It was available in
2000 or 2001.
This is a Boeing 747 dressed up in Green Bay Packer colors. While it is not
diecast metal, it is still a neat toy. It has a spring-loaded wheelset,
flashing landing lights, and an obnoxious electronic sound. This is
available only at the Packer Pro Shop in Green Bay.
This is a General Dynamics, now Lockheed Martin, F-16 Fighting Falcon dressed
up in Green Bay Packer team colors. This detailed diecast model has working
landing gear. It was available at ShopKo stores in the late 1990's.
Fleer released three new jets in Green Bay Packers colors in 2003.
These jets are 1/100 scale. From left to right, they are the
McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom, Grumman F-14 Tomcat, and the McDonnell
Douglas F-15 Eagle. The Tomcat even has realistic swing wings that
rotate inward and outward just like the real Tomcat.
Fleer released the 1/48 scale F-18 Hornet in Green Bay Packers colors
in late 2004. The Hornet has an interesting development history. It
started as the YF-17 Cobra, which lost to the F-16 Falcon in a fly-off.
The Navy picked up the F-17 project, and developed the F-18 Hornet,
which replaced the A-6 as an attack airplane. The Hornet airframe
was scaled up 30% to make the F-18E/F SuperHornet, which is replacing
the F-14 Tomcat as our front line Navy air superiority fighter.
This is a Northrop Grumman B-2A Spirit dressed
up in Green Bay Packer team colors. The Spirit is more commonly known
as the Stealth Bomber. The Spirit is unusual in that it is a flying
wing and has no vertical tail. This model is a limited edition available
only in 2003.
These are a series of five snap-together airplanes in Green
Bay Packers colors issued by Fleer in 2002. They are die-cut
from a plastic card just slightly bigger than a credit card.
You remove the parts and snap the airplanes together. The
resulting aircraft are just over an inch long.
The aircraft include a Bell 209 Helicopter (center), Rockwell
B-1B Lancer (upper right), Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot (lower right),
Sukhoi Su-35 Super Flanker (lower left), and the Saab AJ-37
Viggen (upper left).
This is a diecast Bell Jet Ranger helicopter painted in Green Bay Packers
team colors. It was put out by Fleer (famous for baseball cards). The
model is 1/43 scale, and it was only available in 2001 as a limited edition.
This is a second diecast Bell Jet Ranger helicopter painted in Green Bay
Packers team colors. It was also put out by Fleer. The model is 1/43 scale,
and it was only available in 2002 as a limited edition.
This is a third diecast Bell Jet Ranger helicopter painted in Green Bay
Packers team colors. It was also put out by Fleer. The model is 1/43 scale,
and it was only available in 2003 as a limited edition. This model has an
additional detail as compared to the earlier years. Look for the radio
antennas on the top of the cockpit and the rear of the fuselage.
This is a fourth diecast Bell Jet Ranger helicopter painted in Green Bay
Packers team colors. It was also put out by Fleer. The model is 1/43 scale,
and it was only available in 2004 as a limited edition.
This is a 1/48 scale McDonnell Douglas AH-64D Apache Longbow Helicopter.
The Apache is an attack helicopter that features a chain gun just under
the nose, along with missiles and bombs carried on small side wings.
The job of the Apache is to sneak up on the enemy by flying low to the
ground, then pop up for the kill. The Longbow version of the Apache
includes an improved radar system. You can see the large antenna module
located above the main rotor. This model was available from Fleer as
a numbered limited edition in 2003.
|
Authored by John A. Weeks III, Copyright © 1996—2016, all rights reserved. For further information, contact: john@johnweeks.com
|