COBI Northrop F-5A Freedom Fighter Set 2425

COBI's Northrop F-5A Freedom Fighter is a 1:48 model built from 352 blocks under licence, with movable ailerons, detachable landing gear, underwing armament and an opening cockpit for the pilot figure. A display stand and a plate with the name, scale and US flag are included. No stickers.

Built to be given away

The name is the explanation. Northrop designed the F-5 not for the United States Air Force but for the countries the United States wanted to arm — allies who needed a jet fighter and could not afford, maintain or fly the complicated machines America built for itself.

So it was made deliberately simple: two small engines, modest avionics, straightforward maintenance, low running cost. It first entered service in 1964 and went on to equip air forces on four continents, many of them receiving the aircraft under American military aid rather than buying it.

The USAF did take a handful to Vietnam in 1965 for a combat evaluation known as Skoshi Tiger, flying ground-attack missions to see how the export fighter held up in a real war. It held up well, and was then handed to the South Vietnamese air force — which was the point of the aircraft in the first place.

In the COBI range

At 1:48 the model belongs to the Armed Forces range and stands correctly beside the other 1:48 jets, including the F-104 Starfighter (2426) and the F-4C Phantom II (2427).

Specifications

Pieces: 352 · Figures: 1 simplified pilot · Scale: 1:48
Model dimensions: 29 × 17.5 × 8.5 cm (11.4 × 6.9 × 3.3 in)