SCALE MODEL NEWS

Mat Irvine sees stars Getting a new lease of life out of an existing kit is hardly unusual, and this is precisely what Hasegawa has done with its 1:200 scale Space Shuttle Orbiter kit, by adding what was the Shuttle’s largest single payload, the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). What is odd, given the number of Orbiter kits and the importance of this particular space observatory, is that no-one has done this before. A multi-coloured kit, split usefully into related groups. The runner of grey components is newly produced for this kit. Space-saving scale The use of 1:200 scale is based on the simple fact that Hasegawa uses this scale for its airliner kits, rather like Airfix choosing 1:144 scale for its rockets and airliners. However, the scale does mean a small and somewhat simplified kit, but it’s none the less worthy for that, and has the advantage (given the recent article about displaying models) that it takes up minimal shelf space! The two primary configurations on their respective st...

SMN report We’ll be joining the two billion or so TV viewers later today, but there’s just time for a quick look at some of the aircraft flown by British royalty - who knows, there might be a model there somewhere, perhaps a Westland Sea King like the above. Prince William is a serving Royal Air Force officer, flying Sea King Search and Rescue helicopters. To the best of SMN’s knowledge, there are no special ‘royal’ markings, but the helicopter makes an attractive model in any scale, though here’s a request to manufacturers out there - how about a really BIG Sea King? The largest we know of is the Bravo Delta 406 mm (16 in) long mahogany display model, though it’s not cheap, and made to the somewhat odd 1:42 scale. The Sea King is a popular machine that’s been around for more than three decades, and that’s without mentioning the original Sikorsky S-61, from which the Westland version was developed. Plenty of scope there then! King’s Flight Airspeed Envoy III in Dinky Toy model form. Ki...

SMN report The Airfix 2011 catalogue promised the Valiant earlier this year (SMN story here ), and the 1:72 scale kit is now coming in to land, with general sales expected around May 10. The subject is the four-engine Vickers-Armstrong Valiant jet bomber, developed after World War II to counter the Soviet threat in the early days of the Cold War. The swept-wing Valiant was the first design to fly of the ‘V-Force’, three British bombers designed to penetrate Soviet airspace and deliver nuclear weapons in the event of the Cold War turning hot.  In the model world, there has been little shortage of the other two V-bombers, the dramatic-looking Handley-Page Victor, and the big-delta Avro Vulcan, but the comparatively no-frills Valiant has been something of a Cinderella. Still, here we are now with what looks a very interesting kit indeed. Prototype Valiant about to land at the UK Farnborough Air Show, 1951. What’s in the box Boxed in the Airfix latest style, there are 142 components to...

Mat Irvine on a question of colour Further to last week’s report on the Airfix 1:144 scale Vostok kit reissue ( see it here ) celebrating Yuri Gagarin's famous 1961 flight, as I provided the change of details needed to Airfix, here’s more of an explanation. Secret Vostok shape The kit itself was released way back in 1969, when we in the West had only recently found out what this Soviet rocket actually looked like. Although flown as early as 1957 to launch Sputnik 1, it wasn’t until 1965, four years after the Gagarin flight, that the shape was revealed. The first two Vostok boxes. Bottom is the 1969 original, above is the 1991 version, with my suggested additional wording: ‘Soviet A-Type Launch Vehicle’. Slimline boosters Because details were still sketchy even in 1969, the kit was not entirely accurate. To be fair, most of it did come out pretty close, but the main problem was with the four tapered boosters. These were too thin, and made the rocket look sleeker than it actually was...

David Jefferis reports The Devon-based Armortek company has announced its latest 1:6 scale AFV model, the Russian T34, in short and long barrel versions. Armortek bills itself as the world’s leading manufacturer of these big-scale kits, with service, reliability, and top build-quality coming with every model. Design and production methods The kits are designed using 3D software to produce detailed virtual models, which are then proven by in-house rapid prototyping and manufacturing. Production parts - we’re talking big metal AFVs here - are machined mostly from solid material on multi-axis turning machines and machining centres.  True to scale Armortek models feature scale thickness armour and use full-size construction practises when possible, so German tanks feature torsion bar suspension and fabricated hulls and turrets, while Allied vehicles feature volute or leaf springing and cast turrets, just like the real thing. Uniquely, Armortek uses industrial motors and control gear to...

A blast from the past with Mat Irvine Given the nature of this website, most pieces here tend to be in the ‘what’s new’ category. However, others can turn up by serendipitous coincidence, such as this example.  Treasure chest of models I was recently in that modellers’ gold-mine, Comet Miniatures in south London, an establishment run by an old friend of mine, Tony James. Even when I’m sure I know what’s in every nook and cranny, the place can still turn up surprises. I was rummaging about in the ‘second hand’ shop, when all of a sudden I noticed the very first issue of the Airfix 1904 Darracq from 1956, in (of course) a period polythene bag, with paper header containing the instructions.  French car in a British movie Why would I be particularly interested in a 1904 Darracq? Well, it was one of the very first ‘Star Cars’ - cars that have had ‘starring roles’ in movies and TV series. And this of course was the automotive star (even though it was a French car) of a cla...

SMN report Hasegawa presents us with some good stuff this month, including the two-in-one Heinkel He111Z, created by mating two He111 airframes with a new centre-wing section and an extra, fifth engine. The He111Z was designed primarily as an air tug for the massive Messerschmitt Me321 Gigant heavy-lift military glider, but even five engines were not enough for the job - there was simply not enough power to haul a fully-loaded Me321 off the ground. Various solutions were tried, including the use of rocket pods to boost thrust at takeoff. The He111Z in flight Despite its oddball design, the He111Z was surprisingly successful in flight, with handling that was rated highly by pilots, who sat in the port fuselage. A normal flight crew was seven, including a gunner, observer, and mechanic who sat in the starboard fuselage.  Hasegawa’s 1:72 scale rendering of the He111Z is a good one with 228 parts and, very interestingly, contains two sets of decals, one of which is a fictional ‘what if...

SMN report Last week’s 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s first human spaceflight - 12 April 1961 - had Mat Irvine looking at the well-produced magabook Space published at the same time. So now let’s have a look at the Airfix reissue of Vostok 1, the rocket that blasted the 27-year old cosmonaut Gagarin into his 108 minute orbital flight, and a certain place in the history books. Original Vostok box art from Roy Cross The original Airfix 1:144 Vostok kit has been around a long time, and as you can see from the pic, the splendid box art was from the talented brush of ace artist Roy Cross. The new art is less exciting, that’s for sure (note the James May and Roy Cross interview link below) but looks clean and wholesome, so we won’t complain. What’s in the box? As for the kit, the assembled Vostok 1 measures 245 mm (9.6 in) high, and 65 mm (2.6 in) from fin to fin across the base - and talking of bases, you get a neat rectangular pad to sit the rocket on, plus extra parts to make other la...