SCALE MODEL NEWS

SMN report: Fantastic Plastic is at it again with an interesting ‘Luftwaffe 1946’ offering, a Heinkel long-range jet bomber design. The project never left the drawing board, but as with all these Luft 46 designs, offers a fascinating insight into the direction World War II could have taken if Hitler’s secret projects had reached fruition. Last-ditch wonder weapon As Fantastic Plastic puts it: “Even as the Allies were advancing on Nazi Germany, German aircraft companies were scrambling to create new ‘wonder weapons’ for the Luftwaffe.” And one of these is the subject of FP’s latest model kit. Swept-back wing The Heinkel project was a jet-powered 60-tonne weight long-range bomber. It reached only a preliminary design stage, but had several radical components, especially the cranked wing, featuring a 45-degree sweep at the root, reducing to a 35-degree sweep further out. This was echoed by later bombers that did ‘make the metal’, including the UK’s Handley-Page Victor and Vulcan V-bombers...

SMN report: Here’s a set of pictures that should tempt French car fans. The subject is a moulding test shot for Revell’s upcoming Citroen 2CV ‘Deux Chevaux’, a classic set of wheels from the land of garlic and escargots. The new-tool kit is due for release in August 2011, and will have 126 components. Produced to 1:24 scale, the 2CV model will measure 160 mm (6.3 in) long.  The real thing - Citroen 2CV Charleston. Economy design The Citroen 2CV dates back to 1948, and represents a post-World War II economy approach to European mass-motoring, with a design brief demanding that the driver should be able to wear a hat, while driving across a ploughed field, carrying a crate of eggs on the passenger seat without breaking a single one. The engine was a tiny, air-cooled twin-cylinder design.   Don’t break the eggs! The economical car that resulted from that unique brief was easy to maintain and simple to operate, with a soft suspension that made driving on the poor French roads of t...

Mat Irvine looks at a useful diorama structure  It is somewhat ironic, given that the name ‘Hornby’ equates with model trains, that when the company acquired Airfix in 2006, items that were not included in the purchase were railway trackside buildings and accessories, which had been sold to Dapol in 1985. The exception was the Airfield Control Tower as, although it started off as a trackside accessory, it had been - probably logically - moved to the aircraft section of the catalogue before the Hornby sale! You get a one-piece resin moulding, with separate window frames and acetate glazing. Note the sturdy expanded-polystyrene packing. All sorts of uses for buildings Actually, the control tower is a good example of the fact that these buildings were not the sole prerogative of rail modellers. As they were 1:76 HO gauge, they would certainly fit alongside 1:72 aircraft, AFVs and the like, plus the parts could be widely adapted to other uses - hence many an Airfix Girder Bridge part t...

SMN report  Hornby has just hit the headlines with exciting Scalestric news. In the words of Hornby CEO Frank Martin: “ We are delighted that we have secured the worldwide licence for a range of Star Wars Scalextric products. As the films are converted into 3D format by Lucasfilm over the next few years, we anticipate that we will get an encouraging reaction to our new range of speeder bikes and X-wing fighters. We also have high hopes for our products associated with the new Disney/Pixar movie "Cars 2". The future looks bright As well as these new names, Hornby is starting to see sales rise with its 2012 Olympics range, which includes some 150 items, from trains to a Scalextric cycling velodrome set, and those multi-coloured London taxis we mentioned recently. As for Star Wars, the original movie first hit the silver screen 34 years ago, yet the mix of heroes and spaceships, aliens and robots, continues to grip the imagination of today’s generation, and 3D Star Wars movies w...

Mat Irvine discusses Vostok's background To finish this three-part appraisal of the reissued Airfix Vostok launcher, it’s worth pointing out that you don’t just get the version that launched the Vostok spacecraft. Because 2011 is the 50th year of humans in space, the kit has been issued with cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin’s orbital version to the forefront, but other options have included Soyuz and Sputnik - or have they? The first satellite First, a bit of background. Sputnik 1 was the first artificial satellite to be launched, on October 4, 1957, and so began the ‘Space Age’. The launcher as a whole, usually called the A-type in the west, or R-7 or Semyorka (‘Seven’) by the Soviets, was based on the SS-6 Sapwood ICBM. Airfix Vostok, Luna version.  After World War II The SS-6 resulted from Cold War enmities, when the USSR (having been our ally during World War II) retreated behind the so-called ‘Iron Curtain’. However, this was not before it shared in the spoils of victory over Germa...

David Jefferis reports London’s new double-decker bus is coming along nicely by the looks of things. A few days ago London Mayor Boris Johnson test-drove the prototype around a test track, and in his typically ebullient form, praised it like a brand-new toy - which in a sense it is, as he was the man who gave the green light to the concept development. Past-perfection returning with new style I loathe hugely-long bendy buses, so I’m all in favour of a return to two decks, if only for the views from up top. The new bus will have an open platform at the back too - no more being trapped by closed doors when you are a couple of metres from the bus stop! And with the swooping glass areas, even going up and down the stairs ought to be an eye-opening experience, though I guess ladies in short skirts might have to check their modesty from the gaze of street-smart oglers, even through tinted panels. Reduced exhaust emissions As planned, the new design will be a green machine, with an eco-aware ...

SMN report Just a reminder that for smartphone users, SMN is available in the small-screen Mobile Edition. You can read it wherever you have a phone signal - though it’s fair to say that, as ever, 3G or wi-fi is best for downloading the pictures. Zoom pix with SMN Mobile Edition SMN-ME comes up automatically on your phone (we use the iPhone 3GS at SMN) and is simple to use. Just place a finger on an article and the main piece opens up. If you want a bigger picture, tap it and a zoomable finger-spread version will appear. Comments are easy to make, and you can view the standard web version by tapping the link at the bottom.