SCALE MODEL NEWS

At first glance, the giant 1:96 scale Saturn V launch complex built by John Ashton (above) looks as if it could be built from modern materials. But no, take a closer look, and you realise the construction is from an older period, the builder being someone who seems to like a lot of cornflakes, for he makes his models mostly out of cereal boxes. Mat Irvine reports: John Ashton entered his Saturn V launch complex into the 2010 IPMS Scale ModelWorld ‘factual space’ section, and although his work didn’t win gold, it did take a bronze. The sheer size of the model demanded attention, and although when you look closely you can see the source materials, from a couple of metres away, the whole thing takes on a very realistic look. The Saturn rocket is assembled from a 1:96 scale Revell kit, but the launch complex is constructed from found materials, mainly card from cereal boxes. Although John builds mostly from cereal boxes, he also uses other ‘found’ materials, such as florist’s wire, woode...

It's 1945, and the Allies are on the verge of winning World War II, when suddenly the Nazis unleash an arsenal of super weapons straight out of science-fiction, turning the tide of  combat  in their  favour .   This presentation was done on a very small budget, with all the tanks and vehicles - Willys Jeep, Stuart  and Sherman tanks, Nazi 'Spider' tank - featuring as 1:6 scale models, rather than the CGI that's typically used for almost all sci-fi movies today. In Director Ryan Nagata’s words, “1945A is a presentation I made with George Edelman about an alternate timeline where the Nazi's unveil all sorts of futuristic sci-fi technology at the end of World War II, turning the tides in their favor. “It's essentially what five minutes of the feature film could look like. It was made for a budget of less than $2000. Most of the costumes were made by me for a previous project. We only had five helmets to share between actors, so I had to repaint the different markin...

Fast-flying canard fighting plane from France, with kits from Revell and other manufacturers to back up excellent video action at YouTube. This is an ace video from the French armed forces, offering plenty of opportunities to see the pretty twin-engine Dassault Rafale in action, and to note details for modelling purposes, especially in the cockpit and helmet design reference. Pleasingly, there are plenty of Rafale kits to choose from , one of our favourites being the Revell Rafale M to 1:48 scale. Add some careful weathering and panel detail to turn the wick up to quite stellar modelling levels. We ran across a nicely made Rafale from model maker Calum Gibson, whose completed model you see here. As painted, the aircraft represents something of a what-if scenario, as keen-eyed aviation fans will note an Australian kangaroo roundel below the cockpit. Still, it's always fun to speculate, and a well-made model contributes to the fictional day-dreaming process. Calum also has a really i...

Here’s a prize-winning build of the 1:24 scale Airfix Harrier, remodelled as a Spanish Navy Matador. The kit is based on the old-mould Harrier, marketed a few years back with additional parts to build the GR3 version. Creator of the sound-enabled display model is US model-maker George Mustafa. It took George over 800 hours (that’s equivalent to more than 33 days solid, working round the clock!) to correct the many flaws in the plastic, to scratch-build the hundreds of missing or corrected components, and to super-detail virtually everything else. The video (below) gives a good feel for George's work, especially the sound-chip side of things - which works just great. George used various bought-in extras, such as part of the Flightpath photo-etch set, a resin ejection seat from Heritage Models, while other parts were scratch-built. The resulting Matador model has working navigation, beacon, and landing lights, an illuminated instrument panel, rotating turbine blades and real Pegasus ...

The Model Market will run on Sunday February 2, 2014. That’s good timing, neatly on schedule to stock up on all those new kits you promised yourself for the coming year. And perhaps also to get the tools you need to finish the unbuilt stuff, left over from 2013… The Model Market is primarily a dealer show, though the Bedford Model Club and New City Model Club will be mounting impressive displays. As with all other HaMeX shows, The Model Market will be held at Hanslope Village Hall, Newport Road, Hanslope, Bucks MK19 7NZ, UK. Aim to get there bright and early, as The Model Market runs on just the one day from 1000-1600hrs, a timing schedule it will share with other HaMeX shows running at the same site. If you get hungry, the K-9 Cafe will open for ace bacon sarnies and plenty of coffee. Kits aplenty, club displays, lots to see and buy, hot grub on hand - what better way for a model maker to spend a winter’s day?! Info on The Model Market here. More on The Model Market and other shows at...

In 83 days or so, Boeing can go from assembling a 777’s first components, to flight testing the assembled bird, to delivering it to an airline. A typical model kit might take anywhere from a day to a week. But Luca Iaconi-Stewart’s amazing hand-crafted paper liner has been a five-year production. Luca Iaconi-Stewart’s 777 is a big, 1:60 scale model that is at least as complex as the most detailed plastic kit, and probably more so - it’s got everything, from correctly opening doors and hatches, to retractable landing gear, even scale reverse-thrust cascades on the engine pods. The 777 project's dawn came with Luca’s discovery of detailed plans for an Air India 777-300ER, which he then started to replicate in buff paper. It’s not been a quick job: a whole summer went by while he created all the seats, hundreds of them, in three classes, first, business, and economy. It hasn’t been a continuous operation though - Luca stopped work on the 777 for a couple of years while he attended col...

On January 10, 2014, Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo completed its third powered test flight. In command on the flight deck for the first time under rocket power was VG’s Chief Pilot, Dave Mackay. We looked at the new 1:144 scale WhiteKnightTwo/SpaceShipTwo kit recently, so it’s good to see that progress on Virgin Galactic’s edge-of-space craft is proceeding well (video below) though we're not quoting odds as to when the first fare-paying passengers will fly. We’re betting 2015, rather than 2014. The Revell kit looks pretty good, though we’d like to see it in a bigger scale, with all the extra detail that would allow. Still, for the moment, the new-tool kit spec is reasonable: * Highly detailed fuselage on both WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo
 * Clear windows 
* Accurately reproduced engines and structured wings 
* Optional extended landing gear
 * Rocket nozzle
* Includes display stand
 * Super decal set with colourful Virgin Galactic design
 Scale Stats Revell Virgin Galactic...

We don't do too much in the way of radio-control gear at SMN, though maybe we should if an amazingly huge model is anything to go by. In flight, it looks pretty much like the real thing (above) so be impressed with how they fly the mighty MiG-25 down under, in New Zealand. The video shows the maiden flight of what is claimed as, "...probably the largest jet-powered scale model of a MiG-25." We're not going to dispute that, as at 4.2m (13.8ft) long and weighing some 42kg (92.6lb) the  monster MiG  is a mammoth model. For  this  flight it was test-flown by 18-year-old Clinton on the first day of the ANZAC jet rally in Tokoroa, New Zealand.  Unfortunately, the second flight did not go as well, and promised a video of that - and we can't wait to see the crunch! Video posted by 'xjet' who has a   video channel here . Header pic of MiG25RB, courtesy Wikimedia Commons/Alex Beltyukov RuSpotters Team. Plenty of smaller scale MiG-25 kits and other stuff here. Heaps ...

Fans of British jets will welcome the new Airfix 1:48 scale Folland Gnat, well-known as the high-speed mount for RAF aerobatic teams of the past, such as the Yellowjacks and the Red Arrows. This Gnat is a step up in size for Airfix, which already has a new-tool 1:72 scale Gnat in the range. The Folland Gnat was a small, swept-wing British subsonic jet trainer and light fighter, the pic (below) taken at the 1957 Paris Air Show. It was developed by Folland for the RAF, and flown extensively under licence by the Indian Air Force. The design was simplified, allowing for construction by countries without a highly specialised industrial base. Although never used as a fighter by the RAF, the Gnat T1 trainer variant (below) was used from 1962-78, after which it was replaced by the hugely successful Hawk, which is still widely used, with new versions currently under development by BAE Systems. In service with the Indian armed forces, the relatively small Gnat achieved distinction in 1971 as a ‘...