SCALE MODEL NEWS

THE FAMED RED-AND-WHITE FORD TORINO from the 1970s cop-thriller TV series, Starsky and Hutch, is one car you would have thought would have been made as a kit years ago. There have been diecast and slot car versions, but it’s taken 40-odd years for a 1:25 scale kit to be released - and here it is. Mat Irvine:  This new Revell kit features the 1975 Ford Torino, as driven in the series by David Starsky, played by Paul Michael Glaser. The gaudy colour scheme earned this particular Torino a nickname, the ‘Striped Tomato.’ The box ( below ) features the human stars of the TV series, Starsky is the dark-haired one. Box sides feature useful detail shots. The 1:25 scale Revell Ford Torino kit is straightforward to assemble. The body and interior are moulded in red, the rest in black. The kit is midway between the old-style ‘unassembled promo’ (solid chassis, fixed hood, no separate engine) and a modern kit with detailed suspension, axles, and engine. This Revell kit has a separate exhaust s...

DUE FOR RELEASE SHORTLY the 1:72 scale Revell Avro Shackleton MR2 looks ready to ignite a which-is-best competition with Airfix, whose own Shackleton to the same scale is due for release in August 2016. SMN report:  The Avro Shackleton was a British long range maritime reconnaissance aircraft, its design dating from the 1940s, being a development of the World War II Lancaster bomber. The AEW (aircraft early warning) version that is the subject of this Revell kit was a later development. Twelve MR2s were converted as the AEW2, and went into service in 1972. According to Revell, the model features: * Finely engraved surfaces * Detailed cockpit * Rear observation station * Weapon bay with separate doors * Side door optionally open or closed * Nose section with machine guns Amazon.co.uk Widgets And there's more: * Tailplane with separate rudders * Nose radome * Separate ailerons * Separate flaps * Detailed engine nacelles * Detailed main undercarriage * Rotatable propeller * Antennas...

THIS 1:48 SCALE HASEGAWA Nakajima E8N2 Type 95 reconnaissance seaplane (Dave) kit is a neatly engineered model of an aircraft that first flew in 1934. SMN report:  The E8N2 kit would partner well with other military floatplanes that flew before and during World War II. This particular release is a Limited Edition that comes with two sets of markings, representing aircraft that flew as the airborne eyes of two Imperial Japanese Navy battleships, the  Nagato  and the  Mutsu . There are also new parts in the box, including aileron rod and oil cooler components. Detail is impressive, as are the nicely sculpted crew figures that come with the kit. As the pictures show, it also comes with crisply moulded beaching trolley equipment, so you don’t have to make a seascape diorama if you don’t want to, though a section of beach or concrete apron would not go amiss. Another thought is to display the Nakajima Type 95 next to the British Fairey Swordfish , another biplane of the ...

THIS 1:72 SCALE MERCURY-ATLAS CAPSULE-LAUNCHER KIT FOLLOWS ON from the first Horizon Models release, the 1:72 scale Mercury spacecraft.  Mat Irvine:  The kit features the Atlas launch vehicle and Mercury capsule, both used for the final four manned orbital Mercury flights, from John Glenn onwards, plus some test flights. The Mercury human spaceflight program ran from 1958-63. The kit is an exciting one, not least for it being released in standard model aircraft 1:72 scale. The back of the box ( below ) shows three neatly painted versions of the Mercury-Atlas. The kit includes the Mercury spacecraft that featured as the first Horizon release. However the bulk of the kit's contents are the components to assemble the Atlas rocket, a launcher that was modified from its original role as an ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile).  Some components ( below ) are duplicated, as you get two identical runners. There are also some extra parts not used in the kit. Perhaps they are ...

HANDSOME BOX ART shows off this latest Airfix World War II set, due out soon. For diorama lovers, this collection of ground support vehicles and equipment will really set off a USAAF display. SMN report:  Airfix has plenty to say about this extremely useful supplementary kit: “As US bomber operations began to take place at airfields all over Southern England from the summer of 1942, the vehicles used in servicing their Liberators and Flying Fortresses were slowly changing from the standard RAF support vehicles, to specialised US Air Force equipment. From fuel trailers to bomb trolleys, Bedfords were quickly being replaced by Chevrolets.” The cgi images ( below ) give a good idea of the excellent detail levels on the various elements of the re-supply set. Airfix goes on to say: “Autocar U-7144-T 4X4 tractor unit and F-1 fuel trailer. The U-7144-T was used extensively by the US military from 1942 onwards and was certainly found on most, if not all USAAF airfields in Britain, particul...