SCALE MODEL NEWS

THE REVELL STORY is an excellent book that provides in-depth reading about one of the modelling world's most famous names. Mat Irvine: Books on modelling and model companies are not uncommon, but the vast majority are written by enthusiasts, rather than by people who work in the business. However  The Revell Story is an exception in that one of the authors, Ulli Taubert, was for many years Production Manager at Revell-Germany, so has a vast amount of insider knowledge. Taubert's co-author, Andreas Berse, is editor of the German magazine Modell Fahrzeug (Model Vehicle). The book acknowledges early on that there are other books on Revell, though emphasises that this one concentrates primarily on Revell-Germany, not the original Revell Inc, or for that matter, the other major European division, Revell GB. The Revell Story takes a primarily chronological approach, using each year of Revell-Germany’s existence, from 1956 to 2018, with mostly double-page spreads devoted to each y...

FOR VIDEO GAME FANS, the Hasegawa 1:72 scale Ace Combat ASF-X Shinden II assembles to make an excellent fantasy model. For aviation freaks, the kit provides a chance to build a ‘what-if’ design, based loosely on the Sukhoi Su-47 Berkut (Golden Eagle). SMN report: The kit is a limited-edition version that features the near-future fantasy jet flown by a fictional female pilot, Kei Nagase. New-tool components give you a choice of three flight modes, Normal, SSC (Stealth SuperCruise) and STOVL (Short Takeoff Vertical Landing). There are plenty of assembly choices with this 115-part 1:72 scale kit, including two wingtip and engine nozzle options, with moveable canards and tail surfaces. Weapon loads include six air-to-air missiles and four rocket pods. Hasegawa has also included a pilot figure, just right for adding that sense of scale to the finished thing. The Shinden II can be assembled in gear-down configuration for shelf-top display, or cleaned up for flight, when it can be mounted on...