SCALE MODEL NEWS

BEST WISHES TO ALL OUR READERS and have a truly excellent scale time over the festive break. And of course, we also wish you a prosperous and productive 2020. Scale modelling need not be limited to plastic kits. The miniatures ( below ) are based on ready-made metal-and-plastic models, tweaked, adjusted, and repainted to make them one-off originals. At left is a Maisto 1:25 scale VW 'splitty' Samba van, complete with transparent roof section, wide wheels, and a sound system interior. Mods include a repaint, and superdetailed engine compartment. Also from Maisto is the 1:24 scale Ford rod ( middle ) which is presently under conversion to 'super-rusty' Mad Max mode. The chromed engine will be replaced by an electric motor, suitable for the dystopian future depicted in the movie series. The 1:24 scale Jada Batmobile ( right ) has rotating wheels, lift-up canopy halves, and a rotating mini-gun in the nose. It's already a good-looking beast, but a reworking next year wil...

IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO SEE A NEW MODEL MAGAZINE, so we are pleased to see the latest from Guideline Publications, the fascinating  Fantasy Figures International  which is in stores now. Mat Irvine:  Figure modelling has always been popular, whether the subjects are fact or fantasy. The US publication  Amazing Figure Modeler  has been produced for many years, and I reckon that a new British magazine could well emulate the success of its US cousin. The first issue of  Fantasy Figures International  ( FFI ) does basically what it says on the tin, featuring a cross-section of articles that deal with various aspects of figure modelling. For example, there are two articles on Maschinen Krieger (Ma.K), pages on figures and machinery, and a look at figure painter Mark Taylor. The Safest Place  is an article that takes a black-humour look at a post-apocalyptic scene – which happens to be set in a bathroom. There are also features on more traditional subjects,...

Porsche and Lucasfilm have created a 60-inch long concept spacecraft, the Tri-Wing S-91x Pegasus Starfighter, in time for the launch of the new movie  Star Wars Episode VIII: The Rise of Skywalker . The Tri-Wing will be unveiled at the film’s world premiere on 16 December 2019, in Los Angeles, California. According to Michael Maur, Porsche Vice President for Styling, the Tri-Wing concept “...blends the design elements of the fictional Star Wars universe with those of current, production model Porsches.” Maurs adds that the cabin shape tapers towards the rear, and (in a splendid piece of designer-speak) it has “...a highly distinctive topography from the cockpit fly-line to the turbines” which means that his design team have established “...visual parallels with the iconic design of the 911 and the Taycan.” So now you know how to speak designer-Klingon, oops, Star Warsian.  Points to mention are that the high-mounted intakes of the Tri-Wing echo the inlets on the current Porsch...

IT WASN'T A TOP SECRET but the fact that old-style rocker, Rod Stewart, was also a model railway enthusiast was probably not that well known, to many of his music fans, at least. But in the scale model world, Rod (‘Sir’ Rod since he was knighted in 2016) is yet another famous face who is a keen rail modeller. Mat Irvine: This came to light in May 2019, when members of Market Deeping Model Railway Club , having set up their layouts for a display at a local school, were aghast to find their work trashed before the show started. Who would do such a thing? Well, four 16 year-old boys were having a pre-exam celebration the night before by downing a bottle of vodka – and reckoned that kicking a football around the hall housing the rail layouts, would be a ‘good thing.’ The display couldn’t go ahead, but the trashing became national news, and Sir Rod donated £10,000 to a restoration fund. Then a crowdfunding campaign took the total past the £100,000 ($130,000) mark. The damage came to ab...