SCALE MODEL NEWS

FOR THOSE WHO don’t know their science-fiction, this kit from Polar Lights represents one of the ‘flying hubcap’ UFOs that featured in a 1959 B-movie called  Plan 9 from Outer Space . Mat Irvine:  The ‘Worst Movie – Ever’ as The Simpsons’ Comic Book Guy might have said.  Plan 9 from Outer Space  continues to intrigue, and for science-fiction fans here is a new release of one of its flying saucers. Although it used to be quoted that Plan 9 ’s invading saucers were ‘hubcaps from a Chevy’ (a myth perpetuated in the movie  Ed Wood ) there were also the Lindberg flying saucer kits. And Round 2, which owns the Lindberg name and tooling, has reissued the kit literally ‘as seen in the movie.’ The kit is issued under Round 2’s Polar Lights brand, though it has at various times been been released by Atlantis, Glencoe, and Lindberg. So in effect, this kit is a Polar Lights reproduction of a Lindberg kit, even if it really is the Lindberg kit. Frankly, most of the kit’s app...

LAST YEAR MARKED the 30th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall, when Germany united from its Cold War-era ‘East’ and ‘West’ halves. So in 2019 Revell Germany celebrated the event by reissuing a Trabant kit with a large diorama base. This depicts a ‘Trabi’ breaking through the wall, into the West. Mat Irvine:  This Trabant is the same as the second version Revell produced. It has previously made two Trabant kits to 1:24 scale, the later one also issued in station wagon form. The Trabant in this anniversary box is a standard saloon. The main point of the model is that a large diorama scene is included, featuring the famous Brandenburg Gate and a section of graffiti-sprayed wall, which has a large Trabant-shaped hole in it. The kit box proclaims this is a ‘3D Puzzle’ though in reality it isn’t, as there are instructions that carefully show you how it all goes together! The diorama is made up from three thin foam boards, each being a sandwich of thin card with foam in t...

DIECAST SCALE MODELS are traditionally a collector's market, rather than one for builders. But there are plenty of times when ready-built models make perfectly good sense. SMN report: Using diecasts as part of the scenery for model rail layouts is one important use, though most are too shiny when fresh from the box, and require at least one coat of satin varnish on the paintwork. Collections of related vehicles can make interesting conversation pieces too. This group ( header, below ) forms a miniature history of the owner's motoring years. This old Dinky Toys Observation Coach was bought cheaply at a recent toy fair, to replace a brand-new one lost on a beach, when the owner was just six years old. Despite the worn paintwork, it still has an appeal, and the tyres seem nearly good as new. And ( below ) is an excellent vid that relates the history of Dinky Toys, a leading manufacturer in the 1950s and 1960s. Antique stores can reveal interesting finds ( below ) where an old tin...

BANDAI HAS WHAT IS probably the best selection of Star Wars kits today, even if there are plenty of competitors out there . So here's a good look at building the tiny-scale Bandai Death Star II. And when we say tiny, we mean it, for the Death Star II is made to 1:2,700,000 scale! It's a fascinating vid ( below ) so thanks to Sam at ModelChili Scale Models.