SCALE MODEL NEWS

Mat Irvine: This Atlantis model depicts an amoeba, a single-celled organism generally accepted as the smallest ‘living animal.’ In fact, the amoeba name can refer to a wide range of single-celled organisms, but this is the one generally found in pond water, known as Amoeba proteus.  The size of these tiny beasts does vary, but if we take an ‘average’ Amoeba proteus (if there is such a thing), its length or width, whatever you call it, ranges from around 200 to 700 micrometres across, about .5 mm. The size of the Atlantis amoeba model is about 200 mm at its widest, so the scale works out to around 400:1. The model is moulded entirely in clear styrene because, at this size, ‘colour’ doesn’t really come into it, as colour pigments are generally larger than the object. So amoebas are basically clear, and consequently moulding the kit entirely in transparent styrene is appropriate. This could make a visually boring model though, so the instructions suggest painting various sections, to ...

PETER CHIANG’S LATEST MODEL COMPETITION in Singapore focused on an ever-popular subject, the Supermarine Spitfire fighter. David Jefferis: The recent mini-Airfix Spitfire Group build from Hobby Bounties featured a wide range of models depicting the classic British single-seater.  Kevin Leo’s entry was the First of the Few which was the Spitfire prototype K5054, complete with its two-blade propeller.  First Prize winner was Jonathan Kua, with his Spitfire Mk I, dating from August 1938. This particular aircraft was based at RAF Duxford, in Cambridgeshire, now the Imperial War Museum Duxford, an airfield that still hosts many aviation events, including spectacular air shows, fascinating visitor museums, and hangars packed with droolworthy historic aircraft.  Other Spitfire entries included a beautifully-painted Seafire, complete with arrester hook and folded wings. But perhaps the most unusual entry was Lee Stringer’s Red 5 which was an 'Air War meets Star Wars' concoctio...

  A SUPER-DETAILED LOOK at English rural life around 1930, seen through extraordinary dioramas that feature railways, villages and landscapes. David Jefferis: We recently went to see the Pendon Museum, based in the handsome village of Long Wittenham, south of Oxford, UK. It was well worth the trip, as the museum includes among the largest dioramas anywhere, and certainly the biggest ones we've seen in southern England. The Vale Scene features buildings, landscape and railways that were seen in Oxfordshire’s Vale of the White Horse. The Vale area has changed significantly since the 1930s, so it’s not surprising to learn that this giant diorama is probably the best representation of those long-gone times.  The Dartmoor Scene shows an imaginary Great Western branch line, somewhere between Exeter and Plymouth, running high along the southern edge of the wild lands of Dartmoor. Details of the diorama include notices warning against trespassing, and about not crossing the line, ‘...