SCALE MODEL NEWS

SMN report The big, 349 mm (13.7 in) wingspan 1:32 scale Eurofighter Typhoon is an imposing beast when you open up the box. It’s got 391 parts, a fuselage length just short of 500 mm (19.7 in), and it’s a completely new mould, with decent surface details and recessed panel lines. The level of detail rivals Revell’s other big-scale kits, with an 11-piece ejector seat, moveable canards,  jet nozzles in two configurations, detailed air brake, landing gear and bay, plus separate ailerons, flaps and rudder.  This Typhoon is ready for combat ECM pods are provided, as are the in-flight refuelling probe optionally extended or retracted, and two drop tanks. Revell has really gone to town with the weapons fit, with a total of 14 missiles ready for bear - four Meteors, four AMRAAMs, two Sidewinders, two IRIS-Ts, and finally a brace of ASRAAMs for the RAF version. There's also a maintenance stand with supports and suspension points to display one of the two EJ200 engines. Decals...

1:144 scale model makers can home in on the latest Revell nautical kit, the World War II-era U-2540 (‘U’ stands for ‘unterseeboot’, or undersea boat btw). Revell’s kit of this Type XXI submarine - now known as the Wilhelm Bauer - is a neat and tidy rendering of the 76.7 m (251 ft 8 in) original that was launched in January 1945. Details, details... The kit reissue contains 163 components, which build up to make a model some 532 mm (20.9 in) long, and for display purposes the U-2540 can sit neatly on the included stand. On deck, anti-aircraft guns, antennas, periscope and snort mast are included. But it’s the cutaway port side that turns this model into a desirable addition to a miniature naval force. As you can see in the pictures, the torpedo compartment, crew quarters, control room, diesel engines, electric motors, and batteries are all present. U-2540 in German Navy service U-2540 was built by Blohm and Voss in Hamburg, but was scuttled at sea after little more than four months act...

David Jefferis reports There’s nothing like a speeded-up movie for revealing the secrets of how things work, and this three-minute movie is an excellent example. Of course, what you don't see is the immense amount of hard work that went into the making of it - but no matter, the result is well worthwhile. Triple Seven The subject of the movie is Boeing’s big-twin, the 777 ‘Triple-Seven’, described as his ‘favourite seat’, by an ex-BA friend of mine. The real thing has seats for more than 300 passengers, and one version - the 777 200LR - has flown more than halfway round the world non-stop. More than 860 Boeing 777s are in airline service, with the order book tally so far at 1148 aircraft. Boeing 777 models The 777 is more widely represented in the ready-built market than in construction kits, and there’s a range of them in various scales available here . A call for interesting airliner kits Having said that, for 1:144 scale enthusiasts, the Hasegawa 777 in Thai markings assembles i...

SMN reports More gorgeousness from our friends at Fantastic Plastic this month, with yet another weird and wonderful ‘never-flew’ project from the Cold War era. This blast from the past is a 1:144 scale kit of the Convair XAB-1, originally released by Hawk Models in 1959, to the fit-the-box scale of 1:180. Rare original kit from Hawk models In keeping with the heroic concepts of the 1950s, the XAB was a biggie, and FP’s 30-component resin kit scales out to a length of some 432 mm (17 in) with a wingspan of 305 mm (12 in) when built. As you can see from the pictures, it looks great when assembled. Cold War project A word about the XAB project itself: in the 1950s, US designers explored many ways to gain air superiority over the rival USSR. As planned, the XAB incorporated nuclear power, with engines that could theoretically provide near-infinite range, and flight-times limited only by human endurance on the part of the flight crew. The two parasite jets could be released when necess...

SMN reports The Czech company New Ware is one of the smaller model outfits, but the products are second to none and regularly win plaudits and awards. The items pictured here show just a sampling of the space kits in which New Ware specializes. Astronauts in action The 1:24 scale Apollo 17 figures are particularly neat, though maybe the weathering of these demo models is a tad overenthusiastic - the model is tagged by New Ware as: ‘The Last Men on the Moon’ but maybe it could also be: ‘The Dirtiest Mean on the Moon’. No matter though, as the level of weathering is entirely up to you, the modelmaker. Early cruise missile The latest New Ware kit is the 1:144 scale Navaho supersonic cruise missile, a US project that ran from 1946 until mid-1957, when it was cancelled in favour of ICBM rockets. The two-stage vertical launch system consisted of a rocket booster, toting a winged airframe for the cruise phase. An interesting choice from New Ware, the Navaho has just 24 parts plus decals, the...

SMN reports For lovers of b-i-g model aircraft, and cargolifters in particular, then Hong Kong-based Anigrand has the answer, in the form of its newly-reissued 1:72 scale Boeing C-17 Globemaster III. The C-17 is often nicknamed ‘Moose’ for its tall winglets, but it’s a lot faster than the animal that’s for sure - a fully loaded C-17 can leave the ground in just 1064 m (3500 ft) and cruise at some 833 km/h (518 mph), all the while carrying a 70-tonne US Army M-1 Abrams tank. If you’ve ever seen a C-17 at an air display, it’s likely you will have seen the short-landing capability, and its showpiece, reversing and manoeuvring on the ground by using thrust reverse from the four underwing engines. Anigrand’s model is certainly a shelf-filler, with a wingspan of 722 mm (30.4 in). Its length is little shorter, at 736 mm (29 in). It’s a mixed-material kit, with 99 components. Most of these are in resin, with 14 metal and a clear-cast glazed flight-deck window section. SMN would like to see a b...

SMN reports While we’re on the subject of British aircraft (see Fairey Swordfish, March 14) we note that Anigrand in Hong Kong certainly know how to find rare planes for a collection, indeed the company motto is: ‘Fill the Gaps’. And a recent Anigrand gap-filler is the 1:144 scale resin Short SA4 Sperrin, a British jet bomber design dating back to the post-World War II era. It was primarily built as a ‘traditional but safe’ backup, in case the more advanced swept-wing Vickers Valiant, also under development, ran into major problems. In fact, the Valiant proceeded without a big hitch, so the Sperrin was sidetracked after two flying prototypes had been built, these being used for research trials testing British nuclear weapons. The 88-part Anigrand Sperrin is well-detailed, and comes complete with a transparent cast-plastic window block. However, this fills the whole flightdeck area, so you’ll have some careful masking to do - only the Sperrin’s multiple windows were transparent, and the...