SCALE MODEL NEWS

  EVERY NOW AND THEN you look at your unbuilt-kit collection and pick one that may not be brand new, but still could do with being changed from a box of components to a finished model. Which was the situation I faced with this Polar Lights Batplane kit. Mat Irvine: This is a Polar Lights reissue of the original Aurora Batplane, a kit that dates back to the 1960s. Except that, while the kit is a re-tooling of the Aurora original, and while the two kits layouts match, the Polar Lights parts are from a newer mould.  But it remains a simple kit, with a one-piece cockpit interior that features the busts of Batman and Robin. It also has two-piece wings, one-piece tailplanes and a very simplified landing gear assembly. If you want to spray finish the completed craft, it’s best to paint the interior first. You can get in quite a lot of detail with what is after all a single moulding. You can then fit in the fuselage halves, attach the canopy and mask it off, which will allow an overs...

MOEBIUS MODELS brought us the Batmobile for the movie based on two giants of the DC Universe,  Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice . And now Moebius has released Batman’s other mode of transport from the movie, the Batwing. Mat Irvine:  As with the Batmobile, the Batwing’s design has changed between movies, and this incarnation is possibly the most striking-looking machine to date. It’s certainly the largest, as this 1:25 scale model has a wingspan of 430 mm (17 in). This isn’t the first Batwing to match the scale of the relevant Batmobile, but the 1990 Batwing was a lot smaller, with a wingspan of 330 mm (13 in). Unsurprisingly, the components in this new kit are big, especially the wing-section. The Batwing design incorporates a forward-mounted cannon assembly, the cockpit positioned behind it, which gives an intriguing look to the assembled machine. The movie craft can fold its wings, and the kit option allows you to do the same. But you have to decide before the model is co...

HERE'S A HANDSOME piece of cgi by our friends at MetaBallStudios (MBS). Sit back and enjoy all those familiar vehicles from the worlds of fantasy and science-fiction. From Batman to Star Wars, Mad Max to the War of the Worlds, it's gorgeous stuff. 

THIS 1:8 SCALE BATMAN KIT FEATURES the iconic 1960s TV series original creation, as played by Adam West. Mat Irvine:  Even with reboot movies that feature – currently – five actors reprising the role, many viewers reckon that Adam West (1928-2017) will always be  the  Batman. And this kit is one of a Moebius Models series featuring other Batman figures. Here’s what Moebius has to say of the kit: “…For the first time ever, Moebius Models offers a highly detailed styrene kit of the Caped Crusader based on Batman: The Classic TV Series!  “Accurate likeness of Adam West as Batman! Sculpted by fan-favorite master sculptor Jeff Yagher, Approximately 1:8 scale; completed kit is nearly 10 inches high, Includes batcave rock display base and nameplate, Skill level 3, ages 15 and up. “…FIRST IN A SERIES OF SEVEN KITS; FIT THE BASES TOGETHER TO CREATE A COMPLETE ENSEMBLE SCENE!” It’s not a new kit, dating from 2014, but it’s still worth a good look. Made to 1:8 scale, arguably t...

ANOTHER FANTASY KIT FROM AMT, THE 1:25 scale Bat-Missile depicts a machine seen briefly in a Batman movie of a quarter-century ago. Mat Irvine:  This is a reissue of the vehicle that appeared in  Batman Returns  of 1992. At one point in the movie, the Batmobile morphs into this Bat-Missile version, basically by throwing off outer panels and twisting the double wheels, to become an slender eight-wheeler. The resulting vehicle bears scant resemblance to the Batmobile, though. Really, it’s just the cockpit and air intake that remain recognisable. The colour-printed box base ( below ) has extra information to read, and a macro shot of the single-seater cockpit. Parts layout ( below ) shows the three-colour mouldings - black, chrome, and transparent. The original kit was a new-tool product, initially intended as a snap-together kit. The snap option remains with this new reissue, though the kit is being sold as a conventional glue-assembly model. The finished model ( pict...

AMT CONTINUES ITS CELEBRATION OF Batman movies by reissuing the Batwing air combat vehicle. The kit is to 1:25 scale, so it assembles to make a good-sized model, even if it is only a single-seater. Mat Irvine:  Perhaps the most distinctive of Batman’s flying machines, the Batwing kit has been reissued much as it was when first released in 1990, shortly after Tim Burton’s Batman movie of 1989 had become a smash hit.  The box base for this kit ( below ) includes plenty of useful extra information.  The kit includes a couple of beneficial updates. The stand is now a solid metal rod, rather than a plastic component, which makes for a sturdier structure. The rod fits into the original plastic base, depicting the famed bat-signal. You also get a diorama background, as is now common with AMT and MPC reissues from Round 2. This one features a spectacular cyclorama of the Gotham City skyline. But the kit itself remains much the same.  The components ( below ) are moulded in ...