SCALE MODEL NEWS

The T-800 Terminator strikes back with this latest 1:6 scale figure from the Hong Kong firm, Hot Toys. David Jefferis reports: Hot Toys has revealed the latest Arnold Schwarzenegger figure in its 1:6 scale collection, a battle-damaged T-800 from The Terminator a movie that’s been around for a near-unbelievable 30 years. Arnie has already been given the Hot Toys treatment for his role in the 1991 Terminator 2: Judgement Day , but this new figure recreates his performance in the first film. The 1:6 scale Hot Toys Battle Damaged T-800 comes with two different heads, one of them more damaged than the other, allowing you to see parts of the metallic endoskelton, and the famed glowing red eye. There’s also a leather jacket, a range of guns, different hand positions and, of course, Arnie’s trademark ultra-dark sunglasses. However (and it’s something of a pity for this reviewer) there’s no built-in trigger and sound system for the figure to say those immortal words, “I’ll be back.” More Hot ...

Good news for sci-fi and movie buffs, the huge Helicarrier from the 2012 Disney movie The Avengers is the latest release from the fiction and what-if specialist, Fantastic Plastic. SMN Report: The fictional Helicarrier is a massive airborne warship. Toting squadrons of Harrier-style jump jets and specialist Quinjets, the Helicarrier is supported by anti-gravity generators, and stabilized in the air by a quartet of huge ducted fans, positioned outboard of the main decks. The kit looks well up to Fantastic Plastic standards, with clean resin mouldings and 145 components. It’s worth pointing out that FP says the Helicarrier is, ‘A Resin Hobby Kit for Medium to Advanced Modelers’ and we’d second that, though it wouldn’t put us off making one, especially as there’s a nice-looking (if fiddly) brass-etch fret included. We’re not so sure about the 1:1400 scale though, which is perhaps a little small for our taste. The assembled kit measures nearly 355 mm (14 in), so it’s no baby, but a 1:700...

SMN report: We’ve got a year of science-fiction models flying our way from Fantastic Plastic - and some of our huge faves are included in the list, starting with some handsome Luftwaffe 1946-style ironmongery from last year’s Captain America movie. Flying Wing Attacker Fantastic Plastic have chosen the huge, if fictional, Flying Wing for the first kit, due for release in July. This big bird formed the climactic setting of Captain America: The First Avenger . The Wing was designed by the outrageously talented Daniel Simon especially for the Marvel Pictures production, for which it was conceived as a ‘flying aircraft carrier’, with a wingspan of some 165 m (540 ft), more than double that of today's biggest jetliner, the Airbus A380.  Weapons of mass destruction As seen in the movie, the evil Hydra organization equipped its big bird with various defence guns, but the much deadlier claws of the beast are the eight Parasit planes that can launch independently, to drop atomic weapons on...