SCALE MODEL NEWS

THE WORLD CURRENTLY FACES the deadly coronavirus on the rampage. But – and so we can maybe escape some of the gloom and doom – modellers can use some of the anti-virus measures to our advantage. And that includes the all-important isolation from others. Mat Irvine:  We are, after all, already mostly ‘self-isolating.’ Most hobby modellers work by themselves, and frankly most of us already have a large collection already in stock that we’ll never really get through. But might there be more of a problem to decide ‘just what to build’? My old friend in Chicago, model maker and musician Dean Milano, doesn’t have that precise problem, as the decision is already decided in the stars. He uses lottery (or raffle) tickets, each kit in his stash collection being assigned a ticket. So, when one model is finished (he only ever works on one at a time), it’s close his eyes time, reach into the tin and pull out a new ticket! Dean builds primarily cars, but there are other kits in there. For exampl...

AN APPRECIATION BY MAT IRVINE: If you have an interest in model cars, particularly Revell-Monogram 1950s-era American cars, you can likely thank Bill Lastovich, who sadly died on June 7, 2012, age 71. Developing new car kits Bill first worked for Revell-Monogram in Morton Grove, Illinois, where he contributed to product development in the early 1990s. He continued through two factory moves, and a change of owners, all the while working mainly on product development, researching for models, photographing full-size cars, and overseeing new tooling. He also made recommendations about what should be reissued in the Revell-Monogram Selected Subjects Program, planned reissues that allowed older kits to see the light of day again. Bill at the 2009 iHobby Expo, with (right) Dean Milano.  iHobby Expo visits In recent years I saw Bill a couple of times a year, one of those at the big Chicago show, October’s iHobby Expo, when he would be one of those manning the Revell-Monogram stand, having...