SCALE MODEL NEWS

THE TEMPEST IS going forward as a new project, with a target in-service date from 2035. It will almost certainly replace the current Eurofighter Typhoon fleet, used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and eight other air arms. The UK-based BAE Systems is leading Team Tempest, with partners that include Leonardo, MBDA, Rolls-Royce. There's no model kit of the future Tempest released yet, though several are in development with garage companies. Our bet for a future Tempest kit is with Allen B. Ury and his excellent California-based Fantastic Plastic. Click here to visit the Fantastic Plastic site , and drool at the amazing range of concept and fictional air and space craft that's available.  The Tempest will doubtless change as it develops, but even now surely supplies a real-life look at the worlds of the future. Click here to see a glimpse at the upcoming website for Worlds of the Future.

FANTASTIC PLASTIC MAKES A WIDE range of specialist kits, covering space, sci-fi and fantasy models. A recent survey provided an eye-opener into model makers’ preferences. SMN report: According to Allen B. Ury of Fantastic Plastic, “…In early January 2016, we conducted an on-line survey to discern our customers' interest level in a number of subjects we were considering producing as model kits. The purpose of this exercise was not so much to identify which subject was the most popular (Although this was a secondary consideration), but to ensure that, should we go ahead with any or all of these products, we weren't likely to lose our shirts through lack of interest." “The subjects under consideration represented the usual range of subject matter that constitutes ‘fantastic’ vehicle modeling: Sci-Fi, Real Space and Concept Aircraft.” This is an interesting - and logical - way to go about deciding on your new kits, so the survey earns a thumbs-up from SMN. The Fantastic Plast...

'THE INCREDIBLES' WAS A PIXAR animated movie, released in 2004. The plot followed a superhero family, who were drawn into battle against an evil villain and his hordes. Now the specialist model company Fantastic Plastic has released a 1:24 scale kit of the Velocipod, a saucer-like craft featured in the film. SMN report:  Acclaimed by critics and audiences alike, The Incredibles also gained the respected science-fiction Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation. So we're pleased to see this kit join the Fantastic Plastic line-up. Not all model makers like assembling hundreds of parts, and the Velocipod kit is one for them (and this reviewer) as it features just 17 components. The name of the game for a good display piece here is fit and finish, rather than assembly skills. In that way the Velocipod somewhat resembles Snap Tite kits from Revell, which allow a modeller to use the kit as the basis of an excellent miniature - provided, that is, the joy of multi-evening assembly...

THE HOLLYWOOD HIT Guardians of the Galaxy was a rip-roaring space opera that punched its way to popularity, and now stands in third place on the Marvel Studios all-time hit list. And now Fantastic Plastic has released a 1:144 scale kit of the Milano , a ship that plays a similar sort of role in Guardians to the Millennium Falcon  in the various Star Wars movies. SMN report: According to Fantastic Plastic, Guardians of the Galaxy had, “…a unique design ethos, featuring spaceships that bristled with colorful wings and fins that served no apparent purpose* other than to look cool. The ‘hero’ ship was the Milano , piloted by self-proclaimed ‘Star-Lord’ Peter Quill (played by Chris Pratt). The ship was purportedly named after TV actress Alyssa Milano, Quill's boyhood crush just prior to his abduction by aliens.” Still from the movie ( below ) shows Pratt at the helm, green-skinned alien in the co-pilot's seat. The box ( below ) boldly announces the scale, a useful 1:144 that wil...

California-based Fantastic Plastic has just released a new 1:72 scale kit of the Whispercraft, a fictional helicopter that featured in the 2000 sci-fi movie, The 6th Day . In The 6th Day , Arnold Schwarzenegger (famed for the Terminator movies) plays the owner of a small aircraft rental company specializing in vertical takeoff Whispercraft, advanced helicopter-like vehicles whose blades can be fixed in flight to function as conventional wings. Ron Cobb’s work The Whispercraft was designed by the hugely talented Hollywood conceptual artist Ron Cobb, some aspects of which he based on actual aerospace projects then being developed by the US military. Upgrade kit This Fantastic Plastic kit is a re-release of the 2007 kit, with upgrades that include Ron Cobb's blueprints, along with extras such as a detailed interior, clear vac-form canopy and - we’re pleased to see this - weapons for a military gunship version. Movie plot In case you’d forgotten (or didn’t know) The 6th Day plot here’...

DAVID JEFFERIS REPORTS: The X-37B mini-Space Shuttle made a landing recently, after a record-breaking orbital flight lasting nearly 15 months. Its missions are US Air Force secrets, but the appearance is less so - and with this latest 1:48 scale kit, you can add a state-of-the-art robotic spacecraft to your display shelf. About the kit This Fantastic Plastic X-37B kit is a larger and more detailed version of the earlier 1:72 X-37B sold in FP’s Virtual Museum Store. In addition to precise exterior detailing, FP’s new 1:48 kit also includes a cargo bay and landing gear. It’s a resin kit, so is more suitable for experienced modelmakers. Having said that, with just 31 components it shouldn’t be too difficult to assemble - and perhaps makes an ideal choice for a first resin build. Brief Stats * Scale: 1:48 * Material: Resin * Number of Pieces: 31 * Pattern and casting by BLAP! Models * Decals by JBOT About the spacecraft The X-37B orbital robotic spaceplane was designed to be launched vert...

DAVID JEFFERIS REPORTS: For my money, 2001: A Space Odyssey is one of the seminal science-fiction movies of all time, sharing the podium with the first Star Wars trilogy. Despite its fame, 2001 has not been kitted much over the years, so here’s an opportunity to catch up, with a twin-scale Space Wheel, from Fantastic Plastic.    About the kit The scale is an interesting one. In the words of Fantastic Plastic: “The size of the 'real' space station is under much dispute.  Sources close to the production insist was meant to be 1000 ft (305 m) in diameter.  However, director Stanley Kubrick ‘cheated’ by optically reducing the size of the approaching Orion III as it approached the station to enhance the drama, causing fans to recalculate the station's ‘actual’ size to twice that... or more. Orion shuttle choices Fantastic Plastic adds: "To placate fans, we're including two Orion III miniatures along with the station - one in 1:1400 scale and one in 1:2800, so the re...

SMN REPORT: It’s a science-fiction time at the moment, with the run-up to Wonderfest this coming weekend, and today we’ve got an elegant-looking fictional spacecraft, the Icarus from the classic 1968 sci-fi movie Planet of the Apes . Rising above the water Here’s what Fantastic Plastic has to say about the Icarus release: “The interstellar spaceship that brought Commander Taylor and his fellow astronauts to the fabled Planet of the Apes is seen only briefly - and partially - in the seminal 1968 classic of the same name. During the early ‘splashdown’ sequence, the spacecraft's nose rises dramatically above the lake waters into which it has crashed, clearly suggesting a much larger aft section hidden below the waterline.” Neat assembly The resulting Fantastic Plastic kit, patterned and cast by Anigrand Craftswork of Hong Kong, assembles to make a decent sized model some 292 mm (11.5 in) long, about the length of an A4 sheet of paper. It won’t be a long job, as there are less than two...