SCALE MODEL NEWS

HERE'S ANOTHER FINE VIDEO BY Tom Grigat. It's an interesting vid featuring figure work, a subject we haven't featured before. SMN report: We've shown Tom's work before, including the 1:16 scale Fokker Triplane that appears briefly.   Click here to view that Fokker Triplane video again– it's well worth a look. And here's another beautIfully made Triplane, this time at a small air museum in East Anglia, UK. Click here to enjoy a nostalgia fest, with heaps of golden age modelling to see.

MORE THAN 60 YEARS OLD, this Revell kit still makes a decent aviation project for World War I buffs. Mat Irvine:  Last month saw the centenary of the death of Baron Manfred von Richthofen, better known as the ‘Red Baron.’ He was probably the best-known German fighter ace of World War I, and highly respected by friend and foe alike. When he was eventually shot down and killed on April 21, 1918, he was given a hero’s burial and a guard of honour by the British. The parts you get in the box ( below ). They are moulded in red, of course.   Von Richthofen flew a number of different aircraft during the War, but very early on he established bright red as the signature colour for his aircraft, and this followed through to his most famous fighting machine, the ‘dreidekker’ (three-wing) Fokker Dr.1 Triplane. So far as models go, the Revell Fokker Triplane dates from 1957, so is one of the earliest of the US company’s kits. It was made to the somewhat odd 1:28 scale, but this was from a ...

First produced by Hasegawa decades ago, the 1:8 scale structural-build Fokker Dr1 Triplane now earns the title ‘Hot Product’ from Hasegawa USA. Produced in the first place as a true ‘museum grade’ replica, the absolutely gorgeous Triplane is once again becoming generally available. As before, the kit combines a high-detail engine, airframe structures and control systems, all produced in a profusion of mixed materials. Japanese Cyprus woods, soft metals, brass (and plastics!) are all used for this what’s-under-the-fabric kit. The Triplane ( ‘Dreideker’ in German ) is not something you will put together in a night or two, as there are 857 components to assemble. The sheer size is another factor - do you have room for a World War I fighter with an assembled wingspan of some 838 mm (33 in)? Let’s hope so, because it really is a beauty - witness the example we saw (below) at the Flixton Air Museum recently. Is it completely accurate? Well, some researchers claim there are some inaccuracies...

SMN report: Hasegawa has reissued the beautifully produced 1:8 scale scale Le Rhone rotary engine. There are just 82 components to assemble, but it's an impressive kit nonetheless. As you can see from the pictures, the result will be a extremely convincing replica of this important World War I powerplant, and Hasegawa includes a dolly stand, so the display possibilities are good too. Widely used aircraft engine The Le Rhone was designed and built by the French company Gnome et Rhone in 1916, and before long hundreds of these engines were installed in dozens of aircraft types from several countries. These even included Germany, whose engineers cloned the design from a crashed Allied fighter and by August 1917, this was being used in the Fokker Triplane, soon to become infamous as the mount for Manfred von Richthofen, the famed ‘Red Baron’. In German service the engine was called the Oberursel Ur II, but it was the Le Rhone in all but name, and is actually the engine that Hasegawa ha...

SMN report Here’s an update on the continuing Batman Automobilia series, now into its fifth 1:43 scale vehicle, the Gangbusters-style retromobile from the 1940s, and a very neat model it is too. All the Batmobiles are presented in the same stackable clear plastic oval boxes, which make them look very presentable indeed, though as this writer is in pre-housemove clearance mode, storage issues put any thoughts of a collection into cold storage! The accompanying magazines are pretty good too - the picture above, from the launch issue, shows the attention to detail that has gone into this production. The Eaglemoss website reveals details of Batmobiles four and five. Predictably enough, the first three Batmobiles were the hot items, but for a keen Bat-fan, this is the opportunity for something like completeness in one aspect of your Batman collection. Green Lantern figures For superhero lovers, Batman is of course just a starter, and Eaglemoss is catering to this market with a ran...