SCALE MODEL NEWS

  THIS IS THE LONG-AWAITED REISSUE OF an original Aurora biplane kit from Glencoe Models. Mat Irvine:  The kit was first issued by Aurora in 1956, was reissued in a virtually identical box two years later, even saw the light of day in 1960 as a 'Barnstorming' double-kit with a DH.4. But it has not been reissued since then – until now. Glencoe CEO Nick Argento says the new kit is the result of a lot of cleaning-up work on the Aurora tooling, which was badly rusted and pitted. Nick also took the opportunity to remove engraved decal positions, a detail for young model builders that many model manufacturers included in the early years of plastic kit manufacture.   Considering its age, and the condition of the original tooling, Glencoe’s Curtiss JN-4D comes out remarkably well. There is virtually no flash, and only a couple of sink holes in the three supplied figures. This is because they are solid castings, and is a fault that can be seen even in far more recent kits.  O...

  THIS IS A REISSUE OF A KIT THAT GLENCOE issued way back when the company was new, in the late 1980s. Mat Irvine: This latest Glencoe Stegosaurus is a reissue of an ITC kit, issued in the late 1950s. But being a skeleton of a dinosaur, that model timespan pales into insignificance, given the age of the original creature. Parts layout ( below ). The small disks attached to most parts are there for identification, and have the part number embossed. Model kits of dinosaurs are actually quite common. They hardly match the number of aircraft kits, but most major model companies have issued dinosaurs over the years. But kits of their skeletons? Well, these are the only ones. Ironically though, we can be certain of what the dinosaur skeletons look like, as we have many examples, but how the creatures looked when they were alive millions of years ago, well, that is a bit more uncertain. The assembled but unpainted model ( below ).   The kit builds into the skeleton of one of the odd...

THE 1:72 SCALE RETRIEVER ROCKET is a reissued and reboxed Glencoe Models kit, itself based on one of the Strombecker classic ‘Man in Space’ series. Mat Irvine: The kit parts remain the same, but this time there is new box artwork from Ron Miller, one of the best-known space artists. Ron painted the earlier Glencoe release as conventional artwork, but this time he has digitally combined model photography and background photos. On the back of the box ( below ) you get the original art, plus information on how the design came about. Strombecker first issued the kit in 1957, so it is coming up for 60 years old. Considering its age, the tooling has survived remarkably well, with parts ( below ) that show only touches of flash. But these are as nothing compared to some other old kits, and it has to be said, a few that are a lot newer, too. Strombecker issued the original kit as the RM-1, the designation standing for Round the Moon, as the ship was not designed to be a lunar lander. Glencoe ...

Glencoe Models have started to reissue many of their older kits, and this 1:32 scale experimental McDonnell XV-1 Convertiplane is one of these, making a welcome return for today's model makers. Mat Irvine: The 1:32 scale McDonnell XV-1 Convertiplane represents an intriguing research aircraft from the early 1950s. Two XV-1s were built, and for flight they used a combination of a single main rotor and a pusher-prop at the tail. The XV-1 was the first convertible-format heli-aircraft to be built and tested in the United States. The 1:32 scale kit originated with ITC, its first release being in the late 1950s. Given its age, the kit stands up pretty well. The parts, produced in silver and clear plastic, are slightly heavily moulded, and there is an excess of rivets, common for that era, though not totally unknown even today! Art for the Glencoe box (header pic) was painted by John Ammendola. The transparent components are cleanly moulded, which is fortunate, as most of the front fusel...

This elegant spacecraft model is a reissue of the Glencoe Models Marsliner, itself a reissue of the original Strombecker kit of the TWA Moonliner that stood in Disneyland from 1955-1962. Mat Irvine: There is a new box, still with the Ron Miller artwork. It occupies the whole box-top, with no lettering to spoil the illustration. Underneath, poster-style art invites you to, Travel to Mars the Fastway . The kit tooling dates from 1956, and is now approaching 60 years old, so some allowance has to be made for its age. But Glencoe Models is owned and run by Nick Argento, and part of his company’s work is general injection moulding, so if anyone can get this half-century old tooling to run, it’s Nick. The component layout (below) shows that most parts are in white styrene, with portholes and flight deck windows in clear. The original Strombecker kit had these in a tasty shade of green, with instructions to fit a pencil-torch through the rocket nozzle to illuminate them at night. Given the k...