SCALE MODEL NEWS

FROM THE EXCELLENT folks at  Hobby Link Japan , here's a report from the Shizuoka Hobby Show 2017. Lots of build-worthy stuff to see - enjoy.

COURTESY THE BUSY VIDEO CREW AT HOBBY LINK JAPAN, here is a close look at the All Japan Model and Hobby Show 2016.  SMN report:  Hobby Link Japan (HLJ) has really gone to town with its reports on this most important show, open to the trade and public in Shizuoka, Japan, and celebrating its 56th year in 2016. According to HLJ, “…Tamiya turns up the heat with a sizzling new M40 U.S. Self-Propelled 155 mm Gun with figures in 1:35th scale! The fantastic new Honda NSX makes its scale debut as well as the Kawasaki Ninja H2R. ”   HLJ goes on, “From Hasegawa we get a preview of the new H8K2 ‘Emily’, the 1:350th scale Junyo aircraft carrier and the Suzuki Jimny! ”   For race car fans, HLJ reckons that, “Aoshima shows off their supercar kit mastery with a trio of new kits including the much anticipated Pagani Huayra! ”   There’s more from HLJ, “We also check out what's new from Fine Molds and a detailed look at all the great scale kits at the Beaver booth!” Talking...

HERE'S AN EXCELLENT VIDEO UPDATE from Shizuoka, presented by Hobby Link Japan (HLJ). There is plenty to see on this half-hour video - from aircraft to tanks, they're all on view. We're huge fans of Tamiya precision scale models, and the company's new 1:32 scale F4U Corsair looks terrific. This is the bubble-canopy version, and complements the Tamiya model of the earlier 'birdcage' aircraft. Airliner enthusiasts will see that a 1:200 scale Mitsubishi MRJ regional jet features from Fine Molds. A release date has not yet been set, though it's likely to be soon. The real thing is scheduled for a first flight in 2015, with airline service aimed for 2017. If the performance meets the proposed spec, the MRJ should be a success - at the time of writing, Mitsubishi had booked 407 orders and options. One new kit that has us hooked - though it's slated for limited distribution - is the Skunk Model Works 1:48 scale  F-16XL. This cranked-wing design was conceived to ...

DAVID JEFFERIS REPORTS: Hobby Link Japan has some tasty sale bargains in the ‘plasmo’ (plastic model) line for Japanese hardware enthusiasts. Here are just a few of the dozens of offers, many at less than half-price. Unusual kits available Hobby Link Japan has a terrific website, and the company exports all over the world, and as HLJ hails from Japan, it’s a real specialist in tasty and unusual local models. These sale items are titled in HLJ-speak: ‘plasmos’, which is a neat contraction that we may borrow! There are dozens of kits on offer, so here are just a few tasters to think about.     Early RX-7 can be motorized For the home market, the rotary-engine Mazda RX-7 was titled the Savannah. The svelte machine is modelled here by Aoshima to 1:20 scale, and can be motorized, though the required RE-260 motor is not supplied - however, gears, leads and electric contacts components are in the box. Likewise, the car can be wired up for lighting, though bulbs are not supplied...

SMN report: Announced a few weeks ago, and now freely available, the mighty battleship Yamato from Tamiya is released in 1:350 scale. According to Tamiya, this is an all-new tooling of the ship, not a rehash of the previous Tamiya 1:350 scale kit. Big battleship From press pictures we have seen, it looks like Tamiya has really done the biz on this new Yamato , once the biggest battleship afloat and for a few years the pride of the Japanese Navy. It’s a mighty ship where models are concerned too, with an assembled hull fully 752 mm (29.6 in) long. Waterline or display model? The Tamiya 1:350 scale Yamato can be built as a waterline model, suitable for dioramas, or for display on a stand with the full hull visible. A neat feature, and one that is unique so far as we know, is that the big guns have turrets that extend below decks, just as they did on the real thing. This was so that shells could be loaded vertically from the ship’s magazine, based deep in the hull for maximum protectio...

SMN report Our best wishes go to all in Japan, and especially those directly affected by this event.  We are pleased to report that one of our favourite internet stores, Hobby Link Japan (HLJ), has survived, though it did not go unscathed, as HLJ President, Scott T. Hards, relates below. Weird noises on the telephone In Scott's words: “The quake started small, as they usually do. We'd had a few little ones in recent days here, so I didn't even think to end the phone call I was on. As it slowly grew in strength, I eventually mentioned it to the person I was speaking with. “Yeah, I can hear some weird noises coming from over there,” they offered. As it continued to grow in power, things around my desk started to jump about, and I finally hung up the phone with a quick “call you back.” Saving a Bandai Saturn V Scott goes on: “The big Bandai Saturn V model on the credenza behind my desk was doing a dangerous dance by now, so I stood up to hold it until the quake subsided. But t...