SCALE MODEL NEWS

  IN 2022, HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN became the first British Monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee, after 70 years of service.  SMN: The four-day Platinum Jubilee Weekend takes place from 2-5 June, and involves the whole country. The Red Arrows perform their usual dramatic displays, Typhoon fighters cruise the sky in a formation '70' flypast, and celebrities major and minor fly in to the UK to see and be seen. And our celebrations have reached across the world to Singapore's model making community , with a neat line of QEII bunting draped over the model store display windows. There's plenty to look at for keen model makers, as the closeup pic ( below ) reveals.

PETER CHIANG’S LATEST MODEL COMPETITION in Singapore focused on an ever-popular subject, the Supermarine Spitfire fighter. David Jefferis: The recent mini-Airfix Spitfire Group build from Hobby Bounties featured a wide range of models depicting the classic British single-seater.  Kevin Leo’s entry was the First of the Few which was the Spitfire prototype K5054, complete with its two-blade propeller.  First Prize winner was Jonathan Kua, with his Spitfire Mk I, dating from August 1938. This particular aircraft was based at RAF Duxford, in Cambridgeshire, now the Imperial War Museum Duxford, an airfield that still hosts many aviation events, including spectacular air shows, fascinating visitor museums, and hangars packed with droolworthy historic aircraft.  Other Spitfire entries included a beautifully-painted Seafire, complete with arrester hook and folded wings. But perhaps the most unusual entry was Lee Stringer’s Red 5 which was an 'Air War meets Star Wars' concoctio...

SMN VISITORS MAY WELL BE familiar with Peter Chiang, the dynamic head of Singapore's Hobby Bounties model store.  Here's a video that shows us how Peter turned his life-long interest into a popular destination for model makers, and one that's also home to regular scale competitions.

SINGAPORE'S PETER CHIANG recently ran a two-week Phantom II model build. For Phantom Phans, this was a superb competition, and the results reflect this. SMN report: The rules allowed just two weeks to start and build any Airfix Phantom kit. Social media communications were required, to show the start and to mark progress toward each finished model. The initial reaction from a lot of people was that it could not be done because of the number of stencilled markings that needed applying! Judging was by Mick Stephen, Tony James, C L Kwek, Mat Irvine and Peter Chiang ( wearing a tie in the pic below ). The results you can see in these pictures, and top marks to all from SMN. The winners were: Best build: Yee Soon Tuck (prize: Airfix 1:24 Spitfire) Fastest build: Razali Ahmed (prize: Airfix 1:24 Hurricane) Most colourful: Andrew Rozario (prize: £50 sponsored by Henry Low) Most difficult: Kevin Khoo (prize: £50 sponsored by Henry Low)

  Model makers have been busy again in Singapore, these photos taken at the Easter weekend competition held by Hobby Bounties, under the direction of Peter Chiang. SMN report: Paul Gallagher took top prize with his motorised Airfix 1:72 scale De Havilland Tiger Moth. Bearing in mind it's a petite model, getting the prop to spin was quite an achievement.  Razali Ahmed maintained his ‘master’ status with an Airfix 1:72 Nimrod conversion, taking back the military version to a Comet IV in Malaysia Singapore Airlines (MSA) livery. The nice Airfix 1:72 De Havilland Vampire was built by FOO Yong Shiong.

HOBBY BOUNTIES of Singapore has a new competition for modellers. SMN report:  Hobby Bounties has announced that they are organising a ‘Phabulous Phantom Covid-19’ 14-day Group Build, focused on the Airfix McDonnell Douglas Phantom II. The competition will last from May 8-21, almost one year after HB organised its Airfix 48-hour ‘48th P-51 Mustang’ competition. This year’s comp will be run on Skype and WhatsApp, also Facebook at this address: https://www.facebook.com/events/3463573253747612?active_tab=about.   The kit is based on Airfix 1:72 scale McDonnell Douglas Phantom II, total build time allowed is 14 days exactly. You can use after-market decals, but the base kit itself will have to be an Airfix Phantom II. Take it as a challenge!