SCALE MODEL NEWS

Science-fiction fans start here, with this whimsical fantasy aerial trampship, named Waldo . The concept was penned by designer Ian McQue, made available as a kit from Industria Mechanika to 1:35 scale. Like so many of IM's productions, this air-ship is not from any of the well-established sci-fi or fantasy movie franchises, so Star Wars, Star Trek, Hobbit or Avengers, it's not. Instead, you have an original kit, that is suitable for almost any fictional setting. It's perfectly OK to build as is. Conceptually, Waldo stays up courtesy anti-gravity motors, but there's nothing to stop you adding a set of gas bags, or fan-style propulsors of some sort. The ship can be crewed by humans or aliens, but a nicely sculpted human pilot is included. And, as the kit is to military-kit standard 1:35 scale, there are many options available for crew or passengers. Five-view of Waldo's casually-dressed pilot figure (below). It's a well-produced 1:35 scale figure, which will look...

SMN report: Boy, there are some enviable kit-producing talents out there, and they are not just working with the mainstream companies, either. US modelmaker and web designer Michael Fichtenmayer is among those talents, and his FichtenFoo and Industria Mechanika websites bring us all manner of science-fiction delights, including this limited-edition model kit of Ralph McQue’s Remora, a sort of anti-gravity floating cargo ship. Orders are being taken now for this very limited release. Cool designs A top priority with Industria Mechanika (IM) models is to: “Produce and promote really cool original model designs.” So no Star Wars and Star Trek knockoffs from IM, and in our view, that’s a very good thing indeed. In IM-speak: “Everything seen here is original designs by their original creators. We help modelers turn what might have been a one-off project into original products that everyone can enjoy.” Promoting originality Industria Mechanika’s aims are clear: “We take original masters, pro...