SCALE MODEL NEWS

IF YOU LOOK HARD enough, you can usually find an interesting anniversary. And in 2019, Round 2 used the 65th Anniversary of Godzilla, perhaps the most famous of all movie monsters, to add a creature-feature to its list. Mat Irvine: Round 2 already had a license for Godzilla, so decided to take the old MPC Willys Jeep, and reissue it as a Godzilla movie star. This movie is in fact the sixth from 1965, this one being ‘Invasion of Astro-Monster.’   The MPC kit is the first Jeep model kit to 1:25 scale, being issued in 1968 as the ‘star car’ from Hogan’s Heroes , a US sitcom of the time. Putting aside the improbability of a World War II German prison camp internee being allowed his own vehicle, the kit has provided modellers with a Jeep in an automotive scale, rather than the more usual military 1:35.  The model is fairly comprehensive with a separate engine, chassis and four-wheel drive running gear. It has the simplified interior you get with a utility vehicle, plus an optional...

2014 looks like being a vintage year for Airfix, with a range of new-release and new-tool subjects in various scales. Here we look at some kits designed to partner with the D-Day landings that commenced on June 6, 1944. New-tool D-Day kits include the 1:72 scale Jeep, Trailer and 75mm Howitzer trio (below). Scaled to fit with the expansive Airfix range to this scale, the Jeep will fit nicely with dozens of aircraft, including a new-tool Douglas Dakota, also due for 2014 release. The D-Day Assault grouping (header pic) is a real bonus for diorama enthusiasts, with Jeep, Landing Craft and troops all included in the box. As usual with these combo sets, paints (12), brushes (2) and a tube of polystyrene cement are included, as is the D-Day logo adorning the box. The box-art looks pretty impressive, too. The new-tool (above) Higgins LCVP (Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel) reflects the importance of this craft, of which more than 20,000 were made. Each LCVP (scale plans below) could carry 3...

REPORT BY MAT IRVINE: Italy’s home-grown model company, Italeri, is one of those still producing a wide variety of kits. However, as is so often the case in the world of takeovers, it has over the years acquired virtually all its rivals in the country, including Protar and ESCI. These have greatly increased Italeri’s own vehicle catalogue, especially those from ESCI, and has led to a new kit trio ‘of mixed parentage’. Unique to ESCI ESCI had made a number of vehicles that were not made by anyone else in 1:24/5 scale, such as the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen, long wheelbase (LWB) Land Rover, and an early Toyota Land Cruiser four-wheel drive (4WD). In addition, ESCI made a series based on the Jeep CJ-7, though none were the classic CJ-2 military version, but this was one Italeri itself had made.  Extra parts Consequently, Italeri has issued three military soft-skinned vehicles from around the globe using both its own and ESCI tooling. These are a reissue of an Italeri original, the Willys ...

SMN REPORT: Here’s a tasty variation in big 1:20 scale kits for military modellers - it’s a Fine Molds model of a quarter-ton US Army Jeep, the original 4x4 that was jack-of-all-trades for Allied forces in World War II. Fine Molds company Jeep The Fine Molds kit represents the slatted grilled version, and indeed it’s based on the vehicle that bears the FM logo, as owned by the company. There are plenty of goodies included with this latest variation, including new tyres, clear components, and a nicely produced manual, with plenty of detail pix of the company vehicle. Detail-up set That’s not all, as there’s a beautifully-produced metal-etch set available (at extra cost) for the Jeep - though really, anyone who is going to buy the 1:20 scale kit is almost certainly going to this set, so a pity that it’s an extra-cost item. Still, the separation of kit and photo-etch does at least allow the modelmaker to make a choice, so we won’t be too harsh on Fine Molds for this. Plenty of parts The ...

SMN report: If you like the look of the 1:48 scale Revell B-17G we featured earlier this week, then these items could be just the thing if you’re into dioramas, or simply wish to add a few items to bring some life to a static model. Follow-me Jeep Follow Me Jeeps were used at airfields to help control ground traffic, with Jeeps that were far from the front lines painted with bright colors for clear visibility. This neat and detailed 1:48 Hasegawa model comes complete with a driver, radio operator, and pilot figure. Painting instructions are supplied for the red-and-white check model used by the US Army Air Force, plus khaki versions.  Plain-Jane dashboard Interiors of military vehicles like this were generally very simple, though note that Hasegawa has included a rack of radio equipment in the back of the model, which just goes to show how things have moved on in the years since. The picture above, of a Willys Jeep fascia panel, was taken in the Imperial War Museum, London, used he...

SMN Report: Scale Model News is expanding again, with the addition of a neat slideshow feature. It's simple to use - after you click on the 'Read more' button, the rest of the article appears on a new page column. Click on any of the pix in the column and you should get a zoom enlargement on screen. Click on that (or press the right arrow on your keyboard) and you will sequence through the show, pic by pic. Test example Well, that's the theory anyway, so here are a bunch of Flying Fortress pix to to test it with. The aircraft is that grand old stager from World War II, the Boeing B-17G, the 'G' model generally reckoned as the best of the Fortress line. Feature-rich Revell B-17 The 1:48 scale kit is by Revell, and for anyone (like me) who has a thing for the Fort, then there are various features that make it an interesting kit to consider. First off is the decent bomb bay, complete with crisply moulded load. The tyres have the correct cross-pattern tread, while t...

Mat Irvine looks at a four-wheeled shelf-filler: Are kits getting bigger, or is it just my imagination? Or is there a good reason for sheer size? Well, here is a 1:6 scale vehicle that can lay claim to commonsense, for the Dragon SAS 4x4 Desert Raider Jeep is to the same scale as many popular military figures, such as GI Joe and Action Man, and also many of Dragon’s own superbly detailed military figures. This Jeep is not the first biggie from Hong Kong-based Dragon either - others include German vehicles, the Kubelwagen, Schwimmwagen, and Pz Kpfw II AusfB tank. What’s in the box? The Dragon Jeep has already been made in a US Army version, this latest being a British SAS desert-equipped machine. The kit has over 370 parts, which for the size of kit is not really so many (especially when compared with truly complex kits, such as the 2500-component Dora rail gun) and because of the size, the Jeep not all that complex to build. The parts are moulded in light grey, which means applying a s...