SCALE MODEL NEWS

Mat Irvine: It’s perhaps a slightly odd decision for Hasegawa to model a spaceprobe that is more than 35 years old… but let us be pleased the company did, as it is a very interesting kit for any space enthusiast. Two Voyager craft were launched in 1977, their mission to study the outer gas giant planets of the Solar System. Initially these were just Jupiter and Saturn, but Voyager 2 was redirected in mid-flight to go on to encounter Uranus and Neptune as well. Currently the Voyagers are the most travelled objects to leave planet Earth, with Voyager 1 now some 18.5 billion km (12bn miles) from the Sun, far beyond the planets in the distant area known as the heliosphere. Just over 80 parts make up the Hasegawa kit, which measures some 325mm (13in) to the end of the magnetometer boom. The components are supplied on two black plastic runners, plus one in white and one gold-plated for the onboard ‘Golden Record’ message disc carried by each craft ‘just in case’ a future civili...

SMN Report:  Netherlands-based LVM Studios has a treat in store for real-space fans in April, with an interior super-detail package, designed to fit the 1:24 scale Revell Gemini space capsule kit, itself a recent ‘Classics’ re-release. About LVM LVM Studios - the initials are from guiding light Leon van Munster’s name - is a small company based in The Netherlands, whose aim is to design, manufacture and sell model kits and detail-up kits for mainly factual-space subjects such as the Space Shuttle, Gemini, and Soyuz. Sounds like an interesting plan for LVM and we’ll follow progress with interest. Stats from LVM: * 1:24 scale to match the Revell Gemini space capsule kit * Highly detailed ejection seats to go with the kit’s astronauts * Detailed instrument panels, including overhead and circuit breaker panels * Lots of detail, including rivets and switches * Detail parts for the hatches * Frames for the windows, including clear plastic components for the panes * Price €23.11 Eu...

SMN report: The Space Shuttle is dead... so long live the Space Shuttle. Only in the model world, that is, but an interesting set of superdetail kits has just been released by the Dutch company LVM to help relive those days of Shuttles roaring off the launch pad. The kits are designed to integrate with the 1:144 scale Revell Launch Tower kit, first released back in the mid-1980s. They offer a mixture of metal-etch and plastic parts, which combine to add a real air of authenticity to the basic kit. LVM parts should assemble to create a highly accurate structure. Immense amounts of pipework Not that lack of these LVM products has stopped people from kitbashing their own versions, as the pictures here make clear. The real thing has more ironmongery than you would believe - just click-zoom on the pic of STS-127 Endeavour  on the pad to see what we mean. Even an oil refinery is hardly in the same class! Detailed metal-etch components from LVM. Visit LVM for more detail The LVM kits appe...