SCALE MODEL NEWS

Mat Irvine looks at a useful diorama structure  It is somewhat ironic, given that the name ‘Hornby’ equates with model trains, that when the company acquired Airfix in 2006, items that were not included in the purchase were railway trackside buildings and accessories, which had been sold to Dapol in 1985. The exception was the Airfield Control Tower as, although it started off as a trackside accessory, it had been - probably logically - moved to the aircraft section of the catalogue before the Hornby sale! You get a one-piece resin moulding, with separate window frames and acetate glazing. Note the sturdy expanded-polystyrene packing. All sorts of uses for buildings Actually, the control tower is a good example of the fact that these buildings were not the sole prerogative of rail modellers. As they were 1:76 HO gauge, they would certainly fit alongside 1:72 aircraft, AFVs and the like, plus the parts could be widely adapted to other uses - hence many an Airfix Girder Bridge part t...

The SMN crew trust you had a good Christmas break, and offer you all best wishes for a great model making year in 2010. And the manufacturers have some cool new items on the stocks, ready to tempt us in the months to come and to start, here's a look at some of the kits coming down the road from the revitalised Airfix. If you’re an Airfix Club member then the ‘Club-only’ kit should be interesting. The box contains a pair of 1:72 scale V/STOL Harriers, a Harrier II GR7 and a new-tool Sea Harrier FA2. They will make a handsome pair that will look good on display together. For ship fans, Airfix will be releasing a 1:350 scale Trafalgar class submarine. There are six remaining boats in the fleet (one was decommisioned in November 2009) three of which are fitted with the 2076 sonar, reckoned by the Royal Navy to be the most advanced such system in the world. The Airfix sub scales out at some 244 mm (9.6 in). Military 1:76 scale enthusiasts will find the Ruined European Workshop useful fo...