SCALE MODEL NEWS

HERE'S ANOTHER VIDEO TREAT from the master of stop-motion videos, Tom Grigat. This time he assembles a 1:16 scale model from the Spanish manufacturer, Artisania Latina. SMN report:  Artesania Latina kits are produced in Spain, and the company’s models are respected by model makers worldwide as among the most detailed and historically accurate replicas it’s possible to get. Here’s what the company has to say about its activities: “We are a family company which designs, makes and commercializes our products in 47 countries around the world.” The principal subjects of Artesania Latina are naval models and doll’s houses, for which the company makes all the parts and accessories, as well as supplying woods, adhesives, hand and electrical tools, for these and all kind of model-making and hobbies. The company headquarters is in Lamadrid on the northern cost of Spain. There is also a manufacturing plant in China, an office in Hong Kong, and a distribution affiliated company in the UK. Tom ...

News of the 1:16 scale Hasegawa Sopwith Camel makes us wonder if ultra-large scales are on the growth list for future scale models. We'd like to see the Camel's 1:16 scale matched by a reduced-size version of Hasegawa excellent old-timers, the 1:8 scale Fokker Triplane. Together with the 1:16 scale Wright Flyer, they'd make a fine trio, and (here's a wish list) could perhaps be matched by versions with non-see-through construction. There are 1:8 scale engine kits that could also be reduced in parallel, as part of an expanding range. Figures have long been a Hasegawa strength in smaller scales, so now's the time to see a bunch of 1:16 pilots and personnel. Hasegawa is not the only player in the 1:16 game. World War II fans could spend a lot more money and have a go at the Mitsubishi Zero partwork project from the publisher DeAgostini. There are some period cars available to 1:16 scale too, very useful if you like dioramas. The 'Tin Lizzie'  Model T Ford is ...

SMN report: Due shortly in stores worldwide is this 1:16 scale Hasegawa ‘Museum Quality’ structural kit of the Sopwith Camel F1, an iconic single-seat World War I fighter plane. The original 1:8 Sopwith Camel mega-kit has been lurking in Hasegawa’s back catalog for many years, so it’s a real pleasure to see that the subject has been revamped for 2013, and will shortly be available for World War I fans. It’s good also to see some competition for Wingnut Wings in this area, albeit to 1:16 scale, twice the size of Wingnut aircraft. This see-inside ‘structural’ model kit has a total of 293 components in the box, so there’s plenty to assemble, though at 1:16 scale, even the smallest parts are relatively easy to handle. Hasegawa promo pix reveal a wealth of detail, though perhaps they could have given the fuel tank (below) a bit more care. Its central seam is quite noticeable, and you’ll have to give it a thorough fill-and-smooth job. Other details are much better, such as the highly convin...

SMN report: Hasegawa has reissued the beautifully produced 1:8 scale scale Le Rhone rotary engine. There are just 82 components to assemble, but it's an impressive kit nonetheless. As you can see from the pictures, the result will be a extremely convincing replica of this important World War I powerplant, and Hasegawa includes a dolly stand, so the display possibilities are good too. Widely used aircraft engine The Le Rhone was designed and built by the French company Gnome et Rhone in 1916, and before long hundreds of these engines were installed in dozens of aircraft types from several countries. These even included Germany, whose engineers cloned the design from a crashed Allied fighter and by August 1917, this was being used in the Fokker Triplane, soon to become infamous as the mount for Manfred von Richthofen, the famed ‘Red Baron’. In German service the engine was called the Oberursel Ur II, but it was the Le Rhone in all but name, and is actually the engine that Hasegawa ha...

SMN report: It’s a hard question to answer, bearing in mind that the model-maker ‘craft’ market is different from the ready-built ‘collector’ market, and that our idea of a well-made kit varies. But there are crossover points between the two, and it’s exemplified by the latest Corgi World War I biplane, a 1000-off Limited Edition 1:48 scale model of the Sopwith Camel flown by Captain CM McEwen in Italy, January 1919. Looking at the basics As models go, the basic airframe of this Corgi Camel is good, if not outstanding. The same subject, made from a kit such as the 1:48 scale Eduard release, will give a much finer result, especially round the undercarriage, machine guns, and components such as the pitot tube on the starboard interplane strut.  Decals and details Then again, Corgi’s chequer-pattern markings are very neatly applied, as are the roundels and unit markings. Kit and diecast score roughly level pegging in this department. However, the diecast takes a dive where the pilot a...

If you like diecast aircraft, then you’ve a chance to add an interesting pair to your collection this month with these two from Corgi, a 1:72 scale BAC TSR-2 strike bomber and a 1:48 scale World War I Sopwith Camel. We gave a brief heads-up on the TSR-2 on May 30 last year, and here it is, nicely finished in Cold War anti-flash white. Sad to say, the real aircraft became a political victim - despite the prototype XR219 flying in September 1964 and promising to be streets ahead of anything else in the sky, the project was scrapped. Yet in a bizarre twist of incompetence, the swing-wing F-111 ordered to replace it was also cancelled a few years later. So the Corgi model is as much a monument to political uselessness as it is to the diecaster’s art. It looks good though, and is quite a hefty beast, measuring nearly 15 in (380 mm) long. The Sopwith Camel is an old-fashioned delight, and represents the red-striped aircraft flown by Flight Lieutenant Norman McGregor of 10 Squadron, Royal Nav...