SCALE MODEL NEWS

HERE'S AN EXCELLENT VIDEO UPDATE from Shizuoka, presented by Hobby Link Japan (HLJ). There is plenty to see on this half-hour video - from aircraft to tanks, they're all on view. We're huge fans of Tamiya precision scale models, and the company's new 1:32 scale F4U Corsair looks terrific. This is the bubble-canopy version, and complements the Tamiya model of the earlier 'birdcage' aircraft. Airliner enthusiasts will see that a 1:200 scale Mitsubishi MRJ regional jet features from Fine Molds. A release date has not yet been set, though it's likely to be soon. The real thing is scheduled for a first flight in 2015, with airline service aimed for 2017. If the performance meets the proposed spec, the MRJ should be a success - at the time of writing, Mitsubishi had booked 407 orders and options. One new kit that has us hooked - though it's slated for limited distribution - is the Skunk Model Works 1:48 scale  F-16XL. This cranked-wing design was conceived to ...

EDITOR KENNY CONKLIN tells us that the site showing his excellent Model Builder International isn't quite the real deal. As in, someone's posted it without permission. But all's well, you can still read MBI online. Click here for the official online read , as supplied by Kenny. Great stuff - enjoy looking through the pages. We're really looking forward to seeing the next magazine from this stable, titled SciFiantasy - right up our street, and it will definitely earn a place in our sister blog Starcruzer . Thanks for the info Kenny, and good luck with the new SciFiantasy magazine - the content will fit totally into the Starcruzer  scheme of things, as it's about to expand from a universe of stuff, morphing into a Megaverse of sci-tech, sci-fi, and amazing futures.

SKYLON UPDATE: The UK Government is investing £60m GBP ($92m USD) on the Skylon's revolutionary Sabre engine, to enable a full-scale prototype to be built - so maybe this special edition model isn't pie-in-the-sky.  That political vote of confidence means that the designers now hope to see Sabre engines powering the Skylon spaceplane on operational flights by 2022, each ship carrying a 15-tonne payload into orbit. First test flights for the uncrewed vehicle are tentatively scheduled three years earlier, in 2019. As a passenger-carrying machine, a skip-glide flight across the top of the atmosphere could enable a London-Sydney journey in as little as four hours. The British-designed Skylon is the brainchild of engineer Alan Bond, reports Mat Irvine. Bond heads his own space business, Reaction Engines, and now i t may not be too many years before the single-stage-to-orbit aerospaceplane soars into orbit. Until then we can dream on with this Herpa 1:250 scale model kit. Alan Bond (...

 Here's the second of our two catch-up photo-reviews of the 'smallspace' modelfest held earlier this year. As with yesterday's selection, be very impressed with the quality of workmanship on display. And again, there are more to enjoy at Starcruzer* the site with the tagline 'From Earth to Infinity'. Not strictly a sci-fi subject (below) as it's a state of the art UCAV drone, complete with section of tarmac. But the robotic aircraft looks futuristic enough to earn its keep in this lineup. And here's a couple of excellent AFV models, included for variety, and because they simply look so good...

Over on our sister site Starcruzer, there's a glimpse at what has to be the smallest model ever made, less than one billionth the size of the real thing - even if 'real' is a fictional creation. Two Japanese researchers used high-tech ion-beam equipment to make a nanoscale model that's more than a little smaller than the rather attractive Round 2 Polar Lights item we show above that you can make yourself. Visit Starcruzer to read more here . View a range of Star Trek models here , though note that some Star Wars items have sneaked in!