SCALE MODEL NEWS

ARTIST ANDREI TKACHENKO has created his own alternative Soviet automotive history. Andrei's handsome artwork reveals a custom style that didn't exist in the real-life Soviet Union. SMN report: During the Cold War years, American customizers were creating amazing machines and wild paint styles. Behind the Iron Curtain, the authorities doubtless frowned on such capitalist activities. So it's now up to Andrei Tkachenko to fill the gap, with a range of original customs that could certainly fill our driveway. Motorcycle and flatbed truck ( below ) make a fine combo. Designwise, the Soviet vehicle looks much like similar light trucks made in the West.   Side-mounted exhaust pipes give the Zil Night Hawk ( below ) a powerful competition look. In styling terms, the Zil was something of an AC Cobra lookalike, even if the nose intake took its inspiration from the Chevrolet Camaro. The chromed Gaz-13 Chaika ( below ) was used as official transport by many apparatchiks of the Soviet e...

Mat Irvine: Dean Jeffries, the famed American car customizer, died aged 80 earlier this month, May 5, 2013. He was probably best known as the designer and builder of the Monkeemobile, stylish wheels for the 1960s pop-band, The Monkees. And here it is again in 2013, a 1:25 scale kit re-released by Round 2 Models. The Monkeemobile was produced originally by MPC in 1967 (above) but it’s a model that has been reissued a few times since then, the last being in 2000, under the AMT name. This latest 2013 release restores the original box-art or, to be more accurate, ‘almost’ the original box-art. The 1967 box (above) featured the four group members (dubbed at the time, 'America's answer to The Beatles') from left: Peter Tork, Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith, and lead singer and heart-throb Davy Jones, who died in February 2012. However, rights for their likenesses could not be obtained this time around, so the box-art now features musical notation instead of photos of The Monkees. ...