SCALE MODEL NEWS

SMN report: An ultra-rare steam-propelled tinplate cruiser became the most expensive single toy ever sold at a UK auction on Friday, April 20, when it shot past the estimate of £40-60,000 GBP to fetch a record £76,000 GBP ($122,500 USD).  Collection on the block The ship was a model of HMS Terrible , part of a lifetime collection of toys and trains belonging to the late Ron McCrindell, who died in August 2011, aged 91. Auctioneer Hugo Marsh said of the sale: "As far as we are aware it is the most expensive single toy sold in the UK." It was bought by an anonymous overseas collector, so sadly we can’t report on the excitement of owning this delightful collector’s treasure trove. The 620 mm (24.4 in) long vessel, made in 1905 by Marklin of Germany, was one of 340 toys on sale. The model itself made the headlines 40 years ago, when it featured in a BBC TV show, steaming across the calm waters of Hampstead Ponds, in north London. The Auctioneer’s description We quote below in fu...

2011's coming to an end now, and it's been a year of steady growth for SMN, we're pleased to say. The Mobile Edition has been an interesting experiment, and in 2012, we should be able to make newsposts directly from the trusty iPhone. It's a high-tech world all right! Important skills Meantime, despite the advance of electronics, the manual skills of traditional craftsmanship remain as important as ever in the scale model world. And that's something that reflects today's society, as basic dexterity is needed across the board, whether you're a cook, a writer, a painter or a builder. Meantime, enjoy the show.   

David Jefferis reports: We recently made an SMN Crew trip to Britain’s largest air museum, near the university city of Cambridge. Imperial War Museum Duxford (just ‘Duxford’ to most of us) is a droolworthy destination for anyone with even the slightest interest in aviation. Apart from the dozens of beautifully preserved aircraft to pore over, there are hangars full of restoration projects - from Mustang to Staggerwing, there’s plenty of choice for all. But IWM Duxford offers more... Duxford Land Warfare Housed at the far end of the airfield are the Land Warfare displays, housed in a separate, newish building. It’s packed with fascinating exhibits, with a prime focus on the World War II era. There’s also the British Army Royal Anglian Regiment Museum to inspect. As this writer’s father was a fighting soldier in the Anglian’s forerunner, the Leicesters, the exhibits here were of particular interest. Model displays The organizers at IWM Duxford have not forgotten model fans either. There ...

SMN report We’re pleased to say that Scale Model News is now available in a ‘small-screen’ Mobile Edition. It’s neat, elegant, and very personal: something you can read wherever you have a phone signal, though it’s fair to say that, as ever, 3G or wi-fi provide best results. SMN Mobile Edition SMN-ME comes up automatically on your phone (we use the iPhone 3GS here, on which SMN-ME works like a charm) and is simple to use. Just place a finger on a picture, when a new screen will open to enlarge it. Zoom the image bigger still by doing the finger-spread action. Comments are also easy to make, using the on-screen touch keyboard.  iPad 2 Edition We’re also working on an iPad 2 Edition, though SMN looks pretty nice even now on the standard iPad. Talking of which, we’ll be having an article on the iPad for Model Fans soon, so do keep an eye open for it. The iPad 2 is a remarkable piece of equipment that is a lot easier to haul around than even the smallest conventional laptop. Meantime, ...