SCALE MODEL NEWS

SMN report: Here's a kit that promises to be a Triple-AAA choice for military modelmakers. It's an extremely neatly produced 1:35 scale model of the Thales Bushmaster, an IMV (Infantry Mobility Vehicle) currently providing state-of-the-art protection for troops operating in trouble spots around the world. Big model The Showcase Models Bushmaster looks to be a neat and accurate model of the real thing, and being 1:35 scale, it’s a good size too, measuring some 205 mm (8.1 in) long. We haven’t eyeballed the Bushmaster closely yet, but the omens are good.  Enthusiastic reception Here’s what the website ‘Jenny’s Tanks and Things’ had to say when the parcel arrived from Australia recently: “It's here! and it's AWESOME!! (yes I know I'm shouting but I don't care). Thanks to John at Showcase Models my Bushy arrived yesterday. Absolutely full to brim in the (large) box, beautifully clean, crisp, injected plastic sprues, large sheet of photo-etch details, four rubber tyr...

SMN report: A new arrival on the radio-control scene is the great-looking Walkera LM400Q. The design make a real change from the usual RC helicopter, its development team apparently taking a hefty hint from seminal sci-fi movies such as The Matrix and Terminator . And that’s a compliment, because there’s no real reason why an RC chopper should take its appearance slavishly from the real world. Redundant component The LM400Q is top of the Walkera range in this body style, having a pair of contra-rotating rotors for precise control in mid-air. This does make the tail rotor somewhat redundant though, and Walkera acknowledge this with the words: “Tail Rotor will spin for decoration.” Maybe best to take it off then! Night flights The LM400Q is pre-assembled, meaning that with very little in the way of setup duties, you’ll be ready to fly in just a few minutes after opening the box. Flights can be made day or night, as the LM400Q comes with quad LED nose lights and a red LED tail light - g...

From Mat Irvine: One of the newest of the ‘new companies’ with connections to the original Aurora company is Atlantis, the model-kit arm of Megahobby, an online hobby distributor with the declared aim of bringing plastic modelling: “back to the level of popularity it once enjoyed.” Atlantis is run by Pete Vetri and Rick Delfavero, who have cemented the Aurora connection by using as consultant long-time Aurora Project Manager, Andy Yanchus. Left to right, Rick and Pete, with consultant Andy, in the Megahobby warehouse, Long Island. Atlantis White Stallion kit, box (above) and assembled (below). Latest from Atlantis Latest releases both have Aurora connections, but with a slight difference. The 1:12 scale White Stallion kit is one of Aurora’s originals, and has also been issued separately with riders in the form of Zorro and the Lone Ranger. Zorro is another Atlantis issue, and the horse is identical in both kits, except that Zorro’s mount is moulded in black plastic. The simple colour c...

SMN report: The cgi images show some of the treats in store for Airfix modelmakers - in particular, we look forward to the new-tool 1:72 scale Fairey Swordfish, also widely nicknamed the ‘stringbag’. The 125-component kit will be a long-overdue replacement for the venerable Airfix offering. We are promised a folding-wing option which represents a major advance, and we’re hoping the 193 mm (7.6 in) wingspan kit will do for 1:72 scale what Tamiya’s superb Swordfish did for the bigger 1:48 scale. Swordfish versions we’d like to see In particular, we’d love to see a float-equipped version, complete with beaching trolley, or even mounted on a catapult for a ship-launched Swordfish I. Or what about the radar-equipped Mk III? Or the Canadian Mk IV with enclosed cockpit? The possibilities make the SMN crew drool... Tamiya's popular kit. Military duties The Fairey Swordfish, the legendary 'Stringbag', was a Torpedo, Spotter, Reconnaissance biplane dive-bomber which went into service...

SMN report: The Scale ModelWorld 2011 Show was a major event last weekend for the IPMS (International Plastic Modellers Society), and a galaxy of models were on display. SMN’s own Mat Irvine was at the show with a stand ( above ), and all in all, the annual bash went down very well indeed. Dan Dare spaceship SMW 2011 was so packed with stuff that we’ll leave the photo-report to tell the story, but there was one model that caught our science-fiction radar, a spaceship labelled as the Valiant from the classic Dan Dare comic strip. The Valiant was a spacecraft star in the 1953-54 Dan Dare adventure Operation Saturn  but, ahem, the one at SMW 2011 didn’t look much like the shapely vehicle drawn by Dan Dare’s creator, Frank Hampson - a good model, just not a replica of the original.  Dan Dare spacecraft heads for the planet Saturn, with US pilot Hank Hogan above. Spacecraft loaded for action Hey ho - but the upside is that there’s still room for an accurate Valiant , powered by m...

SMN report: Woodland Scenics offers some interesting new buildings, including a trio in the expansive 0-gauge ‘Built-&-Ready’ series. US 0-gauge is handily equivalent to 1:48 scale, so lots of crossover possibilities are possible using ready-made structures like these. Sign of the hanging boot We just love the JW Cobbler building, complete with its hanging-boot sign in the front. Many more details abound, making this worth a display all by itself. Fruit and vegetables in miniature Lubener’s General Store is another detail-packed building, and the inclusion of awnings, cola dispenser and sign, plus assorted vegetable tubs and cases make it a winner. Every vehicle needs them In N-gauge, or 1:160 scale, Woodland Scenics brings us the Sicken Tire Company factory, described as: “...perfect to model the center of a busy industrial park. Sicken Tire Company is in full production, working to meet the expanding demand for one of humanity’s greatest inventions. White walls, studded snows and...

Mat Irvine:   Revell has owned most of the old Renwal company’s moulds for decades - actually, since 1976 - and has reissued many of those kits. So far, these have been released in Revell boxes, but now, thanks to Product Manager Ed Sexton, the original distinctive Renwal box-art has been reintroduced, including the Renwal brand name. Blueprinter series One thing Ed liked about the original art is that Renwal issued military kits in its ‘Blueprint’ series, as the company maintained proudly that such models were designed: “from original blueprints”. To this end, the boxes featured a distinctive blue-grid design. OK, maybe the grid is not a real blueprint, but it still looks good!  Bill Lastovich (left) and Ed Sexton of Revell-Monogram. Mobile artillery In 2010, Revell reissued the 138-part Renwal 1:32 scale Big Shot self-propelled howitzer, complete with six-man combat crew and working features. Now it’s the turn of an even bigger kit, the Renwal M65 Atomic Cannon. The original...

SMN report: Mat Irvine spotted the next Revell reissue of a classic Renwal military kit when he was at the iHobby Expo  recently. It will be the futuristic Teracruzer and Mace missile set, and as you will read in Mat’s article later today, there’s been a sea-change at Revell where packaging is concerned. Original boxes revisited Instead of the photo-style ‘History Makers’ packaging previously used, the Mace and other kits are now being treated to a revamp of the original Renwal boxes - and that’s excellent news, for they really were designs of their time, and deserve to be seen again. Mace - an early form of cruise missile Inside the brightly coloured box of the 1:32 scale Teracruzer and Mace kit, you get 278 components, including a combat crew of five figures, three of whom are shown below. Cold War warrior The Mace was a nuclear-tipped winged missile, launched straight off its transporter-launcher with the aid of a rocket booster, which dropped away after a short but powerful bur...