SCALE MODEL NEWS

There's a good variety of kits coming from Italeri this month, ranging from World War II AFVs to pan-Euro highway trucks. First off is the German Sd.Kfz.251 Flammpanzerwagen flome-throwing half-track, a hold-in-your-hand sized model of this widely-used Wehrmacht AFV. The kit may well please aircraft modellers, as it's to 1:72 scale. Pleasingly, Italeri includes two figures. To standard 1:35 military scale is the 'upgraded mould' Pz.Kpfw.VI Tiger 1 tank, a mid-war version from 1943.   Components for two versions are supplied, as are detailed tracks, decals for four tanks, and a photo-etch sheet. This brand-new tool model car kit is really interesting, featuring the Fiat 508 Balilla, a popular Italian car produced in the 1930s. This Italeri version is the military 508CM Coloniale model, used by Mussolini's forces as a staff car. Italeri includes original Italian markings, and a set of iron crosses, suitable for the period when German forces ran Italy. For diorama fans...

SMN HIPPY WORLD News that the 1:24 scale Volkswagen Microbus kit is now being released as a delivery van gave us food for thought when we saw some pix of a snowmobile-style VW bus. The new Revell VW bus kit looks really interesting, and underpinning it with a set of caterpillar tracks from a tank kit could make a nifty model, highly suitable to enter in a competition - especially if it ws in a suitable diorama display. Adding the tracks shouldn't be too difficult, as each side-cut is a simple one, straight between the front and rear wheel arches. You could also add an LED light on the roof, and even better, add the lift-up centre-section. As you can see, the VW beast is actually a mobile disco. Once the roof is raised, big PA speakers swing out on pedestal arms. Then all you do is crack up the volume, down a few beers, wait for sundown, smile at the girls and have a ball! The pix of the VW Discobus were sent in without a credit, so if you know the source, let us know. Thanx.  ...

MAT IRVINE REPORT Scalextric features the latest James Bond movie as the subject of the Micro Scalextric 1:64 scale Skyfall set with track. The standard Micro Scalextric Skyfall set includes an Aston Martin DB5 and DBS, plus 3.7m (12.1ft) of double track with triple curves and a flyover straight. The 1:64 scale was a model racing format pioneered by Aurora in the 1960s, since become one of the industry standards. Tight on space? The micro scale is useful if you have limited space - the supplied track needs an area measuring just 1200 x 680mm (47.2 x 27in) which makes it easy to set up on any reasonably-sized table. Grip in the bends The cars themselves are fitted with magnets to help them stay on the track, and construction is described as, ‘super resistant’, aka ‘child-proof’ so they can crash many times over, yet stay in running order. Bigger format The Skyfall set is also available at twice the size, 1:32 scale, just right for including the extremely detailed supplied Aston...

MAT IRVINE REPORTS This is an updated version of an original AMT kit. In the metal, the Gremlin - and 1:25 scale finished model - is a smallish vehicle, though this new kit has a box that’s definitely on the big side. Most of the original parts have been restored for this reissue, though the big thing - literally -  is the box. This is dictated by the inclusion of an attractive reprint of the original box-art painting, the box being sized to fit the print, a fairly massive 368 x 292mm (14.5 x 11.5in). Frameable art The ‘original art’ print theme sees the illustration reproduced from archived artwork, rather than being scanned from an old box-top. What’s more, the print is of the car only, minus the surrounding lettering necessary for retail sales. It’s well done, the idea being that you can frame and hang it as a piece of retro-flavour art, an interesting idea that could be used to fill a blank spot in the garage or den wall, especially if you’re an AMC Gremlin fan. Parking space T...

SMN REPORT It’s taken a while, but at last the latest Kitty Hawk Models 1:48 aircraft kit is coming. It’s another tasty and unusual choice from this US manufacturer, a Dassault Mirage F1 swept-wing attack jet. The Kitty Hawk Mirage F1 is an all-new tool 1:48 scale kit that, judging from these computer drawings, is going to be a knockout in terms of accuracy. Cockpit detail should be a new high for any kit of the French machine, while panel and surface detail should be well engineered too. Details Wheel wells and landing gear are intricately detailed, as are the engine intakes and nozzle. Drooped slats, flaps, and an air-to-air refuelling probe are included. Weapon fit The Mirage F1 is a warfighter, so combat ordnance is well provided for, with - as revealed by these CAD images - wingtip Matra R550 Magic air-to-air missiles, underwing Matra Super 530 missiles, ECM pods, and an underbelly fuel tank. The Mirage F1 can also be configured to carry an Exocet anti-ship missile, which would be...

Seattle-based Taras Lesko’s amazing paper creations have already featured in the top automotive magazines Top Gear and Motor Trend, and on websites such as Auto Blog and Jalopnik. So what’s he up to now? The latest offering from the Taras Lesko paper portfolio - and he already has a Bugatti Veyron and Audi A7 to his credit - is the uber-expensive and super-exotic Pagani Zonda supercar.  Big model This Pagani Zonda model is no miniature though, for the finished creation measures some 760mm (30in) long, making it around the 1:6 scale mark - so the car definitely needs a little more than a shelf top for display. Download the kit Taras has made the Pagani available as a self-build kit, which is an interesting thought if you feel an urge to make something that’s not a plastic kit. Downloads are available to buy direct from Taras Lesko's website Visual Spicer, and come in three colour schemes, Jet Black, Aero Blue and Velocity Yellow. Better still, Taras has a FREE try-before-you-buy tri...

California-based Fantastic Plastic has just released a new 1:72 scale kit of the Whispercraft, a fictional helicopter that featured in the 2000 sci-fi movie, The 6th Day . In The 6th Day , Arnold Schwarzenegger (famed for the Terminator movies) plays the owner of a small aircraft rental company specializing in vertical takeoff Whispercraft, advanced helicopter-like vehicles whose blades can be fixed in flight to function as conventional wings. Ron Cobb’s work The Whispercraft was designed by the hugely talented Hollywood conceptual artist Ron Cobb, some aspects of which he based on actual aerospace projects then being developed by the US military. Upgrade kit This Fantastic Plastic kit is a re-release of the 2007 kit, with upgrades that include Ron Cobb's blueprints, along with extras such as a detailed interior, clear vac-form canopy and - we’re pleased to see this - weapons for a military gunship version. Movie plot In case you’d forgotten (or didn’t know) The 6th Day plot here’...

MAT IRVINE REPORTS The Hong-Kong based company Dragon should be congratulated for introducing so many brand new factual ‘real-space’ items. However my enthusiasm is slightly tempered by the fact that while Dragon issues spacecraft in both ready-built and kit form, sometimes it’s not clear as to which is which. Some are made only as ready-builts, some just as kits, others appear in both forms. Then some of the subjects - kits especially - have odd errors, and assembly instructions may rather lack clarity. Mighty Saturn Where ready-builts are concerned, the latter point may not matter much, and at London Toy Fair 2013, the UK-based distribution company Amerang had many of these on display. Dominating the display stand - literally - is the largest commercially-available ready-built model of the Saturn V rocket (above, below). The Dragon model of the launcher that sent men to the Moon is a 1:72 scale giant, standing more than 1.5m (5 ft) tall. Bigger and bigger At this point, I should add ...