SCALE MODEL NEWS

HEADSUP TIME for your diary. Stardate: Sunday July 16 is the countdown date for the sixth Smallspace Show. SMN update: This is a special year for 'the dog' aka Doctor Who's robotic canine, K9, who celebrates 40 years since he was first seen on the long-running BBC TV sci-fi series. It's looking like a good show, with more info here and updates coming soon. Meantime, enjoy the video ( top ) of the 2012 show.

  THE SCALE MODEL PASSION divides pretty neatly into two worlds - the craft-driven hobby of scale modelling, and the collector-driven desire for a ready-built collection.  SMN report:  Those two camps are both quite well served today, and there is certainly some crossover between them. There are pros and cons for the two sides. Building a scale model from a kit is likely to be deeply satisfying and indeed much more personal - after all, every iteration of an Avro Lancaster is effectively a one-off, depending on your skill level, the  amount of added super-detailing, and the particular colour scheme chosen. Nice details in the cgi images of the bouncing bomb ( above, below ) used in the Airfix kit of the Dambusters Avro Lancaster.   On the other hand, ready-built models give the satisfaction of instant ownership and a chance to buy into a limited-edition run, without needing a high skill level or the time required to produce a top-class replic And perhaps there c...

HERE'S MORE VIDEO EXCELLENCE from YouTuber David Damek and his Plasmo productions. David really knows how to build a kit, so sit back and enjoy. The Hobby Boss model is a good one, and it comes in 1:32 scale too, which makes all that hard work on the build hugely worthwhile.

FROM THE EXCELLENT folks at  Hobby Link Japan , here's a report from the Shizuoka Hobby Show 2017. Lots of build-worthy stuff to see - enjoy.

WHEN THE ORIGINAL TV SERIES STARSKY AND HUTCH was being made, the producers needed suitable wheels for David Starsky (Paul Michael Glazer), who drove the car.  Mat Irvine: The producers came up with the then current - 1974, later 1975 - Ford Gran Torino Sport. With the added white stripe, it became one of the most recognisable Star Cars ever, though it was only recently issued as a commercial kit, by Revell. Click here for my review at SMN. But… what if the TV production had been a couple of years earlier, what would Starsky have driven then? Staying with the Ford Torino, how about the 1972 version? This was arguably a more stylish design, even if it only lasted for that year. By 1973, the US Federal Government had introduced the infamous ‘five miles an hour’ front bumper, which had to withstand an impact at that speed without damage.  Consequently, bigger bumpers were introduced, which definitely spoiled the overall lines. But the earlier 1972 version was not shackled by thi...

THIS FULLY FUNCTIONAL scale model of a classic wooden roller coaster was made by YouTuber Adam Throgmorton. SMN report: Adam’s model looks to be precisely in scale, with an overall white finish that lends it a similar quality to Lego architectural models. Something’s missing though… where are the screaming riders, and the hot dog stand? Click here for more on Lego architecture at SMN.  

AND ABOUT TIME TOO!  It’s taken 60 years for a 1:24 scale Citroen DS 19 to be released - and it’s not from Heller of France, but from Ebbro of Japan. Mat Irvine:  But now the DS (pronounced  ‘d ay-ess’ meaning goddess in French) has finally arrived, it has been worth the wait. The kit is finely moulded and fully detailed, with a separate engine and drive train, opening front doors, and steerable front wheels. Even the windscreen surrounds and trim are separate, chrome-plated mouldings. The Ebbro box ( below ) is squarer than most Japanese or European or Japanese car kits. It’s closer in proportion to the US style. Components ( below ) are moulded in two colours plus transparent and chrome. The DS 19's rear seat centre-armrest ( below ) can be positioned raised or lowered. Most stock finishes for the DS19 had the roof in a different colour, usually white or black. Conveniently, the kit’s roof panel is a separate moulding, which means the rest of the body, including the fro...

  THE SUICIDE SQUAD BATMOBILE KIT comes from the 2016 movie, and is a repackaged version of the existing Moebius Models 1:25 scale Batmobile, as issued for Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice . Mat Irvine:  The reasoning behind this special edition Batmobile is that the ever-widening DC Comics Extended Universe (DCEU) movie franchise now includes  Suicide Squad , which followed on from the earlier  Man of Steel  and  Dawn of Justice . The  Suicide Squad  storyline is not exactly a superhero tale. It's more about supervillains, something like an update of the classic  The Dirty Dozen  of 1967. This time, a group of anti-heroes are bought together under Task Force X, each with a micro-bomb embedded in their neck, just in case they feel like absconding from their new role. The kit's box base ( below ) usefully adds more details.   In Suicide Squad , the Batmobile is almost a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it experience. Batman (Ben Affleck, re...

CHRISTMAS COMES EARLY IN HOLLYWOOD and the new Star Wars teaser-trailer is already here. The countdown begins for the latest movie in the long-running saga, called  The Last Jedi . SMN report: We're Star Wars suckers here at SMN, and  The Last Jedi  looks as if it will be up to the standard of the recent movies, especially in the hardware department. View the trailer ( below ) and see what we mean, especially those tasty desert aeromechs with their vermilion surface exhausts. As always for scale model makers, the mechanicals are at least as interesting as the characters. See below for stuff to make you drool - that is, if the likes of Revell will oblige with yet more Star Wars kits in time for Christmas 2017.     Star Wars The Last Jedi arrives in your galaxy on December 15, 2017. Among the players are Daisy Ridley (Rey), John Boyega (Finn), Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Adam Driver (Kylo Ren), BB-8, and many others. Click here for the tasty and pricy Revell ...

A QUARTER CENTURY AGO, physicist Robert Lang worked on laser technology at the US space agency, NASA. Things changed in 2001, when Lang left his job in order to follow his childhood interest, the paper-folding art of origami. SMN report:  Since then, Lang's work has made him a respected name in the world of origami enthusiasts. He creates original, intricate designs that have propelled origami into new heights of complexity. Not only that, but Robert Lang's origami ideas have helped spearhead new methods of solving engineering problems by applying origami principles to high-tech machinery. An example is applying origami principles to solving complex real-world engineering problems, such as the delicate and complex task of unfolding spacecraft solar panels. Typically, such components are carried into space folded up into protective casing. Once in space, they unfold like the wings of a huge, prehistoric insect. And that's where Lang's origami concepts have proved useful,...

PEGASUS HOBBIES is billed as the largest hobby store in southern California (SoCal), and having walked all the aisles, I can confirm the statement is true. Mat Irvine:  President of Pegasus Hobbies is Larry Thompson, whom I first met at trade hobby shows in Chicago, variously RCHTA and then iHobby Expo. Back then, model company personnel would meet up over a weekend to display their wares, and get together with like-minded others for a natter over a pizza and beer. Larry traveled to Chicago for those events, but would always add “If you are ever in California, drop by.” So, as I was there recently, that’s just what I did. The Pegasus Hobbies store is located in Montclair, about an hour or so on the I-10 from downtown Los Angeles. Located in a side street off the interstate, at first glance it doesn’t look that imposing, but you soon spot what appears to be a control tower on the roof, along with a full size yellow and black Gee Bee Model Z race plane. Both are replicas, but do set ...