SCALE MODEL NEWS

DUE FOR RELEASE IN JANUARY 2018 is a 1:32 scale Junkers Ju 88 A-4 from Revell, and it will be an '88' with a difference. SMN report: The big news for this Ju 88 kit (though it won't be cheap) is the inclusion of the 'Technik' element. Basically, Revell will be offering a range of electronics with the model to transform it into an impressive display piece. The completed Revell Technik Ju 88 will have a digitised start sequence: Cabin light on. Instrument panel lights on. Landing light on. Engine one startup and spin propeller. Engine two startup and spin propeller Navigation lights on. Looks like the Revell Ju 88 will make an interesting build, and the big 1:32 scale should make those electronic gizmos worthwhile.

THE  NEW-TOOL BRISTOL BLENHEIM FROM AIRFIX looks like it will be a must-build kit for 1:48 scale air fans. The Blenheim is under development for release in 2018, and should be another winner for this long-established kit company. Airfix has released cgi images of the new kit, which show that there's been plenty of detailed research. We particularly like the belly-mounted gun pack and octet of bombs behind the wing. As yet, there aren't too many details available on the upcoming Bristol Blenheim, but these pix show there's going to be much to enjoy when the kit becomes available in 2018.   There will be plenty of internal detail, including ( below ) the flight deck, and landing gear. The dorsal turret ( below ) and two Bristol Mercury engines should look impressive after assembly and finishing are complete, even more so when some careful weathering is added. Airfix reckons to have a prototype constructed for display at the massive ScaleModel World show in the UK on November...

Mat Irvine:  The 1:25 scale Deserter is a reissue of an earlier MPC kit from the mid-1980s. To give the pickup its full title, it’s a GMC Rounded-Line K-2500 Wideside, equipped with the Sierra Grande package. The real thing was a true off-roader, and the model reflects this by including scale replicas of the chassis, four-wheel drive system, V-8 engine, and giant ‘Desert Dog’ tyres. There’s a winch at the front for those moments when even the DDs won’t grip, and a roll bar with four spot lamps for those night runs along the trail. The kit components are moulded mostly in white plastic ( below ). They are crisp and accurate, with little or no flash.   If the desert scenario seems slightly familiar to some of you, it’s because the same truck was used by Lee Majors, playing Colt Seavers in the 1980s action-adventure TV series The Fall Guy, and which was issued as the star-truck by MPC around that time. Oddly, this kit was only ever originally issued in TFG guise: there was no sto...

THE DODGE DEORA is an original concept from the 1960s, available now as a 1:25 scale AMT kit reissue. Mat Irvine:  This new version ('Special Commemorative Edition') of the AMT Deora kit is worth pointing out for several reasons. Firstly, it recreates the original box, arguably the best one issued, plus the kit now includes original parts such as the transparent top. Even better, there’s also a brand-new colour booklet included, which has plenty of information on the full-size vehicle. The box design for this reissue ( header pic ) reproduces the original. Note the label at right is attached to the shrink-wrap, not the box itself. The paperwork included in the box ( below from top left, clockwise ). Instructions are as before. The printed mini-box is a nice idea that has featured in other AMT kits. The decals have been extended with more imagery. The colour booklet is excellent and makes a good read for fans of the high-style Deora custom truck. The booklet ( below ) shows a si...

THIS IS LEGO-AND-A-HALF or maybe a galaxy-and-a-half for Star Wars fans. The results are pretty good too, the sheer number of those thousands of LEGO bricks allowing the finished Millennium Falcon to *almost* lose that unsatisfying (to scale modellers) chunky brick look. Great for those long winter evenings though.

WITH THE LATEST PLANS OF ELON MUSK HITTING THE HEADLINES it seems a good moment to revisit what I have dubbed 'factual futuristic' spacecraft, designs that seemed a good idea at the time, but which were never built. Mat Irvine:  The 1950s were the most productive years for these designs, many appearing from American aerospace companies, and which were used in many books, magazines and the growing TV industry. Recently, model companies such as Round-2 and Glencoe have been reissuing contemporary kits from the likes of Lindberg and Strombecker, which were based on many of these designs. This latest kit is from Pegasus Hobbies, and depicts one of a group of factual-futuristic spacecraft designs that originated with Wernher von Braun, the man who later became the brains behind the Apollo Moon landing program. Note:  The art on the box top ( header ) is certainly handsome - but it does include one error… Read on for the answer! Parts layout ( below ) shows the multiple runners for ...

THE BOEING IM-99 BOMARC ground-to-air missile makes a welcome return with this Revell kit. Mat Irvine:  At first glance, this looks like the Bomarc kit that first appeared in 1958. It has only been reissued once since then, as part of the Revell History Makers, Series I in 1982. The box ( header ) is reproduced from the original artwork of 1958. However, it is somewhat larger and with new notation such as ‘SSP’ and ‘skill level.’ All the kit's parts, the missile, launch platform, two figures, even the box-art, remain as the original kit. But there’s an extra this time, and it comes with the decal sheet. The Bomarc was used by the USAF from the late 1950s through to the early 1970s. The only other country to use the missile was Canada, and now decals have been included for the Canadian version. The 61 components ( below ) are moulded in grey. Given that the kit’s tooling dates from 1958 (the date is still embossed on one of the parts), it has survived fairly well. You need to decide...

THE VIC TORRY FLYING SAUCER is the latest in the Atlantis Models five-inch saucer range, and comes with the usual accompaniment of a flashing LED. Mat Irvine:  I suspect the name Vic Torry does not mean much to most model makers, but he was a comic book hero, published in 1950 by Fawcett Publications. Much of the lack of awareness could be that he starred in only one comic, titled - as is the kit - Vic Torry and his Flying Saucer. Instructions ( below ) are printed on the box back, in usual Atlantis style. Given the few components, they are pretty straightforward! A slight problem with the included flashing LED is that the saucer has no clear body, so the lighting effect is only visible through the small cabin windows. There are no quoted dimensions, though judging from the window sizes, the saucer model looks to be about 1:144 scale. In fact, a transparent component was intended to represent the windows, and you can see the recess on the underside of the upper hull. For technical ...