SCALE MODEL NEWS

  THIS IS AN EXCELLENT 1:48 scale Revell kit of the MiG-21, the most-widely produced jet fighter of the former Soviet Union. Mat Irvine:  The MiG-21, NATO code name ‘Fishbed K’ seems to be a Revell kit – except that it’s not. In fact, the kit is a Revell-badged reissue of an Eduard kit, with the advantage that it’s slightly cheaper. Either way the Revell MiG-21 SMT makes an interesting and highly detailed model, and with over 300 parts in the box it should do, even if not all are used in this particular version. This is definitely not a kit for beginners, as it comes with the highest Revell skill category, Level 5. However, this is no bad thing at all, as anyone aware of Eduard products will know that the company is highly regarded for high-quality kits. Two versions of the Revell MiG-21 SMT can be built, ‘05 White’ or ‘86 Red’. There is a highly complex set of decals to cater for the markings required, with over 100 numbered items, many of them as multiples. There is also a w...

MAYBE THIS IS THE NEXT STAGE OF MODEL-MAKING beyond assembly and display at model shows and events.

OK, THESE STRANGE CRITTERS are not exactly our usual scale model fare, but the Dutch artist Theo Jansen surely shares the care and craftsmanship we put into our own miniatures. SMN report:   The video highlights the continuing story of Theo Jansen's Strandbeests ('beach beasts'). His Strandbeests are skeletal creations,  technically known as kinetic structures, made from a mixture of tubes, string, zip-ties, and fabric that allows them to walk along a beach, powered only by the wind.  Theo's latest design is perhaps his best yet. He says his plans for the future include include putting "...these animals out in herds on the beaches, so they will live their own lives." We've featured Theo's Strandbeests before. The evolution video here shows his latest version of the idea, which he first started nearly three decades ago, in 1990. For more Strandbeests at SMN, click here and here .  And click here for a Strandbeest model kit.

DRAGSTERS ARE BUILT TO do just one thing, and that’s to cover the quarter-mile in the lowest elapsed time (ET). But there’s no reason why they can’t look good as well, and that’s what auto customiser Carl Casper did with his Cosmic Charger fuel dragster. Mat Irvine:  This 1:25 scale kit originated with the original MPC company in 1972, so is now 46 years old. Casper's original Cosmic Charger was built with a top-mounted blower, and exposed motorcycle wheels at the front. Later, the engine received a front-mounted blower for even more streamlining, and the front wheels had streamlined covers to reflect the rest of the design. The newly-reissued MPC kit includes these later parts as extras, and there's also a new decal sheet that reflects paint-scheme changes. The Cosmic Charger is basically a simple kit as there are not that many parts, but it is a bit fiddly in places. You have to decide whether you are going to build the engine block with a top or front mounted blower right at...

THE SEVENTH ANNUAL  smallspace  model show was held on July 1, in Hanslope village, UK. Mat Irvine:  Every  smallspace  show has a theme, 2018 being the 40th anniversary of the BBC science fiction series Blake’s 7, and the 50th of the all-time classic movie  2001: A Space Odyssey . Ian Crichton ( below right ) was the winner of the 2018 ‘Best in The Solar System’ award, a trophy in the form of a miniature 2001 monolith. Ian was presented with his award by five guests ( below, left to right ) Piers Bizony, author of  2001: Filming the Future . Roger Murray-Leach was scenic designer for Blake’s 7. Simon Atkinson is a space artist and the model maker who built the Blake’s 7  London  model. Mike Tucker has completed the ‘missing’ Doctor Who episode  Shada . Michael Keating is the actor who played the Blake's 7 character, Vila. One of Ian’s creations was a futuristic take on a 1930s-era Gee Bee Racer ( header, below ). Another Ian Crich...

STAND BY FOR MORE DOCTOR WHO with the latest in the long-running BBC TV sci-fi drama. SMN report: Doctor Who is set to premiere in Autumn 2018, in a ten-episode series. This will be the 11th series to air following the concept’s revival in 2005, and the 37th season since 1963, when Doctor Who first hit the small screen. This latest series will feature Jodie Whittaker as the 13th Doctor, an alien Time Lord who travels through time and space in her TARDIS. The series is set to include a Christmas 2018 special. Jodie Whittaker has form in the science fiction scene, having appeared in the cult sci-fi movie Attack the Block and the Black Mirror episode The Entire History of You . Jodie takes over from actor Peter Capaldi. In the 2017 Christmas special, Capaldi's 12th Doctor regenerated to become the first female Doctor. We await her performance with interest!  In the world of scale models, a current attraction is the Doctor Who Figurines Collection, on current release from partwork pu...

WE HAVE JUST STARTED BUILDING this 1:48 scale Bandai Star Wars walker, and what a delightful kit it's proving to be. SMN report: There'll be a full build update soon, but we thought these shots of the various components would be interesting, as well as Bandai's own pictures of the assembled machine. And then there are the figures, and the multi-coloured mouldings. All very high-end indeed, especially the nice sculpting of everyone's favourite Wookee. We'll probably finish our AT-ST in colourful post-Imperium markings. Perhaps an AT-ST suitable for the off-world tourist market. Keep looking and you should find out in times to come. And here are pictures direct from Bandai that show this 1:48 kit fully assembled. Nice stuff, though we'd leave off the weird dull red 'laser' beams.