SCALE MODEL NEWS

The new TT (‘Table Top’) 1:120 model rail system has been launched for modellers who wish to have a smaller space for their hobby. David Jefferis: The biggest name in UK rail modelling is the long-established company Hornby, and it has gone all-out on launching TT:120, a scale that has been off the market for decades. Launching an entire system is no small thing, especially as the company’s TT range has been created with a range of locomotives, rolling stock, trackwork, buildings, accessories, even vehicles, right from the start. The TT:120 catalogue is an impressive colour production, available as hardcopy or online as an ebook PDF. In its pages, you can see that Hornby seems to have done its homework, as there is plenty to choose from. For this occasional rail fan, the most appealing offerings are the ready-made model train sets. Here you get a locomotive, coaches, track, track mat, plus a power controller and supply. Just as the Spitfire and Mustang are classic model aircraft choic...

  THIS NEW MUSEUM is a must-visit centre for film and sci-fi fans. David Jefferis: SMN contributor Mat Irvine and I went recently to the National Film and Sci-Fi Museum ( NFASFM)  in Milton Keynes, UK. The Museum is well worth the trip, as its exhibits reveal a panoramic vista of science fiction and fantasy movies. Plate-glass windows by the entrance doors give the game away - there’s Po the Kung Fu Panda, Slimer from Ghostbusters , and a Dalek - and they all advertise the galaxy of exhibits inside. The man behind the Museum is Jason Joiner, whose enthusiasm for the genre is plain to see. Jason is also CEO of Showmasters, an outfit that organises events such as Collectormania and many film and comic conventions. Over the years he has amassed a large collection of film and TV memorabilia, and has long wanted somewhere to display it all for the general public to see - and at last he has done so.  The vast majority of exhibits are consequently part of Jason’s collection, th...

BOYLEI HOBBY TIME is a popular YouTube channel, and it's not hard to see why. His dioramas are highly original and well worth a close look.    In this episode, Boylei adds an iconic Colorado landmark to his somewhat science-fictional Wild Imaginary West series. Each diorama base is to a standard size, so they can be added together, which allows for growth, along with elegant design and a little of the real thing's historical charm. Follow Boylei Hobby Time on YouTube, or boost the channel by clicking here to become a Patreon supporter. Boylei also has assorted merchandise, and that's worth checking out here .

RATHER LIKE YOU CAN NEVER HAVE too many Spitfires for WWII aircraft, you can never have too many V-2s in the missile category.  Mat Irvine: This is a recent issue from Revell of a complete 1:72 scale V-2 setup. The kit actually originated as a Special Hobby kit from the Czech Republic, but arrives now in a different combination. The Special Hobby kits are separate so far as the Hanomag SS-100 Gigant heavy tractor, Meillerwagen transporter-erector, and V-2 missile. Revell has now combined these items in one kit. Special Hobby also makes a fourth kit, the Vidawagon, which was a road trailer for the unfuelled missile, but Revell has not included it. There are a lot of parts in this kit – 243 in all – and a lot of prep time will be spent sorting out just what goes where, and what can be pre-assembled before painting. Much of the Hanomag Gigant can be assembled ‘as one’, though I found it best to omit the wheels, tyres, and window glass for spray painting. Two main schemes are given for...

  EVERY NOW AND THEN you look at your unbuilt-kit collection and pick one that may not be brand new, but still could do with being changed from a box of components to a finished model. Which was the situation I faced with this Polar Lights Batplane kit. Mat Irvine: This is a Polar Lights reissue of the original Aurora Batplane, a kit that dates back to the 1960s. Except that, while the kit is a re-tooling of the Aurora original, and while the two kits layouts match, the Polar Lights parts are from a newer mould.  But it remains a simple kit, with a one-piece cockpit interior that features the busts of Batman and Robin. It also has two-piece wings, one-piece tailplanes and a very simplified landing gear assembly. If you want to spray finish the completed craft, it’s best to paint the interior first. You can get in quite a lot of detail with what is after all a single moulding. You can then fit in the fuselage halves, attach the canopy and mask it off, which will allow an overs...

BRUNEAU AUCTIONEERS ARE PUTTING UP FOR SALE the First Stage of the Andy Yanchus Model Collection. Mat Irvine: I find it hard to believe, but it’s been over a year since well-known modelmaker and kit historian, Andy Yanchus, died on 11 September, 2021. But tomorrow, 17 September 2022, much of his collected material will come up for auction at Bruneau and Co Auctioneers, based on Rhode Island. However, this 225-lot event is only ‘Part One’ of the sale, and Bruneau reckon there is more to come. There’s plenty to see at the Bruneau website here . And if you are interested in bidding, either follow the links there or go directly here . You have to register to bid and you can also follow via apps from the Apple Store or Google Play. In fact, you can already bid online (and some already have), but the live bidding begins 10.00 am EDT (1500 hrs BST) on Saturday 17 September 2022. Here's what Bruneau and Co has to say about the sale: "... Andy collected everything, but most importantl...

 

  WITH MOST SCALE MODEL NEWS REVIEWS, we deal first with the model, then maybe go into a few intriguing details that we hope are of interest. But with this new Atlantis kit, we have approached it the other way around, as things are not anything like straightforward. Mat Irvine:  Firstly is this kit ‘new’? Well yes, it is a brand-new release from Atlantis Models, but it is not ‘completely new.’ Ah, you might logically surmise, it’s got to be a re-release of existing tooling and from the type of the model, it has to be an ex-Aurora kit. To which you can then answer, “Well, yes – and no…” The Metaluna Mutant appeared in the 1955 American film  This Island Earth . Based on a story by Raymond F Jones, it tells of the alien visitor Exeter ( played by Jeff Morrow ) capturing atomic scientist Cal Meacham ( Rex Reason ) to return him and other Earth scientists, to the distant world of Metaluna to aid them in a war against the oppressing Zagons.  This Island Earth  was on...