INCOMING! ITALERI 1:48 SCALE ARMOUR HEADING OUR WAY

At last 1:48 seems to be the scale of choice for new AFV plastic kit offerings. Tamiya already have a mouthwatering range of military subjects, even if it’s not terribly large.

And now Italeri is launching a range of new-tool 1:48 scale vehicles. The first two are due soon, and are both World War II subjects.

The armoured car is an Italian Autoblinda AB 41, in production from 1941, hence the number. The utilitarian looks belied its usefulness (though the four-wheel-steer system caused problems) and some were fitted with metal wheels to speed along Italian rail tracks. After Italy surrendered in 1943, German forces confiscated some 57 AB 41s and built 120 more. And one of these is the subject of this kit, complete with Iron Cross markings.

The Kfz 305 truck is a soft-top three-tonner that was used in virtually every Axis combat arena, and Italeri’s kit features a metal chassis frame, which should give the finished model a nice heft. Decals are included but, sad to say, the stern-looking driver figure shown on the box top is not part of the kit. Shame on your Italeri for that omission, but let’s hope there’ll be 1:48 scale figures out soon. The larger scale 1:35 figures made to match Italeri’s superb S100 Schnellboot are excellent, so there’ll be no problem in sculpting a new set of troops - let’s hope the marketing bods reckon they’re a goer.

Four-view drawing courtesy Giovanni Paulli

These vehicles will be in model stores and online suppliers soon. Meantime, feast your eyes on a range of Italeri stuff, including the S100 Schnellboot here.

Italeri also produces a smaller AB 41, to 1:72 scale here.

GREAT OFFERS FOR HORNBY CLUB MEMBERS IN 2010

Own-brand clubs are a powerful marketing tool that can cement brand loyalty among users like few other things. But let’s not be too cynical here - virtually all such clubs go out of their way to offer value to their members, and the Hornby Club is no exception. For 00-gauge rail fans it’s almost a no-brainer, as Hornby offers a number of useful items, such as:

* A welcome pack, including membership card, stockist list and service dealer list.
* The Collector - a bi-monthly enthusiasts magazine, and the Collector Plus twice a year.
* Exclusive competitions in every issue
* 10% Discount from selected Hornby stockists, as well as Hornby.com
* Fully-working Hornby locomotive, exclusive to club members (while stocks last)

All of which is a pretty good deal. The free loco is a 0-4-0 saddle tank, while there is also a good discount offered on a Limited Edition 4-4-0 Class T9 LSWR locomotive, an express passenger design by Dugald Drummond, introduced in 1899. Sixty-six of them were built over a three-year period, and Hornby's video shows the attractive lines of the T9 in closeup. The 00 gauge model looks pretty good, especially if you look at the care taken with the detail in the open cab.

The pictures show, top to bottom:
1 Saddle tank 0-4-0, supplied with membership.
2 T9 4-4-0, available at discount to members.

Visit the Hornby Club here.

Other Hornby rail equipment is available here.

DESIGNER ADDS A CRUTCHBOT TO THE ROBOT HORDES

Science fiction fans generally have something of a love affair with robots. Whether they are small and helpful (R2D2), tall and shiny (C3PO), or deadly enemies (Transformer Decepticons), there seems to be just ‘something’ about a mechanical man that appeals, even more so if it’s a dangerous clockwork killer. And in Texas, designer-photographer Adam Voorhes has joined in robomania with the damaged machine-man shown above (top), its mobility-aid an old-fashioned wooden crutch under the arm. Adam’s even given a title to his creation: ‘Something seems to be missing’...

Japan is ground-zero for robotics, both real and fictional, and robo-culture there is sometimes obsessed with them. Magazines such as the excellent Hobby Japan run big features, and Euro-comics such as the UK’s 2000AD run strips based on robo-themes. The diorama here shows an excellent ABC Warrior from the strip of the same name, wreaking havoc while on display at a model show.

We recently reported on the T700 robot to 1:18 scale which came with the Terminator Hunter-Killer robo-flyer. But of course the small-scale T700 is just one of a seemingly endless horde of robots on sale, any of which would look great in a sci-fi based diorama. Some of the bigger ones are on offer at massive post-Christmas discounts, so it’s worth hunting around to see what’s available, meantime the T800 endoskeleton (bottom pic) is generally available in stores and online.

Visit Adam Voorhes here.

Terminator robots are available here.

And you can see more robots here.

REVELL REVEALS NEWCOMERS FOR UPCOMING NUREMBERG TOY FAIR

David Jefferis reports
All the big toy and model manufacturers are gearing up for the mega-huge International Nuremberg Toy Fair, held on February 4-9 this year. It’s an apposite venue, as the city has been famed for its handmade toys for centuries.

In 2010, Revell will be exhibiting a Leonardo da Vinci themed range: “...We will present selected technical constructions of the brilliant artist and inventor as elaborately designed functional models of wood”. Sounds interesting to SMN, but plastic kits haven’t been forgotten either: “...the Heinkel He 111P and the BAe Hawk ‘Red Arrows’ are extraordinary model kits”, and ...”With the Tirpitz and the Bismarck we will launch two of the best known German battleships in 1/700 scale. Even as a model the M/S Color Fantasy, one of the biggest cruise liners with car deck, is considerably impressive. With two models each of the racing teams Audi and Mercedes we will get in the German Touring Car Masters (DTM) in 2010. Our range of street cars varies from the legendary VW Westfalia Camper to the glamorous Ferrari Italia.”

Keep ’em rolling Revell - it sounds like an interesting year to come. And right now, the 1:144 A380 has been released in Lufthansa markings, so that’s a nice one for modern airliner fans. The A380 is a biggie all right - even at this scale the 163-component model scales out with a wingspan of 555 mm (21.85 in).

Talking of the A380, the SMN crew is aiming for a trip around the main assembly plant near Toulouse, France, in a few months time - when we return, there’ll be a full report, plus lots of pix for super-detail fanatics.

There’s a selection of A380 kits available here.

And the bigger 1:125 scale Heller version here.

WHO SHOULD COME FIRST - USERS OR COLLECTORS?

The model world seems to be made primarily of two types of people - users and collectors. For users, a kit or a diecast is there to be assembled or displayed, rather than laid down for possible future gain. There’s also the true expert, for whom three of each item is required - “one to build, one for parts, one to lay down” is the aim - though having the space for it is another question altogether!

The world of Limited Editions is aimed at the collector market, pure and simple. It’s doubtful whether a plastic kit that’s labelled this way ever gets built at all, although the Airfix Sea Vixen may be an exception. We’ll find out later this year for sure, as the first ones at least will be sold as a Limited Edition.

But for many of us, the real deal is buying a kit for the pleasure of craftsmanship, or a diecast to display because you happen to like it for some reason. And here’s an example of a cheap truck - a 1:50 scale Volvo A25C from Cararama - that’s most certainly a ‘user’ item, yet is not a lot worse in terms of casting and finish than a similar piece costing ten times as much, but made for the Limited Edition market.

This Volvo comes with articulation on six wheels, cab detail, light fittings, number plate, metal-foil mirrors, and fully rotating tractor and load halves - oh, and the load bed lifts nicely on a pair of pistons. So it works well as a detailed model, yet is priced as a toy - SMN could get one locally for less than £10.00 GBP ($16.00 USD). This is fantastic news for toy-bashers and diorama lovers - you could buy several of these, rip them apart or simply weather them, with zero misgivings for the effect on any future value. And in different sizes, the same calculations are perfect for rail fans, as the popular 1:87 and 1:76 scale layouts need to be populated with their share of vehicles, and the cheaper the better, particularly if they still look good despite the no-pain price.

You can see a selection of Cararama vehicles here.

Cararama’s website, Hong Kong-based Hongwell Toys, is here but be warned - it’s a slow loader.

COMING LATER THIS YEAR - AIRFIX SEA VIXEN

Here’s a tasty preview from Airfix of the upcoming 1:48 Hawker Siddeley Sea Vixen carrier-based jet. Due out in September the Sea Vixen is shown here in prototype form, created by an interesting machine that many of us would like in our back room.

It’s called a stereolithography apparatus (SLA) and is a cunning piece of kit that translates 2-D computer information - typically three-view plans - into a lifesize 3-D model. It’s created by squirting precisely-shaped layers of resin on top of each other, each one being hardened by a pass with an ultraviolet laser beam. SLA is only for prototyping though - as you can see from the pix here, there is no fine detail on the model yet. Small vents, panel lines, and other bits and pieces are added later, after the SLA prototype has been adjusted and approved.

The Airfix Sea Vixen will be the FAW.2 version that saw service with the Royal Navy from 1964, a flying career brought to a halt in 1972 by that bane of the UK military, defence cuts. When assembled the kit will be 340 mm (13.4 in) long with a wingspan of 317 mm (12.5 in).

The video was shot last year and shows the bulky twin-boom Sea Vixen very well indeed. One last point - despite appearances, it was a two-seater. The pilot sat under the offset canopy, while the observer sat to the right inside the fuselage, tucked away in a compartment nicknamed the ‘coal-hole’! You can see this clearly in the third picture above, complete with seat. Let's hope Airfix also includes some well sculpted crew figures as well.

The Airfix Sea Vixen is not due until the Autumn, but meantime there is the Xtrakit 1:72 scale Sea Vixen here, where there’s also the Supermarine Scimitar from the same jet era, though note that the caption and pic don’t match up!

Thanks to PlanesTV.com for the video.

REVELL STAR WARS SLAVE 1 UNBOXING

David Jefferis reports
Science fiction model makers have a hotline to spacecraft of all kinds with Revell’s easykit range, and here’s one of the more recent ones to fly through the SMN Towers airlock. The Slave 1 is, as all Star Wars fans know well, the personal craft of interstellar bounty hunter Boba Fett, and it’s certainly one of the more unusually styled craft in the long-running sci-fi saga.

As the unboxing video shows, I was pretty impressed with the kit contents. However it’s fair to say that the build I did after the video was made had its share of problems, in particular gaps around the nose-cone, poor-fitting chin cannon, and difficulty in assembling the side ‘wings’. To do a decent job you have to resort to your craft skills, forget the ‘easy’ bit, and treat Slave 1 to a dose of TLC. Even then, it’s best to fix those pesky wings in place rather than allow them to rotate freely.

Having said that, the potential is there for a spectacular addition to the sci-fi model shelf, and even in Revell’s pre-painted colour scheme, Slave 1 looks pretty good when finished. I’m going to be giving the craft a thorough customization when I get a chance, and will post the results for all to see. At present, I’m thinking along the lines of a pre-Boba craft, heavily armed and armoured for anti-pirate operations, colour scheme a stealthy midnight black - maybe. A definite addition will be a set of landing legs - it just doesn’t look right with that big egg-shaped lower section sitting flat upon the deck!

All in all, an interesting sci-fi kit. Be prepared for more than a simple slot-together 30-minute job, but don’t let that put you off - a little work will result in an excellent model.

The pictures show, top to bottom:
1, 2, 3 The assembled Slave 1 in Revell colours. The tail cannon rotate freely, and the overall appearance is good, though there are gaps in the nose-cone.
4 Underbelly view, showing the neatly-weathered engine exhausts. The chin dish has a pair of side-firing cannon, but these need cementing into place. One has already fallen out in this pic.

The Revell Slave 1 is available from model stores and online suppliers, including Amazon at a small discount here.

REVELL AEROBEE-HI - A CLASSIC KIT FROM SPACEFLIGHT’S EARLY YEARS

Mat Irvine reports
Rocketry is about more than space launchers or missiles - there's also an important branch that has played an important, though mostly unsung role - sounding rockets.

Named because they ‘sound out’ what’s going on ‘up there’, sounding rockets have launched small payloads to the edge of space, carried instruments to great heights, and been important in rocket motor development. The two most important such rockets have been the British Skylark series (last flight 2005) and the American Aerobee.

From first flights way back in 1947, the Aerobee was developed into the Aerobee-Hi (first flight 1955), the X-8 ‘X-Plane’, and the 150, 170, 300 and 350 series. They varied in performance, including altitude, from 130-450 km (81-280 miles) but all were suborbital. 1037 Aerobees flew in total, the final one being a 150-series launched by NASA on January 17, 1985, making today the 25th anniversary of that last flight.

Scale models of sounding rockets have been few and far between, though rocketeer hobbyists do fly replica Aerobees. Some of these carry instruments and are so large that they are actually classed as small sounding rockets.

Plastic kits are even fewer, but Revell did make a kit of the Aerobee-Hi, the type that would have been launched from White Sands and Wallops Island in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It was in the same Revell S-Series range that featured various rockets and missiles, though the Aerobee-Hi and X-17 were the only ones that were first and foremost ‘experimental' rockets.

The kit is typical of Revell from that period - as well as the rocket, the box also contained a transporter-launcher and three crew, one of whom was sculpted wearing a fireproof suit. The kit looks good, with fair attention to detail, and the erectable transporter-launcher really adds to the appeal. A pity though, that Revell never included a pickup truck (a Ford F-series would have fitted the bill) to finish things off.

The Aerobee-Hi was not reissued until the start of Revell's Selected Subjects Program (SSP), so was on the ‘wanted’ list of many modellers for a long time. But in Summer 1996, the SSP Phase 15 included the Aerobee-Hi, allowing many modellers to actually build the kit, not just stare at the bits in a box. Will it be reissued again? Here’s hoping!

The pictures show, top to bottom:
1 Compare the boxes. Some SSPs have been in differently-sized boxes to the original, but the Aerobee-Hi matched exactly, so much so that at first glance it’s difficult to tell them apart. Here the original is on top, the SSP box looking slightly ‘electronic’ and ‘bright’, as it was scanned from an original, but is still pretty good.
2 The side panel gives a few things away. The SSP issue does not mention Revell’s Type “S” Cement’ (it hadn’t been made for years) and you can just make out newer copyright details and address.
3, 4 Two views of the assembled kit, in transport position and raised for launch.

The Aerobee-Hi is not presently available from new, but you can see another Revell reissue, the 1:40 scale Nike-Hercules missile here.

CORGI CURTAINSIDE TRUCKS REVEAL DETAILED INTERIOR LOADS

Here’s a nice new feature added to this pair of 1:50 scale diecast trucks from Corgi - the curtainside is partly drawn back, to reveal some of a load that’s normally hidden from view.

The Volvo FH12 unit in RM Page markings measures 345 mm (13.6 in) long and comes with a generic boxed load. Detailing is pretty good throughout, and includes multiple lights, warning beacons and roof antennas. The other curtainside features a DAF 105 tractor in Ken Mallinson livery. This one reveals a bunch of red barrels, and hanging off the back is a Moffett Mounty load-shifter used to fill and empty the vehicle. Tractor, curtainside and Mounty add up to a length of some 355 mm (14 in).

The nice thing about 1:50 scale is that it sits nicely next to the plastic kit 1:48 standard, opening up the door to a mass of dioramas, mixing kit-built aircraft with diecast trucks. It’s fair to say though that most diecasts, including these two, are far too clean and shiny to look comfortable next to a well detailed kit.

So the first thing to do is to spray the truck overall with satin varnish, then overspray some light weathering, especially around the wheels and lower parts in general. Importantly, mask all the windows first, as they do not take spray well. They also don’t seem to need the spray’s subtle flattening effect.

Just for fun, we’ve included a video of truck racing for your weekend delectation. This was shot at the UK’s Castle Combe circuit, and is well worth watching, if only to see how much exhaust smoke and fumes a race-prepared diesel can chuck out!

These two trucks are becoming available through stores and online suppliers, such as Amazon here.

Visit the Corgi online shop here.

LUNOKHOD MOON LANDER - THE LITTLE ROVER THAT COULD

Mat Irvine reports
Today is the 37th anniversary of the second - and last - landing on the Moon by a Soviet automated rover, the eight-wheel Lunokhod 2, taken to the lunar surface by the Luna 21 carrier vehicle.

Following the Lunokhod 1 that landed on November 17, 1970, Lunokhod 2 performed even better, sending back more than 80,000 TV images and travelling nearly 37 km (23 miles) over a period of some four months, until it stopped working. The precise reason for this has never really been determined, but it’s thought that either moon dust covered the radiators and it overheated, or perhaps it fell into a crater - or both.

The Lunokhods (Russian for 'Moonwalker') are arguably the most delightful-looking spacecraft ever designed, fact or fiction. They actually look more as if they were created by Rowland Emett (famed for his whimsical creations) than as working scientific equipment. A Lunokhod would make a great model kit, and although none has appeared to date, there is the terrific battery-powered toy I show here, from the Russian Ogonjek company.

I’d heard rumours of a Lunokhod model kit, and as Ogonjek made kits of Soyuz and Vostok among others, it seemed perfectly feasible - but no one had ever seen one. Then a photo of the box was found, but there were still no details. Finally I managed to get my hands on the real thing, courtesy Tony James of Comet Miniatures in London. The Ogonjek Lunokhod is not a kit, but a toy, and comes with that classic ‘Russian toy’ look. It is motorised (six C-size batteries), and is ‘remote controlled’ via a stout cable - forget radio control!

The original Lunokhod 2 is of course still on the Moon, but it is now officially owned by Richard Garriott, the computer games developer and space tourist, and son of NASA astronaut Owen Garriott. Richard purchased Lunokhod 2 and Luna 21 in the 1993 Sotheby’s Soviet Space Sale in New York.

The pictures show, top to bottom:
1 A Soviet-era drawing showing how a Lunokhod sat atop its Luna carrier vehicle, before rolling down a long ramp.
2 A full-size Lunokhod replica on display at the Cosmosphere and Space Center in Kansas.
3, 4, 5 The Ogonjek Lunokhod, the name applied in both Russian and English, one on each side. The box is a typically Russian item with very basic colours, made from thick, but not exactly sturdy, card.

Visit Comet Miniatures here.

Visit the Cosmosphere here.

Look at Rowland Emett's work here.

IS IT A TOY? IS IT A MODEL? - SCI-FI HUNTER-KILLER FROM ‘TERMINATOR SALVATION’

SMN reports
If you’re a sci-fi buff, then the ranks of the mainstream kit manufacturers present fairly thin pickings. Apart from Revell’s Easykit range of Star Wars machinery, there’s not a lot out there.

However, if you widen your horizons a bit and graze the shelves of toyshops, supermarkets and newsagents, then things get a whole lot more interesting. The SMN crew regularly trawls big chains like Toy ‘R’ Us and Tesco, as well as local stores, and what’s on offer can be tasty indeed, especially as these retailers often have deals or special lines to tempt us.

The Hunter-Killer from the movie Terminator Salvation is a case in point. Aimed at the children’s market by Playmates Toys (who launched Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles back in 1988), it was on offer locally at less than half-price - what a bargain! And even better, it came complete with a 102 mm (4 in) tall T700 robotic figure, making it about 1:18 scale, just right for causing mechanized mayhem to any spare large-scale diecast vehicle you may have parked in your collection. The Hunter-Killer measures a chunky 307 mm (12 in) long, and is a pretty nifty design, waiting for conversion to another futuristic occupation - maybe an autonomous SAR (search and rescue) craft - or maybe we’re just peace-lovers here at SMN.

We’ve a short unboxing video to show you at the weekend; meantime here are pix of what comes out of the box, and very nice they are too. The main drawback from a scale perspective is that much of the detailing is rather heavy-handed, so what we plan to do is give this ‘toy’ a going-over, and see if you agree with the results. Either way, if you’re into science fiction in a big way, then items like this are a win-win buy.

The Hunter-Killer is available at the standard price from various suppliers, including Amazon here.

You can visit Playmates Toys here.

JUNKERS Ju 88 RADAR-EQUIPPED NIGHT FIGHTER KIT FROM HASEGAWA

World War II model makers, in particular aircraft fans, will be pleased to see the latest from Hasegawa. The 1:72 scale model kit of the Luftwaffe’s Junkers Ju 88 G-6 is the radar-equipped night fighter (‘nachtjager’) version, complete with nose and tail sprouting spiky radar antenna trees. The kit also comes with a pair of the upward-firing cannon that were often fitted to the G-6, as well as three sets of decal markings.

The Ju 88 was probably the single most successful German twin engine plane of World War II, with more than 15,000 of all types built throughout the war. Hasegawa’s kit is a neat one, with a wingspan of some 280 mm (10.5 in) and has 150 parts, enough to keep a model maker busy during the cold, snowy nights we’re having in the UK at the moment.

The video is worth watching, as it shows all sorts of German night fighters of the era, including detail shots and commentary on Ju 88 G-6 version.

Talking of German aircraft, here’s another mention for the Luftwaffe Museum in Germany. We don’t think there’s a Ju 88 on display, but the Museum has many other interesting aircraft, and the site is well worth a visit here.

The Hasegawa Ju 88 G-6 will be with stores and online suppliers soon. Meantime, the Hasegawa kit of the earlier Ju 88 A-4 is available now here.

The pictures show, top to bottom:
1 Box art for the Ju88 G-6 from Hasegawa.
2 The assembled and painted kit.

Video courtesy ‘spottydog4477’.

POLISHING OUT SCRATCHES ON A PORSCHE BOXSTER WINDSCREEN

Christmas gifts at SMN Towers included a 1:36 scale diecast assembly kit made by Welly from China. Welly aims its products mostly at the cheaper ‘toy’ markets, and is one of the lesser known names in the diecast business, but even so, the Boxster is a careful and impressive piece of model engineering.

The Boxster’s ‘toyness’ is apparent in the fit-the-box scale and the inclusion of a (very powerful) pull-back motor, but the ‘modelness’ is shown by the attention taken over detail, in particular the instrument panel and the rear lights. With some care in the simple assembly - helped by the included mini-screwdriver - and some extra detailing on the mirrors, you can turn this Boxster into a decent shelf-top item. Note also in the pictures above, the fine ‘Boxster’ logo printing and rear-light texture, though the crooked numberplate will need replacing. The doors and their openings will also benefit from some retouching with matching paint - Volkswagen Mars Red looks like it will do the trick without too many misgivings.

A problem that became apparent when this particular Boxster was unpacked was the windshield, which had a nasty scratch. So what to do? You’ve got two possible solutions, depending on the severity of the scratch. The simplest fix is to get the toothpaste out, as it contains a very mild abrasive. With shallow surface marking only, rubbing a small blob of toothpaste for a few minutes will usually produce good results. It’s also good for simply polishing up such areas, and certainly had this Boxster’s screen sparkling in no time at all.

However, for more extensive damage you can try Xerapol, a special item designed for perspex, but which will also do nicely for most other plastics. The technique is the same - simply rub the offending marks with fingertips or clean cloth and all but deep scratches should polish out in a short time.

Back to Welly - the company has been around since 1979, and like many Chinese businesses, is considerably bigger than you might think. Welly has more than 3000 personnel and turns out models and kits in all shapes and sizes. Welly is also into radio-control (RC) and produces a range of mostly European cars including Audi, Porsche and Mini, though there’s are lone entrants from the US (Ford Mustang) and Japan (Nissan 350Z) that sell complete with RC equipment, for instant plug-n-play action for buyers.


Visit Welly here (warning - the site’s a slow loader).

Welly also makes a Boxster S to 1:43 scale, with Porsche styling updates here.

You can buy Xerapol here.

There are more Porsche Boxsters, both diecast and plastic kits, here.

FLYING THE FAIREY GANNET

Here’s a pair of videos to give you some interesting weekend viewing. They’re definitely ‘of the era’, clipped accents and all, but these just add to the historical atmosphere.

For model makers, there’s nothing like actually seeing a subject in the metal to catch some of those elusive details and perhaps just as important, the ‘sit’ of an aircraft in the air, and on the ground.

Sadly, there are no Gannets in flyable condition today, but there are well-maintained examples on display at air museums in the countries that flew them - the AS4 we show here at top is at the Luftwaffe Museum, Berlin-Gatow airfield, Germany. As you can see, the Gannet had a complex folding-wing system, and a tubby fuselage that sat low on the ground - arming her up with torpedoes and sonobuoys must have been a back-breaking exercise for the ground crew!

Visit the Luftwaffe Museum here.

The Revell Fairey Gannet is available from model stores and online suppliers, including Amazon here.

A NEATLY PRODUCED KIT OF THE FAIREY GANNET PATROL AIRCRAFT

SMN reports
It seems to be something of a Revell week here at SMN, but it's all good news, with this neat 1:72 scale kit a real boon for fans of anti-submarine patrol aircraft.

The Fairey Gannet was a British design that first flew in September 1948, and went on to have a long service history with the air arms of the UK, Australia, Germany and Indonesia.

At first glance the Gannet seems to be a single-engine design, driving contra-rotating props - in fact, it was powered by the Double Mamba turbine, essentially a pair of side-by-side engines driving the props through a common gearbox. The advantage was that on long patrols, half the Double Mamba could be shut down to save fuel and extend range.

The Revell kit is of the AS4 version, with seats for three, and a radome under the rear belly. It’s a new-tool offering, with many of the refinements that we expect of such kits, such as finely-drawn recessed panel detail, decent cockpit equipment including instrument panels and side units, separate ailerons and flaps, plus positionable weapons bay doors.

Despite being a three-seater, the Gannet was not a particularly big aircraft, being designed to operate from modest-sized World War II era aircraft carriers, and the model reflects this with a wingspan of just 230 mm (9.05 in) and length of 187 mm (7.4 in). There are 99 parts, the contra-props rotate, and decals are provided in Royal Navy and Kriegsmarine markings.

An unusual subject and a fine kit available at a very good price. It’s made for carrier-deck dioramas, though you’ll need to add figures and a decent weapons fit, so let’s hope the aftermarket suppliers jump on this requirement very soon.

The pictures show, top to bottom:
1 Box art shows a Gannet in Kriegsmarine markings.
2-3 Unpainted test-shot samples.
4-5 The Gannet looks good when assembled and painted.

The Revell 1:72 scale Fairey Gannet is available from model stores and online suppliers, including Amazon here.