REVELL AIDA ‘DIVA’ CRUISE SHIP - TEST SHOTS OF UPCOMING KIT

David Jefferis looks at a new marine kit:

Revell plan the release of this 1:400 scale kit in November, and it looks an interesting and colourful choice for marine enthusiasts. The scale means you’ll end up with a decent size model - as planned the liner will be 629 mm (24.8 in) long, and the height from keel to mast top will measure 120 mm (4.7 in). It will be a fairly lengthy build, with some 300 components in the box - just the thing for those long winter nights ahead.

BUGATTI VEYRON COUPE PRODUCTION FINISHED - BUT PLENTY OF GS MODELS TO COME

SMN report:

Seven years after the first Bugatti Veyron Coupe was purchased by a car freak equipped with a brain-meltingly large wallet, the final one rolled off the dedicated production line at Bugatti just a few weeks ago.

Artoart Veyron about as good as metal-casting technology allows.

McFLY BOYBAND TAMIYA KIT - ROCK VIDEO POINTS WAY TO THE FUTURE?

SMN report:

Thanks to the SMN reader who pointed out this Tamiya-based video for the UK boyband McFly's 2006 song Room on the 3rd Floor. The band is named after Marty McFly, movie star of the 1985-90 Back to the Future sci-fi trilogy, and inspiration for all those kits and diecasts of the DeLorean flying car.

ELVIS LIVES! TAMIYA POSTER CAMPAIGN RECKONS SO, ANYWAY

SMN report:

We mostly associate Tamiya with top-line traditional plastic kits - and quite rightly, for they are superb products, as we recently showed with the newly-released 1:32 scale P-51D Mustang. But Tamiya doesn’t stand still, and the company recently paid the advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather Vietnam to create an ad campaign based around the catchline, ‘Tamiya Put It Together’. 

SECRET AGENT OPERATION - LYSANDER SPY PLANE ARRIVES IN FRANCE

Mat Irvine discusses:

Back in June, I gave details of the Airfix resin-moulded range of ruined buildings, aimed mainly at military diorama builders. The example I highlighted was the ruined workshop, and I hinted that the figures in the scene - French resistance fighters, with a Citroen Traction Avant - were waiting for a spy drop from a Lysander delivery plane. 

Box back includes Humbrol paint details plus aircraft details in four languages.

TAMIYA 1:32 P-51D MUSTANG - JUST SUPERB

SMN report:

The new Tamiya 1:32 scale P-51D is gathering plaudits all over, and we’re not surprised. It’s easily a match for the firm’s Spitfire models in this scale, and utilises the same super-small magnet technology to keep the ultra-thin engine cowlings in place.

Scene from the Red Tails movie, featuring P-40s and P-51Ds.

REVELL LONDON BUS KIT MAKING PROGRESS

David Jefferis reports:

Looks like the Revell 1:24 scale London Bus is making good progress. These newly released pix should make any public transport model maker raring to go. It looks good, especially the engine detail under that lift-up cover, plus those seats, and lots of ’em.

LIMITED EDITION HOT WHEELS BATMOBILE

SMN report:

Mattel’s Hot Wheels line has released a treat for Batman fans, with the latest Limited Edition Batmobile. “Not another Batmobile...” I hear you sigh, but read on, for this is a biggie 1:18 scale diecast model, with opening sections that reveal enough inner details to make it a unique entry for the Batman memorabilia shelf.

LEONARDO DA VINCI ‘AERIAL SCREW’ HELICOPTER FROM DOYUSHA

Mr J and Mat Irvine discuss:

More Leonardo da Vinci in this video, with a look at a working model Aerial Screw. That’s another term for Leonardo’s helicopter design, and Doyusha has made an interesting kit of it as you’ll see. There’s also a glimpse inside Mat Irvine’s fascinating Model Museum. 

Summation

The Doyusha kit is a neat kit with historical interest, and is roughly to one of the recognized model scales into the bargain, so if you like models with working action, it’s a kit that’s definitely recommended.

Kits from Japan

The kit was supplied by Hobby Link Japan, whose fascinating site you can visit here. There are lots of summer bargains to be had the moment, including Dragon, Hasegawa, Tamiya, and much more.

TAMIYA US ARMY STAFF CAR VISITS A CRASHED UFO

Mat Irvine inspects:

Although worldwide, model cars are dominated by the joint 1:24/25 scale, other scales find favour with various types of modelmaking. ‘Scale’ is an all-encompassing subject that could fill many an SMN slot, but one area that has grown in recent years is military AFVs to 1:48 scale. Yes, the main AFV scale is certainly 1:35, but it doesn’t match with much else, whereas 1:48 is one of the model aircraft standards, making mixing subject matter - especially dioramas - very straightforward. 

HIGHLY DETAILED METEOR JET TO 1:72 SCALE

SMN report:

There’s no apology for including another Dragon entry this week, as the Gloster Meteor F.3 is far and away the most detailed 1:72 scale kit of this important aircraft - the first Allied operational jet - that’s been made. It’s been out a while now, but this is the first time we’ve had a close look.

DRAGON ‘OPERATION GERONIMO’ STEALTH HELICOPTER IN 1:144 SCALE

SMN report:

Here we have China’s Dragon providing us with a cool take on the stealth helicopter that took part in - and crashed during - Operation Geronimo, the night raid in Pakistan that resulted in the death of arch-terrorist Osama bin Laden. 

VOLKSWAGEN CAMPER VAN - BULLI IS GO, LEGO MAKING KIT OF THE CLASSIC SPLIT-SCREEN

SMN report:

Great news for Volkswagen fans as it’s been confirmed that VW will produce a petrol/diesel version of the Bulli electric MPV concept in a couple of years - or maybe less. The VW Bulli was first shown at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2011, drawing applause for being an MPV that people might actually want to buy - in other words, a compact people-mover with some sense of style. It has to be said that not everyone was moved instantly - some VW fans muttered that the Bulli wasn’t dramatic enough, but our view a few months later is that it’s pretty OK. 

Nice one - hefty box for the LEGO Camper Van.

LEONARDO, F-16i, K9 THUNDER - HOT KITS FROM ACADEMY

SMN report:

The Italeri versions of Academy’s Leonardo da Vinci kits are proving successful, so what’s happening with Academy’s own productions? Well, there are plenty more on release, though as usual with these multi-market products, there are subtle changes in presentation, depending on where they are being sold.

Da Vinci series

Academy’s kits go under the simple title, ‘Da Vinci Machines Series’, rather than Italeri’s splendidly romantic ‘The Marvellous Machines’. Also, Academy bundles the da Vinci kits into a loose grouping called Educational Kits, which is fair enough, especially as these include rockets and robots - tasty stuff indeed.

AIRFIX SATURN 1B JOINS THE 'RETURN OF THE ROCKETS'

Mat Irvine reports:

Airfix plans to have reissued all its original 1:144 scale rocketry series by the end of 2011. The Apollo Saturn V and Vostok kits have already been released, as has the modified Skylab Saturn V. 

Saturn 1B redux

Meanwhile the last of the original launchers - the Saturn 1B - has been reissued recently, and this one is likely the most welcome for collectors, as it was last available way back, in 1991.

TINTIN MOVIE MECCANO KITS

David Jefferis reports:

The trailer of the latest Stephen Spielberg movie The Adventures of Tintin is with us, as is news that Meccano is to sell construction sets based on a Tintin theme. The movie is due for release on December 23, 2011, but the Meccano sets should be available well before that.

Handsome yellow seaplane is the subject of one of the Meccano sets.

CONFEDERATE RAIDER - ANOTHER AURORA KIT RECREATED BY MOEBIUS MODELS

Box-art is a near-identical recreation of the original Aurora painting, by Jo Kotula

Mat Irvine reports:

Besides recreating many science-fiction and fantasy models from Aurora’s earlier years - and adding quite a few new ones in a similar style - Moebius has also reproduced many historical figures. One of the most famous, and now highly collectible, was the Confederate Army Cavalry General, otherwise known as the ‘Confederate Raider’. 

Gold Knight background

The kit almost certainly came about because the horse was already in the Aurora catalogue as the mount for the Gold Knight of Nice, first issued in 1957. Consequently the Confederate Raider, issued in 1959, only needed to add the Officer figure. 

CAN THE AVERAGE KIT CONSTRUCTOR COMPETE WITH A READY-BUILT MODEL?

SMN report:

It’s a hard question to answer, bearing in mind that the model-maker ‘craft’ market is different from the ready-built ‘collector’ market, and that our idea of a well-made kit varies. But there are crossover points between the two, and it’s exemplified by the latest Corgi World War I biplane, a 1000-off Limited Edition 1:48 scale model of the Sopwith Camel flown by Captain CM McEwen in Italy, January 1919.

NEW BUS FOR LONDON - CORGI TO PRODUCE DOUBLE-DECKER ‘BORIS BUS’

SMN report:

The familiar double-deck London bus is returning to the streets very soon - as planned there’ll be some of them running on the streets in time for the 2012 London Olympics. Sponsored by London Mayor Boris Johnson, the New Bus for London (NB4L) is a designer treat to look at, with swooping glass exposing staircases at front and rear, plus easy access for entry and exit. In our view, easy-access alone makes it a worthwhile project - it’s no fun queuing in the rain while you wait to climb aboard one of the present designs.

Corgi New Bus for London

Now Corgi is getting into the act by planning a 1:76 scale diecast model of the NB4L, for release later this year, under the Original Omnibus Company (OOC) brand name. The pioneering NB4L design draws inspiration from the original Routemaster's instantly recognisable red paint, as well as the traditional hop on, hop off open rear platform, both of which will be reproduced in Corgi's new model, which will measure 146 mm (5.75 in) long. 

JUNO MISSION TO JUPITER - LEGO ASTRONAUTS ABOARD

SMN report:

The NASA Juno spacecraft blasted off on Friday, its aim, to discover more about the biggest planet in the Solar System, Jupiter. The Juno mission is uncrewed, but there are astronauts aboard, even if they are a non-human trio of 38 mm (1.5 in) high LEGO minifigures. 

Classical Minifigure set

The little-finger sized mascots represent the Roman goddess Juno, her husband Jupiter, and Galileo Galilei, the Renaissance astronomer who was first to spot Jupiter’s four biggest moons. To recognize his achievements, LEGO’s diminutive Galileo carries a telescope and Jupiter globe, which includes detail such as the cloud belts and the famed Great Red Spot. Juno carries a magnifying glass, while Jupiter holds a lightning bolt, as befits his status as god of sky and thunder. The figures are not made of the usual LEGO plastic though - instead, they are cast in durable aluminium.

Juno will use triple rows of solar cells for onboard power.

FREE PAPER BUS MODELS FOR YOU TO DOWNLOAD

SMN report:

We love paper models, so when we chanced on the neat and simple Paper Bus Connection site, we thought you would like a look too.

Paper Bus Connection is an online repository for dozens of beautifully crafted multi-view drawings of buses around the world, complete with bilingual instructions and simple tabs to glue the parts together.

AUTOMODELLISMO 2011 - AMAZING MODELS MAKE A MEGAHIT SHOW

Automodellismo 2011 winners: Rod (left) and Ian Knott. 

Mat Irvine reports on the show:

Our first Automodellismo Show ran on 31 July, with plenty of visitors through the doors, along with lots of their kids, who got in free, provided they were accompanied by an adult.

The superb Motor Museum in Miniature.

THE FLIGHT OF IKAROS, A SOLAR-SAIL SPACECRAFT

That’s the problem with space model kits says Mat Irvine: like buses, you wait years for one, then three come along, all at once! As I’ve said before, of the three main types of ‘space’ kits - rockets, crewed spacecraft, uncrewed satellites and probes - the last is the poor relation by far. Until recently, styrene-injection satellite kits numbered precisely three, with a few more available in other materials.

LEONARDO DA VINCI MULTI-CANNON GUNSHIP

Mat Irvine looks at an Italeri history kit:

Interest in the works of Leonardo da Vinci continues with the arrival of yet another kit of his inventions. This latest from Italeri in 'The Marvellous Machines' series, markets a kit originated by South Korea's Academy Plastic Model Co, and is one of the best-known Leonardo designs. Here it is termed the Multi-Cannon Gunship, though it's perhaps more generally considered as a very early tank design.

GIANT JEEP - DRAGON 'DESERT RAIDER' TO 1:6 SCALE

Mat Irvine looks at a four-wheeled shelf-filler:

Are kits getting bigger, or is it just my imagination? Or is there a good reason for sheer size? Well, here is a 1:6 scale vehicle that can lay claim to commonsense, for the Dragon SAS 4x4 Desert Raider Jeep is to the same scale as many popular military figures, such as GI Joe and Action Man, and also many of Dragon’s own superbly detailed military figures. This Jeep is not the first biggie from Hong Kong-based Dragon either - others include German vehicles, the Kubelwagen, Schwimmwagen, and Pz Kpfw II AusfB tank.