ROLLING THUNDER! START YOUR ENGINES FOR AUTOMODELLISMO 2012

SMN report:

Automodellismo is the only UK show specializing in model cars, and 2012 sees the second day-event held at Hanslope Village Hall, north of Milton Keynes, Bucks. Automodellismo 2012 is run by SMN Model-Meister Mat Irvine, and Auto-Ace Paul Fitzmaurice of little-cars. Mark your diary now, as the show runs for just one day only, Sunday April 15, 2012.

2012 INCOMING - 1:18 SCALE MG RACE CAR FROM OTTOMOBILE

SMN report:

Due soon from OttOmobile of France is a 1:18 scale model of a “complete animal” of a mid-engined British race car, the MG Metro 6R4 from the 1980s.

INCOMING - HYPER-DETAIL GEMINI SPACE CAPSULE PHOTO-ETCH SET FROM LVM STUDIOS

SMN Report: 

Netherlands-based LVM Studios has a treat in store for real-space fans in April, with an interior super-detail package, designed to fit the 1:24 scale Revell Gemini space capsule kit, itself a recent ‘Classics’ re-release.

HOBBY MASTER COLLECTORS HAVE THEIR OWN PROFILE PAGES

Hobby Master of Hong Kong makes a wide and expanding range of diecast models, of both aviation and military armour subjects. The aircraft in particular hit a sweet spot, with sizes that range in scale from 1:200 airliners to 1:32 combat types.

LEGO IN SPACE - ASTRONAUT BUILDS MODEL ISS IN ORBIT

SMN report:

After posting news on LEGO’s upcoming R2D2 last week, we were sent a link to LEGO in space, for real this time. Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) recently assembled a one-off model as part of an education linkup between the space agency NASA and the Danish LEGO company.

IN STORES NOW - HOT-ROD ‘DARK SHADOWS’ VAMPIRE VAN FROM ROUND 2

SMN update from David Jefferis:

Oops, this Vampire Van has been in the ‘passed us by’ department for a while. It’s a fun kit that was released a couple of months ago by Round 2 under the MPC name, and is now generally available. The Vampire Van is well worth a look, not least because it paves the way for the upcoming vampire movie Dark Shadows, starring the excellent Johnny Depp and bodacious Michelle Pfeiffer.

MOON GODDESS TAKES FLIGHT - AOSHIMA KAGUYA-SELENE MOON PROBE KIT

SMN update from Mat Irvine:

The Japanese kit company Aoshima continues to surprise us with brand-new kits in a growing range of satellites and space probes. 

COCKPIT DETAILS FOR JUNKERS Ju 88 MODEL MAKERS

SMN report:

We were recently sent two rather nice contemporary drawings of the Junkers Ju 88 - and thought they would come in very useful as background reference for interior detail fans.

STAR WARS R2D2 - LEGO MEGA-MODEL COMING SOON

SMN update:

Here’s the LEGO take on the company’s upcoming Star Wars release: “Presenting the iconic R2-D2 as you've never seen him before! Everyone's favorite droid from the Star Wars galaxy is now part of the Ultimate Collector Series and features fantastic detailing, such as retractable third leg, front panels that open to reveal a universal computer interface arm and a circular saw, rotating head...”

PARACHUTE FLOATS TO EARTH - LATEST LEONARDO FROM REVELL

SMN Report from Mat Irvine:

Here we see the latest in the innovative Revell series, depicting the machines and inventions of the Renaissance artist and inventor, Leonardo da Vinci.

SMALL BUT PERFECTLY FORMED - HALF-TRACK AFV COMING FROM REVELL

SMN report:

With their aircraft models, Revell have given us some aces in big 1:32 scale, but now it’s time for a kit in the smaller ‘classic’ scale - 1:72 that is. Coming to the front line in a couple of months is an extremely neat model of a hugely successful World War II German half-track infantry hauler and gun truck.

ROCKET ENGINEER WHO DESIGNED THE REVELL XSL-01 MOONSHIP MODEL

SMN Weekender from Mat Irvine:

The recent release of the 1:72 scale Fantastic Plastics XSL-01 in resin gives me the opportunity to look back at the kit that started it all - the 1:96 scale XSL-01 from Revell, and its designer, Ellwyn E. Angle.

SPACE-X IS TEN YEARS OLD - AND NOW TAKING US BEYOND THE SHUTTLE ERA

SMN report from David Jefferis:

SpaceX is the sort of company that brings a smile to the face of many a space buff. Under the leadership of Elon Musk, who set the company up a decade ago in 2002, SpaceX has gone from strength to strength. Right now, SpaceX is aiming to make the first commercial flight to the International Space Station, using its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule combo. And guess what? There’s a model rocket available from SpaceX that you can build and fly.

RUSSIAN T-50 STEALTH FIGHTER FLYING IN FROM REVELL

SMN report:

Pre-orders are now being taken for the Revell 1:72 scale Sukhoi T-50 Stealth combat aircraft, with deliveries of the kit due to start on April 7, 2012.

INCOMING - CARTOON COUPE AND STRANGE TIME MACHINE FROM ROUND 2

SMN Report:

Round 2 Models, owners of the AMT, MPC and Polar Lights brands, are well into a busy 2012. R2M has just signed a licensing deal to release models of the cars raced by drag racing champ ‘Ohio George’ Montgomery, otherwise known to his fans as ‘King of the Gassers’. This quarter-mile legend ran some of the best-known supercharged AA/Gas coupes ever, including the potent 1933 Malco Willys, which ran a best high eight-second time down the strip, topping out at 257 km/h (160 mph).

INCOMING SUMMER 2012 - 'CAPTAIN AMERICA' SUPER-SCIENCE HARDWARE

SMN report:

We’ve got a year of science-fiction models flying our way from Fantastic Plastic - and some of our huge faves are included in the list, starting with some handsome Luftwaffe 1946-style ironmongery from last year’s Captain America movie.

AMAZING DETAIL FROM ZOUKEI-MURA

SMN Weekender:

Zoukei-Mura is one of the newer kit manufacturers, and has a product range to match, with just four major items currently in the range, backed up by accessory sets in resin, plastic and metal. Detail - and lots of it - is a prime aim for Zoukei-Mura, and the latest kit of the Douglas AD-6 Skyraider is simply packed with intricate mouldings.

BIG-SCALE MOTORIZED FOAM-BOARD CAR KITS

SMN update: GreenLight Toys has unveiled a series of foam-paper car kits for 2012, five American muscle cars and one muscle truck. The MotoBuildz aren't exactly models, they're more like those 500-piece landscape puzzles you find at educational toy stores, only with fewer pieces and less frustration.

MOEBIUS ‘SEAVIEW’ VOYAGE SUB UPDATE

SMN report:

Moebius Models have posted some extra pictures of the latest Seaview submarine kit. When assembled, the kit should measure some 990 mm (39 in) long, and it looks very good indeed. In the words of one pleased modelmaker: “When they say huge they mean it. It is a big sub with some great detail work. I made the mistake thinking after I built it, my son could play with it in the tub, WRONG. I do not know what I was thinking...”

AHOY THERE... ‘SKIPJACK’ AND ‘SEAVIEW’ NUCLEAR SUBS APPROACHING FROM MOEBIUS

SMN report:

Mat Irvine reported from the 2011 iHobby Expo in November, and one of the upcoming kits that looked very interesting indeed was the 1:72 scale USS Skipjack nuclear submarine. Well, the sub’s now coming into view and should be available very soon indeed.

JOHN CARTER - TERRIFIC MOVIE, BUT WHERE ARE THE MODELS AND THE KITS?!

SMN review:

For anyone raised on early science-fiction, the name Edgar Rice Burroughs needs no introduction. For the rest of us, he was the US writer famously responsible for the original Tarzan books, and now his sci-fi ‘Barsoom’ (Mars) titles have hit the big screen in the form of the latest Disney movie John Carter.

2012 INCOMING - ITALERI CELEBRATES 50 YEARS OF KITMAKING

Leading kit company from Italy:

Italeri is making a birthday party of its half-century anniversary this year, by releasing all sorts of gear, such as a coffee table book, calendar, cap, t-shirt and commemorative 1:72 scale Fiat G.55 fighter plane kit. Where room permits, retail outlets may display the book-G.55 duo in point of sale displays like the one above. All this comes on top of an already packed monthly release schedule.

REVELL KIT COMPANIES JOIN HANDS ACROSS THE ATLANTIC

Mat Irvine reports:

The two Revell divisions joined forces again recently, when Hobbico, US owner of Revell-Monogram, bought out Revell-Germany, so bringing two companies under one banner. Revell-Monogram will continue with US-market kits, in which cars dominate, while Revell-Germany’s catalogue is more aircraft and military. However, more non-static kit products - the bulk of Hobbico’s sales - might come to Europe. 

‘BIG MINI’ - BMW SHOWS OFF JCW SPORT COUNTRYMAN

Mega Mini - less height, more speed:

Revealed by BMW Mini just in time for the Geneva Motor Show next week is the ultra-sporty Countryman JCW. It earns its keep here as a kitbash option for modelmakers keen on the 1:24 scale Hasegawa Mini Cooper S ALL4 Countryman.

BONSAI BONUS - MICRO-TREE MEETS HEAVY-METAL TRIKE-BIKE

Competition for Japan?

It took only a short while after our article on the Japanese artist Takanori Aiba for SMN contributor Mat Irvine to email us this pic of his neat UK competitor.