2012 INCOMING - FINE MOLDS ‘SKY CRAWLER’ PUSHER-PROP KIT TO 1:48 SCALE

SMN report:

We’ve long had the popular modelmaking genre ‘Luftwaffe 1946’ catering for alternate-history buffs of European World War II-era warfare, but less well-known are alt-history scenarios for the Far East. So it’s all the more interesting to see this 1:48 scale Fine Molds kit, of a Japanese pusher-prop fighter.

RADIO-CONTROL MINI COUPE FROM TAMIYA

SMN report:

Radio control (RC) fans have a chance to go racing with the Tamiya electric Mini JCW Coupe, modelled on the car that took part in the 2011 24-Hour Nurburgring race.

ON A ROLL - HOT STUFF FROM HASEGAWA

SMN report:

Hasegawa of Japan is bringing us hot new and revised products at a pace-and-a-half. Here a taste of what’s in store - space, sci-fi, aviation, and... girls!

MOEBIUS DRACULA WINS 2012 HORROR AWARD

David Jefferis reports:

There are some big smiles at Moebius Models this month, as the 1:8 scale Bela Lugosi Dracula kit won the 2012 Rondo Award. The Moebius win is one of several made in the horror genre, and is for the ‘Best Toy, Model or Collectible.’

MARKLIN TINPLATE WARSHIP HMS ‘TERRIBLE’ SELLS FOR RECORD MONEY

SMN report:

An ultra-rare steam-propelled tinplate cruiser became the most expensive single toy ever sold at a UK auction on Friday, April 20, when it shot past the estimate of £40-60,000 GBP to fetch a record £76,000 GBP ($122,500 USD). 

AUTOMODELLISMO 2012 SHOW REPORT

Show update from Mat Irvine:

The second Automodellismo Show - the show that features model cars inside and 1:1 scale classic cars outside - was very successfully held last Sunday, April 15, 2012. This is the second year under its new banner and location, in Hanslope village, Buckinghamshire, UK.

'DARK SHADOWS' FIGURE KITS FROM ROUND 2

Mat Irvine reports:

Here we have a pair of figure kits from the old TV gothic soap opera ‘Dark Shadows’, joining the recently-introduced Vampire Van. The reissued MPC kits represent two stars of the show, the vampire Barnabas Collins, and the werewolf Christopher 'Chris' Jennings.

CONTEST - DESIGN A STEAMPUNK FIGURE CONTEST, WINNER GETS IT MADE AS A MODEL KIT

SMN report:

The Industria Mechanika sci-fi model outfit is going from strength to strength, and now there’s a contest on to spice things up. If you’re a steampunk fan (and we are) then IM’s invitation to send in figure designs in the genre is a tempting one.

GOLD AND SILVER MODEL DROIDS CELEBRATE 35 YEARS OF STAR WARS

SMN report:

Coming up soon is the 35th anniversary of Star Wars Episiode IV: A New Hope, the first movie in the epic science-fiction movie saga, first shown on May 25, 1977. We’ve been fans ever since experiencing that mighty roar of an Imperial Star Destroyer sliding down the screen after the text-crawl intro, one of the best movie-openers ever made. Now here’s your chance to buy a bit of history, in the form of precious-metal miniatures of the famed robotic pair, 3PO and R2D2.

BLAST FROM THE PAST - AIRFIX BLOWER BENTLEY ROARS IN AGAIN

SMN report:

It’s Airfix news again today, with a look at the re-release of the 41-year-old (Yes, forty one years!) 4.5 litre Bentley to 1:12 scale. The kit’s certainly been around the block a few times, and here it is again - yet it still assembles to make a handsome replica of a fantastic race-winning car.

TITANIC HIT THE ICEBERG 100 YEARS AGO

SMN report:

Yesterday marked the centenary of the infamous sinking of the White Star liner Titanic, after colliding with an iceberg on her maiden transatlantic voyage. And to mark the 100th anniversary, Airfix has a pair of Titanic models to build, in two scales.

MAKE TRACKS TOMORROW FOR AUTOMODELLISMO

It's the second Automodellismo show, and it's bigger and better than ever. Here's a taster for the world of miniature motors - and we're looking forward to seeing you there.

100 YEARS OF THE ROYAL FLYING CORPS WITH WINGNUT WINGS

SMN report:

In 1912, war clouds were gathering over Europe, and leading the charge for command of the air was the British RFC (Royal Flying Corps), set up on this day, 100 years ago. And suitably enough, the New Zealand-based model manufacturer Wingnut Wings has another 1:32 scale World War I aircraft kit for us, the biplane FE2b, as used by flight crews of the RFC.

BARGAINS AT COMET MINIATURES, HOME OF UK SCI-FI

Mat Irvine reports:

Comet Miniatures, the London-based specialist modelling haven for all things science-fiction, fantasy, and the ‘generally unusual’, is having a ‘pavement sale’ over the weekend of April 20-22, 2012.

HASEGAWA RELEASES LIMITED EDITION 1:72 SCALE LOCKHEED STARFIGHTER CCV

SMN report:

The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter was originally labelled ‘the missile with a man in it’, for its performance and for the tiny wings, seemingly too small to keep it in the air. The aircraft was widely produced, and one of the most interesting variations of the Lockheed jet was the one-off experimental CCV, now featured as a limited-edition 1:72 scale release from Hasegawa.

NEW FOR 2012 - ‘MAN IN SPACE’ ROCKET FAMILY FROM AMT

Mat Irvine reports:

AMT originally became the best-known producer of model car kits, but in the mid-1960s, the company was also known for issuing the first Star Trek kits. And, as an adjunct to the science-fiction, AMT also moved to science fact, producing the first - and to date the only - kit of all five US manned space launchers prior to the Space Shuttle. And now, here they are back again.

EASTER CAR SHOW - AND COUNTDOWN TO AUTOMODELLISMO 2012

SMN Easter Update:
Trust you're enjoying the Easter break, and that those chocolate eggs aren't adding to the paunch. Here's a reminder that this coming weekend, the UK's premier model car show, Automodellismo 2012, is open for a one-day special event on Sunday.

AMAZING MERCS - CARVED IN WOOD, HONED IN METAL

SMN report:

We’re not sure whether this counts as ‘art’, ‘craft’, or ‘modelmaking’. Whatever, it’s an amazing piece of work, created by a skilled German, who has hand-carved a life-sized replica of the classic 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL ‘Gullwing’, the sports car with the flip-up doors.

NOW TAKING ORDERS - STEAMPUNK FIGURES FROM INDUSTRIA MECHANIKA

SMN report:

Industria Mechanika has just opened the order book on a trio of precisely sculpted scale figures, ‘Deckhands’ for the Ralph McQue Remora anti-gravity floating cargo ship. The excellent Remora was released earlier this year, and it’s good to see the steampunk-inspired fantasy vessel will have a scurvy crew before long.

AMAZING ‘SAND FLEA’ ROBOT CAR LEAPS INTO THE AIR

SMN report:

Sand Flea is a four-wheel robotic vehicle with an extra ace up its sleeve - on top of its normal radio-control (RC) mode, at the flick of a switch it can hunker down and leap high into the air - up a cliff, onto a roof, even over a wall!

APRIL ITALERI - MARKING 30 YEARS SINCE THE FALKLANDS WAR

Yesterday’s 30th anniversary of the Argentina-UK conflict saw Italian kitmaker Italeri releasing models of some British aircraft used in that short but bloody conflict.

INCOMING - AIRFIX 1:48 WESTLAND ARMY LYNX AH.7 HELO

SMN report:

Airfix has released the new-tool 1:48 scale Westland AH.7 Lynx helicopter, an Army support machine currently hard at work in Afghanistan.