OUT OF THE BOX BARNSTORMER: READY2FLY YAK-130

Here's something amazing to think about as the days lengthen and life goes outside, a truly excellent flying scale Yakovlev machine.

SLEEK RETRO MARSLINER FROM GLENCOE MODELS BRINGS BACK A TASTE OF THE FUTURE PAST

This elegant spacecraft model is a reissue of the Glencoe Models Marsliner, itself a reissue of the original Strombecker kit of the TWA Moonliner that stood in Disneyland from 1955-1962.

SCHWARZENEGGER’S “I’LL BE BACK” CATCHPHRASE RETURNS: EXCELLENT 1:6 SCALE TERMINATOR FIGURE MARCHES IN FROM HOT TOYS

The T-800 Terminator strikes back with this latest 1:6 scale figure from the Hong Kong firm, Hot Toys.

NEW LOOK FOR SCALE MODEL NEWS

Watch out for a fresh new look at Scale Model News, due very soon.

TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION - DANGER HEADING OUR WAY

The new and upcoming Transformers: Age of Extinction movie gives science-fiction model makers another chance to get into robots and robotics. The scale model kit makers mostly steer clear of movie tie-ins, not so the toy manufacturers, giving us a chance for some excellent kit-bash projects.

BIGGER THAN YOUR AVERAGE MODEL KIT: BUILDING A GOODYEAR AIRSHIP

Goodyear blimps are flown by the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company for aerial advertising, and as airborne camera platforms for sports events. Goodyear introduced its first blimp The Pilgrim in 1925, and now here's a video look at the latest one, shot in speeded-up action during assembly in the Goodyear hangar.

CLASSIC SPACE COLLECTIBLES: CHOOSE FROM SCALE KITS TO TIN TOYS, ALL HIGHLY DESIRABLE AND APPRECIATING IN VALUE

The International Space Station is the size of a football field and circles the Earth more than 15 times a day. But before the ISS came a range of space station concepts, many of them featured in miniature form.

THE THREE STOOGES COMEDY TRIO RETURN IN A 1:25 SCALE SEDAN DELIVERY VAN KIT FROM AMT

Here’s a 1:25 scale auto kit that doesn’t quite fit under the AMT ‘Silver Screen Machine’ series, but does have a movie connection.

MASTER MODELLER HELPS CLIENTS MAKE MONEY WITH HIS ARCHITECTURAL VISIONS

Want a custom-built architectural grade model of the Bull Ring Shopping Centre, Brmingham, UK? Or maybe Heron City, in Barcelona, Spain? Or anything else that strikes your fancy? Then it’s time to look at the precise model work of a Suffolk master of precision miniatures, Nigel Purdy.

THE PHINAL PHLIGHT OF THE PHAREWELL PHANTOM

Here is a reissue of Revell’s standard 1:72 scale McDonnell Douglas F-4F Phantom, but this time the moulding is in a rich blue, with markings that represent a special scheme used to celebrate the Phantom’s final flight in Luftwaffe service, carried out on June 29, 2013.

INDUSTRIA MECHANIKA: HOME OF SCI-FI'S FINEST CONCEPT KITS WITH A DIFFERENCE

It's good to return to our friends at Industria Mechanika, purveyors of original science-fiction models that are a world away from standard-issue Star Wars and Star Trek.

BOMBER ALERT: AIRFIX 1:72 SCALE LANCASTER INCOMING

A welcome return to form for the famed World War II Avro Lancaster from Airfix, this version comes in two marking schemes and has plenty of welcome detail. Once upon a time, the Lancaster was the ‘first of the many’ big kits from Airfix - now it’s a ‘return of the first.’

LOTUS MOTORCYCLE: INSANELY GREAT C-01 ROAD-RIPPER BIKE NOW READY TO ROAR. IS IT THE GENESIS FOR A KIT-BASH?

All two-wheel fans start drooling now, for the famed racing car name Lotus is soon to be a motorbike brand.

SPRING IS HERE AND SO IS THE TOURIST SEASON: SO HOWZABOUT A MODEL-SPOTTING TRIP TO LONDON’S COVENT GARDEN?

A recent visit to the famed Covent Garden Piazza in London revealed that there are miniatures to be found in the unlikeliest places.

ANOTHER BLAST FROM THE PAST: ROUND 2 RE-RELEASE SOVIET-ERA VOSTOK SPACE LAUNCHER TO 1:100 SCALE

This is a 1:100 scale model of the classic Soviet A-Type launcher in its best-known Vostok version, as used to launch Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, on April 4, 1961. This time, the MPC kit comes as a Round 2 re-release.

RENWAL CLASSIC 'VISIBLE MAN' KIT: INVISIBLE SECRETS REVEALED

The Renwal Visible Man is one of the best-known model kits ever made. Here are details of how it came to be, as told by Adam Rosenbloom, grandson of the Visible Man’s inventor, Irving Rosenbloom.

INCOMING FROM THE EAST: TRUMPETER KITS FOR APRIL

Now established as a mainstream manufacturer, China's Trumpeter has a fascinating range of kits, and here’s a ‘Lucky Seven’ listing of April 2014 releases.

FANS OF TINTIN START COLLECTING HERE: FINELY ENGINEERED 1:43 SCALE DIECAST VEHICLES BASED ON ART IN THE ORIGINAL BOOKS

We don’t cover a great many diecasts at SMN, as this is primarily a model making site, rather than one designed for collectors. But there are justifiable exceptions, and the Moulinsart Tintin collection from France is one of them.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: PLENTY OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR KITS AND COLLECTIBLES

Watch Captain America and Black Widow infiltrate an ocean liner, taken over by the dreaded Batroc in this special extended, four-minute look at Marvel's Captain America: The Winter Soldier due for release on April 4, 2014.

LIVE FIRING: TARGET SHOOT WITH A SIDEWINDER MISSILE

You keen on modelling the F-16? Ever spent time painting and positioning the wingtip missiles? Well, here's a chance to see what one looks like for real as it flies 'off the rail' at a target.

BLAST FROM THE PAST: ‘RED BARON’ VON RICHTHOFEN FLIES BACK TO THE MODEL BENCH IN HASEGAWA’S BIG-SCALE BEAUTY

First produced by Hasegawa decades ago, the 1:8 scale structural-build Fokker Dr1 Triplane now earns the title ‘Hot Product’ from Hasegawa USA.

A TALE OF TWO BEETLE KITS: WOULD YOU LIKE TO BUILD ONE IN PLASTIC OR METAL?

Here we have two 1:24 scale Beetle kits, the Revell item a traditional plastic injection kit, the other a Maisto offering in a mixture of diecast metal and moulded plastic. Which one is best?

MASSIVE SCI-FI AIR POWER BASE: S.H.I.E.L.D. HELICARRIER TO 1:1400 SCALE FROM FANTASTIC PLASTIC

Good news for sci-fi and movie buffs, the huge Helicarrier from the 2012 Disney movie The Avengers is the latest release from the fiction and what-if specialist, Fantastic Plastic.

MODEL MAKER HEADS-UP: CLANGERS TV SERIES COMING BACK TO THE SCREEN, STARRING PINK, MOUSE-LIKE ALIENS

The Clangers, a cult-classic animated children's show is due to return to TV screens after - wait for it - more than 40 years absence, after the original series from 1969-72. The series should see a return to classic model-making, with old-fashioned model skills replacing smooth as silk, but perhaps rather characterless, computer graphics.

LEONARDO’S MARVELLOUS MACHINES: FLAPPING-WING ORNITHOPTER FROM ITALERI, AS DESIGNED BY THE RENAISSANCE INVENTOR AND PAINTER

This is one of the second batch of Leonardo creations, originated by Academy in South Korea, then repackaged for the European market by Italeri.

HASEGAWA BLOWS IN WITH 1:72 SCALE F-35A MULTIROLE STRIKE FIGHTER

In a year or two’s time, we may be inundated in Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II model kits; for now though, they are hardly two a penny, so a new 1:72 scale Hasegawa kit is more than welcome.

VAN DAMME: ZERO GRAVITY SPLIT REVEALS LINK TO SCALE MODEL DIORAMAS

Aaah… the 'Little Belgian' aka 'The Muscles from Brussels' strikes the Internet again with this oh-so-fun CGI splits-in-space. Last time we looked, it was heading toward the million-hits mark, with no end in sight.

DIORAMAS ON DISPLAY: ARTISTS SHOW OFF MINIATURE WORLDS, BUT ARE THEY ANY MORE ‘ARTY’ THAN A WELL-MADE SCALE MODEL?

These small artistic pieces were shown at the Ronchini Gallery, London, and use figures and materials that you can pick up at most hobby stores. With creative imagination, the microscopic scenes are taken well beyond scenic representation, and into new worlds of expressive thought. Or are they? Are they really art, or just artistic woffle?