FESTIVE GREETINGS TO YOU ALL

BEST WISHES TO ALL OUR READERS and have a truly excellent scale time over the festive break. And of course, we also wish you a prosperous and productive 2020.

FANTASY FIGURES INTERNATIONAL: NEW MAGAZINE TO HELP YOU MAKE BETTER MINIATURES

IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO SEE A NEW MODEL MAGAZINE, so we are pleased to see the latest from Guideline Publications, the fascinating Fantasy Figures International which is in stores now.

SCALE MODEL PORSCHE STARFIGHTER: ONE-OFF DESIGN CELEBRATES THE LATEST STAR WARS MOVIE

Porsche and Lucasfilm have created a 60-inch long concept spacecraft, the Tri-Wing S-91x Pegasus Starfighter, in time for the launch of the new movie Star Wars Episode VIII: The Rise of Skywalker. The Tri-Wing will be unveiled at the film’s world premiere on 16 December 2019, in Los Angeles, California.

SIR ROD STEWART'S RAIL MODEL BOOST

IT WASN'T A TOP SECRET but the fact that old-style rocker, Rod Stewart, was also a model railway enthusiast was probably not that well known, to many of his music fans, at least. But in the scale model world, Rod (‘Sir’ Rod since he was knighted in 2016) is yet another famous face who is a keen rail modeller.

'WAR OF THE WORLDS' SCI-FI INVASION FEATURES IN MODEL RAIL LAYOUT

THIS LAYOUT COMBINES traditional model rail construction with a dash of science fiction. The Edwardian sci-fi story War of the Worlds by HG Wells makes for an interesting, and very different, diorama setting.

NEAT BUILD-AND-IMPROVE 1:48 SCALE KAMOV KA-50 HELICOPTER

IS THIS NICELY-BUILT model more than the sum of its parts? Look and learn to see how careful work can result in something that really looks the biz.

1:48 SCALE FUEL TANKER FROM ATLANTIS MODELS: A NEW TAKE ON THE REVELL ORIGINAL

THIS EXCELLENT LITTLE RETRO MODEL will make a useful accessory for dioramas based on US 0-gauge railroads, and aircraft kits to 1:48 scale.

AIRFIX PRESENTS THE 1:72 SCALE AVRO VULCAN B.2

ENJOY THIS VIDEO giving details of the upcoming 1:72 scale Airfix Avro Vulcan B.2. This is looks to be a very exciting kit for anyone with an interest in military aviation of the Cold War era.

BATTLE OF MIDWAY COMPETITION WINNERS

THE BUSY HOBBY BOUNTIES store in Singapore recently had a model competition to coincide with the launch of the new Midway movie.

FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE: CHEVROLET FLOWER TRUCK CONVERSION

FOLLOWING RECENT JAMES BOND articles, here’s a piece on converting two kits into one of 007’s more unusual forms of transport.

MORE MODELS FROM SINGAPORE

MORE INTERESTING STUFF from Peter Chiang with these entries from his Hobby Bounties mini-Airfix James Bond competition 2019. The cars are all in 1:32 scale, the James Bond Aston Martin (above) being fitted with an ejection-seat cutout in the roof, and much else besides.

BOND IN MINIATURE - IN SINGAPORE

SOME INTERESTING PIX HAVE ARRIVED from our man in Singapore, Peter Chiang, of Hobby Bounties. The classic 1:12 scale Airfix Bentley is boxed here in 007 guise.

1:144 SCALE KIT FROM REVELL: THE ONE AND ONLY SIX-ENGINE ANTONOV GIANT

THERE’S AN OLD AVIATION question that runs, “Why do they put four engines on a 747? Answer: because they can’t fit six…” Well, that doesn’t apply to the Antonov An-225 as it has six engines as standard and holds the record as the largest aircraft in the world currently flying.

STAR WARS VIDEO BUILD - AT-ST WALKER TO 1:48 SCALE FROM BANDAI

WE FEATURED THE BANDAI AT-ST WALKER in July 2018. Here it is again, with a video to show you the way this delightful kit goes together.

CHUCK YEAGER'S BELL X-1 SUPERSONIC ROCKETPLANE

MODELLED BY REVELL AT 1:32 SCALE, this is the largest conventional kit of the first aircraft to break the sound barrier, a mission achieved on 14 October 1947. The flight was made ten years to the month before the launch of the Soviet Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite.

CUSTOM TRUCKS – 1:24 SCALE WONDER WOMAN CHEVY AND 1:1 TESLA

THIS HANDSOMELY PACKAGED 1:24 scale cab-over engine (COE) Chevrolet pickup truck from the 1950s adds a gleaming retro flavour to a neatly sculpted Wonder Woman figure.

HAYNES MODEL BUILDERS' MANUAL BY MAT IRVINE

DESTINED TO BECOME ANOTHER MUST-HAVE on the bookshelves of scale model makers, this new title is written by SMN contributor Mat Irvine.

JETSONS AND CYLONS vs STAR WARS AND SKYDIVER AT SMALLSPACE 8

AN INVASION OF SCI-FI AND SPACE MODELS LANDED at last Sunday's Smallspace 8 2019 event. Here are some more pictures we took at the show.

PLENTY OF ALIENS AND OTHER ENTITIES DROP IN ON SMALLSPACE 8

 

THE SKILLS AND CRAFTSMANSHIP of miniature makers were in generous supply at today's Smallspace 8 show. Here are just a few of the entries on display.

SMALLSPACE 8 TOUCHDOWN: SUNDAY JULY 7

SMALLSPACE RETURNS this weekend. This time, it's the eighth edition of the annual sci-fi/realspace model show. For any UK space buff, Smallspace has become an unmissable event.

2019 MODEL COMPETITION IN SINGAPORE

HOBBY BOUNTIES OF SINGAPORE continues with its annual Airfix-linked model competition. In 2019, its online presence was boosted by the dedicated Airfix Cup website.

AIRFIX 1:24 SCALE GRUMMAN HELLCAT RELEASED

THIS WEEK SEES THE OFFICIAL release of the 1:24 scale Airfix Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat, a fighter aircraft that was instrumental to victory in the Pacific Theatre of World War II.

METAL AND PLASTIC JADA BATMOBILE KIT TO 1:24 SCALE

THERE ARE PLENTY OF BATMOBILES available, but this 1:24 scale metal and plastic version from Jada is well worth a close look.

THE REVELL STORY

THE REVELL STORY is an excellent book that provides in-depth reading about one of the modelling world's most famous names.

CLEAR THE SKIES - THE ASF-X SHINDEN II AIMS TO DOMINATE AIR BATTLES. 1:72 SCALE KIT FROM HASEGAWA

FOR VIDEO GAME FANS, the Hasegawa 1:72 scale Ace Combat ASF-X Shinden II assembles to make an excellent fantasy model. For aviation freaks, the kit provides a chance to build a ‘what-if’ design, based loosely on the Sukhoi Su-47 Berkut (Golden Eagle).

GREASED LIGHTNING FORD: CUSTOM CAR STAR OF THE 1978 HIT MOVIE GREASE.

 

A PREQUEL TO Grease, one of the most successful musicals of all time, has been recently announced. So this 1:25 scale kit of one of the cars featured in the movie looks to be to be a well-timed release.

ACE TWO-YEAR CATALOG FROM ITALERI

THIS EXCELLENT ONLINE CATALOG from Italeri shows you the output for this year and next. It's well worth a good long browse. 

DEFEAT THE DREADED DUST WITH EASY AND QUICK STORAGE SOLUTIONS

ONCE UPON A TIME my school-age model-maker gang used to meet up each Saturday morning, then go pack-hunting for the latest model kit.

CALIFORNIA WHEELS 'AMERICAN GRAFFITI' CHEVROLET IMPALA

THIS 1:25 SCALE CHEVROLET IMPALA is one of the Revell California Wheels collection. It can also be used to make the custom Impala that starred in the 1973 movie American Graffiti, directed by George Lucas, also famed for his Star Wars and Indiana Jones sagas.

CLASSIC BATMAN FIGURE KIT FROM MOEBIUS MODELS

THIS 1:8 SCALE BATMAN KIT FEATURES the iconic 1960s TV series original creation, as played by Adam West.

1:16 SCALE RED BARON AND HIS DOG STOP-FRAME VIDEO

HERE'S ANOTHER FINE VIDEO BY Tom Grigat. It's an interesting vid featuring figure work, a subject we haven't featured before.

CLASSIC 1957 CHRYSLER 300C TO 1:25 SCALE FROM AMT

IN REAL LIFE, THE 1957 CHRYSLER 300C came with long tail fins and a yawning chrome grille. And this 1:25 scale AMT kit models the original nicely.

ROARING TIGER: 1:25 SCALE 'GET SMART' SUNBEAM SPORTS CAR FROM AMT

THIS IS A REISSUE of an original, and very popular, AMT kit. It’s a 1:25 scale model of the Anglo-American Sunbeam Tiger, a V8 roadster built from 1964-67, by the British Rootes Group.

GERRY ANDERSON'S SPACE 1999 NUCLEAR WASTE DISPOSAL AREA DIORAMA KIT

GERRY ANDERSON MOONBASE ALPHA FANS have the chance to make a realistic diorama with the MPC 1:48 scale Nuclear Waste Disposal Area 2 kit.