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.
Scale modelling need not be limited to plastic kits. The miniatures (below) are based on ready-made metal-and-plastic models, tweaked, adjusted, and repainted to make them one-off originals.
At left is a Maisto 1:25 scale VW 'splitty' Samba van, complete with transparent roof section, wide wheels, and a sound system interior. Mods include a repaint, and superdetailed engine compartment.
Also from Maisto is the 1:24 scale Ford rod (middle) which is presently under conversion to 'super-rusty' Mad Max mode. The chromed engine will be replaced by an electric motor, suitable for the dystopian future depicted in the movie series.
The 1:24 scale Jada Batmobile (right) has rotating wheels, lift-up canopy halves, and a rotating mini-gun in the nose. It's already a good-looking beast, but a reworking next year will see it converted into a futuristic explorer-laboratory, designed for operations on a distant exoplanet.
At bottom are variations on an Ironman theme, as seen on display at Forbidden Planet, a leading store for sci-fi and cult entertainment. Scroll down to see the trailer for the original Ironman movie.
Enjoy the trailer – for SMN, it's the best in the Ironman movie series.