LITTLE AND LARGE TYPHOONS INCOMING - REVELL PROVIDES 1:32 AND 1:144 OPTIONS.

SMN report

The big, 349 mm (13.7 in) wingspan 1:32 scale Eurofighter Typhoon is an imposing beast when you open up the box. It’s got 391 parts, a fuselage length just short of 500 mm (19.7 in), and it’s a completely new mould, with decent surface details and recessed panel lines. The level of detail rivals Revell’s other big-scale kits, with an 11-piece ejector seat, moveable canards,  jet nozzles in two configurations, detailed air brake, landing gear and bay, plus separate ailerons, flaps and rudder. 

This Typhoon is ready for combat

ECM pods are provided, as are the in-flight refuelling probe optionally extended or retracted, and two drop tanks. Revell has really gone to town with the weapons fit, with a total of 14 missiles ready for bear - four Meteors, four AMRAAMs, two Sidewinders, two IRIS-Ts, and finally a brace of ASRAAMs for the RAF version. There's also a maintenance stand with supports and suspension points to display one of the two EJ200 engines. Decals for the German Luftwaffe and British RAF round out the kit.

U-BOAT SUBMARINE CUTAWAY KIT FROM REVELL

1:144 scale model makers can home in on the latest Revell nautical kit, the World War II-era U-2540 (‘U’ stands for ‘unterseeboot’, or undersea boat btw). Revell’s kit of this Type XXI submarine - now known as the Wilhelm Bauer - is a neat and tidy rendering of the 76.7 m (251 ft 8 in) original that was launched in January 1945.

Details, details...

The kit reissue contains 163 components, which build up to make a model some 532 mm (20.9 in) long, and for display purposes the U-2540 can sit neatly on the included stand. On deck, anti-aircraft guns, antennas, periscope and snort mast are included. But it’s the cutaway port side that turns this model into a desirable addition to a miniature naval force. As you can see in the pictures, the torpedo compartment, crew quarters, control room, diesel engines, electric motors, and batteries are all present.

BUILDING A 1:1 SCALE BOEING 777 FOR BRITISH AIRWAYS

David Jefferis reports
There’s nothing like a speeded-up movie for revealing the secrets of how things work, and this three-minute movie is an excellent example. Of course, what you don't see is the immense amount of hard work that went into the making of it - but no matter, the result is well worthwhile.

Triple Seven
The subject of the movie is Boeing’s big-twin, the 777 ‘Triple-Seven’, described as his ‘favourite seat’, by an ex-BA friend of mine. The real thing has seats for more than 300 passengers, and one version - the 777 200LR - has flown more than halfway round the world non-stop. More than 860 Boeing 777s are in airline service, with the order book tally so far at 1148 aircraft.

Boeing 777 models
The 777 is more widely represented in the ready-built market than in construction kits, and there’s a range of them in various scales available here.

A call for interesting airliner kits
Having said that, for 1:144 scale enthusiasts, the Hasegawa 777 in Thai markings assembles into a fairly decent model. However, here’s a call to manufacturers to put some imagination into the subject, to offer something more interesting to the airline enthusiast.

For example, how about more cutaway models, with seats and freight decks on display? And while we’re at it, how about some crew and passenger figures to sit in those seats, and cargo pallets to fill the hold?

How about a section of tarmac for a mini-diorama setting? And some vehicles to populate that tarmac, such as refuelling tankers and baggage handling trucks, complete with personnel?

And in these days of cheap electronics, surely it would be easy enough to provide a lighting set and sound effects...

CONVAIR XAB-1 ATOMIC BOMBER FROM FANTASTIC PLASTIC

SMN reports
More gorgeousness from our friends at Fantastic Plastic this month, with yet another weird and wonderful ‘never-flew’ project from the Cold War era. This blast from the past is a 1:144 scale kit of the Convair XAB-1, originally released by Hawk Models in 1959, to the fit-the-box scale of 1:180.

Rare original kit from Hawk models
In keeping with the heroic concepts of the 1950s, the XAB was a biggie, and FP’s 30-component resin kit scales out to a length of some 432 mm (17 in) with a wingspan of 305 mm (12 in) when built. As you can see from the pictures, it looks great when assembled.

Cold War project
A word about the XAB project itself: in the 1950s, US designers explored many ways to gain air superiority over the rival USSR. As planned, the XAB incorporated nuclear power, with engines that could theoretically provide near-infinite range, and flight-times limited only by human endurance on the part of the flight crew. The two parasite jets could be released when necessary to fight off enemy aircraft, allowing the XAB to fly on unmolested to its target.

There’s lots more information at Fantastic Plastic here.

SPACE MODELS FROM NEW WARE OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC

SMN reports
The Czech company New Ware is one of the smaller model outfits, but the products are second to none and regularly win plaudits and awards. The items pictured here show just a sampling of the space kits in which New Ware specializes.

Astronauts in action
The 1:24 scale Apollo 17 figures are particularly neat, though maybe the weathering of these demo models is a tad overenthusiastic - the model is tagged by New Ware as: ‘The Last Men on the Moon’ but maybe it could also be: ‘The Dirtiest Mean on the Moon’. No matter though, as the level of weathering is entirely up to you, the modelmaker.

Early cruise missile
The latest New Ware kit is the 1:144 scale Navaho supersonic cruise missile, a US project that ran from 1946 until mid-1957, when it was cancelled in favour of ICBM rockets. The two-stage vertical launch system consisted of a rocket booster, toting a winged airframe for the cruise phase. An interesting choice from New Ware, the Navaho has just 24 parts plus decals, the cruise missile having a wingspan of some 60 mm (2.4 in).

The Navaho is available direct from New Ware, whose online Gallery shows more assembled kits, and is certainly well worth a look for its interesting and unusual subject matter. In the real world, only one Navaho survives (pictured above), and we are told that it’s on display at the south entrance of the Cape Canaveral Air Force Base, in Florida.

Visit New Ware here.

GIANT 1:72 SCALE C-17 TACTICAL AIRLIFTER FROM ANIGRAND

SMN reports
For lovers of b-i-g model aircraft, and cargolifters in particular, then Hong Kong-based Anigrand has the answer, in the form of its newly-reissued 1:72 scale Boeing C-17 Globemaster III.

The C-17 is often nicknamed ‘Moose’ for its tall winglets, but it’s a lot faster than the animal that’s for sure - a fully loaded C-17 can leave the ground in just 1064 m (3500 ft) and cruise at some 833 km/h (518 mph), all the while carrying a 70-tonne US Army M-1 Abrams tank. If you’ve ever seen a C-17 at an air display, it’s likely you will have seen the short-landing capability, and its showpiece, reversing and manoeuvring on the ground by using thrust reverse from the four underwing engines.

Anigrand’s model is certainly a shelf-filler, with a wingspan of 722 mm (30.4 in). Its length is little shorter, at 736 mm (29 in). It’s a mixed-material kit, with 99 components. Most of these are in resin, with 14 metal and a clear-cast glazed flight-deck window section.

SMN would like to see a big-scale injection kit of the C-17 from another manufacturer though - such a cargolifter begs for masses of internal detail, an operating loading ramp, crew figures and flight deck, plus a full load of  troops and AFVs - well, here’s hoping!
 
Visit Anigrand here to order direct.


The smaller and more manageable 1:144 scale Revell C-17 kit is a decent kit that is also worth considering. Despite its smaller size, there is loads of detail, including a particularly neat airstair on the nose portside.

EARLY BRITISH JET BOMBER 1:144 SCALE KIT FROM ANIGRAND

SMN reports
While we’re on the subject of British aircraft (see Fairey Swordfish, March 14) we note that Anigrand in Hong Kong certainly know how to find rare planes for a collection, indeed the company motto is: ‘Fill the Gaps’.

And a recent Anigrand gap-filler is the 1:144 scale resin Short SA4 Sperrin, a British jet bomber design dating back to the post-World War II era. It was primarily built as a ‘traditional but safe’ backup, in case the more advanced swept-wing Vickers Valiant, also under development, ran into major problems.

In fact, the Valiant proceeded without a big hitch, so the Sperrin was sidetracked after two flying prototypes had been built, these being used for research trials testing British nuclear weapons.

The 88-part Anigrand Sperrin is well-detailed, and comes complete with a transparent cast-plastic window block. However, this fills the whole flightdeck area, so you’ll have some careful masking to do - only the Sperrin’s multiple windows were transparent, and the rest of this component should be in bare metal finish to match the fuselage.

Otherwise, detail is good for a resin kit, and with the usual proviso that working with resin takes more care than injection components, the Sperrin should build into an unusual and attractive display piece. And the kit doesn’t stop with the Sperrin - Anigrand’s policy is to often include smaller ‘mystery’ kits along with the main item. And here we get a trio of jet-age Brits, though there’s no problem in identifying them - a Hawker P1127, Short SB5, and Gloster Javelin, an excellent choice for those interested in the early years of the jet age.

Component layout picture courtesy Anigrand.

To order direct visit Anigrand here.