ACADEMY F-35A LIGHTNING II: 1:72 SCALE VIDEO BUILD

THE LOCKHEED MARTIN F-35 LIGHTNING II has had a long, expensive, and troubled development. However, the stealth aircraft is finally heading to operational service. For model makers, that means building a kit of the twin-fin stealth machine.

INCOMING - HELICOPTER PARTWORK FEATURES 1:72 SCALE SIKORSKY UH-60L BLACK HAWK

SMN REPORT

“Build up your Chopper Squad” is the rallying call on the sales video for this latest UK partwork release, Part 1 available now. And it looks an interesting buy for helo fans, as there’s a 1:72 scale model included with every issue.

LEONARDO, F-16i, K9 THUNDER - HOT KITS FROM ACADEMY

SMN report:

The Italeri versions of Academy’s Leonardo da Vinci kits are proving successful, so what’s happening with Academy’s own productions? Well, there are plenty more on release, though as usual with these multi-market products, there are subtle changes in presentation, depending on where they are being sold.

Da Vinci series

Academy’s kits go under the simple title, ‘Da Vinci Machines Series’, rather than Italeri’s splendidly romantic ‘The Marvellous Machines’. Also, Academy bundles the da Vinci kits into a loose grouping called Educational Kits, which is fair enough, especially as these include rockets and robots - tasty stuff indeed.

LEONARDO DA VINCI AUTOMOBILE 'SELF-PROPELLING CART' KIT FROM ITALERI

Mat Irvine inspects

Here is another model in the growing range of Leonardo da Vinci designs, a 1:12 scale (or thereabouts) kit originated by Academy in South Korea, but made and marketed in Europe by the Italian firm Italeri.

The kit models Leonardo’s idea for a mechanical self-propelled cart, which would be, I suppose - if it had ever been built - the first example of a perfectly feasible ‘automobile’, predating Karl Benz’s three-wheeler by some 400 years.

LEONARDO DA VINCI LIVES ON WITH THE REVELL ‘AERIAL SCREW’ KIT - A RENAISSANCE-ERA HELICOPTER DESIGN

Mat Irvine inspects an interesting mixed media kit

In the middle of 2010, Scale Model News carried a report on one of the new kits from Italeri, originated by Academy, that explore the technological design marvels from the pen of that Renaissance Man, Leonardo da Vinci. At the time it was said that this literally was a rebirth of interest as you would be getting models from not one, but three different kit companies. Two would use conventional plastic - as does the Academy/Italeri - but Revell planned kits that would use materials that Leonardo would certainly be familiar with - wood, cloth, and cord.

ACADEMY ONTOS TANK-KILLER KIT TO 1:35 SCALE

SMN reports
The ROK (Republic of Korea) kit maker Academy is on something of a roll at the moment - company representatives were delighted to collect 2010 Modell des Jahres (Model of the Year) awards at the recent Nuremberg Toy Fair for their quite superb 1:35 scale Merkava tank and 1:72 scale M977 cargo truck.

And now Academy has a new-release 1:35 kit of the somewhat less-known M50A1 Ontos tank-killer. This was a small tracked vehicle in service from 1959-1965, and used with some success in the Vietnam War, by the US Marine Corps for fire support. Armament was a central machine gun, surrounded by six 106 mm (4.2 in) recoilless rifles, three on each side. Like all weapon systems, the Ontos (from a Greek word meaning ‘thing’) had some weaknesses, not least being the fact that the crew had to reload the rifles from outside, leaving themselves vulnerable to enemy fire. Still, the Ontos was light enough to be airlifted by cargo planes and CH-53 helicopters, making it a highly mobile weapon.

Academy’s kit is loaded with detail - a pair of crew figures are included, plus rounds of ammunition ready for loading. As you might expect, photo-etched parts are supplied, including light guards and engine exhaust protective mesh. Decals are nicely printed and the wide tracks are particularly handsome, with the unique tread pattern captured nicely.

As you can see from the Ontos on display at the National Museum of the Marine Corps (bottom pic), a ‘used’ example looks very different from the ‘factory-fresh’ Academy offering, so there’s plenty of room in this kit for detailing, weathering, damaging, and kit-bashing in general. All in all, an unusual and interesting addition to any 1:35 scale AFV collection.

Pictures courtesy Academy, US Marine Corps.

Visit the USMC Museum here.

The Ontos will be available from model stores and online suppliers shortly. Meantime there’s a range of Academy kits at Amazon that include such tasty items as the 1/35 M1A1 Abrams "Iraq 2003"

F-22 RAPTOR FIRST FLIGHT

Today’s the day in 1997 that the Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor made its first flight, marking the start of a program that’s been been a bit of a mixed bag, with sky-high costs and politics playing major parts in the aircraft’s development. Technically it’s a different story, with the F-22 being second to none as the most effective combat aircraft in the skies.

Apart from its radar-resistant stealth design, the F-22’s main technical advance has been the ability to supercruise - that is, fly at supersonic speeds up to about Mach 1.7, without needing fuel-hungry afterburners.

In the model world, one of the best F-22s available is the Academy 1:48 scale kit, released earlier this year. It’s better (though more expensive) than the Italeri version to the same scale, and features crisply-moulded parts, neat panel detail, clear and smoked options for the canopy, a full range of missile, bomb and fuel-tank ordnance, plus - a nice touch - separate parts for the engine thrust-vectoring petals. The decals are extremely well printed, and have been supplied by the excellent specialist company, Cartograf.

When assembled, the 196-part Academy F-22 is quite a biggie for a single-seater, with a wingspan that scales out to more than 280 mm (11 in). It’s available through model stores, and online suppliers such as Amazon here.

The pictures show (top to bottom):
1 Academy 1:48 kit box.
2 Neatly moulded cockpit tub.
3 F-22 in flight, showing ‘shock diamonds’ in the engine efflux.
4 An F-22 flying at transonic speed through damp air, showing pressure patterns around the airframe.

WORKHORSE TWIN-ROTOR IN SIGHT OF HALF A CENTURY OF SERVICE

The Boeing CH-46 reaches 47 years since its first flight next month, and by the time the last ones are retired from US Marine Corps service in 2014, the type will have been flying for 52 years! Nicknamed the ‘bullfrog’ or plain ‘phrog’, the assault support helicopter, initially developed by Piasecki-Vertol, has achieved a reputation for toughness and reliability in service.

Various kits have been made, including those of Airfix, Fujimi and Hobbycraft, but far and away the best available today is the 1:48 scale Academy kit. It’s beautifully presented, with a choice of markings that include the US Navy Stars-and-Stripes Sea Knight version shown above. Detail inside and out is top-class - the only thing missing is a bunch of heavily armed troops, ready to walk up the tail ramp (bottom picture). But that’s no criticism, more of a me-want item for a future release.

Academy’s CH/HH-46 would look good in any helo collection - paired with a same-scale twin-rotor CH-47 Chinook, the result would be outstanding.

Visit Academy here for details. The kit is on offer at the moment from online supplier Model Hobbies here, marked down to £35.98 ($59.33).

BIGGEST HORNET KIT YET - WELL ACTUALLY, IT’S THE 1:1 SCALE REAL THING

Academy’s neat 1:72 scale Boeing F/A-18 Hornet (and its hugely bigger 1:32 scale cousin, shown top above) is an example of ongoing product improvement, with extra parts and excellent third-party Cartograf decals. For anyone who has assembled one of these bigger Hornet kits, the time-lapse video above is a reminder of the complexities of putting together the real thing.

Like all big aircraft projects, construction and assembly of the Hornet is an international business, with parts big and small arriving at the assembly hall from thousands of separate suppliers. The final flying machine is a triumph of systems integration.

However, this approach doesn’t always work the first time. For example, on the much-delayed Dreamliner passenger jet, Boeing has had real problems with the supply chain - among other issues, thousands of fasteners had to be replaced. Still, Boeing reckons most of these problems are now solved, and the company aims to have the new jet taking off on its maiden flight later this year.

Visit Academy here, and the Boeing company here.

The video is via Live Leak, here.

THIRD QUARTER KIT QUARTET FROM ACADEMY

South Korea’s Academy model kits are on a roll this year, so SMN has no qualms about another post. Academy’s releases for the third quarter - July to September 2009 - show a mix of subjects and kit extras. From the top then -

The ever-popular F-15E Eagle is presented in improved form, with a neat set of Iraqi Freedom ‘nose art’ markings made by the respected Cartograf specialist decal-maker from Italy. Canopy and dorsal air brake of the 1:48 scale model can be posed open or shut, there’s a full set of weapons to hang under the wings.

Matching the improved status of the F-15E in a smaller scale is the 1:72 F/A-18D Hornet. Once again, Cartograf has been commissioned to produce a very fine decal set, and many kit parts are new or polished up. It’s not the world’s prettiest jet, especially in two-seater form, but the highly successful Hornet should be in any modern jet collection - and this one should make up into a goodie.

For marine enthusiasts, Academy have a 1:350 scale World War II Admiral Graf Spee pocket battleship. As with the aircraft, the Graf Spee has been given new and improved parts, and the biggish scale will make it an impressive piece of naval history when displayed on a shelf.

There’s a final aircraft to bring this roundup to a close, with another German veteran from World War II, the 1:48 scale Messerschmitt Bf-109E-3. The box art hasn’t been finalised yet, so here we show a contemporary photo that shows off the splayed legs of the 109’s narrow-track main undercarriage. Like the other Academy releases here, the 109 comes with various new parts.

It’s great to see kit manufacturers refining their kits like this - constant upgrading of parts, and using outside decal sources really shows that companies like Academy care about their clients, which in this case is us modellers. It’s good to be appreciated!

Academy Q3 models will be available through model stores and online suppliers.

KING OF FIGHTERS - KING OF KITS?

The Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor is undoubtedly the world’s leading air superiority fighter, but it’s also one that’s been plagued with political and technical issues. The price - nearly $145 million USD per copy - makes it a target for cost-cutting senators, and technical points abound, not least of which are questions about the stealth coatings. On at least one occasion, a section has peeled away from the fuselage, to be sucked into an engine intake.

Still, that’s the bad news - the rest is good, insofar as the F-22 is clearly ahead of anything else in the sky and packs a deadly range of weapons in its load bays. Rather than hanging from the wings, missiles and bombs are stored out of sight, therefore being invisible to enemy radars.

And what about models? Probably the best available - and the only model claimed to be a production-standard aircraft - is the 1:48 scale release from the Republic of Korea’s Academy. This F-22 is certainly one for keen plastic kit enthusiasts, as what appears to be a relatively simple airframe design breaks down into no less than 275 separate parts, though many of these are for the very full weapons fit. Academy has packed in a wealth of detail - cockpit dials and equipment seem to be all present, as is the detailed landing gear, separate flaps, and positionable elevators.

And there’s a really nice feature for the touch-sensitive among us - Academy has gone to town on the surface finish, so the particular textures of the stealth panels are there for you to feel with your fingertips. It puts a premium on painting though - spray on light coatings, otherwise those textures could easily be lost.

The Academy Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor is available through model stores and online suppliers, including eHobbies, here.

BOX ART: IS ACADEMY THE BEST?

Here at SMN we’re huge fans of beautiful boxes – kit boxes, that is. Way back in the 1960s and ’70s, Airfix led the way with the remarkable work of the renowned British artist, Roy Cross. Then Japanese companies like Tamiya came on the scene with their take on what a box should look like. Hasegawa’s Shigeo Koike also has compilation art books that are hot favourites with connoisseurs of the genre.

So which kit company leads the pack today? As ever, art style is a matter of personal taste, but we reckon that Academy’s boxes are well up to the pace, with gorgeous paintings that glow with colour and, more importantly, show detail and markings particularly clearly. They are not so much hard-sell images, more frameable paintings, with dynamic views and angles that work especially well with subjects like combat aircraft in action.

And talking of Academy, its new 1:48 F-15 Eagle in Republic of Korea (ROK) markings, looks like a winner. The pictures here show stunning levels of detail for your delectation. It’s really apparent how much work has gone into this F-15, when you study the weapons fit, and the sparkling precision of the tailpipes. A real gem for F-15 fans, it will be available shortly from various retailers and online sellers, including Model Hobbies.