2014 INCOMING: REVELL AIRBUS A350-900 JETLINER TO 1:144 SCALE

Jetliner fans: this latest Revell airliner is for you, as it features the latest twin-jet from Airbus, the A350-900 XWB, which first flew in June 2013.

ON THE RADAR: AIRBUS A350-900 MODEL KIT DUE FROM REVELL IN NOVEMBER 2013

The new Airbus A350-900 made its maiden flight just two months ago, but already Revell is preparing a kit of the latest jetliner from Europe’s premier aircraft manufacturer.

JERSEY AIR SHOW - TASTY STUFF FOR AIR FANS

Sad to say, the pretty little 1:72 scale de Havilland Heron airliner depicted on this old Airfix box-top wasn't at the 2012 Jersey Air Show, either in model form or the real thing. But there were plenty of elderly aircraft flying at the display held a couple of weeks ago.

2012 INCOMING - HIGH-FLIGHT KITS FROM DRAGON

SMN report:

Here’s a bunch of 2012 aerospace kits from Hong Kong’s Dragon, and very good they look too.

First American in space

On May 5, 2012, it will be 50 years since Alan Shepard Jr piloted the Freedom 7 Mercury capsule to become the first US astronaut. And now Dragon celebrates Shepard’s sub-orbital flight with a 1:72 kit of the Mercury capsule, together with its Redstone launch rocket.

A FEAST OF MODELS AT THE 2010 FARNBOROUGH INTERNATIONAL AIRSHOW

David Jefferis reports from the show
The SMN crew spent yesterday at the UK’s premier business-orientated aerospace show. The weather was fantastic (which just goes to show how useless the predictions of some iPhone weather apps are...) and it was a real pleasure to watch high-power aerobatics and more genteel flypasts in bright blue skies, with puffy clouds to set them off.

Stealthy delta
Highlights of the day included new aircraft like the Airbus A400M military airlifter, and old-stagers such as the delta-wing Avro Vulcan, currently maintained in flying order by an enthusiast group, and good for them. The Vulcan’s shape gave it stealth-like abilities long before stealth became a design essential for survival in aerial combat...

A380 airliner
For model fans, shows like this are fantastic. Wandering round the real machines parked by the flightline reveals so much detail you just never see in photos. And as for weathering, one look at the A380 demo airliner should give you airbrush modellers perfect guidance for a careful bit of subtly realistic dirtying down.

Models on display
Being an industry trade event, there were fewer enthusiast shops than at many other shows; even so, there were plenty of models on display, both in the trade halls, and for sale in exhibition tents out in the sunshine. Trade models came large and small, and were fascinating for their variety, from rockets to rotorcraft. Models for sale showed just how popular readybuilts have become - it was a near clean-sweep for them, with only a few construction kits on display.

Fine levels of detail
Among our observations were the incredible levels of detail now being incorporated into metal kits. In particular, a Sukhoi Su-27 impressed us with its ultra-fine panel detail, while a Douglas Skyraider had a jewel-like sliding canopy, and a complete range of ordnance slotted neatly into a shiny plastic case - rockets, bombs, tanks, you name it - all ready and waiting to be hung under those straight wings. Just beautiful.

Air Show dates
Enjoy the pictures above, and we’ll hope to post some video clips in a short while. The Farnborough Air Show alternates annually with Paris, so in 2011 we aim to be reporting from the land of vin rouge, escargots, garlic - and home to Airbus Industrie and Heller model kits.

The pictures show, top to bottom:
1  Chinese rocket models were popular with video crews.
2  JF-17 Thunder combat jet, co-produced by Pakistan and China.
3  Northrop Grumman hybrid air vehicle, looking more like a Dan Dare-era spaceship than a surveillance airship.
4  1:1 scale mockup of the planned 1000 mph (1609 km/h) Bloodhound, being developed to break the Land Speed Record (LSR) in the near future, perhaps as soon as 2011.
5  Temporary model shop for showgoers.
6  Lineup of large-scale display models. These are wood-based, nicely finished, and suitable for desktop display, but lack the intricate detail of plastic kits or metal ready-builts.

Visit the 2010 Farnborough International Airshow here.

The A400M is available as a 1:200 scale model direct from Airbus here.

A variety of Sukhoi aircraft is available here.

USEFUL SIZE-O-METER FROM THE NETHERLANDS

Dutch Telesale is an online supplier that has a surprisingly useful set of pages (top picture) on its site. These chart the length and wingspan of a range of aircraft, at various scales, in both Imperial and Metric measurements.

For example, a 1:24 Boeing 777-300 would be a whopping 121 inches (3073 mm) long, but at 1:500 it’s just a palm-of-the-hand 5 inches (148 mm).

There are some nice things for sale on DT’s site too, including a Herpa Wings 1:400 Airbus and DC-3 pair (middle picture), commemorating old and new airliners in Cathay Pacific's fleet. From Spark there is a tiny, yet beautifully detailed PininFarina Modulo concept car to 1:87 scale.

The Modulo dates back to 1970, yet still looks utterly futuristic, like a rocketship on wheels. It’s one of my all-time fave designs, not least for the slide-forward cockpit canopy (bottom picture). Wow - imagine something like this as a 21st century hydrogen-electric ecomobile, on sale in your downtown auto showroom. Gimme! Now!

You can visit Dutch Telesales here.

AIRBUS IS 40 YEARS OLD

At the weekend, Airbus celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Franco-German agreement that launched its first aircraft, the A300. The twin-jet’s maiden flight was in October 1972, with Air France putting it into airline service two years later. Production continued until 2007 after more than 800 had been built.

Perhaps the A300’s most unusual role is as a zero-g weightless trainer for European Space Agency (ESA) astronauts (top picture). The aircraft climbs, then gently pitches over in a parabolic arc that gives trainee astronauts some 20 seconds of weightlessness for each manoeuvre.

Changes to the aircraft include fitting out the interior with padded walls to cushion floating astronauts during zero-g flights. For a model project, the markings are the main items to be changed.

You can find details of the zero-g special at the ESA site here.

There are quite a few A300 ready-builts available, include those made by Herpa, Gemini Jets and Dragon Wings in 1:400 or 1:500 scale. Try the Scale Model Store here.

The old Airfix 1:144 kit can still be found on eBay and some retail outlets. Currently there’s an eBay offering at a Buy It Now price of £18.00 GBP ($29.00 USD), which sounds fair, especially as the A300 is no longer marketed by Airfix. Visit here.