JAMES BOND ASTON MARTIN AND JAPANESE WARSHIP: EAGLEMOSS HAVE THEM COVERED AS PARTWORK COLLECTIBLES

The partwork publishers are hard at it with model products these days, and we’ll doubtless be seeing a bunch of new items launched after Christmas. Meantime, here are a pair of ready-built models to inspect, coming piggy-backed with collectible magazine-style publications.

BATTLE OF MIDWAY 3: JAPANESE AIRCRAFT CARRIER AKAGI

The Akagi was the Japanese Carrier Force flagship at Midway, where she was attached at 10:26 on June 4 by dive-bombers from the USS Enterprise. A single bomb set off fires and explosions among armed and fueled planes that were being readied for an air strike. Another bomb exploded next to the stern, making the Akagi’s rudder jam. The following morning the doomed hulk was scuttled.

Akagi is a long-time favourite with ship modellers, and by far the best kit today is the 745 mm (29.3 in) long Hasegawa model, to 1:350 scale. Also available from Hasegawa are ‘Detail-Up’ brass etches that can take the model to a whole new level - follow the link below to see what can be achieved.

You can view Hasegawa Akagi pictures here, and buy the kit here.

BATTLE OF MIDWAY 2: AICHI VAL JAPANESE DIVE BOMBER

The Aichi D3A, codenamed Val by the Allies, was Japan’s most important dive bomber in the early part of World War 2. Like the German Ju-87 Stuka, the slow-flying Val had a fixed undercarriage, with the wheels enclosed in aerodynamic spats. After early development, the Val became a highly manoeuvrable machine that was capable of fighter-like agility.

Vals were deadly weapons in 1942 - apart from bombing the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown at Midway, they had also sunk the British carrier HMS Hermes in the Indian Ocean earlier that year.

There are plenty of Val models around, but one of the most interesting is the free-flight laser-cut balsa kit from US manufacturer Dumas (top picture). It’s a big model, with a 30 inch (762 mm) wingspan (making it just under 1:20 scale), with a rubber-band powered prop for flights of several hundred metres in calm air. Take time out to look around the Dumas site - there are some fascinating kits on offer.

Online supplier The Flying Mule offers the hefty 1:48 Marushin diecast kit (middle picture). These kits are pre-painted, with metal and plastic parts. Assembly is simple, and having separate parts makes adding extra detail easy to add in the early stages.

Among the classic 1:72 offerings, the old Airfix kit was not bad at all, though if you want one it’ll mean an online search. There’s a kit presently on offer on eBay here. Note the excellent Roy Cross artwork, typical of Airfix kits of the time. If, like me, you’re a Cross fan, this Val could be worth buying just for the box.

Visit Dumas here, and Flying Mule here.

BATTLE OF MIDWAY REMEMBERED

Today marks the anniversary of the 1942 Battle of Midway, a four-day battle that was a turning point of the World War 2 Pacific War. For the Japanese it was a disaster that permanently weakened their fleet; for the Americans it was key to gaining the initiative, six months after Pearl Harbor. For the US intelligence community it was a triumph - codebreakers had cracked Japanese secret plans, so US commanders were warned of the date and location for Japanese attacks.

Over the next few days we’ll be having a look at some of the models relating to Midway. Today it’s the turn of the Douglas SBD (‘slow but deadly’) Dauntless dive bomber.

From big to small then, Trumpeter’s 1:32 kit (top picture) is an excellent rendering of the aircraft, and at this jumbo size, you can pack in a huge amount of detail and finish.

Accurate Miniatures offers a 1:48 Dauntless (middle picture) which is one of the very best at this scale. On the AM site, there is a multi-page build feature, which is hugely useful if you plan to make the kit. Even if you don’t, it’s still worth a look.

While you’re there, do have a look at the AM gallery, which shows some awesome models.

Among the ready-built diecasts, Corgi’s Dauntless (bottom pictures) is a good 1:72 offering, with a nice swing-out bomb release. On the real aircraft, this was a feature to ensure the bomb cleared the big propeller spinning just in front. There is a well-priced and handsomely-boxed Midway Dauntless on offer at the moment via Amazon.

Megahobby sell the Trumpeter kit here. You can visit Accurate Miniatures here, and the AM gallery is here. The Corgi Dauntless on offer via Amazon is here.