RETRO-FUTURE STYLE: DOUBLE-BUBBLE LINCOLN FUTURA DREAM CAR

A KIT REISSUE THAT harks back to the golden age of Detroit dream cars.

SCI-FI NOSTAGIA-FEST: MASTER MODEL MAKER CRAFTS DAN DARE SPACE FLEET

BRITISH SPACE HERO DAN DARE has been ignored by the mainstream model kit manufacturers. It has been down to individuals like special-effects model maker Martin Bower to produce one-off miniatures of the galaxy of spacecraft that filled author-illustrator Frank Hampson’s universe. 

UK GOVERNMENT BACKS LEADING-EDGE SABRE ENGINE: MEANTIME, YOU CAN FLY HIGH WITH THE HERPA 1:250 SCALE MODEL

SKYLON UPDATE: The UK Government is investing £60m GBP ($92m USD) on the Skylon's revolutionary Sabre engine, to enable a full-scale prototype to be built - so maybe this special edition model isn't pie-in-the-sky. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL MODELMAKERS!

Scale Model News wishes you all a Happy and Prosperous 2012. 

And then we'll be back tomorrow and beyond with news of... a stunning ultra-large scale World War II fighter with amazing interior detail... a science-fiction flying cop car... a NASA hot-rod... and much, much more...

But for now, enjoy today's New Year Slide Show! 

MORE MODELS TO ENJOY...

A Baker's Dozen for you today, with subjects ranging from the gorgeous Imai Thunderbirds kit above, to Belgium's Tin Tin, the suave super-spy James Bond, and the British sci-fi hero Dan Dare - and of course, Dan's Venusian nemesis, the melon-headed Mekon, nastiest alien super-villain to strut the spaceways...

IPMS SCALE MODELWORLD 2011 - PHOTO REPORT

SMN report:

The Scale ModelWorld 2011 Show was a major event last weekend for the IPMS (International Plastic Modellers Society), and a galaxy of models were on display. SMN’s own Mat Irvine was at the show with a stand (above), and all in all, the annual bash went down very well indeed.

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.

AIRFIX KITS AND DAN DARE GUNS FOR SALE AT AUCTION TOMORROW

SMN reports
Here’s a look at the bargains aplenty department for classic kit collectors. Amongst other items at Astons auction tomorrow is this lot, a group of seven highly collectible Airfix kits in the old plastic bags, plus four 1:87 scale Roco Minitanks, in their original bubble packs.

The current price estimate is just £20-30 GBP ($30-46 USD) which makes them something of a bargain - even at the high end of that range, the items are still highly affordable. Mind you, they will never get built, but that’s the way of the world with collectible kits, their prime purpose lost in the quest for increasing value and perfect mint-and-boxed condition - or in this case, ‘mint-and-bagged’ perfection.

Among non-kit items for sale at Astons are some Dan Dare memorabilia, including the Rocket and Planet Guns shown above. Dan Dare was the UK’s Number One space hero in the 1950s and 1960s, and his appeal to older collectors remains undimmed by time. Dan’s full-colour adventures graced the front two pages of the popular Eagle boys’ comic for many years, and he was the subject of many marketing deals by companies eager to exploit his popularity in the UK and other countries where the comic and strip were syndicated.

Prices for the guns reflect their comparative rarity, with the Planet Gun’s price expected to reach up to £60 GBP ($92 USD), with the elegant and desirable Rocket Gun likely to sell for three times more.

Pictures courtesy The Saleroom.

Visit those Airfix bargains here.

Visit the Dan Dare Planet Gun here.

Visit the Dan Dare Rocket Gun here.

CLASSIC SCI-FI COLLECTIBLE DIECASTS FROM A TOY FAIR

SMN chanced upon a handsome diecast two-vehicle boxed set last weekend, a cleanish example of a 1992 Corgi release featuring the lead hero from an old UK comic called the Eagle. Launched in 1950, Eagle was a mega-success, with weekly sales regularly exceeding a million-plus. Its quality production (half in full-colour) made the Eagle unique at the time of launch, as did its lead character: a ‘pilot of the future’ called Dan Dare, whose adventures battling evil aliens such as the ‘melon headed’ Mekon inspired an entire generation of young readers to look up to the stars. Sad to say, successive UK governments proceeded to trash much of the UK’s aerospace industry in the years that followed, but that’s another story...

The 1:43 scale Corgi set features Bedford CA and Volkswagen panel vans, emblazoned with pictures of Dan Dare and the dread Mekon. The diecasts themselves are of fairly average quality, but the bright decals and well-produced box packaging turn them into a charming collectible set for lovers of the genre. The images are taken from the year-long adventure Prisoners of Space that began in May 1954. It’s actually one of the less successful stories, with art that came nowhere near the levels set by Dan Dare’s creator, Frank Hampson, but no matter: Corgi made a fine job of decorating its diecast vehicles. The box works for its living too, with frames from a mini-adventure called Operation Triceratops running around the sides. This story was an eight-pager that ran in the 1954 Eagle Annual.

Is the set an investment? Probably not, as it’s worth only about £10-20 GBP ($17-35 USD) despite the limited 7500 production run. On the bright side, this price range keeps the set firmly buyable for Dan Dare and Eagle collectors.

Incidentally, in 1990 Hawk Books published a full-size reproduction volume featuring both stories. There are newer versions available from Virgin which are are cheaper, but reduced in size. Take your pick!

The pictures show, top to bottom:
1 The boxed set, complete with numbered certificate.
2 Bedford CA van.
3 VW van.
4 Hawk Books hardback jacket.
5 Page from the Prisoners of Space strip.

Have a look at the Corgi sets we found on eBay here. If they've been sold by now, a fresh search may bring up some replacements, and also try looking for the Hawk Books hardback if you fancy one.

Copies of the reduced-size Virgin Prisoners of Space can be found here.

FAB FIVE: RARE REVELL CLASSICS

Revell kits have waxed and waned over the years, and today the range is probably stronger than ever, with regular new kits coming from Europe and the US. Snap-together models are now established in popularity, with the Star Wars range leading the way. But will today’s kits (and their boxes) ever achieve the status earlier beauties have earned in my hall of fame? Only time will tell, but here we go with Mr J’s five rare Revells from the vaults:

1 USS Nautilus nuclear submarine
This was the world’s first nuclear submarine when ‘atomic’ was the big buzz-word, so a 1950s boy just had to have it. Revell’s Nautilus had a large pod behind the sail (or conning tower) and a Loon cruise missile, which was an upgraded US version of the World War 2 German V-1 ‘doodlebug’. This was a bit odd, as the real sub never had this feature at all. No matter, at the time it looked suitably aggressive.
2 Lincoln Futura
The concept alone sold this to me - a car with double-bubble canopies, just like the Anastasia personal spacecraft flown by my comic-book hero, Dan Dare. The real thing was hand-built by Ghia in Italy and did the show-car circuit; later it was the genesis for the Batman TV series.
3 Cutty Sark
Ah, the days of sail! Revell’s beauty was a stunner, and the beautifully detailed hull really set it off. Sad to say, it would NOT stay upright in water, ending its days capsized on a pond, being pounded by pebbles and stones thrown by... yes, you guessed it, me and my pals.
4 Boeing Bomarc
To my eyes the Boeing Bomarc interceptor missile looked more like a sci-fi rocket, and I built it as such, finished in gleaming silver, sitting on an alien landscape with a bunch of astronauts (‘spacemen’) around the base, ready to explore a strange new world. In reality, the Bomarc’s job was to knock out Russian intruders with its nuclear warhead, before they had a chance to drop their A- and H-bombs on US cities.
5 Martin Seamaster
Wow, a jet flying boat! Sleek, but ultimately doomed, the Martin Seamaster was another must-have for this tech-obsessed model builder. It did mark a watershed though, as around this time I got fed up with Revell’s weird-scale (‘fit the box’) policy - the Seamaster was made to a bizarre 1:136 scale - and decided to stick with 1:72 for most aircraft models. Which of course opened the door to the likes of Airfix....

OK, that’s my Rare Revell Fab Five - what are your own choices?