1:48 SCALE CURTISS JN-4D ‘JENNY’ BIPLANE FROM GLENCOE MODELS

 

THIS IS THE LONG-AWAITED REISSUE OF an original Aurora biplane kit from Glencoe Models.

MAKE NO BONES ABOUT IT: THIS IS A DINOSAUR SKELETON KIT

 

THIS IS A REISSUE OF A KIT THAT GLENCOE issued way back when the company was new, in the late 1980s.

FLY ME ROUND THE MOON: RETRIEVER ROCKET FROM GLENCOE MODELS

THE 1:72 SCALE RETRIEVER ROCKET is a reissued and reboxed Glencoe Models kit, itself based on one of the Strombecker classic ‘Man in Space’ series.

1:32 SCALE XV-1 EXPERIMENTAL SUPER-CHOPPER KIT FROM GLENCOE MODELS

Glencoe Models have started to reissue many of their older kits, and this 1:32 scale experimental McDonnell XV-1 Convertiplane is one of these, making a welcome return for today's model makers.

SLEEK RETRO MARSLINER FROM GLENCOE MODELS BRINGS BACK A TASTE OF THE FUTURE PAST

This elegant spacecraft model is a reissue of the Glencoe Models Marsliner, itself a reissue of the original Strombecker kit of the TWA Moonliner that stood in Disneyland from 1955-1962.

WORST MOVIE EVER? ‘PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE’ PROVIDES INSPIRATION FOR 1:48 SCALE DIORAMA BASE, COMPLETE WITH POLICEMAN-GHOUL RISING FROM THE DEAD

The 1959 movie Plan 9 From Outer Space is often described as the worst science-fiction movie ever made, or even the worst movie - period. However, it has gained a certain cachet of its own, witness this Skyhook Models 1:48 scale diorama base, designed to be used with the Lindberg Flying Saucer, as used in the movie.

MACH-BUSTING IN THE WILD BLUE YONDER: BELL X-1B FROM GLENCOE MODELS

This 1:48 scale Glencoe kit is a reissue of an original Strombecker production dating back to 1958. It's a simple kit, and the moulding is not exactly up to modern standards. But it is accurate overall, and it is the only injection plastic X-1B to this scale - and a brand-new decal sheet is included, which really sets off the finished model.

'WAR OF THE WORLDS' MODEL MOVIE - AT LEAST THE INVADERS ARE NOT FROM THE EXOPLANET GLIESE 581G

SMN report
With the news of an Earth-type alien world being found - the exoplanet Gliese 581g - it’s worth remembering the physicist Stephen Hawking’s warning that intelligent ETs might not be friendly. And that of course was the theme of English author HG Wells’s masterwork The War of the Worlds.

Music and Martians
So when Mat Irvine’s colleague Nick Argento of Glencoe Models sent a link to a stop-frame animation of this classic invasion story, we had to look it up. What a hoot, and the classical music scores fit well with the subject too. The humans are ringers for Action Man and Co, while the Martian tripod models (you can see them in action at the 4:03 timing mark) are pretty convincing, and a reminder of the splendid artwork printed in Classics Illustrated many years ago.

See Glencoe Models here.

View a Pegasus Hobbies Martian here.

Visit the Classics Illustrated War of the Worlds graphic novel here.

GLENCOE EXPLORER SATELLITE MODEL MARKS 50 YEARS OF AMERICAN SPACEFLIGHT

A MAT IRVINE REVIEW
One space anniversary that seemed to get lost in the build-up to this July’s Apollo 11 40th was last year’s 50th anniversary of America in space. Explorer 1 became the first US satellite when it was successfully launched into orbit on February 1, 1958, by a US Army Jupiter-C rocket, modified for the flight to become the Juno-1.

A 1:6 scale model of Explorer 1 was produced by the Ideal Toy Company (ITC) in 1959, only a year after launch, and this was quite a detailed kit. It not only had an opening outer casing to show off the interior, but sat on a stand that had a handle (top picture). Turn the handle and, via what was in effect an all-plastic musical box, it ‘clicked’ out the telemetry signal the satellite sent back! 

The kit became quite rare, but those who wanted to actually build the model (instead of using it as loft insulation) were saved when Glencoe Models came on the scene. Founded and managed by Nick Argento, Glencoe reissues many of these old ‘collectible’ kits in a way you can actually build them – and the ITC Explorer 1 (middle picture) is one of these. The first Glencoe Explorer 1 was available in 1991, and it was reissued again last year as an Anniversary Edition, with additional information on the back of the box (bottom), as well as the original Glencoe artwork on the front.

The Explorer 1 Jupiter-C launch rocket (an ex-Hawk kit) is also available as a 1:48 scale kit from Glencoe.

Visit Glencoe Models temporary site here.