BLAST FROM THE PAST: SWEET NOSTALGIA FROM THE GOOD OLD DAYS

FOR THE MORE MATURE MODEL MAKER out there, then these old kits might bring back a few memories.

SPACE TECHNOLOGY FROM SIX DECADES AGO - 1:5 SCALE HAWK PROJECT VANGUARD SATELLITE.

PROJECT VANGUARD WAS THE FIRST US space launch programme. Now Round 2 has released the 1958 Hawk kit of this most important pioneer of spaceflight’s early years.

ROUND 2 TAKES ON CLASSIC KIT BRANDS LINDBERG AND HAWK

NEWS UPDATE FROM MAT IRVINE:
Round 2 Corporation, owner of the AMT, MPC and Polar Lights brands, has just acquired Lindberg and Hawk, both revered names from the early days of plastic kits.

ANOTHER BIG JET FROM REVELL WITH A 1:32 SCALE RED ARROWS HAWK

David Jefferis reports
The BAe Systems Hawk is one of the best known jet trainers, and the Red Arrows one of the world’s top aerobatic teams, so it’s great to see a new-tool kit of the two-seater on sale. The Hawk is not a large aircraft, but at 1:32 scale the wings span 294 mm (11.6 in) and the fuselage is some 368 mm (14.5 in) long, so the benefits of sheer size are clear. There are 158 components in the kit, including the ventral tank carrying the diesel fuel used by the smoke system. As a vet of many a Reds display, I reckon they use more smoke during a show than any other team I’ve seen - in Guernsey one year, a vast mist of the stuff wafted across the crowd in a multi-coloured haze, but everyone loved it!

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

As we enter the Christmas season, we can all look forward to 2011 which, if model world rumors even come partly true, promises to be a very eventful year!

 Thank you for visiting Scale Model News throughout 2010 and we look forward to your company in times to come.

We are also looking forward to launching some major improvements to Scale Model News. So stay tuned!


As for the pix above, well wouldn’t we like to make a kit of that Jules Verne Nautilus lookalike?! Sad to say, there isn’t one quite like it available, so it’s here as an Xmas-week project idea for you kit-bashers out there.

And who got the idea for the Hawk paint job? This US-issue Hawk, aka T-45, is one of several of these jet trainers finished in deliciously bright Centennial markings. And you don’t need to be a skilled basher to create one for the display shelf...

Have a look at some Hawks (and not just the BAe kind) here.

BACK TO THE FUTURE WITH ‘RAF FLYING REVIEW’

Here’s another treasure from the SMN Vault of Ancientness - one of a bound set of 1961-62 RAF Flying Review magazines. In its time, this monthly British publication was a must-buy for air and model fans, and was packed with news, views, stories, and what was called ‘Technical Gen’ - hard-core info-porn to you and me.

As almost all air fans are also modelers, the scale model page was an important part of FR. While the magazine's lead feature ranted (rightly) about the UK government’s disastrous habit of canning air projects just as each prototype had shown its worth, Michael Farmer’s 'Model Talk' was looking at the latest Hawk kit, a 1:48 scale F-104 Starfighter.

The F-104 displayed Hawk’s attempt at giving a model a realistic bare-metal look by using a vacuum-deposition ‘chrome’ finish; at that time, model makers had little choice beyond a streaky paintbrush, so the prospect of a jet covered with chrome plating was very interesting indeed. However, Farmer reckoned the Hawk effort was TOO realistic, rightly saying that no aircraft is ever likely to be as shiny as this, even fresh from the factory. Today of course, we’re spoilt for choice, and metallic finishes and dull coatings are cheap as chips.

Opposite Model Talk is an advertising gem, a full-page black-and-white ad for the 88-model Aurora range. For this reviewer, the tasty one of the three kits shown is the gorgeous Regulus II, complete with an operating launch platform - come on, today’s reissue-meisters - IWOOT! The twin-rotor Piasecki H-25A is pretty tempting too, its look and layout predating today’s heavy-lift workhorse, the Boeing Chinook. The SE5a? It looks OK enough, but here in 2009, we’re really spoilt for choice in this department, especially in the diecast zone. Corgi’s 1:48 diecast SE5a includes ultra-fine rigging that the average model maker (well, me anyway) wouldn’t even dream of attempting.

If a Corgi SE5a hits the spot, Amazon has several variations on offer at the moment, here.

GENIUS IDEA! TAMIYA METAL CREW FIGURES

Aaah... it’s the brain-flash that says, “Why didn’t we think of that before?”. The Tamiya 1:48 BAe Hawk Mk66 comes in Swiss Air Force markings, and - ta-da! - a pair of heavyweight pilot figures, made of metal instead of plastic. The result is that they combo duties as crew and nose weights.

At last, you don’t have to pack the nose with assorted bits of lead shot, so for this aircraft at least, tail-sitting is not an option. The renowned manufacturer Cartograf has produced five sets of decals for Tamiya, and in an international hookup, Italeri makes aircraft parts. In real life the Hawk and trainers like it are not large aircraft, so 1:48 scale really suits it - the finely crafted model measures 242 mm (9.5 in) long.

The real Hawk (its first flight was 35 years ago) is a highly successful aircraft, with 900-plus made so far; they are flown by air forces all around the world. The Swiss Air Force flew Hawks for about 15 years, until they were sold to Finland in 2007. The Finnish Air Force currently has 18 Mk66 and 47 Mk51 Hawks in service.

The Tamiya Hawk with its paunchy pilots should be available in stores and online retailers shortly.