EXCELLENT CARRIER VIDEO: RUSSIAN SUKHOI SU-33 DECK ACTION

THE HASEGAWA 1:72 scale Sukhoi Su-33 is a decent kit of Russia's premier carrier warplane, and today's video provides some good detail shots, allowing model makers to add extra sparkle to this kit.

RUSSIAN T-50 STEALTH FIGHTER FLYING IN FROM REVELL

SMN report:

Pre-orders are now being taken for the Revell 1:72 scale Sukhoi T-50 Stealth combat aircraft, with deliveries of the kit due to start on April 7, 2012.

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.

SCREEN MACHINES - FOUR MASTER MODELS FROM THE MOVIES

Here is some eye candy for you - four nicely made model-show stars, featuring well-known subjects from the cinema and TV. From the top:

The Ghostbusters Cadillac, based on the long-wheelbase ambulance version of the gorgeous yank-tank original. This model is to 1:24 scale, and is missing only a wailing siren and some oozing ectoplasm. At upgrade time, it could be improved by adding a set of flashing LEDs, and maybe a multi-voice sound chip.

Everyone’s favourite peacekeeper, the star of Robocop. The movie franchise may have died a little in recent years, but it’s still a popular subject. This one is to 1:6 scale, and comes on a nicely made piece of future-city paving.

Star Wars is a hardy perennial, and one that’s been given yet another boost since the release of the recent anime series. The various ‘walker’ combat machines are still state-of-the-art on the model-making scene, and don’t forget the AT-AT walkers from The Empire Strikes Back - we’ll be showing off our post-war civilian version soon.

To the small screen now, with a Gerry Anderson TV series called Captain Scarlet - and flying these Angel Interceptor skycraft were the prettiest* pilots ever seen, the Harmony Angels. Just one thing - the Interceptor might look better on a more modern stand - how about perspex or steel?

* Editor's note: not quite true - that honour presently belongs to the Russian gals flying aerobatics for real in their Sukhoi single-seaters, at air shows around the world.