MORE CHINA AIR POWER: J-10A ‘VIGOROUS DRAGON’ MACH 2 FIGHTER JET FROM TRUMPETER

Here’s another modern Chinese jet, the splendidly named Chengdu 'Vigorous Dragon,' modelled by Trumpeter to 1:48 scale.

iHOBBY EXPO 2013: BATTLESHIP TO BULLDOZER, AS MAT IRVINE SURVEYS THE STEVENS INTERNATIONAL MODEL-KIT PORTFOLIO

You might not have heard of Stevens International, but it’s an important outfit in the modelling world, as the company is one of the main US hobby distributors.

CHINESE INVASION! INCOMING KITS FROM TRUMPETER

DAVID JEFFERIS REPORTS:

Trumpeter has gone from strength to strength in recent years, with a mass of kits in scales large and small. And here comes a wave of new releases from this Chinese manufacturer, starting with some unusual armour subjects. Leading the charge is Trumpeter’s take on the Australian Light Armoured Vehicle (ASLAV), a weapon system that’s seen service in East Timor, Iraq, and Afghanistan. The Trumpeter ASLAV III Personnel Carrier is to military kit-standard 1:35 scale.

FORD FALCON RANCHERO - NEW LINE FROM CHINA'S TRUMPETER

Weekend read from Mat Irvine:

The fact that this major Chinese model manufacturer has taken on established kit-makers at their own game is perhaps not a great surprise. China is responsible for producing a great deal of Western kit output anyway, so it wasn’t long before original kits started to appear.

ANOTHER BIG ONE FROM CHINA - TRUMPETER A-4E SKYHAWK

David Jefferis looks at a miniature masterpiece

The A-4 Skyhawk was designed by Douglas Aircraft’s Ed Heinemann to be a bantam-weight carrier aircraft. Simplicity ran through the whole design, from a tiny wing that needed no folding mechanism, to leading-edge slats that worked without complex actuators. In fact, the A-4's small and nimble design tipped the scales at just half the weight demanded by the US Navy specification.

NO MORE UK HARRIERS, BUT THEY LIVE ON WITH TRUMPETER’S 1:32 SCALE KIT

SMN looks at a kit from China

The GR7 Harrier’s maiden flight was in May 1990, with first combat duties over the former Yugoslavia in August 1995. The aircraft was an important part of the UK Harrier fleet, all of which have recently been retired in a round of massive defence spending cuts. Now UK forces fly no Harriers at all, but you have a chance to make your own Harrier Memorial display with this fine 1:32 scale injection kit from the Chinese company Trumpeter.

SHADES OF RENWAL’S VISIBLE MAN - CLEAR PARTS LET YOU LOOK INTO THE SOUL OF YOUR MODEL

Decades ago, the US Renwal company came up with the bright idea of making a transparent model that revealed the insides of its subject, a 3D version of the traditional cutaway book illustration. The Renwal Visible Man was a big success, and was soon joined by the Visible Woman (though without private parts to allow her to give birth), the Visible Engine, and others that included even a Visible Dog.

Apart from these early stalwarts, transparency has been largely ignored by manufacturers over the years, but the magic of ‘seeing inside’ is still there, and the latest convert to the idea is Trumpeter. Its big 1:32 scale Fairey Swordfish is absolutely a gem in this department, with a transparent port fuselage section that allows you to gaze inside the ‘stringbag’s portly form. You can mask off parts for painting, to reveal more or less of the interior, as you wish.

The recently introduced MkII Swordfish joins the already available MkI, and is packed with detail, has a wingspan of some 433 mm (17 in) and has a box stuffed with no less than 373 components. Wire bracing on biplanes has become a near-standard fixture on ready-built models such as those of Corgi, but here on Trumpeter’s Swordfish, you get to do it yourself with a supplied wire bracing set. Never the easiest of jobs, at least the big 1:32 scale helps, though this reviewer will pass on the job to a more nimble-fingered craftsman.

All in all, a fine addition to the ranks of see-inside models, and an excellent kit of a World War II classic aircraft.

Visit Trumpeter here.

You can buy the Trumpeter 1:32 scale Swordfish MkI here.

FAST JET FROM ASIA - TRUMPETER COMBAT AIRCRAFT KIT TO 1:48 SCALE

Two of Asia’s important powers - China and Pakistan - are locked in a techno-race in many areas, especially in nuclear weapons, but they also join hands on various projects, including the combat aircraft called the PAC JF-17 Thunder in Pakistan, the Chengdu FC-1 Fierce Dragon in China.

The ThunderDragon (as we’ll call the single-engine jet here for simplicity) looks much like a cross between the US-designed F-20 Tigershark and F-16 Fighting Falcon, but there the similarity ends, as design and development have been carried out in-house, and the engine is a Russian Klimov RD-93.

ThunderDragon’s first flight was from a Chinese air base back in 2003, but development went well and the first production aircraft was handed over to the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) just last month. The first squadron is due to be fully operational with the PAF early in 2010.

So Trumpeter’s 1:48 scale kit of this aircraft is well timed for modern jet combat model fans. It’s a biggish model, scaling out to some 297 mm (11.7 in) long with a wingspan of 199 mm (7.8 in). There are 235 plastic parts, plus some components on a small photo-etch sheet. All in all, a kit that will sit interestingly next to its contemporaries from Russia and the West.

The pictures show, top to bottom:
1 Chinese aviation magazine cover.
2 Trumpeter box-art
3 Three of the nine component runners.
4, 5 Pre-production cgi images.

Visit Trumpeter here.

You can buy the JF-17 Thunder/FC-1 Fierce Dragon from model stores and online suppliers here.

BLAST OFF! CHINESE ROCKETS FROM DRAGON, REALSPACE, TRUMPETER,

A MAT IRVINE REVIEW
A year ago today, China’s space ambitions took a big step forward with a spacewalk, taken by one of the three crew aboard the Shenzhou 7 spacecraft. China had become the third humans-in-space country five years before in 2003, when Shenzhou 5 carried the first Chinese taikonaut, air force pilot Yang Liwei. Shenzhou 6 followed in 2005.

Because of the difficulty of translating Chinese into English, various terms for their astronauts have been proffered, but ‘taikonaut’ - derived from ‘taikong’, Chinese for ‘space’ - is the one that has ended up in general use.

Getting details of the rockets and craft is not easy: it’s rather like getting information on Soviet rocketry in the Cold War years. However, the Shenzhou (‘Magic Vessel’ or ‘Divine Craft’) spacecraft is available as a 1:72 scale kit from Trumpeter, which is appropriate, as it is China’s main model kit company.

Shenzhou’s launcher is based on the long-running Chang Zheng, or ‘Long March’ rocket. Dragon, the Hong-Kong based model company, has issued two versions of the Chang Zheng CZ-2 to 1:48 scale, the CZ-2E satellite launcher and the CZ-2F Shenzhou launcher. At some 1220 mm (48 in) tall, the CZ-2F version is only a bit shorter than Revell’s 1:96 scale Saturn V, making it a contender as one of the world’s largest 'static space model' kits.

If you want a Chang Zheng rocket in the more widespread 1:144 rocket scale, Glenn Johnson’s RealSpace Models in the US offers a decent resin kit, complete with decals.

The pictures show, top to bottom:
1 Trumpeter 1:72 scale Shenzhou spacecraft, mounted on an included planet Earth base, here painted with simulated cloud formations.
2 Dragon 1:48 scale CZ-2F launcher, compared with the RealSpace Models 1:144 scale version. Both come with base mounts.
2 RealSpace Models 1:144 scale CZ-2F resin kit box at left, with the built model in front. A 1:144 Airfix Space Shuttle at back gives an idea of the large scale of the Chinese launch system.

Visit RealSpace here, and Dragon here.

You can view the Trumpeter Shenzou at Hannants here.

TRUMPETER’S SUKHOI BIG TWIN FLIES HIGH

The Sukhoi Su-30 MKK is a Russia-China collaboration that provides China with an aircraft of similar performance to the US F-15E Eagle. The Su-30 MKK model shown here is another biggie from Trumpeter (itself a Chinese company), to 1:32 scale. It scales out to some 684 mm (27 in) long, which makes it one of the biggest shelf-top kits around. It’s better than Trumpeter’s earlier Sukhoi kits, with many of their minor imperfections now ironed out. For parts-counters, the claimed 661 pieces should be very satisfying, while for working-item lovers, the metal axle provided for the flaps will enable this feature to operate smoothly.

As you can see from the pictures supplied by Trumpeter, a well-made Su-30 MKK looks really convincing, and details such as the swing-out refuelling probe add to the realistic effect. Two items that SMN would like to see however, are crew figures - the Su-30 MKK is a not a cheap kit (UK price well over £100 GBP) and for that price, a pair of nicely sculpted fliers really ought to be included. Actually, make that a bag of bits all to itself, with seated and standing aircrew, plus some ground technicians and maybe even some startup and maintenance equipment. Oh well, dream on SMN!

Overall, we give this kit a thumbs-up - it’s good to see kits of Asian machinery now coming onto the market in rising numbers.

You can buy the Trumpeter kit from model stores and online suppliers such as Amazon 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.