CGI VISUALS MAKE A TEMPTING TARGET FOR HELO ENTHUSIASTS

Attractive cgi visuals from Kitty Hawk trail the upcoming 1:48 scale Bell Huey Model UH-1Y Super Huey or Venom.

INCOMING: F-101 VOODOO FROM KITTY HAWK MODELS TO 1:48 SCALE

Set for near-future release is a 1:48 scale F-101 Voodoo from Kitty Hawk Models. But can this model beat the classic Monogram kit to the same scale?

DEADLY NIGHTSHADE FROM ITALERI: MARTIN B-57G NIGHTHAWK TO I:72 SCALE

Italeri’s 1:72 scale Martin B-57G Nighthawk is one of those golden oldie model kits that’s been around for a looong time. But it remains an interesting subject, representing a highly successful early medium jet bomber.

REVELL CLASSIC KIT - MARTIN B-57B ANGLO-AMERICAN JET BOMBER

Mat Irvine inspects:

The Revell-Germany Classic Kits range aims to bring you: 'Classic kits from 5 decades of modelling history', and one of the recent aviation reissues certainly adds to the list. This is the Martin B-57B, a twin-engine medium jet bomber built in the US as a licensed version of the English Electric Canberra.

Clouds of starter smoke surround an Air Guard B-57B.

ACADEMY ONTOS TANK-KILLER KIT TO 1:35 SCALE

SMN reports
The ROK (Republic of Korea) kit maker Academy is on something of a roll at the moment - company representatives were delighted to collect 2010 Modell des Jahres (Model of the Year) awards at the recent Nuremberg Toy Fair for their quite superb 1:35 scale Merkava tank and 1:72 scale M977 cargo truck.

And now Academy has a new-release 1:35 kit of the somewhat less-known M50A1 Ontos tank-killer. This was a small tracked vehicle in service from 1959-1965, and used with some success in the Vietnam War, by the US Marine Corps for fire support. Armament was a central machine gun, surrounded by six 106 mm (4.2 in) recoilless rifles, three on each side. Like all weapon systems, the Ontos (from a Greek word meaning ‘thing’) had some weaknesses, not least being the fact that the crew had to reload the rifles from outside, leaving themselves vulnerable to enemy fire. Still, the Ontos was light enough to be airlifted by cargo planes and CH-53 helicopters, making it a highly mobile weapon.

Academy’s kit is loaded with detail - a pair of crew figures are included, plus rounds of ammunition ready for loading. As you might expect, photo-etched parts are supplied, including light guards and engine exhaust protective mesh. Decals are nicely printed and the wide tracks are particularly handsome, with the unique tread pattern captured nicely.

As you can see from the Ontos on display at the National Museum of the Marine Corps (bottom pic), a ‘used’ example looks very different from the ‘factory-fresh’ Academy offering, so there’s plenty of room in this kit for detailing, weathering, damaging, and kit-bashing in general. All in all, an unusual and interesting addition to any 1:35 scale AFV collection.

Pictures courtesy Academy, US Marine Corps.

Visit the USMC Museum here.

The Ontos will be available from model stores and online suppliers shortly. Meantime there’s a range of Academy kits at Amazon that include such tasty items as the 1/35 M1A1 Abrams "Iraq 2003"