SMALLSPACE 2022 LURES HUNDREDS OF SCALE MODEL SCI-FI FANS

MAT IRVINE AND PAUL FITZMAURICE brought another gathering of sci-fi modellers to the English village of Hanslope.

STROMBECKER CLASSIC KIT HISTORY FROM MAX'S MODELS

ANYONE WITH A NOSTALGIC MEMORY for classic Strombecker kits will enjoy this vid from Max’s Models.

LOOKING BACK AT ANDY YANCHUS AND AURORA

HERE'S A BIO-VID FROM Max's Models, and it makes fascinating viewing of a man who was heavily involved with one of the classic names of the plastic kit industry.

SCALE MODELLERS AND SELF-ISOLATION

THE WORLD CURRENTLY FACES the deadly coronavirus on the rampage. But – and so we can maybe escape some of the gloom and doom – modellers can use some of the anti-virus measures to our advantage. And that includes the all-important isolation from others.

HAYNES MODEL BUILDERS' MANUAL BY MAT IRVINE

DESTINED TO BECOME ANOTHER MUST-HAVE on the bookshelves of scale model makers, this new title is written by SMN contributor Mat Irvine.

PLENTY OF ALIENS AND OTHER ENTITIES DROP IN ON SMALLSPACE 8

 

THE SKILLS AND CRAFTSMANSHIP of miniature makers were in generous supply at today's Smallspace 8 show. Here are just a few of the entries on display.

FINE SCALE MODELER MAGAZINE MEETS MAT IRVINE

LOOK AND LEARN about our very own Mat Irvine in this wide-ranging interview with Aaron Skinner, of the respected Fine Scale Modeller magazine.

MAT'S MARVELLOUS MODEL MUSEUM

A GOOD READ FOR ALL MODEL enthusiasts, Mat's Marvellous Model Museum is part autobiography and part kit history. It's a fascinating read that's available online now.

WINDOW OF WONDERS - MAT'S MARVELLOUS MODEL MUSEUM

WE TOOK A LOOK through the window of Mat Irvine's 'Marvellous Model Museum' recently, and here are just a few of the pre-Christmas miniatures we saw there.

HERE'S A SNEAK PEEK INTO AN ALADDIN'S CAVE OF MINIATURES - MAT'S MARVELLOUS MODEL MUSEUM

Here's a invitation to have a look inside Mat Irvine's palace of small wonders, his Marvellous Model Museum. It's packed with just about every model kit you have ever heard of - and plenty that you haven't...

COUNTDOWN TO HAMEX 4

Hanslope Model Expo (HaMeX) is due once again - this year it’s on Sunday December 2, so here’s a chance to see what's going on.

MAT IRVINE’S ‘SCALE CAR MODELLING’ - THE BOOK FOR ALL AUTO FANS

SMN book review:

Here’s another solid, dependable, and interest-packed book from SMN’s own Mat Irvine. This one arrived from the PR Dept at the Crowood Press recently, and matches the format of Mat’s other Crowood title Scale Spacecraft Modelling published in 2006. Scale Car Modelling comes in oversize paperback format, is full-colour throughout, and has 176 pages plus covers.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL MODELMAKERS!

Scale Model News wishes you all a Happy and Prosperous 2012. 

And then we'll be back tomorrow and beyond with news of... a stunning ultra-large scale World War II fighter with amazing interior detail... a science-fiction flying cop car... a NASA hot-rod... and much, much more...

But for now, enjoy today's New Year Slide Show! 

IPMS SCALE MODELWORLD 2011 - PHOTO REPORT

SMN report:

The Scale ModelWorld 2011 Show was a major event last weekend for the IPMS (International Plastic Modellers Society), and a galaxy of models were on display. SMN’s own Mat Irvine was at the show with a stand (above), and all in all, the annual bash went down very well indeed.

IPMS SCALE MODELWORLD 2011 - THIS WEEKEND

SMN report:

The Scale ModelWorld 2011 Show is a big event in the IPMS (International Plastic Modellers Society) diary, and is thought to be the world’s largest model show, in both size and visitor numbers. It attracts thousands of people from all over the globe, and is on today and tomorrow, November 12-13.

SMN’s own Mat Irvine will be there, and there are many other highlights if you can make it, such as:

IPMS SCALE MODELWORLD 2011 - A MUST-VISIT SHOW FOR MODEL FANS

SMN update:

The Scale ModelWorld 2011 Show is heralded as: ‘The Greatest Model Show on Earth’. It’s certainly a mega-event that the IPMS (International Plastic Modellers Society) reckons is the world’s largest model show, in both size and visitor numbers. It attracts thousands of people from all over the globe. So keep your diary free for next weekend, November 12-13.

DALEK SECRETS REVEALED IN ‘BBC VFX’ BOOK FROM MAT IRVINE AND MIKE TUCKER

David Jefferis turns the pages

First things first - BBC VFX is a thundering great tome that tips the scales at not far south of 2 kg (4 lb) and is an encyclopedic 240 pages from end to end. And in fact, that’s just what it is - a show-by-show encyclopedia detailing the work of the BBC Visual Effects (‘VFX’) Department down the years.

SMN contributor Mat Irvine

The two authors behind BBC VFX are long-time experts in the VFX field. We know Mat well for his contributions to SMN, and for his droolworthy Model Museum, packed with examples just about every kit ever made. Mike Tucker worked at the BBC until 2003, and now runs his own company, The Model Unit, based at Ealing Studios near London.

Daleks to Moonbase 3

So what’s between the covers of BBC VFX? Quite simply, the most complete listings, descriptions, and behind-the-scenes information about virtually every BBC TV show that’s featured the Department’s expertise. Some of these are world-renowned - Doctor Who and the Daleks, for example; others are less well known - I’d never even heard of the 1970s series Moonbase 3, much less seen a show. But famous or not, Mat and Mike have put together a showstopper of a book that is packed with fascinating facts, whatever the TV show they are talking about.

AIRFIX MODEL WORLD MAGAZINE - THE LAUNCH ISSUE

David Jefferis reports
Here we have 100 colour pages of the new and revived Airfix Magazine - well, it's now retitled Airfix Model World for 2010 - and a pretty good effort it is too. I’ve been involved with several magazine launches over the years, and know a little of the sweat and toil that goes into the first one. It’s always a steep learning curve and I doubt this launch AFW is an exception. So well done to the team involved.

What’s it like?
First off is the cover - and centre-spread - both of which feature the work of the Airfix ‘wunderkind’ box-artist, Adam Tooby. He’s already up there in the pantheon of the best - Roy Cross, at last you have a decent successor. Tooby manages to combine the precision of computer generated imagery with an artist’s touch for the finished work. I reckon we’ll see a few of his box-tops appearing as art prints before too long.

See inside
Editorial is wide-ranging, with a strong feature on the 1:48 Sea Vixen kit from Airfix, which has some very nice detail photographs, including closeups of the neatly-modelled observer’s cockpit and radarscope. Elsewhere we have articles on the 1:32 Aston Martin DBR9 racer, and a Hasegawa 1:48 F-4J Phantom II. There are also the expected extras, including news, skills, books, kits and decals. All in all, the mag makes a good read, with a flavour that’s not overly ‘Airfix’. In fact, I might want a bit more of this - there is lots of background detail to the company that I would be fascinated to learn about.
   
Space with Mat Irvine
I couldn’t finish without a mention of SMN’s own Mat Irvine, with his ‘Space Build’ feature. This one takes you through the Airfix 1:144 scale Saturn V, pulling no punches with its faults and features. Interesting article - nice one, Mat!

Visit Airfix here.

Visit Mat Irvine here.

Airfix Model World here.

UPCOMING IPMS SHOW - A MUST-VISIT FOR ALL MODEL FANS

SMN report
For UK and European model enthusiasts, the IPMS (UK) Scale ModelWorld 2010 Show is ‘The Modelling Event of the Year’. Well, that’s the poster’s description, but it’s pretty accurate, for the show - in Telford, Shropshire - is certainly a mega-event. You’ll have a choice of 100-plus trade stands and 100-plus IPMS Branch and SIG (Special Interest Group) displays to look at, surely enough to keep any model fan drooling over the entire weekend of 13-14 November.

Model competition
A big draw at the IPMS event - over and above all those display stands - will be the model competition, in which entries are all-new - or at least, cannot have been entered in an IPMS event before. Note that all entries except Juniors should be pre-registered by November 6 - that’s this coming Saturday. The standard of modelmaking at IPMS events is simply superb, and doubtless this event will be well up to previous levels of excellence.

Mat Irvine
SMN’s Mat Irvine will be judging the Space, Science-Fiction and Fantasy competition entries, and will have his own stand at the show, where his excellent model books will be on sale. Mat is also aiming to display some of the car models that will appear in his new book Scale Car Modelling, scheduled for publication in mid-2011.

Visitor from the Far East
Also present at the IPMS show will be HobbyLink Japan. HLJ is eager to give UK enthusiasts a taste of their vast range of interesting and exotic stuff. A real draw for aerospace fans will be HLJ’s guest, the revered Japanese artist Shigeo Koike, who has  painted so many superbly-drafted kit box-tops. Shigeo will be signing prints and other artwork. 

Visit the IPMS here.

Visit HobbyLink Japan here.

Visit Mat Irvine here.

The pictures show, top to bottom:
1  IPMS poster.
2  A blast from the past - two very early Airfix kits.
3  Shigeo Koike Mustang art.

SPACE IN MINIATURE MODEL REFERENCE GUIDES

Mat Irvine reports
Mike Mackowski is a long-time space modeller and one of the main members of the online Yahoo ‘Space Modelers’ group. Over some years now, Mike has compiled seven hardcopy books especially for modellers on spacecraft topics, including titles for Gemini, Mercury and two volumes on Apollo, one for the Command Service Module and one for the Lunar Module. Now he has produced his first ‘Tech Report’, a series intended to be shorter and to be available only as a download, thus having the advantage that they can be in colour.

Skylab details
Tech Report #1.0 (TR1) is on Skylab, prompted by Mike’s particular interest in America’s first space station. Mike worked for a time at McDonnell Douglas in St Louis, where Skylab’s airlock module was built. Previously he had spent time as a student at NASA’s Marshall Spaceflight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, where the Skylab trainer was housed. He was also at Marshall when Skylab was actually launched in 1973.

What’s in the TR1 pdf
TR1 contains images of the actual Skylab (perhaps surprisingly, not that many were taken) and many drawings showing schematics of what was a very complex object, especially when it came to the Apollo Telescope Mount (ATM) that once in orbit, had to rotate 90 degrees from its stowed launch position.

Making a 1:96 scale Skylab
TR1’s end-section has details of Skylab models that have been available (not many) with reference to my own Creating Space book, and then a chapter on modelling a Skylab in 1:96 scale. In all, you get 22 pages as a pdf download, well worth the asking price of $6.00 USD.

Visit Yahoo Space Modelers group here.

For Tech Report #1.0 and previous books, check out Space in Miniature here.

See Creating Space here.

The pictures show, top to bottom:
1  TR1 download cover.
2-3  Space in Miniature hardcopy covers.
4  Mike Mackowski (left) with Mat Irvine at the 2002 US IPMS Nationals held at Virginia Beach, US.
5  Logo for the Yahoo Space Modelers group.