THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO! NEW GERRY ANDERSON SERIES COMING IN 2015

UK toy company Vivid Imaginations is to release models and toys for a new Thunderbirds are Go! series, having signed up as master toy partner.

TINTIN MOVIE MECCANO KITS

David Jefferis reports:

The trailer of the latest Stephen Spielberg movie The Adventures of Tintin is with us, as is news that Meccano is to sell construction sets based on a Tintin theme. The movie is due for release on December 23, 2011, but the Meccano sets should be available well before that.

Handsome yellow seaplane is the subject of one of the Meccano sets.

LIMITED-EDITION RAYGUN MODELS FROM NEW ZEALAND

There’s a special kind of science-fiction called ‘steampunk’. It’s a fantasy mixture of Victoriana meeting high-tech, with airships, mechanical computers, and all sorts of other bits and bobs thrown in. And rayguns are part and parcel of the steampunk genre, as the pictures of ‘Dr Grordbort’s Infallible Aether Oscillators’ above make clear.

Dr Grordbort’s ‘weapons’ are actually non-lethal life-size models, designed by Greg Broadmore, conceptual designer at Weta Workshops, a world-renowned movie special-effects outfit based in New Zealand. Weta has done effects for many top movies, from King Kong to Lord of the Rings. The video gives an idea of what Greg’s about - and in particular the translation from a visual design to a ‘real’ object by the superb skills of Weta’s modelmaking team.

For sci-fi fans, having one of Dr Grordbort’s deadly rayguns on home display is something to aim for, though prices are not cheap - you’re looking at $690 USD (£420 GBP) for the Manmelter (top raygun pic). Then again, these are highly collectible items produced in a run of just 500, and each one comes in a superb display case.

Here at SMN Towers, we’re having a go at our own steampunkish raygun - we’ll post details as the killer beast takes form.

Find out about Weta rayguns here.

Video via Wired.

WE WANT WINGNUT WINGS!

Many good things are coming from New Zealand these days, from luscious scenes from the Lord of the Rings movie saga to the collectible steampunk rayguns offered by the Weta visual-effects outfit.

And now New Zealand has temptations for World War I aeromodellers, with an initial offering of four kits in big 1:32 scale, from Wingnut Wings. WW has released a pair of Brits - SE5a and Bristol F2b - and a pair of Germans - Junkers J1 and LVG CVI - and they do look excellent. SMN’s only spotted one review so far, but the signs look good and we’re looking forward to receiving ours in the post.

Wingnut Wings products are available only by mail order, so don’t expect to see them in your hobby store anytime soon. You can order (free shipping at the time of writing) from Wingnut Wings here at $79.00 USD each, except for the SE5a which is $59.00 USD.

Do take time to look around the Wingnut Wings website - it’s packed with interesting stuff, including details of new releases and resin figures.

Ray guns: Superb Steampunk weapons, ready to off the bug-eyed monsters!

Proof that you don’t need to kitbash to produce a work of wonder comes from US teacher and photographer Cohophoto, who has a tasty photostream on his Flikr site.

For sci-fi lovers, Cohophoto’s “Atomic Disruptor Raygun” is a delight that’s packed with steampunk features for that Victoriana look. The handle comes from an old Super-8 movie camera, with various radio parts used in the rest.

Cohophoto is not alone in his raygun love - in fact, so am I (as with all things science-fictional). There’s a New Zealand outfit called Weta that markets similarly steampunkish visions for collectors. Weta is well known for its cinema effects work on movies such as Lord of the Rings, so it’s no surprise that they can come up with such mouthwatering products for public sale.

They’re not cheap though - the weapon shown is on sale at a (gulp) cool $1399 NZD (£556 GBP).