INVASION OF THE CAR-TOONS - ZINGERS ARE BACK!

Mat Irvine takes a less than serious view:

Zingers date back to the 1970s, and are caricatures of cars and trucks. The vehicles have oversized engines, mounted on undersized bodies, an effect which gives them an original look, to say the least. Zingers originated by a roundabout route, as the idea actually came from model maker Dennis Johnson, as his entry in a competition run by the original MPC company in the early 1970s. His entries created such an impression that MPC decided to produce them as kits, coming out with eight-strong collection.

1:25 SCALE INTERNATIONAL LONESTAR TRUCK KIT FROM MOEBIUS MODELS

Mat Irvine inspects:

When the first 1:25 scale truck kit came out, the sheer size of it was a great surprise to anyone used to much smaller car kits. This 'first of the many' was produced by AMT in the mid-1960s, and featured a US Peterbilt conventional ('conventional' denoting a car-style hood or bonnet). Since then, we’ve seen a whole range of trucks in 1:25 and 1:24 scales from model companies such as Italeri and Ertl, plus both US and German Revell companies.  

NEW BOOK FROM A FRENCH AUTHOR - 1973-2000 THE STORY OF MATCHBOX KITS

Mat Irvine reviews:

The well-known French modeller, Jean-Christophe Carbonel (otherwise known to all as ‘JC’), has produced another book for the French publisher, Histoire & Collections.

The Story of Matchbox Kits homes in on a very British subject, and those whose French may not be up to scratch can breath a sigh of relief right now, as the edition I am talking about here is printed in English!

JC at the UK IPMS Scale Model World, Telford.

LAST LANDING - SPACE SHUTTLE ATLANTIS RETURNS TO EARTH

It’s the end of the space trucking era, says David Jefferis:

Forty two years after Armstrong and Aldrin stepped onto the Moon’s surface, it was touchdown for the Space Shuttle Atlantis, and the last-ever mission for the most complex spacecraft system ever built. There’s moaning and groaning by the bucketload, with headlines claiming the end of the US space program, but the reality is that the Shuttle, whatever its merits, represented a retreat from the Moon and true space exploration. For the Shuttle was a space truck to Earth orbit, and no further. Let’s hope that privateer companies like Elon Musk’s SpaceX, and Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, fulfill their ambitions and take humans onward and outward, to explore the High Frontier.

BACK TO THE FUTURE - APOLLO 11 MOON LANDING 42nd ANNIVERSARY TODAY

David Jefferis reports:

Forty two years ago today, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the Moon, while Michael Collins orbited high above in the Apollo Command Module. The Lunar Module (LM) was a four-legged aluminium-skinned contraption that was a true ‘space’ craft, designed for operation in a vacuum, with none of the smooth streamlined shape necessary for flight in a planetary atmosphere.

Apollo 11 models

There are various models available that commemorate the landing, including the 1:72 scale Airfix diorama kit that includes the LM, a neatly sculpted rectangle of cratered lunar terrain and logistics support in the form of surface instruments, a mixed bunch of astronauts, and Lunar Rovers. The terrain base is a good size, somewhat larger than an A4 sheet, at 348 mm (13.7 in) long x 247 mm (9.7 in). Cement, acrylic paints, and a brush are also included.

ATLANTIS MODELS - 1:6 SCALE AURORA BISON KIT BROUGHT UP TO DATE

Mat Irvine looks at a retro-engineered kit:

The original Aurora company excelled at figures, especially TV and movie stars, but the company also made a whole range of animal kits. Sadly, few of these exist today, as mould materials and tool frames were often reused to make new kits when Aurora was at its height, or in later years when Monogram took over the tooling, many were considered no longer viable, and destroyed. 

NEW BOOK BY MAT IRVINE FOR AUTO FANS - ‘SCALE CAR MODELLING’ DUE SOON

SMN report:

Mat Irvine’s new book will appeal to all model car fans - it’s called simply Scale Car Modelling, and is due for publication on September 26. It joins other useful modelling titles by Mat, including Auto Modelling Masterclass and The Car Modeller’s Handbook.

A tiny few from Mat's vast scale auto collection.

REVELL CLASSIC KIT - PATROL TORPEDO BOAT PT-167

Mat Irvine inspects:

The US Patrol Torpedo Boat is a kit that has appeared in various forms over the years, including one branded under the ‘McHale’s Navy’ name, from the US TV series that ran from 1962-1966. This new Classic Kits release features another boat, PT-167, and a bonus is that it comes in 1:72 standard model scale, matching similar water-borne craft from Airfix. When assembled, PT-167 is 334 mm (13.15 in) long, a size that’s suitable for display on virtually any shelf or desk.

GREEN HORNET 'BLACK BEAUTY' - 1:43 DIECAST CAR FROM SUN STAR

SMN report:

China-based Sun Star is probably best known for its truly excellent range of 1:24 scale bus and coach diecast models, and the even larger 1:12 Volkswagens and Morris Minors. It’s not so notable in smaller scales perhaps, but this recent addition to the range shows that Sun Star retains its mojo, even when working in 1:43 scale.

MOEBIUS MODELS BATTLESTAR GALACTICA - HUGE SPACECRAFT, TINY SCALE

Size is Important, says Mat Irvine:

There is a big problem when you try to make a small model of an immense object, and it is literally one of scale. With most models, it’s an easy subconscious trick to work out scale by comparing bits and pieces on the model to their real-life counterparts.

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.

COMING ON JULY 31 - AUTOMODELLISMO SHOW IN THE UK

SMN report:

Automodellismo is the only model show in the UK that specialises in cars. The show has been running for several years, but 2011 sees a change of venue, to that used by the HaMeX show - Hanslope Village Hall, north of Milton Keynes, Bucks. Automodellismo is being organised by some of the HaMeX organisers, particularly Paul Fitzmaurice of little-cars.com. The countdown to the show is on now, and today it stands at A-minus 22 days... Automodellismo will be held on Sunday 31 July 2011.
  

Mr J with green friend at the first HaMeX show.

REVELL CLASSIC KIT - HONEST JOHN MISSILE AND MOBILE CARRIER

Mat Irvine reports:

Revell-Germany continues its Classic Kits reissue range (‘A classic kit from 5 decades of modelling history’) with the Honest John Missile and Mobile Carrier. It’s a 1958-vintage kit that was first produced in Revell’s original home town of Venice, California. 

HJ makes an interesting load for the Kenworth truck and Fruehauf trailer.

GERMAN HEINKEL JET BOMBER ‘LUFTWAFFE 1946’ KIT

SMN report:

Fantastic Plastic is at it again with an interesting ‘Luftwaffe 1946’ offering, a Heinkel long-range jet bomber design. The project never left the drawing board, but as with all these Luft 46 designs, offers a fascinating insight into the direction World War II could have taken if Hitler’s secret projects had reached fruition.

REVELL CITROEN 2CV TEST SHOTS - A CLASSIC FRENCH CAR KIT COMING IN AUGUST

SMN report:

Here’s a set of pictures that should tempt French car fans. The subject is a moulding test shot for Revell’s upcoming Citroen 2CV ‘Deux Chevaux’, a classic set of wheels from the land of garlic and escargots. The new-tool kit is due for release in August 2011, and will have 126 components. Produced to 1:24 scale, the 2CV model will measure 160 mm (6.3 in) long. 

The real thing - Citroen 2CV Charleston.

A READY-MADE HIDEOUT FOR THE FRENCH RESISTANCE

Mat Irvine looks at a useful diorama structure 

It is somewhat ironic, given that the name ‘Hornby’ equates with model trains, that when the company acquired Airfix in 2006, items that were not included in the purchase were railway trackside buildings and accessories, which had been sold to Dapol in 1985. The exception was the Airfield Control Tower as, although it started off as a trackside accessory, it had been - probably logically - moved to the aircraft section of the catalogue before the Hornby sale!

HORNBY GAINS FROM 2012 OLYMPICS AND WINS STAR WARS

SMN report 

Hornby has just hit the headlines with exciting Scalestric news. In the words of Hornby CEO Frank Martin: “We are delighted that we have secured the worldwide licence for a range of Star Wars Scalextric products. As the films are converted into 3D format by Lucasfilm over the next few years, we anticipate that we will get an encouraging reaction to our new range of speeder bikes and X-wing fighters. We also have high hopes for our products associated with the new Disney/Pixar movie "Cars 2".

AIRFIX VOSTOK ROCKET PART 3 - SPUTNIK OR LUNIK?

Mat Irvine discusses Vostok's background

To finish this three-part appraisal of the reissued Airfix Vostok launcher, it’s worth pointing out that you don’t just get the version that launched the Vostok spacecraft. Because 2011 is the 50th year of humans in space, the kit has been issued with cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin’s orbital version to the forefront, but other options have included Soyuz and Sputnik - or have they?

The first satellite

First, a bit of background. Sputnik 1 was the first artificial satellite to be launched, on October 4, 1957, and so began the ‘Space Age’. The launcher as a whole, usually called the A-type in the west, or R-7 or Semyorka (‘Seven’) by the Soviets, was based on the SS-6 Sapwood ICBM.

NEW LONDON BUS NOW A RUNNING PROTOTYPE - SO WHEN WILL WE SEE A KIT OF IT?

David Jefferis reports

London’s new double-decker bus is coming along nicely by the looks of things. A few days ago London Mayor Boris Johnson test-drove the prototype around a test track, and in his typically ebullient form, praised it like a brand-new toy - which in a sense it is, as he was the man who gave the green light to the concept development.

Past-perfection returning with new style

I loathe hugely-long bendy buses, so I’m all in favour of a return to two decks, if only for the views from up top. The new bus will have an open platform at the back too - no more being trapped by closed doors when you are a couple of metres from the bus stop! And with the swooping glass areas, even going up and down the stairs ought to be an eye-opening experience, though I guess ladies in short skirts might have to check their modesty from the gaze of street-smart oglers, even through tinted panels.

SCALE MODEL NEWS MOBILE EDITION UPDATE

SMN report

Just a reminder that for smartphone users, SMN is available in the small-screen Mobile Edition. You can read it wherever you have a phone signal - though it’s fair to say that, as ever, 3G or wi-fi is best for downloading the pictures.

Zoom pix with SMN Mobile Edition

SMN-ME comes up automatically on your phone (we use the iPhone 3GS at SMN) and is simple to use. Just place a finger on an article and the main piece opens up. If you want a bigger picture, tap it and a zoomable finger-spread version will appear. Comments are easy to make, and you can view the standard web version by tapping the link at the bottom.