REVELL AIDA LINES CRUISE SHIP - DISPLAY PIX OF FINISHED KIT

Cruise liner progress:

We featured the Revell cruise ship kit before its release in November 2011, when the pix available were the plain test shots. Now Revell has released images of the ship in ready-to-show condition, and very handsome she looks too. The model shown here is the 1:400 scale version, and the 300-odd components assemble to make a model that measures some 629 mm (24.8 in) long. A simpler kit is also available, and this one is three times smaller, being made to 1:1200 scale.

2012 GET RICH STRATEGY? TRY OLD KITS AND DINKY TOYS

David Jefferis reports:

International finances are such that 2012 could be a difficult year if you’re the investing type. However, a relevant question for the scale model fan is: “Does the model and miniature world offer any money-making opportunities?” Perhaps surprisingly, the answer is a guarded yes, as old plastic kits continue to be valued buys for connoisseurs, assuming they are mint and boxed, in unbuilt condition, and with all parts present and correct.

STAR WARS INCOMING - 1:14 SCALE LANDSPEEDER FROM REVELL

Mat Irvine reports:

Of all the craft featured in the Star Wars saga, one of my personal favourites is Luke Skywalker’s X-34 Landspeeder, first seen in Star Wars Episode IV: ‘A New Hope’. And now - hurrah! - we have a kit to build. 

2012 INCOMING - HIGH-FLIGHT KITS FROM DRAGON

SMN report:

Here’s a bunch of 2012 aerospace kits from Hong Kong’s Dragon, and very good they look too.

First American in space

On May 5, 2012, it will be 50 years since Alan Shepard Jr piloted the Freedom 7 Mercury capsule to become the first US astronaut. And now Dragon celebrates Shepard’s sub-orbital flight with a 1:72 kit of the Mercury capsule, together with its Redstone launch rocket.

2012 INCOMING - NEW AIRFIX KITS AND ACCESSORIES

SMN update:

The 2012 Airfix catalogue is with us, and the company has a host of tasty new products in the pipeline for the coming year. Here’s a look at some of the good stuff to come.

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.

SCIENCE-FICTION FEAST FOR 2012 - FUJIMI BRINGS US ‘BLADE RUNNER’ FLYING COP CAR

Mat Irvine reports:

Even after all these years, the model companies can still surprise us, especially when one of them - Fujimi of Japan - recently announced a model kit of a ‘star car’ that appeared in Blade Runner, a famous science-fiction movie first released no less than 30 years ago this June.

MEGA MOON ROCKET FROM FANTASTIC PLASTIC

David Jefferis reports:

Great news for ‘what-if’ space fans from Fantastic Plastic, with this month’s release of a reworked and upsized 1:72 scale version of Revell’s 1950s-era XSL-01 Moon Rocket. The original kit, designed by US aerospace engineer Ellwyn E. Angle, was a 1:96 scale production, making the FP edition half as big again.

DeAGOSTINI RELEASES BIG 1:16 SCALE MITSUBISHI ZERO FIGHTER IN - COUNT THEM - 25 EPISODES

SMN report:

The Italian partwork publisher DeAgostini is creating something of a reputation for large-scale kits, with several ships and a racing car produced so far in its ModelSpace range. Now aviation fans are target customers, with this massive 1:16 scale Mitsubishi A6M2b Model 21 Zero fighter, a widely produced version of the famed Japanese aircraft that was such a fearsome combat adversary for Allied forces early in World War II.

HORNBY GETS GROWN-UP - 2012 AD CAMPAIGNS TARGET ADULTS

SMN market report:

Hornby Hobbies are expanding the company image away from pocket-money-price ‘small boys’ toys’ to moneyed-and-mature ‘big boys’ toys.’ Well, that’s our take on the plan. In advertising marketeer-speak, Hornby has launched: “a long-term brand campaign as part of a big push to introduce adult consumers to its products.” Having said that, Hornby traditional strengths remain, with updates to the rail range that include the 4-4-0 locomotive above, and the ready-weathered 4-6-0 Black 5 shown after the jump.

WHAT TO BUILD IN 2012? INCOMING KITS FROM ITALERI

SMN report:

Argh! What should I build in 2012? What new models are coming up? These are questions we might all be asking, so here’s a quartet of kits from Italeri that should be available right now - so all the better to get on building. Whether you go for a boat, a plane, or a tank, is up to you, but whichever it is, we wish you modelmaking success all the way through the year to come.

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! 

STEALTH JET OR JAMES BOND AUTOGYRO? YOUR CHOICE!

Stealth technology is standard-issue on military hardware today, but not so long ago, it was top secret and kept far away from detailed public knowledge. So model companies came out with various guesstimate-kits, based on informed thinking by experts. Among these was the MiG-37B stealth jet, a 'faction' model even given the notional NATO codename, 'Ferret E.'

FESTIVE SEASON SLIDE SHOW - FROM PEUGEOT RACE CAR TO LUFTWAFFE 1946

2011's coming to an end now, and it's been a year of steady growth for SMN, we're pleased to say. The Mobile Edition has been an interesting experiment, and in 2012, we should be able to make newsposts directly from the trusty iPhone. It's a high-tech world all right!

AMAZING AND EXTRAORDINARY - TINIEST MODEL TRAIN EVER MADE?

SMN is awestruck:

This video shows an amazingly small oval-track rail layout - built in ultra-tiny microscale to fit inside a Z-gauge model shop window... Watch and enjoy.

Plus, the daily SMN Festive Slideshow. We have 20 items of scale gorgeousness on show today, though object number one, a cyber-pup, is more art than scale model. It's a steampunk creation, made up of various scrap components including a 1950s-era retro toaster. We like Fido's smile, though trust he doesn't bite, as metal teeth are liable to be sharp...  

MORE MODELS TO ENJOY...

A Baker's Dozen for you today, with subjects ranging from the gorgeous Imai Thunderbirds kit above, to Belgium's Tin Tin, the suave super-spy James Bond, and the British sci-fi hero Dan Dare - and of course, Dan's Venusian nemesis, the melon-headed Mekon, nastiest alien super-villain to strut the spaceways...

MORE PIX FOR THE FESTIVE SEASON

We trust you've had a great Festive Season so far - relax here over some tasty models...

BOXING DAY SLIDE SHOW

Hey, we hope you've had a great Christmas Day... and here's a Boxing Day slide show of interesting stuff.

Come back daily to see a group of models each time. And... enjoy the rest of your day!

HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL MODELMAKERS

If you have broken off your Christmas Day festivities to have a look at SMN, then we'll just say: "Thank you for visiting Scale Model News in 2011 and we look forward to your company for the rest of this year, and of course, during the New Year 2012 to come."

The pix are of our stellar (well, Star Wars) light display - and after the festive season is over, those attractive blue LEDs may well find continuing use as blast-pit lighting for our big starship landing field diorama.

But that's another story, to be told in 2012!

AERIAL ACTION -1:32 SCALE HEINKEL He 219 UHU COMING IN 2012

SMN report:

Recent rumours have swirled around the notion of Revell adding to its big-scale range with a Heinkel He 219 Uhu (Owl) night fighter. And it seems that this really is going to happen, and that it won’t simply be a scaled-up version of the 1:72 scale kit already available.