HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OUR READERS

OUR VERY BEST WISHES FOR a truly excellent festive break. Here's hoping too that there'll be enough time off to get that box opened up and end the year with a satisfying model build. 

BATMAN v SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE - THE BIGGEST BATMOBILE MODEL EVER?

IS THE UPCOMING 1:6 SCALE 2016 RELEASE from Hot Toys the largest Batmobile miniature yet released? Could be, and when you consider that for many of us, the Batmobile in its many forms is perhaps a bigger star than the Batman himself, it looks like the ultra-tech new version will be well worth waiting for.

NEW YEAR TEMPTATIONS - AIRFIX 2016 YEARBOOK REVEALS PLENTY OF INCOMING MODELS

 

THE LATEST AIRFIX 2016 YEARBOOK (aka ‘kit catalogue’) has hit the streets, and it’s packed with new kits. If you're into aircraft, then Airfix have a particularly interesting 2016 in store for you.

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS - GREAT IDEAS FOR MODEL DIORAMAS

NO EXCUSES for showing this neat video, as there are so many ideas for modellers. The crashed TIE fighter rather takes our fancy for a fresh take on this old sic-fi story. Hopefully we'll see a few appearing in model shows soon.

INCOMING - NEW ALBATROS B.II FROM WINGNUT WINGS

JUST IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS, the Wingnut Wings 1:32 scale Albatros B.II promises to be an epic build for those days after the turkey and trimmings chompathon.

STAR WARS 'THE FORCE AWAKENS' X-WING KIT FROM REVELL

THE FORCE AWAKENS is the latest in a long-running movie franchise that first hit the silver screen in 1977. Along with the new movie comes an invasion of merchandise, of which this 1:50 scale Revell X-Wing is just one.

DAMES DUELING TO THE DEATH? AIRFIX RUMOURED TO BE AIMING AT FEMALE MODEL FANS

ACCORDING TO REPORTS, AIRFIX is plotting new stuff 'for the girls' as the 60-year-old model kit maker targets a new generation of female scientists. Not forgetting that Hasegawa (above) is already in the female model maker market.

EASY EIGHT 1:35 SCALE SHERMAN TANK FROM 'BAND OF BROTHERS' TV SERIES

WE’VE BEEN CATCHING UP ON the multi-award winning TV series Band of Brothers recently, so the newly-released Tamiya 1:35 scale M4A3E8 Sherman tank is particularly interesting.

HAMEX KIT SWAP TODAY

YES, THE SEVENTH HAMEX KIT SWAP lands in Hanslope, UK, today. As ever, the K-9 Cafe serves up grub fit for kings (and model fans). Just turn up from 10.00-1600 hrs today. More details on the show here.

TASTY TAMIYA MAZDA TWO-SEATER ROADSTER

THE MAZDA ROADSTER - also called the MX-5 or Miata - has been a genre-defining car since it first went on sale in 1989. And this 2015 Tamiya kit depicts the latest fourth generation machine.

THE MODELHAUS - MODEL CARS, SPARES, AND A RETRO-STYLE SHASTA AIRFLYTE

THERE ARE PLENTY of companies making aftermarket parts for model cars, but few offer a range as comprehensive as that available from The Modelhaus.

MODEL CAR DECADES - THE SCALE AUTO BOOKS OF BILL COULTER

MODEL CAR HISTORIAN Bill Coulter has written three excellent colour books for anyone who loves retro-style Americana, and the greatest pony car of them all, the Ford Mustang.

WINNING MODELS AT SCALE MODELWORLD 2015

SCALE MODELWORLD is the national show for the UK IPMS (International Plastic Modellers Society). It was held over November 7-8, 2015, at the Telford International Conference Centre.

'MILANO' SPACECRAFT FROM THE SCI-FI MOVIE 'GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY'

THE HOLLYWOOD HIT Guardians of the Galaxy was a rip-roaring space opera that punched its way to popularity, and now stands in third place on the Marvel Studios all-time hit list. And now Fantastic Plastic has released a 1:144 scale kit of the Milano, a ship that plays a similar sort of role in Guardians to the Millennium Falcon in the various Star Wars movies.

2016 INCOMING: AIRFIX BOEING B-17G FLYING FORTRESS

ANOTHER AIRCRAFT KIT TO LOOK FORWARD to in 2016, the upcoming 1:72 scale Airfix Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress looks to be well waiting for. And that’s just as well, because release isn’t slated until Q3 2016, so it’ll probably be October 2016 before we see the kit in stores.

VIDEO LOOK AT IPMS SCALE MODELWORLD, TELFORD 2015

FOR THOSE OF US WHO didn't make it to the huge IPMS ModelWorld at Telford, UK, here's a roundup of what was there.

RIP GEORGE BARRIS, KING OF THE KUSTOMIZERS

 

GEORGE BARRIS, PERHAPS THE BEST KNOWN US car customiser - and inspiration for many custom car kits - died on November 5, 2015. 

2016 INCOMING - VICTOR B2 V-BOMBER FROM AIRFIX

ON DISPLAY THIS WEEKEND AT THE massive IPMS Scale ModelWorld at Telford, UK, is this latest 1:72 scale jet project from Airfix.

INCOMING: FLYING FLAPJACK FIGHTER FROM KITTY HAWK MODEL

LOVERS OF WEIRD and wonderful aircraft of the past will be delighted that Kitty Hawk Model has made an excellent 1:48 scale kit of a 1940s rarity, the Vought XF5U-1, tastily nicknamed the 'Flying Flapjack.'

700-PLUS ENTRIES RUN IN THE NAMELESS MODEL SHOW-OFF

ALSO HELD AT TOLEDO the year was an NNL (Nameless National Luminaries) model event.