Scale Modelling news, reviews, features and more...
UPGRADED 'OFFICE'
Here’s a great upgrade for Airfix’s Beaufighter TF.X, in the form of a comprehensive resin and photo-etched (PE) brass cockpit, which replaces the styrene parts in their entirety.
'FIFTY CALS
Half-inch calibre Brownings were a common feature on many World War Two Allied aircraft, and this pack from Eduard provides six resin weapons.
STORM CONTROL
Part of CMK’s ‘Quick and Easy’ range, this resin control column is intended for parent firm Special Hobby’s 1/32 Hawker Tempests but is also suitable for Pacific Coast offerings.
COVERS AND VENTS
Hauler’s photo-etched brass grilles and manhole covers will make a fine addition to any scene but note these are industrial items (given their size), and not the versions seen on roads and kerbs.
DUST AND SAND
Combined weathering packages can be a boon to novice and experienced modellers alike, such as AMMO-MIG’s A.MIG-7802 set, which is intended for representations of World War Two’s desert campaign.
EASTERN STRAFERS
Compared to the military campaigns in Europe and the Pacific during World War Two, the China-Burma-India Theatre receives little attention, which makes this Osprey Combat Aircraft volume a ‘must-have’.
BIG CAT HUNTER
Kagero’s 91st TopDrawings publication is devoted to the Sd.Kfz.173 Jagdpanther (hunting panther) tank destroyer.
SECOND-GEN V/STOL
Harrier fans will welcome this lavishly printed monograph on Spanish Navy and US Marine Corps second-generation airframes, as it provides a wealth of data on these types.
FLYING DUTCHMAN
With new-tool 1/48 Fokker G.1 kits available and under development from Ukrainian firm MikroMir, this Dutch Profile book is a welcome reference guide to this twin-boom jachtkruiser (heavy fighter), of which just 62 were produced.
BALKAN FRONT LINE
In the aftermath of World War Two, Bulgaria was one of the first countries to adopt Soviet equipment and systems for its military, and this concise volume in the Europe@War series describes the transition of that nation’s air force during the 1950s.
WHISPERING GIANT GUIDE
Guideline’s 125th Warpaint book is a comprehensive guide to the Bristol Britannia – a turboprop-powered airliner known as the ‘Whispering Giant’ for its quiet operation – plus derivatives produced by Canadair: the CP-107 Argus maritime patrol aircraft and CC-106 Yukon cargo lifter.
FLYING PENCIL
Offering more than 700 high-quality photos, accompanied by an informative narrative, this Crécy publication is arguably the go-to reference for modellers with Do 17 projects on the bench.
SOVIET MOSQUITOES
It’s the turn of Yakovlev’s Yak-3 fighter to receive MMP’s ‘Spotlight On’ treatment, which provides a collection of 40 side-view profiles of the type.
HOME-GROWN FIGHTER
Continuing a recent theme of 1930s Yugoslavian aircraft types, Kagero’s 13th Monographs Special Edition is devoted to the Ikarus IK-2 – a gullwinged monoplane designed by French-trained engineers Ljubomir Ilić and Kosta Sivčev in Belgrade – then the country’s capital city.
TUTOR TRIBUTE
Leonardo’s M-346 (ex-Aermacchi) trainer and light-attack aircraft has been in service since 2015 with the Italian, Israeli, Polish and Singaporean air forces.
‘DEFLATED’ REPORTS
One of the best ways to counter exaggerated claims of air-to-air victories during combat is to examine the records from both sides, and this is the second set of Pacific Theatre accounts compiled by Michael Claringbould after comparing such information.
BALTIC BATTLES
The siege of Leningrad receives considerable attention from historians, but the campaign following its relief by Soviet forces in 1944 appears to have attracted much less attention when compared to events to the south.
EVENT RETURN!
Following a successful three-week period of COVID-19-secure opening, Newark Air Museum has announced it will host an outdoor Aeroboot sale on September 26, 2020.
SMALL-SCALE MILITARY SUBJECTS
A TRIO of new 1/72 military releases have been announced by Ukrainian company ACE Model, including World War Two-era FlaK 36-fitted Sd.Kfz.6/2 half-track and Humber Super Snipe staff car kits, plus a more modern Mercedes-Benz Unimog 4x4 truck.
SUPER-LIGHT GRAND TOURER
RESIN AUTOMOTIVE specialist Alpha Model has revealed another addition to its 1/24 supercar collection: an Aston Martin DBS Superleggera (super-light), which is now available to pre-order.
ROMANIAN-FLOWN GULLWING
The second iteration of IBG Models' splendid PZL P.11c fighter has been announced, with this new version (32002) containing markings for Romanian Air Force machines.
LATE-WAR SOVIETS
FIGURE SPECIALIST Stalingrad Miniatures has announced its latest themed collection of 1/35 resin subjects: six members of a Soviet tank crew from 1945.
DREAM CAR DELIGHTS
CHINESE FIRM Alpha Model has announced an expansion to its range of supercar kits with new 1/24 scale offerings of a Ferrari 488 Pista and McLaren 720S.
RE-OPENING MANOEUVRES
With the UK government announcing heritage sites can reopen from early July, the Newark Air Museum has moved several airframes in preparation for a new one-way route around the exhibits.
Airfix Model World August 2020
Welcome to Airfix Model World issue 117 - August 2020. Headlining this issue is a conversion of Airfix's 1/48 Gloster Javelin plus we have more than 70 reviews, basic, intermediate and advanced builds and much more. Read the magazine in PDF format here and look out for new posts here on KeyModelWorld during July.
RETURN OF THE AIRFIX CLUB
MODELLERS RECEIVED a welcome surprise on June 26, with the announcement that the Airfix Club was being restarted, with two levels of membership being offered.
PRIMARY PACKAGES
IWATA’S AIRBRUSHES and compressors are well-known for their quality and ease-of-use, and the firm’s Z-Model combo sets have now been expanded to contain a LifeColor Essentials paint set (ES01)
RE-OPENING PLANS
MUSEUM SHOPS are an important income source for many historical institutions, so their mid-June reopening (in line with UK government guidelines) mean there is welcome news from the Newark Air Museum.
DAS WERK DISTRIBUTOR
INCOMPLETE INFORMATION was provided in last month’s News article on the Das Werk Junkers EF-126/EF-127 entitled Three-in-One ‘What-if’