Scale Modelling news, reviews, features and more...
KAISERLICHE CAPITAL SHIPS
Opening a Super Drawings volume has a very familiar feel, as they all follow the same well-organised format of an introduction to the subject – in this case Germany’s Brandenburg-class battleships – covering design, armament and operational history, followed by masses of digital images.
POLES IN SPITS
There have been many reference books on the Supermarine Spitfire, but this MMP/Stratus offering takes a refreshingly different stance by focusing on the Mk.V variant and squadrons manned by Polish nationals during World War Two.
TRACKED GENERALS
While there may have been other books on the M3 Lee and Grant tanks, none have delved into the same level of detail as David Doyle’s encyclopaedic volume.
BIRTH OF THE BUCHÓN
The Hispano Aviación HA-1112 may well be familiar to many readers from its appearances in films such as Battle of Britain, Memphis Belle, The Tuskegee Airmen and Dunkirk, where it acted as a stand-in for Bf 109s.
BATTLESHIP TARGET
Of all the German Kriegsmarine’s vessels, the Bismarck and its sister Tirpitz were the most feared by the British during World War Two, and the campaign to sink or otherwise cripple the latter is the subject of this Air Campaign volume.
INTERCONTINENTAL PIONEER
Many aircraft can be declared revolutionary, but if any type was more deserving of that sobriquet than others it is Boeing’s massive B-29 Superfortress, which ushered in truly intercontinental range and the atomic age.
ARMY FIGHTER COLOURS
The author has set himself a daunting challenge with this first of the Pacific Profiles series – to document the colours and markings of Japanese Army aircraft based in New Guinea.
BEHIND THE WHEEL
Modellers needing figures for their ANZAC Model T LCP/Utility vehicles will find ICM’s driver set ideal.
‘RUPERT’ TANKER
Inspired by wartime artist WJP Jones’ satirical cartoons, White Whiskers No.1 is the first in a fourpiece series of caricature-type figures.
GERMAN GROUNDCREW
Builders of German airfield dioramas will find this three-piece resin mechanic figure very useful – it is posed as if walking to/from an aircraft while carrying an open-topped wooden toolbox.
ESSENTIAL BUSINESS
Czech kit and accessory manufacturer AB&K has released a neat instant vignette, in the form of a resin pit-type outhouse and a German soldier who is undertaking ‘essential business’ – both items are available separately (as 35002 and 35003 respectively), the latter with a rather colourful title!
AGEING RAIDER
The first of Master Box’s post-apocalypse Desert Battle Series figures portrays a long-lived member of the Skull Clan named Vadim.
MOVING TO POSITION
ICM’s third SWAT Team figure is posed as if moving forward with an M4 rifle in the ready position, alert to any potential threat.
SLEEK COUPÉ
Here’s the return of Airfix’s 1/32 Maserati Indy, first released in 1973, when the real vehicle (which was named for the company’s 1939 and 1940 Indy 500 wins) was still in production.
MAKING A SPLASH
With 11 styrene runners, separate bodyshell and floorpan, vinyl mesh and four hollow tyres, Hobby NuNu’s Mitsubishi Lancer Turbo makes a colourful splash in its Team Ralliart 1982 Rally of 1000 Lakes livery.
EUROPEAN HAULER
Italeri’s latest IVECO Hi-Way truck has an established pedigree, being based on the Stralis chassis/body.
AFRICAN RACER
Italeri has re-released ESCI’s 1/24 Mercedes-Benz 450 SLC as raced in the 1979 Rallye Bandama, an event infamous for its arduous conditions.
BIRD OF PREY BONANZA
Sci-fi modellers are in for a real treat with Greenstrawberry’s latest Fruitpack release, as it combines two separate sets to upgrade AMT’s Klingon B’Relclass Bird of Prey.
ZOUKEI-MURA IN 2021/22
Following last month’s release round-up, the focus is on Japanese aircraft kit specialist Zoukei-Mura, which has announced a busy schedule for the year.
MORE FOR YOUR SPITFIRE
Aftermarket specialist Alleycat Models has just announced a series of resin accessories designed to upgrade Airfix’s newly tooled 1/72 Spitfire Mk.Vc.
NUNU RACERS
Japanese firm Hobby NuNu’s latest 1/24 auto releases include a return of its Volvo 240 Turbo and a new tooling in the shape of a BMW 320i (E46) tourer.
DECAL-FORM DETAIL
Modelling is one of those hobbies where new innovations are seized upon eagerly, and flexible 3D-printed decals are a logical step from the ways 3D-printed parts are created.
TRUCKS, BLADES AND BUGGIES
Hong Kong firm Gecko Models’ products are now available in the UK via Tiger Hobbies, with the three latest releases featuring British Army-related vehicles and figures.
MONSTER MOTOR
Airfix's latest release in its Vintage Classics range is truly deserving of the accolade, both in terms of kit heritage and the subject itself: a 1930 Bentley 4.5 Litre Supercharged – which is perhaps better known as the Blower Bentley.
ROTOL SPITFIRE
Having delighted modellers with its newly tooled 1/48 Spitfire Mk.Ia, Eduard has now turned its attention to the Rotol propeller-fitted Mk.IIa variant.
ARGENTINA’S WINGED FORTRESS
Operated by Argentinian, Colombian, Sri Lankan and Uruguayan Air Forces, the FMA IA 58 Pucará (fortress) is the subject of Kinetic’s latest new tooling.
DISPLAY CASE
EXTRA IMAGES INSIDE: A traditional starting point for many, aircraft modelling is arguably the most popular form of the hobby – as shown by this month’s selection of reader builds.
ARMOUR-HUNTER ALBUM
Valiant Wings has announced its 17th Airframe Album book is to be dedicated to the Henschel Hs 129 Panzerjäger (armour-hunter) ground-attack aircraft operated by German forces during World War Two.
GUNS, BOMBS AND ROCKETS
There have been many books dedicated to US Army Air Force aircraft during World War Two, yet few have focused on the weapons carried by these machines; Canfora Publishing’s latest release seeks to address that shortfall.
SCHWALBE SNEAK PEAK!
Here's a sneak preview of Valiant Wings' new Airframe & Miniature guide to the Messerschmitt Me 262 - an updated, expanded and extensively re-written second edition of the firm's first ever publication.