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.

Motor Torpedo Boat

First and foremost is this big-scale entrant in the market which Italeri has made its own - 1:35 scale naval vessels. And here’s another Italeri MTB (Motor Torpedo Boat), this time the high-speed Royal Navy Vosper MTB of World War II fame, used for coastal patrols and anti-submarine support. The Italeri model measures 636 mm (25 in) long and is loaded to the gunwhales with crisp detail, including neat metal-etch components.

Ghost ship or active duty?

As supplied, the Vosper MTB is something of a ghost ship - for a full crew complement you will need to source the 1:35 scale figure set, available separately. Ordinarily, we’d moan about this, but as many naval modelmakers prefer their ships to be uncrewed for display, in this case we won’t make a point of it.

Tank killer

From the same era and to the same 1:35 scale, but representing ground combat, Italeri bring us the Jagdpanzer IV tank-killer AFV, one of the most widely used weapons of its kind in that war. The kit is not brand-new, but is fully upgraded with cleaned-up moulds, a finely-turned metal gun barrel, and various metal-etch components. An excellent decal sheet is supplied, though you will have to be careful to make them affix properly to the distinctively ridged - and very neatly sculpted by Italeri’s tooling elves - Zimmerit anti-magnetic mine coating. When assembled the Jagdpanzer IV measures 245 mm (9.7 in) long.

German fighter

The German Focke-Wulf Fw 190 D-9 Dora was an attempt to provide the Kurt Tank-designed fighter with better high-altitude performance to combat high-flying Allied bomber streams. The Italeri kit breaks no real records, but is a neat enough production and comes with markings for four different aircraft, and one nicely sculpted figure. As depicted, the spiral-painted propeller spinner is not an easy option though, and may be a case for supplying a pre-painted version in future, for those of us who are less than adept with intricate details like this. Maybe an upgrade-kit could include this in time for New Year 2013. When assembled, the Fw 190 measures 145 mm (5.7 in) long.

Aerobatic Italian

The Aeritalia G222 (C-27A in US Air Force service) is a tactical airlifter that is somewhat smaller than the well-known Lockheed Martin Hercules. Having seen one in action at an air show last year, we can confirm a unique party-trick - it is the only cargo plane of its type that can loop-the-loop. It’s amazing to watch and, combined with excellent short-field performance, must have been a winning card in earning those US service stripes. As for the model, well we love cargolifters, and this G222/C27A would look terrific in a lineup next to Revell’s recently-introduced Airbus Military A400M to the same scale. When assembled the aircraft measures 315 mm (12.4 in) long.

Italeri Vosper MTB here.

More Italeri stuff here.

Pictures courtesy Italeri.

REVELL 1:72 SCALE A400 'GRIZZLY' - BUILT-AND-PAINTED UPDATE

SMN report:

The 1:72 scale Revell Airbus A400M models the tactical airlifter that is the long-delayed European answer to the hugely successful Lockheed-Martin Hercules, a military cargo plane that’s been produced continually since its first flight in August, 1954.

Big airlifter

Actually, the A400 aims to be somewhat more than that, as it is both faster and bigger, roughly half-way in size between the Herk and the newer turbofan Boeing C-17. Flights by the A400M ‘Grizzly’ test aircraft should result in the A400M finally making squadron service with the eight nations that have ordered it, starting in 2013.

Interior detail

The Revell A400M is a biggie all right - produced to 1:72 scale, it has a wingspan of no less than 588 mm (23.15 in) and measures some 626 mm (24.6 in) long. There are 210 components, but perhaps the best thing about the kit - as you can see from these newly-released Revell buildup pix - is the amount of interior detail. All models benefit from a certain amount of convincing interior detail, but the cavernous interiors of cargo planes probably need it most of all.

Curving props

Detail looks good on the outside too - the complex shapes of those eight-bladed scimitar-curve propellers look just right, as do the dozen wheels of the twin-sponson main landing gear. We also like the neat drop-down airstair extending from the lower port fuselage side. The air-to-air refuelling probe over the flight deck is also included, and rightly so.

Add-on kit wanted

However - and this is just an SMN opinion - wouldn’t it be a terrific bonus if Revell, or an aftermarket supplier, produced a supplementary add-on kit, with flight and loading crews, plus a detachment of paratroopers and vehicles to drive up that long tail ramp? 

Combat loads

The real thing will be able to carry all sorts of deadly gear - up to 116 combat troops, a pair of M113 personnel carriers, or attack helicopters such as the Tiger or Apache. So, model manufacturers - bring ‘em on please!

The Revell A400M will make a mighty big addition to your display shelf, and is due on release this month.

IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS - TEST SHOTS OF UPCOMING REVELL A400M AIRLIFTER TO 1:72 SCALE

SMN report:

Revell is planning a nice Christmas present for military aviation fans - it’s the Airbus A400M airlifter to 1:72 scale. Fitting neatly in size between the smaller C-130 Hercules and the bigger C-17, the A400 is Europe’s tactical transport solution that is finally, after many delays, making its way toward operational status.

A big A400M model

The Revell kit will be quite a brute, with a wingspan of 588 mm (23.15 in) and length of 626 mm (24.6 in), so make sure there’s room available on that display shelf. We show here test shots of the 210-component model, and detail looks pretty good, with refuelling probe faithfully reproduced, as well as a neatly-cut forward door and steps. 

Flight deck windows

It looks as if Revell has decided to do a one-piece flightdeck transparency, leaving the modelmaker to mask off the windows before painting. The swept-blade props appear to have the correct (complex) shape, while the vast interior is revealed by the opening rear door. There seems to be a modicum of detail in there, and it would be brilliant if Revell decides to add more than is usual in this department. The A400M will carry up to 116 soldiers, a pair of Tiger helicopters, or three armoured vehicles, so the opportunities for turning the model into a showstopper will certainly be tempting.

Emergency braking test

The 12-wheel main landing gear appears to be all present and correct, with support legs at the correct rear-facing angle. In the real world, the A400M completed emergency-braking tests just last week. It passed with flying colours, even if three tyres were blow-outs in the process, though that’s a fairly normal event during this extreme type of test, we’re told.

Outlook for the Revell A400M

It looks big and beautiful - and we can't wait to get our hands on it. More details here.

A FEAST OF MODELS AT THE 2010 FARNBOROUGH INTERNATIONAL AIRSHOW

David Jefferis reports from the show
The SMN crew spent yesterday at the UK’s premier business-orientated aerospace show. The weather was fantastic (which just goes to show how useless the predictions of some iPhone weather apps are...) and it was a real pleasure to watch high-power aerobatics and more genteel flypasts in bright blue skies, with puffy clouds to set them off.

Stealthy delta
Highlights of the day included new aircraft like the Airbus A400M military airlifter, and old-stagers such as the delta-wing Avro Vulcan, currently maintained in flying order by an enthusiast group, and good for them. The Vulcan’s shape gave it stealth-like abilities long before stealth became a design essential for survival in aerial combat...

A380 airliner
For model fans, shows like this are fantastic. Wandering round the real machines parked by the flightline reveals so much detail you just never see in photos. And as for weathering, one look at the A380 demo airliner should give you airbrush modellers perfect guidance for a careful bit of subtly realistic dirtying down.

Models on display
Being an industry trade event, there were fewer enthusiast shops than at many other shows; even so, there were plenty of models on display, both in the trade halls, and for sale in exhibition tents out in the sunshine. Trade models came large and small, and were fascinating for their variety, from rockets to rotorcraft. Models for sale showed just how popular readybuilts have become - it was a near clean-sweep for them, with only a few construction kits on display.

Fine levels of detail
Among our observations were the incredible levels of detail now being incorporated into metal kits. In particular, a Sukhoi Su-27 impressed us with its ultra-fine panel detail, while a Douglas Skyraider had a jewel-like sliding canopy, and a complete range of ordnance slotted neatly into a shiny plastic case - rockets, bombs, tanks, you name it - all ready and waiting to be hung under those straight wings. Just beautiful.

Air Show dates
Enjoy the pictures above, and we’ll hope to post some video clips in a short while. The Farnborough Air Show alternates annually with Paris, so in 2011 we aim to be reporting from the land of vin rouge, escargots, garlic - and home to Airbus Industrie and Heller model kits.

The pictures show, top to bottom:
1  Chinese rocket models were popular with video crews.
2  JF-17 Thunder combat jet, co-produced by Pakistan and China.
3  Northrop Grumman hybrid air vehicle, looking more like a Dan Dare-era spaceship than a surveillance airship.
4  1:1 scale mockup of the planned 1000 mph (1609 km/h) Bloodhound, being developed to break the Land Speed Record (LSR) in the near future, perhaps as soon as 2011.
5  Temporary model shop for showgoers.
6  Lineup of large-scale display models. These are wood-based, nicely finished, and suitable for desktop display, but lack the intricate detail of plastic kits or metal ready-builts.

Visit the 2010 Farnborough International Airshow here.

The A400M is available as a 1:200 scale model direct from Airbus here.

A variety of Sukhoi aircraft is available here.

A400M AIRLIFTER MAKES FIRST FLIGHT AT LAST

The European A400M military airlifter, falling roughly midway in size between the 'Fat Albert' Hercules and the jet-powered C-17 has - at long last - made its first flight.

For air-buffs, it's been a race (with betting on some aviation sites) as to whether the A400M or Boeing 787 Dreamliner would be first (or second) into the air. Well today that particular race is over, with the years-late and way over-budget A400M finally turning from a paper project into real aircraft. Boeing meantime, promises a 787 first-flight before the year ends - it could come as early as next Tuesday.

As for us model fans, well we're still waiting too, so come on Revell-Germany - these aircraft have to be right up your street for 2010 release! In 1:144 scale, an A400M would make a good partner for the neat C-17 already available. The same goes for the 787, with rumours indicating we could see a model of this next year too. Once again, there's a bigger kit already out there, in the form of the A380 double-decker, so please let's get that 787 out of the world of dreams and into scale reality!