METAL SKELETON - BEAUTIFUL BARE-BONES DESKTOP P-51D MUSTANG TO 1:32 SCALE

Following the excellent Desktop Zero model, Tokyo-based imcth is offering a 1:32 scale kit that assembles to make an ultra-detailed structural model of the World War II-vintage North American P-51D Mustang.

Much of the imcth Desktop Mustang is fabricated of metal components, with cast metal and photo-etch parts, plus transparencies, rubber tyres, and much more.

No fuss build
For all that, actual assembly is claimed to be easy, with a minimum of tools necessary. So that’s all right then, as a no-fuss construction system suits this time-short writer very well.

Metal look
As the Desktop Mustang is a see-inside structural model, the bare-metal appearance is excellent as it is, with little or no painting necessary - unless you want to pick out details such as the prop blades or canopy surround, even paint the components in factory-finish anti-corrosion green. In our opinion though, this P-51D really looks best in as-supplied gleaming metal, preferably with a small desk lamp picking out the highlights.

Collaboration
Produced and marketed by imcth, the metal parts are manufactured by Model Factory Hiro, a company with an excellent reputation for accuracy.

About imcth
Imcth is a new kid on the block, dating only from April 2008, and with gratifying aims that ought to make us model fans very pleased indeed.

Try this: “We provide real models made with truly innovative creativity.

“We lead our customers to a new discovery - to their ‘Aha!’ moment.

“Our goal is to create real models which will cause our customers to unconsciously say: ‘Aha! That’s how you do it! Thank you!’

“Hearing these words is our motivation and the meaning for our existence.”

All of which is rather zen, deeply cool, and voices an outlook that bodes well for the future of imcth and its models, so best wishes from Scale Model News.

More on the Desktop Mustang here. Pre-orders have started, deliveries expected in May.

Model Factory Hiro homesite here.

Model Factory Hiro Ferrari here.

THREE HOT 1:10 SCALE RADIO CONTROL CARS FROM TAMIYA

SMN report:

Radio Control is a mega-popular hobby-cum-sport, with the widest possible range of models to choose from - helicopters, combat planes, ships, subs, tanks, cars - you name it, there’s a wealth of choice.

Lightweight polycarbonate

And Tamiya’s latest trio of 1:10 scale RC performance cars carries on the tradition of neat products that look good enough to stand on display when they are not out racing. The lightweight polycarbonate bodies do not feature quite the detail that a heavier injection-moulded kit would give, but no matter - these are first and foremost racing cars! All three models require a separate RC control unit. 

Volkswagen Scirocco GT24-CNG

This is the latest Scirocco design, an elegant looker that looks even better in race markings. The 1:10 scale model is 443 mm (17.4 in) long, and includes details like the rear wing, air vents, and lowered suspension. The kit includes Tamiya’s FF-03 chassis, which provides the Scirocco with realistic front-drive handling, like the real thing.

Audi R8 LMS

At 434 mm (17.08 in) the Audi is a little shorter than the Scirocco, and is finished as the R8 LMS, which finished in 2nd place in the 2009 Nurburgring 24-hour event. Like the somewhat better known Le Mans race in France, the German Nurburgring is a major challenge for total vehicle reliability, rather than simply being about speed. In fact, the ‘Ring is perhaps even more of a trial than Le Mans, as the circuit is a constantly changing mixture of ups, downs, bends and straightaways. 

Ferrari 599XX 

From German racers, we go to Italy, with a Ferrari 599 (top pic), and it’s the longest of these three models, at 448 mm (17.6 in) from nose to tail. The real thing is a Ferrari flagship, dedicated for the track rather than highway. Details on the Tamiya model include small winglets on the C-pillars, hood clips above the nose intake, and decent-looking black race wheels. The model uses the Tamiya TA06 chassis, which features gear-driven rear wheels and belt-drive to the fronts, a neat solution that's reckoned to supply precise power takeup and excellent handling.

Tamiya RC equipment here.

SUPERB ‘RED SHARK’ FERRARIS FROM CMC

Talking of Ferraris (see Puma video, 27 September) here’s a feast for the prancing horse aficionado. Marketed by manufacturer CMC as ‘The Red Sharks’ for their distinctive twin-nostril nose intake design, the three Ferrari Dino diecast models are simply mouthwatering. To 1:18 scale, they represent slightly differing versions of the Model 156 from 1961, depicting the cars of US driver Phil Hill (Numbers 2 and 4) and the German Wolfgang von Trips (Number 3). The models are produced in a (somewhat expansive) edition of 6000 each.

According to CMC, the replicas are hand-assembled from 1450 parts, with ‘hand laced’ spoke wheels. The detail is breathtaking, with engine, cables, pipes, cooling systems and more, produced in luscious detail. Definitely IWOOT replicas.

And even if you can’t stretch to a CMC model, do take a look at the luscious pdf catalogue, which reveals 76 pages of gorgeousness. It’s a big download (18 mb) but well worth it - and when you've got it on-screen, turn to page 54 to see SMN’s blue-and-silver retro-fave from the CMC list.

The pictures above show, top to bottom:
1 CMC pdf catalogue cover shows a 1:18 scale 1957 Maserati 250F.
2 Red Sharks promo material.
3 Phil Hill’s Ferrari Dino.

Click the ‘Catalog’ button at top right on the opening page here to download the CMC catalogue.

Visit Amazon here to buy one - they’re not cheap, but are fair-value for the quality workmanship involved.