WEEKEND MODEL WINDOW

Weekend Model Window is an occasional spot to show you some interesting stuff we've come across recently.

The 2008 F1 Championship winning McLaren MP4-23 race car is the latest offering from partwork publisher DeAgostini, and the launch issue looks terrific. The 1:8 scale kit will measure some 594 mm (23.4 in) long when assembled, and has been developed with Kyosho, so should build into a fine replica. How long it will take to collect all the necessary parts is not revealed.

A recent AFV from Revell is the 1:35 scale Marder 1 A5, with supplied markings as used in the Kosovo and Afghanistan conflicts. The 196-part kit has detailed Milan missile launcher, machine gun and tracks, aspects which have earned it some very good reviews.

We were looking again at the old Disney 20,000 Leagues under the Sea movie the other night, so this steampunk design for a Victorian-era undersea device struck a chord. Lovely thing, and it would be wonderful to see one built, complete with motorized tentacles and snapping claws.

More nostalgia, with this 'what if' Barnes Wallis Swallow from Fantastic Plastic, shown as it might have appeared at a mid-1960s Farnborough Air Show. The Swallow was a hugely advanced concept, though the thought of controlling yaw in the event of an engine failure - without even a rudder to help - doesn't bear thinking about. 

TIE fighters are popular items for sci-fi fans, but here we have a modded F/A-1 attack version, equipped with heavy calibre top turret for taking out those upstart rebels. The F/A-1 is designed for exo-endo atmospheric action, and comes finished in desert camo, suitable for planets such as Tatooine. The turret is an ex-Walker Bulldog item from the parts bin, the tail-mounted power-boost system a garden hose nozzle. 

The Trumpeter 1:32 scale Harrier shows how component breakdown may change when kits grow in size. Instead of the conventional fuselage split into two full-length halves, here we have a multi-section assembly, with nose and tail sections each as sub-assemblies.

Star Wars again, with: "I feel the Force, Luke..." A complete Darth Vader movie-prop costume, reckoned to be from The Empire Strikes Back was on sale at a Christies auction not long ago. But fan pockets proved not deep enough - bidding ground to a halt at 'just' £151,000 GBP ($242,000 USD), well short of the doubtless sky-high reserve. 

The gorgeously detailed 1:32 scale RE8 'Harry Tate' earns a must-have rating for World War I flight enthusiasts. It's from the down-under kitmasters, Wingnut Wings.

REVELL STAR WARS SLAVE 1 UNBOXING

David Jefferis reports
Science fiction model makers have a hotline to spacecraft of all kinds with Revell’s easykit range, and here’s one of the more recent ones to fly through the SMN Towers airlock. The Slave 1 is, as all Star Wars fans know well, the personal craft of interstellar bounty hunter Boba Fett, and it’s certainly one of the more unusually styled craft in the long-running sci-fi saga.

As the unboxing video shows, I was pretty impressed with the kit contents. However it’s fair to say that the build I did after the video was made had its share of problems, in particular gaps around the nose-cone, poor-fitting chin cannon, and difficulty in assembling the side ‘wings’. To do a decent job you have to resort to your craft skills, forget the ‘easy’ bit, and treat Slave 1 to a dose of TLC. Even then, it’s best to fix those pesky wings in place rather than allow them to rotate freely.

Having said that, the potential is there for a spectacular addition to the sci-fi model shelf, and even in Revell’s pre-painted colour scheme, Slave 1 looks pretty good when finished. I’m going to be giving the craft a thorough customization when I get a chance, and will post the results for all to see. At present, I’m thinking along the lines of a pre-Boba craft, heavily armed and armoured for anti-pirate operations, colour scheme a stealthy midnight black - maybe. A definite addition will be a set of landing legs - it just doesn’t look right with that big egg-shaped lower section sitting flat upon the deck!

All in all, an interesting sci-fi kit. Be prepared for more than a simple slot-together 30-minute job, but don’t let that put you off - a little work will result in an excellent model.

The pictures show, top to bottom:
1, 2, 3 The assembled Slave 1 in Revell colours. The tail cannon rotate freely, and the overall appearance is good, though there are gaps in the nose-cone.
4 Underbelly view, showing the neatly-weathered engine exhausts. The chin dish has a pair of side-firing cannon, but these need cementing into place. One has already fallen out in this pic.

The Revell Slave 1 is available from model stores and online suppliers, including Amazon at a small discount here.