HAPPY HALLOWEEN WITH MODEL ART THAT’S GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT

SMN report:

Here’s something unusual, and a little different from the usual SMN line, but as Seattle-based artist Christopher Boffoli has used a range of model rail figures in his works, that’s a good excuse for us to have a closer look.

Food meets art

According to Christopher Boffoli, his ‘Disparity’ series aims to highlight the culture of over-consumption, using hand-painted model rail figures, glued into place onto real food. “I chose food as a backdrop because it is a constant,” says Christopher, “People see a striking image of food and are immediately drawn in because it is something familiar.”  

Serious fun

“As an American too, I think my choice is conscious in terms of the strange and often negative relationship that many Americans have towards food. I mean, the work is mostly humorous on the surface and most viewers will react to the humour in it.  But I'm also perhaps making some other statements too about North America's food bounty, overuse, abuse and obsessions.”

Summation

The SMN view? These are handsome and striking images that show an exotic use for miniature figures. There’s precision and craftsmanship there, as well as a fantasy element. We like ’em.

As for our take on a similar theme, how about those Dragon Apollo 11 astronauts exploring a circular pizza base? Or a platoon of Airfix soldiers camouflaged in a mound of lima beans?!   

Visit Christopher Boffoli and his miniatures here.

Many figures from Preiser for your own modelmaking here.

HASEGAWA MASCHINEN KRIEGER ROBODOG ‘GROSSER HUND’

David Jefferis reports:

Here’s more from the Ma.K (Maschinen Krieger) science-fiction universe, first created in the 1980s by Japanese artist Kow Yokoyama. Ma.K is set in the 2800s, with a storyline based on the fighting between various factions as the Earth repopulates after a nuclear war.

Hasegawa has been leading the way with excellent Ma.K kits, and the latest in the line is the new-tool ‘Humanoid Unmanned Interceptor Grosser Hund.’ Grosser Hund (Big Dog) will be to 1:20 scale, and have 196 components. Many of these, particularly the limbs and head, will be moveable using Hasegawa's neat poly-cap system.

Wave Maschinen Krieger

Hasegawa is not the only Ma.K manufacturer: the Wave Corporation does them too. On show here is the beautifully crafted 1:20 scale ‘Ketzer’ future trooper figure. Like other Ma.K trooper figures, the concept depicts a protective powered exo-suit in which the soldier acts as pilot. 

Heinlein came first

The exo-suit is a brilliant concept that was first pioneered by the famed US sci-fi author Robert A. Heinlein in his classic military novel Starship Troopers. In the book, the suits worn by the Mobile Infantry were equipped with everything to attack and survive in combat - from helmet displays and jump-jets to first-aid facilities and atomic weapons. Read it if you can, but note that the more recent pop-culture movies based on the book are no more than a pale shadow of Heinlein’s thoughtful original - and those exosuits have been ignored totally! 

Ketzer pictures courtesy Hobby Search Blog here.

Various Hasegawa kits here.

Starship Troopers book here.

ROARING ALONG FOR DECEMBER RELEASE - HASEGAWA 1:24 SCALE MINI COUNTRYMAN

SMN report:

Car fans should be pleased with Hasegawa’s December release of the Mini Cooper S ALL4 Countryman, a mouthful that indicates the 4-wheel drive sporty version of the biggest Mini in the range. Hasegawa has released a 1:24 scale kit of this newish vehicle, which will have 104 components. When fully assembled the Hasegawa Mini Cooper S will measure 173 mm (6.8 in) long.

Alternative parts

Hasegawa have decided to include two wheel styles, and the thoughtful ability for the modelmaker to build the kit in either left- or right-hand drive versions. It looks like an excellent choice for anyone interested in the Mini, and the upright boxy outline of the vehicle makes an interesting comparison with the smaller original car of the 1960s.

Mokei Show

The grey display test model here was shown at the spectacular All-Japan Mokei Hobby Show, held earlier this month, more details here.

Various Hasegawa kits here.

Tamiya 1:24 kit of the original Austin Mini Cooper 1275S here.

AHOY THERE! REVELL ‘VASA’ SWEDISH SAILING SHIP ON THE HORIZON!

David Jefferis looks at a new marine kit:

There’s another interesting ship kit due from Revell with the release of the Vasa, a 17th Century Swedish sailing ship. To the unusual scale of 1:150, the model will be 455 mm (17.9 in) long when complete. The component-count is 330, and the Revell Vasa should be in the stores by December. These pictures show test shots of the kit.

Grand flagship of the Swedish Navy

The original Vasa set sail in 1628 as the brand-new flagship of the Swedish Fleet, and an important weapon for the Swedes, as the country was at war with Poland. However, just 20 minutes into her first voyage, the Vasa turned turtle and ignominiously sank to the bottom. The wreck lay undisturbed for more than 300 years, until in 1961 the ship was discovered, and has since been raised, restored and put on display in a special museum.

Voyage of doom

Various factors contributed to the ship's sinking, including a combination of design errors, top-heavy build, and not enough ballast as she set sail. All it took was a turn to port, and the Vasa heeled over until the sea washed into her open gunports. The result was disaster, in a voyage of little more than 1300 metres (1420 yd).

Sailing ships to buy

As for making the kit, a target for the keen injection-kit modelmaker could be to build it up to the standards shown by the Finemodelships.com website. Here there are finished Vasa models on sale, one at 1:75 scale, as shown in our colour pictures here. But there’s also a splendid 1:35 scale model of the ship, on sale for - stand by to gulp - 9000 Euro (12500 USD, 7840 GBP). Mind you, the workmanship looks fantastic, and sheer size may count too, as the model is nearly six feet long (1820 mm). That's a tad too big even for my stretch-out-and-relax corner bathtub! 

Visit Finemodelships here.

Various marine kits to look at, and note there’s the slightly larger Airfix 1:144 scale kit of the Vasa available here.

Visit the Vasa Museum here.

BOEING 787 FIRST COMMERCIAL FLIGHT WITH ANA - BUT ARE YOU GOING TO BUILD A KIT FROM REVELL OR ZVEZDA?

SMN report:

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner has - after many delays - finally gone into passenger service, with the first fare-paying flight by lead airline customer All Nippon Airways (ANA). Years late, the Boeing twinjet is now rewriting the rules for lightweight construction, fuel economy, and passenger comfort. 

Injection kits

Meantime, what’s the state of play for scale model 787s? We’ve had a look at the two injection kits presently available, both to 1:144 scale. The Zvezda version came first, and is an extremely neat production. The 787’s trademark oversize windows are well represented, and though our particular kit had a small amount of warping on upper and lower wing halves, all that was needed on assembly was some gentle assistance from clothes pegs and tape. 

Careful with the fuselage join

The fuselage fits nicely, though as ever with airliner kits, you have to go carefully with the cement and be prepared to spend time with some very loving polish-and-buff to lose the centreline join. Engine assemblies are beautifully done, and would look great even at a larger scale.

Neat engines

The Revell kit is the new(ish) kid on the block, and we haven’t had a chance to build it yet. But a close look at the components shows that Revell has also made a very nice job of the engines, with the engine fans looking super-clean, especially for 1:144 scale. 

Price comparison

The Revell 787 seems to be a bit cheaper at most outlets, so this could be a decision point for you, though either kit will make a fair rendering of this latest jetliner. 

High flight

Have to say: I’m looking forward to having a flight in a 787, not least for the swish new interiors (above) and the view through the windows, which are larger than normal and darken at the press of a button. There's no hauling down a blind when you want to sleep - verree high tech!

Zvezda kit here.

Revell kit here.

More 787s here.

Thanks to Britmodeller for construction pix. Much more here.

Visit ANA here.

Flight simulator is used for training aircrew.

ATTENTION CAPTAIN SCARLET FANS - AIRFIX ANGEL INTERCEPTOR APPROACHING CLOUDBASE NOW!

SMN update:

It’s good to report that Airfix have reintroduced an old sci-fi classic kit, the Angel Interceptor from the Gerry Anderson supermarionation television series Captain Scarlet, first shown in the late 1960s. It’s to 1:72 scale and is an ultra-simple build, with just 23 components to assemble. From canard-equipped anteater nose to Spectra-Fan air ramjet tail, the model measures some 185 mm (7.3 in) long.

Female pilots

As portrayed, Angel Interceptors were fast, being able to fly from their Cloudbase HQ at more than Mach 4.5 - approximately 4800 km/h (3000 mph) - at altitude. They were flown by a group of female pilots, codenamed Destiny, Harmony, Melody, Rhapsody, and Symphony, who sat in what must be the biggest cockpits ever made. A glance at a closeup shot revealed room inside for a grand piano... or maybe a male admirer or two, as those girls were rather dishy, even if they were only puppets.

The Airfix Angel story

The kit has a long history, going back more than four decades. It was first on sale from 1968-1984, with a concurrent Snap’n’Glue version added to the list in 1981. There are other versions of the aircraft around, notably various Imai kits, but the Airfix model seems to be the most accurate. However, the scale is a bit difficult to work out, and that enormous cockpit is the giveaway. The Airfix kit has a pilot figure that fills the cockpit more effectively, but it also has the effect of reducing the theoretical 1:72 scale of the Interceptor by maybe 20 percent overall. However in other respects the kit is neat enough, and questions of scale aside, looks good when built. 

Farewell puppets, hello computers

The New Captain Scarlet series first aired in 2005, and was a massive upgrade in terms of technology, with no more puppets. Instead, impressive cgi was used for animation - now called Hypermarionation - and all the vehicles were redesigned, mostly with great success. Watch out for a closer SMN look at the series and available models, especially a pair of Corgi diecasts - truly excellent stuff.

Heaps of Gerry Anderson stuff here including the White Falcon, the updated replacement for the Angel Interceptor.

TSR.2MS rocket bomber

And not forgetting another notable Airfix sci-fi kit here, the TSR.2MS, which can be built either as the RAF supersonic bomber that never was, or as a rocket-boosted sci-fi asteroid-killer - take your choice! 

ACES HIGH - 21 NEW DIECAST RELEASES FROM HOBBY MASTER IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS 2011

SMN report:

Hobby Master’s December release list looks positively mouthwatering, with diecast collectibles available in no less than four scales.

Smallest scale first

Here we have a trio of 1:200 scale airliners, with two of them especially interesting subjects from the golden age of propliners. The Douglas DC-6B competed with the shapelier Lockheed Constellation, but was the excellent workhorse with which PanAm started its transatlantic tourist-class service, in 1952. HM’s DC-6B is finished in American Airlines markings - plain metal overall, accented by a red AA lightning strip along the fuselage sides.

The other two HM airliners are the Boeing Model 377 Stratocruiser, and the more recent Airbus A310 twinjet.

New-tool bomber

Here we have another B-24 Liberator, this time to 1:144 scale. We haven’t seen the Lib in the metal yet, so it will be interesting to see what improvements have been made. If HM have concentrated on finer transparency mouldings and reduced gaps between major components, then it should be worth adding to the collection.

Wide choice for Christmas

1:72 scale model fans are well catered for, with eight aircraft to choose from Favourites here are the Bristol Beaufighter and Convair F-102 Delta Dagger, with the missile load looking a particular draw. And good for HM, these aircraft are matched by same-scale AFVs, in this case, a World War II pair, the new-tool M18 Hellcat tank destroyer, and M7 Priest self-propelled artillery vehicle. These are both unusual subjects and would look terrific with any WWII collection. Incidentally the Buick-built Hellcat was the fastest tracked vehicle of WWII, and could race along at a claimed max speed of 97 km/h (60 mph).

Biggest of the lot

More lusciousness in 1:48 scale with a Brewster Buffalo and P-51D Mustang from the 1940s, plus a shapely biplane, the British Hawker Fury. From previous experience, this ham-handed modelmaker expects Hobby Master’s skilled assembly elves to make a far better job of the rigging inherent with biplanes. If this proves the case, then this Fury is definitely for the in-box.  

Matching the set above for scale are four soft-skin military vehicles: a pair of Jeeps, including a nicely detailed red-and-white ‘Follow Me’ item, plus a British Tilly Light Utility car and an amphibious German Schwimmwagen. It’ll be interesting to compare these for detail and finish with the injection-kit equivalents already available. 

Heaps of Hobby Master products here.

MODEL CAR EYE CANDY WEEKEND

SMN Review:

We thought you'd like to share some pix taken at the Automodellismo Show this summer. The overall level of entries to the show (and to be in with a chance to win the Spark Plug Trophy) was very high, as you will see. Note: we seem to have the slideshow feature working again, so after you have clicked to read on, just click any pic to see the enlarged version - then use left and right arrows to view more. To exit, click the 'x' at top right. Enjoy!

Automodellismo and HaMeX

Automodellismo was held at the same location as the HaMeX Show, diary set for a third exhibition on November 27 this year. Co-organizers Paul Fitzmaurice and Mat Irvine were well pleased with the extent and variety of model cars on display at Automodellismo, and these pix show just how much care and craftsmanship has gone into them.

Automodellismo 2011 here.

HaMeX 3 details and dates here.

Photographs courtesy Mat Irvine.