THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO! NEW GERRY ANDERSON SERIES COMING IN 2015

UK toy company Vivid Imaginations is to release models and toys for the new Thunderbirds are Go! series, having signed up as master toy partner.


Vivid’s Thunderbirds are Go! items will be wide-ranging, with planned figures, vehicles, construction, diecast, play sets, role play and dress up, construction, board games and puzzles. Products will see a UK launch in 2015, to coincide with the series premiere, 50 years after its first TV debut. The various model and toy lines will then roll out to international markets.

Toy line link-up
Paul Weston, CEO of Vivid, says: “We are delighted to be partnering again with ITVS GE (ITV Studios Global Entertainment) on Thunderbirds as master toy partner. The collective expertise of ITVS GE, Pukeko Pictures, Weta and Vivid make this a compelling must-have toy line for our retail partners across the world."

About Weta
Weta Workshop is the hot item for SMN readers, as it’s the special effects workshop that has brought New Zealand into the forefront of the movie industry - The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, King Kong, Avatar, and more - all have come from the FX magicians at Weta. There's plenty to see at Weta's site, including the tasty combat vehicle below.

About Pukeko Pictures
Founded in 2008, the movie company is located in Wellington, New Zealand. With a connection to the world-famous Weta Workshop, Pukeko Pictures is at the southern epicentre of world-leading movie entertainment, using global talents and leading-edge production processes.

About Vivid
* Vivid was started by a team of people who used to work for Matchbox Toys.

* Vivid started making toys in 1993, the first big hit being Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, the top selling boys’ toy for Christmas that year.

* Vivid is Britain's biggest toy company and claims to be the 20th biggest toy company in the world - it’s now called Vivid, as very young children found it difficult to say "Imaginations"

* Vivid’s Gerry Anderson lines have included well-known names like Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet, Stingray, Joe 90.

SMN take
It’s looking good for the new Thunderbirds are Go! Just so long as the scripts and acting match the near-guaranteed quality of Weta’s down-under FX miniatures team.

Weta here.

Vivid Imaginations here.

Thunderbirds at SMN here.

Thunderbirds Soundtech Tracy Island here.

GREAT GROWLING GORILLA: THE MIGHTY KOGAR 1:12 SCALE SNAP-TOGETHER KIT ROARS IN FROM MOEBIUS MODELS

Mat Irvine: A brand-new kit from Moebius Models features a fictional giant ape called the Mighty Kogar, a creature created originally as a homage to the famed King Kong.

Moebius Models has reissued smaller versions of several Aurora ‘Monsters of the Movies’ kits to 1:12 scale, rather than the originals’ bigger 1:8 scale. The Mighty Kogar new-tool kit joins a list of movie monsters that includes the Wolfman, Mummy, Dracula and Frankenstein’s Monster.

In case you haven’t heard of The Mighty Kogar, he was quite well-known in the 1960s, having been created by Bob Burns (above) a Hollywood actor-in-a-hairy-suit ‘Gorilla Man.’ The Mighty Kogar appeared on-and-off in a variety of movies and TV series, the first being the children’s film, ‘Lemon Grove Kids Meet the Monsters’, in 1965.

I added the head poles in this assembled model to echo the box-art, painted by New York artist Vincent Di Fate, whose illustrations have graced many sci-fi magazines and novels, since his work first appeared in Analog magazine in 1969.

Bob’s best-known role is probably the gorilla character in ‘The Ghost Busters’, a 15-episode TV series made in 1975, almost a decade before the first Ghostbusters movie of 1984. Apart from his suit-acting, Bob has been credited with special effects, set design, writer, consultant, and is an avid collector of movie memorabilia. Visit his website (address at bottom) for more info.

The snap-together kit has just 22 components moulded in tan styrene, so it’s simple to build, though as always with snap kits, you will probably want to use cement for a truly permanent assembly job. The kit does supply you with more scope than simply painting gorilla fur - in fact, it’s a 3-in-1 product, as you get two extra heads - Tracy the Gorilla from The Ghost Busters, and Bob Burns himself.

You also get two separate lower left arms, as one can be used if you depict the kit with Bob in the suit, holding the head of either Kogar or Tracy. Note that although both are gorillas, their heads do differ!

A clapper board (below) is supplied to fit to the display base, with four name titles. You have to choose one of these - you can’t use all four.

Instructions (above) are reasonable, and kit quality is good, even if some flash needs cleaning up. But overall detail is fine and facial detail well sculpted by Jeff Yagher, whose work you may see soon on the Bride of Frankenstein, also coming from Moebius.

Summation
A fun 1:12 scale kit that’s easy to assemble, whether as a snap-fit or permanently cemented. For monster movie lovers, as essential for the collection.

MOEBIUS MODELS MIGHTY KOGAR SCALE STATS
Scale: 1:12
Components: 22
Assembled height: 160mm (6.25in) including base
Manufacturer’s reference: 659

Bob Burns website here.

Moebius Mighty Kogar kit available here.

Review kit courtesy Moebius Models.

CHINA IN SPACE: TWO 1:48 SCALE ORBITAL SPACECRAFT KITS FROM GREAT WALL HOBBY

China’s continuing technological progress is reflected by a fine pair of 1:48 scale real-space kits from Great Wall Hobby, the Shenzhou-8 spacecraft and Tiangong-1 space lab module.


Mat Irvine: Two kits from Great Wall Hobby (GWH) represent the recent Chinese space station Tiangong-1 (‘Heavenly Palace’), termed on the box a space lab module, and the spacecraft Shenzhou-8 (‘Divine Vessel’).

You have a choice of kits: the Tiangong alone (above), or supplied together with the Shenzhou as a double-kit (top). Exactly why the company has done this is a bit of a mystery, but if you just want to build a space station, the single kit is for you.

Components are moulded in mid-grey plastic and of the fine quality now expected from a Chinese model company, something that perhaps could not be said of some early model kits.

The bulk of the Tiangong kit consists of the main sections, simply two halves with end-bulkheads, and smaller detail parts, making it the simpler of the two. Shenzhou’s design is based loosely on the three-module Russian Soyuz, so there's a lot more to the kit. The solar panels are slightly too thick, but that’s a penalty you have to live with, when trying to represent a full-size structure only a few millimetres thick.

Decals (above) are provided, and there is also a rectangular metallized plaque written in Chinese for the base.

Instructions (below) are simple but adequate, with colour images showing the craft in orbit, and a plan view to indicate the colour scheme. Paint numbers are given for Tamiya colours and GSICEROS (sic), actually GSI Creos, the parent company of Gunze Sangyo. But either range can be duplicated using the modelling world’s other main paint producers: Testors, Humbrol, or Revell-Germany.

These kits have been known about for some time, but availability has eased only recently. In the UK, they are imported into the UK by Creative Models, review kits supplied by Paul Fitzmaurice of the model paint and accessory supplier little-cars.

New name
A word here about the company name, as there has been some confusion. The overall company that makes these kits is the Shanghai Lion Roar Art Model Company Ltd., which started in 1996. Initially all models were sold under the Lion Roar name, but more recently, the subsidiary Great Wall Hobby (GWH) was introduced. This is now used for all complete kits, leaving Lion Roar for accessories, including conversion kits and a wide range of photo-etch parts for other model companies.

About the real spacecraft
Tiangong-1 was launched in September 2011 on a Long March rocket. Shenzhou-8 was launched at the end of October 2011, and docked with Tiangong-1 on November 3. It then undocked and redocked on November 13. Shenzhou-8 was uncrewed for this mission, which was designed for rendezvous practise. The first crewed flight was Shenzhou-9 in June 2012, the mission that also included Liu Yang, the first Chinese female taikonaut (astronaut). The third and final scheduled mission to Tiangong-1 is due in mid-2013.

SCALE STATS
Great Wall Hobby Tiangong-1 and Shenzhou-8
Scale: 1:48
Length: 360mm (14in)
Components: 68 including 5 for the stand
Manufacturer’s reference: L4804

Great Wall Hobby Tiangong-1
Scale: 1:48
Length: 195mm (7.7in)
Components: 29 including 2 for the stand
Manufacturer’s reference: L4805

Summation
Basically, a fine pair of kits. I haven’t built them yet, but will do so at some point, so ‘watch this space’ for comments. However, for photographs of assembled models in realistic settings, visit expert space modeller Keith McNeill’s website here. He has plenty of other spacecraft on show, so scroll down to find the Chinese pair.

More space kits here.

1:24 SCALE 'BOOT HILL EXPRESS' CUSTOM CAR KIT FROM MONOGRAM

Mat Irvine: A classic custom car kit from the days of hippies and flower power, now a 1:24 scale reissue from Monogram.


Boot Hill Express was created by Ray Farhner, a US custom car designer and builder who ran the Farhner Custom Shop in Independence, Missouri, until his death in 2005. He built a number of custom cars for the show circuit, but the best known has to be the Boot Hill Express, and now Monogram has reissued the kit, first produced in 1967. Box-art for this (below) showed the real 'wild hearse' vehicle in a Wild West town setting, with designer Ray Farhner dressed in suitably western gear.

The real thing was based around a horse-drawn hearse of 1850 vintage, built by Cunningham of New York. But Ray ditched the original equine motive power, replacing it with a 426cu in (7 litres) Chrysler Hemi V8 engine with Hilborn fuel-injection, generating 450hp, running through a Chrysler A-727 TorqueFlite three-speed automatic transmission, all controlled by push-buttons.

The mechanical layout included a tubular straight front axle, steering from a VW Beetle, and suspension that used a transverse-leaf spring. At the driven rear end, there was a differential and axle from a 1948 Ford, complete with drum brakes.

All this is faithfully reproduced in the Monogram kit, which consists of 93 parts in white, chromed, and clear plastic, plus skinny tyres for the front, and drag slicks for the rear. Previous issues have been moulded in a variety of shades, including yellow, but white is the best colour for any model kit if you intend to paint it.

To complete the theme, Monogram supplies a 'wood tombstone style nameplate (below) plus a skeleton figure wearing a 10 gallon hat, and toting a six-gun in a holster.

Supplying a skeleton figure was a very ‘sixties’ thing with American custom car kits. There are over half a dozen examples of this, mostly from Monogram, though MPC and Pyro also got into the act.

The Boot Hill Express is a natural to place in a suitable setting. Here I built a simple wood base, planted with cacti from the Woodlands Scenics ‘Scene-A-Rama’ and Pegasus Hobbies sets, finished off with a mixture of fine sand, rocks and stones. The latter are also from Woodland Scenics, and marketed principally for use as ballast for model railroad tracks. But of course they are adaptable for use anywhere you need such scenic additions.

BOOT HILL EXPRESS SCALE STATS
Scale: 1:24
Parts count: 93
Assembled length: 159mm (6.25in)
Maker reference: 4999

Note: Fahrner's custom vehicle is known variously as ‘Boot Hill Express’ and ‘Boothill Express’. I have used it as stated on the kit box, but some sources - for example, the website Kustomrama, regarded as the wiki of custom cars - uses the latter.

Review kit courtesy Revell-Monogram.

Monogram kits here.

INCOMING: 1:72 SCALE IRAN STEALTH HOAX-JET

David Jefferis: In February 2013, Iran revealed a so-called ‘stealth’ fighter plane, the Qaher 313 Conqueror. And now we have Fantastic Plastic revealing its 1:72 scale model of what proved to be a ground-hugger hoax-jet.

In the words of Fantastic Plastic: “What makes the Qaher 313 truly ‘fantastic’ is that it's an obvious hoax. Within hours of the plane's debut, aviation experts throughout the world were branding it a crude fraud. The plane was too small, the cockpit too confining and its controls too simple.

“Even its clear cockpit canopy (above) was so distorted it would give any pilot instant vertigo. The plane looked more suited to serve as a movie prop than a front-line combat fighter. To answer its critics, Iran quickly issued a photograph of the Qaher 313 in flight - a photo (below) that within hours was shown to be a crude Photoshop!”

So hats off to Fantastic Plastic for coming up with a kit of this weird and wonderful design - let’s call it a modern version of Luftwaffe 1946, aka a promotional ‘super-weapon’ aspiration for the regime in Iran.

The 1:72 scale resin kit has been mastered by Alfred Wong, and cast by Mana Studios. Decals are made by the excellent Canadian outfit, JBOT. The Qaher 313 has a total of 20 components, including the landing gear and a transparent vac-form canopy. For the pitot probe, it'll be best to heat and stretch a length of sprue or runner from the spares box.

As for painting, you can stick to the presentation grey scheme, though feel free to choose more or less what you like, instead. A simple F-22-style silver-grey would look convincing, or you could go for a high-tech camo-style pattern, spraying satin-metallic shades of desert tan, brown and earth. A good place to find these is in an auto-spares store, where aerosol cans are racked in a kaleidoscope of colours.

Summation
The Qaher 313 may have been a fraud and a near-total PR fail, but it stands as a fascinating example of the lengths to which a regime may go in order to gain political brownie points. As such, the Fantastic Plastic Qaher 313 ought to be on a shelf-top stealth fighter fleet, if only as a good conversation piece, when you can point out that this plastic kit should fly about as well as the full-size original.

QAHER SCALE STATS
Scale: 1:72
Components: 19 resin, 1 vac-form canopy
Pattern: Alfred Wong
Casting: Mana Studios
Decals: JBOT
Pilot figure: Included
Assembled length: 152mm (6in)

JBOT decals here.

Fantastic Plastic here.

More stealth stuff at SMN here.

SALUTE TO LEGENDARY MONKEEMOBILE CUSTOM CAR DESIGNER DEAN JEFFRIES

Mat Irvine: Dean Jeffries, the famed American car customizer, died aged 80 earlier this month, May 5, 2013. He was probably best known as the designer and builder of the Monkeemobile, stylish wheels for the 1960s pop-band, The Monkees. And here it is again in 2013, a 1:25 scale kit re-released by Round 2 Models.

The Monkeemobile was produced originally by MPC in 1967 (above) but it’s a model that has been reissued a few times since then, the last being in 2000, under the AMT name. This latest 2013 release restores the original box-art or, to be more accurate, ‘almost’ the original box-art.

The 1967 box (above) featured the four group members (dubbed at the time, 'America's answer to The Beatles') from left: Peter Tork, Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith, and lead singer and heart-throb Davy Jones, who died in February 2012.

However, rights for their likenesses could not be obtained this time around, so the box-art now features musical notation instead of photos of The Monkees.

The kit itself is the same as the first issue. In the box there are 73 components, moulded in white, chrome, clear and red tinted plastic, plus four vinyl tyres. The car is actually a stretched Pontiac GTO that when assembled, measures some 234mm (9.1in) long.

As for the real Monkeemobile, there were actually two of them, one built for use on the popular TV series, the other for touring the custom car show circuit. Apart from his design work, Jeffries also worked as driver and co-ordinator for stunt scenes in many movies.

Amongst his other creations were the Black Beauty, transport for The Green Hornet, and the Moon Buggy (below) from the James Bond film, ‘Diamonds Are Forever. Others included the futuristic Landmaster for the movie, ‘Damnation Alley’ and vehicles for ‘Logan’s Run’.

Moon Buggy for James Bond (above) and air-cushion vehicle for Logan's Run (below).

A Mantaray custom car was planned as an MPC kit, but never got further than the ideas stage, and was never produced. However, you could have got a 1:24 scale slot-car version from Japanese company, Nichimo.

I took the Monkeemobile pictures (below) at the 2011 London Film and Comic Convention. This is one of the newer replica cars, as more have been built since the first two, though not necessarily by Dean Jeffries. Even so, these pix should provide useful reference for a detailed buildup from the 2013 kit.

And here are some Dean Jeffries pix, giving some idea of what he worked on, when he was away from the Monkeemobile.

Sample kit courtesy Round 2 Models.