HAPPY BIRTHDAY AIR FRANCE, 78 YEARS OLD TODAY

SMN report:

Air France is one of the world’s grand old airlines, with a history going back to 1933, when it was formed from the merger of five smaller French airlines. It has added two more French airlines since then, and is now merged with the Dutch airline KLM. The huge company currently flies a mixture of more than 250 Airbus and Boeing aircraft.

Long history

For modelmakers, there is all that history to draw on, with splendid aircraft like the Lockheed Constellation and the ill-fated Concorde to name just two. Another favourite here at SMN is the Vickers Viscount, (above) a smooth and quiet turboprop airliner that was highly successful worldwide from the 1950s to the 1980s. At least one airworthy commercial Viscount remains, which means that the aircraft has been in continuous service since its first flight in 1948 - an amazing 63-year record.

Airbus Retrojet

If you prefer a modern jet, then the Airbus A320 ‘retrojet’ (above) is the one for you. It was painted up in that attractive heritage ‘Pegasus’ scheme in November 2008, to celebrate the airline’s diamond anniversary, with an intention to return the aircraft to current markings in 2010, though we are told that it is still flying unchanged. Nice!

Which model to choose

Choosing which of the many, many Air France aircraft to model is a bit of an issue - there’s so much choice! So we’ve picked a quartet here, easily sourced either from model stores or for the rare ones, a trawl of eBay is the best place to look.

Vickers Viscount from Hobby Master

For model collectors, we’ve chosen two, the 1:200 scale Hobby Master Viscount (above) and the 1:144 scale DC-3. The Viscount is all-metal except for props, horizontal stabilizers and landing gear. The Air France markings are neatly applied (though the tail stripe looks a bit angular) and perhaps the wing-fuselage joint looks a little on the heavy side. Windows are not glazed, but the airliner looks very convincing despite this. A downer is that HM has missed the chance to show a unique Viscount feature, the triple-pane flight deck side windows - a case perhaps, for a fine camel-hair brush to go into action.

DC-3 from Corgi

The DC-3 (above) is a typical Aviation Archive release from Corgi, arriving in a sturdy box with all parts separately cocooned in a blow-moulded plastic inner tray. It’s a reminder of just how hefty these metal models are, compared with even a big plastic kit, and we reckon that feeling of solidity is a big draw for the whole diecast aircraft genre. Only downside (and it’s only a matter of taste) is the baby-blue that Corgi chooses for its airliner windows.

Hasegawa A320 twinjet

A 1:200 release from Hasegawa, the model rewards a careful build, especially when it comes to applying the very delicate decals. Overall though, if you put in the effort - and pay great attention to dihedral angles - this will result in a model that looks superior in every way to even the best diecast equivalents. The landing gear in particular looks streets ahead of any diecast equivalent we know.

Heller A380

This is BIG kit of a BIG airliner, and to Heller’s near-unique 1:125 scale, it makes an impressive model indeed. 241 components are packed into the box, and if 1:125 is on the large side, then Heller also makes a smaller 1:800 version, though not in Air France markings. 

Closer look at Heller

Heller has a nifty website here, where you can download the current catalogue. There are some mouthwateringly unusual items, such as a 1:72 Saab J-21 pusher-prop fighter, French warships galore, a 1:24 Jules Verne space truck, even a detailed model of the Eiffel Tower.

Hobby Master Viscount here.

Corgi DC-3 at Amazon here.

Hasegawa A320 on ebay here.

Heller A380 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.

REVELL REVEALS NEWCOMERS FOR UPCOMING NUREMBERG TOY FAIR

David Jefferis reports
All the big toy and model manufacturers are gearing up for the mega-huge International Nuremberg Toy Fair, held on February 4-9 this year. It’s an apposite venue, as the city has been famed for its handmade toys for centuries.

In 2010, Revell will be exhibiting a Leonardo da Vinci themed range: “...We will present selected technical constructions of the brilliant artist and inventor as elaborately designed functional models of wood”. Sounds interesting to SMN, but plastic kits haven’t been forgotten either: “...the Heinkel He 111P and the BAe Hawk ‘Red Arrows’ are extraordinary model kits”, and ...”With the Tirpitz and the Bismarck we will launch two of the best known German battleships in 1/700 scale. Even as a model the M/S Color Fantasy, one of the biggest cruise liners with car deck, is considerably impressive. With two models each of the racing teams Audi and Mercedes we will get in the German Touring Car Masters (DTM) in 2010. Our range of street cars varies from the legendary VW Westfalia Camper to the glamorous Ferrari Italia.”

Keep ’em rolling Revell - it sounds like an interesting year to come. And right now, the 1:144 A380 has been released in Lufthansa markings, so that’s a nice one for modern airliner fans. The A380 is a biggie all right - even at this scale the 163-component model scales out with a wingspan of 555 mm (21.85 in).

Talking of the A380, the SMN crew is aiming for a trip around the main assembly plant near Toulouse, France, in a few months time - when we return, there’ll be a full report, plus lots of pix for super-detail fanatics.

There’s a selection of A380 kits available here.

And the bigger 1:125 scale Heller version here.