JAMES BOND ‘SKYFALL’ OR DEMOLITION DERBY ‘METAL ALIEN’? IT’S YOUR CHOICE, WITH RACING SETS FROM SCALEXTRIC IN BIG AND SMALL SCALES

MAT IRVINE REPORT
Scalextric features the latest James Bond movie as the subject of the Micro Scalextric 1:64 scale Skyfall set with track.


The standard Micro Scalextric Skyfall set includes an Aston Martin DB5 and DBS, plus 3.7m (12.1ft) of double track with triple curves and a flyover straight. The 1:64 scale was a model racing format pioneered by Aurora in the 1960s, since become one of the industry standards.

Tight on space?
The micro scale is useful if you have limited space - the supplied track needs an area measuring just 1200 x 680mm (47.2 x 27in) which makes it easy to set up on any reasonably-sized table.

Grip in the bends
The cars themselves are fitted with magnets to help them stay on the track, and construction is described as, ‘super resistant’, aka ‘child-proof’ so they can crash many times over, yet stay in running order.

Bigger format
The Skyfall set is also available at twice the size, 1:32 scale, just right for including the extremely detailed supplied Astons in a diorama scene - big-scale aircraft would be ideal - if you wish to mix and match ‘models’ with ‘toys’.

Demolition Derby
The 1:32 scale Demolition Derby set is something very different, featuring cars called the Metal Alien and White Skull. More than 300 visiting journalists to the recent London Toy Fair 2013 gave Demo Derby their thumbs-up for the ‘Toy of the Show’ award. It makes you wonder, given how many crashes occur during any Scalextric race, that it hasn’t been done before!

What’s unusual about the Demo Derby cars?
New to Scalextric is the way the jalopy-like hot-rods are constructed, using clip-together components that allow them to break apart when they collide - and put back together again afterwards. Scalextric has also added a measure of customization, with clip-on wheels, decorative decals and various mix-n-match parts.

The pic (above) shows the Demo Derby car components and in built-up form. There is also a sheet of peel-off/stick-on decals. So, race them customized as you wish, and if bits fall off, well, just stick ’em back on again!

***SMN Note: Many of the latest Scalextric cars are fine models in their own right, some of them so beautifully produced that it seems a shame to risk them in track races.


Skyfall and many other Scalextric sets available here.

Scalextric home page here.

AIRFIX MODEL WORLD MAGAZINE - THE LAUNCH ISSUE

David Jefferis reports
Here we have 100 colour pages of the new and revived Airfix Magazine - well, it's now retitled Airfix Model World for 2010 - and a pretty good effort it is too. I’ve been involved with several magazine launches over the years, and know a little of the sweat and toil that goes into the first one. It’s always a steep learning curve and I doubt this launch AFW is an exception. So well done to the team involved.

What’s it like?
First off is the cover - and centre-spread - both of which feature the work of the Airfix ‘wunderkind’ box-artist, Adam Tooby. He’s already up there in the pantheon of the best - Roy Cross, at last you have a decent successor. Tooby manages to combine the precision of computer generated imagery with an artist’s touch for the finished work. I reckon we’ll see a few of his box-tops appearing as art prints before too long.

See inside
Editorial is wide-ranging, with a strong feature on the 1:48 Sea Vixen kit from Airfix, which has some very nice detail photographs, including closeups of the neatly-modelled observer’s cockpit and radarscope. Elsewhere we have articles on the 1:32 Aston Martin DBR9 racer, and a Hasegawa 1:48 F-4J Phantom II. There are also the expected extras, including news, skills, books, kits and decals. All in all, the mag makes a good read, with a flavour that’s not overly ‘Airfix’. In fact, I might want a bit more of this - there is lots of background detail to the company that I would be fascinated to learn about.
   
Space with Mat Irvine
I couldn’t finish without a mention of SMN’s own Mat Irvine, with his ‘Space Build’ feature. This one takes you through the Airfix 1:144 scale Saturn V, pulling no punches with its faults and features. Interesting article - nice one, Mat!

Visit Airfix here.

Visit Mat Irvine here.

Airfix Model World here.

“THE NAME’S MARTIN, ASTON MARTIN...”

Mat Irvine reports
It was a pleasant surprise when Tamiya announced that its latest 1:24 scale sports car kit would be the Aston Martin DBS. It should also be said that although the kit has not been issued ‘from a James Bond movie’ per se, given that the car’s first appearance was several months before its official 2007 launch in the Bond film Casino Royale the opening comments in  the instructions can hardly avoid making this point.

Tamiya DBS details
The kit is classic Tamiya and, although a complete V-12 engine is not provided, everything that’s normally visible inside the engine bay is there. You are not going to miss the lower section of the engine anyway, as the underside is hidden by the floor pan. Elsewhere in the kit, Tamiya provides full suspension, huge chrome-plated wheels, and low-profile tyres. All wheels revolve on the now-standard nylon bushes and the front pair steer.

Only a left-hand drive interior is supplied (which is fine for the Bond car), though you can choose full manual or Touchtronic automatic, with various optional parts and decals. Either way, you get photo-etched parts for the appropriate foot pedals. Photo-etching is also supplied for the lower grille mesh, while the classic Aston Martin shape upper grille is on a chrome-plated runner.

Decal selection
You get waterslide decals for some of the grilles, instruments, under-bonnet labels and AM badges, and ‘metal transfers’, which are self-adhesive, for  the Aston Martin logo on the engine block and glass for the rear-view mirrors.

Intriguingly, although Casino Royale is the movie mentioned, the Tamiya car more closely represents the DBS in Quantum of Solace - well, the licence plate (with a bit of judicial re-jigging) is correct anyway! However, whether you want to add criminal damage and remove the driver's door is up to you!

The pictures show, top to bottom:
1  The box-top is to Tamiya’s usual design style, and very handsome it is, too.
2  Box-side illustrations show the car in Titanium Silver, perhaps a nod towards the Goldfinger DB5?
3, 4  The top section of the engine block is moulded as one piece with the inner wheel arches.
5  Photo-etched and chrome plated parts.
6  Quantum of Solace DBS looking somewhat worse for wear, and minus a door.

The kit was supplied by Tamiya’s UK importer, The Hobby Company here.

If you like Bond in general, there’s a selection of stuff to enjoy here.

To find out more about the real thing, visit Aston Martin here.

Quantum of Solace picture courtesy the Strangways movie blog here.