THREE HOT 1:10 SCALE RADIO CONTROL CARS FROM TAMIYA

SMN report:

Radio Control is a mega-popular hobby-cum-sport, with the widest possible range of models to choose from - helicopters, combat planes, ships, subs, tanks, cars - you name it, there’s a wealth of choice.

Lightweight polycarbonate

And Tamiya’s latest trio of 1:10 scale RC performance cars carries on the tradition of neat products that look good enough to stand on display when they are not out racing. The lightweight polycarbonate bodies do not feature quite the detail that a heavier injection-moulded kit would give, but no matter - these are first and foremost racing cars! All three models require a separate RC control unit. 

Volkswagen Scirocco GT24-CNG

This is the latest Scirocco design, an elegant looker that looks even better in race markings. The 1:10 scale model is 443 mm (17.4 in) long, and includes details like the rear wing, air vents, and lowered suspension. The kit includes Tamiya’s FF-03 chassis, which provides the Scirocco with realistic front-drive handling, like the real thing.

Audi R8 LMS

At 434 mm (17.08 in) the Audi is a little shorter than the Scirocco, and is finished as the R8 LMS, which finished in 2nd place in the 2009 Nurburgring 24-hour event. Like the somewhat better known Le Mans race in France, the German Nurburgring is a major challenge for total vehicle reliability, rather than simply being about speed. In fact, the ‘Ring is perhaps even more of a trial than Le Mans, as the circuit is a constantly changing mixture of ups, downs, bends and straightaways. 

Ferrari 599XX 

From German racers, we go to Italy, with a Ferrari 599 (top pic), and it’s the longest of these three models, at 448 mm (17.6 in) from nose to tail. The real thing is a Ferrari flagship, dedicated for the track rather than highway. Details on the Tamiya model include small winglets on the C-pillars, hood clips above the nose intake, and decent-looking black race wheels. The model uses the Tamiya TA06 chassis, which features gear-driven rear wheels and belt-drive to the fronts, a neat solution that's reckoned to supply precise power takeup and excellent handling.

Tamiya RC equipment here.

AUDI R8 SPYDER - REVELL TEST SHOTS OF THE UPCOMING 1:24 SCALE KIT

SMN report

These pictures show a Revell’s-eye-view of its Audi R8 Spyder, a kit that’s due out this summer. To 1:24 scale, the model measures some 184 mm (7.25 in) long, with a component-count of 110. To judge from the test shots, the detail looks up to scratch, with a particularly well sorted engine under that lift-up cover. The cockpit too shows care and attention, with a steering wheel that has the correct flattened underside, and general layout that follows the real thing reasonably accurately.

For super-detail fans, we’ve included some official Audi promo pix, so you can add the extras that could turn a decent kit into a show-stopper. We’re not sure if it’ll be possible to reproduce that beautiful coloured stitching on the leather though - now there’s a challenge!

R8 Spyder textures

It’s good to see that a hardtop will be available - for display purposes this could be placed separately next to the car. Generally, it will be worth taking care with texture and finish on this kit - the real thing is something of a symphony of these, with brushed aluminium, gleaming chrome, metallic paint, satin fascia plastics, and soft leather upholstery all playing a part. Reproduce that lot well, and you’ll have people polishing their glasses to look closer. 

R8 Spyder - a performance-plus car

As for the real thing, the open-top R8 Spyder follows in the footsteps of the earlier, 2006 R8 coupe, though it eschews the use of the rather stylish ‘blade’ side panels, instead having fairly conventional cooling air intakes for the rear-mounted engine. No matter - the R8 Spyder is sex on a stick, and this writer would have one in a heartbeat, given a planet-sized wallet. As for performance, give one of these babies a firm push on the throttle and that 525 bhp engine will have you blasting up to a claimed 313 km/h (194 mph). Yes please!

R8 Coupe and F-4 Phantom II

 Here we have the Audi R8 Coupe, posed here in front of the bright orange Luftwaffe ‘50 Years of Flight Testing’ (‘50 Jahre Flugerprobung’) F-4 Phantom II, modelled by Revell in its 1:100 scale Easy-Kit range. It’s a neat little model, with a wingspan of 118 mm (4.6 in), and a full range of stores - four Sidewinders, four Sparrows, plus fuel tanks under the wings and fuselage. The crew are shrunken dwarfs, wearing helmets that just about peek above the canopy sill, but they do exist, and from a distance look OK. 

More importantly the one-off ’50 Years’ finish is nicely applied, though lacking much of the smaller lettering applied to the original. But that’s acceptable at this scale, which is more than we can say for the excuse of an undercarriage, which is fit only for the bin. The Phantom is best displayed in flight mode, though you will have to supply your own stand if you want one. 

SMN score

Too soon for a final tally on the R8 Spyder, but on potential alone, we’ll give it 8.5/10. As for the F-4 Phantom II, we’ll give the airframe and pre-painted finish an Easy-Kit score of 8/10, but the landing gear gets 'nil points'. No, on second thoughts, that's a minus-score as it doesn’t  relate to anything seen on any aircraft, ever.  

See the Revell Audi R8 Coupe kit here.

See other car kits here.

Test shot pictures courtesy Revell.

Phantom II model SMN Studio.

REVELL 1:24 SCALE AUDI RACE CARS

SMN report
It’s busy times at Revell at the moment, and two recent releases are 2009-season V8-engined Audi A4 track cars, representing the ones driven by Tom Kristensen (red markings) and Championship winner Timo Scheider (blue). These are neatly produced kits, each measuring 204 mm (8 in) long when assembled, with 126 components to put together.

Inside the box
Revell’s kit engineers have packed in plenty of detail, from the rear spoiler to a complete engine, with access to it when finished via a removable cover panel. Chrome parts are included, though these need to be a little less shiny to look the part in a racer - left as supplied, they’d look better on a street-smart pimpmobile. Still, that’s easy enough to achieve with one light coat of satin spray. The cabin is neatly done, and is fitted with the race-essential roll bar, plus you get very neatly printed decals for two versions, and free-spinning wheels. To sum up, a pair of kits that are well worth adding to any race car fan’s collection. 
    
The Audi heritage
Today, Audi is synonymous with high-quality autos, from topline executive models like the A8, to highly desirable tyre-rippers like the RS and R8. The name itself was coined back in 1910, when August Horch had to think up a name for a new car company, as he’d been forced out of his own-name brand, Horch, in a boardroom battle the year before. His scholarly son had a bright idea - Horch means ‘hark’ or ‘hear’ in German, so why not call the new company the same thing in Latin, ‘Audi’? It’s the Latin root that gives us ‘audio’, but it also links to ‘proud’, ‘bold’ and ‘daring’, so quite a neat brand name altogether!

Auto Union
In the 1930s, Audi merged with Horch, DKW and Wanderer to form the Auto Union brand, which is when the four-ring logo first appeared. Auto Union’s ‘Silver Arrows’ cars became race winners and famed for their performance; the cars appeared on everything from posters to chocolate bars (see pic above). Today Audi is the ‘quality’ brand of VAG, the Volkswagen Group.

You can buy Revell racer kits, including the Audi A4 here.

Other racers are available here.

Various Auto Union cars are available as diecasts here.

The pictures show, top to bottom:
1  Revell A4 race cars, 2009 season.
2  Auto Union Type C, 1930s.
3  A one-off Type C with special streamlined body.
4  Yum yum! A Rosemeyer chocolate bar with a Type C to tempt German racing fans.