APRIL ITALERI - MARKING 30 YEARS SINCE THE FALKLANDS WAR

Yesterday’s 30th anniversary of the Argentina-UK conflict saw Italian kitmaker Italeri releasing models of some British aircraft used in that short but bloody conflict.

On offer from Italeri

A 1:72 scale double-kit sees the Westland Wessex UH.5 and Sea Harrier FRS.1 in the same box, and at just over 200 mm (7.9 in) long each, the two models are well matched in size. A second Harrier kit to 1:72 scale features the GR.3 variant, this design without the Sea Harrier’s raised cockpit. A second 1:72 scale Wessex is also available, the HAS.3, nicknamed the ‘Camel’ for its humpback dorsal radar fitting. This kit offers three sets of decal markings, the others just one.

 

Other types involved

There are plenty of other models relevant to the Falklands War, including the British Vulcan bomber and HMS Hermes aircraft carrier. However, we’d most like to see Argentine aircraft such as the Super Etendard, Mirage III, Skyhawk, Pukara, even British-supplied Canberra bombers.

French and Soviet deltas

Other jets on release this month include the blended-wing Dassault Mirage 2000 from the 1980s. The 1:72 scale kit comes in Italeri’s ‘My First Model Kit’ packaging, which means you get paints, cement and brushes, plus a set of useful modeller’s tools. There’s also a DVD video tutorial in the box.

Cold War warrior

The MiG-21 is to 1:48 scale and models one of the classic aircraft from the Cold War era. Four sets of markings are included, and the fuselage is a multi-piece assembly, unusual perhaps in what is not a particularly large model - when assembled, the Italeri MiG-21 measures 328 mm (12.9 in) long.

DIY jet

The MiG-21 was one of the most widely built jets ever, and many still fly today, with 44 in private hands in the US alone. Negotiating price for your own Soviet jet? Dig in your back pocket for around $450,000 USD... IWOOT!

More kits from Italeri in April

Other releases this month include two in 1:35 scale, a US Army M113 personnel carrier, and a ruined church window, suitable for dioramas. 

A further helicopter kit features the 1:72 scale ‘Night Raid’ Sikorsky UH-60 Blackhawk, while trucking fans get a nifty 1:24 scale DAF 2800 NTT eurohauler. A set of 1:72 scale Prussian Cuirassiers is for historical warfare enthusiasts, providing 17 cavalrymen and their horses. No assembly is needed, apart from sitting the men on their mounts - but you’ll need plenty of time for painting all those uniforms!

Falklands Harrier here.

More Italeri kits here.

Last but not least - Argentine Super Etendards, supplied by Dassault of France.

INCOMING - MORE NEW-TOOL DIECAST AIRCRAFT FROM CORGI

SMN report:

We noted the big new 1:72 scale Short Stirling heavy bomber earlier this week, and now here’s a pair of smaller aircraft to the same scale, a Hawker Hart inter-war period biplane, and a Hawker Hurricane from World War II. Both releases look interesting enough, the Hart looking especially attractive, with fine interplane rigging a highly appealing feature.

What’s the Corgi Hart like?

The Hawker Hart light day bomber was designed by Sir Sydney Camm, who later designed the Hurricane and Hunter jet. Camm’s design is captured nicely in this Corgi Hawker Hart, from the pointed propeller spinner to the tail skid. Details extend to the strut-mounted pitot tube for indicating airspeed. The long fuselage groove you can see under the engine exhausts is not a cooling intake, but the exit slot for bullets from the single Vickers machine gun, fired by the pilot. The observer had a Lewis gun, mounted on a Scarf ring. You won’t see it on this model, reasonably enough, but for bombing purposes, the observer had to burrow under the pilot’s seat to lie flat in bombardier mode, to aim the 240 kg (520 lb) of bombs the Hart could tote under its lower wings.

Goggles and markings

As usual with diecast models, the crew are perhaps its weakest feature, although the Corgi team has been trying hard - paintwork to these two even includes the metal frames to their flying goggles. The cockpit surround looks rather clunky in the pictures here - in the real model, it manages to look much neater. Markings on this Hawker Hart are for a 1935 machine, K2986 of No 600 Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Air Force. They look good to our eyes, the red-and-white triangles lending a splash of jaunty brightness to this classic silver machine. To 1:72 scale, the Corgi Hawker Hart has a wingspan of 155 mm (6.1 in).

Night Reaper

The other Corgi Sydney Camm design is a Hawker Hurricane Mk IIc, painted in an all-black night fighter finish. This particular aircraft was flown by a Czech pilot, Karel 'Kut' Kuttelwascher who flew with RAF No 1 Squadron. Kuttelwascher was the highest-scoring pilot in 1942 night-ops, at one point scoring 15 kills in 15 missions, while flying his Hurricane named Night Reaper.

Hurricane features captured

The Corgi Hurricane has features common to all of these fighters, such as the slightly hump-backed upper fuselage contours, and fabric covered rear fuselage. This latter is well captured by Corgi, particularly for a diecast model. The wing leading edges feature landing lights needed for night operations, while the characteristic underbelly intake is also included. Wing tanks were carried under the wings, allowing pilots extra time in the air while hunting German bombers on attack missions. All in all, a decent readybuilt model from Corgi, albeit not exactly colourful! To 1:72 scale, the Corgi Hawker Hurricane IIc has a wingspan of 167 mm (6.6 in).

Sydney Camm in his early 20s, when he was a member of the Windsor Model Aeroplane Club. Note his twin pusher-prop aircraft, almost a ringer for today's Piaggio Avanti! 

Summation

A nice pair of models here, which gave us a thought - what about Corgi (or Airfix) producing a grand megabox, full to the brim with every major Sydney Camm design flown? Camm's designs already feature in model form,  such as the Hart and Hurricane, with others that include the Hawker Fury, Typhoon, Hunter, and Harrier. But more remain untouched by a mainstream model manufacturer, including his first design, the Hawker Cygnet. Such a boxful would make a tremendous salute to one of aviation’s great designers.    

Visit Corgi here.

Plenty of Corgi aircraft here.

Hurricane kits here.

CAN’T MAKE WONDERFEST? SAVE MONEY INSTEAD!

SMN report

The folks at Fantastic Plastic are visiting the WonderFest international hobby event this weekend, and have a sale on to mark their escape from the office. Up to 30 percent savings are in place, and if you like to model interesting, unusual, or simply bizarre aerospace and sci-fi subjects, then FP is the place to visit.

Competed model, ready for takeoff.

Wide range of oddities

Fantastic Plastic does the sort of subjects that mainstream kit manufacturers won’t go near, as there simply isn’t the mass-market for - let’s say - a weird ‘maybe’ project from 50 years ago that there is in another Spitfire or Mustang. All of which makes FP’s range of kits that much more appealing to the SMN crew. Mind you, many of FP’s kits are short-run items that come and go like the tides, so if you want something, it’s best to get in quick.

Sale lineup this week

Of the items on the marked-down list, the Avro Project Y really takes our fancy. It was produced in Canada at a time when ‘flying saucer’ projects seemed to be at the cutting edge of designer dreams, and the ‘Y’ certainly looked the part. With a vertical-takeoff and landing (VTOL) capability, a squadron of Y-interceptors could rise up to attack and destroy approaching Soviet bombers. The importance of VTOL in Cold War days was that military planners expected virtually all conventional airfields to be destroyed as a precursor to an all-out Soviet onslaught.

   

Still-frame shows the Project Y in mockup form.

High-speed Avro aircraft

The Avro Canada Project Y (also nicknamed the ‘Ace’ or ‘Spade’) was a radically shaped single-seater, powered by an RFGT (RadIal Flow Gas Turbine) engine, a leading-edge concept that promised more thrust than a conventional jet. Early designs indicated a possible top speed of Mach 2.5-plus, and on this promise a mockup was built, as shown in the pic, a still-frame taken from an Avro publicity movie of the time. However, exciting as the project may have been, the Y-fighter was cancelled soon after the mockup was built, probably because of cost difficulties.

Components of the Avro Project Y.

What’s in the box?

Well first of all, it’s great that there’s a kit available of this rare-bird project, but as ever with resin kits like this, you need to take more care than with a mainstream kit. However, with just 17 components, the 1:72 scale Y-interceptor should not be too difficult a project for anyone with basic skills, and it will certainly be a talking point in any collection. When assembled, the Y measures just 102 mm (4 in), so it may be worth adding a section of tarmac to give it some presence on the display shelf. 

Difficult landings envisaged

There is a pilot figure included, and when in position it shows how difficult landing would have been, had the Y ever left the ground. Return to base was a common issue with so many VTOL projects of the time - mirrors, rotating seats, periscopes were all tried as aids to help tail-first landings, with varying levels of success. It remains the case that the only truly successful V/STOL combat aircraft has been the conventional-attitude British Harrier.   

The Fantastic Plastic sale ends on May 22. See what’s on offer here.

Other Cold War warriors here and here.

WEEKEND MODEL WINDOW

Weekend Model Window is an occasional spot to show you some interesting stuff we've come across recently.

The 2008 F1 Championship winning McLaren MP4-23 race car is the latest offering from partwork publisher DeAgostini, and the launch issue looks terrific. The 1:8 scale kit will measure some 594 mm (23.4 in) long when assembled, and has been developed with Kyosho, so should build into a fine replica. How long it will take to collect all the necessary parts is not revealed.

A recent AFV from Revell is the 1:35 scale Marder 1 A5, with supplied markings as used in the Kosovo and Afghanistan conflicts. The 196-part kit has detailed Milan missile launcher, machine gun and tracks, aspects which have earned it some very good reviews.

We were looking again at the old Disney 20,000 Leagues under the Sea movie the other night, so this steampunk design for a Victorian-era undersea device struck a chord. Lovely thing, and it would be wonderful to see one built, complete with motorized tentacles and snapping claws.

More nostalgia, with this 'what if' Barnes Wallis Swallow from Fantastic Plastic, shown as it might have appeared at a mid-1960s Farnborough Air Show. The Swallow was a hugely advanced concept, though the thought of controlling yaw in the event of an engine failure - without even a rudder to help - doesn't bear thinking about. 

TIE fighters are popular items for sci-fi fans, but here we have a modded F/A-1 attack version, equipped with heavy calibre top turret for taking out those upstart rebels. The F/A-1 is designed for exo-endo atmospheric action, and comes finished in desert camo, suitable for planets such as Tatooine. The turret is an ex-Walker Bulldog item from the parts bin, the tail-mounted power-boost system a garden hose nozzle. 

The Trumpeter 1:32 scale Harrier shows how component breakdown may change when kits grow in size. Instead of the conventional fuselage split into two full-length halves, here we have a multi-section assembly, with nose and tail sections each as sub-assemblies.

Star Wars again, with: "I feel the Force, Luke..." A complete Darth Vader movie-prop costume, reckoned to be from The Empire Strikes Back was on sale at a Christies auction not long ago. But fan pockets proved not deep enough - bidding ground to a halt at 'just' £151,000 GBP ($242,000 USD), well short of the doubtless sky-high reserve. 

The gorgeously detailed 1:32 scale RE8 'Harry Tate' earns a must-have rating for World War I flight enthusiasts. It's from the down-under kitmasters, Wingnut Wings.

STEALTH FIGHTER F-35 LIGHTNING II SOON TO RULE THE SKIES

SMN report
After years of development, and seemingly endless delays and price hikes, the ‘5th generation’ fighter jet from Lockheed Martin, the F-35 Lightning II, has at last been ordered into limited production.

It’s a bit better than recent news that the UK has dropped the F-35 STOVL version in favour of a standard configuration for launching from its as-yet unbuilt Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier. Along with other news that the UK Harrier force is being disbanded, it looks as though the UK is in for an entire decade without carrier-borne air power. Let’s hope it’s not needed.

5G helmet design
Back to the F-35: it’s not been a massive hit with the model companies yet, but the rumour mill indicates that things will improve in 2011, not least with a Lindberg version to 1:32 scale. That’ll be interesting if it happens. Meantime, apart from the old Italeri 1:72 and Panda Models 1:48 offerings there’s so much to wait for. Still, we couldn’t resist showing you the latest in ‘5G’ fighter helmets - Star Wars, eat your heart out, 5G pilots tote serious stuff!

RC Lightning II
However, even if there isn’t yet a really good F-35 injection kit - and no sign of a production-standard machine - there are various radio control scale and semi-scale versions to build and fly. The video (without sounds on our system, but you may have better luck) shows one of the most aerobatic ones available.

Visit one of the RC F-35 suppliers, Esprit Models here.

The pictures show, top to bottom:
1  5G fighter pilot helmet.
2-3  Panda 1:48 scale kit.
4  Cutaway plan of the F-35B, clearly showing the engine and front lift fan arrangement. To design-purists like us, this layout is not a patch on the Harrier’s elegantly simple four-poster exhaust system.

DRAGON KITS ON DISPLAY AT JAPANESE MODEL SHOW

SMN report
Last week saw the 2010 Tokyo Hobby Show, and Hong Kong-based DML - Dragon Models Limited - put on quite a display there. Founded in 1987, DML is well-known for its excellent action figures, ready-built diecasts, and of course an ever-expanding range of plastic kits.

Farewell to the Harrier - in UK service anyway
So what’s on offer from Dragon at the moment? Well, there’s a smorgasbord of choice, so we’ll just pick and choose a few current faves. The Harrier II-Plus twin-kit to 1:144 scale makes up into a pair of tiny but tasty aircraft - and for this reviewer at least, a sad reminder that next year the Harrier will be phased out of UK military duty. But (grrr) the UK is the country that developed this formidable flying machine in the first place. Let’s hope that UK politicians don’t regret that decision...

Tanks and ships
On the humanoid front, the 1:35 scale 1940 German ‘Ghost’ Division tank crew kit assembles into a four-man set of beautifully sculpted and detailed figures. Away from World War II and up to date, the USS Independence LCS (Littoral Combat Ship) is a trimaran stealth vessel, built to project seapower as a seaborne assault transport. The LCS is a 2800-tonne design, yet can race through the water at more than 80 km/h (50 mph). Dragon’s kit is to 1:700 scale, which allows for a decent level of detail including Seahawk helos, Phalanx defence system, and nicely crafted photo-etch parts for the nets which surround the flight deck.

Bigger and bigger
Dragon has a wide range of kits, and in bigger scales, the 1:48 Messerschmitt Bf110 is particularly well-crafted, as is the 1:35 scale Bell UH-1N Huey, the combat vet chopper that formed the backbone of helicopter operations throughout the Vietnam War. This is such an excellent scale for military fans - and aircraft to the same scale are just so darned BIG! We love ’em.

See the Dragon 1:48 scale Bf110 kit here.

The ace 1:35 scale UH-1N Huey helicopter (our all-time fave helo) kit is here.

The pictures show, top to bottom:
1-2  Tokyo Model Show.
3-6  Dragon kits to various scales.
Pictures courtesy DML.

AIRFIX ‘ILLUSTRIOUS’ AIRCRAFT CARRIER TO 1:350 SCALE

David Jefferis reports
Airfix is busy as a beehive these days, with product after product striding out the doors - the breath of life from new ownership means that times are almost back to the company’s glory days, when schoolboys the length and breadth of the UK could be seen treading the wooden floorboards of FW Woolworth (a chain that’s now history - sigh) on the hunt for the latest Airfix kit-in-a-bag.

1:350 scale carrier video

The latest offering gives both maritime and aerospace model fans a treat, as it’s a 1:350 scale model of the Royal Navy’s HMS Illustrious - 'Lusty' to her crew - and it’s loaded for bear, with a flight deck packed with aircraft, helicopters and neatly-cast detail. Airfix has released a video overview of the carrier, which you can see above. The model is a test shot, so all you get to see is the bare plastic - for a taste of what the final result could look like, just have a look at the box, which is illustrated with a photo, rather than the CGI-based imagery that’s becoming standard across the rest of the Airfix range. 

What’s in the box?

First off, that 1:350 scale means the kit builds into a BIG ship - the Lusty scales out to some 603 mm (23.7 in) long, which is slightly more than two sheets of A4 paper laid end to end. And even the aircraft aren’t too miniscule - the Harriers have a wingspan of around the 21 mm (0.83 in) mark, while the Merlin and Sea King helos are accurate enough: the Merlin’s paddle-shaped rotors look particularly convincing. In all, there are some 276 components, enough for most model fans, especially as painting those aircraft is a several-nights job all by itself.  

Summation

Nice one Airfix - of course HMS Illustrious is hardly the biggest carrier afloat, as you can see from the pic showing her next to the USS John C Stennis - but she’s a fine warship nonetheless, and will make an excellent member of a desktop battlefleet. The kit also comes with 15 pots of paint, a pair of brushes, a bottle of polystyrene cement and an eight-page information booklet. The paints aren’t much good for serious modelmakers, but are doubtless useful for beginners, and some extra poly cement always comes in useful.

Pictures courtesy Airfix, US Navy, Royal Navy.

The Airfix HMS Illustrious kit is available from model stores and online suppliers including Amazon here.

There are also other warships available in smaller scales here.