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.

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.

WEIRD WHEELS - WHY DOES REVELL SUPPLY THEM?

As you may have realised by now, we’re fans of today’s non-cement snap-together kits. For the ham-fisted or time-poor, they’re a great way to assemble a model at the speed of light, yet be able to add some finishing touches - a touch of weathering, say - to turn it into a personalised statement that’s a long way from being a toy.

We’re enthusiasts of Revell’s Easykits, especially the Star Wars hardware. The 1:100 scale aircraft from Revell are reasonable takes on the real thing, if simplified somewhat. The Panavia Tornado IDS (box, top pic) is beautifully pre-finished in Tiger Meet markings, with a tailfin and rudder that form, quite simply, a small work of art. Components are neatly presented on two runners (middle pic), and need only a little fine trimming when twisted off. The clear canopy is supplied separately in its own bag, so there’s no chance of scratches in the box.

So... after all that care and effort producing the rest of the kit, just WHY Revell, do you supply three crummy bits of inaccurate plastic purporting to be the undercarriage of this Euro-attacker? The parts (bottom) bear no relationship to any aircraft flying today, and what’s worse, are supplied as standard issue with other aircraft in the range, such as the bright orange F-4 Phantom II. It’s bizarre!

Of course, assemble this Tornado in cleaned-up flying condition, and it will look just fine, though you’ll have to provide your own stand. Score: Components 7/10, Markings 9/10, Wheels 0/10.

There's a good range of Easykits to inspect here.