THE Z-CAR EVOLUTION CONTINUES

One of Tamiya’s upcoming releases is a 1:24 scale Nissan 370Z (red car top), the latest in a long line of Nissan ‘Z’ cars. Tamiya also makes a nice model of its immediate predecessor, the 350Z (silver car), to the same scale.

In Japan Z-cars are sold under the Fairlady name, and the design goes right back 40 years, when Nissans were marketed in many countries as Datsuns. The first of the line was the 240Z of 1969, which was a terrific all-rounder. I had a late model myself for a while, and it drove well, though there was little room for all my clutter. The Z was also a successful rally car - a 240Z won the mega-tough East African Safari rally in 1971.

The Hasegawa model of this rally winner sometimes comes up on the collector market. The one shown above is available to buy here at an asking price of 23.90 Euros (£21.09 GBP, $32.25 USD).

FAB FIVE: RARE REVELL CLASSICS

Revell kits have waxed and waned over the years, and today the range is probably stronger than ever, with regular new kits coming from Europe and the US. Snap-together models are now established in popularity, with the Star Wars range leading the way. But will today’s kits (and their boxes) ever achieve the status earlier beauties have earned in my hall of fame? Only time will tell, but here we go with Mr J’s five rare Revells from the vaults:

1 USS Nautilus nuclear submarine
This was the world’s first nuclear submarine when ‘atomic’ was the big buzz-word, so a 1950s boy just had to have it. Revell’s Nautilus had a large pod behind the sail (or conning tower) and a Loon cruise missile, which was an upgraded US version of the World War 2 German V-1 ‘doodlebug’. This was a bit odd, as the real sub never had this feature at all. No matter, at the time it looked suitably aggressive.
2 Lincoln Futura
The concept alone sold this to me - a car with double-bubble canopies, just like the Anastasia personal spacecraft flown by my comic-book hero, Dan Dare. The real thing was hand-built by Ghia in Italy and did the show-car circuit; later it was the genesis for the Batman TV series.
3 Cutty Sark
Ah, the days of sail! Revell’s beauty was a stunner, and the beautifully detailed hull really set it off. Sad to say, it would NOT stay upright in water, ending its days capsized on a pond, being pounded by pebbles and stones thrown by... yes, you guessed it, me and my pals.
4 Boeing Bomarc
To my eyes the Boeing Bomarc interceptor missile looked more like a sci-fi rocket, and I built it as such, finished in gleaming silver, sitting on an alien landscape with a bunch of astronauts (‘spacemen’) around the base, ready to explore a strange new world. In reality, the Bomarc’s job was to knock out Russian intruders with its nuclear warhead, before they had a chance to drop their A- and H-bombs on US cities.
5 Martin Seamaster
Wow, a jet flying boat! Sleek, but ultimately doomed, the Martin Seamaster was another must-have for this tech-obsessed model builder. It did mark a watershed though, as around this time I got fed up with Revell’s weird-scale (‘fit the box’) policy - the Seamaster was made to a bizarre 1:136 scale - and decided to stick with 1:72 for most aircraft models. Which of course opened the door to the likes of Airfix....

OK, that’s my Rare Revell Fab Five - what are your own choices?

TINY LITTLE ITALIAN PIAGGIO FROM ITALERI

SMN was at a campervan show at the weekend, and one of these dinky Italian three-wheelers was doing duty as a mobile coffee stall. Instead of a flatbed, it sported a boxy panel-van rear containing supplies, with an espresso machine hissing away right at the back. There was even a fold-out mini-marquee to keep rain off, and my cappuccino tasted great, too.

The mini-machine is nicknamed the Ape in Italy and has been manufactured by Piaggio (also known for its aircraft) in one form or another for more than half a century. Italeri’s Apes are nice little models, available in 1:18 and 1:32 scales, and would grace any collection of commercial diecasts, not least for their diminutive size, compared to almost any other form of cargo hauler.

For diorama makers, an Ape or two would look good as extras in almost any European scene.

Visit Italeri here.

FREE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE MODELS

The fourth servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is the top astronautics story of the week, so it’s nice to see that the scale model community hasn’t been forgotten.

The HST internet site has a choice of three models to build - a children’s version, a more detailed paper project, and a highly detailed expert model with interior detail. To build, you download the drawings as a pdf, then print out on your home printer.

The kids version may well be ‘easier’ (and will certainly be tougher) but it does require a trip to your hardware store to buy various bits of PVC pipe, then on to a craft shop for dowel, beads and other supplies. Me? I’ll probably stick to paper.

The picture shows the more detailed version. It’s to 1:48 scale, but you could make it smaller or larger by changing the output size on your printer.

Visit here to see the three choices of model, and here to go straight to the downloads page.


Picture courtesy Hubblesite.org
Model based on a design by Ton Noteboom

LIONEL MODEL RAILROADS ON-SCREEN FOR YOU TO VIEW

Lionel is a long-established US model rail company that much of the world isn't too familiar with. It’s a shame, as Lionel’s products are terrific for anyone interested in US railroading.

But now anyone can have a close look at Lionel, as the product ranges are available to view in ‘page-flip’ format. This is an electronic version of the traditional book or magazine that opens out as double-page spreads, but with added zoom, index and multimedia features. Lionel includes videos that demo swinging bell, whistle, steam, and other effects.

You can visit Lionel here, though be warned - page-flips can be a little clunky if you don’t have a fastish internet connection. Even so, it’s worth being patient to see some of this really tasty 0-gauge stuff.

WE WANT WINGNUT WINGS!

Many good things are coming from New Zealand these days, from luscious scenes from the Lord of the Rings movie saga to the collectible steampunk rayguns offered by the Weta visual-effects outfit.

And now New Zealand has temptations for World War I aeromodellers, with an initial offering of four kits in big 1:32 scale, from Wingnut Wings. WW has released a pair of Brits - SE5a and Bristol F2b - and a pair of Germans - Junkers J1 and LVG CVI - and they do look excellent. SMN’s only spotted one review so far, but the signs look good and we’re looking forward to receiving ours in the post.

Wingnut Wings products are available only by mail order, so don’t expect to see them in your hobby store anytime soon. You can order (free shipping at the time of writing) from Wingnut Wings here at $79.00 USD each, except for the SE5a which is $59.00 USD.

Do take time to look around the Wingnut Wings website - it’s packed with interesting stuff, including details of new releases and resin figures.

GORGEOUS CATERHAM SUPER 7 FROM KYOSHO

Kyosho is one of the very best 1:18 diecast makers out there, and among the latest releases is a very tasty Caterham Super 7. Kyosho’s S7 is available in two variants, including the yellow-nose version shown in the pictures above.

Detail is well up to Kyosho’s usual high standard, and for any S7 enthusiast - and if you have ever driven this lightweight British road-racer you're almost certainly a fan - the question, “to buy or not to buy”, is pretty much a no-brainer that has only one proper answer.

Both models are available on pre-order from various retail and online stores, including Motoring Miniatures here.

Pictures courtesy Kyosho