WELCOME TO AMW126 | MAY 2021
The May 2021 issue of Airfix Model World (AMW126) is here and you can read the full issue in page-turning PDF format or as individual features re-edited to suit the digital world. Indulge in the latest inspirational build features, browse new releases in the News and Reviews, discover the secrets of scale modelling through our step by step guides and much more.
AMW126, May 2021
BOEING'S JET CLIPPER
Massimo Santarossa is 'cleared for landing' as he builds Roden's 1/144 Boeing 720B airliner in Pan Am livery
IN THE NIGHT SKY
Huw Morgan tackles an early RAF jet night-fighter in the shape of Special Hobby's 1/72 Meteor NF.12. It's a relatively simple but classy build.
EXQUISITE TRANSPORT
There’s a terrific amount of detail on offer with Gecko Models’ new 1/35 Bedford MWD 15-cwt truck. If you're traditionally an armour modeller, this kit is an ideal, well-detailed entry point into 'soft-skin' vehicles.
Airbrushing Part 5 - Stripping for Action
AIRBRUSHING PART 5 - Stripping for Action: Just as every infantryman must learn to strip his weapon for cleaning, so must artists learn to dismantle their airbrush for the same purpose.
CHEERFUL ‘CHIPPIE’
See Chris Jones giving Airfix's brand-new 1/48 de Havilland Chipmunk a thorough examination with lots of useful images of the kit inside. Read more here.
FRENCH TUTOR
Esci’s 1980-vintage Alpha Jet returns in Italeri packaging, with unchanged parts and new decals.
ARMY/MARINE SPOTTER
Unmanned aerial vehicles come in all shapes and sizes; the RQ-7B Shadow is one of the smaller types and is the subject of this lovely resin and photo-etched (PE) brass combination from Brengun.
RJ MITCHELL’S LEGEND
Modellers who missed out on Eduard’s limited-edition 1/48 ‘Spitfire Story: The Few’ package, fear not, for the Czech firm’s ProfiPACK edition has now arrived.
SOVIET SCENE
ICM’s approach to figures with aircraft kits is arguably among the best, with this 1/48 Polikarpov U-2 set including the base kit, plus pilots and ground crew for no extra cost.
VIOLET LIGHTNING
Here’s another double delight from Platz, in the form of its two-kit 1/144 Kawanishi N1K-J Shinden-Kai (violet lightning – modified) package, also known by the Allied callsign ‘George’.
ROSATELLI’S FALCON
The second in ICM’s CR.42 series has been released and it’s likely to be a firm favourite with modellers, being the original Italian airframe.
FLAK SUPPRESSOR
The third iteration of Airfix’s lovely 1/72 Beaufighter TF.X provides parts for a snub- or thimble-nosed airframe, matching this with markings for Royal Canadian Air Force and Portuguese Naval Aviation machines.
LATE-WAR LAVOCHKIN
This late version of Clear Prop’s newly tooled 1/72 Lavochkin La-5 includes a slightly reworked runner compared with the early iteration (CP72014), though the remaining six frames and photo-etched (PE) brass fret are unchanged.
MINI SPY-COPTER
Crew-less aircraft, such as Schiebel’s S-100 camcopter, are gaining in popularity – the type has recently been accepted into UK Coastguard service – so it’s no surprise to see kit representations follow.
CONVOY HUNTER
Special Hobby’s He 115 is the only 1/48 kit of the type, so its return will be welcomed by fans of Luftwaffe floatplanes.
NEW ENGINE OPTION
Having first tooled a 1/144 Airbus A321 in 1999, Revell has followed the type’s development with a completely re-tooled A321neo – featuring two New Engine Options (hence the acronym) plus wingtip ‘sharklets’ to improve fuel efficiency.
GAMING GUNNERY
Although produced and released by Italeri, this 1/56 scale Sturmgeschütz is a collaboration with UK-based wargaming company Warlord Games for use with the latter’s 28mm Bolt Action system.
IMPROVED HOWITZER
IBG’s 1/35 Skoda houfnice vz 14/19 gun has been reworked to depict modernised artillery used by Polish forces during World War Two, notably featuring large tyre-shod wheels.
BIG-SHOT SHERMAN
The Sherman Firefly Vc is Airfix’s first foray into 1/72 armour in many years and is aimed at all modellers, offering a choice of simplified running gear for beginners or separate suspension, road wheels and link-and-length tracks for those with a few builds under their belt.
EAST-GERMAN MINE CLEARANCE
This version of Revell’s recent 1/72 T-55A/AM contains new runners E and F for the KMT-6 and EMT-5 mine-clearance systems used by the East German Army.
LAST-GASP DEFENDER
Comprising 11 styrene runners and a photo-etched brass fret, Academy’s King Tiger has been repackaged by Airfix with new markings.
AIRFIELD HOT STUFF
Derived from the six-wheeled Saladin/Saracen armoured cars, the Salamander fire tender was a common sight on RAF and RCAF airfields, yet this is the first kit of the type in 1/72.
STALIN’S ORGAN
This is another great set from ICM, combining its WOT 8-mounted BM-13-16 Katyusha rocket launcher (35591) with a four-man reloading team (also available separately as 35648).
OVERSEAS FALCONS
ICM has been quick to follow up the release of its lovely CR.42 kits with its own markings for foreign operated machines.
FIXED/ROTARY-WING ENSEMBLE
Modellers with Airfix or Special Hobby 1/72 Anson Mk.Is or awaiting the 1/72 Wasp HAS.1 from S&M Models will welcome this collection from Model Art, which offers five and eight schemes respectively for French and British airframes.
UKRAINIAN FROGFOOT
Foxbot’s latest Ukrainian Warriors of Light collection features 15 Su-25 Frogfoot airframes, all clad in the current digital-style four-tone camouflage.
ROCKET MARKINGS
While stencils for aircraft and helicopters are increasingly common, this isn’t necessarily true for the weapons they carry, but Ze-Ro decals has stepped into this gap with a lovely set of markings for the ubiquitous UB-32-57 rocket pods carried by Croatian Air Force assets between 1994 and 2013.
TOOTHY DELTAS
Syhart has a well-deserved reputation for releasing eye-catching and attractive schemes and its latest set, for two Mirage IIIE airframes with commemorative markings for the 70th anniversary of EC 2/4 ‘La Fayette’ and the squadron’s Sitting Bull insignia, is another fine example.
PACIFIC SHERMANS
ToRo’s first collection of Pacific Theater Shermans provides markings for seven overall Olive Drab machines, with examples of M4, M4A1, M4 (Composite) and M4A2 tanks.