Scale Modelling news, reviews, features and more...
FIERY REPTILE
Airfix’s 1/76 Churchill Crocodile is the sole small-scale offering depicting this 1943 flame-throwing variant of the Mk.VII tank.
DIVE-BOMBING BIOGRAPHY
In contrast to most Battle of Midway writings, David Rigby’s book aims to draw further attention to Wade McClusky, the US Navy pilot who led the dive-bomber attacks against the Imperial Japanese Navy’s aircraft carriers Akagi and Kaga.
Thoroughbred packages
BULLSEYE MODEL Aviation has produced a bumper selection of decals for Eduard’s newly tooled 1/48 Mustangs, with four ‘Yoxford Boys’ packs depicting RAF Leighton, Suffolk-based 357th Fighter Group machines.
Welcome to issue 113
A t for times, the hobby our enthusiasm is almost taken for granted, although recently I’ve experienced a lack of ‘mojo’ that extended back to the end of 2017.
BAD TO THE B-ONE!
Academy’s all-new 1/144 B-1B Lancer does not disappoint, as Massimo Santarossa discovers.
Inside-out double gunner
MINIART’S RECENT 1/35 M3 Lee tank returns with a full interior and Australian markings to depict vehicles used for homeland defence and training during World War Two.
SEABORNE FOX HUNT
Kagero’s 69th TopDrawings publication will be extremely useful for modellers with IBG’s 1/700 HMS Badsworth kit, as it offers a large selection of line drawings depicting this Hunt II-class ship, plus its history in English and Polish.
'LEGACY BUG' PHOTO STUDY
Model Art’s second Aircraft Photobook is dedicated to the F/A-18A/B/C/D and D (R) Hornet, which are also known as ‘Legacy Hornets’.
Dog-tooth delights
MODELLERS SEEKING greater refinement for Airfix’s recent 1/48 Hawker Hunter F.6 will appreciate these upgrade sets from CMK, which offer comprehensive upgrades for the kit’s undercarriage bays, wheels and cockpit.
Britain’s Defender
Editor Stu Fone rediscovers the model desk with an aftermarket build of Airfix’s re-released 1/48 Spitfire Mk.Ia.
Clear vision
SPECIAL HOBBY has embarked on a new venture with its Special Mask sets, providing an easy solution for modellers owning the firm’s 1/72 Dassault Super Mystère or Saab Viggen kits.
Reduced-size references
HAYNES’ ICONS series has been expanded with a selection of manuals based on preserved machinery; its latest selection covers the Flying Scotsman, Tiger tank and HMS Victory and is certain to be popular with modellers.
Shapes, slicers and smoothers
AN IMPRESSIVE range of ingenious sanding implements and engraved cutting mats has arrived from South Korean firm Infini Model.
NUREMBERG NEWS
At several first glance, notable there absences were at this year’s Nuremberg Toy Fair, including Hasegawa, Kinetic and Takom, but these were balanced by the first-time presence of firms such as Copper State Models, SMER and Dora Wings.
First horseless carriage
ICM SURPRISED many at this year’s Nuremberg Toy Fair byunveiling of a 1/24 Benz Patent-Motorwagen 1886.
Overlord observed
BOXSETS FROM both Airfix and Revell have been released to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy, France.
MARITIME CLEAR MOON
Suzutsuki (Clear Moon) was one of just five Akizuki-class destroyers (out of 13 vessels) to survive World War Two and is now the subject of Kagero’s Super Drawings in 3D series.
Next-gen acrylics
AK INTERACTIVE unveiled its latest acrylic products at the Nuremberg Toy Fair, with a whole new range of paints.
America's Tiger
Dave Oliver builds Tamiya’s 1/35 M26 Pershing to represent machinery that provided the US military with a much-needed tank to take on the cutting edge of German armour.
Easy airbrushing
IWATA’S SUPERB HP-CH airbrush has been re-packaged as a ‘Total Control’ product, in keeping with the firm’s recently introduced five-category purchasing guide.
High-speed suppression
WHILE ICM’S fighter and reconnaissance/bomber MiG-25s have delighted modellers, there was a notable gap in the single-seat versions – the BM defence suppression airframe – which has now been addressed.
CAMERAMAN'S CHRONICLE
This landscape-format offering is the first in a series showing rare and previously unseen wartime photographs.
DAYLIGHT EVALUATION
America’s entry into World War Two was marked by initial attempts to bomb Germany ‘round the clock’, with British forces’ overnight attacks and USAAF daylight raids.
Multi-purpose motifs
A TRIO of waterslide decal packs has arrived from Spanish firm Green Stuff World, containing street art, posters and labelling for a range of applications.
After A Winter’s ‘Rest’
While modellers may refer to ‘seasons’ between the UK Nationals at Telford, Bolton’s 2020 event, held again in the Premier Suite at the Bolton Stadium, was a definitive new start for the calendar year.
AVIATION ODDITIES
The final volume in the author’s five-book analysis of American aircraft development during World War Two examines the research and experimental variants of well-known types, plus varied attempts at modification as designers sought to maximise performance.
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire’s place in British hearts and minds was cemented by its role during the Battle of Britain, operating with distinction alongside Hawker’s Hurricane.
COMPREHENSIVE COMPENDIUM
Alongside its revised guide to long-nose versions, Valiant Wings has released this updated and expanded reference for radial-engined Focke-Wulf Fw 190s, including a section devoted to modelling the type.
TANK SPANDAUS
Master Model’s four-piece turned-metal package supplies sufficient parts for two barrels fitted to co-axially mounted MG 34s in German tanks.