FORD FALCON RANCHERO - NEW LINE FROM CHINA'S TRUMPETER

Weekend read from Mat Irvine:

The fact that this major Chinese model manufacturer has taken on established kit-makers at their own game is perhaps not a great surprise. China is responsible for producing a great deal of Western kit output anyway, so it wasn’t long before original kits started to appear.

FAMOUS BUILDINGS OF THE WORLD IN MINIATURE

SMN report:

Earlier this week, we looked at matchstick-modeller Phil Warren's tabletop navy, and now we've been impressed by another modelmaker's dedication to duty. This time it's the work of Brian Bartlett, who has amassed a vast collection of card buildings, ranging from a miniature White House (above) to St Basil's Cathedral in Moscow. 

SUPERB HOT WHEELS 'GHOSTBUSTERS' CADILLAC

SMN update:

Over the years, there's been a never-ending waterfall of miniatures featuring the classic 1984 fantasy movie Ghostbusters. And here we go again with two more releases, though they are of the same subject, the Ecto-1 Cadillac ambulance, released in two scales.

2012 INCOMING - MORE FROM ITALERI

SMN report:

Despite the doom and gloom surrounding the Eurozone’s finances, the fact is that outfits like Italeri are still producing good stuff, and it looks like 2012 is shaping up to be a very interesting year for modelmakers. Here’s the latest batch of goodies from that sun-kissed land of pizza, pasta, luscious ladies, and (oh yes) model kits.

AMAZING TABLETOP NAVY CONSTRUCTED BY MODEL BOATBUILDER

SMN report:

Modelmaker Phil Warren from the UK has spent some 62 years building an incredible fleet of 1:300 scale waterline model ships. So far, there are 432 vessels in in Phil’s Navy, and there’s not a kit-built example among them - for he makes his ships entirely of wooden matchsticks and their boxes. Most navies are represented in the collection - those of Italy, Russia, Spain, the US - they are all there, plus many others, and of course ships of the British Royal Navy figure very strongly.

2012 INCOMING - CHINESE COMBAT HELICOPTER FROM CHINA

SMN report:

Next up from Dragon is this interesting 1:144 scale ‘Warbird Series’ kit of the PLA WZ-10 attack helicopter, the Chinese answer to Western types like the famed US-built Boeing AH-64 Apache. In layout, the WZ-10 is pretty standard, with a stepped tandem cockpit seating two crew: gunner in front, pilot behind. Flight controls are dualled to act as mutual backup, and the cockpit sides and bottom are protected by composite armour, as are the engines and fuselage fuel tank.

NASA DODGE CHARGER SUPERCAR - BUILT FOR TALKING DOWN ER-2 RESEARCH JET

Weekend read from Mat Irvine:

Here’s an intriguing, and relatively quick, conversion for anyone interested - as I am - in both cars and space. Here the car is a 1:24 scale Lindberg Dodge Charger, while the space connection is actually an aircraft, a Lockheed Martin ER-2 flown by NASA on high-altitude flights on Earth resources and other research missions. I’ll come to the Charger kit shortly, but first some background information.

RUMPLER TWO-SEATER BIPLANE FROM WINGNUT WINGS

SMN update:

In our opinion, Wingnut Wings of New Zealand are purveyors of the most drool-making 1:32 scale World War I aircraft kits ever produced. We looked at one of Wingnuts’ earlier kits, the German Gotha bomber, last year - and here’s the Rumpler C.IV, another German aircraft that should join the Gotha, high on the list of must-make kits for any modeller keen on this early era of the aviation story.

2012 INCOMING - FUJIMI ULTIMATE BOMBER, SLEEK SPORTSTER, ROYAL ROLLS

SMN update:

Fujimi of Japan has some fascinating stuff heading our way, including this 1:144 scale model of a ‘what-if’ design, Japan’s ‘ultimate’ World War II heavy bomber, the Nakajima G10N Fugaku (Mt Fuji) designed with the power and range to attack the US West Coast. It’s interesting that Fujimi should choose this relatively small scale, as there’s a similar-sized model out there already: the Anigrand Craftwork 111-component resin production.

2012 SCI-FI ART - ALIENS vs PREDATORS CHESS SET

SMN report:

There’s no doubt that big movie franchises really get people’s interest in a major way. Alien and Predator represent two of the biggest in the science-fiction genre, so it’s interesting to see an individual miniature concept that is not destined for the mass-market toy, kit, or collectible markets.

VIDEO AD - ROBOT vs. F-16 DOGFIGHT IN TURKISH AIRSPACE

SMN couch potato time:

This is ‘sorta amazing’ as advertising concepts go and it’s also a creative take on the many Japanese transformer toys and model kits available. Here we have a Turkish Air Force jet-jockette (and, it has to be said, very fetching) mother who manages to leave her coffee mug at home before the day’s mission.

1:10 SCALE ISS SPACESUIT KIT FROM BANDAI

Mat Irvine reports:

Factual space modelmakers are having a rather good time of it at the moment, with reissued Apollo kits from Revell, updated launchers from Airfix, brand new kits from Aoshima and Dragon - and now Bandai have released this fascinating 1:10 scale ISS Spacesuit kit, featuring the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU).