CLOSEUP MODEL MAKING WITH THE LIGHTCRAFT STANDARD HEADBAND MAGNIFIER KIT

 

IN COVID LOCKDOWN, many modellers do not have the excuse ‘I’ve nothing to do.’ Backing this up, model suppliers report that they’ve never been busier, and helpful gadgets have been hot sellers in 2020.

INTERNATIONAL PLASTIC MODEL COMPETITION IN SINGAPORE

 

THIS WEEK SAW the annual Airfix Competition 2020, organised by Peter Chiang, of Hobby Bounties in Singapore. Due to the Covid-19 and the Singapore Air Force Museum being closed, it was held online at Facebook, under the Hobby Bounties’ event 'mini-Airfix Cup 2020.'

BUILDING A TAMIYA 1:48 SCALE CRUSADER TANK

AIRPLANE-SCALE TANKS are go in this well-crafted video. The British Crusader cruiser tank featured is made to 1:48 scale, resulting in a model that is just over five inches (131 mm) long. Nice!

MODEL-MAKING THE OLD WAY FOR THE MANDALORIAN NEW SERIES

THE NEW SEASON OF THE EXCELLENT Mandalorian has the usual range of sci-fi effects, characters, and models. And some of these depend on the old techniques of actual model making.

NIFTY VIDEO SHOWING  a model aircraft collection, and the neat shelving built for the display. Worth looking for a collective sigh of nostalgia. For example, there's a beautifully made Fairey Rotodyne in one corner, one of our fave machines of all time. 

TOP GUN'S MAVERICK FLIES IN WITH 1:48 SCALE F/A-18 SUPER HORNET

IN 1986 WE GOT we got the hugely successful movie Top Gun. Next, what will be 35 years later (the film release is due in 2021) we should see the follow-up Top Gun: Maverick. The star of the first movie, Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell (Tom Cruise), returns again, but now plays the role of a flight instructor.

HALLOWEEN TREAT: THE MUNSTERS LIVING ROOM KIT FROM POLAR LIGHTS

 

IT’S HALLOWEEN AGAIN and here’s a chance to look at a kit that definitely fits the idea of ‘spooky.’ 

WHAT-IF AIRFIX KITS.. WELL, WE CAN BUT DREAM!

MATTHEW TEEVAN IS AN illustrator who shows his work on Art Station, an online centre for the visual creatives community.

JETSONS ANNIVERSARY: FLYING SAUCER FAMILY CAR

This week in 1962 – actually September 23 – saw the first episode of the Jetsons, a US cartoon TV series featuring a ‘space age’ family living in the Orbit City of 2062.

COMING SOON FROM AIRFIX: CLASSIC 1:12 SCALE RACING BENTLEY KIT

A GRAND OLD CLASSIC, the Airfix Bentley is still an excellent kit that shows off the famed Le Mans race car incredibly well.

FANTASY FIGURES INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE REVIEW

WE COVERED THIS NEW MAGAZINE when it was launched in 2019. Now Fantasy Figures International (FFI) has reached Issue 6, so it’s time for another look.

ALL-METAL MODEL: GORGEOUS SCRATCH-BUILT F4U CORSAIR

SMN MODEL MAKERS are mostly used to working with plastics and similarly easy to work with materials. But long before plastics were invented, models were often hand-crafted from metal.

BUILDING THE 1:600 SCALE AIRFIX HMS BELFAST LIGHT CRUISER

THE AIRFIX 1:600 SCALE HMS BELFAST shown here was first produced in the early 1970s, but the kit stands up well, nearly half a century later.

HUMBROL WEATHERING TUTORIAL ON AN AIRFIX MESSERSCHMITT Bf109E

MOST MODELS LOOK ALL THE BETTER for the addition of some weathering and subtle dirtying.

STROMBECKER CLASSIC KIT HISTORY FROM MAX'S MODELS

ANYONE WITH A NOSTALGIC MEMORY for classic Strombecker kits will enjoy this vid from Max’s Models.

LOOKING BACK AT ANDY YANCHUS AND AURORA

HERE'S A BIO-VID FROM Max's Models, and it makes fascinating viewing of a man who was heavily involved with one of the classic names of the plastic kit industry.

HOW TO MAKE A STAR WARS DIORAMA WITH LASER BLASTS

HERE'S A NEAT DIORAMA based on Bandai components, from YouTube's Boylei Hobby Time.

CLASSIC US MUSCLE CAR IN KIT FORM: REVELL 1:25 SCALE PLYMOUTH AAR CUDA

THIS KIT IS A reissued and reboxed version of an original Revell US kit that dates to around 1995. Just to confirm, this is the newer and more detailed Revell US kit. Monogram also made a very similar 1971 Plymouth which, in convertible form, was the star car that featured in Nash Bridges, a TV cop series that starred Don Johnson.

ALLIGATOR CHEWS A SKELETON'S LEG: LATEST FROM THE NEW LINDBERG LINE

IN THIS TIME OF viral doom and gloom, we all need something to cheer us up, so about a model of a guy about to have his leg bitten off by an alligator? Well, maybe this 1:12 scale kit is not as bad as it sounds.

1:18 SCALE HOBBYBOSS HARRIER: GIANT-SIZED JUMP-JET REALLY LOOKS THE BIZ

HERE'S AN ACE HARRIER to the BIG scale of 1:18. This vid is well worth watching, and is the eighth in a highly-watchable series of build chapters.