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Found 16 results

  1. Something WEIRD happened to me today. Like, REALLY flippin weird. So weird that "weird" should be in italics. I'm posting pictures of a COMPLETED model. Mark this day on your calendar folks, I know I will. Click the link to check out the full build. http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235001750-bandai-t-70-black-leader/ 20160607-MJS_4704 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20160607-MJS_4705 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20160607-MJS_4701 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20160607-MJS_4697 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20160607-MJS_4695 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20160607-MJS_4714 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20160607-MJS_4716 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20160607-MJS_4706 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr Kill markings painted on using an old Verlinden scribing template as a stencil. 20160607-MJS_4724 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr Clear resin navigation lights courtesy CMK to replace the solid plastic ones that come with the kit. 20160607-MJS_4732 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20160607-MJS_4742 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20160607-MJS_4750 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20160607-MJS_4766 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr A cool accident in this pic. The light hits in just the right way to make the NAV lights look like they're actually lit up. 20160607-MJS_4777 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20160607-MJS_4799 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20160607-MJS_4814 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr Not enough photos? OK! Too many? Too bad cause here comes even MORE! 20160607-MJS_4821 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20160607-MJS_4829 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20160607-MJS_4830 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20160607-MJS_4834 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr The design for the base was inspired by Poe Dameron's helmet. 20160607-MJS_4836 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20160607-MJS_4841 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20160607-MJS_4845 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr Solid plastic barrels replaced with fine brass tube. 20160607-MJS_4843 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20160607-MJS_4846 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr Interesting little fact about this piece. Only about five decals were used in total and they all were on BB-8. The X-wing itself has zero decals and as a result, zero clear coats. That's a first for me. Thanks for looking! -matt
  2. Well, here we go. Finally have enough done to warrant my first post in my first WIP here. This is also my first time back at the bench in over a year. And this is my first personal project since... my Tamiya P-47 many many years ago. Time to shake off a lot of rust. This is a little out of my comfort zone. I don't do much sci-fi. And I've only dabbled in 1/72 maybe a half dozen times in my life. It's so much smaller than 1/48! I mean, look how tiny BB-8 is! FYI, the body detail was sanded off as I want to position his head on an angle. And since his body is on a sphere, all I need to do is adjust the placement of the decals on his body when the time comes. Seemed silly to cut off his head an re attach it. untitled by _m_sinclair, on Flickr Since this is a Star Wars kit, it seemed like a perfect opportunity to add my own "greeblies" to this X-wing. A great way to add a little extra detail and help make it my own. I went looking through old kits. But due to the small scale I quickly realized that my collection of photo etched detail sets was the way to go. I even found a supply of fine solder wire I probably purchased ten years ago and never touched. Till today. I also drilled out a vent (maybe, who knows) and added some very fine etched screen. Why? Because it looked right. untitled-2 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr More random etched pieces added where it looked appropriate. Some came from an Aber King Tiger set. Other pieces are from an old Verlinden Humvee set. I also used a fine drill and added the appearance of fasteners all over the ship. Just another way to add a little more visual appeal. This is the bottom of the fuselage.I had planned on adding some antennas like what you see on current aircraft. I was thrilled to discover the kit already has two! They just needed a little sanding to thin them down to make them look just right. untitled-3 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr I removed Poe's head and angled it to make it appear he is looking at something. Likely need to add a little filler to clean up the neck area. untitled-4 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr I made a small pitot tube and attached it inside one of the intakes. I figure since the ship flies in atmosphere frequently it might make sense to have one. And if you don't like that, just call it a random sensor. untitled-5 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr Same as the fuselage. Various bits of PE. Fine solder wire and a fine drill used to replicate fasteners on different parts of the S foils and engines. I expect the lower engines will be more visible so I added a little more detail on them. untitled-6 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr One of the "top" engines detailed on the right. untitled-7 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr This time it's one of the "bottom" engines on the right side. untitled-8 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr Oh how I missed you. untitled-9 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr Got some primer on just to see if anything needs cleaning up. untitled-10 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr untitled-11 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr Looking pretty good so far. Still early days though. And I am immensely rusty! untitled-12 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr This kit is amazing. By far the best 1/72 kit I've ever seen! The cockpit detail is better than many 1/48 aircraft kits!These intakes are fabulous. untitled-13 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr So this is where she stands as of now. untitled-14 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr I do apologize for the blinding white background. Haven't done this in a while and need to pick up some coloured paper to put in the photo booth I threw together today. Oh and if you haven't seen Andy's X-wings, get your butt over there now! Stunning work. Thanks for looking. -matt
  3. Hello! Here are my two Revell T-70 X-Wing Fighters from The Force Awakens. Both kits were repainted and I added figures modified from the spares box. I used a degree of artistic license with the weathering! You can see more pictures of this build on my blog: http://thescalemodelhangar.blogspot.co.uk
  4. Hello! Here is my Revell 1/50 Resistance T-70 X-Wing Fighter. A nice easy build, only mods were the droid and pilot. I painted the model as a fictional "Blue III" callsign as I will build Dameron's Black T-70 to fly in formation with this one in the future.
  5. T-70 X-Wing Fighter Bandai 1/72 I ordered this from an ebay seller a few weeks ago, and it's just turned up. It'll be a slow burn build as I'll be fitting work on it around other projects, but I'll put up some sprue shots so you can see what's to come. It's not giving too much away to say that it's easily up to the high standards of Bandai's earlier releases. There's only three sprues for the T-70, plus a forth for the base. Everything's exceptionally crisp and sharp with some incredibly fine detail on some of the parts. Sprue A has most of the fuselage parts, and is the one sprue that's moulded in multiple colours (that's one of the small niggles with this kit, which I'll get on to later). You also get the pilots and BB-8. One point to note, like the X-Wing (and most SW fighter, really) it's surprisingly small. The main fuselage section is about 12.5cm, which will go up to around 15.5 with the nose attached. To put that in context, it's just slightly longer than a Mig-15. I think, because of the elongated profile, it looks larger on screen. Wingspan's about 15cm. Sprue B has the wing parts.This has a slightly different set-up to the original X-Wing in that the split is down the centreline of the wing so that, when opened, the leading edge drops down and the trailing edge moves up. The parts are moulded with an opposing upper and lower wing on each half, the two halves just push together and remain posable. Sprue C is moulded in a silver grey which is a bit swirly in places, but the detail is still very sharp. This has got the landing gear, the alternate canopy frame, BB-8's compartment and a few engine details. The last sprue is the base. This is essentially the same basic base that comes with all these kits, in this case with a sand dune texture/colour. Wing close up Inner wing detail panels Upper fuselage Fuselage side panels. This is where I have a bit of an issue with Bandai's policy of moulding parts in colour. The blue stripe that runs down the side is moulded as a separate piece, meaning it can be installed without painting should you wish. The problem come from the fact that the other blue sections, such as the dashes on the wings, only come as decals so, since you'll have to use the decals or paint the remaining blue sections, it makes the inclusion of the moulded blue parts somewhat redundant. If the blue sections hadn't been included, the whole of the side section could have been done as a single piece. Cockpit parts. There's some nice raised detail here, best painted, as the included instrument panel decals aren't great The pilots are probably Bandai's best yet. No funny, extended arms here (the one on the left isn't a dwarf, he's just sitting down) And, of course, you get a mini BB-8 Those big split engine intakes are very well done with very deeply moulded detail The split canopy is moulded in clear. There's a couple of flow marks in it which I've found in some of Bandai's other clear parts. It's not quite as prominent as it looks in the photo. You also get a slightly pointless glassless canopy frame, should you wish to pretend they fly around in space with no windows. You get the usual Bandai choice of stickers or decals Some are well printed, some aren't. If you look at the silver decal for the canopy frame, you can see that they can print a decent solid colour, so why then do they print some in a dot pattern that looks awful. Hence the reason it's best to paint the cockpit detail. BB-8's marking are also a bit pixely, so I might try painting those too These are the decals for the leading edge of the engine intakes, and if you want to paint the silver and blue parts rather than use them, Bandai do provide the small detail markings separately, albeit not enough, you get four of the blue diagonal marks when you would need eight. You do get enough of the little white triangles though This may not be a problem for me though, as I might not be doing this scheme. For any that don't know, the design of the T-70 was heavily influenced by the original X-Wing concept art by Ralph McQuarrie, and I think it might be fun to paint it up in the colours from his illustration Andy
  6. The Force Awakens Millennium Falcon 1:144 Bandai It may have escaped your notice that there's a new Star Wars film coming Christmas 2015, which is set 30 years after the original, with new peril, new characters and new hardware. It also marks the return of the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy – The Millennium Falcon, which is perhaps the most widely recognised and iconic space craft, even though it's pure fiction! I'll not bore you with the history of this customised Correllian cargo ship, but in the years since she last graced our screens by participating in the destruction of the second Death Star with Lando Calrissian at the controls, there have been some changes, the most notable of which is the replacement of the old circular dish that got knocked off escaping from the Death Star inferno with a brand new low-profile rectangular unit. There have also been some minor detail changes to the "greeblies" that festoon the exterior of the ship, but from a distance she's pure nostalgia. Han is dead-on when he says "Chewie, we're home". The Kit Bandai have the license for Star Wars model kits in the Far East, and they have been trotting out kit after kit, beginning with some 1:12 figures that you really should check out if you haven't already. Some original series kits in 1:72 and 1:48 followed, and now the hardware and figures from The Force Awakens (TFA) are starting to appear. The Millennium Falcon is the second of the 1:144 range, pipped to the post by Boba Fett's Slave 1, and it arrives in a much deeper box that has the same footprint as the other kits, which is handy for stacking. A member of staff at Hermes (who we shall call "buffoon") had used the box as a stepping stone in the warehouse however, and the box had been badly crushed, but the contents were surprisingly unharmed apart from one of the sprues having a broken intersection. Inside the deep black box are seven sprues in light grey baboon…sorry, styrene (in-joke), although one of these has the clear and transparent blue parts moulded into it, which is a technique that Bandai use a lot in their kits, injecting one colour and then changing the configuration of the gates to inject further colours, which adhere to the other styrene and make up one multi-colour sprue. If you've not seen it before, it's quite a cool technique. Another sprue in a sandy yellow holds the base and stand parts, with both decals and stickers included to cater for the modeller and the younger audience that perhaps just want to knock up a kit with their dad to play with. The instruction booklet follows the design cues of the box, and is printed on glossy paper in colour. With this being intended for a Japanese audience, the instruction booklet is understandably almost totally written in Japanese, apart from a few key portions, such as headings and so on. The kit is designed to snap together without any glue, but don't be fooled into thinking that will mean a compromise in detail, because I was utterly stunned by the level of detail that Bandai have achieved with this kit. Having built the older Finemolds kit of the original Falcon that purports to be 1:144, it is officially left for dead in the detail department. The first thing I noticed about the Bandai kit is that it is substantially larger and deeper than the Finemolds kit, with a distinct curve to the top and bottom surfaces that is much greater than the older kit. I did a little looking around, and it would appear from the data held on the Star Wars Wookipedia here, that the Finemolds kit is underscale by quite a margin, leaving it 2cm shorter from the rear to the tips of the loading mandibles up front. It is also shallow, but as the figure included the dish that isn't present on this kit, it's more difficult to decide by how much. Another thing to notice is that the new kit is designed to accept a lighting kit that is available separately, although supplies of these are currently scarce, but our good friends at Japan:cool are trying their hardest to source some to ease the way. Basically, there's a battery box that slips into a receptacle in the underside, with a number of LEDs threaded through holes in the model to clip into holders within the important areas such as engines, cockpit and gun turrets. There are also some fun poseable parts such as the crew access ramp, the turrets, dish, and the option to install landing gear or have the bays closed over. How does it go together? It starts with the cockpit, which is although comprises only two parts, has a full cockpit tub with four chairs and instrument panel, plus a busy bulkhead and access door that will look great painted up. There are also a set of seated figures that are surprisingly recognisable at the scale, but Bandai have been producing these tiny figures for their Gundam kits for years. You also get a set of the same folks in the standing pose if you wanted to put the kit in a diorama setting. You get two each of Chewbacca, Han, and the new characters Rey, who appears to be the female lead, and Finn, the outcast First Order Stormtrooper, who turns out to be brim-full of Midi-chlorians and becomes a Jedi. The cockpit interior slots into the lower part of the cabin, which has a separate conical nose part, is joined by the upper tunnel that disappears into the hull, and then you have a choice of either a clear canopy with decals applied to the raised framing, or a styrene part that has no glazing, which is more true to the original filming miniatures of the first trilogy. The loading mandibles are next, with each one almost a mirror image of its opposite number. The two circular cut-outs are filled top and bottom by an assembly that snaps together from three highly detailed parts, which give a busy, layered look, and are held between the top and bottom halves, with the sides filled by detailed inserts, over which additional pipework and detail parts are installed. These parts are incredibly delicate, so will need handling with care when removing and cleaning them up. The lower hull has various cut-outs for access areas and the battery box, which receive the same treatment as the cut-outs on the mandibles, after which the side detail parts are clipped into the hull on each side, with the lower gun turret detailed with a tub into which a seat is dropped, then covered with the clear glazing. Detail in there is superb for its size, and it really deserves some lighting. The docking ports on the sides are built up from an inner and outer part, which again has two layers of detail moulded in, and they clip neatly in place in their recesses. At the rear is the engine exhaust, which after the first films, had a design done by ILM that is replicated here by a styrene outer part with rows of rectangular holes, through which the inner clear blue part will be seen. If the kit is subsequently lit, the blue glow will flood from the rear, amplified by the tubular ridges moulded into the blue part. If you elect to depict the engines shut-down, you replace the blue panel with three styrene parts that have extra detail moulded in that represent the exhaust ports. At this stage, the battery box is inserted if you have one, and the LED holders are slotted into position, which the LEDs push into, holding them firmly and directing the light accordingly. Fine exhaust petal actuators are added to each section of the outer, as well as the larger parts that appear along the underside, and the battery box lid is slotted into the aperture, with details added around it. The upper hull's turret is identical to the lower, and fits into the central hole in the same fashion with the cabin and seat under glass, which have decals on the sheet if you don't feel like masking and painting them. The upper hull has cut-outs to fill with equipment from layered parts, and the six circular vents on the rear deck, which surprisingly have some nice detail moulded into the hull under them, so it's a shame and a bit of a head-scratcher that it'll never be seen again. More detail is added to the engine deck in the shape of actuators and general greeblies, and it's then time to bring all the assemblies together after threading an LED through a pre-cut hole for the cockpit lighting. The mandibles are trapped between the two halves on sturdy pins, which are also used to hold the hull halves, and the cockpit assembly in place, relying on friction-fit to hold them together. This of course means that you could build your Falcon now and add lights later as and when they become available. Final construction begins with the new three-part dish, the cannon ports top and bottom, and ends with a choice of gear up or gear down. If choosing the gear up option, simple clip-in blanking plates are installed over the five bays. The gear down option is more complex, and involves building up seven two-part legs, then joining them to the upper gear legs and bay insert pieces, to which you add the gear bay doors. The double legs have one slightly different leg each, but the same process applies. When they are complete, you just slot them into the bays, and they're done, remembering to keep the gear-up covers in case you change your mind. The crew access ramp has a gear-up cover too, and a three-part assembly that includes the ramp walls, actuator struts and the walkway itself. Detail here is great, and looks just like the movie, and as with the landing gear, you can swap and change at whim. The stand is typical Bandai, and although it only consists of four parts, it allows movement in all axes to pose your Falcon as you wish. There is a removable panel in the lower turret under which you'll find the socket for the stand – another nice touch from Bandai. The counter-balance base has moulded-in sand dunes, and is of the interlinking type that is seen throughout the whole range, so you can link some or all of them together for a display, using the little clips supplied in the box. Markings There's not a huge amount of visual information available out there at the time of writing, as the film is still over a month away, but I hope we can rely on Bandai to have got the details right. As already mentioned, there are decals and stickers, but we'll concentrate on just the decals for this review, which are of good quality, if a little thick. They respond well to decal solution, but their thickness can limit your success, and I'd be a little wary of using the decals for the cockpit glazing. As well as the usual accent panels of various shades of grey, yellow and red there are also small decals not seen before, and six dark grey circles to use on the engine deck vents, which I'd much rather paint from a personal point of view, as the detail of the mesh is very fine and would be prone to catching bubbles. Decals Stickers It's possible to build and decal the kit without a single lick of paint if you're minded, but most modellers will probably give her a lick of paint, as the light grey styrene is a little stark to my eyes, and paint would give a better key for any weathering. I used Xtracrylix Light Gull Grey (XA1137) on my old Finemolds Falcon, and was very happy with the results, which you can see by following the link in my signature strip. If you've got access to any stills of the new movie, or can freeze frame her appearances so far, you should be able to get a handle on whether she's taken any more damage during the intervening years if you're going for ultimate authenticity, as some of the weathering on the build-up kit in the instructions looks a bit vague. Conclusion If you want a 1:144 Millennium Falcon from the new film, this is definitely the way to go, as it's the only one that's true to the published sizes. It also knocks the Finemolds kit off its perch as the best 1:144 Falcon model, with massive detail improvements, even ignoring the underscale aspect of the older kit. I'm massively impressed with the kit, and have a growing respect for Bandai as a company. Their designers have incredible talent for easing construction, using clever techniques to do so, and their implementation of detail is out of this world. Putting the two kits together is very telling. I for one would be very interested in another kit of the Episode IV Falcon, if anyone is listening? These kits are imported by Japan:cool in small quantities that are manageable for their business, and due to Bandai's recent embargo on selling directly to the public outside the Far East, their availability in the rest of the world has diminished somewhat. Shane has tried to keep the prices sensible of course, but has to pass on the additional costs to the purchaser, who then has the benefit of knowing that if they're in the EU, there will be no customs charges and collection fees to pay before they can get their hands on the new Falcon. Get out there and buy one before they're all gone! Extremely highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  7. Star Wars The Force Awakens First Order Special Forces Tie Fighter Level 2 - Revell Easy Kit Unless you have been on a deep sea deployment in a nuclear submarine, or the darkest jungles of Peru it's a given that you are probably aware of the upcoming new Star Wars film "The Force Awakens". It is also a given that all the ships/vehicles etc from the film will be delivered in kit form one way or another. The elite of the First Order (the new Empire) Star Fighter pilots have access to various specialised craft, one such of these is this two-seater TIE craft outfitted with enhanced weapons and sensor systems. The Kit This is another of the snap-together styrene kits in the Level 2 range, and as such it is more detailed and larger than the lights & sound Level 1 kits (toys) reviewed on Britmodeller recently. It arrives in a bigger box due to the size of the wings. The overall size is 180mm x 230mm. A good touch is the inclusion of a stand for the kit. Clear glazing is provided for both cockpits, though surprisingly no figures to place in the seats. Construction starts with the inner part of the main pod. The back to back seating is joined together and then installed in the lower pod half. Various consoles are then assembled and added in. The top of the inner pod can then be inserted. The glazing parts are then added to the insides of the outer pod. The outer pod can then be assembled around the inner pod. The forward firing laser cannons are then attached to the complete pod. The last stage of construction is the complete both wings and add them to the pod. The wings consist of a main part to which a detail frame is added. Conclusion This is a construction toy, and a pretty good one at that, with plenty of external detail to entertain the eye. It's a big kit, so if you're supervising the build you'll need to look out for joints that would benefit from gluing, they'll be a great buy for any kids you know, even the big ones The inclusion of stand not seen in some of the other kits will make this one easy to display, and should make it stand out. The only negative with the kit is that the parts are not bagged inside and show some sign of rubbing marks. Overall Highly recommended. Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit
  8. Star Wars The Force Awakens X-Wings Level 2 - 1:50 Revell Although we don't yet know the full story behind the new J.J.Abrams take on the Star Wars universe after the Emperor's demise, we know that the X-Wing is still one of the primary fighters in the galaxy, although it has been streamlined due to the march of imaginary technology. They appear to be in the service of both sides too, if the colours are true to the dark for bad guy, light for good guy, although Poe may well be the new anti-hero in a Han Solo style. The Kits These two are snap-together styrene kits in the Level 2 range, and as such are more detailed and larger than the lights & sound Level 1 kits (toys) I reviewed the other day here. They arrive in a bigger box, and both have four sprues in pale grey or black styrene, depending on which you get, plus one of clear parts. The details are painted at the factory, although there has been quite a bit of over-spray on my review samples, but that shouldn't be a major issue to the intended audience, and the Resistance as the Rebels are now known are more concerned with function over cleanliness. One kit is marked as a Resistance X-Wing, which seems suitably generic to pick it out as the mount of "those who also flew that mission", while the other darker kit is Poe's X-Wing, and we already know that Poe is one of the main characters of the film, so he's either an anti-hero, changes sides, or they just picked black to make him stand out from the crowd. I've built up Poe's ship and used the lighter kit for the sprue shots as the colour is more conducive to showing the detail. Both sprues are the same, and you can see the differences in the pre-painted markings in either state. Oddly, there aren't any pilots included in the kits, but a BB-8 Astrodroid is. The cockpit and rear glazing is dropped into the upper fuselage after the front windscreen is inserted, with the assembly holding the pivoting screen in place. The wings are full-width with the upper wing on one side linked to the lower on the other, so that the spoilers can be set to attack position, which gives rise to their name. The engines and cowlings snap together to form the Intake with linked exhaust, and a roof for the main gear bay on the lower wings, or just the intake and exhaust sections on the upper wings, both having intake inserts and linking pipework for added detail. The wing pairs slot together and are placed inside the lower fuselage along with the rear bulkhead, after which the upper fuselage is joined, trapping them in place, and allowing the wings to pivot. Exhaust tips and wingtip mounted cannons are added next, and then you have a choice of in-flight pose with closed gear bays, or landing configuration with the bay doors open and the gear skids deployed. Due to the snap-fit nature of the kit you could switch between modes, but it would just be a matter of time before the small parts got lost if my son is anything to go by! BB-8 snaps together from two parts, and the four-part stand with an undulating drought-crazed surface moulded into it finishes the build. There are no decals due to them having been pre-painted, and you can leave the glue closed too, as everything is snap-together. It might be an idea to use a little if you don't want it disassembled by small fingers, but that's up to you and little Johnny! Build Notes The kit is moulded in tougher ABS plastic, and sprue gates are consequentially tougher to cut off, so a sharp blade is of more use, and due to the pre-painted nature of the kit, there will be some small holes in the paint afterward. You can match some paint and make good if you're minded, and there are a couple of places where glue would be well-advised. Firstly, the wingtip mounted blasters are very prone to coming off, so glue these in place for your own sake. Secondly, there are pins on which main gear bay doors are supposed to flex-fit into recesses in the bay wall, but there is too little flex due to the thickness of both parts. This results in damage to the pins and subsequent loss of the parts if you don't glue them in. This last one could be down to my lack of strength, but be prepared. Everything else fits nicely, but there are little nubs that hold the wings in the closed position that are stiff to begin with, but might become slack later. In total it took me about 20 minutes to prepare and complete construction, with a little liquid glue added at the end to secure the aforementioned parts. Conclusion This is a construction toy, and a pretty good one at that. It's a shame about the slightly fuzzy painting, but given the intended audience, it shouldn't be an issue, and if my son gets as much fun out of these bigger kits as he has done with the Level 1 kits, they'll be a great buy for any kids you know of any age. Highly recommended. Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit
  9. Star Wars The Force Awakens Kylo Ren's Command Shuttle Level 2 - Revell Although we don't yet know the full story behind the new J.J.Abrams take on the Star Wars universe after the Emperor's demise, we know that Kylo Ren is the lead baddie (or is he?), and he's the one running the show over at the First Order, which is the re-branded and re-structured remnants of the old Evil Empire. He gets around in this black monster, which bears a family resemblance to an Imperial Shuttle of old in the folded configuration, and with the central fin missing. He's also bound to have a behemoth space station salted away somewhere, but we'll have to wait & see on that score. The Kits This is another of the snap-together styrene kits in the Level 2 range, and as such it is more detailed and larger than the lights & sound Level 1 kits (toys) I reviewed recently. It arrives in a bigger box, and has six sprues in grey black styrene, plus one containing a red painted clear part. The details are painted at the factory, although most of it is simply a different shade of almost-black with a slight greenish tint. Only the exhaust nozzles have been hit with a shade of silver and the canopy with red to give them a bit of a glow. The first thing of note is how big these wings really are. They're over 30cm long, so when it's built, you're going to need some headroom wherever you want to store/display it. There are contrasting inserts in the wing edges, and the cannons in the leading wing-root edge are carried over from the old shuttles. The lower hull has a crew compartment and bulkhead added along with an articulated access-ramp, which is covered by a blank bay to block your view of the interior. The canopy and wing root bulkheads are slotted in place along with a few other smaller parts, and the hull is closed up, with a pair of exhaust nozzles added to the rear. The wings slot into the hull's bulkheads on long pins for strength, and you then install the landing gear skids in retracted positions by leaving the gear legs off, or in landing pose by adding the legs beforehand. Conclusion This is a construction toy, and a pretty good one at that, with plenty of external detail to entertain the eye. It's a big kit, so if you're supervising the build you'll need to look out for joints that would benefit from gluing, but if my son gets as much fun out of these bigger kits as he has done with the Level 1 kits, they'll be a great buy for any kids you know of any age. Highly recommended. Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit
  10. TIE Fighter & Vader's TIE Fighter 1:110 & 1:121 Revell The TIE Fighter is the standard Imperial single-seater attack ship, and attrition rates during the three films it starred in must have been horrific! Named after the bow-tie it resembled, a cranked "special" was also designed as the personal mount of arch baddie, Lord Vader. They have menacing designs in darker colours than Rebel ships, which emphasises their alignment with the Dark Side of the Force, as does the eerie scream of their engines, which as per most Sci-Fi films, can still be heard in the vacuum of space. The Kits These are both in the Level 3 range, and as such are more of a traditional kit than any of the Level 1 and 2 snap-together offerings as they require glue and paint, and are quite small thanks to the scale, which doesn't seem at all consistent throughout the five kits released so far for no apparent reason. That gripe aside, They arrive in a small red themed box with Kylo Ren (the new baddie) menacing us with a light sabre at the top, with a new style of colour printed instructions on slightly better paper stock. Darth vader's TIE Fighter Arriving on three sprues of Imperial blue/grey styrene with a clear sprue for the windscreen, you get a diminutive but fairly well sculpted Dark Lord sat in the same seat as the standard TIE Fighter, with the same angled tray and side walls, but a different control panel, which we see Vader fiddling with during the flight down the trench in Ep.IV. The top hatch is glued in place on the upper hull with a clear insert, and in the lower half the leading-edge inserts, windscreen and cockpit tub are installed before closing up the hull. A windscreen frame decal is included, and then it's time to make up the wings, which are moulded as one piece with a separate detail insert that hides some ejector-pin marks on the vertical inner side. A scrap diagram shows the correct orientation of the detail, as you wouldn't want them installed upside down! As with the other kits, the decal and painting call-outs are made during construction in Revell colour codes, and don't forget to have some masking tape on hand for those "solar panels" on the wings. TIE Fighter The standard TIE is presented in 1:110, which makes for a bigger kit than Vader's TIE, which is a shame for those wishing to create a small scale Death Star trench diorama. It is supplied on four sprues of Imperial grey/blue styrene with a clear sprue for the canopy and a decal for the framing in dark grey. The detail is better on this larger kit, and the pilot benefits as a result. His cockpit builds up the same way as Vader's, and the upper hull houses the hinging hatch with clear insert, while the lower hull accepts the cockpit tub and windscreen part. Closing the hull up should be fairly easy, as only the seams around the spherical crew compartment are properly visible, and they're quite short. The wings are each one large part with a central boss added to the outside to complete the detail. They side over the fuselage pegs and then it's just a case of assembling the two-part stand to keep her off the desk, with a small hole in the bottom of the crew compartment keeping it in place. Conclusion Again we have the scale discrepancy reducing the overall appeal to the avid modeller, but individually they are quite nice kits if you do your research and make sure you know what you are getting. All these Level 3 kits are ideally suited to the casual or younger modeller, and with a little care can build into nice models. Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit
  11. X-Wing & Snow Speeder Kits 1:112 & 1:52 Revell The mainstay of the Rebel fighters, the X-Wing and Snowspeeder have taken part in some of the most dramatic battle scenes in Sci-Fi history, and gained a well-deserved place in people's hearts as such. Luke Skywalker famously piloted both, and although the Speeder was only used in Empire, who can forget them buzzing round the Imperial AT-AT Walkers like so many angry flies? The Kits These are both in the Level 3 range, and as such are more of a traditional kit than any of the Level 1 and 2 snap-together offerings as they require glue and paint, and are quite small thanks to the scale, which doesn't seem at all consistent throughout the five kits released so far for no apparent reason. That gripe aside, They arrive in a small red themed box with Kylo Ren (the new baddie) menacing us with a light sabre at the top, with a new style of colour printed instructions on slightly better paper stock. X-Wing Fighter At a diminutive 1:112 scale, the X-Wing isn't likely to take up much room, and consists of only two small sprues in light grey styrene, plus a clear sprue with the canopy parts. It does have a sizeable decal sheet however, as the X-Wing is a colourful ship. It has a single piece cockpit and a surprisingly good pilot for the scale, which snaps into the upper fuselage, trapping the canopy in place, which has a decal to avoid tricky painting or masking. The wings are full-width, with upper attached to the opposing lower, allowing them to be posed open or closed. The inner engine half is moulded into the spoiler, and when the outer engine nacelle is attached, completes the shape, a task which you must perform for all four engines, which have a small intake insert added before installation. The wing-tip blasters are single parts (x4), and attach to two studs on the tips, with blue spiral decals on two of them, and after adding those, you can join the fuselage around the wings and rear insert, then it's just a case of adding a full-depth R2 into the cubby behind the cockpit. Paint call-outs and decal instructions are supplied throughout, as usual in Revell codes with no tricky mixtures. The result is a small but quite detailed model that would be useful in a diorama where size is at a premium, or as an exercise in forced-perspective. Snow Speeder This one is the largest scale, at 1:52 and it's a shame they didn't just increase the size a tad to make it 1:48, as it would make more sense to a lot of modellers. It has a detailed cockpit with separate instrument panels, and continuing the tradition of the old MPC 'speeder, the two pilots have the most ridiculously out-of-proportion arms that desperately need some work! The cockpit slots in the upper shell, and with the addition of the rear bulkhead with those big cooling vanes and lower air-spoilers, the lower shell can be added, followed by the cockpit and the large cannons, one on each side with two integral angled cowlings, which are nicely done, but don't have the top-up spoilers on the rear, as seen in the movie. The important harpoon gun is the last part to be added, and then it can be placed on the two-part stand. Painting and decaling is again called out during construction, with just the orangey red stripes (which seem too orange to me) supplied. Conclusion Two nice kits for the smaller scale modeller, let down only by the inconsistent scales mentioned at the top… and the 'speeder pilots' gorilla arms. Watch out for the rest of the Level 3 kits – next it's the Dark Side. Recommended. Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit
  12. TIE Interceptor 1:90 Revell The TIE Interceptor was introduced as a sister ship to the general purpose TIE Interceptor, I guess to add a little diversity to the chase and battle scenes of Empire. It has cranked "wings" like Vader's TIE Fighter, and a long sloped forward wing section that mounts some large cannons. It looks like it's speeding when standing still, which gives the impression of its function. The type didn't see major use other than as background cannon fodder in the existing films, but maybe it'll see some action in the new one. We shall wait and see. The Kit This is one of the Level 3 range, and as such is more of a traditional kit than any of the Level 1 and 2 snap-together offerings as it requires glue and paint, and it is quite small too, thanks to the scale, which doesn't seem at all consistent throughout the five kits released so far for no apparent reason. That gripe aside, it arrives in a small red themed box with Kylo Ren (the new baddie) menacing us with a light sabre at the top. Inside are three sprues in a TIE Fighter grey/blue styrene, a clear sprue and instruction booklet, which is printed in full colour on matt stock. The first thing that strikes you other than the colour of the styrene and size, is that the detail isn't half bad. It's a fairly simple kit in terms of part-count, but it has been designed in such a way to maximise detail in the process. The instructions are of a new style, having plenty of colour, which looks almost inkjet printed on the thin stock they have used. Some of the symbols are carried over from previous Revell offerings, but the overall impression is much less cluttered. Construction begins with the pilot, which the instructions show to be a seated Kylo Ren, but the styrene provides only a standard TIE Pilot. His chunky chair has large arm-rests with controls embedded, and this sits in the faceted tray that will be familiar to Star Wars kit builders. The side walls are similarly faceted, and the rear wall also has the engine exhausts attached to the rear. The front "instrument panel" finalises the interior. It is placed in the lower hull on three pegs, and the windscreen (vacuumscreen?) has a grey decal applied to the frames, and slots into two grooves in the lower hull. The upper hull and clear roof hatch hold everything in place, and with a little glue, it should all stay put, although the pegs and their receptacles look very much like they originate from a friction-fit kit. The wings have three big ejector pin marks on the inner surface, but other than sanding them flush to allow the detail panel that covers them to fit properly, they shouldn't cause any frustration. Another panel sits on top of the first, and on the outer face a central boss is added, after which the wings can be glued in place, and you're done. Markings Having just the one decal for the windscreen framing, it's mostly about the paint, which Revell as usual give you details of in their own brand. Fortunately, they have Matt Blue-grey in their range, so there's no mixing as often happens when using Revell's limited range of paints. How easy the decal will be to lay down remains to be seen, but there is no carrier film in the clear areas, so it won't be too difficult with the help of some setting solution. Conclusion If these kits had been produced to a consistent scale, they would have appealed to more serious modellers, but they still have some appeal. I would say that they are targeted at the teenager, or the casual modeller, but I'm sure that any modeller would enjoy them. Highly recommended for what it is. Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit
  13. Star Wars - The Force Awakens Millennium Falcon Revell Well, if you've had your head jammed behind a wardrobe for the last six months it might be news to you that we're being treated to a new Star Wars film under the Disney auspices, with J.J.Abrams at the helm. A raft of new characters, the return of some of the old favourites, and a host of new hardware will be gracing our screens as of December 2015, and quite frankly I can't wait! The new Millennium Falcon is as recognisable of the other kits in this series, having only some minor modifications applied over the years since the original trilogy, the most noticeable being the new "radar" dish that replaces the large circular one of old. The Kit The first thing to get straight is that this is a kit, but it is firmly aimed at the younger audience, and has been simplified with them in mind, as well as being provided with a small sound-module that also has some lighting effects built in. inside the box the parts are held firmly by two vacuum formed clear end caps, with the smaller parts in a small polythene bag. There are 19 parts for you to put together, and if I'm honest I'm quite impressed with the quality of the detail, although it's probably not up to a serious modeller's standards without some upgrades, due to the simplification necessary on the very busy surfaces. That said though, it builds up in just a couple of minutes in the hands of an adult of limited intelligence such as this reviewer, and when it's done it looks really nice. Seriously! It is moulded in ABS rather than normal styrene, as it gives a lot more strength to the finished model. It has some fun features like retractable landing gear, although these have been massively altered to make them strong enough for play, with little curved finger cut-outs to let you move them. The electronics are hidden within the rear fuselage and provide light and sounds when you press the central exhaust nearest the rear of the ship. The sounds cycle as before, and two blue LEDs light up the engine exhaust grille at the rear, which looks pretty good under the circumstances. If you've watched the videos I posted up the other day, you'll be pleased to know that they're a lot better than the audio would suggest, and they are as follows: Fly-by A slow and unrealistic shooting noise Rapid fire that sounds like the self-defence cannons that pop out from the underside The 1st and 3rd samples are a lifts from the film at a guess, while the 2nd is a poor fabrication of unknown provenance. The radar is mobile and can spin on its base, as can the central gun turrets we grew to love in the first film. As already mentioned, the landing gear clicks in & out for flight and landing poses, but the canopy on this kit is just painted on with no clear panels or interior, which is a shame, but hardly surprising at this scale, which must be near to 1:144. Conclusion If you buy it expecting a highly detailed model of a new Millennium Falcon, you might be a tad disappointed, although I think that it has potential if you're willing to put the effort in to turn it into a "proper" model. Like the real thing, it is robust enough for extended play, and only a few bits may get dislodged or lost. If you're a kid with a liking for Star Wars however, the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy will seem absolutely awesome to you, and I can't wait for my five year-old to see them when he comes home from school. Highly recommended if you understand what you're getting in the box. Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit
  14. Star Wars - The Force Awakens Resistance & Poe's X-Wing Revell Well, if you've had your head jammed behind a wardrobe for the last six months it might be news to you that we're being treated to a new Star Wars film under the Disney auspices, with J.J.Abrams at the helm. A raft of new characters, the return of some of the old favourites, and a host of new hardware will be gracing our screens as of December 2015, and quite frankly I can't wait! The new X-Wing is a sleeked-down aerodynamically superior design, with a shorter nose, and new interlocking airfoils. The intakes for the engines are also new, with a reduced frontal profile and semi-circular shape that were initially criticised for having half a fan in each one, before folks realised they were more akin to a tea-strainer than actual fans… and this is Sci-Fi. Puny humans! They have a new style astro-droid in the shape of BB-8, which has a similar "head" to an R2 unit, but a spherical body with internal stabilisation (I'm rationalising Sci-Fi again, aren't I?). Poe's X-Wing is a darker colour than the standard, to differentiate him from the crowds during the frantic battle sequences. The Kit The first thing to get straight is that this is a kit, but it is firmly aimed at the younger audience, and has been simplified with them in mind, as well as being provided with a small sound-module that also has some lighting effects built in. inside the box the parts are held firmly by two vacuum formed clear end caps, with the smaller parts in a small polythene bag, with the parts being identical between both kits, with only the base plastic colour and painting differing between them. There are 18 parts for you to put together, and if I'm honest I'm quite impressed with the quality of the detail, although it's probably not up to a serious modeller's standards without some upgrades. That said though, it builds up in just a couple of minutes in the hands of an adult of limited intelligence such as this reviewer, and when it's done it looks really nice. Seriously! I've only shown the parts from the Resistance kit, as the lighter plastic shows the detail off better than the darker stuff of Poe's ride. It is moulded in ABS rather than normal styrene, as it gives a lot more strength to the finished model. It has some fun features like a retractable nose gear and removable main gear legs, plus an opening canopy in painted clear, and of course a little button in the shape of BB-8's head that activates one of three sounds. If you've watched the videos I posted up the other day, you'll be pleased to know that they're a lot better than the audio would suggest, and they are as follows: Firing cannons A general swooshing sound A muddled sound with a rather unconvincing electric swoosh The cannons are a lift from the previous films (I think), while the 2nd and 3rd samples are a bit poor compared to the cannon fire. There are no lights on this one, as the module is situated below BB-8 (who has a slightly oversized head, presumably to make it easier for little hands to press the button) but some cockpit lights might have been nice. Poe's X-Wing The famous X-wing airfoils split for "attack-position", revealing some nice moulded in detail between them, but when you want them closed, you'll need to apply some light thumb pressure to get them to sit flush, or the whistling as you fly through the atmosphere will be terrible!!!! Conclusion If you buy it expecting a highly detailed model of a new Resistance, or Poe's X-Wing, you might be a tad disappointed, although I think that it has potential if you're willing to put the effort in to turn it into a "proper" model. I was a little concerned that this one was going to be way too short in the nose from the PR materials, but it doesn't look too bad in the flesh, which is a relief. If you're a kid with a liking for Star Wars however, it will seem absolutely awesome to you, and I can't wait for my five year-old to see them when he comes home from school. As a bit of an update, the older Resistance X-Wing kit has endured much play at the hands of my son and his friends, with all the parts fully intact, including the wingtip cannons, which is a testament to their strength, as he's a big lad for his age, and as clumsy as you'd expect. Highly recommended if you understand what you're getting in the box. Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit
  15. Star Wars - The Force Awakens First Order Special Forces TIE Fighter Revell Well, if you've had your head jammed behind a wardrobe for the last six months it might be news to you that we're being treated to a new Star Wars film under the Disney auspices, with J.J.Abrams at the helm. A raft of new characters, the return of some of the old favourites, and a host of new hardware will be gracing our screens as of December 2015, and quite frankly I can't wait! The new TIE fighter is operated by the First Order, which is the new name for the Evil Empire, who despite our fervent desires weren't polished off with the demise of the 2nd Death Star, but managed to re-establish their grip on the Empire, but to what degree we don't yet know. It is upgraded from the original, and squeezes a two-man crew into the same cabin space – even Sci-Fi technology is advancing in terms of miniaturisation! They're black now, and this one has a red accented panel, which I'm going to guess represents their unit badge? The Kit The first thing to get straight is that this is a kit, but it is firmly aimed at the younger audience, and has been simplified with them in mind, as well as being provided with a small sound-module that also has some lighting effects built in. inside the box the parts are held firmly by two vacuum formed clear end caps, with the smaller parts in a small polythene bag. There are 15 parts for you to put together, and if I'm honest I'm quite impressed with the quality of the detail, although it's probably not up to a serious modeller's standards without some upgrades. That said though, it builds up in just a couple of minutes in the hands of an adult of limited intelligence such as this reviewer, and when it's done it looks really nice. Seriously! It is moulded in ABS rather than normal styrene, as it gives a lot more strength to the finished model. It has some fun features like an opening cockpit hatch in painted clear, and of course a little button on the bottom that activates a red light in the cockpit and plays one of three sounds, once you've removed the little tab that breaks the contact with the two LR44 batteries that are pre-installed. If you've watched the videos I posted up the other day, you'll be pleased to know that they're a lot better than the audio would suggest, and they are as follows: The TIE fighter screaming fly-past Firing cannons A muddled sounding explosion They're lifts from the previous films (I think) and you can hear other weapons firing in the 2nd sample, while the 3rd sample is a bit poor compared to the other two. The red light illuminates the coaming of the cockpit quite nicely, which can be seen through the faceted windscreen. I did make a short video demonstrating the sounds, but my heavy breathing ruined it a little, so I deleted it Conclusion If you buy it expecting a highly detailed model of a new TIE fighter, you might be a tad disappointed, although I think that it has potential if you're willing to put the effort in to turn it into a "proper" model. If you're a kid with a liking for Star Wars however, it will seem absolutely awesome to you, and I can't wait for my five year-old to see them when he comes home from school. Highly recommended if you understand what you're getting in the box. Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit
  16. New snaptite Start Wars kits will come from Revell: http://www.rebelscum.com/2015-Toy-Fair/2015-Toy-Fair-Revell-Star-Wars/default.asp but details are secret like The Forces Awakens movie. We can only speculate from the first teaser and future trailers. Refit X-wing and new landspeeder is already known. I expecting kit will go to shops at end of the year. Movie will premiere 19th december 2015.
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