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  1. Moonraker Space Shuttle Gift Set (05665) James Bond 007 Moonraker – Roger Moore 1:144 Carrera Revell After the success of Star Wars (where’s he going with this?), the Sci-Fi themed Moonraker was bumped up the schedule of Bond films to ride the huge wave of Science Fiction movies that followed during the next decade. Released in 1979, and after a slow start it went on to be the most successful 007 film until 1995’s Goldeneye. The film’s premise was based upon the fictional manufacturer of the Space Shuttle, Drax Industries pinching a shuttle whilst it was on loan to the British to give 007 the impetus to go gallivanting around the world and beyond to track down the shuttle, then upon finding out that Hugo Drax intended to kill almost everyone on earth to start his master race in the rubble, shipping the intended progenitors to his space station on a fleet of Space Shuttles that he had built in secret. Why did he need to steal one? Because one of his developed a serious fault during production, of course! Mr Bond and his new friend Miss Goodhead end up closely escaping incineration and take the last of the fleet of shuttles up to the space station, causing chaos when they get there, switching off the cloaking device that resulted in the US Marines coming up in their own shuttle that just happened to be ready in order to engage in a massive laser fight in their space suits outside the station. The station was destroyed along with the poisonous chemical that was intended to kill everyone, although Drax escaped into custody, whilst Mr Bond took possession of Moonraker 5, getting caught up to his usual tricks when M called to congratulate him on a successful mission, even though he’d spent most of the film being captured and lurching from one disaster to another, including a boat race through Venice. The Moonraker Shuttles were simply re-badged NASA Space Shuttle models, and although the shuttle had yet to leave the earth’s atmosphere, its design had already been established, and Enterprise had been seen since in publicity during the mid-70s. The Shuttle needs little in the way of introduction, flying from 1981 to 2011, carrying out 135 missions, but with two sad losses. The Challenger exploding during lift-off due to faulty O-rings on the Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs), the Columbia being lost due to damage to its wing leading edge on lift-off, that led to its break-up on return to earth during the difficult re-entry phase, bringing two painful reminders that human space exploration is a dangerous exploit. All crew members were lost in both instances, and will never be forgotten. The Kit The kit originated in 1978, and the initial boxing shows the simplified layout of the heat-resistant black tiles that it uses to deflect the hot plasma of re-entry. It was reboxed in 1979 as a Moonraker edition with Roger Moore in a silver space suit prominently on the cover, and has been reboxed numerous times in the intervening decades as the NASA shuttle. The kit arrives in a modest end-opening box, and inside are four sprues of white styrene, a clear sprue, two sheets of decals, and the instruction booklet that is printed in colour, with profiles for painting and decaling on the rear pages. There is also an A3 poster inside the booklet, a thumbnail of which can be seen on the box top, plus a set of six thumb-pots of acrylic paint, a 12.5ml bottle of Contacta Professional glue with needle applicator, and a #2 paintbrush. Detail is as you would expect from a kit of this age, and you must bear in mind that it was designed and tooled before the operational shuttles were built and flown, so there may be some minor issues with shape and detail when compared to an operational shuttle, but as the film was made in 1978 for release the next year, it should be close. Where this kit benefits from previous incarnations is in the decals, which includes a full sheet of decals that depict the heat-resistant tiles on the underside, which although they started life as a black shade, they gradually weathered out to a chalky grey, and newer replacement tiles appeared much darker by comparison. Construction begins by putting together the two layers of the rear-mounted elevator, then trapping it between the two fuselage halves, which also traps the clear windscreen, and if you are mounting it on the supplied base, a slot in the floor of the model will need to be opened, clearing the flash from the pre-formed shape. Bulkheads are installed at each end of the payload bay, sliding a faceted interior into position, locating on raised guides moulded into the bulkheads. If you are posing the bay doors open, there is a generic payload package supplied that consists of an equipment palette, a cylindrical laboratory, a telescope unit in a suspension frame, and an airlock that permits translation from the crew compartment into the pressurised lab. This is mounted on a base and installed in the floor of the payload bay before the bay doors are made. The outer doors are each single parts, with a two-part interior layer to depict the solar panels that are used to produce additional power to supplement the batteries once the bay is opened. They can be flex-fitted into the bays, but if you wish to portray a more accurate rendition of the Moonraker, the doors could be glued closed to give a flush finish, which can be seen on the filming miniatures along with a substantial amount of shading of the panel edges that seems to have been applied all over the ship. The Orbital Manoeuvring System hardware is enclosed in a large cowling on either side of the fin, adding a small part to the overhanging end, and creating the Reaction Control System nozzles on an additional fairing that is made from two parts and is mounted on the rear of the OMS fairing. The OMS nozzles are made from two halves each, and are installed at the rear of the cowlings, fitting the main engine nozzles on the rear bulkhead on keyed notches, detail painting the RCS nozzles to add depth to the assembly. Each wing is made from top and bottom halves, and these fit into fairings at the bottom of the fuselage halves, with the outlines of the white insulation blankets depicted as raised lines in the central portion where tiles weren’t needed or practical. Inverting the model shows three shallow gear bay depressions, which you can either cover with closed bay doors for in-flight, trimming them to improve fit, but if you intend posing your model in landing configuration, the nose gear is inserted into a hole in the rear of the bay, adding a retraction jack to the front, and fixing twin wheels to the stub axle at the bottom. The bay door is cut in half and glued one half to each side of the bay. The main gear legs are similarly constructed, but with a different shaped leg, and the bay doors are fitted to the outer edge of the bay without cutting. The last option other than mounting the model on the stand is to install the three-part Canadarm to the side of the payload bay, and an optional spaceman on a long tether than can jiggle around supported by the tether as if he is floating in space. If you elected to open the slot under the belly and close the bay doors, the two-part clear stand can be used for an in-flight/space option, and the base has a simplified earth engraved into it that you can paint blue and green to give the impression of the model being in a very high orbit if you squint. If you forgot to open the slot, there’s a good chance you’ll be able to see it, as our sample had the flashing almost disappear due to the age of the tooling. If you don’t wish to use the stand, a piece of scrap styrene sheet glued to the inner face of the hole and a little filler will soon sort that out. Markings There were six Moonraker shuttles in the film, numbered 1 to 6, with No.5 being the laser-equipped ship that destroyed the poison-filled globes near the end of the film. You can depict any of the shuttles, thanks to the additional tail numbers included on the decal sheet. Decals are by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin matt carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Most of the tile decals are provided on a separate sheet from the colourful orange-themed Drax Industries branding, and those for the underside are a variety of grey shades with only a few replacement tiles in black. Those on the upper surface of the elevator and the nose sides around the forward RCS control nozzles are printed in black however, and the contrast with the underside decals that cover the curve of the fuselage might be too much for some. Similarly, the forward RCS nozzles also have black tiles around them, and the OMS cowlings have a few black tiles supplied for the hot-spots on the leading edges, which weren’t present on the filming miniatures, or the USS Enterprise. You may consider leaving those on the sheet for accuracy’s sake, and Google a few photos of the filming miniatures to ensure everything is shaped and shaded correctly. The filming miniatures also have large areas of white tiles drawn on, adding more visual interest, as well as the differential shading of the larger panels, as previously mentioned. Conclusion After the initial flurry of Space Shuttle kits in most scales during the 70s and early 80s, there has been only one kit in this scale that is more recent, and that isn’t readily available or cheap. Revell’s kit is a nice uncomplicated model of the type, and can be readily adapted to the film’s eponymous vehicle, so it makes sense to rebox it as part of their James Bond link-up. Purists may wish to get some aftermarket main engine nozzles for a bit more real-life accuracy, although the kit parts are actually pretty close to the cone-shaped stepped nozzles the miniatures used, so it will still build up into a fun depiction of this movie hero. Highly recommended. Carrera Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit or
  2. Aston Martin DB5 007 Goldfinger (05653) Easy-Click System 1:24 Carrera Revell Aston Martin’s Grand Tourer, the DB5 rose to prominence above almost anything they had produced to that date or since, when it won a starring role in the James Bond film Goldfinger, driven by Sean Connery as the eponymous hero, fitted with guns, oil-slick dispensers, bullet-screen and an ejector seat to name but a few of the gadgets used. Like all of Jimmy’s cars, it ended up in a tangled heap, crashed into a building, and JB in the hands of the bad guys, which is a surprisingly common outcome for such a supposedly accomplished spy, although he always manages to escape. Developed from its predecessor the DB4, the DB5 was so named after the owner of the company David Brown. The engine was a light-weight aluminium straight-six block with three carburettors that propelled it to over 140mph thanks to its 280bhp output that was sent to the rear wheels via a 5-speed gearbox that was bought in from a third-party to solve previous problems that their home-grown box had encountered, although a four-speed box was used in early editions. It was also available with a 3-speed automatic box, but who’d want that unless they had leg issues? Like modern Astons, it was lavishly appointed, with leather trim, thick luxurious carpeting, and traditional chrome wire-wheels with knock-on/off nuts. The magnesium alloy body had two doors, and could seat two comfortably, with additional space for children or adults with no legs, and luggage in the boot. It was initially launched in 1963, and the production run included a small number of custom-built cabriolets, some of which had more powerful Vantage engines, and at the very end of production some were kitted out with the upcoming DB6’s engine. During its last year of production in 1965 they released the Vantage option with an extra 40+bhp of power squeezed out of the engine thanks to improved carburettors and more aggressively profiled camshafts, with only 65 being made before the DB6 replaced it in their line-up. The DB6 was an evolution of its forerunner, with improved aerodynamics and luxury, developing into a closer representation of the later DB series cars that we’re probably familiar with from our childhood and beyond. The Kit This is a new tool Easy-Click System kit from Revell, designed to be built by novices or experts alike, requiring no glue unless you feel the urge, and including a set of five thumb-pots of acrylic paint and a two-ended paint brush. You also receive a folded A3 poster of the box art without the trappings required for the packaging, which you can hang on the wall if you wish. Inside the end-opening box are four sprues in black styrene, three sprues and the bodyshell in muted silver, one in dark grey, two chromed sprues, a clear sprue, four flexible black tyres, decal sheet, sticker sheet, and instruction booklet that is printed in colour, and has the painting and markings guide on the rear pages. Though this is a snap-together kit and comes with both decals or stickers for the younger audience, detail is good for a kerbside model, and it includes some of the gadgets that Mr Connery used in the movie, such as the bullet-screen, ejection seat opening in the roof, and the extendible axles that tore the side out of the baddie’s car during a frenetic chase. Construction begins with the floor pan, which has a silver insert that depicts the underside of the engine and transmission using two parts, over which the suspension struts are added, pivoting the front axles with moulded-in brake disks and their connecting arm, then layering a sub-frame over it before moving on to the rear axle. The back axle is bulked out with an insert in the centre that creates the differential housing, fitting suspension struts and dampers into the rear of the floor pan. The twin down-pipes from the engine are placed side-by-side along the centre of the floor pan, then attention turns to the interior. The front seats are each made from an L-shaped part with pencil quilting that has a rear panel inserted, while the dashboard has the steering column and wheel inserted into the right side, adding eight decals or stickers to the dials, and another to the centre of the steering wheel and centre console. The interior floor is a grey part that receives the rest of the internal assemblies, starting with the gear stick, which has a choice of standard or 007 variants with the cap open displaying the red button. A choice of centre armrest with alternative open rest that has gadget buttons in it is made next, then the driver’s foot pedals are snapped into the right footwell, popping the front and rear seats in behind. The door cards are both fitted with inner handle, while the driver’s side has another secret pocket that can be fitted open to display more gadgets. They have a decal applied, and are clipped into the sides of the floor, held vertically by the dash that is installed at the same time. The completed interior is inserted into the bodyshell after adding a rear-view mirror above the windscreen, and if you’re going for realism, there are quite a few ejection-pin marks around the perimeter of the roof liner that you may wish to hide with filler. A black inner wheel well insert is added forward of the interior while the body is inverted, and at the rear, three clear lenses are clipped into the corners to create the light clusters, painting the lenses the appropriate clear colour. Naturally, there are alternate bottom lenses depicted flipped open to display the barrels of the rear machine guns. The front and rear number plate holders are built with a rotating prism held inside a frame, adding the bumper and boot handle at the rear, plus slide-out over-riders that are held in place by a pair of washers inside. The front bumper is installed after the bodyshell and floor pan are mated, fitting a front valance to the rear of the bumper, and adding the same kind of slide-out over-riders either side of the rotating number plate holder before fixing them under the front of the vehicle, and slotting the distinctive chromed Aston Martin grille into the centre. Side lights or machine guns are fitted into the front wings, and the headlight lenses are too, once the inner lens and chromed reflector are fixed into the recess. The wheel hubs are built from three layers, the rear of the hub in black, and the wire wheels in chrome, trapping a top-hat washer in the centre that friction-fits on the axles. The flexible tyres are slipped over the hubs and attached to the model, one per corner as you’d expect. The windscreen is carefully inserted from outside, helping it along by inserting your index finger (other fingers are available) through the ejection seat hatch to ensure it doesn’t fall inside. The rear screen can be inserted similarly, adding the side windows from the outside. It’s worth noting that the side windows are supplied as a single part, including both the door window and the quarter-light, and locating on a pair of tabs that clip into the sills of the bodyshell. External chromed door handles and the wing detail inserts are applied to the exterior side, and you have a choice of installing standard knock-off wheel nuts, or the 007 weaponised versions that project from the centre of the wheel on a tubular support, by using different chromed parts. More chromed parts follow, including the aerial base, a pair of windscreen wipers, and wing mirrors, not forgetting the hatch through which your unfortunate front seat passenger would be ejected should the need arise. You can pose it closed by using the part, or leave it off to show off the interior better. The last standard parts are the twin exhausts that have the back box moulded in, clipping to the end of the down-pipes under the body. The 007 specific gear is finalised by sliding the bullet screen behind the rear window, which slots into the rear bodywork, and can be fitted with a decal or sticker that portrays some bullet damage for a little movie frivolity. Next to the exhausts, a black tube is inserted into a hole in the valance, and if memory serves, this is the oil dispenser. It’s a while since I’ve seen Goldfinger. Markings This is a special edition, so there is only one option on the decal sheet, although there are alternative number plate options for those rotating plate holders. From the box you can build the following: Decals are by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. It’s not clear who printed the stickers, but they seem well-done and fit for purpose. Conclusion Sean Connery played a colder and cooler Bond (controversial!) than his replacement, and the DB5 cemented its place in motoring and movie history by appearing in Goldfinger. It’s a good-looking model of the car, and should provide some fun for the novice and expert alike, choosing which of the gadgets to deploy on your model. Highly recommended. Carrera Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit or
  3. BMW Z8 - 007 The World is not Enough (05662) 1:24 Carrera Revell The Z8 was a short-lived two-seat roadster that was produced from 1998 to 2003, designed as an homage to the 1950s era 507, to which it bears a striking resemblance. It started as a concept, and by 1996 there were sightings of prototypes, then in 1997 it made its debut at the Tokyo Motor Show as the Z07 in a more flamboyant form, toned down to a more practical style by launch, at which time it sported a removable metal roof that had been designed with the car, rather than as an afterthought. It was not a cheap vehicle, but BMW took the unusual step of guaranteeing spares supplies for 50 years, in the hope that it would go on to become a modern classic, thereby encouraging the super-rich collectors into the market. The interior was designed by Scott Lempert, with the intention of keeping it clean and uncluttered by making the controls multi-functional, reducing the driver’s workload. With a power output of 400bhp, it could rocket to 100km/h in 4 seconds, thanks in part to its all-aluminium construction, which included the spaceframe that was custom formed at a separate plant before being hand-finished at BMW’s Munich factory, with a total of over 5,700 built before production ended in 2002. It was replaced by the Alpina Roadster V8, which was toned down from the seat-of-your-pants style of the Z8, even down to the leather chosen for the seats, suspension, and the ease of a 5-speed automatic transmission, which gave it the feel of a Grand Tourer. The Z8’s image was etched into the minds of the cinema-going public when it was used in the James Bond film The World is not Enough, starring Pierce Brosnan as the eponymous 007, where it tore around the countryside before being cut in half lengthwise by a helicopter with an underslung set of multiple cutting wheels that cleaved his ride in two and stopped its roll completely. The Kit The copyright on the kit is 2000, which was the first time it was seen on the shelves of a model shop, when the car was still new, as was the film. This boxing arrives in a medium depth end-opening box, and inside are two sprues and a bodyshell in Revell’s usual light grey styrene, a sprue of chromed parts, a clear sprue, a bag of flexible black tyres, decal sheet and the instruction booklet that is printed in colour and has the decal profiles on the rear cover. Detail is good, and this is the only game in town at this scale. It is a kerbside model, with no engine, moulded-in doors, bonnet and boot panels that make for an easier build, while the alloy wheels and the underside are well detailed however, as is the dash and interior. As this is a special edition boxing related to the 007 film The World is not Enough, it also includes a set of six thumb-pots of acrylic paint, a #2 paint brush and a 12.5ml bottle of Revell’s Contacta Professional plastic cement, plus a folded A3 poster of the box art without the additional adornments necessary for the packaging, which is a little large and difficult to photograph, but a thumbnail of it can be seen on the box photo above. Construction begins with the two seats, which are moulded as individual units with separate back inserts that extends up to the headrest and side supports for the back cushions. The dash is a well-detailed moulding to which the steering column and chromed steering wheel are installed, with decals for the centrally mounted instrument binnacle and a choice of central bosses on the steering wheel. The door cards are fitted with grab-handles and are detail painted to match the rest of the interior, carrying that over to the cabin before applying six more decals to represent the smaller details. Foot pedals, gear shifter, handbrake and roll-over bars behind the head of each seat are installed, then the seats and dash are fitted into position, to be set aside while the rest of the underside is made. The wheels are first of the underpinnings to be built, each in pairs due to the size difference between the front and rear wheels. The tyres are moulded in a flexible black material, and have their centres filled with material out of the box, which must be cut away with a new #11 blade before you can install the two sides of the hubs, with the combined disc rotor and calliper acting as the pivot around which the wheel will rotate. The rear of the hub is blank, and should be painted the blackest black you possess, slipping it into the rear opening of the tyre, and slotting the rotor in through the hole. The front hub is well-moulded with five pairs of spokes, five studs in the centre, and a BMW logo decal applied to the centre. This might sound like a compromise, so I put a wheel together to test whether it would work, painting the interior ‘Black 4.0’ from Stuart Semple, and using his ‘Mirror’ for the brake disk. It looked good once it was put together, even though I didn’t bother with any preparation, primer or painting of the calliper. The rear axle is detail-painted and glued to a sub-frame along with two suspension mounts, dropping it into the rear of the floorpan, which is also detail-painted before the extensive twin-pipe exhaust system is laid over the underside, ending in custom-shaped back boxes. At the front, the steering arm is slipped through the suspension mechanism, trapping the suspension struts and stub-axles between the floorpan and the inner arches moulded into the interior. Staying at the front, but on the bodyshell, the front light reflectors are fitted from inside, moulded together by a carrier that keeps them in the correct orientation, installing the angled number plate holder under the grille, then following up with the clear lenses, and two chromed grille inserts that have circular fog lights embedded in the outer ends. The detail inserts in the front wings are also chromed, and are slipped into position from inside the bodyshell, then the clear windscreen is fixed on a pair of tabs in the front of the cab cut-out, adding a pair of windscreen wipers to the lower outer edge, and a combined rear view mirror and sun visor part is inserted into the top frame on a peg. The bodyshell is then lowered into position on four turrets, fitting the rear valance and two chromed exhaust pipes, one on either side after installation. The wing mirror housings are chromed, as are the mirror parts, one for each door, and a chromed door handle is inserted into the depression in each panel. The wheels are brought in and glued into position by applying glue sparingly to the centre disc part and avoiding the outer portion of the hub if you wish to rotate the wheels at any point. The final option is posing the roof up or down, with this boxing supplied with a cloth roof that can be shown stowed away by using a C-shaped styrene part at the rear of the cabin cut-out. The deployed hood is a single clear part with the integrated rear screen the only part that remains clear. The part that is intended to be the canvas hood is quite smooth, and would benefit from some stippling with glue or primer to give it a more fabric-like texture, and there are also a few ejector-pin marks on the inner face that you may want to deal with if you think they’ll be seen. Markings This is a special edition representing the movie car, so only one option is included in silver. From the box you can build the following: Decals are by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion The Z8 was an attractive car with a significant claim to fame. This kit is a good kerbside model of the type, and if you can find a 1:24 3D printed Pierce Brosnan figure to put in the driver’s seat or stand next to it, you’ll have an interesting addition to your display cabinet. Highly recommended. Carrera Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit or
  4. Eurocopter Tiger – 007 Goldeneye (05654) 1:72 Carrera Revell After a troubled beginning in the 1980s, the collaborative effort between France and Germany stabilised toward the end of the decade, keeping costs from ballooning further, and a ceiling on spiralling costs that were starting to make the off-the-shelf AH-64 Apache look increasingly attractive. It first took to the air in 1991, with several features making it stand out from the crowd, such as an all-composite fuselage, glass cockpit and stealthy aspects to its flight envelope. After the break-up of the Soviet Union, its uses were adapted to justify the expenditure to include close-air support and escort duties for other helicopters, adding an air-to-air element to its capabilities. The major contributors merged during the 90s to form the Eurocopter Group, and continued development of the airframe and its weapons systems, some of which were next generation designs, leading to official orders for production airframes in the run-up to the new millennium. Export sales followed, and the initial airframes went into service with their operators’ requirements baked into their airframes for the tasks they were intended to carry out. Unlike the Apache and other countries’ variants, the German Tiger doesn’t have a gun turret built into the airframe, but this can be added in a pod when required, along with air-to-ground and air-to-air weapons. As with most aircraft, upgrades have been made to the Tiger’s capabilities, with a new Mk.III upgrade that was originally intended to be applied across the various operators’ fleets, it was eventually agreed by France and Spain last year, with the objective of reaching service in the late 20s, overhauling the avionics to join the digital battlefield, new weapons capabilities, and survivability improvements that include enhanced countermeasures. The Australians have elected to retire their fleet and purchase Apaches for their needs, despite their Tigers having most outstanding issues dealt with by Airbus. The Kit This is a reboxing of a kit first released in 2006 when the Tiger was still relatively new, and this is the fourth rebox with new decals to link with the James Bond franchise, as it appeared in the film Goldeneye in 1995 with Pierce Brosnan playing the eponymous 007. It was stolen by a crime syndicate, as crime syndicates do, and of course Mr Bond eventually thwarted their end-goals, although not before a little wanton destruction, driving through a city in a Russian Tank, and blowing lots of other things up for good measure. The kit arrives in a medium-sized end-opening box with a painting of the Tiger flying over some very fiery explosions below, and inside are two sprues of grey styrene, a clear sprue, decal sheet and instruction booklet that is printed in colour, and has profiles of the markings option on the rear pages. A little flash has appeared since its initial appearance, but it’s a simple matter to remove that, and detail is good for a kit of this age. Construction begins with the cockpit tub, which has side consoles and pedals moulded into both cockpits, adding cyclic and collective sticks to both places, plus an additional control in the rear seat. Each crew member has a seat with moulded-in belts that has around cocooning them, which are dropped into position along with the two instrument panels, applying decals to them both. There are no decals for the side consoles however, and no details moulded-in, but they’re unlikely to be seen due to the cockpit’s position in the fuselage. A rear bulkhead is fixed behind the pilot in the aft station, adding a couple of decals to the bulkheads and to the armoured seats, after which the cockpit can be installed in the starboard fuselage half, taking care to paint the areas of the side walls that might be seen from outside. A simple rotor-head is fitted without glue to the engine cowling, adding basic exhausts to the rear, gluing the two halves together, painting the cockpit coamings black, and trying not to knock off the tail wheel that is moulded into the port fuselage at the rear. There is plenty of raised and recessed detail in the exterior of the model, which should show up well after painting and washes. The nose is built separately from two halves, fitting the targeting turret into the space under the tip without glue, so that it too can rotate freely later. The winglets are made from two halves each, and are set aside while the heat-diverting exhaust trunks are made up from two parts, and the stabilising fin at the tail has its vertical fins added. Holes are filled at the front of the boom, and under the cockpit, gluing the nose tip into position, then fixing the winglets on tab and slot joints under the rotor-head. The canopy is supplied as a single part that would benefit from a dip in Future/Klear to improve clarity, fitting an instrument cluster in the roof of the front cockpit before gluing it into the fuselage along with the exhaust-diverters made up earlier. The fin is also applied to the tail, slotting into a groove in the rear, moving on to the fixed landing gear on each side of the fuselage, which has separate tyres, and a crew step on each side, one for each pilot. Another hole is filled on the starboard nose, fitting various clear parts in as grilles around the intakes and other apertures, filling a few more holes on the boom, and adding more steps up the starboard side for maintenance work. The forward section of cowling is fixed to the front of the rotor-head behind the cockpit, plus windscreen wipers for both crew, and a cable cutter at the rear of canopy. The rear rotor is a single part that fits into a hole in the tail, but requires detail painting and has several applied, which is best done before it is secured to the airframe. The main rotor cap has a hole drilled out from inside to fit the two-part sensor dome that is made from two halves, as appropriate for this variant, setting it aside while the preparations are made to accommodate your choice of weapons. This involves fitting the wingtips to the winglets, and two sway braces to the undersides of each one, then building up two boxes of TRIGAT missiles, which are known as PARS 3 in German usage. These are made from two halves with detailed ends, adding decals around the assembly according to the scrap diagrams nearby. The twin Stinger pods are each single parts, and are mounted later to the outer pylons, placing the TRIGAT pods on the inner pylons. First however, the main rotor is built from four individual blades that are trapped between the upper and lower rotor base, painting the blades dark grey with metallic leading edges, and applying a different coloured decal to the root of each one. It is secured in place on the rotor shaft along with the cap and sensor fairing above it. Markings As this is a special edition, only one option is provided to paint and decal your model, which is the demonstration airframe from the film Goldeneye. From the box you can build the following: Decals are by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin matt carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion The Tiger can be a bit of a Marmite helicopter, but there are bound to be more than a few modellers that have fond memories of James Bond fooling about in a Eurocopter Tiger and escaping destruction by a hair’s breadth, while the chopper wasn’t so lucky. Highly recommended. Carrera Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit or
  5. Aston Martin DB5 Starter Set (A55011) 1: 43 Airfix Aston Martin’s Grand Tourer, the DB5 rose to prominence above almost anything they had produced to that date or since, when it got a starring role in the James Bond film Goldfinger, driven by Sean Connery as the eponymous hero, fitted with guns, oil-slick dispensers, bullet-screen and an ejector seat to name but a few of the gadgets used. Like all of Jimmy’s cars, it ended up crashed into a building and JB in the hands of the bad guys, which is a surprisingly common outcome for such a supposedly accomplished spy, although he always managed to escape. Developed from its predecessor the DB4, the DB5 was so named after the owner of the company David Brown. The engine was a light-weight aluminium straight-six block with three carburettors that propelled it to over 140mph thanks to its 280bhp output that was sent to the rear wheels via a 5-speed box that was bought in from a third-party to solve previous problems that their home-grown box had encountered, although a four-speed box was used in early editions. It was also available with a 3-speed automatic box, but who’d want that unless they had leg issues? Like modern Astons, it was lavishly appointed, with leather trim, thick luxurious carpeting, and traditional chrome wire-wheels with knock-on/off nuts. The magnesium alloy body had two doors, and could seat two comfortably, with additional space for children or adults with no legs, and luggage in the boot. It was initially launched in 1963, and the production run included a small number of custom-built cabriolets, some of which had more powerful Vantage engines, and at the very end of production some were kitted out with the upcoming DB6’s engine. During its last year of production in 1965 they released the Vantage option with an extra 40+bhp of power squeezed out of the engine thanks to improved carburettors and more aggressively profiled camshafts, with only 65 being made before the DB6 replaced it in their line-up. The DB6 was an evolution of its forerunner, with improved aerodynamics and luxury, developing into a closer representation of the later DB series cars that we’re probably familiar with from our childhood and beyond. The Kit This is another new tooling from Airfix’s new range of 1:43 car kits that is turning into a gold mine of compact and bijou kits of famous classic and modern sports cars and supercars. This is a Starter Set, so the red-themed end-opening box has a display header built in for vertical mounting, and comes with a set of four thumb-pots of acrylic paint, a tube of plastic cement, and a #2 paintbrush with plastic tube protecting the synthetic bristles. The kit is separately bagged, and consists of two sprues in grey styrene, a clear sprue, decal sheet and instruction booklet printed in colour. The painting and decaling instructions can be found in full-colour on the back of the box. If you have seen any of this new range before, you’ll know that they’re thoroughly modern, with good detail where it will be seen, and they build up into creditable replicas of the originals, although taking up a lot less space, and a tiny fraction of your bank balance instead of a huge number with several zeros attached for the real ones. Construction begins with the floorpan of the vehicle, into which the rear seat and parcel shelf part is installed, with small diagrams showing where the parts can be found on the sprues, which removes any hunting around from the equation. The front seats are each made from the comfortable leather upper surface, and the lower/back part that are joined together and painted brown, a common theme throughout the interior, which is everywhere on this vehicle, which was wall-to-wall leather and matching carpeting inside. The dash has two decals applied to the dials after painting, and the steering wheel is inserted on the right (correct) side, painting the wheel and coaming leather brown to match the rest of the interior. It is mated with the interior in the cabin, then is supported by the two door cards that extend front to back. With the model inverted, the two axles are installed, and these parts are purely functional, as they are then buried by a representation of the underside framework of the vehicle, then the lower portion of the engine, transmission and exhaust system. The bodyshell is supplied almost complete as a single part, adding the distinctive grille that has since been appropriated by Ford into the front of the car, and inserting the glazing of the windscreen to the frame from outside, and the rear quarter-lights and screen as a single part in the rear from the inside. The two sub-assemblies are then brought together, with the instructions helpfully showing the glue points in yellow, which is a feature that appears throughout the booklet. The front bumper and headlight lenses are next, with the rear bumper slotted in under the boot. All that’s needed now is a set of wheels, which are made from two halves, one half having the complete hub and half of the tyre, while the other is a toroidal part that brings the other half of the tyre to the assembly. The four wheels are identical, and each one is glued to the ends of the axles to complete the model. Some of the small external decals are called out during the last stages of the build, but are all replicated on the back of the box in colour. Markings The decal sheet is small, as are the decals themselves, and as cars can be any one of a myriad of colours, the instructions show the car in the famous silver in which it appeared during the Bond movie, which will forever be linked to the DB5 because of this. Decals are by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion It’s a good time to be a 1:43 car modeller, as Airfix are bring new kits to the market almost every few months, and they’re well-detailed models with nice details without being over-complicated. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  6. First things first... this will not be a quick build. I am posting this to kind of force myself into finishing my Dalek build over on the Sci-Fi forum ( http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234945056-scratch-build-16-scale-dalek-an-eye-for-an-eye-and-some-painkillers-please/?p=1382230 ), and then commencing with this. Posting this will hopefully force me into finishing one and getting on with the other. I've always had a thing about the Aston Martin DB5, especially the Bond version. I'm lucky enough to own a Danbury Mint version of the Bond DB5, and recently I acquired several more versions. The first one I managed to lay my grubby mitts on was the old Aurora version. Of course, it wasn't officially licensed, so it was sold under the completely different guise of "Aston Martin - Super Spy Car" Good versions of these seem (like the original Airfix version) to go for stupid money. So, me being tight and looking for a challenge found this beast up for grabs on evil bay. What on earth am I getting myself into? These are the original photo's from the listing and you can see just what kind of state it is in. The box itself wasn't too bad considering it's about 50 years old. But as for the kit.... maybe just a tad too much glue methinks! Where do you even begin on something like this? Well, obviously, it has to be taken apart to see what we have got. Fortunately, it's almost complete. There are a few parts broken, but should be able to be scratched without too much difficulty. I also broke a couple of pieces taking the thing apart - no surprise there. I tried the soak in water, then leave in freezer method, but to no avail - there was just too much glue. I eventually discovered that the glue bonds were actually quite brittle, so, some judicious coercing and some downright forcefulness arrived at this collection of parts. As you can see I have already primed a few parts - I needed a break from my Dalek build when it wasn't going too well. At this stage I think I can rescue 95% of the parts. A few others can be scratched, but my biggest areas of concern are around the windows. I just don't know if these will be salvageable at all. The side windows aren't really a problem but the front and rear windshield may be beyond repair and I may have to try molding new ones myself. - That's a ways off yet! I have invested may hours scraping off decades old glue, with some limited success. To give you some idea of just how bad this is... here's a wheel hub and here's what's left of the ejection seat and occupant Okay, intro over, now back to my regularly scheduled Dalek build and I shall return here in a few weeks (probably!) perhaps I should also mention that since winning this on ebay, I also managed to obtain a copy of the Airfix Bond DB5 - in a slightly better state but with some parts missing - that shall also become a WIP in due course.
  7. Reading the paper this morning, I see that Hornby has won the International Licencing to sell Corgi and Scalextric-branded James Bond products in 2015.
  8. Hi,just trying to catch up on mail,etc,im just very suprised,ive not heard more on this story,maybe more to come?but dont you think its a bit james bond? http://freebeacon.com/china-testing-new-space-weapons/ cheers Don theres some intresting web sites mentioned in this article you might want to note for future ref? https://medium.com/war-is-boring/630a858923ec cheers Don
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