Model Art

Modeling Magazine No. 762, Dec. 2008

Reviewed By  Stephen Bierce, IPMS# 35922

MSRP: About $11.00 Publisher's website: www.modelart.jp [Editor’s note: this magazine is printed entirely in Japanese] Whenever I get one of these Model Art magazines to review, I get so envious of the stuff coming out of Japan that I want to get on a plane and fly over there — or wish that I could plunk down a few thousand dollars with a mail-order company that sells some of the things they show! This particular issue starts out with an overview of a hobby trade show this past October and the new model kits offered by the main manufacturers. New ships from Fujimi, Aoshima, Hasegawa, Fine Molds, InterAllied and Pit Road. Aircraft from Hasegawa, Platz, InterAllied, Monogram, Special Hobby, MPM and Sword. Cars from Hasegawa, Aoshima, Fujimi and Tamiya. Armor from Tamiya, Trumpeter, InterAllied, Monogram, Fine Molds and Hasegawa. Miscellaneous kits, tools and accessories from Gunze Sangyo. The main article is about warship modeling techniques…but as a Q&A piece in which readers have sent in questions and the usual house crew answers through their work on four ship model projects. Techniques covered include antenna rigging, detail and crew figure parts, masking for paint spraying, photo-etch parts, pre-cut decking (how else can you get those gorgeous wooden decks done in a reasonable length of time?), prepping parts for assembly, paint effects (simulating rust, depth, age), modification for accuracy and detail improvement ideas.

Staying with the ships, we have a side-by-side review of two 1/350th scale battleships -- the same subject, IJN Kongo -- as produced by Aoshima and Fujimi. Rounding out the nautical coverage are briefs on new kits and accessory parts and a second comparison of Aoshima vs. Fujimi -- this time the subject being the IJN Oyodo in 1/700th scale. Moving on to air power, we have a walk-around of a JASDF Mitsubishi Mu-2 search-and-rescue plane and a sketchbook of maintenance/support hardware for the Zero fighter. Next comes armor, specifically mobile artillery in the form of CyberHobby’s 1/35th Geschutzwagen 38M fur sIG.33/2 (a.k.a. SdKfz. 138/1). Either way, this is a chunky-looking vehicle packing a snub-nosed but very thick cannon. Model Art follows the wartime machine with a postwar piece of German firepower -- the Kanonenjadgpanzer (or the "KaJaPa" for short), in 1/35th from Revell-Germany. In both cases the staff builders have done very convincing jobs. On to motorcars and some American pop culture -- Aoshima’s 1/24th KITT from the original Knight Rider tv series, with a gizmo that sets it apart from the American release of the Eighties -- an LED display for the nose piece! Having seen a real KITT in the metal (at a Barris museum in Gatlinburg, TN), this build is also quite convincing! Back to aircraft and Airfix’s 1/48th Canberra B (I) 8 attack jet. The builders did some modifications to the cockpit and landing gear and these were detailed with diagram graphics. Next is Trumpeter’s 1/32nd scale P-51D Mustang fighter. With this release, Trumpeter included a second transparent fuselage skin, in a nod to the old Phantom Mustang kit. Well, Model Art’s builder did something clever, using only the port side transparent skin, and painting over the rudder and some of the other panels, he made the illusion of a airbrush drawing in which the details underneath are "ghosted" into the picture. And it is a very effective trick, taking full advantage of the extensive interior detail that the Trumpeter kit offers. After a one-page detour into the realm of motorcycle racing (pictures from Moto GP’s latest race in Japan), it’s back to airplanes and Revell-Germany’s Boeing 747-400 and Airbus A380 jetliners in 1/144th. Closing out the reviews is a metal 1/43rd race car, the Renault R26 Formula One machine. It must be a tiny thing, but the pictures don’t make it look small. And it almost looks better in unpainted metal than it does in that paint scheme -- but it’s still fairly spectacular all complete and finished! Next comes news on new and upcoming kits: Pit Road’s coming out with a 1/72nd LCAC hovercraft (complete with a Type 74 tank for it to tote) and a neat-looking WW2 Japanese Army Type 95 "Small Personnel Carrier" (basically a Jeep-sized car) in 1/35th scale. Hasegawa’s releases (mainly re-releases) dominate the aircraft field, but Hobby Boss is challenging them more than any other company. Fujimi continues to mix old and new car kits in their release schedule. There’s not much new in armor but the resurgent 1/48th scale world means old subjects are getting new looks and new versions. Coverage of a model show in Japan comes next -- mainly armor and military diorama scenes. Then comes coverage of an aerospace show in Japan—including a Boeing mock-up for a new fighter, perhaps a derivative of the FA-18E/F Super Hornet with stealth contouring! At the end is a list of items they’re working on for January and later issues, the letter column, and the calendar of upcoming events. And that brings us cover-to-cover... practically a trip to Japan by itself. Thanks to Model Art and IPMS/USA for my review copy.

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