Model Art

Model Art Modeling Magazine, No. 768, March 2009

Reviewed By  Mike Hinderliter, IPMS# 45124

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MSRP: 1095 Japanese Yen (approx. $10.92)
Website: www.modelart.jp

I have seen Model Art magazine before but I had never actually taken the time to take a good look at it. The main reason being that the text is entirely in Japanese and I didn’t think that I would be able to get much out of it.

Boy was I wrong. There is so much information in this magazine that I was just blown away. One thing this company is really good at is having so many detailed pictures that you can understand what they are doing without the need for words.

One example of this is an article on pages 24 and 25. There are 25 pictures on these two pages showing how to properly box up your models for transport. I will be going to the IPMS convention in Columbus, Ohio this year from Arizona, and this article shows the sturdiest way of packing models that I have ever seen. The farther you move your models, the more worried you become about road conditions. Another article that I really liked was on pages 32 – 37. It is a review of the Revell F-22 Raptor. It goes into a lot of detail about building and painting this kit and how to enlarge the instruction sheet so that you can cut out the camouflage areas and use them as a mask for airbrushing.

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The magazine is 7 1/8 inches by 10 1/8 inches and is printed on glossy stock. Most of the pictures are in color with a lot of black-and-white photos toward the back. This magazine looks more like a trade paperback than a magazine and it has a superb binding. No pages falling out here! This book is built to last for many projects to come.

It’s divided up into sections that seem to cover all of the major kits, airplanes, armor, cars, and ships. Here is a list of the main featured new kit reviews:
  • Aichi E16A1 Zuiun.
  • BAC Lightning F.6.
  • Churchill MK. III.
  • Jagdtiger early prod. (Tamiya).
  • IJN aircraft carrier Kaiyo (Fujimi).
  • Ferrari 312T2 (Hasegawa)
  • Xanavi Nismo GT-R.
After these seven main reviews, there are just loads of other smaller reviews with black-and-white illustrations and photos.

There are a lot of advertising pages, and I’m pretty sure that you could get almost anything listed there from Hobbylink Japan. I really recommend this magazine, if for nothing else than for the awesome photos. They do tend to show a lot of close-up details that can help when you’re hunting for a reference picture that will help you get a certain antenna or fairing right.

Thanks to IPMS USA and Model Art for the chance to see the error of my ways and enjoy a really well done magazine.

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