NEWS BULLETIN
LATEST UPDATES8 View more news online: http://www.airfi xmodelworld.comAN EGYPTIAN ODDITY
NEW UKRAINIAN kit company
A&A Models has a fascinating
subject for its latest release...the
Helwan HA-300 interceptor.
For the uninitiated, this
aircraft was designed by Willy
Messerschmitt for Egyptian Air
Force employment (along with
Spanish and Indian input/funding).
Test flights began in 1964 and
six airframes were built, but
the project floundered and was
cancelled in 1969, with technical,
monetary and political difficulties
all playing their part it seems.
A&A’s kit is superb; three styrene
runners carry parts with highly
refined detail and engraved
panel lines. Highlights include a
beautifully rendered engine fan,deft wheel hubs, delicate yet
faithful undercarriage units and
a five-piece pilot’s seat. Photo-
etched metal components also
feature, and these include an
instrument panel, seat harnesses,
air intake splitter plates, wing
fences, cockpit control levers and
other items.
Self-adhesive airbrushing
masks are provided too, and the
decals are thin and in perfect
register, with instrument panel
dials, stencils, wing leading-
edge trim and anti-glare panels
accompanying the Egyptian
national insignia. This is a very
fine replica of a fascinating
aircraft, and our sample was
provided by Modelsvit Balkans:
http://www.modelsvit-eshop.comTHE SHOW
MUST GO ON!
DUE TO the success of last year’s
inaugural event, Scale Model Expo
will be held again in 2018, over the
weekend of September 22-23.
Organisers Richard Wharton,
Steve Kirtley and Adrian Hopwood
were bolstered by the general
bonhomie at last year’s gathering,
and Richard said: “Well, after all
the positive feedback, it’d be rude
not to do it all again in 2018!
There was considerable mention
about the great atmosphere, and
we certainly hope this will be the
case again this year.”
Richard told AMW that the
managing trio had listened keenly
to comments made by people
attending in 2017; as a result, the
pricing system for the competition
has been altered, two new classes
have been introduced and it will
remain free of charge for Junior
competition entrants.
Other new features are being
formulated, but arrangements
are still being discussed so AMW
readers are advised to visit SME’s
Facebook page or the website for
further announcements.
Richard added: “We can arrange
the venue, book traders and
hire tables, all the things that
furnish the show, but what we
really need is the continued
support from modellers and
visitors to the event, and lots of
beautifully finished exhibits in the
competition to kick off all those
conversations about how things
were made or painted.”
The show will once again be
held at the Leas Cliff Hall,
Folkestone, Kent, CT20 2DZ.
For more information, follow the
Facebook page Euro Miniature
Expo or go to the website:
http://www.eurominiatureexpo.comNEWLY TOOLED TEUTON
SOUTH KOREAN firm Academy
first issued a 1/35 Panzer IV Ausf.H
in 1984, so a replacement is long
overdue...but it’s here!
Kit 13526, German Panzer IV.H ‘Ver.
MID’, as one might have gleaned
represents the mid-production
IV.H, and this fresh product doesn’t
disappoint; its detail levels make it
an ideal ‘step up’ kit for someone
wanting something challenging, but
it’s also a pleasing product for more
experienced modellers as the parts
count is considerable. One clever
feature is the provision of Zimmerit
via textured resin (waterslide)
decals, which seem easy to apply
and are not uniform in pattern...as
can be the trait with photo-etched
brass Zimmerit. Nine styrene
runners in total carry components
with impressive moulding. Therunning gear looks good, with
accurate eight-spoke road wheels,
and optional idlers (cast and welded
tube), while the tracks are of the
‘rubber band’ variety and these
have solid guide horns as seen from
1943 (the styrene spare tracks have
a mix of solid and open horns).
Side-skirt armour comes via a pair
of one-piece items, which have
separate brackets and hangers;
there are also alternative muzzle
brakes, mostly separate hatches,
an anti-aircraft MG 34 and well-
moulded on-vehicle tools. No
interior detail is present, though,
save for a basic breech block
arrangement. Markings-wise, the
three choices all represent three-
toned 12 SS-Pz.Div 'Hitlerjugend'
tanks, with black or red turret
numbers, trimmed in white. The
design, and number of spares,
hint at other versions being
released. This kit is available in the
UK from Pocketbond:
http://www.pocketbond.co.uk