There are some very interesting kits due for release from MPM in the next few weeks - not least the Battle of Britain version of the BR.20 coinciding fittingly with the 70th Anniversary commemorations.

On-Target Publications have released a new book titled, Wings of the Fleet "US Navy Aircraft 1919 - 1941".

AIRFrame Resin, which is part of the Aviation Workshop group, have released two sets of Royal Navy figures in 1/48th scale.

Billing Boats USA have announced the release of Model Craft Tools for North American modellers.

Twosix Decals have released a limited production plastic injected kit of the Vickers Viscount with the livery of Aer Lingus. The plastic parts are re boxed from S&M. With 3 livery options including 2 variations of the Green top plus the final colour scheme.

CMR have recently released a De Havilland Vampire Mk 6 with the markings of several Swiss Air Force aircraft including two striking schemes for 'target actors' The kit will feature:

Welsh Models well known for their range of multi media civil and military multi engined aircraft have announced the future release of their latest kit in 1/144. This time it is the C130J C Mk4 Hercules in RAF service. Externally similar to the classic Hercules in general appearance, the J model sports considerably updated technology. These differences include new Rolls Royce AE 2100 D3 turboprops with Dowty R391 six bladed composite scimitar propellers. The updated electronics has meant a reduced crew requirements [two pilots and one load master, there is no longer the need for a navigator or flight engineer].

FE Resin have announced the future and very welcome release of the Heinkel He - 217 UHU Nightfighter, although FE Resin have mistakenly called it the He 217. This multi media kit contains:

Royale Resin have anounced a number of new releases to add to their ever expanding range of resin goodies. Quality for all these new castings look superb.

Iliad Designs are to republish one of their books due to popular demand, 'Colours of the Falcons', has been out of print for some time. The book contains a chronology of camouflage schemes and colours used on Soviet aircraft during the Second World War. Included are colour schemes, markings, special and non-standard schemes, interior finishes, and more. The title has 56 pages of text and photos on heavy coated paper, plus laminated card cover. Also included are four pages of colour profile art.

RVHP are to release a conversion for the US Navies Grumman C-2 Greyhound. The C-2 Greyhound is a twin-engine cargo aircraft, designed to carry mail and supplies to and from aircraft carriers of the United States Navy. Its primary mission is Carrier Onboard Delivery [COD]. The C-2 Greyhound, a derivative of the Grumman E-2 Hawkeye, shares wings and power plants with the E-2 Hawkeye, but has a widened fuselage with a rear loading ramp. The first of two prototypes flew in 1964 and production began the following year. It replaced the piston-engined Grumman C-1 Trader, itself a derivative of the E-1 Tracker, in the COD role. The original C-2A aircraft were overhauled to extend their operational life in 1973.

For you modelers not content to place your finished Migs, Sukhoi or Aeros on the shelf, Armory have released this reproduction of Soviet style concrete slabs to sit your aircraft on. The price seems rather high although I suspect it could be miscalculated as I saw the same thing on the Hannants website for around £21.99 and Scale Model Kits website for $30.95 So it will be worth shopping around.

Tamiya are set to re-release their stunning quarter scale Swordfish, along with a Photo Etched Bracing Wire Set.

RV Resin have announced the future release of a new title in their series of Detailed Scale Drawings. This time the Mig 27 is their focus. The F-4 Phantom is a recent release.

Armory have announced the future release of a series of FAB bombs used by Soviet combat aircraft. The Russian term for general-purpose bomb is Fugasnaya Aviatsionnaya Bomba, abbreviated FAB and followed by the bombs nominal weight in kilograms. Most Russian iron bombs have circular ring airfoils rather than the fins used by Western types. The FAB-9000M-54 is comparable to the British WWII Grand Slam! Even though these weapons were first built in 1954, they are still used today.

W.W.2, the Cold War and present day aircraft are this months 1/48th releases by Italeri.

Valom have an exciting line-up this month with new kits in 1:72 and 1:48.

RV Resin have announced the imminent release of three short run Mig 23 kits in injected plastic:

• Mig 23P


• Mig 23 MF “Hellfighter”


• Mig 23 ML “Tiger”.

Wolfpack Designs have released a resin wing fold set for Revells 1/144 E-2 Hawkeye. This set completely replaces the kits wings and the resin wing comes in three parts:

As reported early AZ Models are to release a number of Mig 17F / Shenyang F-5, see here. AZ Models have now released sprue shots of their Mig 17F / Shenyang F-5.

RV Resin [Aircraft] are to release hopefully this September, the Siebel Si-204 as an injected plastic kit. Used a trainer and transport, it was originally designed for civilian use for Lufthansa as a eight seat passenger plane with two crew. It entered Luftwaffe service as a trainer. The aircraft was also built by SNCAN in France and also by CKD/BMM and later by Aero in Czechoslovakia.

Adalbertus have announced the release of a 1:48 resin figure of Merian C. Cooper.

A-Model are to release two short run injected plastic kits of this unusual looking aircraft, which I think bares a resemblance to some of the designs found for aircraft in Luft 46.

Linden Hill Imports have released a set of decals for Mig 23MS's and MF's for the Air Forces of Libya [3] and Iraq [4]. With a choice of seven aircraft this is the perfect excuse to try out some unusual camouflage schemes. The set comprises decals for:

No. 78 in the Warpaint series covers the Macchi C.202 Folgore and the C.205 Veltro.

Linden Hill Imports have released a set of decals for Mig 23M's and MF's for various Air Forces of the Warsaw Pact. With a choice of nine aircraft this is the perfect excuse to acquire more than one kit. The set comprises decals for:

I spotted this on the Modelimex website and thought it was worth bringing to the attention of you 1/144 modelers out there. Brengun from the Czech Republic have released some amazing looking PE additions for the Dragon 1/144 Douglas A-4E Skyhawk. I must admit I did not know Dragon did a 1/144 kit of the A4, although I do know Platz do two complete A-4E/F in one box. With this set you will be able to detail the cockpit, ejector seat, weapon pylons, wheel bays and a few details around the fuselage. With this set there is enough material for two aircraft.

HPH Models are to release a 1/32 resin kit of the Aero L-29.The Aero L-29 Delfín [Dolphin], or as NATO called it Maya is a military jet trainer aircraft that became the standard jet trainer for the air forces of Warsaw Pact nations in the 1960s. It was Czechoslovakia's first locally designed and built jet aircraft. The basic design concept was to produce a straight forward, easy-to-build and operate aircraft.

SBS Model have announced two new additions to the range of excellent resin upgrades.

Big multi engined aircraft dominate Minicrafts three new releases.

Modelimex have released photographs of HPH Models future release of the TU-154. Probably in my top five of my favourite airliners, the Tu-154 is going to be a large model in this scale. This mixed media kit looks superb and it's well worth looking at the finished product on the AMG website [link below]. With a cruising speed of 975 km/h, the Tu-154 is one of the fastest civilian aircraft in operation and has a range of 5280 kilometers. Capable of departing and arriving on unpaved and gravel airfields, it often operates in the extreme Arctic conditions of Russia's northern territories where airports can be very basic. With a service life of 45,000 hours (18,000 cycles), but capable of 80,000 hours with upgrades, the aircraft is expected to continue in operation until 2016, although noise restrictions have seen services to western Europe and other areas restricted in recent years.

This conversion pack is for use with the Transport Wings 1:72 kit of the 747-100/200 kit and any 1:72 scale model of the Space Shuttle. This conversion does not include the Boeing 747 kit. Transport Wings are part of Aircraft in Miniature

Modelimex have released sprueshots of Special Hobby's attractive new 1:48 kit of the He 51B-2(W) floatplane fighter.

Here a reference that keeps us abreast of restored original and modern replicas. This magazine keeps a pulse on current salvage efforts and grassroots garage shops building experimental replicas.

Gunsmith are a new company from Russia. Along with a selection of finely detailed 1:35 figures, animals and miliary vehicle tyres which can be seen on Armorama, they have released a pair of 1:48 Soviet pilots, plus a dog that can obviously fit into a multitude of airfield scenes. Amazingly, the beautifully detailed dog is in 1:72!

CMK have sent us details of their latest releases. There's a fine selection of 1:72 upgrades, including a 4-set overhaul of Academy's Fighting Falcon superdetailing the kit inside and out, while from Planet Models there's a really exciting full resin kit of the Aero A-304.

HPH Models look like they may just beat Revell in releasing a large scale Arado Ar 196. This limited edition kit is mainly resin and the casting looks superb. Most of the casting and PE sheets are made in house although the superb looking machine guns are made by Master, a company well known for their turned guns.

CMR have released details of the forthcoming release of their Lancaster B Mk II powered by Bristol Hercules engines. There will be a choice of three different conversion sets issued by CMR depending which kit you have:

• CMR-164 designed for the Airfix Lancaster B I/III.


• CMR-164A designed for the Revell Lancaster B I/III.


• CMR-164B designed for the Hasegawa Lancaster B I/III.

Eduards September release sees the Avia B-534 IV make its appearance as a Weekend edition kit.
Also the P-39 returns in a Dual combo special with markings for aircraft that operated over New Guinea.

AZ Models have released photo's of the masters for their forthcoming release of the Mitsubishi C5M / Ki-15 Babs. The Ki-15 was the army designation for the Babs, while the navy designated it C5M. No date so far on the release of the two kits, but we will let you know as soon as we have it.

As a special end of summer sale, Osprey is offering a 50% discount on over one hundred books. The titles are drawn from all series and time periods. This is the largest discount Osprey has ever run on the website so take advantage while stocks last!. Look here to see what's on offer and fill in some of the voids in your library. Illustrations are some of the titles on offer.

Renaissance Models, the French Company more well known for their model cars, are to release a decal sheet for the Czech Model 1/32 T-33. Markings are for the Ecole de Chasse [Fighter School].

MAC Distribution are going to release a couple of boxing's of the Bristol Scout.

Revell have released test shots of their new Arado AR196 A-3. As you can see from the photos Revell have included many features that we associate with this scale, such as detailed cockpit, engine and engine bay. There is also the added bonus of folding wings and the choice of two propellers. The panel lines look nicely done as does the representation of the fabric surfaces. Not being a Luftwaffe expert I will leave you more knowledgeable folk out there to judge whether this is going to be a hit or not, but bare in mind these are test shots.

A Fieseler Fi156C Storch in the markings of the German army aircraft used in the rescue of Italian dictator Mussolini, is this months Hasegawa 1/32nd release.

Hasegawa's release schedule continues unabated with this months kits re-appearing with different decal options.

Hasegawa's September releases, sees a number of kits re-appear in different guise's.

Shull24.com has released these resin renditions of the rear end of the F110-GE-129. These engines for the F-15 supply the Air Forces of the Republic of Korea [F-15K], Singapore [F-15SG] and Saudi Arabia [F-15S]. There are no PE components in this set. The flame holder is made from tougher resin so even though it is a delicate casting it will tolerate light handling.

Anigrand craftwork have released the super flying boat design, the Convair XP5Y-1 Tradewind.

News from Lucky Models is that Kinetic models new release of the F-16D Block 52+ (Polish Air Force / Hellenic Air Force) Fighting Falcon is now available. Do we need another F-16? Well yes, this version is very different from your usual F-16's and the camouflage pattern will make it stand out from the usual F-16 camouflage scheme.