Hey you sunlight dodging model lovers! The Modelling news this week brings you some weird new box shapes to try and pack a ‘chute in, some captured butcherbirds in fine colours, some truly different kits you would never dream of flying in real life, and while the French send troops the Americans send the Terminator to Afghanistan? 
Zvezda from Russia has several new releases this month announced, some of which I think are very interesting for all scales and experience levels.
The first that caught my eye immediately was the 1/35 German Paratroopers (Crete 1941) – 3628. This set includes a unique parachutist that is on the ground gathering up his ‘chute which is seen here partially still full of air. How this is going to fit on a square sprue is beyond my ideas of styrene modelling! This kit looks great in conception but we will have to keep an eye on it for execution. Here’s hoping it will look as good in real life as it does here!!!
Here is a quick look at the new announced kits!
Next on offer is some captured Focke Wulf 190 decals on offer from Polish decal company Karaya. These decal sheets of captured Butcherbirds are offered in 1/72 and 1/48 scales and look to be a right circus of planes in some weird and wonderful colours.
In war time the captured planes were coloured in these gaudy markings to make sure no eager pilots shot the bird down in any friendly fire incidents. These aircraft were shipped back to the states or to England to evaluate and to test against the allies fighters. Many were kept but most were scrapped. None were kept in these schemes, so it’s good that we have a decal company to re-create them here. The decals also cover captured Fw’s in USA, Soviet Union x 2, and Yugoslavia (owned by the partisans can you believe it? Something to write home to mum about I suspect!) These profiles can all be seen in books published by Kecay. Presented here are parts three, five and six. Captured Butcherbirds vol.III • F-8 509th/404th FG • G-3 Wright Field • D-13 ex. Frank Goetze • D-9 Flensburg • G-3 Wright Field.
Captured Butcherbirds vol.V • A-5 325th FG • F-8 511th FS/404th FG • A-8 404 th FG, Col. Leo C. Moon • F-8 354th FG, Maj. Jim Dalglish.
Captured Butcherbirds vol.VI • D-9 USSR NII VVS • F-8 Kommando Seydlitz • A-5 65th FS/ 57th FG • F-8 Yugoslavian partisans. 
Unicraft from the United States has to be one of if not THE most diverse aircraft model makers around. Dealing with mostly smaller scale (72nd and 48th) this company turns out several models every month. You name it- if it is not a wide-scale produced kit of something that was just a plan on the drawing board they seem to make it! I was amazed at their range and their ambition to make this many different kits from all countries and times. Unicraft though seem to enjoy making “Luft 46” aircraft and test and experimental aircraft the most. it seems everything they have on their release list seems to look like a cool drawing you might have done of a kit when you were at elementary school! Take a look… All the kits are in 1/72nd scale. Messerschmitt Me.P.1079/13
Junkers Volksjaeger German WWII "people's fighter" project
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Sikorsky R-5 1943 tandem seat US helicopter, the predecessor of S-51 (MPM kit)
1/72 Boulton Paul B.P.122
From early helicopters and fighters to UCAVS and drones check out their website for some truly weird and very wonderful kits.
Lastly let’s go out with a bang (sorry) with some interesting kits from French model maker Blast Models. All are in 1/35 in resin and are available from their site and other select distributers. They cover some interesting subjects that I think could be all used in one diorama. The kits are not typical because two of them are French modern military soldiers and the third is a tactical armed robot. This is truly the end of mankind eh? This is similar to the bomb diffusing and investigation device used by the US and other allied nations, this one, however, carries a light machine gun on the front! Here are a few pics of each of the kits... BL35173K - US ARMY TACTICAL ARMED ROBOT - LIMITED EDITION
BL35167F - FRENCH SOLDIER N°4 SNIPER HK417 TASK FORCE LAFAYETTE - AFGHANISTAN
BL35168F - FRENCH SOLDIER N°5 FAMAS SHOOTER TASK FORCE LAFAYETTE – AFGHANISTAN
Till next week model lovers be safe and have a good time with your new (and old) kits!!
Adam