Academy Report
By Michael Benolkin
Academy continues to concurrently produce new and interesting model subjects and release many of the kits from Hobbycraft's molds as well. One example due out very shortly is the 1/32 Nieuport kit, also from Hobbycraft's molds. |
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One of Academy's recent originals, the Boeing KC-97, was a big hit. According to MRC (Academy's distributor in North America), the KC-97L was a hot seller. Three other subjects on the horizon for Academy are the 1/32 FA-18C Hornet (release date unknown), the 1/48 MiG-21bis Fishbed L, and the 1/72 F-86F Sabre. The MiG is a logical release as the kit that was originally released as the MiG-21MF Fishbed J was in fact a MiG-21bis. The F-86F was on display at the show and appeared to be a scaled down version of their outstanding 1/48 Sabre. If this is true, the 1/72 modeler will finally have a great Sabre to work with. |
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Following the trend in Japan, Academy is also jumping into the mid-scale remote controlled armor market. On display were four 1/48 armor subjects that are motorized and operated with tethered (wires) RC-styled controllers. It will be interesting to see if the remote control armor bug catches on in North America. |
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