Model Art Modeling Magazine is one of the finest periodicals on the market. Each issue covers subjects across the modeling spectrum. Regardless of your area of interest you will, sooner rather than later, find something of significance to you. The quality of the images within each issue is stunning, and that is important since the magazine is published in Japanese. There are always “work in progress” images and the tools and materials being used by the builder are always featured prominently in the images. It is not difficult, therefore, for the reader to use these “work in progress” articles as guides. While some details are certainly lost in translation, or the lack thereof, the general process followed in the “work in progress” is easy enough to follow.

The main article in this issue covers a handful of Bf-109 kits in 32^ndscale. The lack of an English translation causes a problem for the average English speaker since the image captions do not include many clues to indicate the kit being shown in the image. Page 57 has a series of images of those kits being compared, and with some effort it is possible for the “English only” among us the figure out which kit is featured in which image, but it will require some effort.

On a personal level, I found the lead article to be more interesting. The G3M2 “Nell” and the G4M1 “Betty” are featured. Sekiya Masaaki used the 1/48^thTamiya kit for the “Betty” and Watanabe Yoshimitsu used the 1/72^ndHasegawa kit for the “Nell”. Both articles have full color images showing a large amount of detail that can enhance both of these excellent kits. Nomura Yukihiro’s Hasegawa 72^ndscale kit of the P1Y1 Frances rounds out this very interesting set of articles on Japanese aircraft.

For the auto enthusiast, the Tamiya kit of the Lexus LFA(ASG 4.8) is featured in a four page article that shows what can be done with a great kit. Also covered in a series of shorter articles are the Airfix De Havilland Sea Vixen FAW.2 in 72^ndscale, the Bronco M1114 UP-Armored Tactical Vehicle, and the Hobby Boss Land Rover “Wolf” W.M.I.K. in 35^thscale.

Each issue of Model Art includes numerous pages featuring images of newly released items. For those who are rather esoteric in modeling taste, check out the model of the Tokyo SkyTree, the world’s tallest free-standing broadcast tower. The SkyTree tops out at just over 2,000 feet tall! The model features LED lighting and appears to be right at 12 to 14 inches in height.

This publication is highly recommended for the breadth of subject matter, the quality of the images, and the outstanding and inspirational modeling that one sees in those images.

Thanks to Dragon/USA for making this publication available to IPMS for review.