April 10, 2026

Kit countdown... Clayton's top ten upcoming releases of the month...

It's that time again when Clayton Ockerby from Workbench Hobbies treats us to his top ten of upcoming releases that caught his eye this past month in his video preview...


Kit countdown... Clayton's top ten upcoming releases of the month...

G’day Guys – Clayton from Workbench Hobbies with the announcements over the past month caught my eye in the hope I can highlight something you may have missed. Let’s get started

1. T6 Flotation device for Sherman tank family
From EMP 3D
Various scales
EMP 3D is a Poland-based manufacturer of 3D-printed kits and upgrades. And it was the T6 pontoon upgrade for the Sherman tank that caught my eye last month. Now, the T6 Sherman pontoon was an early attempt to make the M4 Sherman amphibious using large external floats, but it proved impractical and was never actually used in combat, but it was quickly replaced by the more effective DD Sherman system. 
There looks to be a range of different scales available. Although this one that appeals to me is 48 scale, and I think it would be the most practical scale to work in with something of this size. Check out their site because there looks to be a heap of great stuff available there. Our hobby is changing so much.


2. Aérospatiale Gazelle – 3D Printed Kit
From Hachecka Prints
1/35th scale
French-based company Heka Prints brings us the SA 342 MA Gazelle this month. It's an all-3D-printed kit broken down into pieces that will require assembly & the coolest thing for me, at least, is the scale. It is in 35th scale, and it will be quite impressive once it's all assembled. 
It's available for pre-order over on their site at a fairly reasonable price, I thought. Now, I'm looking forward to seeing this company tackle more of these left-of-centre niche subjects in the future. Now,


3. AH-1Z Viper
From Hobby 2000
1/48th scale
Another helicopter, only this time in 48 scale, and that is the AH-1Z Viper. Kittyhawk suffered from quality control issues and execution problems. which saw them wrapping up operations a number of years ago. However, they did bring us some interesting neglected kits, such as this AH-1Z, and this month sees Hobby 2000 reboxing it under their own brand. Much like the business model of Zimmi Model. 
This boxing, however, sees a decal sheet giving us the opportunity to paint this one in the beautiful check camouflage scheme. This kit isn't perfect by any stretch, but with a little patience, it builds into a nice representation of this deadly little chopper.


4. TIE Interceptor
From AMT
1/32nd scale
In 2023, AMT released a 32nd scale TIE fighter which was very well received. And whilst the kit was regarded as good rather than great, you can't deny the scale made for an impressive-looking piece in the display case. Now, this month sees AMT doubling down on the franchise and releasing the TIE Interceptor. The hobby has seen many TIE Interceptors over the years, but never in this larger scale. You can expect the same basic parts count, I would imagine, as the TIE fighter, but the updated wings to make it the Interceptor. Given AMT announced the TIE bomber last month. I'm personally excited about the low-key resurgence in Star Wars subjects by a mainstream model manufacturer. AMT’s TIE Interceptor is a straightforward, display‑friendly kit of the dagger‑winged Star Wars starfighter, with large angular wing panels and a central cockpit pod that accepts clear canopy parts. The tooling favours ease of assembly and broad appeal rather than hyper‑scale surface finesse, and many boxings include a pilot figure and a display stand. It’s an ideal project for modellers who want a quick build to paint and weather for screen-accurate or stylised finishes.


5. LRDG Pilot Car
From Thunder Models
35th scale
Thunder model has been exploring the vehicles of the long-range desert group, and the recent release sees the F8 pilot car. The stories of the LRDG are absolutely legendary, and I've been fascinated with them ever since I first laid eyes on that Tama Chevrolet kit as a kid. The Long Range Desert Group, or LRDG, formed in 1940, and they operated deep behind enemy lines in North Africa. They were elite and highly trained and unconventional and had all the hallmarks of the modern special forces.
This F8 pilot car was used for navigation and scouting ahead of patrols and was light and stripped down to be desert optimised. These vehicles were brutal, improvised, and heavily field-modified, which is perfect for the scale modeller to weather and wear and load up with stowage. So, keep an eye out for that one. I've called out this line from


6. Thunderbirds Mechanic Selection Part 3 
(1/500th Thunderbird 3, 1/72nd Thunderbird 4 & 1/800th Thunderbird 5)
From Bell Fine
Various scales
I've called out this line from Belfine before, but this month sees them again announce part three of their Thunderbirds range. It's impossible not to have fond memories of this show, even if it was just for the vehicles and the technology that they used in the show. Now, from what I can gather, this kit has a 500th-scale and an 800th-scale Thunderbird 3 and an 800th-scale Thunderbird 5. 
But my personal favourite is the 72nd scale Thunderbird 4. These will probably need to be sourced through an Asian store. So, if you're interested, I would look quickly because these things always sell out super fast. 


7. Sd.Kfz. 250 Variants — 250/4 and 250/7
From Takom 
1/35th scale
I am so excited to see Taccom extending their range of the SdKfz 250 halftracks, and this time we see the 250/4 and the 250/7 released. These releases will be built around the 250/1 that they released back in 2024, which many of you will have seen me build here. It was a really beautiful kit that I absolutely adored with extremely tight tolerances, but it's a kit that will probably test the casual modeller. 
These releases will have a couple of extra sprues, you would imagine, to give us the different variant here. And given there were 12 recognised variants produced of the 250, plus a couple of other oddities and field-modified examples, this is an exciting step in this halftrack line, and it is a welcomed addition to the market.


8. A-10C Thunderbolt II Limited Edition
From Great Wall Hobby
1/72nd scale
The Great Wall Hobby A-10 is widely regarded as the most accurate and detailed 72nd scale A-10 kits available today. It is a 2025 toolkit and is described as easily the best kit of its type in this scale. This month sees Great Wall release three boxings of this model, with the only difference here being the decal sheets. Two sets are from the Davis-Monthan AB Air Force Base demo team, and the other one is from the Idaho Air National Guard. However, and this is a big however, each of these boxings is limited to a thousand kits. So, don't wait for a second chance with these. If you see one you like, then I would grab it fast because these pairings will be pretty hard to find soon. I would imagine this is an insanely beautiful aircraft with a beautiful and unique scheme here. So, I think this kit release is going to be a real winner.


9. Bluesmobile 
From AMT
1/24th scale
I can't believe AMT is the company that keeps finding its way onto my top 10 videos here, but they are tapping into the nostalgic dollar, and I'm absolutely loving it. Here we see the 1974 Bluesmobile, of course, from the cult classic, the Blues Brothers. This is our chance to paint and weather this one up to look exactly like it did in the movie. I don't have a lot of detail on this release, but I can't imagine it's going to be an overly complicated kit. One of those ones that should appeal to a broad range of modellers, especially in my age bracket.


10. Landspeeder X-34
From AMT
1/12th scale
Rell released an overly simplified boxing of a Landspeeder back in 2011 that was probably not worth the box it was in if I'm being honest. And being AMT, I don't have too high hopes for this one. But given we don't have a lot of options in this space, I'm going to be all over this one. And it is, of course, Luke Skywalker's X34 Landspeeder from Star Wars. This is the opportunity for all you Star Wars fans to channel your inner armour modeller here and fade, chip, and scratch your way through the build and then dump a generous helping of desert sand through the cabin. 
Again, given my vintage, Star Wars had a massive impact on my life, as I'm sure it did on a lot of you watching this video. Watching that speeder hover across the sands of Tatooine is something I honestly will never forget. So to soon have the opportunity to add one to my display case is something I am really looking forward to. So there you have it. Who'd have thought I'd ever make a top 10 list with three AMT kits in it?

Check out Clayton's video that accompanies this story on his YouTube page—Workbench Hobbies.

See more of Clayton's amazing works on his YouTube Channel, his modelling portal "Workbench Hobbies" or his Facebook page