Airfix Kit Poll

Airfix’s total production came from china so there is no surprise there, but the snap fit models were lame and an easy way to accomplish a skillfull thing.

curlyboy

Hornby buy Airfix

According to todays newspapers Hornby have taken over Airfix, and will produce cheap kits in China and India. These will be snap-fit prepainted models, so not a lot of skill needed.
Geoff.

The Bristol had been re-released just before the close down in September. There are still quite a few in the shops.

Memories: I found these pics of the Airfix Bristol 170 Mk.32 kit. Looking exactly how I remember it. Pity those old kits are no more for sale…

Found at:
http://glostransporthistory.softdata.co.uk/JetAgeRMC_Bristol170.htm

Tillerman.

Airfix…My Selection

Best Kit:
Leaving aside my personnal preference in aircraft types, I have to say that I thought that their rendition of the Shorts Skyvan was a beautiful kit. Considering its age, I think that it holds its own against any recently produced kits. An absolute gem. The B-26 Marauder is a cracking kit also.

Worst Kit:
I remember being very displeased at the Messerschmitt Me110. I burnt that one and bought the Matchbox version instead.

Most Built:
Right, here I go….The 1/24th Spitfire MkI. I’m cheating a bit here as not all are finished yet, but I have 8 in a production line at the moment. Most are being converted to other marks but they will be as follows; prototype K5054, an early MkI, two MkIa’s, two MkVb’s, a MkXVIe and one as yet undecided.

I love the 1/24th MkI. Its certainly not the best superkit Airfix made by a long shot. No wheel wells, droopy wings, cockpit OKish, radiator detail inside completely wrong etc, etc. I treat it like a big vacuaform kit, just use the basic shape and scratchbuild all the internal (and most external details too). And for God’s sake insert a wingspar in this beastie!!

What sold me on this kit was that absolutely gorgeous Roy Cross rendition of Al Deere’s Spit on the box. I always, always wanted that kit as a kid. I drooled over it in the local model shop through most of my childhood . . . but I never got one for a Christmas or birthday present EVER! I begged and pleaded, but to no avail. I’m 36 now and I have eight of them, all in original 1970’s packaging. I have cured my childhood trauma!!

I love Airfix. I always will. An integeral part of my childhood and the road to my obsession with aviation today. Those Roy Cross box tops fired my imagination like nothing else I know. I was at the controls of G for George making that landing with one engine on fire and full of holes. I was in that cockpit of Al Deere’s Spit charging into a pack of 109’s. I was operating that gun turret on “Eddie Allan” blasting away at that Ki-84 streaking in at 9 o’clock. In my mind I was there.

Thanks Airfix.

Sorry for rambling.

Ant Harringtom – the B-26 Marauder vas re-released a few months ago. I spent part of this afternoon putting the decals on mine. Hopefully it will be completely finished by the end of next week.

If you are including Frog then it narrows it down a bit. Lets start with the Gnome Whirlwind.

I think that the older Airfix kits should be judged by what else was available when they were first produced. You cant blame any company for wringing out the last bit of profit from their initial investment. I started with the first Spitfire version and stopped about 20 years ago. It was fun modifying them to be more correct or to change versions. I also never got to grips with vacforms and my hands still bear the scars from the sharp knife I used! Recently I was tempted by the TSR2 as I built a wooden one when the real thing first appeared. However I stopped myself as I do not need any roof insulation. Anyone actually built one?

I have attached a photo taken about 1969. Can anyone identify the modles that are NOT built as per the kit or are not kits. The Sycamore was a wooden carving for example.

Airfix will probably be the only ones to have kitted the Stirling and HP Hampden in 1/72. Or Special Hobby should feel the urge.

Cheers

Cees

I’ve built a lot of those Airfix kits, but nearly all of them got lost when time passed by. You know, moving house, nephews who thought they were toys etc.
The ones I regret the most of getting lost or broken are the Bristol B-170 Mk32 and the B-29.
I also built the Spitfire, but the parts didn’t fit well. The wings are level instead of a bit v-shaped, the nose was a bit bent off to the left. But it’s one of the few that I still have. With a few bits missing, that is.

Tillerman.

was sorting through our stores at my Air Cadet squadron and came across a model of a Spitfire (V I think) in I think 1:32 scale but in diecast metal complete with moving prop, control surfaces, undercarriage and removable engine cowls. Anyone know who produced it and is it still available?

Martin

Daz, make a contribution to the forum swear-jar, St*rfix is a word never to be uttered in decent company 😀

Hehehe… 😉

Here’s one I did once…….

😉

I see a few votes for the 1/24th Spit’ 1a… 😉

Best…? Worst…? :confused:

The moulding and fit of all Airfix kits was some what “challenging” to say the least.
Or is it that we can say that now because we’ve all got used to the “Modern” quality of the likes of Tamiya and Hasegawa etc.

Daz, make a contribution to the forum swear-jar, St*rfix is a word never to be uttered in decent company 😀

Worst kit:- Spitfire IX. Possibly the worst Spitfire kit of all time!!

You’ve never seen the Starfix Spitfire IX then?? Sheesh!

I loved them all and built as many as my pocket money would allow!

The one I built most was the Westland Scout. to this day I think it is the most beautiful helo made. The diminutive skids broke easily in a childs hands though…

Worst model was not airfix but a vacform Sea Hawk. I’ve never encountered one of these before and one look told me I’d never manage it. Luckily for me, Malcolm Kinnear (artist and modeller extraordinaire) kindly built this into a wonderful model (of MY aircraft!) for me. I think this was the last model he built before he sadly had a stroke which put paid to his art and modelling 🙁

I do have a small stash of models yet to be built… one day… one day…

Roy.

It’s so long ago that I actually built any, as opposed to stashing them away in a cupboard, that I can’t remember what was particularly good or bad.

One thing that has always stuck in my mind is the hopeless wheels on the Mosquito FB.VI. Big fat tyres are an obvious feature of the Mossie and they looked like they’d been pinched from a push bike.

Best kit:- Mosquito (the late one). No filler, no hassle, looks the part.

Worst kit:- Spitfire IX. Possibly the worst Spitfire kit of all time!!

Most built:- Spitfire Ia. Built at least 20. Converted them into Va, III, IIa, early two blader. Beautiful. (Only 2nd to the Mossie in my book!!)

Sad to see Airfix go. Their last kit was also a blinder, the TSR2. I’ve actually built this (rather than just putting it in the loft to re-sell) and it’s cracking.

Willow

BEST KIT 1/72 scale spitfire VB (built 5 so far none survive!!)
WORST KIT 1/72 scale F4 phantom IT IS JUST SO WRONG IN EVERYWAY
BEST ATTEMPT 1/48 sea harrier tried to build in a day for a project ended up in the scrap bin.

Good news if airfix stay afloat is they are going to release the TSR2 as a stock item instead of a special or so i was told by the man at the airfix stand at flying legends.

curlyboy

I can’t decide on one particular best or worst and some of my choices have already been mentioned so I’ll just list a few that haven’t been already.
Best:
1:72 Spitfire Mk.1-the famous “AZ-H”-who here HASN’T built one? Still perhaps the most accurate looking 1:72 Spit on the market and an easy build.
1:72 B26 Marauder-easy to build, accurate and very decent interior detail for it’s age, complete with open bomb doors and a detailed bomb bay. Mine’s an old one that came with a stand- any chance they could start doing those again??
1:72 Fw190D-Perhaps overtaken by the latest ‘Tamigawa’s, but a simple kit that always turned out nicely and still looks good today.
1:72 Bf109K-Again like the Dora Nine, perhaps overtaken but still a good build and a nice model.
Worst
1:72 P51D- Bad overall shape and the two fuselage halves were a different size!Ergh!
1:72 Hawker Typhoon-Oversized prop and spinner moulded as one and always warped, the cockpit canopy was a blob of clear plastic.
1:72 Folland Gnat-I never built this one as a kid so I don’t have the fond memories of it that others here seem to have. Perhaps it’s the age of the moulds but mine was warped all over the place and the wing joints were extremely poor.
Most built:
1:72 Spitfires, both Mk.1 and Mk.V. I think I built three Mk.V’s in one go when I was a kid!

I sincerely hope Airfix will make a comeback, and I hope they’ll do the decent thing and bin the blatantly cr*p kits that give them such a bad name. They could also do with finding someone else to print thier decals for them, all Airfix kits I’ve bought in the last ten years have had absolutely awful decals, always printed off-centre and sometimes very brittle. Even some of the cr*pper kit makers (eg SMER) manage to supply very decent decals.

Problems like you have experienced didn’t bother me, because in my younger days I thought that was normal. Only later did I go to the Japanese Kits, for their superb quality. But surely, Airfix kits were meant for the younger constructor, as could be seen by their simplicity. I loved those Junkers German Bombers, with those incredible Camoflage paint schemes. 😀
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