Plastic Model Kits

A few of mine

Sorry about the dust….

Airfix 1/24 Mosquito

I wonder if this might be it:

http://www.ipmsdeutschland.de/Ausstellungen/Nuernberg2009/Bilder/Bilder_01/14.html

Good to see that Airfix is back! Though I’ll most likely never build one, here’s my wants list for 1/24th scale models. I’ll certainly buy them all:

1. Messerschmitt BF 110
2. Messerschmitt Me 262
3. Boulton Paul Defiant
4. Hawker Hind (ooohhh.. this one would be too tempting, I think I couldn’t resist building it!)
5. Grumman Avenger

Peter

Hi Peter;

Aye, that’s the one alright…and it’s a beauty too. Can’t wait to build one myself. I’m a bit odd, as I only build in 1/24 scale, so a Mosquito is a must for the collection.

Regarding you’re 1/24 wants list…Yep, I would go for all of those suggestions in that scale. May I add a few more to the list…

1. Spitfire XIV
2. Armstrong Whitworth Siskin
3. Dehavilland Hornet
4. Hawker Tempest
5. Hawker Fury
6. Heinkel 100

These are just a few models I would love to see in 1/24 scale…

There is the rumour of the 1/24 Gloster Gladiator circulating though…

Regards;
Steve

I wonder if this might be it:

http://www.ipmsdeutschland.de/Ausstellungen/Nuernberg2009/Bilder/Bilder_01/14.html

Good to see that Airfix is back! Though I’ll most likely never build one, here’s my wants list for 1/24th scale models. I’ll certainly buy them all:

1. Messerschmitt BF 110
2. Messerschmitt Me 262
3. Boulton Paul Defiant
4. Hawker Hind (ooohhh.. this one would be too tempting, I think I couldn’t resist building it!)
5. Grumman Avenger

Peter

Airfix 1/24 Mosquito

Hi all;

Just to go back to the forthcoming 1/24 Airfix Mosquito FB VI…

I seriously recommend having a look at this clicky….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIiieWvcRK0

I know that I’ll be buying a couple! Regarding the size of the kit. Having seen the resin pre-production jobby at Telford this year, I can say that, yes!, it is big, but not THAT big. It’s actually not that much bigger than the 1/24 Ju-87…but one thing is for certain, it’s going to be a cracking model…

Regards;
Steve

Ooooooo. . lookie. Cross-forum shenanigans! Does this make me famous?? To be fair and open I no longer participate in Britmodeller for reasons that don’t need discussing. But to dismiss them as places of low value simply due to editorial concerns (hint. . they are FORUMS, not Publications!) is a little narrow. Most forums contain people who are very very knowledgable in their field. And are happy to share that knowledge. Britmodeller and ARC are no different in that. Some seriously knowledgable people and some fabulous modellers too. And some unbearable egotists who simply must say something like some kind of manintheknow. And some people who simply can’t resist taking their questionable opinions and shabby behaviour everywhere they go like some kind of egotistical, self serving albatros.

Just one note of advice – be very wary of modelling forum sites like Britmodeller and ARC. Like most of these sites they are “one man” projects run by modellers and as such they don’t exercise any editorial control, so you can read all kinds of rubbish in the forum threads which isn’t necessarily true. They’re worth a look for snippets of information but be careful not to assume that just because you read something, it’s true!

Agree with the other guy about the above statement.

It’s a free country and your entitled to your opinion, but so am i, and my opinion is your talking out of your a’rse when slagging off some great modelling forums.

I presume your merely a former member with a grudge ?

.

Just one note of advice – be very wary of modelling forum sites like Britmodeller and ARC. Like most of these sites they are “one man” projects run by modellers and as such they don’t exercise any editorial control, so you can read all kinds of rubbish in the forum threads which isn’t necessarily true. They’re worth a look for snippets of information but be careful not to assume that just because you read something, it’s true!

On the contrary Britmodeller and ARC offer a lot of informed opinion by people who are familiar with the subject matter and are happy to share their observations to help other modellers.

The kinds of rubbish people need to avoid are self-appointed, ill-informed experts with fragile egos who denegrate the opinions of others without having the backbone to actually justify their own vacuous comments, as this thread here on ARC duly demonstrates:

http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?showtopic=136870&view=findpost&p=1574453

My wife came back ,from taking something down the skips, with four boxes of made and painted aircraft kits,over 100 in total !!

Yup, it’s not at all bad. It certainly looks like a TSR2 but it’s not exactly over-detailed so I hope some companies produce some add-one details. The only real problem is the overdone surface detail which looks ridiculous when compared to the real aircraft. But hey it’s a TSR2 so who can complain.

TSR-2 Models

Anyone seen the new Airfix 1/48th TSR-2 kit?

Newark have a deal on them unit February 09 http://www.newarkairmuseum.org/newsItem.php?id=68

I read an article today which made me wonder: do your children build plastic model kits? Mine don’t! My eldest son gave it a bash a couple of years ago when he built the Minicraft Titanic and did a decent job of it. I then kept on supplying him steadily with further projects but in the end it became clear it just simply was not his thing.

I read today that sales figures of plastic models has dropped by 50 percent in Germany this year. I find these figures quite alarming. In my days (late sixties early seventies) every schoolboy (and also several girls) built models. We used to show them off on the playground. I can remember my dad buying me an Airfix Red-Stripe Grumman Wildcat at our local Post Office! My first try was a Red-Stripe Hawker Hunter and soon after that the Airfix Mosquito. Our world was full of models.

Today we live in the age of Eduard and Trumpeter so we have kits that are far superior to what we had in the 60s and 70s and even 80s. But is appears that the younger generation is not picking it up. I think it’s a great shame but if it’s over then it’s over.

Here where I live we can’t even buy models any more, I usually get them through ebay. What’s it like with your children? Are they picking up on it?

Regards
Peter

I have quite an extensive collection i’ve gathered over the years..all my kids who are in their thirties are not interested and tell me i haven’t grown up..my Grandchildren ..especially the younger ones think they’re toys and want to play with them..consequently i have to keep them under lock and key

Have you seen any increase in the recent price of plastic kits and accessories?

I noticed this on Newark’s website earlier today http://www.newarkairmuseum.org/newsItem.php?id=67

Think you ought to take a look at Trumpeter’s current catalogue – they’re tackling an awful lot of subjects that haven’t been produced in a larger scale before.

Re- the Airfix 24th Mustang, it’s not a bad kit but it is pretty old now. There are certainly more detailed kits of the Mustang available now which you might prefer.

The 24th Mosquito is due to be released next year. It isn’t based on the 48th kit, in fact the contrary is the case. The Airfix 24th Mosquito was originally planned many years ago as a follow-on to their 24th Harrier but the company had a slight loss of nerve at the time and opted to scale-down the Mosquito to 48th scale. In effect they’re now producing what was originally planned a long time ago. Their 72nd TSR2 kit which appeared a year or so back was an example of another kit planned many years previously but never released – that’s partly why it’s not quite up to the standards of most modern kits. Their new 48th TSR2 (due out in a month or so) is, by comparison, a “new-build” kit.

What surprises me is that other companies that embarked on 1/24th scale kits like Trumpeter etc. only did those that were already available: Spitfire, Hurricane and Me 109 (ok they did a “G” and not an “E”) but looking at the quality of their products I don’t see why they didn’t produce previously unreleased subjects, like their Me 262 or the Dauntless in 1/24th instead on 1/32nd scale.

Apparently the 1/24th Mosquito is no rumour and is due to come. It is said that it will be some 700 pieces. It is not a scaled-up version of their 1/48th scale offering. It is good to see that Airfix is, at long last run by enthusiasts again for enthusiasts.

Children no doubt prefer video- and computer-games instead of models which I think is a shame. When I was a child I had to build my toys myself and I enjoyed every minute of it. A few weeks ago my eldest son wanted a computer-game called “Guitar-Hero”. I don’t know what this game is all about but instead he got an electric guitar, an amplifier and guitar lessons. I told him to learn it and he can be his own guitar hero – in real life and not on a computer screen. But that’s the problem: he has to LEARN it!

Happy Christmas everbody!:)
Peter

Do you mean the Airfix kits?
I saw a 1/24th Airfix Mustang for sale and was wondering about its quality.
Anybody have opinions?

I do – thanks for that.:confused: They were superb quality – can’t imagine that they have changed the moulds etc, far too expensive. They also did a JU-87 in that scale and have heard rumours about a Mosquito in that scale – size large.

…I used to have the big Corgi 1/24 Spitfire and Hurricane…

Do you mean the Airfix kits?
I saw a 1/24th Airfix Mustang for sale and was wondering about its quality.
Anybody have opinions?

Corgi are a bit “Hit and miss”, I have the “pale blue” Buccaneer and it does like like I made it ! Maybe now they have a new owner it will be sorted. Century Wings & Hobby Master offer awsome quality as do Gemini.

I make the kids still with my son and I did try again. I used to have the big Airfix 1/24 Spitfire and Hurricane and even got to be reasonable with an airbrush, but as Clint Eastwood says “a man has to know his limitations”…….

not so much instant gratification for me, more that I love the ‘planes, just can’t make them that well myself – not a craftsman, I even started a small fire in a bathroom putting up ceramic tiles…. that will give you an idea of how ham fisted I am !:(

good new thread – DIY faff ups !?

Think you’re right – these days kids like instant gratification so a ready-made model is ideal. Although some younger fellas still have an interest in plastic modelling, it’s become much more of a “serious” hobby for older people now, but surprisingly it’s doing remarkably well, thanks to the growing presence of short-run manufacturers and (relatively) cheap production for bigger manufacturers in China (until China starts hiking the prices!).

Mind you, although some of the diecast models are pretty rubbish, some of them are beautiful. I’ve got a couple of Corgi Buccaneers which I’m going to tart-up (fill the ghastly panel lines, repaint, add details) as they’re more accurate in outline than any of the 72nd scale plastic kits!

do you think ?

I buy (far too many…) pre made die-cast aircraft (95 odd now) and if you shop around you can get some corking bargins and quality – has that doen anything to sales of plastic kits or is it just the lazy folk like me copping out?

Modelling is alive and well, it’s just that the sales have tended to shift away from the “pocket money” market towards older “serious” modellers who want higher-spec kits but who are also prepared to pay more for ’em. Having said that, some of the manufacturers are doing a great deal to spark new interest in the general market too.

In actual fact, it’s a great time for the more serious modeller as there are new kits appearing all the time, often of surprisingly obscure subjects.

Just one note of advice – be very wary of modelling forum sites like Britmodeller and ARC. Like most of these sites they are “one man” projects run by modellers and as such they don’t exercise any editorial control, so you can read all kinds of rubbish in the forum threads which isn’t necessarily true. They’re worth a look for snippets of information but be careful not to assume that just because you read something, it’s true!