Airfix

[The Wooksta!]

I now have the Swordfish and it's everything that it's been alleged to be.  The only downside I can see are the sprue attachment points on some parts, mainly the cage parts for the cockpit.  Oh, and the white numbers should have been printed separately, but that's a personal niggle as I wanted to nick them for something else.

[Thorvic]

There is no rigging guide either, which even if not provided could have been included in the instuctions !.

Still its a pretty fantastic looking kit 

[The Wooksta!]

I've done some test fitting and it looks to be an easy if involved build.  Not too happy about the fit of the struts/upper wing and I think it'll need some careful sanding there.

[kitbasher]

Holborn MZ this afternoon noted the Airfix Val (hurrah!) and Kingfisher on the shelves (the Duck was there last week).  Dragon Sea Vixen (37 quid - I don't think so!) was there too.  Revell stuff at reduced prices (£2.99 for the ex-Matchbox Do28).

Lots of stock in, apart from Airfix - the kit locusts were clearing the Airfix shelves - what a strong brand it seems to be now.

[Mossie]

I saw the Duck in Hull MZ last week, but they had it priced at £18.99 instead of the £8.99 it should have been.  That's one of a few whoopsies I've seen them make, a previous Christmas I saw a guy hastily re-labling their stock of Revells Flower Class that was marked way under the asking price!

[NARSES2]

Lots of stock in, apart from Airfix - the kit locusts were clearing the Airfix shelves - what a strong brand it seems to be now.

Yup it's been shifting in my local MZ to. All the mum's and grans buying for kids (of all ages  ) The name must be worth a mint on its own. Helped a few ladies out over the last week or so 

Glad you got the Val

[tigercat]

Apparentlt the Swordfish flew off the shelves I asked one of the staff at Holborn MZ last weekend and he said 12 or 15 of them they got in just went like hotcakes.

[Weaver]

The name must be worth a mint on its own.

Nail on the head there, I think. There's Airfix-branded stuff all over the place now: I even saw Airfix jigsaws the other day! More power to 'em IF they strike the right balance. It's important not to go over the top though (like Harley-Davidson for instance), because then a) you get tagged as "common as muck" and people with taste start actively avoiding the brand, and b) you provoke a backlash if you're percieved as being more about marketing than product*.




*There's a T-shirt that says "If Harley-Davidson spent as much on quality-control as they do on marketing, then there wouldn't be a reason to take the piss out of them..."

[MilitaryAircraft101]

On a side note, since we are straying towards the topic  What are the numbers of modellers coming in to the hobby? Higher than those leaving? As I know that a lot of modellers are those, er, revisiting, their Monogram B-17s that they so dearly loved at the ripe old age of 7, but how many are coming in? It was really popular 60s-80s, and then in the 90s and the start of the 00s it was kind of a forgotten thing, but now since the revamp of Airfix, I have seen a surge in the popularity of scale modelling within juniors. Is the hobby on a rise? Will it gain the status it had all those years ago, I certainly hope so, but the road is long if so. 

[PR19_Kit]

Possibly, just so long as the greedy *%£$*s who import Hasegawa into this country don't destroy the enthusiasm that Airfix generate by making good kits at sensible prices..........

[Aircav]

We've been sending out a lot of models at work because of Christmas and we've only sold about three Hasegawa kits.

[NARSES2]

Very difficult question to answer MA101 as there's no empirical evidence other then numbers of kits sold.

My own anecdotal evidence would suggest that there are a few more kids getting involved, maybe they want to build what the "fly"  in their pc games ? Not large numbers though

[pyro-manic]

Not many air combat video games around, in actuality. There are a few, but not many, and they're certainly not "best-sellers". I would say it's more to the exposure it's had in recent times on television - James May and his antics have played a big part in it IMO. Whether that inspired kids directly, or whether it's got to the dads and then been passed on I'm not sure.

[Green Dragon]

Airfix said on facebook that the club members catalogues were sent out Friday so if there are any members here who get theirs before the 3rd of Jan official 2012 announcement could you please spill the beans?! 

Paul Harrison

[Aircav]

I got a copy of their new calendar on Friday, shame they punched a hole into, some of the pictures would look great framed especially the Lightning.