Airfix

[kitbasher]

My Airfix wish list (all 1/72): Sea Fury, any of the Hart family, Dh88 Comet, Skyraider (single seat), Javelin, Sea Vixen, Lysander, Jaguar GR3 (remould not repop), 2-stage Merlin Mosquito (preferably bomber or PR), Hunter.

[Captain Canada]

I bet a Hunter or 2 would be a huge hit for them.

[The Wooksta!]

Maybe not.  Revell's 72nd Hunter is superb but Modelzone were kamikazying them a year or two after release.  Revell didn't do quite as well as they'd hoped allegedly.

[Captain Canada]

Interesting. I was thinking a new-tool twin seater along the lines of Revell's beauty would 'fly' off the selves ? I'd take at least 2 if that helps 

[KiwiZac]

I have for a while been thinking a two-seat Hunter would be great - I had my eye on a Matchbox kit - but after WV372's crash at Shoreham I'm not sure we'll see anything anytime soon.

It doesn't matter what Airfix produce as new kits, someone somewhere will be unhappy and say that they should have produced W, X Y or even ZZ at the top of their list!
Personally I am not complaining one bit as they have fallen way behind other manufactures in replacing the moulding of kits from 50 or so more years ago. A few Civilian jets in 1/144 would not go amiss once in a while.

Gondor

I agree, even though I am occasionally one of the grumblers and I admit that. This, the big Defiant and the Eindecker are the only "meh" ones for me out of the recent announcements. But I fully support replacing older toolings - not just the aforementioned B-29 and 1/144 airliners, but absolute must-destroy-the-original-mould kits like the 1934 DH Comet.

I remember buying the "Airfix" Sea Fury and being disappointed it wasn't a new-tool, that would be a great one for me. The Scan Factor isn't an issue as there are several around the UK...they could even do both RNHF examples at once and include a two-seat option. If we look just at the "must exist and can be scanned", the UK offers a true treasure trove of potential subjects.

I too definitely see the business sense in the B-17 - and don't get me wrong, it'll be a gorgeous kit and I'm very impressed at what we've seen - just I was hoping for something else. What I was expecting I don't know!

What I do know is I love that Airfix shares so much, and gives us random announcements.

[Weaver]

This is from Simon Owen the Airfix lead researcher on his resent lectures at the RAF Museums :-

Anyone who was unable to attend the Airfix presentation at Hendon (or presumably Cosford) missed a fascinating insight into the pre-release workings of Airfix, in particular:

- They won't add new parts to old kits (specifically new transparencies for the Halifax)

- No kit will be produced unless either:

   There's an extant example that can be accurately measured or LIDAR scanned, and not all can.  For example, if it can move (because it's hanging from wires) it can't be scanned.


 Or:

   There are quality engineering drawings with profiles and sections: look at the Workbench article on the B-17 for examples of what's required.  GA drawings, even of 'Bentley Standard' just don't have the right information.

I applaud their commitment to quality and ,given the number of releases per year, they can probably afford to do that for quite a while, but I do think it's a restrictive policy both from the point of view of whiffery and as a business model. Specifically, it rules out a whole bunch of interesting and diverse projects that only existed as a poorly documented prototype or maybe didn't even get built at all. Revell have done pretty well out of the obsession with with Luft '46 subjects, which are also known as the Napkinwaffe for good reason, and Monogram did a load of X-planes back in the day. I for one would like to see Airfix redressing the balance a bit by covering British "X-planes" and might-have-beens such as the Martin-Baker MB.5 and the P-1052. I'm not convinced by the argument that they wouldn't sell because they're not well known or didn't do anything famous either: you could say that about the Whitley....

[Rick Lowe]

This is from Simon Owen the Airfix lead researcher on his resent lectures at the RAF Museums :-

Anyone who was unable to attend the Airfix presentation at Hendon (or presumably Cosford) missed a fascinating insight into the pre-release workings of Airfix, in particular:

- They won't add new parts to old kits (specifically new transparencies for the Halifax)

- No kit will be produced unless either:

   There's an extant example that can be accurately measured or LIDAR scanned, and not all can.  For example, if it can move (because it's hanging from wires) it can't be scanned.


 Or:

   There are quality engineering drawings with profiles and sections: look at the Workbench article on the B-17 for examples of what's required.  GA drawings, even of 'Bentley Standard' just don't have the right information.

I applaud their commitment to quality and ,given the number of releases per year, they can probably afford to do that for quite a while, but I do think it's a restrictive policy both from the point of view of whiffery and as a business model. Specifically, it rules out a whole bunch of interesting and diverse projects that only existed as a poorly documented prototype or maybe didn't even get built at all. Revell have done pretty well out of the obsession with with Luft '46 subjects, which are also known as the Napkinwaffe for good reason, and Monogram did a load of X-planes back in the day. I for one would like to see Airfix redressing the balance a bit by covering British "X-planes" and might-have-beens such as the Martin-Baker MB.5 and the P-1052. I'm not convinced by the argument that they wouldn't sell because they're not well known or didn't do anything famous either: you could say that about the Whitley....

Interesting; when you said that, I had a better read and it's almost as if they're saying "NO What-Ifs" though not in so many words...

My 2 Pacific Pesos, anyway.

Cheers

Rick

[Thorvic]

This is from Simon Owen the Airfix lead researcher on his resent lectures at the RAF Museums :-

Anyone who was unable to attend the Airfix presentation at Hendon (or presumably Cosford) missed a fascinating insight into the pre-release workings of Airfix, in particular:

- They won't add new parts to old kits (specifically new transparencies for the Halifax)

- No kit will be produced unless either:

   There's an extant example that can be accurately measured or LIDAR scanned, and not all can.  For example, if it can move (because it's hanging from wires) it can't be scanned.


 Or:

   There are quality engineering drawings with profiles and sections: look at the Workbench article on the B-17 for examples of what's required.  GA drawings, even of 'Bentley Standard' just don't have the right information.

I applaud their commitment to quality and ,given the number of releases per year, they can probably afford to do that for quite a while, but I do think it's a restrictive policy both from the point of view of whiffery and as a business model. Specifically, it rules out a whole bunch of interesting and diverse projects that only existed as a poorly documented prototype or maybe didn't even get built at all. Revell have done pretty well out of the obsession with with Luft '46 subjects, which are also known as the Napkinwaffe for good reason, and Monogram did a load of X-planes back in the day. I for one would like to see Airfix redressing the balance a bit by covering British "X-planes" and might-have-beens such as the Martin-Baker MB.5 and the P-1052. I'm not convinced by the argument that they wouldn't sell because they're not well known or didn't do anything famous either: you could say that about the Whitley....

Aye but they have been able to do the Whitley from Engineering drawings as little remains of an actual aircraft !

However you need to remember this lecture is aimed at those suggestions for mainstream items that are not possible to scan or study the drawings for. They get a lot of suggestions and some of them are just not viable and they effectively are telling us what's currently within their capability or not.
Part of the problem is with limited reference material or accurate scans/measuring the designers have to go with guess work or what they feel is right and we have seen the net result of this from many of the Chinese kits where they effectively wing it and then get lambasted for getting it wrong as they don't have the access to the actual hardware some in the west can have.

As for project stuff it all depends on what data is available and how well known the projects are, the MB5 is fairly well known and has decent drawings as MB are still in business so a kits possible if demand is high enough. However the MB5 was built and flown, I suspect a type would have to get as far as prototype or mock up to be considered as long as the drawings are suitable. The other limiting factor is that whilst many did or still do clamour for anything Secret & Nazis, the equivalent British or American designs just don't have the same sort of interest unfortunately and that would probably prevent many Project suggestions getting commercial approval to develop into a kit. 

[Thorvic]

The 1/72 Nakajima Kate is now out and in stock at Hannants

[The Wooksta!]

The P1052 still exists at Yeovilton, ditto the Wyvern TF1.  Be nice if they could do those.  Imagine an FD2 to the Airfix current standard!

[Thorvic]

The P1052 still exists at Yeovilton, ditto the Wyvern TF1.  Be nice if they could do those.  Imagine an FD2 to the Airfix current standard!

If they are going scanning at FAA Yeovilton I would prefer they did the Carrier Hall first and scan in the Buccaneers (S1 & S2), the Sea Vixen, Scimitar and of course the Phantom FG1, then there's the Wasp, the Whirlwind and of course the Seafire XVII, all of those will sell in far greater numbers than the prototypes 

[Captain Canada]

You're on to something there Geoff !

[king of men]

My Airfix wish list (all 1/72): Sea Fury, any of the Hart family, Dh88 Comet, Skyraider (single seat), Javelin, Sea Vixen, Lysander, Jaguar GR3 (remould not repop), 2-stage Merlin Mosquito (preferably bomber or PR), Hunter.

I could get behind a new tool DH-88, Javelin, or Lysander.

[Thorvic]

My Airfix wish list (all 1/72): Sea Fury, any of the Hart family, Dh88 Comet, Skyraider (single seat), Javelin, Sea Vixen, Lysander, Jaguar GR3 (remould not repop), 2-stage Merlin Mosquito (preferably bomber or PR), Hunter.

I could get behind a new tool DH-88, Javelin, or Lysander.

The Javelin and Sea Vixen they already have the data for its just about creating a new suitable 1/72nd tooling which as we have seen from the Airfix Workbench on the 48th Defiant its not quite as straightforward as people assume.

[Thorvic]

Hmmn a word of warning, with the new Workbench method of announcing new kits on a regular basis rather than the usual annual release i get a feeling that we may not get too many more new surprises. So far for 2016 we have:-

1/72 B.E.2
1/72 Eindecker
1/72 B-17G

1/48 Defiant
1/48 Metear F-8

1/72 USAAF Bomber Support Set

Now by looking at the recent tooling's we can probably expect:-

1/72 Shackleton AEW2 (as we have seen the test shots with the radome)
1/72 Beaufighter the kit breakdown with separate fin, tail plane and nose indicates we could get an Early type/Night-fighter and/or late type/post war version with the extended fin and radar nosecone
1/72 Whitley MPA version and possibly Transport
1/72 Wildcat - After 3 USN boxing's they are bound to do a RN Martlet
1/72 He-111 - The P instructions have us removing the fixed tail guns of the H that are moulded into the fuselage

The lack of bombs in the He-111 kit leads one to expect a possible Luftwaffe Bomber support set may also be in the pipeline.

I don't doubt there will still be one or two new surprises to appear together with some fit for re-issue but when you see what's been announced and evaluate the new releases this year, it does give a bit of guidance about what to expect next year