Airfix

[Rheged]

and just to give the fellow compiling the list a laugh, a Beverley. All in 1:72 of course.

I LOVE that idea, but it may presage a world styrene shortage. 

Then of course you could have a Belfast!!

[PR19_Kit]

and just to give the fellow compiling the list a laugh, a Beverley. All in 1:72 of course.

I LOVE that idea, but it may presage a world styrene shortage. 

Then of course you could have a Belfast!!

Not if there wasn't any styrene left.................

[kitnut617]

and just to give the fellow compiling the list a laugh, a Beverley. All in 1:72 of course.

I LOVE that idea, but it may presage a world styrene shortage. 

Then of course you could have a Belfast!!

Not if there wasn't any styrene left.................

Considering the Belfast is the same size as an A400M, it's not out of the realm of possibility for a 1/72 scale kit is it ----

[Snowtrooper]

Naah, it's time someone else except Awfulmodel did Bristol Brabazon in 1:72.

As for serious suggestions, downscaling their 1/48 Walrus to 1/72 would be nice, as their old mould is just awful - it is saying something if internet consensus seems to recommend Matchbox instead.

If they would retool the Viggen (maybe do it like Heller and have one kit that builds into any variant), the Tunnan and the Draken could also do with a modern treatment. Or maybe they could just buy the moulds from Heller and repop them, even that would be an improvement to their own Draken and Viggen (again, when even Matchbox is better than the latter, that's all you really need to know). If going the latter route, why no go whole hog and repop J21 and Safir too.

[Leading Observer]

Send your suggestions in guys - if enough of us do it, perhaps we might get something we want!

[Leading Observer]

How about a HS 748 or Andover in 1/72?

[Leading Observer]

A 1/72 VC-10 would be awesome.

[NARSES2]

As for serious suggestions, downscaling their 1/48 Walrus to 1/72 would be nice,

The way modern tooling is done I would have thought that's a distinct possibility 

[sandiego89]

......I can't see how repeating "Fairey Rotodyne" 14 times can possibly fail?

Especially for us WHIFFERS, some "failed" aircraft seem to be quite popular, and some have done quite well in terms of kit sales- like the TSR2 etc.  And please don't get out the pitchforks, by "failed" I mean never made it to production. 

Rather than another spit, mosquito, P-51 etc. I would love to see some modern, affordable, 1/72 kits of the following: 

-Convair Pogo
-Convair SeaDart
-Rotodyne
-Arrow
-Cheyanne
-B-58 Hustler- made it to production, but kit wise, we could use a new pop. 
-SeaMaster
-P1154
-Princess (1/144)

For many of the above we have had to rely on "ahem" less than ideal kits, too expensive or too tough for the beginner resin kits, or decades old, flawed molds. 

I think some would sell quite well as you can not deny the coolness factor. 

[PR19_Kit]

-Cheyanne

Hell yes, there's only ever been the one Aurora kit of the Cheyenne, hasn't there? There was one of them for sale at the Coventry show and they wanted £85 for it!!! 

[kitnut617]

Hasn't the new tooling trend at Airfix been of aircraft which they've been able to use that scanner thingy on a real one ---------
What else is out there which can be scanned.

[Leading Observer]

Hasn't the new tooling trend at Airfix been of aircraft which they've been able to use that scanner thingy on a real one ---------
What else is out there which can be scanned.

Vickers Varsity? Twin Pioneer? BAC 1-11? Bristol Britannia? Avro York? A decent Buccaneer? Hastings? VC-10? Comet?

[The Wooksta!]

Like many others, people here are living in a dream world. 

FACT: Hornby  - and by extension, Airfix - are in a financial hole.  40% of the range has gone OOP and any new tools have to make money - ie pay for themselves and turn a profit fairly quickly.  Many of the big ticket items requested as "desperately needed" by the online modelling community have ended up after the initial furore being heavily discounted - the Shackleton for example was £40 on initial release and now you can get them for £25 or less.  Any new tools have to be able to sell and to a wide audience.  A one off cancelled prototype that never took to the air, such as the P.1154, will sell to a small niche market, whereas a Spitfire will sell a hundred times that and still do so in several years time.  There's a reason why the likes of Anigrand, Mach Poo, Unicrap et al do the niche and the one offs.

"Ah, but TSR2" bleat the blinkered..  One off case, but it's always had that air of charm.  Besides which, the feeding frenzy of 2006 was largely driven by hype and those speculating on the kit's value.  Do not imagine something like an Airfix Pogo would have the same impact.

Of this year's releases, of the new tools, the only one that I have doubts about is the Walrus.  I think it'll cover it's costs and get into the black, whereas the Phantom will barely be able to keep up with demand. 

The key factor for Airfix is their pricing policy and it's also their Achilles heel. Their Spitfire IX is a tenner, with a level of detail that belongs in the 70s.  For a quid more, the modeller can have an Eduard Weekend edition, with all the bells and whistles that entails.  The 262 has jumped a series and will be nearer £15, whereas the Revell one (albeit from 1997 and with moulding issues, especially the canopy) is currently available and at half the cost.

[king of men]

C'mon, Lee... The dream world is what model recommendations are all about!

[Snowtrooper]

FACT: Hornby  - and by extension, Airfix - are in a financial hole.  40% of the range has gone OOP and any new tools have to make money - ie pay for themselves and turn a profit fairly quickly.

So, basically, viable options are -
repops of their old tools (if they haven't sold the moulds for scrap already)
repops of someone else's old tools (eg. Heller is in even deeper financial hole)
downscaling existing new 1:48 releases (measuring, CAD work, etc. has been done, just the upfront cost of the mould remains after CNC machine is programmed to produce a 67% size mould)