More on Airfix 2017

[Wez]

22 minutes ago, T7 Models said:

Assuming that it is an aircraft that Airfix were scanning, Overloon's other two aircraft, the Spitfire XIV and a MiG-21, are suspended from the ceiling- not exactly ideal for scanning.I really cannot see any other conclusion than a B-25.

 

 

2 minutes ago, Graham Boak said:

It has been said elsewhere that an Airfix representative said at Telford that they were not to do any more military vehicles (or words close to that effect).  Presumably, at least, not before the financial recovery of Hornby, I suggest.  So they wouldn't be looking at anything else.  It is true that their MiG21 could also be a contender for new tooling, but if that's the choice then the evidence says B-25 to me.

 

I believe Airfix have said that the subject must be easily measurable and accessible to be scanned, therefore aircraft suspended from ceilings are unlikely to be subjects for research - so the B-25 looks favourite.

[Nocoolname]

I've yet to see the announcement of any 'knock-out' subject, either as a new kit or a re-tool. Perhaps as has already been suggested, they are trying to play it safe with a few releases that will be popular enough to keep the cash flowing. If so this is a bit of a shame especially when other players are taking a punt and releasing 1/32 B-17's, 1/48 U-Boat's and the like. A 1/350 Audacious Class carrier would be a clintcher for me or even just a modern tool of the 1/72 Vulcan. I'm not that fussed about a retool of kits made by other manufacturers where the quality was already well done (e.g. 1/48 Sea King) unless they really up the ante with features and schemes not seen before. Otherwise I'm happy for them to roll out a few aircraft if they at least come up with one new subject in their ships range. At the moment Airfix only has 1 kit listed in its warships catalogue - the 1/350 Illustrious - and they were the only company to develop this subject in that scale. If they did the same with an Audacious or even QE class or even a Type-42, all in 350, I'm pretty sure they would be a draw, a nice complement to other kits out there. I'd even go for a Centaur Class to have a Hermes alongside an Invincible. I'm not holding out much hope but keeping my fingers crossed.

[Wez]

1 minute ago, Nocoolname said:

I've yet to see the announcement of any 'knock-out' subject, either as a new kit or a re-tool. Perhaps as has already been suggested, they are trying to play it safe with a few releases that will be popular enough to keep the cash flowing. If so this is a bit of a shame especially when other players are taking a punt and releasing 1/32 B-17's, 1/48 U-Boat's and the like. A 1/350 Audacious Class carrier would be a clintcher for me or even just a modern tool of the 1/72 Vulcan. I'm not that fussed about a retool of kits made by other manufacturers where the quality was already well done (e.g. 1/48 Sea King) unless they really up the ante with features and schemes not seen before. Otherwise I'm happy for them to roll out a few aircraft if they at least come up with one new subject in their ships range. At the moment Airfix only has 1 kit listed in its warships catalogue - the 1/350 Illustrious - and they were the only company to develop this subject in that scale. If they did the same with an Audacious or even QE class or even a Type-42, all in 350, I'm pretty sure they would be a draw, a nice complement to other kits out there. I'd even go for a Centaur Class to have a Hermes alongside an Invincible. I'm not holding out much hope but keeping my fingers crossed.

 

Just goes to show how we're all different, the Phantom is a "Knock-out" subject for me and the Sea Fury and Walrus are very close behind.  So far I'm not seeing anything from other manufacturers which I'm looking forward to as much - although that may change!

[Nocoolname]

1 minute ago, Wez said:

 

Just goes to show how we're all different, the Phantom is a "Knock-out" subject for me and the Sea Fury and Walrus are very close behind.  So far I'm not seeing anything from other manufacturers which I'm looking forward to as much - although that may change!

I agree about the Phantom. In fact for me, the only danger is they make it so good that I consider switching my scale to 1/72  I think it also shows how spoilt we have been over recent years, which is both a surprise and a delight for a hobby that doomsayers had suggested would die out at the end of the 80's. The reason my stash is a 'stash' is as much to do with the choice and quality today as it is with my bank balance compared to when I was a kid. Aircraft, Sci-Fi, Ships and to the standards being pumped out by Airfix, AMK and many others.

[Wez]

1 minute ago, Nocoolname said:

I agree about the Phantom. In fact for me, the only danger is they make it so good that I consider switching my scale to 1/72  I think it also shows how spoilt we have been over recent years, which is both a surprise and a delight for a hobby that doomsayers had suggested would die out at the end of the 80's. The reason my stash is a 'stash' is as much to do with the choice and quality today as it is with my bank balance compared to when I was a kid. Aircraft, Sci-Fi, Ships and to the standards being pumped out by Airfix, AMK and many others.

 

You see I don't have that problem about things being in the wrong scale, I build what I want in whichever scale (although for reasons of space I tend to limit myself to 1/72nd or 1/48th).

 

Yes we are spoilt, a lot of the kits in my stash have been superseded by more modern kits, I just haven't got around to whittling out the older ones (much to Mrs Wez's chagrin).

[Nocoolname]

It's not a question of 'wrong scale' per se, but what my dwindling eyes and clumsy hands can work with. A well engineered 1/72 kit can come out better than a fiddly 1/48. It's the subject that generally rules with the only real constraint being space to display or store. My stash is a mix of many scales

[Wez]

4 minutes ago, Nocoolname said:

It's not a question of 'wrong scale' per se, but what my dwindling eyes and clumsy hands can work with. A well engineered 1/72 kit can come out better than a fiddly 1/48. It's the subject that generally rules with the only real constraint being space to display or store. My stash is a mix of many scales

 

Likewise, a problem I think applies to many of us.

[ricardoo]

Hi 

I'm a newbie here but airfix are doing well enough and there is so much they can bring out . The sea fury is a corker and if they do a 1/48 buccaneer they will nail it let's face us anyone else doing one ? Tanmodel pfff 

[Aeronut]

4 hours ago, snowen250 said:

What teaser showed a Sunderland? 

They released (on their FB page IIRC) a photo of a strut bolted to the hull of a flying boat, the Sunderland at Hendon requires such a modification as the public can walk through it. Now a Sunderland would also fit the "refresh the back catalogue" practice we've noticed Airfix adopting but it maybe its too close to the Italeri release for an 2017 release of a Sunderland by Airfix, 2018 on the other hand......

Its nice to see that the design team have managed to get to other museums as one of my comments to them at Telford was that they appeared to have spent too much time at Yeovilton when you look at their recent and future production (Phantom, Sea Fury, Walrus, Wildcat, Seaking).

[Nocoolname]

51 minutes ago, ricardoo said:

Hi 

I'm a newbie here but airfix are doing well enough and there is so much they can bring out . The sea fury is a corker and if they do a 1/48 buccaneer they will nail it let's face us anyone else doing one ? Tanmodel pfff 

Ah, I forgot the Buccaneer. Imagine if they gave it the Victor or the FG.1 treatment? An absolute winner for sure! 

[Wez]

12 minutes ago, Nocoolname said:

Ah, I forgot the Buccaneer. Imagine if they gave it the Victor or the FG.1 treatment? An absolute winner for sure! 

 

Especially in 1/72nd, I might buy just the one in 1/48th but in 1/72nd I'd have to have at least 8!

[Gwart]

A new tooling B-25 C/D in 1/72nd scale would be fantastic.

Edited December 4, 2016 by Gwart

[speedbird]

2 hours ago, Gwart said:

A new tooling B-25 C/D in 1/72nd scale would be fantastic.

I agree.. I have the old frog and Airfix kits both of which can produce reasonable representations of the real thing, but I really don't want to have to work that hard. A new modern tool would sort all that out and I really do hope it's on the cards and we're not barking up the wrong tree.

[Plastic Bonsai]

4 hours ago, Aeronut said:

... as one of my comments to them at Telford was that they appeared to have spent too much time at Yeovilton when you look at their recent and future production (Phantom, Sea Fury, Walrus, Wildcat, Seaking).

Not a problem as far as I'm concerned!

 

B-25 is a nice choice, many air forces and the Doolittle anniversary next year.

 

A 1/48th model of the Grob Tutor would be nice too.

[Denford]

5 hours ago, Aeronut said:

Its nice to see that the design team have managed to get to other museums as one of my comments to them at Telford was that they appeared to have spent too much time at Yeovilton when you look at their recent and future production (Phantom, Sea Fury, Walrus, Wildcat, Seaking).

Don't be surprised at Airfix for concentrating on Yeovilton (or anywhere else similar).

 

Firstly LIDAR is a long, slow, boring process.  Almost impossible during the day as people will walk past, break the beam and stir up dust: also sight of the operation is 'open to all' and by the next morning every Britmodeller will know what Airfix is working on.  So it has to be done 'after hours'.  Sadly Museums, like everyone else, have to protect their property and possessions with motion sensors alarmed doors etc and not all are keen to disable such protection for LIDAR work.

 

It makes sense, once there, to maximise what can be done.  Scanning by night, interviews and archive research by day: how was the exhibit 'altered' (and quite few were) before being put on display?  And of course a study of archive material some of which has never been published: I can, from personal experience, say that Yeovilton has quite a bit of this!  From this, never mind the distance from home, it makes sense to LIDAR anything and everything on the 'shopping list' and maybe show up a few potential problems early on.  The LIDAR equipment is hired and longer hire is more economic.

 

So it's off to Yeovilton for whatever time, returning with a Hard Drive bulging with data.  But sooner or later someone will say  'All that time spent at Yeovilton cost the company £xK  -  when do we see a return (ie kit sales) for it?  So there's an incentive to produce a good selection of toolings from the visit.  Consider too what they might have LIDAR scanned and how much they have actually announced.

 

Though it makes sense to 'work over' museums etc 'in rotation' there will always be 'single subjects' visits eg the Norwegian Heinkel and Dutch B-25.  But there's another!  Last year I attended a talk by Simon Owen on researching and he had just returned / about to leave for West Coast USA.   When would the subject be on release?  Not till the end of the year after next.  We're about to find out what it was!

Edited December 4, 2016 by Denford
Minor corrections

[sniperUK]

5 hours ago, Aeronut said:

 

Its nice to see that the design team have managed to get to other museums as one of my comments to them at Telford was that they appeared to have spent too much time at Yeovilton when you look at their recent and future production (Phantom, Sea Fury, Walrus, Wildcat, Seaking).

 

Not all were researched at Yeovilton, Phantom was Duxford, Sea King was from operational RAF and RN cabs, the Walrus was I believe Hendon so no not too much time spent at the FAA Museum.

[Albeback52]

In their rush to assume there is a new B-25 kit on the horizon( ), everyone seems to have overlooked the conditional phrasing "presumably will be a new tooling". Personally, my money is on a new tool Red Herring Mk 1!

 

 

Allan

[Heraldcoupe]

13 hours ago, Aeronut said:

I'm becoming somewhat cynical about Airfix's teaser photos. One used previously showed the underside of the Sunderland at Hendon and what kit was the next to be announced?

 

I saw the picture in question, but I couldn't reconcile it to any images I've found of Hendon's Sunderland. It has supports, but none of them (that I can see) look like that,

 

Cheers,

Bill.

[snowen250]

7 hours ago, Aeronut said:

They released (on their FB page IIRC) a photo of a strut bolted to the hull of a flying boat, the Sunderland at Hendon requires such a modification as the public can walk through it. 

 

 

Sorry, but that isn't what that was. it's the wooden aerial surround from the bottom of an me262,  as was announced a few days later.

 

Its the aerial that fits to the bottom of the wing by one of the nacelles. 

 

Sunderland would be nice though. Also Airfix did not Lidar the walrus. as was explained on Workbench 

[Heraldcoupe]

7 minutes ago, snowen250 said:

 

 

Sorry, but that isn't what that was. it's the wooden aerial surround from the bottom of an me262,  as was announced a few days later.

 

Its the aerial that fits to the bottom of the wing by one of the nacelles. 

 

 

This one

[Dave Fleming]

Airfix have said that in general, they will only do subjects where they have access to either quality data and drawings or access to Lidar data. But they would also visit airframes to do further research.

 

as for a visit to the West Coast of the USA - North American archive/Boeing for information on the P51 and B25?

[Denford]

22 minutes ago, Dave Fleming said:

Airfix have said that in general, they will only do subjects where they have access to either quality data and drawings or access to Lidar data. But they would also visit airframes to do further research.

 

as for a visit to the West Coast of the USA - North American archive/Boeing for information on the P51 and B25?

Why go all the way to West Coast USA for P-51 or B-25 when they can be found in Europe?

[Class377fcc12]

If it is a Mig-21, it sit excellently alongside the new Phantom era-wise.

 

Rob

[VMA131Marine]

6 hours ago, Denford said:

  But there's another!  Last year I attended a talk by Simon Owen on researching and he had just returned / about to leave for West Coast USA.   When would the subject be on release?  Not till the end of the year after next.  We're about to find out what it was!

I wonder if he went to Planes of Fame at Chino or the Museum of Flight in Seattle. 

Planes of Fame is restoring a D3A1 Val to flight and has some other interesting items: He 162, ME 163, P-40N, MiG-21R, P-39N, P-80A, J2F-6, B-25J, AD-4N, RB-26C Invader, C-46, Bf 108, S.6b replica, SBD-5, TBM-3E.

The Museum of Flight has: Boeing 247D, B-17F, WB-47E, Concorde, Comet 4C, F-104C, SR-71, MiG-17, among others including a lot of WWI replicas.

[Patrick Martin]

Look at the list of Frog kits that have yet to be redone better in 1/72 (by mainstream) ... The marketing has already been done. 

Baltimore, Maryland, Skua, Shark, Beaufort, Scimitar, Attacker, Hotspur, Tempest ...