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Old moulds for kits


walkerccw

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Hopefully this question will make sense. It has to do with the age of the moulds/tools and when the kit was made.

Let me use the following as an example.

 

Airfix 1/72 Mosquito

New tool 1957.

 

If I purchased a kit from 1957 compared to a kit from 2013, would the older kit be in "better" condition than the 2013 kit since the mould has been used so much?

 

I hope this makes sense.

 

Thanks,

Curt

 

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Makes perfect sense! :)

 

It stands to raeson the if the moulds were "new" the kit would be crisper (with less flash!) BUT the change in the plastic would also play a big part 57 plastic v's 2017 plastic).

 

not so long ago ii did the 1/48 airfix  mossie (the pr version) but built it as the fb.  Now that kit contains the (if i remember right) 1981 "black ruff" sprues and also a few "new" mould ones for the pr version.  I'm sure there was a difference in the plastic between the 2.

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The matter is clouded because the currently available Mosquito is not the one from 1957 but the one released in 1979.

 

In principle you are right: I recall buying Halifaxes in perhaps the 1980s, and being given an original by a friend.  The original was certainly sharper.  However later Airfix spend some time reworking the existing tools, and the kits coming out then were improved.  The Halifax is perhaps one of the comparatively few models of WW2 British subjects still available from its period that has not been completely retooled, though I'm sure others can add to the list - Beaufighter, Sunderland...

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Well I have the Airfix brand new box from 1974 of the 1/72 Spitfire Vb and the latest Issue.  The original bright blue plastic from 1974 is very crisp, comparatively the newer moulding isn't quite as good, perhaps a bit soft, but still better than other new moulded Classic Airfix - yes, Airacobra I'm looking at you.

The old kit came with a stand but the new one has better and fresh decals.

The artwork on the '74 Vb wins, of course.

 

Cheers

Will

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 Airfix are said to have retired their 1959 Wellington III, which was in continuous production for 40 years, because the mould was worn out. At about the same time, they stopped using their 1962 B-17 mould (which had also been in use without a break) and sold the Academy B-17 in an Airfix box for a while. A model shop owner told me that the quality of the shots produced from the moulds for their Tiger (1964) and Panther (1961) tanks is now so abysmal that he won't stock the kits.

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AWF , ciao,a question:

 

 

" the mould was worn out."  ..means?

 

in italian sounds "lo stampo era vestito via" but obviously one can't trnaslatign literally :) simply i try difficult attempt the meaning in the economy of the quote (probalbly means something as "the mould was so "tired " that was kicked off"?)

 

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3 hours ago, malpaso said:

Well I have the Airfix brand new box from 1974 of the 1/72 Spitfire Vb and the latest Issue.  The original bright blue plastic from 1974 is very crisp, comparatively the newer moulding isn't quite as good, perhaps a bit soft, but still better than other new moulded Classic Airfix - yes, Airacobra I'm looking at you.

The old kit came with a stand but the new one has better and fresh decals.

The artwork on the '74 Vb wins, of course.

 

Cheers

Will

Yes,the Airacobra hasn't stood the test of time.Indeed,some of the older production kits are far better than more recent issues.BV141 I'm looking at you!!! 

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2 hours ago, italian intruder said:

AWF , ciao,a question:

 

 

" the mould was worn out."  ..means?

 

in italian sounds "lo stampo era vestito via" but obviously one can't trnaslatign literally :) simply i try difficult attempt the meaning in the economy of the quote (probalbly means something as "the mould was so "tired " that was kicked off"?)

Typically I think what happens is after so many times of joining the mold (mould? ;) ) halves together the holes for the alignment pins get enlarged, making for a sloppier joining of the two halves, as well as after so many times of clamping molds together and injecting the plastic I would imagine the repeated heating and cooling of the molds could allow warping to take place. Happy to be corrected if I am wrong.

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Also the continual injecting of molten plastic wears the steel- think of the effect of water dripping on stone over decades. Just a little every time - perhaps less than the thickness of an atom, but add them up over the years.....

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15 hours ago, Graham Boak said:

 The Halifax is perhaps one of the comparatively few models of WW2 British subjects still available from its period that has not been completely retooled, though I'm sure others can add to the list - Beaufighter, Sunderland...

 

Did you miss the 2015 Airfix Beaufighter? It's lovely.

The Lysander, Battle, Anson and Welington could usefully be done anew.

 

On the subject of the original post, when I want to build a kit that first appeared more than a decade ago, I generally try to find an early example unless I know the tooling has been corrected or improved in some other way. Of course if the kit is still available the modern decals are far superior to the sheets produced in the 1960s and 1970s, but most of us will be able to use aftermarket decals anyway.

Edited by Work In Progress
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15 hours ago, italian intruder said:

AWF , ciao,a question:

 

 

" the mould was worn out."  ..means?

 

in italian sounds "lo stampo era vestito via" but obviously one can't trnaslatign literally :) simply i try difficult attempt the meaning in the economy of the quote (probalbly means something as "the mould was so "tired " that was kicked off"?)

 

Hi II,

Silverkite and Nigel have explained better than I could but this may be of interest:

 

http://www.myplasticmold.com/causes-of-wear-and-damage-of-plastic-mold.html

 

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I've had some success filling with PVA. Specifically Gators Grip. Had a Revell F4F with a short shot canopy. Filled and carefully applied a mask. Given its age it came out quite well. 

 

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