RussellE

Things seem very quiet on the Airfix front at the moment after their "big" releases of the 1/24 Hellcat and the 1/48 Blenheim, with only 3 (?) new tools in development (1/72 Buccaneer, Mig 17 and a 1/48 Tiger Moth) with a bunch of "tweaked" kits to fill the void, so it must be time to start speculating again on this thread on what new tools will be announced for next years range, given that Crimbo is only just around the corner...😯 Something that probably gives Airfix management many sleepless nights, their forum moderators endless amusement and which I've ironically very little interest in: a new tool 1/72 Avro Vulcan! 😊

Nah, I'm referring to the Merit International that released the 1/350 Ark Royal, 1/350 USS Enterprise etc... That's the Merit I'm referring to! 🧐

Hi Michael couldn't be "years and years ago" surely, as their most recent release was around 2016 if memory serves? 🤔 Well that's too bad if they went out of business. 😢 Scalemates shows a couple of their offerings have since been re-packaged by other brands, EG Hobby Boss have released the 1/200 Mikasa and Trumpeter the 1/350 Kittyhawk. Does anyone know what happened to the rest of Merit's ship series?

Hi all not sure if this topic is in the correct area (admins, please move if required) but looking at Merit's website yesterday and I noticed that they're no longer listing any of their own brand kits. Does anyone know if they're still producing their own, or have they stopped? Russ

This is the builder's model of Illustrious? Ah I've been hunting for that for a while. Being an Antipodean dweller, it's a been a challenge. One time I dragged my wife all the way to NMM in Greenwich just to see the 1/48 scale builder's model of HMS KGV! LOL! I'd second that! Fantastic work Ian. Great to see these two rendered nicely at this larger scale.

Mike, excuse my ignorance, but what is the model at Yeovilton, you are referring to?

Watching with a great deal of interest, Ian, as Illustrious per 1940 Taranto raid is top of my most wanted list!

Congratulations on a very fine build of this great kit! 😎 Thank you for sharing!

Ah, the one true scale 😁

Sorry, my mistake. £35 is around $65 Australian, so not quite so lucrative as I'd thought. Still, around 50% more than going rates here, but not enough to make me want to move country! Egg on my face, hey? LoL! BTW, $10k USD sounds about right.

Sorry my mistake. But heck, it's still 50% more than we're getting here!!!

As a product designer with 23 years experience under my belt as lead designer at a tool room that manufactures injection molding tools for the plastics industry, I've been following this thread with some amusement. But no comment has amazed me more than this one!!! Now, I wouldn't have thought inflation that bad in the UK, nor that Australia is such a backwards nation (BTW, we're not, FWIW 😉) but a £35/hr rate works out at roughly $135AUD/hr! This equates to more than 3 times what I'm paid with all my years of experience & qualifications!! So, if there's a job opening you know of, sign me up! I'm off to buy my airline ticket, and pack my bags for the UK, because that figure of £35/$135AUD would undoubtedly be irresistible and put me in the income realm of specialist doctors, surgeons & lawyers!! $$$ Ok, scratch what I said above. £35 is more like $65AUD. Egg on my face, hey? LoL!!

me too 😀

does anyone know if the "C" has been released yet? 🤔

nice choice of topic Jamie. Following with interest. Good to see some RN cruisers getting the IM attention...

That bow doesn't seem to match the pics at all... Think I'll be sticking with my Minicraft 1/350 kit of the Titanic! Lord knows where I'd put a 1/200 let alone trying to hide it from "her indoors"! 😂 And still no sign of Trumpeter's 1/350 Rodney/Nelson 🤔 They've been in the catalogue for a few years now but still no sign of them 🙄

Well, while they're at it, why not retool the 109 as well? Would make sense to have new tools of each at around the same time 😀 Panel lines on the spit are huge BTW 😎

Why break tradition? I'll play along again😛 Since it seems Airfix are abandoning WW2 topics in 1/72 I suspect 2020 will be another lean year for the one true scale for those of us who do admire WW2 a/c. But here's my guesses in 1/72 anyway: Ju88a to fill the gap in their BoB line up. B24 consolidated liberator to finish off the allied 4 engined heavies. HP Hampden, to close the 2 engined gap. And maybe, just maybe a Lysander, seeing the nicely restored one now at Duxford, although I suspect if recent form is anything to go by Airfix will opt for 1/48😣 And here's what I'd also like to see in 1/72 from Airfix: The magnificent 1/48 scale walrus down scaled to 1/72! Hawker Tempest, mk II and V New tooled Spitfire MkI-yep, why not And while we're at it, did I mention the walrus? 😁

When it comes to aircraft I build almost exclusively in 1/72 with one exception: new tool 1/24 kits. So YES I'll be getting an Airfix Hellcat to sit front & centre with my bubble top Typhoon! 😃😓

Nicely played, Airfix, nicely played. Didn't see that coming at all. A surprising yet welcome choice all the same that raises several interesting questions. Surprising because: it's in a theatre that Airfix have not previously released a 1/24 kit in before (the Pacific); it's use by only 3 air forces with only 2? main variants limits the number of boxing's able to be got from this tooling, ( honestly I thought a P40 was in line for the 1/24 treatment given the large number of operators, number of variants and it's operational history). Welcome because: it has no real direct competition, (which is good because its success helps everyone's favorite model company); the subject matter is a superlative fighter from the PTO; it's a topic that appeals to the largest market on Earth (the US). The questions it raises are: 1. If the rumours are true that the CAD was ready to go in 2014 then that means it only takes around 18 months to prep a 1/24 design, given its proximity to 2013's Typhoon. Accordingly if the new CEO was the one who secured the funds for the tooling, does this then mean Airfix could in theory, release a new 1/24 kit every 24~36 months? 2. If it's a success & HH return to profit does that mean a new 1/24 kit sooner rather than later? 3. With this foray into the PTO what can we expect from Airfix next? A Corsair perhaps? The aforementioned P40? A Zero? Consequently being an Aussie of British descent, would I buy one? Initially, I was luke warm to the idea, but given the Typhoon was a game changer for Airfix, & this kit looks to be a step up again, I am certain it will be added to my collection in the not too distant future. Finally, my hopes are still for a new tool 1/24 Spitfire MkI or IX in the not too distant future, because, yes I am one of those modellers who refuses to fix up old kit when there's newer & better to be had, like the F6F and Typhoon!

Looking the "business" Beefy! Really like the oerlikons and the 4 barrel pom-poms 😎

One thing comes to mind, that no-one seems to have mentioned yet is a Ju88 in 1/72. A new tool kit is the only thing missing from their BoB line up....?? One thing's for certain: Airfix will be over the moon at how much interest this thread's generated! Hi guys! We know you're reading! 🤗

Oh this is a fun thread 😎 Amazing how speculation on what the next Airfix kit will be can generate so much buzz (13 pages and counting!) But, why is there such a "hang up" on topics from the "museum of flight"? Just cos Airfix were there scanning stuff doesn't mean that's what the release will be, or the one that will be announced at Telford 😜 But having said that: I think we're all missing the Curtiss P40N Warhawk/Kittyhawk Mk IV, they have at the Museum of flight... Could that be Airfix's next 1/24 release? There were lots of operators (USAAF, DAF, RA, RAAF, RNZAF, Soviets, RCAF) so there's a huge potential market/markings, it's the most produced variant, 5220 units, lots of sub-variants which only require minor variations in the tooling... big operational history in North Africa.... hmmm Then of course, there's the Yak-9 they have-imagine that in 1/24!

I also note they have a Spitfire MkIX and a Yak 9! Btw, isn't there already a 1/24 P47?

Whatever it is, I hope: it's hugely successful for Airfix; sells by the container loads and allows Airfix to go releasing new kits into the future. Ok, now that the serious business is out of the way, one could be forgiven it's either going to be big, as in size wise (1/24) or big, as in actual aircraft big. So, based on my earlier misgivings if it's big (1/24) then my heart says its a new tool Spitfire IX (ducks for cover), allowing ensuing variants in coming years. if on the other hand it's big (a/c) then one of the following: Ju88a; HP Hampden; and last but not least a B-24 liberator... Sorry salty folks, I don't think there'll be any any 1/350 QE this year... but 1/700... hmmm???