VMA131Marine

Trumpeter does the battleship in WWII configuration, but a WWI version would be nice. It would be fairly easy to build the other units as well (Barham, Malaya, Warspite, Valiant) as the differences between them were not so great in WWI. The aircraft carrier would be good too but I suspect that Airfix would probably do it in 1/700 first. It would still be a decent size even in that scale - 40.5cm (16 inches) long. A 1/350 kit would be 81cm - double obviously - (31.9 inches) long and probably cost well north of 100 quid.

I agree that the perception of a problem maybe bigger than the problem itself. But that's no less of a problem. If you see what I'm saying!

To be fair, we don't actually know the defect rate. We assume it's higher than typical because it seems to disproportionately affect the new releases and people immediately post here about it, but the Revell kits I've bought have had their share of issues, including a short shot fuselage on the recent Tornado F.3.

In the pre-Hornby days, Airfix had an extensive stock of kits, including kits long out of production, that they were able to use to provide spare parts. Many people will recall dealing with the fabulous Rita who filled requests for spares and replacements. But Hornby no longer has its own warehouse space; instead they use a third party to receive kits from the moulding company, package them up, and then ship them out to retail and wholesale customers. That means they only have access to parts of kits that are in stock at the time of the request. There has been a significant downgrade in the quality of service from what we were used to, but it is also a significant cost savings to Airfix. If I were in Airfix management, I would be seriously concerned about the bad PR from these duff kits. It's hard to tell what fraction of any given kit is bad but the problems with the Sea Fury fin and cowling certainly seemed to overshadow the positives about what is otherwise a super kit. And I can go back and look at other brand new releases that had significant problems: the Swift with the ejector pin problem, cracked canopies on the 1/24 Typhoon, warped landing gear parts on the Do17Z, and other things I have probably forgotten. When taken together, these things give the impression of a company not in effective control of its supply chain. I cannot recall ever getting a Hasegawa or Tamiya kit with short shot parts. That's the standard Airfix needs to be aiming for.

I knew there was a reason I sold the Hallam Vac Twin Pioneer I had. I could definitely be tempted by one of these.

That seems to have the armoured canopy of the A-8/R2

I suppose we should be thankful they picked an accurate kit to rip-off instead of using dodgy plans. It certainly isn't the first time they've done that; the HobbyBoss 1/48 Mirage III is a clone of the Eduard kit.

Hasegawa has done the Typhoon (EFA) in 1/72. It's nicer than the Revell kit(s).

Airfix badly needs to replace the EFA Typhoon kit it is currently selling. I don't believe it is at all representative of production aircraft, being based on the prototype. You would have a better chance with Hasegawa on the C-2 and P-1.

Why are you putting the Wingnut Wings Camel interior into the Academy kit

The HobbyBoss kit is not better. The shape and fit of the canopy alone is reason enough to avoid it.

People forget about the Tamiya kits because they are around 20-years old now. I believe the main issue is the shape of the wing but it's certainly not something that most people would notice and parts like the canopy/windshield, propeller, and wheels are done much better than the new Revell kit. Unless I'm mistaken, the 1/72 Vb has the Vokes and Aboukir tropical filters included as well.

This response from Revell customer service is stunning in its inaccuracy. The new Spit Vb has not a single part in common with the 1996 version.

To quote Will Smith in the original Independence Day movie, "I have got to get me one of these!" https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/7244c050-bc0a-4c8e-ac2f-f83853ffafcb/gif

This seems like something Special Hobby might tackle eventually. They've done the DC-2 and B-18, and eventually we will see their Sunderland, so it would be well within their moulding capabilities. however, the price might end up being quite a bit higher than £30.