kev67 Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 If only Ford did redo the Mk1 Escort, I'd certainly buy one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Test Graham Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 The "sell against the competitors" argument hasn't stopped Airfix pushing out their awful old Il2, Beaufighter or Gladiator (to name but three), so I find an argument based on tool wear rather more convincing. I still haven't made the one I bought in 1980, so I can't judge that. I'd rather have a Halifax, especially after the terrible Revell release and the even worse Matchbox, but agree that they have to have a Lancaster in their range for commercial reasons. I do think that this Advent calendar is a masterstroke for Airfix, even if they did mess it up. Adds immensely to the gaiety of nations. Good for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 well, the old moulds are mostly written off, so why not sell a few models with good profit? Even if the kits are horrible - the profits are high, since the only costs are the box, instruction, decal sheet and a bit if styrene. If you want to sell a few thousand lancasters and have to distibute the development, design and tool cost over just a few kits, the calculation gets less exciting. So, I doubt that Airfix will release a newly tooled Lanc. But still, I would be happy if they did Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardtarget Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 They did indeed Keef, but wasn't that just a minor amendment -to the undercarriage door? It would take a lot more than a mould-tweak to correct the awful screw-ups on the Airfix Shars, but what do I know?Stranger things have happened! (And anyway I'm too busy working out the order of my list of Lightning F6 builds ...5 Sqn 1st I think.........) Which kit was the re-tooling boxing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seahawk Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 (edited) I do think that this Advent calendar is a masterstroke for Airfix, even if they did mess it up. Adds immensely to the gaiety of nations. Good for them. Agreed. Hats off to the imaginative and energetic Airfix PR and marketing team: they don't seem to miss a trick at the moment. Even if the advent calendar turns out to be pure disinformation! Edited December 4, 2012 by Seahawk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procopius Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 A thought I had...the "striking twice" with the photo of the Lightning...they wouldn't mean an F-35, would they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenko Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Have you ever thought that the guys at Airfix constantly view this forum and might like winding us up !!! April 1st. could be good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefr22 Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Agreed. Hats off to the imaginative and energetic Airfix PR and marketing team: they don't seem to miss a trick at the moment. Even if the advent calendar turns out to be pure disinformation! I think that kudos should go to Hornby, as they also have one for the main railway range, Scalextric & Corgi (at least, I don't know if they do any other ranges!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefr22 Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 A thought I had...the "striking twice" with the photo of the Lightning...they wouldn't mean an F-35, would they? They better bl**dy not, or I'll never buy an Airfix kit again (well, at least until they did do the proper Lightning &/or a Sea Vixen in the one true scale...!!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul A H Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Only Airfix know if sales of their Lancaster have taken a hit since the Revell kit hit the shelves. If they have though, then it would make sense for them to invest in a new tool in order to remain competitive. I have witnessed first hand a member of staff in my local model shop steering a buyer toward the Revell Lancaster instead of the Airfix kit. Graham, the comment about Airfix still re-releasing old kitsis fair enough, but there are relatively few direct competitors for the Beaufighter or Gladiator, at least. They certainly aren't losing sales to Hasegawa, who have an excellent Beaufighter but seem to be unwilling to actually put it into production. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Headroom Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 A thought I had...the "striking twice" with the photo of the Lightning...they wouldn't mean an F-35, would they? How is he world for decent 1/72 P-38's?? Just a thought Trevir Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff_B Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Only Airfix know if sales of their Lancaster have taken a hit since the Revell kit hit the shelves. If they have though, then it would make sense for them to invest in a new tool in order to remain competitive. I have witnessed first hand a member of staff in my local model shop steering a buyer toward the Revell Lancaster instead of the Airfix kit. Graham, the comment about Airfix still re-releasing old kitsis fair enough, but there are relatively few direct competitors for the Beaufighter or Gladiator, at least. They certainly aren't losing sales to Hasegawa, who have an excellent Beaufighter but seem to be unwilling to actually put it into production. Plus the Gladiator looks like it may just be in line for replacement by a new mould if the Advent calendar holds true along with the Typhoon & Fw-190D, if you notice they are swapping out regular old series 1 moulds that often appear as gift sets with new mould items. Its nice to see them doing this as it looks like the venerable Harrier GR1 and its revised GR3 version are both lined up for replacement as well. They are slowly getting there and the Lancaster is one of their mainstay kits so hopefully they are up for renewal (Only the Hasegawa is a new kit on the market, both of Revell's Lancasters replaced regular old moulds, as they have done with their FW-200 and some of their long in the tooth moulds). The Airfix Beaufighter is really due for a revamp, especially as the Hasegawa kit is so limited in its availability and it would be nice to see the Halifax and Stirling given the same treatment eventually. A thought I had...the "striking twice" with the photo of the Lightning...they wouldn't mean an F-35, would they? No i think they do mean to do a new EE Lightning as its ones that been long asked for, the Academy kit never appeared, the Trumpeter kits have got some serious shape issues and Revell just re-issued the hasegawa kits again so i guess they warrant replacing their very dated kit with a new mould to match the quality of their 48th kit. However an F-35 Lightning B in 1/72nd would be quite suitable, the Fujimi kit is a bit toy like and virtually unavailable outside of Japan, the UK has now got its first aircraft delivered and it would be in keeping upto date with the modern RAF & RN to have an F-35B kit in the range in the next year or so before somebody else beats them to it ! (On that point they should really have looked to doing a new Tornado GR4 kit and a decent Typhoon as both could do with matching the Harrier GR-9 standard !) G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul J Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 (edited) Re the Lanc, nice as the Revell is, the wheel tread area is not so good being a bit flat and the weak undercart legs among the other faults. Whereas the Airfix one is better in those respects. But we shall see. Bought a couple or three Revell ones and traded two of them in preferance to the older AFX one. Edited December 4, 2012 by Paul J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonymousAA72 Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 The point that a lot of us miss is simply this: To the vast majority of 'punters' Airfix IS plastic kits. When I had my shop, the Airfix Typhoon or P40e would sell better than the Academy kits for example. Airfix know their market-place, and surprise surprise, it ain't in the main a few hundred voiciferous MEH (Modellists/Enthusiasts/Hobbyists) on here. Saying that, they have catered for us MEH's - with differing degrees of success I suspect. (Sea Vixen on one side of the scales and Nimrod on the other). A brand new Lancaster would be welcomed by us MEH's and the General Public and would certainly earn Airfix money long after we've gone to the Great Modelling Site in the sky!! Now as an aside and as I'm veering off on a tangent here...A question about Airfix and their 1/72nd scale Hawk T1. They issued a new moulded kit a few years ago - which was generally okay (I actually preferred their old 1970's personally! Better undercarriage and stores). They then tweaked the tool (as posted on here earlier). Apparently this upgrade gave the kit finer recessed panellines, moulded in wing fences etc. Now why did Airfix do this? Was it from feedback from us MEH's or from Joe Public? Am I way off beam with the demographics?Were the original tools THAT bad? And as mentioned earlier, will they upgrade their SHARS accordingly? Though that would take a bit more than a tweak of the moulds. There are an awful lot of mistakes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonymousAA72 Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 I'm wondering if 3rd is another incarnation of the Swordfish? "Tauchen, Tauchen, Tauchen" is, more or less, "dive dive dive". John or a Ju 87? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lufbramatt Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Apparently this upgrade gave the kit finer recessed panellines, moulded in wing fences etc. Now why did Airfix do this? Was it from feedback from us MEH's or from Joe Public? Am I way off beam with the demographics?Were the original tools THAT bad? And as mentioned earlier, will they upgrade their SHARS accordingly? Though that would take a bit more than a tweak of the moulds. There are an awful lot of mistakes! More likely down to a production issue like a broken or lost tool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul A H Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 That's an excellent question. I emailed Airfix before I wrote my review just to check whether the Hawk really was a new tool and they confirmed it was (Their exact words: "Yes the 1:72nd scale Hawk has been reworked. The tooling has been adapted and altered") I too am curious as to the reasons for this. I wouldn't have thought it was done as a result of feedback from enthusiasts though, as the new kit is slightly simpler than the old one. It has a one piece canopy and wing fences are moulded in place. Who knows, perhaps someone just dropped the old tool? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardtarget Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 So are we saying that the Red Arrows boxing is the old tool then the new tool was the black hawk boxing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_jza80 Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 "Barnestorming" implies Barnes Wallace and low flying to me, so I'm guessing 8 is a new Dambusters Lanc. As for the Lightning, if they did a 1/24 one I'd clear my spare room out for it! I think it will be a 1/72 one though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bootneck Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 They better bl**dy not, or I'll never buy an Airfix kit again (well, at least until they did do the proper Lightning &/or a Sea Vixen in the one true scale...!!) The One True Scale? You mean 1:200 scale? . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 I thought that "Meh!" was just the curmudgeonly noises of us "enthusiasts" every time a new kit is released by anyone... They're never right afterall! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 So are we saying that the Red Arrows boxing is the old tool then the new tool was the black hawk boxing? The Red Arrows gift set I have in front of me is the newer tooling - one piece canopy etc. Very nice it is too. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefr22 Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 I thought that "Meh!" was just the curmudgeonly noises of us "enthusiasts" every time a new kit is released by anyone... They're never right afterall! And that's the most sensible post on this thread - can see why you're the boss Mike...!! k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewfl290 Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 "Barnestorming" implies Barnes Wallace and low flying to me, so I'm guessing 8 is a new Dambusters Lanc. .....and a BII? Would Airfix release two Lancs? It seems certain that a BII is coming and yet the Barnestorming clue does seem to point to a Dambuster release. Hmm, could be an interesting year. Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Wilson Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 A BII Lanc and a dambuster would make sense if Airfix were going to produce a new mould. They have released multiple variants before of larger kits at the same time, Lynx, Canberra etc. Most of us enthusiasts would buy one if it was any good. The BI/BIII has been in production recently and they would wait till most of them sold to the general public before releasing a new "standard" version. Which we'd probably all buy for the next 30 years. Personally I'd be all over a 1/72 BII but I'll wait for a release before I get too excited! Still dissappointed from the Revell Halifax. I must confess the Lightning doesn't have the effect on me it seems to on others. I'd still buy one in 1/72, a Sea Vixen would be much nicer. Stuart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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