Jump to content

De Havilland Vampire T.11 - 1:72 Airfix


Paul A H

Recommended Posts

MMMMMMmmmmmmm seems we have a rubbishy kit.........glareing engine blades which when built cannot be seen and are the wrong type; .........panel lines as deep as the somme trenches, wrong bulge on nose, tut tut disgusting, especially at the exorbident cost of £7.....unheard of.... ................................. In Model Railways and Armour modelling we have "rivet counters", they are not content to admire the hard work and effort put into the making of somebodies work of art but instead they spend hours looking ato find fault, be it paint shade, dimensions, spacing between components and even the settings of dioramas. Here we have Airfix filling a gap in history of an aircraft long awaited for. Why not pick flies with other manufacturers attempts at vampires...............there are many, double the price far worse with hardly any panel lines, some wavy, cockpit glazing 3 times thicker than Airfix's, some with no decals, others with twisted or distorted resin parts, no cockpit detail. Everytime a new kit comes out, the "rivet counters" are over it like a shot. The only shortfall with this kit is that there are not enough of them!!! As fast as they reach the shops they are sold.......they rarely reach the shelves..........Same thing happened with the Vixen, Valiant, New Lightning.......the "River Counters" cant wait to shoot them down. Best thing is, if you have noticed, they find fault with it, then they say that its really a good kit and most the faults can be ignored!!!! Whats that all about? Why fault the kit then say its a really good kit. The keen modeller will find few faults, those he does find he will work around or add to..............is this what modellings about? having fun, testing your mind, searching forums for answers, googling for details and color schemes, improving your skills, conferring with one another and at the end, ending up with your own scale built replica aircraft that you never expected to build as no kit manufacturer would commit funds to a project as risky as modelling.............after all its all x-box, Wii now

Good of Airfix to take the risk..........dont forget, the VAmpire T11 is also the Sea VAmpire T22.......look at the variations already unfolding.........watch the rivet counters now suddenly jump on me stating the vast difference between the 2 marks

Rant over...................please enjoy the modelling................I am still looking for my mojo, but I do like to read about ppls kit builds and the fun and difficulties they are having

Raymond

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I thought this was BritMODELLER so use your skills and don't expect perfection from an £8 kit. If you can't use your skills to overcome the alleged faults perhaps it time you took up another hobby. From my point of view its a little cracker and well done to Airfix for it.(The last one I built with my Father was chunks of balsa and a plan in the 1950's)

Not really a rant but just to show you how far we have come in our hobby.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I thought this was BritMODELLER so uld use use your skills and don't expect perfection from an £8 kit. If you can't use your skills to overcome the alleged faults perhaps it time you took up another hobby. From my point of view its a little cracker and well done to Airfix for it.(The last one I built with my Father was chunks of balsa and a plan in the 1950's)

Not really a rant but just to show you how far we have come in our hobby.

Well, if the last Airfix kit you built was "with my Father was chunks of balsa and a plan in the 1950's" (& as far as I was aware Airfix never did that type of 'kit' anyway) then you can't be aware of the the progress they themselves have made in their more recent releases, particularly in the finesse of their surface details & which, IMO (& as this is a discussion forum I believe I'm entitled to express it) has made the Vampire a retrograde step - at least in that aspect. The thing is I'm getting tired of reading posts stating that I should 'use my skills' to fix these things or shut up, and to bow down & heap praise on the likes of Airfix for whatever they produce. Yes, I do have the skills to fix it, but I choose not to - I'll employ those skills building the CMR resin kit I have instead. I don't recall anyone stating we should expect 'perfection' from Airfix in their £8 kits, but what we should be able to expect is at least when they've shown they can reach a certain standard to at least maintain that standard. And they should also be able to at least attain the standards other kit manufactures reached in their '£8 kits' 15 -20 years ago!

keef

Link to comment
Share on other sites

LOL... seven pages on a £8 1/72 kit... I've not bought one yet but intend to at Southern Expo... I will have fun building it and will happily display it at shows and won't give a thought about accuracy... IMO, there is no such thing anyway at least not at these prices.

I love when some builders buy a kit then buy resin cockpits/intakes/etc, PE parts. vacform canopies, white metal undercarriges and after market decal sets..spending twice what the original kit cost.... they do make for wonderfully insightful WIP's... long may such model builders continue... but it's not for me personally... but is someone wants to super detail an £8 Airfix Vampire kit I will be the first to cheer them on.

Our hobby needs all extremes of modeller from the novice to the master, so less bickering and more building is what we really need...

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My sentiments exactly Sean, what is the point? I've just built the Gnat (see elsewhere on the site 'My first build for the Year') and it has all the 'faults' mentioned above but once built it looks a little treaure.

So when my two Vampires arrive on Tuesday via my Sister in law I'll build them as I did with the Gnat 'Out of the Box'. No resin, no PE no nothing excepting some seat belts from maskimng tape and what I'm provided with in the box. So when it turns out a little gem, I'll be please to add it to my collection.

Colin

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The nose wheel bulge is the floor is completely accurate!

Disagree.

I stuck my head in our T-22, (XA-101 873/NW) the arch is there but nowhere near as pronounced as Airfix have made it.

Still its so close to the seats nobody is going to see it after the fuselage is done up.

While I'm at it, the detail on the engine face is incorrect but for 1/72nd scale big frikkin woop.

All the carry on about the compressor face and not a one noted the fact that you can only see one

side of the compressor in a Goblin because there is a dirty great big fairing in the middle for the extension

shaft from the compressor to the wheel cases and Airfix didnt include it.

Might pay to actually look at the real thing first huh?

Edited by venomvixen
Link to comment
Share on other sites

While I'm at it, the detail on the engine face is incorrect but for 1/72nd scale big frikkin woop.

Yes, those who have the kit in their hands will know you can't actually see down the intakes to the compressor face anyway. Might even be worth using a matt black blanking plate instead (no more inaccurate, after all!) and saving the compressor face moulding for a more deserving cause when it is visible. In the meantime full credit to Airfix for including full intake trunking (which is visible).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just recieved one in the post as part of trade here on BM. I can't see what all fuss is about, it looks like a cracking little kit, crisply mounded, no flash well detailed anfd tow decal optioionf for less than 7 Quid. I may even have it built by the weekend and then I've got another two arriving tomorrow! How lucky am I?

Colin

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just recieved one in the post as part of trade here on BM. I can't see what all fuss is about, it looks like a cracking little kit, crisply mounded, no flash well detailed anfd tow decal optioionf for less than 7 Quid. I may even have it built by the weekend and then I've got another two arriving tomorrow! How lucky am I?

Colin

Couldn't agree more!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry If I did not make myself clear of course it was not an Airfix kit. The first one I made was the Spitfire BT K like I would image most on here of a certain age would have given their two bob in woolies for one!

I dread to think what it looked like when completed but it hooked me on the hobby for life!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Picked one of these up at Modelzone last week. Well what a disappointment! I've been modelling for damn near 55 years and Airfix still can't get it right! Invisible turbine front is invisible, huge panel lines clearly visible through the magnifier, nose wheel bulge in the floor is all wrong. I spent hours shaking it and shouting at it but to no avail. It flatly refused to build and paint itself into a perfect replica exact in every detail.

It was with a sigh of resignation that I accepted that I was going to have to employ the modelling skills gathered from many years of passion for my hobby. Well to cut a not very long story short, a few sessions at the bench, it's finished and I have to admit it looks like just like a T11! Who'd have thought?

Chill guys. It's just a model and it's just a hobby. Nobody died!

Edited by KeithBurrage
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So bad I've got three of them!!!!

Colin

me too (or should that be me three)?

If there were some alternative decals available I'd have bought more.

Wez

Edited by Wez
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So bad I've got three of them!!!!

Clearing the shelves of this dreadful kit so that others don't have to put up with its awfulness... very public spirited of you! :lol:

If there were some alternative decals available I'd have bought more.

It's only a matter of time. I wonder what Xtradecal have in the pipeline. In the meantime, can any of the single-seat options from Modeldecal sheets 100 and 101 be adapted?
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I see this kit is so bad Hannants have now sold out!!!

Just managed to get one, anyone know if anyone does Irish decals for this one?

Julien

Sold out again? That means that they sold more than 50 kits. Amazing, since it's unbuildable, apparently! ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've done my best to rid the world of this travesty, unfortunately I've only been

able to get one. To make matters worst it only came with sheep f........... sorry....

Kiwi decals :shutup:

Baa...... you bad girl you :evil_laugh: glad to see you are working on getting this off the shelves down under :winkgrin:

It's only a matter of time. I wonder what Xtradecal have in the pipeline. In the meantime,

That will mean I have to buy more of these "unbuildable" kits :weep:

Julien

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Isn't the new unbuildable Airfix Hawker Typhoon due to be released shortly?

Hi Chaddy, it might be that terrible they dare not comment on it!!!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
×
×
  • Create New...