1/72 Hobbycraft Avro Arrow new tooling

[Lazlo Woodbine]

Hi

Can anyone point me in the direction of where to get the new tooling of the Avro Arrow, the one in the black box with a type of CAD drawing on it, preferably in the UK

Thanks

Gary

[72modeler]

I have both the original and revised HC kits and the revised issue is a definite improvement! The revised kit is almost impossible to find, it seems, but I found this one- a bit pricey, though! Sorry I can't be of more help! MMD (Squadron) shows the kit, but out of stock- you might try contacting them to see if they anticipate getting any more. Good luck. IMHO it is a travesty this outstanding interceptor was never placed into production!

Mike

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/301112170013?lpid=82

[Paul J]

I managed to get one sent to me from Canada at no great expense BUT not from a shop. Maybe you could contact one of our Canadian members here and see if they can source one and get it sent to you. Could turn out a bit cheaper! I've one in my to do pile!

[Lazlo Woodbine]

Hi

Thanks for replying, will look into it

Cheers

Gary

[niki]

Hi Gary,

I was facing the same problem as you back in the summer of 2012: being "stationed" in Europe and wanting a new Avro Arrow.

A fine chap from ARC directed me to a hobby shop on the other side of the Pond:

Hornet Hobbies
Toronto's Hobby Store
For All Your Aftermarket Modelling Products
416-755-4878
www.hornethobbies.ca

I did drop an email at their stated address ([email protected]) and a very nice lady (Trish) got back to me and I was finally able to obtain the object of desire. Price was 30 Dollars for the kit and about 23 Dollars for P&P to this easterly corner of Europe.

It's been a while since then, but lacking alternatives an inquiry email would not harm

Cheers,

Niki

[Lazlo Woodbine]

Niki

Thanks for the reply, will check with them.

Gary

[aerofan]

Gary, It is even hard to acquire from the LHS in Canada too. You do know it's a scaled down 1/48 HC1659 CF-105 "new tooled" (actually retooled HC1651/1658) Arrow. So any problems found on that is also scaled down to 1/72. If you're looking the best one in 1/72 and not afraid of vacuforms then the Astra one is the way to go. Those are also hard to get now but one shows up on ebay from time to time. There's also the VP vacuform one which does has a major shape problem on the lower aft end of the fuselage - not curving up like seen in photos and diagrams of the real aircraft which even the old Aurora toy one got right. To get a truly accurate Arrow, you'd have to combine the Astra, VP and HC1393. Just a thought. Have you contacted Hobbycraft for the availability of one? It might be worth a try.

[IanHx]

Don't know where you'd find one in the UK.

I got one (HCC1393) from www.elmcityhobbies.com but it's now showing out of stock -

if you emailed [email protected] he might be able to advise when next available ?

[Lazlo Woodbine]

Thanks, I've got the VP vac form, I'll keep an eye out for the Astra one, you would think it would be easier to get hold of one as every Canadian is required to know about the Arrow ;-)

Gary

[aerofan]

Hi Gary, not today as with the younger generation it's just something like the typewriter to them. Hobbycraft is basically running on fumes when it comes to finance and economics so they only produce when there is a large enough demand. Unfortunately for the Arrow that demand is small. If it were something like Spitfires, Me 109 and such, we'd see HC1393 on the shelves as we speak.

I saw a Maritimer selling an Astra on ebay a few weeks back but haven't seen it now so not sure if it sold. Keep checking and if you do get one, it has a shape issue with the nose. As you can see each has a problem of it's own and that's why I recommend combining the good parts of all three to make one exceptional 1/72 scale Avro CF-105 Arrow Mk.1 or just buy the 1/72 scale diecast which is very nice and void of any major issues. Well, any that I'm not aware about.

Another note is that I found it strange why VP had the upper wing halves in 3 pieces. The middle part is a pain to sand down because there is an anhedral. You'll find that the Astra one is like the Hobbycraft in construction or to be correct the Hobbycraft one breakdowns almost the same way as the Astra one. One excellent thing about the Astra one is that the leading edge can be correctly built like the real aircraft as per the instructions. Something that would cost quite a bit on a steel mold tooling which of course is another problem with HC1393.

If you don't have it yet, I recommend the Avro Arrow book by the Arrowheads for reference. Better is to get some of the Arrow Alliance books too but they're OOP and are very expensive now. These books will help especially if you want to make the Arrow with the type 1 or type 1a exhaust cone and that's another story all by itself.

Good luck in you search for an Astra one and if you do have any questions about those Arrow kits, just send me a pm. Cheers.

Edited March 30, 2014 by aerofan

[DavidWinter]

If you haven't found one already, Panther Hobbies in Toronto has a bunch in stock.

http://www.pantherhobbies.com/

(caution, turn your speakers off, the web designer of that site thinks it's a good idea to play sounds without user input)

Once you find yourself the kit, I sell replacement decal sheets for it at www.canuckmodels.com

With a little extra effort around the intakes, the new kits build up nicely.

I have a full build log here: http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?showtopic=249877

thanks

David

Edited April 3, 2014 by DavidWinter

[aerofan]

David, nice to see your completed Arrow here. Did you finally get an Astra one yet ? Sorry I couldn't help with your fundraising to make tooling molds for a Canadair Argus a few years back. Was and still in a rough patch.

Gary, as seen in Dave's Arrow pic, you'll notice that HC1393 has the type 1a exhaust cone. This would indicate that the Arrow was near the middle to end of the 1st test phase just before cancellation. The difference between the type 1 and 1a are very evident in photos. Much harder to spot in the Arrowhead book but much more prevalent in the Arrow Alliance ones. JYI, the type 1a was used to check the ground clearance on rotate (takeoff) and flare (landing) for any problems that would be encounter before the Arrow Mk.2 took it's maiden flight which sadly never happened. Very clever of the engineers to do this. The Iroquois was more longer than the J-75 which is why it was smart to test the clearance issue with a Mk.1.

Edited April 3, 2014 by aerofan

[Lazlo Woodbine]

Thanks for all your help, I think I've managed to get one and will be ordering the decals next month I also need them in 1/48 as well. Have got the Arrowheads book too

Thanks

Gary

[thomastmcc]

Thanks for all your help, I think I've managed to get one and will be ordering the decals next month I also need them in 1/48 as well. Have got the Arrowheads book too

Thanks

Gary

where did you get it mate ?.

thomas

[DavidWinter]

David, nice to see your completed Arrow here. Did you finally get an Astra one yet ? Sorry I couldn't help with your fundraising to make tooling molds for a Canadair Argus a few years back. Was and still in a rough patch.

Yeah, I'd hoped the Argus would have had more traction but sadly no. I still think it would be a fantastic kit and more interesting than yet another obscure BF-109 variant.

I do have one Astra kit tucked away in my special stash of security house-elf protected kits. I've spoken at length with Hugh, the owner of Astra models and sadly he has no more kits around and the tooling is gone. So if anyone ever sees on on eBay or at shows, grab it! They've become a very endangered species.

David

[aerofan]

Yeah all I need is another Bf-109 variant kit like I need a . Too bad it's the large profit$ that companies see and do I really need to have all the different releases of a particular aircraft that seems to be how Hasegawa like to keep their molds fresh on the LHS shelves. If I want a particular marking, I'll go aftermarket because it will be more correct than the Hasegawa issued decals.

I've spoken to Hugh may times in the past but mostly about how a nameless company made an injection kit of one of this vacuform kit with a little minor errors, not the Arrow. Didn't know that he doesn't have the tooling for the 1/72 Arrow anymore. That's a shame as it was and still is the best one in that scale or any scale. With resin bits it would be a better seller than Hobbycraft's.

I'll hop on over to ARC as I haven't been there for sometime.