Airfix 1/24 Hawker Typhoon on the flight line...

[davidelvy]

Airfix decided a long time ago that they were not going to enter the 1/32 aircraft market and for many years had 1/24 to themselves. They sell fewer units, but at a higher price and it's a flagship range which is as much about prestige as profit. A 1/32 kit would sell better, but then again so would one in 1/48.

[Dances With Wolves]

Would this kit sell more if it was in 1/32? As much as I like the bigger is better fallacy it has always seemed to me a bloody odd scale for mass market appeal.

Hi P:

You'll recall the release of the new tool 72nd scale Tiffie - that benefited directly from the research ploughed into the 1/24 release. 'Two birds with one stone' for all practical purposes.

1/24 has been the province of Airfix since their first 'Superkit' in 1973 I believe. Like other manufacturers, their product line spans different scales and each appeals to different markets and modellers, although some - like me - have no adherence to a single scale and enjoy dipping into each.

Airfix is a business and businesses exist to make profits. Recouping investments in research, development and tooling takes time - years perhaps but ultimately it's profit that provides the lifeblood to fuel going forwards.

I believe the Tiffie is no different in that regard. However, it is also something more - it is a celebration of the company's 75th birthday and a statement of intent in terms of engineering and detail fidelity. It's this astonishing level of achievement that's drawn down what I believe is record levels of attention from the buying public and rightly so. It's attracting modellers who've not strayed into 1/24 before and the likelihood is the scale will find new converts.

I'm glad Airfix are settled on 1/24, rather than 32nd and hope they continue to build on the springboard provided by the Tiffie.

Best regards

Steve

[Rob 1]

That is a monster kit - superb level of detail - surely a record amount for a plastic kit?

Surprised they didn't do a Spit for their first 1:24th new generation release (actually the second after the Mossie), but the Typhoon is a classic in its own right.

[Gilles Pepin]

I recently built two Italeri 2734 Hawker Typhoons Mk.Ib (late) commissioned by the family of a WWII pilot. The first, code letters TP-X, is mostly an OOB model; the second, code letters SA-Q, is the "dressed-to-kill" iteration, using many available after-market components. I include historical anecdotes provided by the pilot himself, Dr. Peter Roper; a rare privilege indeed...

"Jamais deux sans trois",

as the French saying goes. Dr. Roper has commissioned the Canadian Aviation Heritage Centre to build the Airfix 1/24 Hawker Typhoon Mk.Ib kit in full SA-Q livery. He and his son Dr. Mark Roper will personally deliver the completed model to the War Museum in Monts-en-Bessin (Normandy, France), where it will join his other Typhoon artifacts on display.

Gilles Pepin is a retired investment banker

For the full 13 page 'A Tale of Two Typhoons' document, email me at: [email protected]