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Should we be expecting a new Airfix release announcement today?


Rabbit Leader

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Well Airfix are doing more boring aircraft - when will they do something interesting? At least I won't have to spend very much with them next year but look to the manufacturers doing the good stuff!

JOhn

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Boring? Matter of opinion!

From what I can see, they are bringing out a mix of popular types and more esoteric aircraft. That is a good business model IMO that enables them to be profitable whilst serving the modelling community well.

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Boring? Matter of opinion!

From what I can see, they are bringing out a mix of popular types and more esoteric aircraft. That is a good business model IMO that enables them to be profitable whilst serving the modelling community well.

Agreed, I'm already looking forward to the Meteor and P-40B, holding out for some 1/72nd scale jets.

Wez

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I certainly won't be buying this new 1.48 scale P40 for two good reasons, I just don't build aircraft in 1.48 scale and I am not a big P-40 fan.

That said in my opinion Airfix are doing the right thing by trying to brake into the 1.48 market and as somebody has already said America probably needs a new P-40 in big scale. I hope Airfix sell enough of these kits to carry on down the road they are currently on.

Just as an aside I think that really if Airfix are to break into the 1.48 market they need to become more well known for making kits in that scale and so need to enlarge their range considerably.

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So far, Airfix are saving me a lot of money. (Makes a change after previous years).

Surely after so many WWII offerings, there has to be something 50/60/70/80's?

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Swift (should've been last year) and Shackleton are this year, the rest are last year or previous, hence my comment.

2015 has been predominantly WWII, just the Seaking left.

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I'm not sure how many 1/48 P-40's would have appeared on everyones wishlists, however it certainly does sound like Airfix believe that this scale really does work best for this type of sized airframe.

It's also a wise move to cover other nations products from time to time and let's not forget that us Britmodellers are getting a 1/48 Defiant and Meatbox 8 next year.

One might have assumed that 2015 was the year for the 72nd modeller so 2016 just might balance the scales in those who favour 1/48th. But..... two weeks rolls around like no time these days so let's do this all again in a fortnights time.

I still have faith that my 1/72 Venom family will be anounced before the year is out!

Cheers.. (a hopeful) Dave.

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I'm not sure how many 1/48 P-40's would have appeared on everyones wishlists,

Zillions of Americans, given that there are no worthwhile alternatives for the type in their favourite scale, and it's a highly iconic type over there: Flying Tigers, Pearl Harbour and all that. They are going bananas over on HS.

Edited by Work In Progress
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Swift (should've been last year) and Shackleton are this year, the rest are last year or previous, hence my comment.

2015 has been predominantly WWII, just the Seaking left.

Two points:

Firstly, one year is a fairly brief period to judge from. Hence my comment.

Secondly, the WW2 period saw many more aircraft, both in the number of types and the number built, than any much longer period since. They also saw, if mainly for the successful types, a wide range of variation in shape, camouflage and markings. Setting personal preference aside as much as possible, it has many more options for modelling than later periods. As long as the market responds to this, it will always be the time that manufacturers go for preferentially.

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Zillions of Americans, given that there are no worthwhile alternatives for the type in their favourite scale, and it's a highly iconic type over there: Flying Tigers, Pearl Harbour and all that. They are going bananas over on HS.

Than the Airfix marketing department has done their research rather well then.

Fair enough.. I hope it sells by the zillions so that we get some of the other neglected esoteric types.

Cheers.. Dave

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Than the Airfix marketing department has done their research rather well then.

Fair enough.. I hope it sells by the zillions so that we get some of the other neglected esoteric types.

Cheers.. Dave

You mean like the Whitley, Defiant (in TWO scales), Shackleton, Swift, BE2c, Fokker E.II ..... :yahoo:

Edited by VMA131Marine
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It really hasn't,.It's been done in 1/48 with reasonable accuracy only once, by Monogram, a full 50 years ago, and the moulds are now completely shot. The two other attempts, the 20 year old Hobbycraft kit and the nine or 10 year old Trumpeter one, both have serious basic outline problems.

The AMT and Mauve kits of the later P-40 variants in 1/48 are all much superior to the current P-40B/C options.

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Well done Airfix on the P-40. It'll sell by the container load in the US and will find other projects.

I'm a died in the wool aircraft modeller and hope for such types as a Battle in 1/72 (surely only a matter of time), but I'm wondering what has there been for those looking for tanks, ships and the like? Not all of us want things that fly!

Trevor

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I can honestly say that something has certainly improved with distribution to Australia.

A few years ago we had to wait the best part of six months in order to see any newly released kits, however this seems to have reduced dramatically to about a few weeks! If they can solve the distribution problem to a little place like Australia, I'm sure they'll rectify any issues with the huge market that the US must be.

The Whitley, Kate and Heinkel are already on our shelves, and suspect the Wildcat won't be too long.

On the down side, I think the poor Aussie exchange rate have inflated these kits somewhat, however that's really out of anyone's hands.

Cheers.. Dave.

Edited by Rabbit Leader
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