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1/72 - Avro Shackleton AEW.2 & MR.3 by Revell - AEW.2 released - AiM MR.3 conversion set


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I saw some comments about Airfix Shackletons being sold at Telford for significantly less than normal RRP. Can anyone tell me what the prices were, out of interest?

They were typically selling for £35, but I saw some at £32 at Yeovilton a couple of weeks back. They certainly seemed to be selling well at Telford,

Cheers,

Bill.

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Mostly normal retail. Did see one or two at £35 and Hannants were doing a deal on them on the sunday - kit plus either of their decal sheet for £36 inclusive, a saving of £12. Needless to say, I snapped one up.

I had a good look at the sprues on the saturday and it looks like a curate's egg. The cockpit floor doesn't look right, the interior isn't as fine as the Airfix one and the engines look small, although the exhausts look to be finer than the Airfix. Some of the detail in the wheel wells looks simplified.

I have to confess that after seeing it, I'll be getting one, but that's probably it. I can't see me building more Shacks.

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It certainly looks good, but I guess it comes down to what each individual modeller looks for in a kit. Some will prefer the Airfix offering, whilst others will like the Revell kit better. The price points for the two kits aren't all that far apart, at least at the moment, which will be a deciding factor for some.

Now, since Revell have taken the decision to do the most popular version first, I think this will probably take a bit of the wind out of Airfix's sales if/when they do they're own AEW kit. I would guess that Airfix perhaps wish they'd done that version first. Mind you, given their recent QC issues, I think Airfix have also perhaps stretched themselves a bit too much by pulling the release of their own kit forward to beat Revell.

All in all, the current situation sums up what can happen when two manufacturers decide to do what is, in many respects, a rather specialised subject. :hmmm:

Mike.

Interesting point and probably correct. Don't yet have the Airfix Shackleton but,, as the Revell AEW2 is going to hit the shelves before the Airfix version then I will buy that. It looks good enough for me. Horses for courses as always.

Allan

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  • 2 weeks later...

Nice decals, thanks for posting. Pity they have not included one of those with the 8 Sqn number `8' adorning the rear fuselage but at least Zebedee is included!

Cheers

Tony

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Thanks for the link to IPMS Deutschland, looking at the partks breakdown, they might consider an MR3 later on. The inner engines and u/c are on seperate runners and the wings and nose are also placed to ehave the mould changed.We shall have to wait and see. are seperate

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  • 2 weeks later...

Does look good I was waiting to see what this one was like and I'm not disappointed my wish list is never ending !!!

Guy

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Hello!

Announced now for February 2016:

971327311.png

Well that answers that question.

As for how 'final' it is... the kit in the box art is almost certainly build from a test shot. It was probably built from a test shot ca. Telford. But, TEST SHOTS ARE NOT SUBJECT TO SUBSTANTIAL, VISIBLE CHANGE. It's not, like, a first draft. 'Whoops, we weren't happy with that one, let's scrap it and try again.' The 'test' part of 'test shot' is about production - determining injection pressures and cycle rates; ensuring proper flow and cavity fill. Changes to the tooling, if any, will be more about adjusting gate dimensions and draft angles than correcting geometry.

That's not to say that it can't happen, or has never happened, but it is astonishingly rare. When the public sees a test shot, for all intents and purposes it will be identical to the final product, almost every time.

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I really want to like it, and whoever built the model has done a stunning job. The surface detail is mindblowing, and on the bits that they've got from a genuine AEW2 they are fantastic. The row of rivets through the rear scanner's cover plate. The ADD probes on the side of the nose. The anti stall strakes on the wing leading edges. Spot on. Brilliant.

But there are too many easy screw ups that have crept in. If the dihedral in the tail is still there, thats inexcusable. The tailplane horizontal is 33ft span and hasn't really changed since it was designed as a replacement on the Manchester. There are many panels and aerials that are the wrong shape and place (or simply shouldn't be there at all), and windows too - as lots positioned for the MR3.

To the point I can pretty much pin down which aircraft Revell used too, as they've even included the MR3 jacking pads on the lower inner wing rear spar. They're normally unbolted from the aircraft and removed after use, but one MR3 at a museum was wearing them for a long while recently. Its an example of researching something without knowing what you're actually looking at, or for, which is a damned shame.

This really could have been a contender had there been a little more attention paid. Spending a day in the RAFM archives looking at the repair manuals would have been enough, or going over the AEW2 at Manchester to confirm your research. But in my opinion (and it is only an opinion - you're welcome to differ) they thought an MR3 was close enough, and as a result botched it.

Regards,

Rich

Edited by Greg B
Multiple repeated photographs removed
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