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1/48 - Curtiss P-40B Warhawk & Tomahawk Mk.II by Airfix - released - new Tomahawk Mk.II boxing in June 2024


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11 minutes ago, Christer A said:

Lets hope that they can better realize what the design team wants, or at least teach the Airfix design-staff what do do and not.

I'm carefully optimistic though!

That will depend on wether  they are responsible for design and mould production or just the actual moulding of the kits, with the dies supplied by Airfix.

 

Andrew

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As far as I know it's best practise to have both tooling and moulding done by the same company. Any fine adjustments (and fine adjustments can make a big difference) are then down to one and the same company. Otherwise you end up with the moulds forever being passed back and forth between the two companies, they will blame each other if things are not working well, delays will spiral out of control and you, the main company and designer, will probably foot the bills.

Seems like Plastech is doing the tooling in China (as is the norm nowadays), it doesn't say though whether they have done the tooling for Airfix.

 

Jeffrey

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4 hours ago, John said:

James May visited a UK company moulding the 1/48th scale Spitfire 22/24 for his Toy Stories episode about Airfix, and that wasn't 15 years ago. 

 

 

Wasn't the tooling made in Korea though ?

 

I'll be very curious to see if the new production location will bring any change in quality of the moulds and the plastic. It may be a big step ahead if they achieve an improvement in the quality of the plastic and most important in QC

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A further look round the Plastech site

http://www.plastch.com/a-reshoring-success-airfix-quick-buildbuilt-in-the-uk-here-at-plastech/

Quote

A reshoring success – Airfix Quick Build…built in the UK, here at Plastech
The production chain for the Quick Build range in the UK, now has its manufacturing roots here with us at Plastech, providing the tooling and injection moulding for the snap together parts.
With the Airfix brand being a passion of our Head of UK Operations, Mark Thompson, the Quick Build project was won with our ability to offer improved quality, reduced lead times, next day deliveries and flexible stock holding.
We at Plastech are now currently producing 8,000 kits per week.

 

http://www.plastch.com/case-studies/hornby-hobbies-airfix-quickbuild/

Quote

Plastech’s moulding expertise helps Airfix QuickBuild to click and connect.
Hornby Hobbies is a market-leading developer and distributor of quality toys and modelling products in the UK, USA and Europe.
From its roots as the creator of Meccano and Hornby Trains, Hornby’s roster of quality brands now includes Scalextric, Corgi and Airfix. Its Airfix QuickBuild range, with its ‘No glue! No Paint! Just build!’ offer, is aimed at modellers aged 5+.  By simply snapping the pieces together, they can build a range of iconic aircraft and vehicles, including the Spitfire, Volkswagen Beetle and McLaren P1. Airfix QuickBuild won Best New Toy in the hobby category at the London Toy Fair 2013.
Hornby wanted a UK-based injection mould tooling manufacturer with the capability to produce the initial range of QuickBuild models, from manufacture through to shipping. From 2016, the Airfix QuickBuild range will be expanded with a further 14 models manufactured at Plastech’s facility in Newhaven.

Jamie Buchanan, Senior Development Manager at Hornby Hobbies, explains how Plastech has helped Hornby develop the Airfix QuickBuild range:
Plastech has supported us in the production of the Airfix QuickBuild range for the past three years. Initially, they assisted us in the production and tool making of our Aircraft range of models, now we consider them as a manufacturing partner. Plastech’s enthusiasm for our products shines through. With their assistance, we have been able to make improvements, not only to the product design and build, but also to the unit cost of the models.”
“Their expertise means they are able to give us guidance from a manufacturing perspective, not just on model functionality. By working out the easiest way to produce the model, it makes the unit cost cheaper. We will be working with Plastech to expand the 2016 range, from design and pre-production to manufacture
.”

 

the quote is especially interesting, and the plastic used in the QuickBuild kits is hard type used in Lego.

 

The point on the James May plant with the Spitfire 22/24 is w  a  good one, and I got the impression that the Kitstarter kits were being done in the UK.

 

Perhaps they mean the first  new tool in 15 years? 

 

It  seems their actual tools are made in China, but to their specification

http://www.plastch.com/our-services/injection-mould-toolmaking/

Quote

Plastech has more than 30 years’ experience and knowledge in design, sourcing and manufacture of mould tooling. All mould tooling manufacture is managed, monitored and checked by UK personnel on site in China to ISO 9000 quality standards.

 

Interesting comment Mike

perhaps someone has finally  realised the bottom line is actually  the final delivered product, not just a beancounters  projected cost  of offshore manufacture,   in this case, someone from Airfix can physically be at Plastech in under 2 hours...

I'm thinking  here of  the 1/24th Typhoon canopy problems  for example. 

 

 

 

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This is great news, and for me makes the cost of the final kit a bit more justifiable, if indeed it brings better quality control and plastic.

As an example, the Shackleton kit suffers from horribly soft plastic, lots of sink marks, and trench like surface detail. The cheaper Revell altenative was of far higher Japanese quality.  It felt to me that the design dept was let down by production standards.

Having said that the older Javelin and Sea Vixen kits were very nice quality and I guess they molded were overseas.

 

My point is, if Airfix are going to ask £60 for a 1:72 kit, which has to appeal to youngsters spending their saved up pocket money, as well as the die hard modeller, then the quality of the kit has to be bang on, and at least of the standards of other manufacturers.

 

 

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Im going to shelve my current build and crack on with this..... watch this space

 

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Hey to the guys that get this kit first..please check this thing first... the firewall and fuselage gunbay step is there....if you look at the photos of the real thing the firewall  has a distinctive step forward at gun gay ...

 

On the test shot photos.. it just had a straight line firewall with no step . That really stood out to me and I think they fixed it but I haven't seen itnose_zpsatmd7pav.jpg 

Even if they didn't fix it ....

 

As long as the firewall and the wing are in the right position ....if its just the upper gunbay line wrong..then it's a simple rescribe

 

The downfall of every early P40 kit has been the wing in the wrong position relative  to the firewall and the fuselage datum line....

However...I belive Airfix has this right and will be the first to have the firewall and the wing in the right position and it's just the gun bay line issue.

 

 The Airfix kit while it will surely have some new issues to be fixed...but it was a clean sheet kit with a major load of new validated correct info from a lot of big sources (even a bit via Edgar Brooks)  and included real Curtiss blueprint for the P-36 and early P-40 ... so should not have the same old crap errors

 

Below is some Tomahawk cockpit information from Edgar to me some years back that was forwarded to Airfix when they started this kit

Note: These cockpit photos shows both early and late details that would not be in the same cockpit at the same time.. that why two fire bottles.. so read the notes below 

Tomahawk%20Cockpit_zpsjmnloqfh.jpg

Edited by HBBates
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On 10/26/2016 at 11:21 PM, HBBates said:

Hey to the guys that get this kit first..please check this thing first... the firewall and fuselage gunbay step is there....if you look at the photos of the real thing the firewall  has a distinctive step forward at gun gay ...

 

On the test shot photos.. it just had a straight line firewall with no step . That really stood out to me and I think they fixed it but I haven't seen itnose_zpsatmd7pav.jpg 

Even if they didn't fix it ....

 

As long as the firewall and the wing are in the right position ....if its just the upper gunbay line wrong..then it's a simple rescribe

 

The downfall of every early P40 kit has been the wing in the wrong position relative  to the firewall and the fuselage datum line....

However...I belive Airfix has this right and will be the first to have the firewall and the wing in the right position and it's just the gun bay line issue.

 

 The Airfix kit while it will surely have some new issues to be fixed...but it was a clean sheet kit with a major load of new validated correct info from a lot of big sources (even a bit via Edgar Brooks)  and included real Curtiss blueprint for the P-36 and early P-40 ... so should not have the same old crap errors

 

 

 

 

From Jonners pictures it looks like the step isn't there, I don't know if the firewall is in the right place - if it's not can we not just rescribe the lower firewall line?

 

CFA35946-2AAC-413B-9599-F7A44A4F2D08_zps

Edited by Tbolt
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1 hour ago, Tbolt said:

 

From Jonners pictures it looks like the step isn't there, I don't know if the firewall is in the right place - if it's not can we not just rescribe the lower firewall line?

 

 

 

 

No I would not just rescribe the lower firewall line.. ...I believe thats all in correct place and it relates to wing position..... so it a rescribe the upper gun bay line most likely....

 

Once I get the kit and check blueprints I will post it.. in should be simple fix

 

FYI ... the kit might already have the correct line already scribe on the upper cowl inserts  its just the inserts extends in to the gun cowl  for some reason.....ive seen some photos that hints at that but it not clear  

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14 minutes ago, HBBates said:

 

 

No I would not just rescribe the lower firewall line.. ...I believe thats all in correct place and it relates to wing position..... so it a rescribe the upper gun bay line most likely....

 

Once I get the kit and check blueprints I will post it.. in should be simple fix

 

FYI ... the kit might already have the correct line already scribe on the upper cowl inserts  its just the inserts extends in to the gun cowl  for some reason.....ive seen some photos that hints at that but it not clear  

 

Looks to me there might be some fasteners just behind the gun panel edge, so I would say the join is on a panel line if that is the case. If  there is a line on the gun cowl I guess it was added quite late.

Edited by Tbolt
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Missed my delivery, its arriving at the DPD drop off for Monday now I will have to wait.

 

I am looking forward to it arriving. Is what it is, if it needs a tweak so be it. Looks like a P40 smells like a P 40 

 

Lets build a P-40

 

Monday.........................:(

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1 hour ago, Jon Kunac-Tabinor said:

Here's the Airfix model with the upper gun bay rear panel line moved forward. Just did this this afternoon

 

Jonners

2A98FD20-9CF3-4697-87D5-11A32E592732_zps

 

So here some notes and what to fill ..see red lines

P40%20side_zpsv9gwgrse.jpg

 

Edited by HBBates
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10 minutes ago, HBBates said:

 

So here some notes and what to fill ..see red lines

 

 

 

Nice easy fix, I like that type :)

 

So the other red lines you've drawn to fill are just lines of rivets on the real thing and they've interpreted them as panel joins?

 

Notice that the box top artist got the firewall/gun fairing lines correct!

 

14715516_10154518610426271_2769655543078

Edited by Tbolt
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1 hour ago, Tbolt said:

 

Nice easy fix, I like that type :)

 

So the other red lines you've drawn to fill are just lines of rivets on the real thing and they've interpreted them as panel joins?

 

Notice that the box top artist got the firewall/gun fairing lines correct!

 

 

Yes the other red lines I drew to fill are just lines of rivets on the real thing and they've interpreted them as panel joins... and note the little squared panel over the top engine mount at the junction of all the engine panels ..I outlined in blue 

 

I re linked my photo because im have a problem with photobucket

 

Below are P-36 fuselage photo & blueprints that is mostly the same for early P40.. it will give you a feel for the area

 

Hawk%20H75%20Pursuit%20Airplane_zpsnmyyg

 

 

Edited by HBBates
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It looks like the vertical panel join in front of the exhausts is missing and needs adding as well.

 

One think that concerns me is the Dzus fasteners on the engine access panel  top edge in Jonners picture, look like the are too close to the panel line and have started to merge with it. Also the fasteners on the gun fairing appear bigger/deeper than the ones on the engine panels?

 

I might end up filling all those fasteners and get the beading tool out.

Edited by Tbolt
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