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Airfix Classics Launched


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On 5/15/2018 at 1:48 PM, fightersweep said:

Good point! I had forgotten about those. Were they old Kitmaster kits? I remember building the Aerial Arrow back in the early 80s....quite a fun build. Wanted to pick another one up recently and then decided against it when I saw the prices second hand. 

 

I got the big Honda Four for Christmas in 1980....that was a nice kit. Yep! Motorbikes on the list too please!

Arrow = Kitmaster, BMW R69 probably Kleeware in 1/8 or 1/9 as opposed to the other three „originals“. The two big Honda’s and Cyclone were MPC, while Norton and R75 were Heller and apparently returned/resold to Heller.

 

With the amount of old kits on the market, I am sceptical whether this will work for non-scarce kits unless they are priced accordingly low. Many of (relatively) collectible boxings can (or could quite recently) be bought off eb‘ for substantially less than the current range price would be. No surprise that the only one of the „vote“/presale kits that actually made it into production was the Basset, as its inflated price was still less than what it‘d command elsewhere. Therefore, SR.53 (if the mould still exists), Basset and SR.N1 could probably be sold at a premium price, but Skyvan and Cherokee were reissued ***relatively*** recently (which still is some 20 years ago, I know), though admittedly seem to be sought after constantly.

Anyway, the F-84F which has been mentioned above would be a suitable candidate for a new tool as with its 46 years it‘s still the best around ( which is very similar to me, incidentally 😉), so at the moment has no real competition.

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On 5/15/2018 at 8:30 PM, Paul J said:

Looking back at the list, the ships beckon me. I must have built nearly all of them in my days way back. The ones currently listed tempt me even though I am an ardent aeroplane man. Others I recall and wonder if they will ever see daylight again are Daring, Campbeltown, Hotspur, Cossack, Victorious, Tiger, Leander, Huntsman(?) Fearless; for all the earlier ones then there are some of  the German ones like Scharnhorst, Graf Spee, Narvik class destroyer. The car ferry, Townsend Thoresen I think? Could go on for ages listing them all.

Not really, you‘ve listed most of the military ship range 😉 No Huntsman, there was an Amazon which is one of the youngest kits in the range at 45; the Rommel tends to get good prices in Germany at least, no idea if the mould could be modified to get its US baseline design class to expand sales potential- probably not anyway as the range is too small and in an orphan scale.

The Free Enterprise mould is said to be still existing, and indeed that’s another expensive one on the 2nd hand market.

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On 5/15/2018 at 8:30 PM, Paul J said:

Looking back at the list, the ships beckon me. I must have built nearly all of them in my days way back. The ones currently listed tempt me even though I am an ardent aeroplane man. Others I recall and wonder if they will ever see daylight again are Daring, Campbeltown, Hotspur, Cossack, Victorious, Tiger, Leander, Huntsman(?) Fearless; for all the earlier ones then there are some of  the German ones like Scharnhorst, Graf Spee, Narvik class destroyer. The car ferry, Townsend Thoresen I think? Could go on for ages listing them all.

Not really, you‘ve listed most of the military ship range 😉 No Huntsman, there was an Amazon which is one of the youngest kits in the range at 45; the Rommel tends to get good prices in Germany at least, no idea if the mould could be modified to get its US baseline design class to expand sales potential- probably not anyway as the range is too small and in an orphan scale.

The Free Enterprise mould is said to be still existing, and indeed that’s another expensive one on the 2nd hand market.

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3 hours ago, tempestfan said:

With the amount of old kits on the market, I am sceptical whether this will work for non-scarce kits unless they are priced accordingly low. Many of (relatively) collectible boxings can (or could quite recently) be bought off eb‘ for substantially less than the current range price would be. No surprise that the only one of the „vote“/presale kits that actually made it into production was the Basset, as its inflated price was still less than what it‘d command elsewhere. Therefore, SR.53 (if the mould still exists), Basset and SR.N1 could probably be sold at a premium price, but Skyvan and Cherokee were reissued ***relatively*** recently (which still is some 20 years ago, I know), though admittedly seem to be sought after constantly.

Thanks for the info on the origins of the Airfix motorcycle kits.

 

Agree with everything else you said there. For me, it would be the scarce kits that I would want to buy if re-issued. The whole point being that I could actually afford to build some of these expensive/rare kits that elude me because of their prices on the collectors market. The collectors will still have their original issue boxings to cherish, and we'll get shiny new boxings that we can build without the guilt of having spent hundreds. Win win!

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I really think the 1/72 figures could do well.  I did some figure reviews for a Mag, and in the research was surprised just how many sets are out there for sale. there is obviously a market.

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On ‎5‎/‎15‎/‎2018 at 10:21 PM, bootneck said:

Thanks for this info.  I paid £30 for mine so no point in putting it in the sale thread. 

 

Mike

 

Edit:  decided to put it into the sale and it sold in less than 10 minutes.

Glad you were able to sell it!! Pity I wasn't around though!! Been trying to get one of these at a sensible price for ages!! That will teach me to keep my eyes open!!:lol:

 

Allan

 

ps - I still hope they reissue the SRN4!

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18 hours ago, tempestfan said:

 

 

With the amount of old kits on the market, I am sceptical whether this will work for non-scarce kits unless they are priced accordingly low. Many of (relatively) collectible boxings can (or could quite recently) be bought off eb‘ for substantially less than the current range price would be.

I concur.

 

Airfix have got to be careful here, the vast majority of what they have listed in this classic range so far is easily and cheaply available on the second hand market. In reality very few 'classic' kits command serious money (eBay is not a good barometer here). Despite what folk say on various fora, the demand in my opinion is vastly overstated for the huge majority of classic kits. Take a look at the Revell Rotodyne, it had not seen the light of day in near 60 odd years when re-issued as limited run of 5000 a few years back it was welcomed with huge open arms, yet if one one wants one now it can still be snagged for between £15 and £20. Not long ago I also saw a 2004 reissue of the Airfix Skyvan for £15.

 

Thomo.

Edited by The Tomohawk Kid
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3 hours ago, The Tomohawk Kid said:

Airfix have got to be careful here, the vast majority of what they have listed in this classic range so far is easily and cheaply available on the second hand market. In reality very few 'classic' kits command serious money (eBay is not a good barometer here). Despite what folk say on various fora, the demand in my opinion is vastly overstated for the huge majority of classic kits. Take a look at the Revell Rotodyne, it had not seen the light of day in near 60 odd years when re-issued as limited run of 5000 a few years back it was welcomed with huge open arms, yet if one one wants one now it can still be snagged for between £15 and £20. Not long ago I also saw a 2004 reissue of the Airfix Skyvan for £15.

 

Thomo.

Agreed. I think it's what I was trying to say further up, but maybe somewhat clumsily. It's a very sound idea for Airfix, to cash in on their back catalogue via a classic range, thus keeping a clear division with the current range. As you rightly say, the choice of what kits to place in the Classic Range is not an easy task and we all have our wants lists of what should be in there (myself included). So what would be good choices, and primarily, who are Airfix aiming this range at? 

 

I'm not much of a figure or ship kind of guy, but the one item I was interested in was the Bofors gun (mainly because I have plans for a scratchbuilt Maunsel sea fort). £8.99 is a fair price, but the Bofors can be picked up off eBay for the same price more or less. So as you quite rightly say with the example of the Skyvan, this could be the one main pitfall. I'll give Airfix my money though, as I really want to see this range grow.

 

Steve

 

PS: Must look harder on eBay....I would have snapped up that Skyvan at £15!

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3 hours ago, fightersweep said:

Agreed. I think it's what I was trying to say further up, but maybe somewhat clumsily. It's a very sound idea for Airfix, to cash in on their back catalogue via a classic range, thus keeping a clear division with the current range.

 

Steve

 

PS: Must look harder on eBay....I would have snapped up that Skyvan at £15!

 

I'm not convinced it is a good idea by Airfix, it might have been if they had lopped 15% to 20% off the retail price and/or made their classic range limited editions.

 

The Skyvan I saw was not on eBay. The problem is (I include myself in this statement) is when looking for OOP stuff the default position is eBay, when one widens the net a little one gets a little nearer the true value of most these items.

 

Thomo.

Edited by The Tomohawk Kid
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On 5/18/2018 at 6:04 PM, tempestfan said:

Not really, you‘ve listed most of the military ship range 😉 No Huntsman, there was an Amazon which is one of the youngest kits in the range at 45; the Rommel tends to get good prices in Germany at least, no idea if the mould could be modified to get its US baseline design class to expand sales potential- probably not anyway as the range is too small and in an orphan scale.

The Free Enterprise mould is said to be still existing, and indeed that’s another expensive one on the 2nd hand market.

No Huntsman but an HMS Manxsman, one of the fastest ships in the Royal Navy. 

 

/André

Edited by Andre B
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For all we know it could be Hornby making a 2 tier situation, anything before Hornby being put into Classic boxing at a cheaper price and the newer "premium" Airfix still in the modern red banner. 

 

You have to remember that 99% of buyers won't have a clue what the kit is like inside but if it is at a good price and it looks appealing in the "cartoony" type artwork then it won't matter and even if they are disappointed it won't reflect on the "premium" Airfix as they look so different, hell, I'm not a ship modeller and haven't done any for 30 years plus but the Ark Royal is damn tempting!

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12 hours ago, Albeback52 said:

Glad you were able to sell it!! Pity I wasn't around though!! Been trying to get one of these at a sensible price for ages!! That will teach me to keep my eyes open!!:lol:

 

Allan

 

ps - I still hope they reissue the SRN4!

 I was the bod who snapped up @bootneck 's SRN 4 ( & for sheer masochism the Revell oil rig) . Back to this thread, looking forward to the WW1 male tank, yes the first kit I made all the way back in '72...

 

A

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Looking forward to seeing some wingy thingies appearing in this range. But given that they can shift full price red box aircraft all day long, it might be a long wait....?

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An interesting approach and one that could do quite well if handled intelligently. 

Kits that offer the "only choice in town" will make a lot of sense, as will "rare and desirable" which can be deduced from evilbay sales at exorbitant prices yet also attracting the wrath of those who paid a bit much at aforementioned auctions.

 

Hopefully this all goes well, but you wouldn't expect to see a re-release of an Austin Allegro... Old stuff is still old.

On 5/15/2018 at 8:30 AM, TEXANTOMCAT said:

... but not much else! (Oh and the 1/48 Bucc maybe..before Tanmodel get theirs out??.) 

No. Just "no!".

Some dogs need putting down.

 

 

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On 5/16/2018 at 7:12 PM, Vicarage Vee said:

How well did the Bassett etc do when they did the limited re-release to Airfix Club members (?) a year or so back? 

The Bassett was the first and only product released under the "Kitstarter" programme. I think I've seen one of those built!

Edited by k5054nz
Correcting accidental double post
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Sad that Airfix never made the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau with the atlantic bow. But they where good kits what I remember together with the Graf Spee. Albeit not as nice as the Prinz Eugen...

 

/André

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3 hours ago, k5054nz said:

The Bassett was the first and only product released under the "Kitstarter" programme. I think I've seen one of those built!

 

Airfix also produced a numbered limited edition club members only HP Jetstream repop in 2005 (based on a vote if memory serves) this was going to be the start of a whole slew of limited edition classics for club members. As per the Kitstarter project it was the only kit produced, which all adds fuel to the fire that interest in these classic kits is modest.

 

Thomo.

Edited by The Tomohawk Kid
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2 minutes ago, The Tomohawk Kid said:

 

Airfix also produced a numbered limited edition club members only Jetstream in 2005 (based on a vote if memory serves) this was going to be the start of a whole slew of limited edition classics for club members. As per the Kitstarter project it was the only kit produced, which all adds fuel to the fire that interest in these classic kits is modest.

 

Thomo.

Interest at the Basset's price would be limited. It's the old expensive hardback book now or cheap paperback version in 6 months. Sell them at a little less than the equivalent red box series and many 'not at that price' buyers will become purchasers. Quite often selling for less makes you more.  

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Kickstarter got the boot from many International modellers as Airfix’s international postage rates are more akin to sending parcels via the moon and back. Sell these classics through the usual distribution channels (at the right price of course) and they will sell. 

 

Cheers.. Dave 

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20 minutes ago, SleeperService said:

Interest at the Basset's price would be limited. It's the old expensive hardback book now or cheap paperback version in 6 months. Sell them at a little less than the equivalent red box series and many 'not at that price' buyers will become purchasers. Quite often selling for less makes you more.  

 

Agreed.

 

A quick glance at the Airfix's classic range web page, in my view most of the prices are too high. Yes Airfix is a business and they are around to make money but in this case there are no development or mould cutting costs. A 15 to 20% reduction in price is likely to yield far more sales.

 

Thomo.

Edited by The Tomohawk Kid
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7 hours ago, hairystick said:

No. Just "no!".

Some dogs need putting down.

hairystick,

              you'll be very pleased to know the mould is 'beyond economic repair'.........!

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On 15/05/2018 at 16:30, TEXANTOMCAT said:

Jolly interesting move! I can see the 'Airfix Soldiers' being more for the Museum shop crowd where visitors buy a set for little Johnny but the ships are peculiar - that said not my field - I dont know whether there is a much of a range out there but surely their market research has indicated there is - Belfast presumably will sell well with IWM....

 

I remember the Opel Blitz, Bofors and FAMO to be pretty decent kits but the others pretty rubbish.... that said we dont know what quantities they have ordered so maybe because its plastic, box, shipping and no R&D or tooling there are minimal numbers of each to see how they go.

 

The B-26 made sense as its universally 'liked' as being pretty decent and is less than half the price of the Hasegawa one - I get that.... so

reading from above - it makes sense to release those that have no equivalent in the marketplace (yet) such as Skyvan, Bristol Freighter, Islander et seq with new decals or schemes.... to which I'd add...

 

Dominie, Puma, Gazelle, Basset, SAM2, Eagle Transporter, Pan Am Orion, SA Bulldog, Cherokee, Scout but not much else! (Oh and the 1/48 Bucc maybe..before Tanmodel get theirs out??.) Most others I can think of have been replaced by more modern tools or the base kits are pretty rubbish (ducks) 

 

All of those, unless I'm mistaken (and I frequently am) have no opposition in the marketplace...and the majority are small kits so cheap to produce especially without the tooling costs... of those I think only the Gazelle has been released in a red box....?

 

TT

The SAM 2 mould no longer exists.

 

Rio

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On 5/20/2018 at 5:02 AM, PhoenixII said:

hairystick,

              you'll be very pleased to know the mould is 'beyond economic repair'.........!

Best news I've heard all morning!

 

Hopefully they will find a happy home inside a furnace...

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Its maybe worth keeping in mind that for UK modellers with access to shows, cheap second hand Airfix kits are a reality, but for anyone else having to deal with ebay & online second hand dealers like Kingkit, cheap second hand Airfix is not a reality & Classic kits at the right price would likely do well in overseas markets.

Steve.

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