1/48 - Supermarine Spitfire F.R. Mk.XIVe by Airfix - released

[VMA131Marine]

4 hours ago, TEXANTOMCAT said:

- the Hellcat seems to have been warmly received ( despite the initial erm, disappointment,

The initial batch of 5000 Hellcat kits was basically all sold within a month of the Telford announcement. So that's somewhere between £250,000 and £500,000 in sales for Airfix on that kit alone.

[NPL]

5 hours ago, madcop said:

Hi W.I.P.

 

I am with you , except for the following.

Yeah, you are right, this tank cover should protrude a little bit instead of being lower than the rest of the fuselage. In the meantime it should fit and not walk around.  And while at it, he had to remove the flash around the exhauts stubs, like he had to correct the landing gear legs to be able to fit the wheels. He never talked about de weld seams being "flash"...

 

You may not be an afficionado of the spitfire and still spot the weakness of a model...Thanks to Airfix , it is not difficult !

I wish the German could buy Airfix and save it ...( as they did with Heller. ) And this is not blasphemy !

 

Madcop 

Galland asked for a squadron of Spitfires!

[madcop]

37 minutes ago, NPL said:

Galland asked for a squadron of Spitfires!

Yes, but he hadn't seen the Airfix one with the poor manufacturing  ! only the Supermarine ! 😂

[tank152]

https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?url=https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/hyperscale/airfix-quality-control-or-lack-thereof-major-short-t506516.html&share_tid=506516&share_fid=2031166&share_type=t

Definitely a hatchet job on those cockpit side walls!

 

 

[Biggles87]

We’re a funny lot us modellers, we’ve been craving a 1/48 Spitfire XIV for years and now we’re complaining. OK there are problems that we shouldn’t have to address in a modern ‘ state of the art ‘ kit but at least the shape appears to be accurate. How many of us have paid twice ( or more ) the asking price for a modern kit and found not only badly fitting parts but obvious inaccuracy also.

I’ll bet Airfix are still selling shedloads.

[Giorgio N]

1 hour ago, Biggles87 said:

We’re a funny lot us modellers, we’ve been craving a 1/48 Spitfire XIV for years and now we’re complaining. OK there are problems that we shouldn’t have to address in a modern ‘ state of the art ‘ kit but at least the shape appears to be accurate. How many of us have paid twice ( or more ) the asking price for a modern kit and found not only badly fitting parts but obvious inaccuracy also.

I’ll bet Airfix are still selling shedloads.

 

The thing is that some of the production issues shown in these pages are way more serious than ill fitting parts and much more serious than accuracy problems.

We often say that we enthusiasts are only a niche of the the market for plastic kits and that "casual" modellers are the majority. We also often say that this majority generally don't care that much for accuracy as they don't necessarily know all the shape and details of a certain subject. This majority will also probably not be put off that much by small fit problems. However this same majority will not be happy to find parts that are not fully moulded, as this means not being able to complete the model. Accuracy issues will never kill a company, quality issues however can and failing to provide a quality product has killed much larger companies in the past in many other sectors.

We don't know what percentage of the kits leaving the factory suffer from short-shots and other moulding flaws, complaints on the web generally blow problems out of proportions as we hear more from those who had problems than from those who don't have the same. In any case there are problems and if the proportion of defective kits is higher than a certain figure, Airfix may be selling shedloads today but risk not be selling that many tomorrow. We modellers may sound funny but no customer of any product gets back to a company if any time he buys something he has to pray that the content is in good order... yes, we can return the kit and Airfix has a very good customer service, but nobody wants to have to constantly require the attention of the customer service.

[Tbolt]

1 hour ago, Giorgio N said:

 

The thing is that some of the production issues shown in these pages are way more serious than ill fitting parts and much more serious than accuracy problems.

We often say that we enthusiasts are only a niche of the the market for plastic kits and that "casual" modellers are the majority. We also often say that this majority generally don't care that much for accuracy as they don't necessarily know all the shape and details of a certain subject. This majority will also probably not be put off that much by small fit problems. However this same majority will not be happy to find parts that are not fully moulded, as this means not being able to complete the model. Accuracy issues will never kill a company, quality issues however can and failing to provide a quality product has killed much larger companies in the past in many other sectors.

We don't know what percentage of the kits leaving the factory suffer from short-shots and other moulding flaws, complaints on the web generally blow problems out of proportions as we hear more from those who had problems than from those who don't have the same. In any case there are problems and if the proportion of defective kits is higher than a certain figure, Airfix may be selling shedloads today but risk not be selling that many tomorrow. We modellers may sound funny but no customer of any product gets back to a company if any time he buys something he has to pray that the content is in good order... yes, we can return the kit and Airfix has a very good customer service, but nobody wants to have to constantly require the attention of the customer service.

Completely agree. If the casual modeller is where Airfix make a lot of their money then some of these problems could effect sales in the future and I’m sure we all want Airfix to do well so they can continue to bring us kits we want.

[Biggles87]

I had added to my previous thread that I wasn’t talking about the short shots, which are inexcusable, but it didn’t attach for some reason. I guess I was lucky because my kit was OK, as was tha Sea Fury, but I agree it shouldn’t be a lottery when you buy one ( or more ) with the prize being a properly moulded kit.

[madcop]

Good customer service is a service that works so that the customer does not have to call on him ...
A good customer service is a service that does not respond to the customer "Sorry the required  part is no longer available" while this precise part is from a model released two months ago. !

 

Madcop

 

[quangster]

20 hours ago, VMA131Marine said:

The initial batch of 5000 Hellcat kits was basically all sold within a month of the Telford announcement. So that's somewhere between £250,000 and £500,000 in sales for Airfix on that kit alone.

5000 Airfix Hellcats sold! Says who?

 

£500,000 sales for 5000 kits. That means that Airfix charge their worldwide distributors £100 for each kit, a kit that retails at £120 and less?

 

Ah well, the internet. We learn something everyday.

[GMK]

On 6/18/2019 at 7:15 AM, Jon Kunac-Tabinor said:

...mine assembled fine as did David Collins, yet the online chaps (sic) one...

The video guy also says...

You’re referring to @Paul Budzik, a member here, presumably? You’re all ‘online guys’ to me - and all worthy of equal respect. 

[NPL]

Much can said and has been said about the quality. However, to have a kit like the one shown and in the hand of Brett Green with his following on Hyperscale, that's not a crime, it is worse, it's stupidity. Of course there will be mishaps during the process of getting the frames ready, but where has the control been? Just to blame an Indian factory for it, is wrong, The final responsibility lays on the control. It should never happen. 

[Tbolt]

Brett's copy is pretty bad. Airfix really need to get on top of this.

[VMA131Marine]

5 hours ago, quangster said:

5000 Airfix Hellcats sold! Says who?

 

£500,000 sales for 5000 kits. That means that Airfix charge their worldwide distributors £100 for each kit, a kit that retails at £120 and less?

 

Ah well, the internet. We learn something everyday.

The 5000 number was quoted on the James May special about Hornby. Note that I said between £250k and £500k because retailers will pay only 50%-60% of the MSRP and I don't know what fraction of sales was through the Airfix webstore, which pays Airfix basically full retail.

[Welkin]

11 hours ago, Tbolt said:

Brett's copy is pretty bad. Airfix really need to get on top of this.

I have three of these Spitfire kits, purchased separately, and all of them are perfect!

[madcop]

1 hour ago, Welkin said:

I have three of these Spitfire kits, purchased separately, and all of them are perfect!

Hi Welkin 

 

It all depends on what you call "Perfect". Could you post some pics of your "perfect" sprues.  With all the "not perfect" ones already published  it would be interesting to see the "perfect" ones ...

 

Thank You.

 

Madcop.  😃

[Welkin]

 

 

 

[pinky coffeeboat]

Wow, congratulations on finding a decently moulded kit.

 

 

Edited June 26, 2019 by pinky coffeeboat

[madcop]

Thanks Welkin,

 

They look actually quite decent indeed. You are one of the lucky ones.

 

Have you found any mishap on the wheel location peg  on the U.C. legs ?

 

I wish you a pleasant build.  
 

Madcop.

[Biggles87]

That looks just like mine. On close inspection the only thing I can find ( apart from the fit of the saddle tank ) is a slight bulge in the wing fillet immediately above the main undercarriage  attachment point, and I can fix that.

[Ed Russell]

I saw one yesterday which had none of the moulding flaws shown here. - looked like I nice kit. I would buy one if it were 1/72.  I watched the video guy yesterday and I can see his problem. It looks as though the faulty kits come in batches and he got four of them.

[NPL]

54 minutes ago, Ed Russell said:

I saw one yesterday which had none of the moulding flaws shown here. - looked like I nice kit. I would buy one if it were 1/72.  I watched the video guy yesterday and I can see his problem. It looks as though the faulty kits come in batches and he got four of them.

As I wrote, bad control at the factory. My two kits (by the courtesy of Hannants) are fine. I guess that most kits are. But it would be nice if Airfix commented on this.

 

[Welkin]

1 hour ago, Biggles87 said:

On close inspection the only thing I can find ( apart from the fit of the saddle tank ) is a slight bulge in the wing fillet immediately above the main undercarriage  attachment point, and I can fix that.

I have a feeling that Airfix are correct here - I can't find the exact reference but I think that it is part of the wheel folding mechanism?

Eduard's Spitfire IX kits also have a bulge in the same location.

[madcop]

33 minutes ago, Welkin said:

I have a feeling that Airfix are correct here - I can't find the exact reference but I think that it is part of the wheel folding mechanism?

Eduard's Spitfire IX kits also have a bulge in the same location.

This small bulge appears on the starboard wing fillet only. ( at the vertical of the saddle tank front end) . Not on the port one, at least on the Spitfire FR Mk XIVc (MV246-SG55_ GE-R) from the Brussels Air Museum.

 

Madcop.

 

[Gwart]

Are these the bulges from the gun heating system plumbing of IX/VIII airframes that were taken over to XIV production.Seen them on P+S sides of contemporary XIV / RV,XVIIII's.

 Although a die hard 1/72 modeller i got one this week to support Airfix It's a good simple and accurate  kit.It's the 21st Century and there's finally an accurate Spit XIV just need one in 72nd scale next please (with the same rudder options pls Airfix!).

 

 Shane.