Airfix 2020

[Denford]

On ‎10‎/‎27‎/‎2019 at 8:38 AM, Paul Thompson said:

Close. 1957 according to Scalemates. https://www.scalemates.com/kits/airfix-1424-armstrong-whitworth-sea-hawk--976306  .

Good replacement candidate for age, but not a lot of variety in users and colour schemes though.

 

Paul.

Not so (colour schemes).  Xtradecal produced an entire sheet devoted to the Sea Hawk, and that was just FAA examples!  Add to that (West) Germany, India and Netherlands.

[The Tomohawk Kid]

1 hour ago, Albeback52 said:

I would suggest therefore no Vulcan (from Airfix anyway) prior to 2021

 

Allan

 

Winter 2019/20 is anytime from tomorrow until late March 2020, plus an12 to 18 month period to shift the stock, followed by a possible fallow period? It could be a bit further out than that. But hey! whadda I know?

 

Tommo.

Edited October 30, 2019 by The Tomohawk Kid

[Meatbox8]

1 hour ago, Albeback52 said:

Noticed that too. I think that possibly knocks the "new tooled Vulcan" theory/wish/fantasy/faint hope (delete as required) squarely on the head!. However, a change of decal options at least would have been nice. Guess there is life in the old girl yet.

 

Allan

Yes.  They withdrew the old tool Buccaneer about a year or so before the new tool was announced if I remember correctly.

[Meatbox8]

41 minutes ago, The Tomohawk Kid said:

 

Winter 2019/20 is anytime from tomorrow until late March 2020, plus an12 to 18 month period to shift the stock, followed by a possible fallow period? It could be a bit further out than that. But hey! whadda I know?

 

Tommo.

Oh Lordy.  You've just reminded me how long it is until Spring.

[IanC]

11 minutes ago, Meatbox8 said:

Oh Lordy.  You've just reminded me how long it is until Spring.

 

Yep. And we've got eight weeks of Christmas adverts and a General Election to endure before we're even half way through...  

[jenko]

17 minutes ago, IanC said:

 

Yep. And we've got eight weeks of Christmas adverts and a General Election to endure before we're even half way through...  

 

Thanks for that...…..now feel totally depressed. Will have to hibernate in the model room till spring.  A few layers of Green Stuff should see me through.  The stash has put on weight over the summer so I should be OK.

 

Dick

[BD757]

Just my tuppence worth but I would be surprised if Airfix haven't thought about the P8. I know they want to stay away from having to pay licence fees etc and Welsh Models have just released theirs but the aircraft ticks so many boxes that have been mentioned as prerequisites for a new Airfix kit; 

• The P8 would sell well in the UK and offers a route into the North American market (as well as Norway, India etc)
• As with the Valiant add-ons they could do a 'special' weapons bay set for incremental sales
• If engineered correctly elements of the mouldings could be re-used for an E-7 Wedgetail version that could also open up the Aussie and Turkish market
• Unlikely but they could do as Heller did with the old 707 and E-3 series and offer a pax 737NG

Obviously this would be a massive step for Hornby and a tenuous business case so it probably won't happen and we will have a new Spitfire. Not long to go now!

Edited October 30, 2019 by BD757

[thepureness]

15 minutes ago, BD757 said:

Just my tuppence worth but I would be surprised if Airfix haven't thought about the P8. I know they want to stay away from having to pay licence fees etc and Welsh Models have just released theirs but the aircraft ticks so many boxes that have been mentioned as prerequisites for a new Airfix kit; 

• The P8 would sell well in the UK and offers a route into the North American market (as well as Norway, India etc)
• As with the Valiant add-ons they could do a 'special' weapons bay set for incremental sales
• If engineered correctly elements of the mouldings could be re-used for an E-7 Wedgetail version that could also open up the Aussie and Turkish market
• Unlikely but they could do as Heller did with the old 707 and E-3 series and offer a pax 737NG

Obviously this would be a massive step for Hornby and a tenuous business case so it probably won't happen and we will have a new Spitfire. Not long to go now!

 

I would love a P-8 and it would fill a big void in modern military surveillance aircraft. 

But would aircraft be able to get anywhere near one to scan it?

 

[Seahawk]

Hmm.  An aircraft of which the UK is only buying a handful and which for many modellers, let alone the wider model-buying public, is just another grey airliner?  Then we might also have a bit of resistance from retailers who had their fingers burned, and their shelves clogged, by previous large sure-fire best-sellers like the Nimrod and Valiant.  As your accountant I am not sure the business case is particularly robust.  If we're going modern image RAF, how about a brand new Typhoon to Buccaneer standards, something easier to build and more available than the Revell one?  Plenty of special RAF schemes and overseas users: could be milked for reboxings for years.  Not that I'd buy one, you understand: still holding out for a Blackburn Shark TT.III.

[Adam Poultney]

1 minute ago, Seahawk said:

Hmm.  An aircraft of which the UK is only buying a handful and which for many modellers, let alone the wider model-buying public, is just another grey airliner?  Then we might also have a bit of resistance from retailers who had their fingers burned, and their shelves clogged, by previous large sure-fire best-sellers like the Nimrod and Valiant.  

Yeah I gotta agree there, just another grey plane...

Although the market is ready for a reissue of the Valiant and the Nimrod now.

[noelh]

So it won't be a Vulcan which leaves my suggestion that it'll be a 1/48th P47 Thunderbolt in pole position. Maybe in 1/24th although unlikely. 

 

My ideal would be a 1/24th F4U-1D. 

[Adam Poultney]

I just hope we get something nice in 1/72

[trickydicky210]

We might get a 1/48 P47 in the new years issue list, but i doubt it will be the Telford announcemment. (P51D didnt warrant a Talford announcemnet - so unlikley that a P47 would)

 

I don't think it will have the WOW factor  

 

I hope its something that will sell well

 

1/350 QEC

1/72 B24

1/72 B29

1/24 SPIT IA

1/48 TYPHOON (EUROFIGHTER)

1/72 CATALINA

1/48 F-35B

 

As always some will be happy and most will wish it was something else

 

 

[Adam Poultney]

B24 would be awesome but I wouldn't use that space for a large American bomber right now. I believe they're sightly bigger than Lancs. Perhaps when I finally get a bigger display case built I would build one. I rather like the B24.

[Robert]

Still think it will be a swing wing Tornado in both mud moved and air defence variant, in 1/72 of course. It would be a big announcement for Airfix as they have not done 2 variants at the same time. Imagine, they could do the GR1 and F3 in separate boxing (pre Gulf War) and then do a Gulf War and Operation Telic boxings to include both types, and both types were used by other countries see Wikipedia.

 

Regards

Robert

[Albeback52]

1 hour ago, trickydicky210 said:

We might get a 1/48 P47 in the new years issue list, but i doubt it will be the Telford announcemment. (P51D didnt warrant a Talford announcemnet - so unlikley that a P47 would)

 

I don't think it will have the WOW factor  

 

I hope its something that will sell well

 

1/350 QEC

1/72 B24

1/72 B29

1/24 SPIT IA

1/48 TYPHOON (EUROFIGHTER)

1/72 CATALINA

1/48 F-35B

 

As always some will be happy and most will wish it was something else

 

 

Actually, I think it's more entertaining reading all the whines and whinges after the announcement. "Not my scale/wrong scale"!

"Why this and , not (insert)"!"

Yet more aeroplanes. Why no (insert)"!

It should have been (insert)and not yet another (insert).

We all know its iconic/a guaranteed best seller/no line up would be complete without it/it's the_______ Anniversary of___________. Surely this must mean a kit of (insert)"!

 

I look forward to that almost as much as I look forward to the announcements!

 

Allan

[Graham Boak]

It's always fun to drop in now and again, but I seem to have missed the call for the Tarrant Tabor.

[spaddad]

1/35th Chieftain

1/350th Queen Elizabeth II

1/48th Harvard/Texan

Edited October 30, 2019 by spaddad

[Denford]

53 minutes ago, Albeback52 said:

Actually, I think it's more entertaining reading all the whines and whinges after the announcement. "Not my scale/wrong scale"!

"Why this and , not (insert)"!"

Yet more aeroplanes. Why no (insert)"!

It should have been (insert)and not yet another (insert).

We all know its iconic/a guaranteed best seller/no line up would be complete without it/it's the_______ Anniversary of___________. Surely this must mean a kit of (insert)"!

 

I look forward to that almost as much as I look forward to the announcements!

 

Allan

Add to your list:

"Modellers have been crying out for it for years"

As for the Telford announcement, there will still be the other 2020 releases to be announced at some Trade Fair (NOT the Nuremberg Trade Fair) early January.  Does anyone know just when?

[IanC]

It's interesting how historical aircraft continue to hold people's interest long after they've faded into history. The Spitfire and Lancaster will probably be remembered forever, but for how long will Airfix, or other companies for that matter, look back to the Second World War for inspiration?  We're still being spoilt with all sorts of wonderful kits from an age which will soon pass out of living memory.   

 

The school textbook subjects chosen for the 1/12 Historical Figures series seem archaic now, and would never be revised, but a 1/48 torpedo-bomber from the 1940s (for example) might still be considered a perfectly realistic commercial proposition. 

 

Long may it continue!

 

[Giorgio N]

12 minutes ago, IanC said:

It's interesting how historical aircraft continue to hold people's interest long after they've faded into history. The Spitfire and Lancaster will probably be remembered forever, but for how long will Airfix, or other companies for that matter, look back to the Second World War for inspiration?  We're still being spoilt with all sorts of wonderful kits from an age which will soon pass out of living memory.   

 

The school textbook subjects chosen for the 1/12 Historical Figures series seem archaic now, and would never be revised, but a 1/48 torpedo-bomber from the 1940s (for example) might still be considered a perfectly realistic commercial proposition. 

 

Long may it continue!

 

 

WW2 subjects will keep the interest high for a long time ! And there are good reasons that go well beyond the modelling community.

WW2 was the last "global" conflict, the last conflict to involve the whole societies of many countries. Never again did the societies of the richest countries become so fully involved in a war, all following conflicts only hit those who fought them and a few others, while the rest of the Country kept going with their own businesses. This is true of many countries and is probably even more true of Britain.

As a result WW2 is still, more than 70 years later, the event that defines the common history of whole countries and we can see this in many aspects. Just think of what happens every time England meets Germany in a football game ! The iconography is very often still the same of the WW2 years, with flags and Spitfires and "don't mention the war" jokes... and listening to many it feels like the Battle of Britain was only a decade ago.

No surprise that whenever a documentary or a movie are made with the aim of reaching as many people as possible the best historical subject is always the same, WW2, with tales of bravery and glory from the many common men who suddenly found themselves in the middle of the largest conflict of the modern era. WW2 is still in many countries the event that ties all citizens together in remembrance of the common values that were at stake in WW2. Even if most of those who today attend the celebrations with tears in their eyes were born well past the end of the war.

 

So yes, the Spitfire and the Lancaster will live forever but so will the Hurricane or the Mustang, or their German enemies of any kind. They will for many years be a remainder of those glory days, days that were never equalled by anything that came later. Even a type of relatively little importance like the Defiant will always be tied to the magnificent feats of the Few in the Battle of Britain, while postwar types that achieved much better results will be slowly forgotten by all but the most avid enthusiasts.

I've recently read a comment on another forum stating that at some point most manufacturers will realise that there are good kits for all the "classics" and at that point it will be the time for all the other forgotten types... my reply was that the day when all the classics will be covered with good kits, there will be new and better kits of those same subjects issued every year. Afterall there's a reason why many companies have preferred to replace their old moulds of the best known types rather than use the same resources to issue kits of subjects not made available before...

[Albeback52]

1 hour ago, Denford said:

Add to your list:

"Modellers have been crying out for it for years"

As for the Telford announcement, there will still be the other 2020 releases to be announced at some Trade Fair (NOT the Nuremberg Trade Fair) early January.  Does anyone know just when?

I forgot about that one!😂

From memory, the trade fair releases are about the second week in January

 

Allan

Edited October 30, 2019 by Albeback52

[Adam Poultney]

17 minutes ago, Giorgio N said:

 

WW2 subjects will keep the interest high for a long time ! And there are good reasons that go well beyond the modelling community.

WW2 was the last "global" conflict, the last conflict to involve the whole societies of many countries. Never again did the societies of the richest countries become so fully involved in a war, all following conflicts only hit those who fought them and a few others, while the rest of the Country kept going with their own businesses. This is true of many countries and is probably even more true of Britain.

As a result WW2 is still, more than 70 years later, the event that defines the common history of whole countries and we can see this in many aspects. Just think of what happens every time England meets Germany in a football game ! The iconography is very often still the same of the WW2 years, with flags and Spitfires and "don't mention the war" jokes... and listening to many it feels like the Battle of Britain was only a decade ago.

No surprise that whenever a documentary or a movie are made with the aim of reaching as many people as possible the best historical subject is always the same, WW2, with tales of bravery and glory from the many common men who suddenly found themselves in the middle of the largest conflict of the modern era. WW2 is still in many countries the event that ties all citizens together in remembrance of the common values that were at stake in WW2. Even if most of those who today attend the celebrations with tears in their eyes were born well past the end of the war.

 

So yes, the Spitfire and the Lancaster will live forever but so will the Hurricane or the Mustang, or their German enemies of any kind. They will for many years be a remainder of those glory days, days that were never equalled by anything that came later. Even a type of relatively little importance like the Defiant will always be tied to the magnificent feats of the Few in the Battle of Britain, while postwar types that achieved much better results will be slowly forgotten by all but the most avid enthusiasts.

I've recently read a comment on another forum stating that at some point most manufacturers will realise that there are good kits for all the "classics" and at that point it will be the time for all the other forgotten types... my reply was that the day when all the classics will be covered with good kits, there will be new and better kits of those same subjects issued every year. Afterall there's a reason why many companies have preferred to replace their old moulds of the best known types rather than use the same resources to issue kits of subjects not made available before...

And that brings up something I often wonder about...

What will the next generation of kits look like? We have kits like those from Eduard which often fit near perfectly and are detailed beyond belief. 

I don't see where kits can go next. 

 

(I read that comment in 12th doctor voice (capaldi), I've been watching too much Doctor Who)

Edited October 30, 2019 by Adam Poultney

[noelh]

41 minutes ago, Adam Poultney said:

And that brings up something I often wonder about...

What will the next generation of kits look like? We have kits like those from Eduard which often fit near perfectly and are detailed beyond belief. 

I don't see where kits can go next. 

 

(I read that comment in 12th doctor voice (capaldi), I've been watching too much Doctor Who)

I do think there's room for improvement. If might be like the difference between old TV, HD and UHD. If you look closely at any kit even the best of them the details are a little softer than you'd see on the real thing. The trailing edges of the flying surfaces could be thinner. The propeller blades could be thin enough to cut your finger. The panel lines would as close to reality as possible. I think it's possible although the state of the art at the moment is so good, maybe it's not worth the refinement. 

 

On the point of interest in WW2. I seem to recall something to the effect that younger people these days, are increasingly interested in the period. So it seems the interest is far from waning. 

 

So it's not just us older types. 

Edited October 30, 2019 by noelh

[JohnT]

If you wanted something really big, unexpected and cross national appeal to other countries with a war combat record then a 1/24 Tornado fits the bill

 

aye in my dreams