Old Airfix For Plastic Modellers magazines.

[TBC]

Just curious as to whether these magazines dating back to the 1970's contain any useful information. I wouldn't want to write them off necessarily just due to their vintage.

[Paul821]

For some of us of a certain age they will contain a large element of nostalgia.

 

Apart from that you will find that much of the information contained is now available elsewhere. 

[Seahawk]

You will find them chock-full of information: people expected to get more for their money than pretty pictures in those days.  However many (most?) of the builds and conversions will have been superseded by more recent kits (eg there was a brilliant couple of articles in 1973 on converting the then new Fujimi 1/76 Pz 38(t) into various self-propelled guns: now UM do far better detailed kits of each variant) and much of the (often valuable) historical info has subsequently been published in book form, probably available off E-bay for peanuts (eg MJF Bowyer's series on Bombing Colours and Fighting Colours).  And some of the info will have since been proved plain wrong.  I think the main value will lie in the Photopage, containing photos sent in by readers, usually from personal albums and hence rare) and the occasional letter in the Letters page containing first-hand info from People Who Were There.  However both Photopage and Letters were in decline by the 1970s, so pickings could be slim (I'd put the heyday of Airfix Magazine as 1968-73, though not bad until about 1976).  All the same, if you're getting them free or dirt cheap, they're probably more deserving of shelf-space than the highly-coloured froth that passes for most magazines nowadays.

 

 

[czechnavy]

I am lucky enough to have acquired most of the Airfix Magazines from 1965(ish) up to the early 1980s.  Agree with Seahawk above that their peak was in the late 60 & early 70s.

 

They do contain lots of inspiration and can often be picked up for next-to-nothing at shows - don't bother with evil-bay, the prices asked on there are silly!!

 

There are indices at:

 

http://www.aeroflight.co.uk/mags/contents/airfix-magazine-1960s-contents-listing.htm

http://www.aeroflight.co.uk/mags/contents/airfix-magazine-1970s-contents-listing.htm

 

You can see some copies at:

 

https://archive.org/details/Airfix_Magazine_1975-06

 

go to the foot of that page for links to other issues that have been scanned and in available on line.

[dogsbody]

You can find quite a few old Airfix mags here:

 

https://archive.org/search.php?query=airfix+magazine&and[]=subject%3A"airfix+magazine"&sort=titleSorter

 

 

 

Chris

[AWFK10]

Two of the MJF Bowyer series from the 1970s were never published in book form, as far as I know: the Fighting Colours one covering WW1 and the interwar period, and (maybe more useful, as less has been published on it) Army/Air colours, covering WW1 and interwar army co-operation aircraft; the Lysander, Tomahawk and Mustang; target tugs and gliders. There were other articles that didn't interest me at the time but that I found useful later:  two series on uniforms of the British Army and of the Franco-Prussian War come to mind. Unfortunately, I had to ditch a load of mine for lack of space when I sold my mother's house, but I've managed to hang onto several years' worth. And I echo Seahawk's last sentence.

[T-21]

The Gerald Scarborough article on UK Agricultural aircraft and vehicles is a  gem. Converting the Tiger Moth and Auster kits to crop sprayers.

Edited June 21, 2019 by T-21

[Paul J]

I've still got a whole load from February 1965 to just before they went to the A4 size mags.  I keep them handy in my shed... in case .....

[fightersweep]

I'll echo the above comments. I've got a fair old stash of Airfix magazines from the 60s, 70s and 80s. I much prefer them to current magazines. the contemporary stuff largely seem to be show cases for modellers that are far better than I'll ever be, and you're left feeling that way. The old magazines educated on a broad range of subjects. I picked up a lot of useful info from them, and the conversions and builds were just different. These guys weren't showing off how great they were, it all about this is how I do it, and I'll show you how too step by step. The last magazine I "collected" was Aircraft Modelworld" in the mid 80s. To be fair, that had some great articles also, but then I'm a sucker for all those old magazines like Airfix, PAM and Scale Models.

 

Steve

[Seahawk]

37 minutes ago, fightersweep said:

 The old magazines educated on a broad range of subjects. I picked up a lot of useful info from them, and the conversions and builds were just different. These guys weren't showing off how great they were, it all about this is how I do it, and I'll show you how too step by step. 

Ooh, education: naughty word nowadays.  As you say and rather like on this site, I learned a lot about things I wasn't really interested in and also things I became interested in later.

On ‎6‎/‎21‎/‎2019 at 9:45 AM, T-21 said:

The Gerald Scarborough article on UK Agricultural aircraft and vehicles is a  gem. Converting the Tiger Moth and Auster kits to crop sprayers.

Gerald Scarborough is in my book one of the unsung heroes of plastic modelling.  No sooner had a new Airfix kit hit the streets, then he would produce articles showing you how to convert it into something slightly different (eg switching suspension units to get an early Sherman and a late Lee/Grant, Grant command vehicle) or radically different (Panzer IV to Hummel SPG) with the aid of a bit of plastic card and a bit or two robbed from another kit.  His titles in the old Airfix Modelling Guide series are still worth a look though would give today's rivet counters apoplexy.  His mantle passed to Terry Gander (Panzer IV to Jagdpanzer IV, Panzer 38(t) to Bison, various Marders and Flakpanzer 38(t)).