Diggers11 Posted January 11, 2020 Share Posted January 11, 2020 On 1/10/2020 at 12:31 PM, Dave Fleming said: Workbench update confirms the Tractor and Scammels from the catalogue, and that the 'beginner' kits are simplified, but with full versions as well https://www.airfix.com/uk-en/news/workbench/a-new-decade-of-airfix-modelling-excellence So there are as follows all in 1/72, Beginner Firefly Tank + Full kit Firefly Tank Beginner Tiger Tank + Full kit Tiger Tank Beginner Spitfire Vc + Full kit Spitfire Vc Beginner Red Arrows Hawk + ? Does this mean there is a new tool Hawk that's not been announced yet as that's what the Workbench blog suggests. The author of the blog didn't exclude the Hawk from their statement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanC Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 (edited) On 1/10/2020 at 1:31 PM, klr said: Interestingly, neither of the "full" Tiger schemes are for the Bovington "Tiger 131". Neither is the scheme for Tiger "starter" kit. They've gone for a later version of the Tiger, so '131' isn't possible. Edited January 12, 2020 by IanC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete F Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 2 hours ago, IanC said: They've gone for a later version of the Tiger, so '131' isn't possible. They seem to have gone for a mid production so I guess future releases could add the parts necessary to push it up to a late production or back to the early examples including 131. As an aside I have built a fair few Tiger 1s in 1/72 in my time and there never seems to have been a problem in obtaining good ones, at least in the last decade or so. Given the effort involved I wonder who Airfix are aiming this new tool at? This is not a complaint - the more the merrier in my view but it was quite a surprise to see it announced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete F Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 3 hours ago, IanC said: They've gone for a later version of the Tiger, so '131' isn't possible. As another aside in the classic conflict set they have given the Tiger the 007 marking which along with the text below implies this was the tank that Michael Wittman was using when he was killed. If so then this was a late version with steel wheel rims not the mid production they have illustrated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Botan Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 29 minutes ago, Pete F said: As an aside I have built a fair few Tiger 1s in 1/72 in my time and there never seems to have been a problem in obtaining good ones, at least in the last decade or so. Given the effort involved I wonder who Airfix are aiming this new tool at? This is not a complaint - the more the merrier in my view but it was quite a surprise to see it announced. Tiger is probably the most known tank in history, so no wonder everybody want to have one in their catalogue, and I guess still everybody gets profits of it. It was one of my first models I ever got. Old Airfix Tiger is, well, old, in basically death scale and its track assembly isn't especially friendly to beginners. I wasn't surprised at all Airfix decided to retool it. Still, that shovel on the front of Tiger is awful, good it is easy to remove. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete F Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 52 minutes ago, Botan said: Still, that shovel on the front of Tiger is awful Agreed and not what we've come to expect. Maybe we are not looking at the finished version. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klr Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 9 hours ago, IanC said: They've gone for a later version of the Tiger, so '131' isn't possible. Thanks for the correction. I just saw the early wheels and assumed they'd taken the easy Bovington option. I should have looked at the turret: No smoke dischargers, late-style commander's cupola, centrally located fume extractor fan ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klr Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 (edited) 5 hours ago, Pete F said: Agreed and not what we've come to expect. Maybe we are not looking at the finished version. Hopefully. There are no headlight(s) either. In practice, it seems these were sometimes not fitted, or removed in the field. But something still ought to be included: A single headlight on the top left corner (from July 1943), or on the centre of the front driver's plate (from December 1943). The latter would be the more likely, given that there are no S-minenwerfer on the hull, and they were dropped in November 1943. A headlight on both top corners would pre-date the turret redesign. Now that I look again, the kit has mount points on either side of the front hull, just ahead of the front plate. This is where the headlights were on very early Tigers. EDIT: And let's hope the staggered roadwheel layout is reproduced. Neither Revell nor Trumpeter got that right in this scale, but Zvedza did ... Edited January 12, 2020 by klr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElectricLightAndy Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 I wish they would release those new car kits as proper kits, even pre-coloured snap togethers would be fine, but why-oh-why do they have to be Lego imagine a mainstream kit of the e-pace in 1/24 (or 1/32) or better yet the F-type... or the AM DB11 etc, there would be a market for them, surely? (or a James bond tie in) Andy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Work In Progress Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 (edited) 12 hours ago, ElectricLightAndy said: why-oh-why do they have to be Lego Because that market is more important to them than the market represented by the handful of customers who post on places like this. And is also far more important to _us_ than is generally appreciated. The first model cars and aeroplanes I ever made at the age of six or seven were Lego, and that was when everything had to be made out blocks and slabs. If there are no seven year olds getting interested in starting to make things then there is zero future for Airfix or any company like it - and these models are brilliant for getting kids interested when they have far more alternatives than we ever had in earlier decades. I've given several from this range away to kids amongst friends and family and they get made and create interest in the whole idea of making things. These, and the new simple beginner kits from Airfix as a next step, are absolutely needed. Edited January 13, 2020 by Work In Progress 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElectricLightAndy Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 2 hours ago, Work In Progress said: Because that market is more important to them than the market represented by the handful of customers who post on places like this. And is also far more important to _us_ than is generally appreciated. The first model cars and aeroplanes I ever made at the age of six or seven were Lego, and that was when everything had to be made out blocks and slabs. If there are no seven year olds getting interested in starting to make things then there is zero future for Airfix or any company like it - and these models are brilliant for getting kids interested when they have far more alternatives than we ever had in earlier decades. I've given several from this range away to kids amongst friends and family and they get made and create interest in the whole idea of making things. These, and the new simple beginner kits from Airfix as a next step, are absolutely needed. I do appreciate that, I completely agree, but like with the planes, they could do a couple of proper kits as well as the quick builds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k5054nz Posted January 30, 2020 Share Posted January 30, 2020 For anyone else interested in the Top Gun and Top Gun: Maverick kits, going by Steffen Arndt's photo of the Top Gun standee at Nurnberg the 1986 movie kit boxes are designed to evoke the originals as opposed to the straight copies currently on Airfix's site as the aircraft on the boxes are clearly not the 1986 box art models. I'm really hanging out for better pictures of all five kit boxes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klr Posted January 30, 2020 Share Posted January 30, 2020 3 minutes ago, k5054nz said: For anyone else interested in the Top Gun and Top Gun: Maverick kits, going by Steffen Arndt's photo of the Top Gun standee at Nurnberg the 1986 movie kit boxes are designed to evoke the originals as opposed to the straight copies currently on Airfix's site as the aircraft on the boxes are clearly not the 1986 box art models. I'm really hanging out for better pictures of all five kit boxes. Well, judging by that box art, the F/A-18 kit is clearly of a "first generation" Hornet, not a Super Hornet. So our suspicions about Airfix recycling its old F/A-18A kit seem to be correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k5054nz Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 38 minutes ago, klr said: Well, judging by that box art, the F/A-18 kit is clearly of a "first generation" Hornet, not a Super Hornet. So our suspicions about Airfix recycling its old F/A-18A kit seem to be correct. Quite right, I admit I was more focused on the P-51D and the 1986 trio. At least Revell is providing another option for Maverick’s Super Hornet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albeback52 Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 10 hours ago, klr said: Well, judging by that box art, the F/A-18 kit is clearly of a "first generation" Hornet, not a Super Hornet. So our suspicions about Airfix recycling its old F/A-18A kit seem to be correct. Are they not also recycling their ancient 1972 F-14 as well? With the recent tie in with Academy, I would have hoped for their recent F-14 in the box with appropriate decals. Allan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klr Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 24 minutes ago, Albeback52 said: Are they not also recycling their ancient 1972 F-14 as well? With the recent tie in with Academy, I would have hoped for their recent F-14 in the box with appropriate decals. Allan It seems the current Academy tie-in is strictly limited to 1:35 AFVs. For whatever reason, Airfix is unwilling and/or unable to have modern kits in all those Top Gun boxes. Maybe it figures the average purchaser of these kits is not a hard-core modeller, and won't care so much. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Fleming Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 'Gift sets for kids' It remains to be seen which a4 kit appears - it could be the ancient A4A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albeback52 Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 (edited) 53 minutes ago, Dave Fleming said: 'Gift sets for kids' It remains to be seen which a4 kit appears - it could be the ancient A4A I think that at least might be the recent A4. Kit description shows 116 parts. Allan Edited January 31, 2020 by Albeback52 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albeback52 Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 2 hours ago, klr said: It seems the current Academy tie-in is strictly limited to 1:35 AFVs. For whatever reason, Airfix is unwilling and/or unable to have modern kits in all those Top Gun boxes. Maybe it figures the average purchaser of these kits is not a hard-core modeller, and won't care so much. Probably right at that. The A-4 at least might be the recent tooling though. Kit description shows 116 parts Allan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diggers11 Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 16 hours ago, klr said: Well, judging by that box art, the F/A-18 kit is clearly of a "first generation" Hornet, not a Super Hornet. So our suspicions about Airfix recycling its old F/A-18A kit seem to be correct. How can it be "Maverick's F/A-18 Hornet" when the character didn't fly it? (I haven't seen the new film, maybe he does) Its a bit worrying that Airfix don't know the difference between the two aircraft. It would be like selling a spitfire kit in a box branded as a Hawker Hunter. Although I see from the Hornby video on the Airfix Youtube channel that Scalextric are trying to pass off a LMP1 race car as a batmobile, so accuracy not so high a priority it seems. The box art on the Airfix website shows a Super Hornet carrying the same scheme as the box on display at Nuremberg so presumably their old Hornet kit is pretending to be something its not. I know this range is supposed to sell to kids excited about a film that may not know any better. But I think if I was that age and I found out the kit depicts the wrong aircraft I would not be very happy. I predict next year we will see their recent 1/72 EE Lightning kit packaged as a F-35B Lightning II. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VMA131Marine Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 19 minutes ago, Diggers11 said: (I haven't seen the new film, maybe he does) Nobody has seen the new film; it's not out until the summer ... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VMA131Marine Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 5 hours ago, Albeback52 said: Are they not also recycling their ancient 1972 F-14 as well? With the recent tie in with Academy, I would have hoped for their recent F-14 in the box with appropriate decals. Allan The Academy F/A-18E would have been ideal as well as it is designed to be easy to assemble without sacrificing too much accuracy or detail: https://www.cybermodeler.com/hobby/kits/aca/kit_aca_12547.shtml 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEXANTOMCAT Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 OK so its not a Super bug but its a cheap way of Airfix flogging product to the 'ordes of movie goers who want an 'ornet innit. Without buying it in from Academy (or whoever) they didnt have a Superbug in the tool bank whereas they do have a relatively new tool Mustang and A-4 and a Legacy F-18. The licence probably cost em a bit so I think it's quite understandable...in fact if you look at the amount of money Hornby have spent on licencing across their brands this year the sums probably are quite eye-watering - DC Comics, Back to the Future, Only Fools, Beatles, 007...etc - plus until we see the movie in full maybe Maverick does stir the porridge in an early F-18! TT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nheather Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 23 minutes ago, VMA131Marine said: Nobody has seen the new film; it's not out until the summer ... But plenty of trailers are out and Maverick is flying an F-18. Cheers, Nigel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VMA131Marine Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 TBH, there's very little else in the US Navy inventory that Maverick could fly. Top Gun in F-35Cs would seem rather pointless since the Lightning II is designed to shoot opponents down at BVR using a few buttons as it co-ordinates and networks with other friendlies in the area. If the opponent decides to hit the burners and run, the F-35 isn't fast enough to catch them to engage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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