1/48 De Havilland Vampire F.3 & FB.5/FB.9 by Airfix - released

[Homebee]

37 minutes ago, Wez said:

(...) can they post pictures of the sprue shots, I'm interested in seeing whether they've included the parts for the other marks (intakes and wingtips).

Thread page 3... - https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235086428-148-de-havilland-vampire-f3-by-airfix-release-early-autumn-2021/&do=findComment&comment=4122949

 

 

V.P.

 

 

[Boman]

Damn, and with RNoAF markings - how did I miss this one

[Wez]

1 hour ago, Homebee said:

Thread page 3... - https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235086428-148-de-havilland-vampire-f3-by-airfix-release-early-autumn-2021/&do=findComment&comment=4122949

 

 

V.P.

 

 

But  are those the released sprues?

[mick b]

Does anyone else think the price tag of £30.75 a bit steep? I know it’s not compulsory to buy but that has put me off somewhat.

 

Mike

[Ali62]

Just now, mick b said:

Does anyone else think the price tag of £30.75 a bit steep? I know it’s not compulsory to buy but that has put me off somewhat.

 

Mike

I think you may just have to get used to new prices the way things are going in the rest of the world, just shipping and handling is soaring in price.

[janneman36]

Just got an email from Airfix that it is available and it looks very nice...

[Julien]

3 hours ago, Ali62 said:

I think you may just have to get used to new prices the way things are going in the rest of the world, just shipping and handling is soaring in price.

Quite container shipping rates have gone up 5 fold in some cases

[Vingtor]

12 hours ago, Boman said:

Damn, and with RNoAF markings - how did I miss this one

 

It was still RNAF when the Vampires were operated ... 😉

[Britman]

Good reason to produce more products in this country.

 

Keith

[TEXANTOMCAT]

I soooo hope everyone from now on simply calls it the 'F dot 3'  - I await the Spit Tee Arr  Dot Eye Exx personally

 

TT

[Wez]

5 hours ago, Britman said:

Good reason to produce more products in this country.

 

Keith

 

But then the tooling costs go up and the price increases anyhow.  I'm sure Airfix, like many firms are balancing the costs of tooling and production in this country vs abroad, once the balance tips in favour of doing it in this country I'm sure they'll make the switch.

[Boman]

14 hours ago, Vingtor said:

 

It was still RNAF when the Vampires were operated ... 😉

Honestly don't care, Nils 😋 Still stoked about RNoAF markings straight out of the box, not often seen 🤩

[SAT69]

On 11/4/2021 at 3:51 PM, mick b said:

Does anyone else think the price tag of £30.75 a bit steep? I know it’s not compulsory to buy but that has put me off somewhat.

 

Mike

That works out to around $41.52 US. That doesn't strike me as too much to spend. 

[mick b]

10 hours ago, SAT69 said:

That works out to around $41.52 US. That doesn't strike me as too much to spend. 

And if you’re happy to pay that then fine. My point was that for its size and quality, from what I’ve seen of it in the modelling press, that it’s a tad steep considering you can get, say, a Profipack Eduard 48th Spit for less but then I guess they haven’t come via the Suez or wherever?

 

Mike

[Vingtor]

10 hours ago, Boman said:

Honestly don't care, Nils 😋 Still stoked about RNoAF markings straight out of the box, not often seen 🤩

Will be interesting to see if the decals have the stencils in Norwegian text (as the operational aircraft had), or in English (like on the repainted Vampire at Gardermoen). That is, for those who care.... 😉

[Richard123]

6 hours ago, Beermonster1958 said:

With all due respect, I don't necessarily agree.

I think (and, I'm willing to stand corrected), that cost was one of the major factors in shifting production overseas.?

That being the case, would  higher production costs in the UK not also result in correspondingly high prices.

The only difference we'd then see would be modellers whining about the cost of items produced in the UK! 🤔😉?

 

John

 

 

I think there's a fine balance to be struck and I think the manufacturers will be looking at this. There's a European manufacturer who allegedly can't afford to bring their product to Europe because of the shipping cost so we won't see their kits for now. If shipping outweighs manufacturing then it'll be cheaper to make things closer to home. I know from experience that so called "cheap labour" from overseas isn't so cheap any more, so that will probably be a factor too. I think Eduard mould their own kits, to a high standard too, so if they can do it why can't others?

[SleeperService]

53 minutes ago, Richard123 said:

I think there's a fine balance to be struck and I think the manufacturers will be looking at this. There's a European manufacturer who allegedly can't afford to bring their product to Europe because of the shipping cost so we won't see their kits for now. If shipping outweighs manufacturing then it'll be cheaper to make things closer to home. I know from experience that so called "cheap labour" from overseas isn't so cheap any more, so that will probably be a factor too. I think Eduard mould their own kits, to a high standard too, so if they can do it why can't others?

Unfortunately years of overseas sourcing has left very few companies in the UK able to undertake most types of work. Those that remain are pretty booked up already with long-term orders. Penny-wise pound foolish again.

BOT I'd prefer a twin seater but will be getting at least one of these. The price seems reasonable as long as the quality is there if not then £10 will be too much. I include accuracy in the quality too. Fact is we'll have a mainstream 1/48 Vampire available at long last and that can't be bad.

[PattheCat]

I thought Airfix had committed in 2017 to do the 1/48 mouldings in the UK again. If I'm not mistaken they did it for the 1/48 P-40 and Meteor, didn't they?

[Tbolt]

4 hours ago, PattheCat said:

I thought Airfix had committed in 2017 to do the 1/48 mouldings in the UK again. If I'm not mistaken they did it for the 1/48 P-40 and Meteor, didn't they?

 

I know the P-40 was produced in the UK, but my boxing of the Meteor says it was made in India. Have any of Airfix's kit since been moulded in the UK?

[Laurent]

4 hours ago, PattheCat said:

I thought Airfix had committed in 2017 to do the 1/48 mouldings in the UK again.

 

23 minutes ago, Tbolt said:

I know the P-40 was produced in the UK

 

To do mouldings and producing a set of sprues are different things. The former requires CNC and electro erosion machines, the later an injection machine. What did Airfix really commit to ?

[Britman]

Well, that got the debate rolling. Looking forward to the kit!.

 

Keith

[71chally]

1 hour ago, Tbolt said:

 

I know the P-40 was produced in the UK, but my boxing of the Meteor says it was made in India. Have any of Airfix's kit since been moulded in the UK?

Definitely the Victor.

 

I thought the UK produced kits stood out for their quality, not suffering some of the niggles that affected other kits, such as soft plastic, short shots etc.

[Troy Smith]

14 hours ago, Vingtor said:

Will be interesting to see if the decals have the stencils in Norwegian text (as the operational aircraft had), or in English (like on the repainted Vampire at Gardermoen). That is, for those who care.... 

If you help with specifics, tell Airfix  They read here, and they do ask for advice on occasion.   Not that they always follow it.... 

 

2 hours ago, Laurent said:

To do mouldings and producing a set of sprues are different things. The former requires CNC and electro erosion machines, the later an injection machine. What did Airfix really commit to ?

Moulds make in China, actual moulding in the UK was done at Plastech in Newhaven, who do their Quickbuild kits.      I think they did one of the Ju-87 runs as well.  The ones moulded in the UK had this written on the box IIRC.

 

14 hours ago, Beermonster1958 said:

I think (and, I'm willing to stand corrected), that cost was one of the major factors in shifting production overseas.?

That being the case, would  higher production costs in the UK not also result in correspondingly high prices.

Some were moulded in the UK.  With the massive increase in shipping, UK production may end up being viable again. 

 

I made comments on this here

 

 

It has been mentioned before, but Airfix are part of Hornby, who carry a lot of debt.

As such the beancounters are all about maximum profit against costs, 

   In Airfix glory days, the kit division was always profitable,   I suspect if Airfix were just a dedicated small model company, for comparison,  say Eduard, they could, well, be a bit more flexible, and have the time to get the details right,  and make full use of a potential tooling, Airfix frustrate me in while they block off options, eg no high back Spitfire XIV (requires new fuselage, canopy and some interior bits)  hard wing F-86 (as didn't have a slatted wing to scan, but is the gaping hole in 1/48th F-86 market )    A lot of this must be accountant driven,  but seems a shame to not even set up toolings in a way that mean an for a small amount of new parts a whole series of options could open up, which is exactly how Eduard work. 

 

 

 

[Boman]

On 11/6/2021 at 10:14 AM, Vingtor said:

Will be interesting to see if the decals have the stencils in Norwegian text (as the operational aircraft had), or in English (like on the repainted Vampire at Gardermoen). That is, for those who care.... 😉

The good thing is that it just might be that someone will prepare an aftermarket sheet with also the appropriate stencils Nils 😋

[Vingtor]

40 minutes ago, Boman said:

The good thing is that it just might be that someone will prepare an aftermarket sheet with also the appropriate stencils Nils 😋

 

Did that some years ago. It is sold out now. Luckily I have put aside some sheets for my own models. 🙂