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Airfix 1/72 Concorde - In hand (Let the fun begin)


Dean1700

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G'day fellow plastic addicts,

I have the opportunity to get this kit but have heard that it's a dog of a kit so I'm interested to know just how bad it is. Is there any reviews that highlights the pros (if any) and cons or any progressive builds at all?

Putting aside its faults what is a reasonable price for this? I can get this for $58 AUD (Aussie dollary doos). Good price or not?

 

Thanks in advance

Edited by dean700
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Hello Dean700,

 

I built one and finally it ended in the bin. Here are my findings (those I can still remember):

 

- the front fuselage is out of shape; it should curve smoothly all the way from the visor to a point above the front door. If you sand it down, you will go through plastic. I attached pieces of Plasticard some Milliput and started again

- the nose is poor and requires a lot of work to look good

- cockpit windows aren't very accurate in shape

- cabin windows are bad. I filled them and then painted the windows (huge job)

- engine gondolas are too small (you will notice it at once)

- fin is out of shape (this is the easiest fix)

- landing gear is for the prototype (sits nose high)

 

And there might have been other issues as well. If you want a nice model of Concorde, then go for the Heller 1/125 scale kit. It is still probably the best one.

 

Cheers,

Antti

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4 hours ago, Space Ranger said:

There are a number of WIPs on this forum which describe the pitfalls of building this kit. It can be turned into a very nice model, but the path to same is strewn with frustration.

 

What was the retail price when first released?

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I built the Revell release of this kit,which is the same as Airfix and Heller,who first released it.

I had not much trouble building it,only the movable nose proved to be a problem.The rest went together quite well.

A big plus though is Revell's new instructions,they show the problem areas and how to avoid any difficulties.

I am quite happy with the outcome and would like to do another if not for the sheer size of the finished product.

 

It can be done if you are willing to take the challenges,you should bot be disappointed

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Thanks all. I'm not into civil airliners at all but when I realised this was available I just had to have it, even after reading all the negative things about it. Regardless I'm getting it....and it's BIG too (the bigger the better I say). I'm not sure how much it retailed for in Australia at the time but at $58 AUD (plus postage) I'm not going to pass on it.

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I built one some time ago. The fuselage comes in for parts, the drooped noose, the cockpit area, the passenger area and the tail. I would suggest that you build each side first and the join the two halves together. The drooped noose mechanism does not work and I would suggest that you abandon any idea of getting it to work. The fit of the wings to the fuselage needs to be approached with care and on my kit the engines seemed to be designed to fit in a hole in the wing that simply did not exist.

 

The was a set set of replacement wheels produces by Airwaves which I used and this avoided the rubber tyres. I believe that there was another set produced by another company (possibly Reicast?) and they are worth getting. As long as you are careful it can be built into a reasonable, and quite large model

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Dear Dean

I built one of these a few years ago, and yes, it needs a lot of work to make it look good. But when its done, it really stands out. My build is here on BM but I’m not good at posting links. 

When you put it next to a 1/72 Starfighter or Phantom, it really comes home what an achievement the Concorde is, Mach 2 in shirt sleeves for the passengers compared to being strapped into an ejection seat for hours.

 

Here’s a picture of mine.

spacer.png

 

Good luck

regards Toby

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7 hours ago, Planebuilder62 said:

Here’s a picture of mine.

spacer.png

 

That really looks amazing. I've been looking at the instructions and have read as much about the kit as I can. I decided early to build it with the nose up because things like the movable nose is just a gimmick that belongs to an earlier time. Not sure I wast to do it wheels up or down as the landing gear looks extremely fragile so I'll look at maybe getting the white metal replacements. The best thing I like about this is the sheer size of it. Love the AWACS scheme too.

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15 minutes ago, Beermonster1958 said:

Yes, I would agree with that. That's exactly the approach I took with the fuselage. I also cut a piece of plastic sheet to blank the area ahead of the windscreen and, below the clear visor. Looked less like an empty space then!! 😊.

For the nasty gaps along the underside wing leading edge,, I used plastic rod to fill them and, gently trimmed it down. A final light sanding was all it needed to get a flush joint. I did the same with the inner and outer lower wing halves.

I never pay any attention to negative comments and, negative reviews. I rather suspect that a lot of them (the comments anyway) are based on hearsay and, not experience. If its a subject I want, then I build it!

If people want to moan about "accuracy"  or otherwise, fair enough. That's their prerogative. I prefer to to work on the TLAR (That Looks About Right) principles of modelling! It certainly looks about right when built!

It is what one makes of it. A lot of people ritually denigrate Mach 2 kits. I have built several because, I like the subjects and, because they are unlikely to be duplicated. I look at the Concorde kit the same way. Is it worth it? I would answer that with an unqualified "Yes".

John

Thanks John, and that's exactly how I see it too. For me it's definitely a "goer".

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Mine is stalled, but I think it's worth mentioning something that has removed a lot of the pain for many (I've read a lot about this while building it), best not to buildup the fuselage as the instructions say, but build each side up separately to make a left and right half. That way most of the ill-fit results in simple gaps along the join between halves, which are much easier to fill and sand than the large changes of cross section that otherwise result.

 

I'm suprised that most people have ignored the gaping void in front of the cockpit, while going to great lengths to fix other innacuracies. As said above, blank it off. Very hard to find clear photos of this area but two pieces of plastic card  joined to form a verly flat V shape, and decorated with some transverse bits of card for detail does it if you're not too fussed, and is easy enough to get the right size to fit. Even I managed it. It helps if you've given up on having the snout moveable.

 

Stalling in my case was self induced. During removal and cleanup of the nacelles I managed to get a few bits transposed so they wouldn't fit to the lower wings. Had to disassemble and try again, and then a third time. They're now in place but with enormous remediation needed before I can paint them. I'm pretty sure all of that is down to me rather than the kit.

 

 

 

Paul.

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1 hour ago, gingerbob said:

"all" the 1/72 Concordes are exactly the same plastic?

Yes, all the same mould. Initally issued by Airfix (British Airways) and Heller (Air France) simultaneously and then by Revell. I can't see another set of moulds being made by anyone else for a 1/72 Concorde because of the cost but maybe one day?

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On 9/15/2021 at 8:58 PM, dean700 said:

Thanks all. I'm not into civil airliners at all but when I realised this was available I just had to have it, even after reading all the negative things about it. Regardless I'm getting it....and it's BIG too (the bigger the better I say). I'm not sure how much it retailed for in Australia at the time but at $58 AUD (plus postage) I'm not going to pass on it.

Dean,

 

The original kit(s) were issued in 2004, I have a Heller boxing (but with BA decals :) ). As I recall they were selling for around the $60 mark at the time. The current Revell release is going for $105 - $120 so $58 for the same plastic is a bargain.

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1 hour ago, Romeo Alpha Yankee said:

Dean,

 

The original kit(s) were issued in 2004, I have a Heller boxing (but with BA decals :) ). As I recall they were selling for around the $60 mark at the time. The current Revell release is going for $105 - $120 so $58 for the same plastic is a bargain.

 

Thanks Ray (S?). It will be in hand next week.

 

BTW I'm also in Canberra as well.

 

Cheers

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4 hours ago, dean700 said:

 

Thanks Ray (S?). It will be in hand next week.

 

BTW I'm also in Canberra as well.

 

Cheers

The (S) is correct Dean, are you an ACTSMS member or been to any of the meetings (before the current lockdown of course!)?

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5 hours ago, Romeo Alpha Yankee said:

The (S) is correct Dean, are you an ACTSMS member or been to any of the meetings (before the current lockdown of course!)?

 

No I'm not and no I haven't. I am on some in the same FB groups with you though. Due to circumstances I haven't been able to do much in the past 18 months but hoping that will change next year.

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On 9/15/2021 at 5:34 PM, Planebuilder62 said:

Dear Dean

I built one of these a few years ago, and yes, it needs a lot of work to make it look good. But when its done, it really stands out. My build is here on BM but I’m not good at posting links. 

When you put it next to a 1/72 Starfighter or Phantom, it really comes home what an achievement the Concorde is, Mach 2 in shirt sleeves for the passengers compared to being strapped into an ejection seat for hours.

 

Here’s a picture of mine.

spacer.png

 

Good luck

regards Toby

 

That looks stunning Toby....makes me want to build one! :worthy:

Any more pics (or a link) you can share of the Norwegian Sea King too?! 

 

@dean700 I say go for it :popcorn:

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Worth it or not? Only you can decide this. Read the WIP's for it and make your decision.

I have read some of the posts and decided it is not worth it for me. Why? There was some aspects to consider. 

1. Is it interesting enough for me to tackle a lousy kit. The answer was maybe, it is a rather cool looking aircraft.

2. Do I have the place to display it. Here the answer was no. It would at once have been put in a box in my basement ( if I would finish it)

Since none of the questions gave a clear yes, I decided that it was not worth it for me. I'm not afraid of tackle a bad kit if the subject is right but here it clearly wasn't.

So only you can say if it is worth it for you.

 

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To me it is  big fat NO!.

I have seen many built concorde-like planes but not a single attempt to correct its largest flaw, that is not the visor, not the nose wheel bay, not the cabin windows, not the wing fairing but the underbelly.

Far-too-high.jpg

 

IMG-1719.jpg

 

Far-too-high.jpg 

 

Too-Wide.jpg

 

Wrong-fairing.jpg

 

 

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