This is sometimes hard work rather than fun

[Planes123]

Very good job. 👊🏻

[Bigglesof266]

To start with, very nice job.    

Neglected by modelling manufacturers, I suspect we all understand the probable why it is so. Sadly, the Stirling will never sell in the numbers of its much better known and famous sibling the Lancaster. Notwithstanding Italeri's offering of a few years ago, of course I agree with everyone else that I'd like to see it revisited with a new tool release of the quality of Airfix's Whitley et al by someone, and as most of us would suspect, Airfix of course the perfect candidate. 

 

That said, more a comment on your headline to say, only if one permits it to be. I also suspect perspective on the kit (A07002 the current rebox of the original 1966 release) itself a matter of modeller perspective dependent in degree upon age and era of their youth. My own is not to try and turn a sow's ear into a silk purse. It is what it is. Enjoy it for that and enjoy the vintage building experience as was. That's not to say one shouldn't try and turn out the best sow's ear one can by using one's fitting skills and advantage of masking and airbrush available today, but limit the perfectionism to that. I didn't have as hard a time experience with the Stirling as you did, although there was plenty of flash, and a couple of parts like the pitots short moulded. My 1968 mould Airfix Hampden was worse, as was the 1958 Comet mould. The plastic used on the Made in India kits (as was a decade ago) was soft recycled stuff Airfix used at that time, utterly dreadful to work with, although I like the light blue moulding dye of the Stirling.

So as I've inferred above, I have the Stirling kit, built about a decade ago in a nostalgic revisitation accomplishing something I wanted to do all those years ago but couldn't then. Ten going on eleven years old I was around at the time of the model's initial release, although I could never afford it then. It was top of the price tier of Airfix's 1/72 kits in 1966, quite beyond pocket money unless saving all for an aeon. Undeniably, the kit isn't up to contemporary standards in company with a quite a few fortunately ever diminishing few others from Airfix's current lineup. e.g. HP Hampden, DH.88 Comet to name but those two. 

The way I look at it is that they stem from another era when base modeling skills and sanding were prerequisite and airbrushes few. Their target demographic when released were us baby boomer kids and teens who decorated mostly with Humbrol enamels from their near enough limited colour range applied with a hairy stick. The technology used to produce the mould and model along with expectations of everything about the finished result were very different from that of the primary modelling demographic of today. I'd wager most from that time were use as for play fighting imaginary battles with more than a few meeting a fiery dripping plastic end if not blown to bits with a penny bunger. 👍

If built with all of the above in mind and expectations of the final result accordingly, the experience can result n enjoyment rather than the frustratingly "hard work rather than fun". That's not a criticism of your personal preference or contemporary expectation perspective BTW, just an observation of how I approach it. All the best. Cheers.

[IanC]

On 11/19/2021 at 10:51 AM, Heather Kay said:

While I agree with the sentiments about retooling the Stirling, let's remember it's not that long ago that Italeri did produce a new tool kit at 1/72nd. I also recall reading that Airfix aren't keen on designing models if there isn't an extant airframe for them to study. 

 

But is that the case Heather? They managed with the Whitley, and please correct me if I'm wrong, but there are also no surviving examples of that aircraft? Perhaps it's the availability of original drawings. What did Italeri base theirs on?

 

It may well be the case that the project is doomed for that and the more dreary commercial reasons, but I remain the eternal optimist as far as Airfix and Stirlings are concerned. 😄

 

 

 

 

 

[Bigglesof266]

Don't quote me on the following IanC, as my memory may well be mistaken. I do know there is no extant example of the Stirling, and when I was reading Airfix's stance on not doing new tool kits for which there were neither a surviving airframe example nor original engineers drawings and why years ago, I vaguely recall the Stirling being mentioned as an example of same.    

[Allan31]

I have 2 of those kits in the stash.

 

 

I'm pretty sure I started one of them and finished up the cockpit area and don't recall any difficulties but they are old pressings.

 

Sadly, the newer issues of kit from the tamyagawa land tend to spoil us. Remember, we are called "AIR-FIXers" for a reason.

Edited November 21, 2021 by Allan31