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AIRFIX 2022 HIT OR MISS?


trickydicky210

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Airfix have laid their cards (or kits) on the table, so what do we think?

 

There are some nice new tools and subjects that seem popular ( 1/48 Bucc and Anson) plus a magnificent 1/24 Superkit Spitfire 

 

A few more oldies brought back to life in the vintage range, good to see a Beaver and the Whirlwind ( Helo) made available again.

 

For me I would give the new range 9 out of 10 and think that Airfix have made some great choices, I particularly liked the way they laid out the range by category.

 

Most of the negative comments I have seen so far are based around the wrong scale and price. 

So was it a hit for you?

 

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Pretty happy with it, to be fair.  I'm not excited by the later Spits, but hey, plenty of people are, and Airfix isn't my own personal manufacturer after all.  I like the mkIX in 1/24 (but can't afford one just yet) and the Bucc. S2 in 1/48 (can't afford one of these yet, either!).  It's great to see the Blenheim IV back, although I've got one in the stash so I don't need to buy one.  I was also chuffed to see the Heinkel He111 P-2 and the Dornier Do17Z making a return.  In fact, I was so glad to see these latter two that I accidentally pre-ordered them, along with the new-tool Meteor F8.

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Always good to see a Beaver....   :)

 

New 48th Buc will go down well with a lot of folk.

The one thing that left me scratching my head though was the scale of the starter kit cars - is 1:43  normal in the model car world ?

That, and the 20% mark-up on the Victor......

 

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The Anson is a stand-out for me and although I would have expected to see this subject in 1/72 scale, I'm thrilled at how good this will look in 1/48th.

The Beagle and Beaver are great Vintage Classics releases and I'll probably get another F-80 just because it's a nice kit.  

Of the re-releases. the Harrier GR.9 with 'Michelle' nose art caught my eye and would look great with the equally Buxom 'Lucy' alongside. 

I won't give a score, but am pleased with what's on offer. The Superkit Spit should sell well too. 

 

Cheers.. Dave.  

 

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13 minutes ago, Graham Boak said:

1/43 is indeed a standard in the model car world, based on the original Dinky toys which were made to match the available model railways - now known as O gauge and gaining dramatically in popularity in railway modelling circles in recent years.

Thanks for the clarification.

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I think it's a good selection. 

 

Their hands may well have been tied by the effects of the Pandemic and by the parent company's financial position, so I'm not too surprised by the relative lack of new moulds; I think we've been spoiled in recent years. 

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The best 'element' of the releases is their Number x Size.

My greatest wish is not for any particular kit, but to see Airfix/Hornby Hobby return to profitability and thence pay off their Bank Loan.

Clearly whoever controls the budget feels this way too and the funds for all these releases must have been sanctioned even as far back as 2020.  It's hard to see how this wouldn't be repeated at least in the immediate future, so maybe we'll get some of the toolings we were hoping for but weren't announced.

One 'curious' feature that nobody so far seems to have mentioned is that all genuinely new subjects are of UK origin.

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9 minutes ago, Denford said:

One 'curious' feature that nobody so far seems to have mentioned is that all genuinely new subjects are of UK origin.

 

Probably a good thing as besides South Africa with the Bucc, all the other new tools were heavily exported so will still appeal internationally. 

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Pretty good - yes some are pricey but they will be bloomin' good no doubt.   The big Spit will be a great seller for years to come.   The Buccaneer will sell loads even at that price (i guess we have just got to get used to everything going up in price)and the Anson will appeal too.   The three 1/35 tanks look all ex (but recent) Academy - don't think they are new Airfix tools..?

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It's a hit for me. I think Airfix will do pretty well out of me this year - Bucc, Anson, Sabre, Lynx, Spit XVIII, Basset and Beaver will all be on my shopping list. Not really interested in the 1/72 Meteor (will stick with 1/48) and the 1/24 Spit isn't really for me, but I'm very impressed with it. When I saw the early announcement of the 1/24 Spit I lowered my expectations - I guessed that the investment in that would make it less likely there'd be an interesting new tool in 1/48 - but I'm happy to be wrong and very happy to see the 1/48 Bucc and Anson are on their way!

 

Slightly surprised not to see another boxing of the Vampire (perhaps the initial release is too recent) or a Black Buck Vulcan, and I wonder whether we're ever going to see an FGA.9 boxing of the Hunter. 

 

25 minutes ago, Denford said:

My greatest wish is not for any particular kit, but to see Airfix/Hornby Hobby return to profitability and thence pay off their Bank Loan.

Me too, I want to see Airfix thrive, its position has been precarious for far too much of my modelling lifetime (going back to 1980 - I remember being very disappointed when they went under in the early 80s and have been grateful to have them around ever since). But a good sign of a healthy company is that banks are willing to lend to them so I'd like to see them profitable to the extent that they can maintain a manageable level of debt!

 

37 minutes ago, Denford said:

One 'curious' feature that nobody so far seems to have mentioned is that all genuinely new subjects are of UK origin.

They know their brand and their particular corner of the market - I'm seeing this as a good sign too.

 

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I said in the now-locked Rumours, Etc. thread, that I expected to be underwhelmed. Well, I wasn't!

 

The Anson is the stand-out for me - lots of nice Australian civilian schemes to be made there! Must dust off the drawings I did for the CA kit ... And good to see some of the oldies coming back. I'll probably grab a Basset (RFDS conversion) and a couple of Beavers (ag. wagon conversions). May get a Meatbox, although I've got enough of them in the larger scale to do all I want to do. Just hope that Airfix didn't replicate the empty panel hole under the nose that they put in the 1:48 kit. Might also pick up a big Spitfire, especially if the conversion to a Mk. VIII is straightforward. 

 

None of the rest really float my boat, though.

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I've just noticed the wording on the Airfix announcement page viz. Airfix presents our first selection of product announcements for this year.  Am I reading too much into this or might there be further selections of products announcements, maybe at a toy fair?  Am I being unduly optimistic?

 

I'm happy with the kits announced, I'll definitely be getting an Anson and the 1/48 Spitfires, although I'll be waiting for a Buccaneer S.2B in RAF markings.  Might also get the Devonshire and Fearless kits as nostalgia builds.

Edited by 593jones
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Some great releases there together with some interesting oldies.

Highlights for me so far, the stunning 1/24 Spitfire Mk IXc, the 1/48 Buccaneer, Spitfire Mk XVIII, and the lovely looking Anson. Of the Vintage releases, the Bassett, the Beaver, the Whirlwind, the Victor and the new tooling of the Meteor F8.

Well done Airfix, hats off to you.

Now, I'll need to get in touch with Boris and Rishi to negotiate a reasonable increase in my pension!!

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Personally, I was a bit underwhelmed, I've already go several MPM Mk 8 meteors in various guises so I'm off the hook pretty much. Maybe another Beaver, more in the hope that some after market decals might appear, Oman anyone?  I do think it is a line up that'll do well for Airfix though & that is the whole idea, but if @593jones is right, maybe there s more to come. Here's hoping. :)

Steve.

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Pretty decent, I thought. I toddled over to Hannants and  - despite observation on another thread about need to dramatically reduce the stash size  - did some back ordering (one can always cancel. In theory...)

 

I'll definitely get a Bucc, a Spit 18 and possibly the XII (I must check how many I in fact have already, since I have a feeling I managed to forget ordering three from somewhere and bought another three. Owning my own flight of 41 Sqn in 1/48 might be a bit excessive...). The Anson will certainly be making an appearance in the stash, and I suspect that the F-86 may - although I have quite a few in 48th already (not all Airfix). The F-80 is pretty certain to be bought, as is the Meteor. I shall probably get a Boomerang or two, and I never got round to getting the Whirlwind - despite a friend building one at a 'bring something to do' day at school in 1980 and me thinking that it would be a good choice for my first helicopter if the local newsagent's model section had one in.

And I may have concluded that despite having nowhere immediately obvious to put it, and probably needing to wait another 15 (damn, only 15?) years until I'm retired (probably) and thus able to devote enough time to do it justice, a Spit IX ought to find it's way onto the list...

So all in all, I thought it a good effort by Airfix, and my wallet will take various hits accordingly this year/early 2023 (taking pre-emptive hits from Tempests and the like while I wait).

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1 hour ago, 593jones said:

Airfix presents our first selection of product announcements for this year.  

 

Well spotted and perhaps there is something in that. After reading the latest “Vintage Classics” themed Workbench blog, I honestly thought we would see the re-release of the Bristol Bloodhound set, although it doesn’t seem to appear within this ‘possible’ first release. No Black Buck Vulcan is also a strange omission, however like someone has mentioned with the Vampire, perhaps its too soon to release a new box of a kit essentially issued no longer than six months ago. 

 

I can see why 1/72 fans would be slightly disappointed, as the F.8 Meteor has been well served by MPM / Special Hobby so there’s nothing really new for them. On the other hand there’s bound to be something on offer for silly mixed scale modellers like myself and the thought of a large detailed Anson is a huge and pleasant surprise. I cannot wait to get my hands on this kit when its eventually released. Well played Airfix. 

 

Cheers.. Dave 

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Bit of a mixed bag from my point of view:

 

1/24 Spitfire IXc - a very impressive kit, whilst my head says no, my heart has a different view...

1/48 Buccaneer - a good choice by Airfix, as I said on the Bucc thread, disappointed it's not going to be the RAF version first but at least I'll have time to accumulate the funds for it when it finally comes out in the UK version that actually saw combat...

1/48 F-86F-40 - very pleased to see the slatted wing version which I plan to make into a slatted wing F.4, very excited about this...

 

Disappointed by the paucity of new 1/72 scale moulds but very pleased to see the one that has been moulded...

 

2 hours ago, Rabbit Leader said:

I can see why 1/72 fans would be slightly disappointed, as the F.8 Meteor has been well served by MPM / Special Hobby so there’s nothing really new for them.

 

Yes and no, the Meteor F,8 has been served by the MPM/Special Hobby kit but I'm a bit underwhelmed by it, especially the super thick outer wing panels which need a lot of work to thin down without affecting the cowling.

 

A lot of the re-releases are in 1/72 and there's some good stuff in the Classics range and there's the other kits I haven't mentioned which people seem pleased to see.

 

Overall, I think Airfix have done a reasonable job, not top of the class for me but by all means nowhere near the bottom either - 8 out of 10 from me.

 

 

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Im pretty much a 1/72 chap, so it would be easy to be disappointed. But I’m not. Although of the new tools I’ll only be having a couple of Meteors away, one has to be impressed with the 1/48 Anson and Bucc, and the big Spit - if I built in those scales I’d be pretty chuffed. These are not for me, but a thumbs up to Airfix anyway

 

SD

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I think it’s a good list. I’m a bit of a Spitfire fanboy, so the 1/24 Mk IX Spitfire has real ‘wow’ factor for me and I’ll buy one.
 

I’ll also buy the Spitfire 18 and XII - I already had plans to build an Airfix 14 as an 18, but may as well buy this boxing for the decals and rockets. I’ve also been keeping an eye open for a Mk XII on eBay - I’d built one previously and then sold it, but would like to add one to the line up again, so this becoming available again is good news for me.  
 

Others likely buys for me are the releases of the Blenheim, DHC Beaver, Harrier and Lynx. 
 

I also think the Anson and Buccaneer in 1/48 are going to be popular and hopefully excite others and sell well.

 

For me it’s a welcome list and I’ve certainly got enough there to keep me busy. 
 

Steve

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I was extremely happy this year as nearly everything was the 'wrong' scale or subject, thus delivering me from further temptation. 😁

 

A few of the vintage classics appeal - the G.50 and Chi-Ha in particular, and the JS-3 for its comedy value - but they won't cause financial ruin. 

 

Very pleased for the larger scale mob, of course. So, a big 👍 from me.

 

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