Why no 1/32 nd Airfix kits ?

[Erwin]

Hi all,

There is Revell that is concentrating on Luftwaffe planes in 1/32 nd scale the last years (Salamander, Arado 196,Ju 88,He 111).

There is Hasegawa going for new Japanese planes (Tony,Tojo) .There will even be a new Jack out in September !

There is Trumpeter that has many US planes.

So why didn't Airfix ever jump on the 1/32 nd wagon to produce mainly RAF planes ?

Edited August 1, 2011 by Erwin

[lufbramatt]

I think Airfix see 1/24 as their "big" scale, in which they virtually have the market to themselves, rather than the ever-competetive 1/32nd market. Which means pretty much whatever they chose as a new tool, they will be the only game in town.

[Erwin]

I think Airfix see 1/24 as their "big" scale, in which they virtually have the market to themselves, rather than the ever-competetive 1/32nd market. Which means pretty much whatever they chose as a new tool, they will be the only game in town.

I don't agree here. If you look what Trumpeter has in 1/24 th scale compared to Airfix.They have 17 kits !

The only one " new"from Airfix is the Mosquito.All the others are 1970's design.And even that are only 7 kits.

Edited August 1, 2011 by Erwin

[cmatthewbacon]

Trevor Snowden once told me (apropos 1/24 cars) that it’s because they need to have a “range” for the catalogue. They wouldn’t be able to launch a range of 1/24 cars without tooling up at least four, and preferably 6, so that there’s a reasonable section in the catalogue devoted to them. Which increases the risk substantially. I guess the same is true for 1/32 aircraft: they’d have to start with several at a minimum, whereas with the 1/24 planes, the new Mosquito sits alongside the Spitfire, Mustang etc...

bestest,

M

[AnonymousFO98]

Personally I would like to see Airfix concentrating on 1/72 and 1/48

There are plenty of 1/32 kits around and not all of us live in hangers

[Erwin]

Trevor Snowden once told me (apropos 1/24 cars) that it’s because they need to have a “range” for the catalogue. They wouldn’t be able to launch a range of 1/24 cars without tooling up at least four, and preferably 6, so that there’s a reasonable section in the catalogue devoted to them. Which increases the risk substantially. I guess the same is true for 1/32 aircraft: they’d have to start with several at a minimum, whereas with the 1/24 planes, the new Mosquito sits alongside the Spitfire, Mustang etc...

bestest,

M

I didn't mention the car kits as I posted in the aircraft section.

But what if Airfix produced a never before released subject as their first 1/32 nd model. Why not an RAF plane like the BP Defiant ? I'm sure that would get them going in that scale.

Edited August 1, 2011 by Erwin

[Dave Fleming]

The way to do it would be to bring in some outside kits to have a 'range' (e.g. rebox some Trumpeter or other kits) then add a single home built kit to the range. The difficult thing would be ensuring the 'reboxes' were available in the same time frame as the new kit!

[Erwin]

Isn't one of the typical things of Airfix that they still sell their old molds as "new" .

Take for example the Defiant again.They still sell that badly molded kit in 72 nd scale like they did in the 1970's. All those old kits are still in the catalogue.Nothing seems to change that much .

Then look at Revell and non of their old 1/32 nd kits are being produced today. Excempt for the couple of "Classic kit releases".

[thx6667]

Hi all,

There is Revell that is concentrating on Luftwaffe planes in 1/32 nd scale the last years (Salamander, Arado 196,Ju 88,He 111).

There is Hasegawa going for new Japanese planes (Tony,Tojo) .There will even be a new Jack out in September !

There is Trumpeter that has many US planes.

So why didn't Airfix ever jump on the 1/32 nd wagon to produce mainly RAF planes ?

But equally neither Revell, Tamiya or Hasegawa have any 1/24 aircraft kits. Airfix have no provenance of 1/32 aircraft kits, but plenty with 1/72 and 1/48, makes more sense to concentrate on that rather than trying to establish a new range/scale that would need at least three of four kits to kick off, all of which would require considerable investment and mean less resources for other kits.

[Julien]

Personally I would like to see Airfix concentrating on 1/72 and 1/48

There are plenty of 1/32 kits around and not all of us live in hangers

I will vote for that, 1.32 is too big for me.

Julien

[Julien]

Isn't one of the typical things of Airfix that they still sell their old molds as "new" .

Sorry but Airfix don't try and sell this stuff as "new" that would actually be against UK Law. No where on their packaging, web site etc does it mention new.

There is not a single model company out there that does not have old tool kits in their catalogue so don't just have a pop at airfix for doing so.

Julien

[thx6667]

Isn't one of the typical things of Airfix that they still sell their old molds as "new" .

As do Revell who still sell old Matchbox, FROG, Italeri and Hasegawa kits, not to mention the Cap Croix Du Sud 1/72 Mig 3 which is an atrocious kit!

Take for example the Defiant again.They still sell that badly molded kit in 72 nd scale like they did in the 1970's. All those old kits are still in the catalogue.Nothing seems to change that much.

Except that some of the older toolings have started to be retired in favour of new tooling, so clearly things are changing.

Then look at Revell and non of their old 1/32 nd kits are being produced today. Excempt for the couple of "Classic kit releases".

But then Revell are still selling their old 1/72 biplanes and their hoary old 1/72 Me 109E, in fact their catalogue has a fair number of relics still doing the rounds, so I don't quite understand the comparison with the Airfix Defiant and Revell's 1/32 kits.

Edited August 1, 2011 by Jonathan Mock

[Tony Whittingham]

I' in agreement with Lufbramatt and Jonathan Mock. 1/32 scale has a high cost of entry, due to the large numbers of superlative kits available from the Asian manufacturers. 1/24 had been owned by Airfix, when it came to aircraft. Trumpeter has made a good attempt, but has dropped the ball in some cases. Airfix should sieze the moment and revitalize their lineup.

How about some 50's or 60's Brit subjects? Meteor 8's for example? It's relatively simple to tool and used by many airforces. A Sea Fury also springs to mind, for the same reasons.

[thx6667]

I' in agreement with Lufbramatt and Jonathan Mock. 1/32 scale has a high cost of entry, due to the large numbers of superlative kits available from the Asian manufacturers. 1/24 had been owned by Airfix, when it came to aircraft. Trumpeter has made a good attempt, but has dropped the ball in some cases. Airfix should sieze the moment and revitalize their lineup.

How about some 50's or 60's Brit subjects? Meteor 8's for example? It's relatively simple to tool and used by many airforces. A Sea Fury also springs to mind, for the same reasons.

Or a new Gnat!

[AnonymousFO98]

Jonathan pipped me to it

To be fair to Revell on all but the smaller boxes, you can generally tell from the side of the box.

"Details on surface" differentiates from "Recessed panel lines" and newer kits.

[Erwin]

I think we are going off track a bit.

It's indeed nearly impossible to compare brands.

I just wondered why their have never been 1/32 nd Airfix kits.That's all.

[Test Graham]

You had your answer straight away: they don't do 1/32 because they do 1/24.

You didn't like the suggestion that they were the only 1/24 manufacturer because Trumpeter did them too, which is true, but what is Trumpeter's distribution in the UK compared to Airfix? Airfix still sell predominantly in the UK, and must outsell Trumpeter by many multiples.

[TheModeller]

The other point about Trumpys big scale dross is that most of it has been fairly recent, Airfix had 1/24th all to themselves from the release of the Spit in, what was it now, 1973/74?

[drdave]

Similarly, the Trumpeter "dross" is nearly 10y old if you mean the Spit V. The Hurricane isnt dross.

Trumpeter are planning a 1/32 Hurri according to IPMS Phillipines, and a Spit 24.

Airfix have a UK brand following in 1/24 Erwin. Its a home market thing like Hasegawa sticking to recent Japanese planes.

[lufbramatt]

I don't agree here. If you look what Trumpeter has in 1/24 th scale compared to Airfix.They have 17 kits !

The only one " new"from Airfix is the Mosquito.All the others are 1970's design.And even that are only 7 kits.

in the UK they do. It's fairly rare to see trumpeter kits on shop shelves over here, whereas the 1/24 airfix kits can be found all over the place. Trumpy stuff is also quite expensive. You occasionally see Vintage Fighter Series kits too, but again they're rare and quite toy like. Although some of them show their age, the 1/24 airfix kits are a solid base to build a decent model from, the shapes are all pretty good, and some, like the stuka, hold their own against more modern kits.

Airfix must know where they want to take the brand, and evidently, 1/32 isn't their thing. I'm sure if you turned up on their doorstep with a million quid to invest in a new 1/32 range they wouldn't turn you away though!

Edited August 1, 2011 by lufbramatt

[TheModeller]

Similarly, the Trumpeter "dross" is nearly 10y old if you mean the Spit V. The Hurricane isnt dross.

Trumpeter are planning a 1/32 Hurri according to IPMS Phillipines, and a Spit 24.

Airfix have a UK brand following in 1/24 Erwin. Its a home market thing like Hasegawa sticking to recent Japanese planes.

The Hurricane is the sole kit in Trumpys 1/24th line up of second rate crap that makes the brand worthwhile... But thats just my opinion.

Seeing the kit scaled down to 1/32nd would be a treat and long overdue.

Edited August 1, 2011 by TheModeller

[thx6667]

Airfix had 1/24th all to themselves from the release of the Spit in, what was it now, 1973/74?

1970 according to the mags at the time.

Erwin, take a look through most major kit companies ranges and you'll find some focus on one scale, others another. Tamiya, for example don't do 1/72 AFVs. Hasegawa have never gone for a full-on range of 1/35 armour. 1/32 has never been an aircraft scale for Airfix, 1/24 has so I would guess it would make more sense to develop any (hypothetical) new stuff in that scale rather than 1/32.

That's pretty much all there is to it!

[Iain Ogilvie]

Erwin - I really doubt this is an area Airfix want to/will go...

Compared to when I started the SIG back in the 90's our 1:32 cup now *really* runneth over - I can't keep up as it is - let alone Airfix joining the fray.

Do we really need the current flood of 1:32 kits to be ramped up by another manufacturer joining the game, or can't we be thankful for what were getting?

Which brings me to Trumpeter - I'm a huge fan - and who'd have thought we'd see some of the subjects they've done? But, please, slow down and nail those basic shapes before you release!!!

Of course - if Airfix did the TSR2, Valiant, Meteor etc in 1:32 they'd get my attention - or a Shackleton!!! - but doubt that's going to happen

Iain (who's got enough 1:32 kits to keep him going for at least 500 years already)

Edited August 1, 2011 by Iain (32SIG)