Airfix Kits

[Guest]

I was weaned on Airfix kits from a very early age .Is it me , or do i get the impression that Airfix is a dirty word today? I personaly think they have produced some good models in the past and although a lot of kits are not super dooper detailed and don't come with flashing lights or everything with knobs on , does this make them bad ?

I have spent a lot of time on some of their models and the results have been good. BUT you have to work on some of them . Is'nt that what good old fashioned modelling is about?

Yes there are other good manufactuers of kits ,Tamiya Hasagawa,Revell but even they sometimes need a bit of Modeller imput to get good results.I for one am looking forward to the release of the Nimrod and the Canberra. No doubt they will need altering modifying etc but the basics are usually there .

Don't get me wrong , some are really naff but again a lot are good .

Just a thought Pogo

[John]

Personally I'm not keen on Airfix, I've had a lot of problems with bad fitting parts, Revell are much better, but for me Tamiya are by far the best, not only do I find they fit together well but they have good instructions and the detailing on them is great.

At the moment I have 4 Airfix kits and 3 Tamiya one's, I will finish the Tamiya long before the Airfix one's, simply because I'm not looking forward to starting them and I'm not really sure why I bought them in the first place

I think Airfix need to take a good look at the competition and learn from them

[Guest]

Pogo,

I totally agree. I grew up with Airfix and still have avery soft spot for them. I think the biggest issue is that they haven't moved with the times as much as some other manufacturers have and that is holding them back now.

I only rarely made other manufacturers kits as a kid and when I bought the Airfix book, just released recently I couldn't believe how many I had made over the years.

They will probably always struggle to compete with Tamiya but there again they don't cost as much. Also, as I say many, many times who else makes the Old Bill Bus, British Steam trains, the Bently Blower etc.. I would still put together an Airfix kit and enjoy getting as much out of it as my skills will allow.

One thing I do have against them is the disgracefull way they treat Meccano, which must be back in the 80's now. I am sure Barry will know a lot more but I remember the news at the time about how they were dumping Meccano was all a bit sad.

[wonwinglo]

Now lets get this in perspective chaps,Airfix as you know were the first successful plastic kits in the UK,we are talking now of 40 years plus on some of these mouldings some of which are still in production albeit a bit ragged around the edges,the point that I am making is Tamiya etc have only come on the scene within the past 10 years and are aimed at the specialist modeller,Airfix never were intended as nothing more than sophisticated toys that modellers saw the potential in,lets not knock Airfix because we owe them a lot,ok they have been through some bad times,but have survived,only today I picked up my first TSR-2 kit,opening the box it looks like a superb model,a new generation kit from Airfix,when the new issues come out we will have a whole new range of newly tooled model kits to compare with anything today,once more they dont cost an arm and a leg,very competitive for the price.

So ok we have badly fitting kits from 40 years ago that have not kept up with the Jap tooling and pattern industry,but things are on the change,hopefully Airfix will be here to stay,live with that bit of filling in the knowledge that you are building a piece of modelling history,sharpen up your modelling skills with these old kits,take a look at the Airfix builders site and see what can be achieved in terms of results,just think how lucky we are today,my first small model kits were four lumps of wood that needed to be carved into the shape of the aeroplane,when Airfix brought out their awful in-accurate first Spitfire kit everyone thought that it was the bees-knees,because nobody had seen a plastic kit before,the problem is that we have been spoiled for choice and quality of fit is expected these days,enjoy these older kits while they are available still,but think of them in the context that they first evolved and paved the way for the current industry.

[Guest]

Barry has hit the nail right on the head some of these kits are very old in modelling terms but they did release the vulcan and were first in 1/24 scale kits. The mouldings are good for the age! But the secret is !!!!!!!!!!!!!! A modeller will want to build a kit of a subject the only one available is airfix Ie a Fairy Rotodyne now he can decry the age and poor fit but no other company would produce such a subject as its uneconomical due to interest. The bloodhound is another such subject. \\\airfix will forever be celebrated for producing interesting models of such diversity I for one are indebted to them for introducing me to other things rather than aircraft!

[Guest]

The Ariel Arrow, Julius Ceasar, RAF Tender Set, Saturn V Rocket, SRN4 Hovercraft, Mark One Cortina and E-Type Jag conversions for Airfix slot racing system, SUD Caravelle, Wallace Autogyro....etc..etc...

They and many more were all a part of my growing up.

[Guest]

Hmmmm Airfix slot racing Nice light grey track and i had an Auto Union And mercedes Those were the days

[Guest]

Thats the stuff. It went together with a white plastic clip in the middle.

They offerred a range of thier 1/32nd scale car kits as conversions to slot racing models. They actually looked pretty good but were far too light and high up to make good handling cars so consequently didn't really catch on.

They also were a bit prone to falling apart so spent most of thier time adorning the pits.