discussion Airfix 1/48 Bristol Blenheim Mk1

[Jim R]

Hi Barry
Good progress. The undercarriage detail looks very nice.
Jim

 

[BarryW]

I have been working on the engines and wings while between filling and sanding sessions on the fuselage seams.

The engines are nice but the panels are not great fit and they needed some filling and sanding. One join between two panels is particularly problematical to sand due to some raised detail. But it all came together in the end.

Both wings had some warping issues, one worse than the other. While manageable in this scale it would have been a massive problem with a larger scale. It really proves my point that this horrible soft Airfix plastic is unsuited for large scale kits. On the wing that had the most severe warping a dry fit shows that fitting the aileron will need some sanding and fettling.

 

[Jim R]

Hi Barry
It's such a shame that the plastic causes issues. Surely it would add hardly any cost to use a decent plastic. For a less experienced modeller it could easily put them off the hobby completely.
Jim

 

[LloydRey]

This is brilliant, would love a setup like this, may I ask where you bought that setup from, did you get this online or self built?

 

[BarryW]

This is brilliant, would love a setup like this, may I ask where you bought that setup from, did you get this online or self built?

The units on the desk are HobbyZone modules available from Scale Model Shop. The ‘benches’ are desks of an appropriate shape and size bought from Wayfare and the shelving built in by a carpenter.
https://www.scalemodelshop.co.uk/pr...d-storage/hobbyzone-pl-module-storage-system/

 

[BarryW]

A bit more work done, panels attached as are rudder and stabs.





the stabs had a really nice positive fit.

 

[Ian M]

Looking like a very nice kit with some good surface details.
A shame about the warpage in the wing parts. But is this only an Airfix issue? Serious question.
I wonder how other European brands plastic compare. Is the real culprit an EU directive that has forced changes to ingredients in the plastic. I recall some other brands also have quite soft plastic as well.

 

[BarryW]

Looking like a very nice kit with some good surface details.
A shame about the warpage in the wing parts. But is this only an Airfix issue? Serious question.
I wonder how other European brands plastic compare. Is the real culprit an EU directive that has forced changes to ingredients in the plastic. I recall some other brands also have quite soft plastic as well.

The ICM Cobra had very nice hard plastic with no warping on any of their kits that I built.

Airfix are not bound to obey EU Directives of course and neither is India where Airfix kits are manufactured. I have not found this soft plastic on any other brand I have built.

 

[BarryW]

Airfix provide a really nice building jig for the turret, something I have only seen on some high end kits before. Here it with with the first couple of parts positioned.


and more



All done and off the jig



Also I masked the wing tip lights. These masks are odd in that they are over sized and hang over the edge and don’t fold over.


Engines fitted to wings, nice fit.

 

[scottie3158]

Barry,
Looking good I don't know how soft the plastic is but the IBG kit I am building is also soft and has the same appearance as your Airfix plastic.

 

[BarryW]

Wings on, decent fit, just a little filler around the filets.

I masked up to spray Cockpit Green on the clear areas. Next up will be black primer.

 

[Jim R]

Hi Barry
Looking at your work so far it's clear that it's building up into a nice model. Good to see some paint going on.
Jim

 

[Tim Marlow]

Looks good and seems to be building well. As to the plastic, if Airfix want to sell to the EU they have to follow their rules. US rules could well be even more stringent. There may well be components that are banned from the finished article in both cases. The country of manufacture is pretty much irrelevant……however as this rule also applies to the Far Eastern manufacturers, who use a different, better quality styrene formulation, it is probably not the culprit. It is almost certainly just a cost thing, perhaps using a percentage of recycled material.

 

[BarryW]

Looks good and seems to be building well. As to the plastic, if Airfix want to sell to the EU they have to follow their rules. US rules could well be even more stringent. There may well be components that are banned from the finished article in both cases. The country of manufacture is pretty much irrelevant……however as this rule also applies to the Far Eastern manufacturers, who use a different, better quality styrene formulation, it is probably not the culprit. It is almost certainly just a cost thing, perhaps using a percentage of recycled material.

Yes, Tamiya sell into the EU, Trumpeter do, Zoukei Mura do and these all have much better quality harder plastic than Airfix. In fact Airfix are the only company I know using this crap soft plastic. I really cannot see any validity in the argument that blames the EU for this (much as I would love to throw mud at that organisation). As for the extra cost, I expect it would make a marginal difference. Would the fuss some made about the price of the new 1/48 Buccaneer be any greater if it was £76 instead of £75? To be honest I suspect the extra cost would be smaller than that. Indeed a decent plastic would help turn the emphasis to more positive remarks about fit and engineering, boosting sales and in so doing it would more than pay for itself. I am convinced that the negative comments that we so much of on social media about Airfix have the poor plastic and the old legacy kits to blame. Airfix addressed the legacy issue by relabelling these kits as Vintage.

 

[adt70hk]

Coming on nicely Barry. Can't comment on the reasons for the soft plastic but understand that you mean.

As for the turret jig, they did something similar with their newest 1/72 Mossie, where the fixing points on the wheel be wheels act as a jig.

Keep up the good work.

Andrew

 

[Tim Marlow]

Sure, but the plastic used could also flow better into the moulds, so lowering moulding pressure, and therefore reducing manufacturing cost per unit beyond just the cost of raw materials. It is something they could improve though, as the recent Airfix kits I have built have been excellent in design.
On the other hand, Rendedra, who mould most of the plastic gaming figures I make, use similar plastic to Tamiya, and I believe they mould product in the UK.

 

[Guest]

Airfix are the only company I know using this crap soft plastic.

I’ve built a number of Airfix 1:72 scale aircraft and though the plastic is soft, it hasn’t bothered me in the slightest. So I think what this is, is a matter of preference masquerading as universal wisdom: you prefer plastic that isn’t as soft as Airfix’s, but I suspect the plastic has the exact consistency Airfix wants it to have, because they (and probably plenty of modellers) do like it, or at least have no problem with it (like me).

FWIW, my own dislike is for the very hard kind of plastic you get from the likes of Hasegawa and Fujimi.

 

[Tim Marlow]

Could well be that. In my defence Jakko I absolutely hate silver coloured plastic no matter who makes it. You can’t tell if the sprue scars are smoothed until you paint it…
The newer Airfix stuff is absolutely no use for making stretched sprue, by the way, it springs back like elastic

 

[BarryW]

I’ve built a number of Airfix 1:72 scale aircraft and though the plastic is soft, it hasn’t bothered me in the slightest. So I think what this is, is a matter of preference masquerading as universal wisdom: you prefer plastic that isn’t as soft as Airfix’s, but I suspect the plastic has the exact consistency Airfix wants it to have, because they (and probably plenty of modellers) do like it, or at least have no problem with it (like me).

FWIW, my own dislike is for the very hard kind of plastic you get from the likes of Hasegawa and Fujimi.

As I think I pointed out. The big problem is warping and shrinkage. This is much less of a problem on smaller scale kits but on the large pieces involved in large scales like 1/24 it becomes a massive problem. This Blenheim build shows how the warping is manageable in 1/48 but factored up to 1/24 it really is an issue.

 

[BarryW]

A couple of shots of the model. I am about to start masking the wheel wells and bomb bay.