Airfix. 04:44 - Dec 27 with 2402 views | Benters | Morning all I hope you all had a healthy happy Christmas. Two of my presents this year have been a couple of starter kits from Airfix,both in 1/72 scale.One was a Spitfire and the other a Sherman Firefly tank. As soon as I saw the boxes I was opening them up looking at the pieces,wonderful memories of being a child again. Lovely stuff. |  |
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Airfix. on 07:49 - Dec 27 with 1929 views | Churchman | Brilliant. A chum of mine makes them - he’s really good at it. He’s got an airbrush and all the gear. His partner bought him a 1/48 Ju87B Stuka for Christmas. That should be good fun to put together. I used to make them up in my teens and the above mate bought me an Fw190D-9 (one of my favourite aircraft) when I finished working. I will do it at some point. All good fun. For those interested a Sherman Firefly was a standard American Sherman medium tank upgunned with a British 76.2 gun. The velocity of the thing meant it could punch holes in German Tigers, Panthers and anything else. A devastating bit of kit. [Post edited 27 Dec 2024 8:30]
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Airfix. on 08:31 - Dec 27 with 1846 views | Benters |
Airfix. on 07:49 - Dec 27 by Churchman | Brilliant. A chum of mine makes them - he’s really good at it. He’s got an airbrush and all the gear. His partner bought him a 1/48 Ju87B Stuka for Christmas. That should be good fun to put together. I used to make them up in my teens and the above mate bought me an Fw190D-9 (one of my favourite aircraft) when I finished working. I will do it at some point. All good fun. For those interested a Sherman Firefly was a standard American Sherman medium tank upgunned with a British 76.2 gun. The velocity of the thing meant it could punch holes in German Tigers, Panthers and anything else. A devastating bit of kit. [Post edited 27 Dec 2024 8:30]
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Sounds great. Someone pointed me towards the Airfix FB group,some people go mad for it. But with all things there’s a bit of competition with the best painted kits ! People worrying about the finished model etc. Someone pointed out when they painted the real things they basically used mops etc 😂👍 |  |
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Airfix. on 08:35 - Dec 27 with 1835 views | StochesStotasBlewe | Morning Benters. Had loads of various Airfix models way back. I used to hang them from my bedroom ceiling with cotton thread as I liked making up and painting the aircraft. Used to look like a dogfight going on in there. Hadn’t realised that Airfix was still a thing to be honest. |  |
| We have no village green, or a shop.
It's very, very quiet.
I can walk to the pub. |
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Airfix. on 08:39 - Dec 27 with 1816 views | Benters |
Airfix. on 08:35 - Dec 27 by StochesStotasBlewe | Morning Benters. Had loads of various Airfix models way back. I used to hang them from my bedroom ceiling with cotton thread as I liked making up and painting the aircraft. Used to look like a dogfight going on in there. Hadn’t realised that Airfix was still a thing to be honest. |
Morning to you. Airfix is very much a thing,I believe it’s part of the Hornby group now. I remember when I was a youngun,my Great Auntie would visit from Ardleigh and give me 20p pocket money.I’d bike round to the local model shop and buy a Airfix kit that came in a little bag. I believe these kits came from Lidl and were £6.99. |  |
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Airfix. on 08:45 - Dec 27 with 1798 views | Churchman |
Airfix. on 08:31 - Dec 27 by Benters | Sounds great. Someone pointed me towards the Airfix FB group,some people go mad for it. But with all things there’s a bit of competition with the best painted kits ! People worrying about the finished model etc. Someone pointed out when they painted the real things they basically used mops etc 😂👍 |
They did! The classic DDay recognition stripes on aircraft. They were painted on the night before using anything to hand including mops. Numbers meant slapping it on so masking tape and beautiful straight lines? Er no. German tanks were issued from the factory with pots of camouflage paint so crews could do them as they wanted. They often flogged off the paint as a little sideline. Why not? Made no difference in the field anyway when the vehicles were covered in mud and stuff. [Post edited 27 Dec 2024 11:00]
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Airfix. on 10:51 - Dec 27 with 1655 views | Benters |
Airfix. on 08:45 - Dec 27 by Churchman | They did! The classic DDay recognition stripes on aircraft. They were painted on the night before using anything to hand including mops. Numbers meant slapping it on so masking tape and beautiful straight lines? Er no. German tanks were issued from the factory with pots of camouflage paint so crews could do them as they wanted. They often flogged off the paint as a little sideline. Why not? Made no difference in the field anyway when the vehicles were covered in mud and stuff. [Post edited 27 Dec 2024 11:00]
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Interesting stuff. You certainly know your onions. |  |
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Airfix. on 10:59 - Dec 27 with 1641 views | Keno | morning Benty Love a good airfix kit recently did this one |  |
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Airfix. on 11:13 - Dec 27 with 1605 views | Plums | I made my first Airfix model for years last December. It was a charity thing (for Finlay's Touch via the We Have Ways Independent Company) - pay £10 to enter and you could only use what was in that 1/72 box. Some wonderful creations. I managed to get a passable light blue/ grey reconnaissance colour with some careful mixing. It was a lot of fun. Enjoy yours! |  |
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Airfix. on 11:19 - Dec 27 with 1589 views | Churchman |
Airfix. on 10:59 - Dec 27 by Keno | morning Benty Love a good airfix kit recently did this one |
Ahhh, the classic Short Sunderland. Great aeroplane. Good service record. Most of the 750 odd made were built in Belfast and Rochester in Kent. Looking at the box pic of one setting an Fw200 Condor on fire - it has to be classic Roy Cross brilliant artwork. He was the best in the business. He died last April 100 years and a day old. RIP Mr Cross I never made up a Sunderland, sadly. I did bore Mrs C to tears showing her around the real one at Duxford. It’s history, performance, how it worked etc. Some years later she was showing it to some of her school kids on a trip and told me when she got home told that my ‘boring, lengthy description’ had really come in handy. Not sure whether it was an insult or compliment - best not to ask😃 |  | |  |
Airfix. on 11:21 - Dec 27 with 1582 views | Churchman |
Airfix. on 10:51 - Dec 27 by Benters | Interesting stuff. You certainly know your onions. |
Ta. A little bit I suppose born of a lifetime of interest. |  | |  |
Airfix. on 11:27 - Dec 27 with 1559 views | Guthrum | Spitfire was the first kit I made as a child, with the help of my Dad. Just looking across at the wooden B17 made by his father for him, would have been during the War when they were actually flying overhead. |  |
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Airfix. on 11:28 - Dec 27 with 1555 views | bluejacko | Some of the stuff coming out in 1/48 scale is being rated as excellent now,it seems after a bit of time in the doldrums they are upping their game👍 For anyone interested in the hobby there is an excellent forum here, https://www.britmodeller.com/ It’s free to join and there is a wealth of advice etc to be had. |  | |  |
Airfix. on 12:05 - Dec 27 with 1494 views | stonojnr |
Airfix. on 08:45 - Dec 27 by Churchman | They did! The classic DDay recognition stripes on aircraft. They were painted on the night before using anything to hand including mops. Numbers meant slapping it on so masking tape and beautiful straight lines? Er no. German tanks were issued from the factory with pots of camouflage paint so crews could do them as they wanted. They often flogged off the paint as a little sideline. Why not? Made no difference in the field anyway when the vehicles were covered in mud and stuff. [Post edited 27 Dec 2024 11:00]
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the kit hobbyists arent so much going for perfection, theyre going for accuracy and some level of authenticity, so it does become important how things are lined up, a fraction off at scale 1/72 is actually quite a bit off translated into 1/1. in anycase when the display Vulcan was being repainted they went out and bought the Airfix kit and painted it based on the paint map, so you get to paint it exactly now as a plane was painted. fwiw never liked Airfix much as a brand,their kit moulds have always been poor compared to their competitors, Revell, Hasegawa, Tamiya etc, the plastic isnt good quality and the fit of parts is often very loose. Yes its a price point thing, but I only goto Airfix if none of the other brands cover the specific model I want. |  | |  |
Airfix. on 12:42 - Dec 27 with 1441 views | Churchman |
Airfix. on 12:05 - Dec 27 by stonojnr | the kit hobbyists arent so much going for perfection, theyre going for accuracy and some level of authenticity, so it does become important how things are lined up, a fraction off at scale 1/72 is actually quite a bit off translated into 1/1. in anycase when the display Vulcan was being repainted they went out and bought the Airfix kit and painted it based on the paint map, so you get to paint it exactly now as a plane was painted. fwiw never liked Airfix much as a brand,their kit moulds have always been poor compared to their competitors, Revell, Hasegawa, Tamiya etc, the plastic isnt good quality and the fit of parts is often very loose. Yes its a price point thing, but I only goto Airfix if none of the other brands cover the specific model I want. |
When I was doing them, airbrushes weren’t really around, at least not for people on my budget, so everything was brush painted. Didn’t matter on a 1/72 kit as long as you got the right humbrol paint in the right place! Luckily I was pretty decent with paint brushes to the extent of being able to do canopy frames and stripes etc without masking so no edges. Yes, Airfix were not the best, but the majority of those I bought were theirs. I think the artwork and the types I was interested in were the reason. Filler, filing, Stanley knife, spare bits got the job done. Revell kits were not great in those days but the other makes were better but expensive. The best I did was a Bf110G-4 nightfighter painted up with the codes of a picture I had. It looked the business. I was getting interested in other things when the big kits came out (1/24) and the intermediate sizes didn’t exist. The first one a had, which my dad made up for me, was a 1/72 Ju52. He wanted me to have a Dornier 217 or He111, but for some reason I was attracted by the Junkers - probably because it had blokes parachuting out and a somebody on the roof with a gun! I was very young. |  | |  |
Airfix. on 12:53 - Dec 27 with 1426 views | You_Bloo_Right |
Airfix. on 12:42 - Dec 27 by Churchman | When I was doing them, airbrushes weren’t really around, at least not for people on my budget, so everything was brush painted. Didn’t matter on a 1/72 kit as long as you got the right humbrol paint in the right place! Luckily I was pretty decent with paint brushes to the extent of being able to do canopy frames and stripes etc without masking so no edges. Yes, Airfix were not the best, but the majority of those I bought were theirs. I think the artwork and the types I was interested in were the reason. Filler, filing, Stanley knife, spare bits got the job done. Revell kits were not great in those days but the other makes were better but expensive. The best I did was a Bf110G-4 nightfighter painted up with the codes of a picture I had. It looked the business. I was getting interested in other things when the big kits came out (1/24) and the intermediate sizes didn’t exist. The first one a had, which my dad made up for me, was a 1/72 Ju52. He wanted me to have a Dornier 217 or He111, but for some reason I was attracted by the Junkers - probably because it had blokes parachuting out and a somebody on the roof with a gun! I was very young. |
Edit: Broadsword calling Danny Boy, come in Danny Boy. [Post edited 27 Dec 2024 12:57]
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Airfix. on 13:03 - Dec 27 with 1385 views | Churchman |
Airfix. on 12:53 - Dec 27 by You_Bloo_Right | Edit: Broadsword calling Danny Boy, come in Danny Boy. [Post edited 27 Dec 2024 12:57]
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That’s the one though the one I had had a swastika on the tail! Just as it should and my model had. I gather you can by swastika decals on the internet so why model producers don’t include them baffles me. I think my dad wanted the Dornier 217 because he’d seen a real Dornier being shot down over Ipswich docks (it came down in Gypswick Park) by three Hurricanes - one of which crash landed on Rushmore golf course. Ok, that was a Dornier 17Z but he didn’t know the difference. Anyway, the 217 was the next build. [Post edited 27 Dec 2024 13:04]
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Airfix. on 13:52 - Dec 27 with 1309 views | itfc_bucks | Remember building the A10 Warthog airfix. She was so tail heavy, you had to pack out the nose with a big blob of blutac to stop her from teetering backwards! |  | |  |
Airfix. on 13:56 - Dec 27 with 1298 views | mellowblue |
Airfix. on 07:49 - Dec 27 by Churchman | Brilliant. A chum of mine makes them - he’s really good at it. He’s got an airbrush and all the gear. His partner bought him a 1/48 Ju87B Stuka for Christmas. That should be good fun to put together. I used to make them up in my teens and the above mate bought me an Fw190D-9 (one of my favourite aircraft) when I finished working. I will do it at some point. All good fun. For those interested a Sherman Firefly was a standard American Sherman medium tank upgunned with a British 76.2 gun. The velocity of the thing meant it could punch holes in German Tigers, Panthers and anything else. A devastating bit of kit. [Post edited 27 Dec 2024 8:30]
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It still had the reputation for "brewing up" though when hit. Certainly an upgrade on the Sherman. I always thought tank design was a weakness in the British war effort. If the Centurion had been ready a year or two earlier it would have been a game changer for us. |  | |  |
Airfix. on 14:08 - Dec 27 with 1249 views | mellowblue |
Airfix. on 08:39 - Dec 27 by Benters | Morning to you. Airfix is very much a thing,I believe it’s part of the Hornby group now. I remember when I was a youngun,my Great Auntie would visit from Ardleigh and give me 20p pocket money.I’d bike round to the local model shop and buy a Airfix kit that came in a little bag. I believe these kits came from Lidl and were £6.99. |
Probably from the same era as you. I used to have 15p pocket money a week. Two weeks worth of pocket money would buy me the cheapest airfix kit costing 17p with enough left for some glue and paint if needed; if not needed, 13p worth of sweets. 30p used to go a long way. |  | |  |
Airfix. on 14:10 - Dec 27 with 1234 views | mellowblue |
Airfix. on 10:59 - Dec 27 by Keno | morning Benty Love a good airfix kit recently did this one |
shows the quality and accuracy of the artwork (all done by the same guy) that they are still using it 50 years later |  | |  |
Airfix. on 14:15 - Dec 27 with 1223 views | Churchman |
Airfix. on 13:56 - Dec 27 by mellowblue | It still had the reputation for "brewing up" though when hit. Certainly an upgrade on the Sherman. I always thought tank design was a weakness in the British war effort. If the Centurion had been ready a year or two earlier it would have been a game changer for us. |
It certainly did have that reputation. It wasn’t known as a ‘Tommy Cooker’ or ‘Robson’ (lights first time) for nothing. Losses were horrendous, not helped by that tall profile and petrol engine. On the plus side, you could service it in the field, it was much easier to repair than others, not least because it was production line made so parts always fitted. It was quick for a medium tank. It could be produced in numbers and crucially it’d fit on transporters, tank landing craft (LCTs), go over bridges without collapsing them, could be andapted and lastly, it was very reliable. German tanks were technically superior, but it’s no good having the best tank that will knock out 16 opponents if they’ve got 17, assuming you can get it there and keep it running. The best tank of the war was the Russian T34. A brilliant design at offered the best compromise. British tanks? Mostly rubbish, flawed or too late. It was about the weakest aspect of British design and construction. Ironic given we invented the things. Reason? Lack of investment and interest, 1930s appeasement, heads in the sand, failure of research, failure to anticipate worth and future use. Basically, hoping the problem will go away. The first good design was in 44/45 and it was way too late for WW2, hence Sherman’s being used so extensively. |  | |  |
Airfix. on 16:25 - Dec 27 with 1120 views | mellowblue |
Airfix. on 14:15 - Dec 27 by Churchman | It certainly did have that reputation. It wasn’t known as a ‘Tommy Cooker’ or ‘Robson’ (lights first time) for nothing. Losses were horrendous, not helped by that tall profile and petrol engine. On the plus side, you could service it in the field, it was much easier to repair than others, not least because it was production line made so parts always fitted. It was quick for a medium tank. It could be produced in numbers and crucially it’d fit on transporters, tank landing craft (LCTs), go over bridges without collapsing them, could be andapted and lastly, it was very reliable. German tanks were technically superior, but it’s no good having the best tank that will knock out 16 opponents if they’ve got 17, assuming you can get it there and keep it running. The best tank of the war was the Russian T34. A brilliant design at offered the best compromise. British tanks? Mostly rubbish, flawed or too late. It was about the weakest aspect of British design and construction. Ironic given we invented the things. Reason? Lack of investment and interest, 1930s appeasement, heads in the sand, failure of research, failure to anticipate worth and future use. Basically, hoping the problem will go away. The first good design was in 44/45 and it was way too late for WW2, hence Sherman’s being used so extensively. |
The Gemans really had a penchant for over-engineering their tanks. Overweight and under powered is not a great combination in a tank. Especially when the Germans were short of good lubrication and special metals. Engine life expectancy was pretty low. |  | |  |
Airfix. on 16:34 - Dec 27 with 1111 views | mellowblue | When I was about 10, I opened a Christmas present and it was the Airfix model of the Bismarck. I got all the bits out to weigh up the challenge, admired the shape of the hull pieces. Then I had to go to church. Later whenI returned I went to my bedroom and the hull pieces were missing. They never did turn up. One of life's little mysteries. Never did complete it. Should have sent off for replacement parts. |  | |  |
Airfix. on 16:48 - Dec 27 with 1070 views | Radlett_blue |
Airfix. on 08:39 - Dec 27 by Benters | Morning to you. Airfix is very much a thing,I believe it’s part of the Hornby group now. I remember when I was a youngun,my Great Auntie would visit from Ardleigh and give me 20p pocket money.I’d bike round to the local model shop and buy a Airfix kit that came in a little bag. I believe these kits came from Lidl and were £6.99. |
I remember Airfix going bust in 1981. It had been a penny stock for a while and a client of my firm had endlessly been hoovering up the shares. He lost his shirt. I hadn't realised that it virtually was the UK toy industry at that stage, having bailed out Lines Brothers, which owned Tri-ang & Dinky. It's been owned by Hornby since 2007. |  |
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Airfix. on 17:05 - Dec 27 with 1028 views | Benters |
Airfix. on 14:08 - Dec 27 by mellowblue | Probably from the same era as you. I used to have 15p pocket money a week. Two weeks worth of pocket money would buy me the cheapest airfix kit costing 17p with enough left for some glue and paint if needed; if not needed, 13p worth of sweets. 30p used to go a long way. |
It was a fantastic time. |  |
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