Airfix press realease.
Discussion
New tooling for the Phantom, http://www.airfix.com/uk-en/news/workbench/stop-pr...
The Airfix stand was the first one I saw at the IPMS Telford show yesterday. As I was peering into the new release display case, I couldn't help smiling at a nearby conversation between a rather agitated middle aged man (not me), and a somewhat crestfallen Airfix staff member: The man had just produced an old FROG kit of...something or other...from a carrier bag, and was asking the Airfix man why they couldn't reproduce the same quality of surface finish as on a 1960's kit.
Later in the day, a very helpful Airfix staff member kindly gave me a couple of free 1:72 Zero kits from the Make & Paint area to take home for the kids to build. You don't get much free these days at shows (or anywhere), let alone new kits, so fair play to them.
Later in the day, a very helpful Airfix staff member kindly gave me a couple of free 1:72 Zero kits from the Make & Paint area to take home for the kids to build. You don't get much free these days at shows (or anywhere), let alone new kits, so fair play to them.
Oh so that's where that came from! It was a frog Shackleton of all things! The one that you could use to get dead skin off your feet the surface is so rough.
We were super busy all weekend, I didn't even get off the stand apart from a brief chat with the Eduard R&D guys about new bits and bobs.
Glad you appreciated the zeros I will pass the thanks on to Simon that was doing the make and paint :-)
We were super busy all weekend, I didn't even get off the stand apart from a brief chat with the Eduard R&D guys about new bits and bobs.
Glad you appreciated the zeros I will pass the thanks on to Simon that was doing the make and paint :-)
I think Airfix are doing a great job with the new releases, and have got the balance about right of 1/72 vs. the larger scales.
I just hope they will be able to weather the storm with the less favourable exchange rates now, and that all the hard work will pay-off with better profitability for the company, in turn leading to more new releases.
Are there other kit manufacturers that have produced such a wide range of great quality new models over recent years, and at still affordable prices?
I just hope they will be able to weather the storm with the less favourable exchange rates now, and that all the hard work will pay-off with better profitability for the company, in turn leading to more new releases.
Are there other kit manufacturers that have produced such a wide range of great quality new models over recent years, and at still affordable prices?
great news about the 'tom FG1 model. A friend used to fly them and I've been looking for a model of the Spey engined variant. Though to make the kits in the state he left his last 'tom would simply involve cutting all the bits off the spruce, dousing in lighter fluid and standing well back.....
I had a good look at the Sea Fury, Phantom and the Walrus together over the weekend. I think Airfix is producing some fantastic stuff these days. Like most modellers, I have my preferences for scale, but like any company, Airfix do not have unlimited resource (money, skilled personnel) to design tooling for all imaginable scales concurrently, I think they're serving 1:72, 1:48 and even 1:24 quite well.
As for the Frog kit guy - I didn't see him but can visualise the scene. :lol:
As for the Frog kit guy - I didn't see him but can visualise the scene. :lol:
I'm hoping history repeats itself, about four years back Airfix gave us a lovely 1/72nd scale Hawker Typhoon, and then released a 1/24th scale one.....
The 72nd scale Phantom looks brilliant, i'm sure it'll be scaled up to 48th but i'm hoping they go all out and bring us a 24th scale one...
It'll probably bankrupt them mind!
Go lovely with the forthcoming 24th scale F6 Lightning though........
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This might be a total fabrication by me
The 72nd scale Phantom looks brilliant, i'm sure it'll be scaled up to 48th but i'm hoping they go all out and bring us a 24th scale one...
It'll probably bankrupt them mind!
Go lovely with the forthcoming 24th scale F6 Lightning though........
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This might be a total fabrication by me
Shar2 said:
Unfortunately, I believe the Buccaneer moulds have been irreparably damaged. So no chance of a re-release, but a new mould would be nice as it wasn't the easiest kit to build
The moulds are fine for the Bucc and are in storage at Margate. The kits suffered from a too-fast mould cycle when they were made at Heller in France which led to warpage as the fuselage halves were ejected.lufbramatt said:
Brigand said:
Beautiful aircraft and will no doubt be a great kit, but its a shame I only really dabble in 1/48 so I'm missing out on most of Airfix's new releases!
So far we have announced 3 new kits in 1/48th and 2 in 1:72nd for 2017 ;-) Edited by Brigand on Sunday 20th November 01:32
lufbramatt said:
It's more a case of how much money have you got to pay for moulds. Some of the trumpeter ship kits are massive.
As a slight side track - do larger moulds (e.g. one of Trumpeter's 4ft long ship hulls) require different treatment to smaller moulds in their use?I don't know much about the actual injection moulding process. I know what the moulds look like, but not what parameters are affected by different attributes of different moulds and how that affects how different moulds are used.
E.g. are the moulds themselves heated before injecting plastic thus keeping it liquid until the whole lot is cooled together, or is the plastic supposed to remain liquid in a cold mould just by virtue of its own thermal energy just long enough to fill the mould?
Bigger moulds just go in a bigger machine. Little moulds, like canopies would go in a little 100 ton (clamping pressure) but a big boat hull for example would go in a 500 tonner. You want to be using the smallest machine possible to use less electricity etc.
Moulds have waterways inside them like a car engine block through which chilled water is pumped. The plastic is a thermal insulator so doesn't want to give up its heat. The actual injection only takes a second or two to fill the mould but it could take say 10-15 seconds to cool it down so it's rigid enough to be ejected. Obviously a faster cycle is cheaper but cooling it more slowly and holding the pressure on the plastic gives better mouldings with crisper detail.
Moulds have waterways inside them like a car engine block through which chilled water is pumped. The plastic is a thermal insulator so doesn't want to give up its heat. The actual injection only takes a second or two to fill the mould but it could take say 10-15 seconds to cool it down so it's rigid enough to be ejected. Obviously a faster cycle is cheaper but cooling it more slowly and holding the pressure on the plastic gives better mouldings with crisper detail.
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