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Airfix 1/48 Vampire F.3

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  • Member since
    May 2011
  • From: Honolulu, Hawaii
Airfix 1/48 Vampire F.3
Posted by Real G on Wednesday, February 2, 2022 12:49 PM

I was super jazzed when Airfix announced a new-tool kit of the Vampire F.3 in 1/48 scale (although if you watch Airfix's video interviewing the kit's designer, it's actually a Vampire Eff-Dot-Three Stick out tongue).

I have read numerous accounts of Airfix's recent kits suffering from quality control issues like missing or short shot/warped parts, but didn't expect to experience it firsthand.  Several small parts arrived broken, like the thin mass balances on both ailerons and the vanes in one of the intakes.  But most of all:

Now, the "Real Modelers" will tell me to stop being a wimp and work the warp out.  I did try - real hard - to bend the part into a semblance of its original shape, but to no avail.  Worrisome stress marks began to appear, and yet the part sprung back to its mis-shapen form every time.  I tried taping the wing halves together to see if things would improve, but the cockpit upper deck was still slightly skewed, which would affect the fit of the canopy later on.

I emailed Airfix's customer service, explaining the problem, identifying the kit, kit number, part number, and included a clear photo of the part in question.  I received a response 5 days later informing me that a replacement part was on the way.  I was expecting slow-boat postage taking up to a month, but was surprised to see a box from Hornby arrive in just a week.  That's great service, bravo Hornby.  But they still really need to work on the QC for their products.

Hillariously, the replacement part was warped in the opposite direction!  But not as bad, as some bending yielded an acceptable fit.

The overall fit seems better than the OOP Classic Airfames kit.

I went back to their new-tool Vulcan I also recently purchased to see if there were any problems, but thankfully there were no broken or missing parts, and most importantly, no warpge!

QC issues aside, I am liking what Airfix is producing.  Their M.O. of focusing on primarily British subjects is fine, and there are many more aircraft they have yet to do.  I had read that since they now use LIDAR to scan actual subjects, they give lower priority to long gone aircraft that have no surviving museum examples.  That would be unfortunate, as the DeHavilland Hornet is high on my wish list.  I have the 1/48 CA Hornet kits, but aside from their nice resin cockpits, the details are not that great.  The landing gear and bays are particularly bad, having little detail and being in the wrong position.

“Ya ya ya, unicorn papoi!”

  • Member since
    July 2015
Posted by MR TOM SCHRY on Wednesday, February 2, 2022 12:58 PM

Sorry for all of that frustration.  You shouldn't have to deal with those issues with a newly molded kit.  I recalled that one of the guys from "On the Bench" modeling popdcast had similar issues with a new Airfix kit.  Good luck with the rest of the build.  Take care & stay safe.

 

TJS

TJS

  • Member since
    May 2011
  • From: Honolulu, Hawaii
Posted by Real G on Wednesday, February 2, 2022 1:37 PM

Tom,

Well, Airfix is trying.  It seems that their vendor in India is the source of some of their QC issues.  It's hard to keep an eye on things when you are thousands of miles away.  I understand they are now tring to move production back to England.  When Hornby took over, the new tool kits had very wide and deep panel lines, and the finer details were soft and sparse.  I figured they were minimising tooling design work and using lower pressure injection molding machines to save costs.  I also recall the single carrier film decal fiasco of the Nimrod - how that got past the QC people I will never know.  Some of their instruction sheets have blank pages, which you do not see all that much in other manufacturers' products.  Now, instruction sheet layout may seem trivial, but it speaks volumes to me of a company's overall attitude and approach.

But as I said, they are trying to bring us new kits, which I do appreciate.  Some have commented negatively of their Anglo-centric subject matter, but I think it is a strength not a weakness.  At the end of the day, their Vampire will be much easier to build than the Classic Airfames kit.  I have CA's FB.5, and it requires much fettling and bending to fit.

“Ya ya ya, unicorn papoi!”

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