Airfix/Hornby re-launch - RLNI Lifeboat

MJH wrote:

The poor fit in most circumstances was less the result of bad engineering as it was sloppy production standards.  I can't recall which particular kits were involved (it's over thirty years and I was a prolific model builder in those happy days) but the memory lingered.  Actually I do remember one of them!  It was a Viking boat; the two hull halves were so warped that about all they had in common with each other was the colour of the plastic!  I seem to remember cementing their keels together half an inch at a time, heavily clamped to finally get them to mate after a fashion.  Even so the hull never looked right. There were others but the basic problem was usually the same - parts which looked like they'd ben whipped out of the injection machine much too fast.

And that's exactly how modern little modellers will view kits such as the 1:48 Buccaneer and the Lifeboat, and exactly why Airfix should try to get things right - for long term brand respect, and not short-term profit. 

FWIW, I have an Airfix boxing of Heller's HMS Hood (including the brass anchor chains that were a feature of Heller warships). I mused about how well it fitted for such a clunky-looking kit this afternoon. Mind you, that is a long hull seam to be filled and sanded :)

It seems that there may well be a problem with the quality of the plastic used in the production of the initial batches of lifeboat kits. Humbrol have been made aware of this, and are presently examining if the problem exisits.

There seems to have been a number of kits whereby the plastic used for the hull parts is translucent. Mention of this has been made on other fora, and a request has been made by one person for the batch numbers on the problem kit boxes to be identified and made known.

I have a sneaking feeling that Santa might bring me the Airfix Severn class lifeboat with Seaking Helo set.

Pete

It's possible to make a very fine model from most of the larger-scale Heller sailing ship models, but it takes time, effort and patience, and it is not an OOB exercise. Fit of parts is at best average, but if you were only interested in Tamiya 1/48 P-47Ds, you wouldn't be building this sort of kit, would you?

Here's my Heller 1/100 Victory, after about 3 months' work over the course of two years:

The guns on the lower gun deck are installed, and the guns for the middle gun deck built and painted. I plan to install these next April, and also to build the guns for the main deck.

Cheers,

Chris.

Well, I daresay that's a pleasure I shall have to forego, I can't bring myself to make an exception - even for that.  Anyhow I have most of the IMAI sailing ship kits and I think they're the best, certainly superior to Heller.

Michael 

MJH wrote:

I will grant that I never buy Heller kits because of fit issues in the seventies/eighties, but in those cases the kits were literally unbuildable and I have a long memory for such things. Michael

Then Sir, you are excluding what is perhaps the ultimate sailing ship kit build, I speak of the 1:100 Victory

The poor fit in most circumstances was less the result of bad engineering as it was sloppy production standards.  I can't recall which particular kits were involved (it's over thirty years and I was a prolific model builder in those happy days) but the memory lingered. 

Actually I do remember one of them!  It was a Viking boat; the two hull halves were so warped that about all they had in common with each other was the colour of the plastic!  I seem to remember cementing their keels together half an inch at a time, heavily clamped to finally get them to mate after a fashion.  Even so the hull never looked right.

There were others but the basic problem was usually the same - parts which looked like they'd ben whipped out of the injection machine much too fast.

I was not sorry to hear that Heller will no longer be manufacturing the Airfix kits.

Michael 

Speaking as one with a penchant for older kits (when I finally get it this Severn kit will be the first 'new-release' kit I've bought for years) I'm just not put off by issues of fit with a kit that has such appeal for me otherwise.  I have very few kits in my collection that are less than 25 years old and I do intend to build them all one day.

I will grant that I never buy Heller kits because of fit issues in the seventies/eighties, but in those cases the kits were literally unbuildable and I have a long memory for such things.

As Chris suggests, the Severn was designed and largely prepared for market under Airfix's old owners and no doubt a lack of cash played no small part in its drawbacks, I expect similar gripes when they finally release the much-anticipated Nimrod, but it won't stand in my way if I want to get one. 

Michael 

Brews' point about the Revell 1/72 Schnellboot being better value for money in terms of detail and fit is valid. The problem is that a model S-Boot isn't much use if you're looking for a Lifeboat.

If you want a 1/72 Lifeboat, you'll have to accept that fit issues such as this:

and this:

are among the things you'll have to contend with. However, as the evidence of an increasing number of well-built Airfix Lifeboats shows, it is possible, given the application of patience, modelling skills and Milliput, to deal with them.  It may well be so that other manufacturers would have done a better job, but unfortunately, it's (mostly) old-regime Airfix, and not Revell GmbH, that we're dealing with here.

Cheers,

Chris.

Well, whatever; I've put down a deposit on the last one in the shop so one day in the, hopefully not too distant, future I'll be able to judge for myself whether the Severn's good value for money.

Michael 

I think you've sort of skirted around some very good points, and hit the nail on the head with some others.

When a manufacturer sets out to model a subject, what are the goalposts?  What is the target market? A lifeboat isn't going to appeal to everyone. Is it a puzzle for the experienced modeller, a quick-fix for the intermediate modeller, a snapfit for the novice, or is it ready-made for the very impatient admirer?  Perhaps Airfix might provide some of the latter, unpainted, even, for the less-experienced builder, because it does look lovely when it's finished.

Anyway, for my money, the Revell Schnellboot is better value. Like you said, to each his own. 

Well Brews, it's certainly flawed from my point of view.  We seem to part company from your second sentence onward - what do you believe is the point of a modern kit?  A means to produce a model of the subject in the shortest possible time and with the least hassle?  Surely you might as well take the other extreme to scratch-building and buy a finished model straight off the shelf - there are plenty of them these days  - or, if you're determined to build the thing, then buy a snap-fast, pre-finished kit.

For me, and I'm speaking purely from my own standpoint here, the return is in what I'll call its 'entertainment value' for want of a better term.  I don't build to a deadline and, in fact it doesn't even matter to me if a model never gets finished, just so long as I enjoy working on it.

Some people will tell you it's the frustrating times when nothing seems to fit right that brings out the best in them - I can't say I necessarily agree all the time......

To each his own.

Michael 

Your argument leads towards scratchbuilding being good value for money, which it is in terms of $/hr. But that's not the point with a modern kit, is it? You need to consider that the price of a kit should cover something for the engineering to make it relatively easiliy buildable, despite the parts count. I feel that I would be regarded as a reasonable sort of a modeller, at least in terms of years of experience, but I found that assembling the Attack Hobby Marder III just that little bit too challenging for my satisfaction. It takes nothing away from its value in terms of $/hr, but if you ask me how many of those hours were enjoyable or frustrating ... you'd find a different answer (probably the 5 mins that it took to gue the wheels to their axles were the enjoyable minutes). So, how do you want to spend your modelling time? Frustrated a la Mach 2 or [insert your most "fit-challenged" kit here] or unchallenged and ready to paint a la Tamiya?

Or, to put it another way: $/hr vsr hrs/kit. Time cancels out, and the result should be that the cost of a kit is inversely proportional to the time spent making it.

Whilst the above looks reasonable at first glance, it's actually very flawed! :) 

Odd.  I find the asking price quite reasonable, albeit more than I can afford right now.  When you work out how many hours it'll take to build the kit and divide that into the purchase price it really is an inexpensive pastime compared to some I can think of.

At half price it wouldn't have been econimical to produce - I'd prefer a $56 Severn to none at all.

Michael 

Hi Michael

 Australia has six 44 MLB(Ex-RNLI) in it's inventory. Check out WWW.44MLB.COM , the gentleman who put the web site up did a terrific job. There is a lot of good information about all the 44's around the world. As for the Glencoe 36' MLB, it's a re-issue of a 1959 kit by the now defunct ITC model company. Still, it's a nice build, and like you mentioned, it's nice to construct something different now and then. If you go to WWW.ModelWarships.com and click on the model gallery, #115 contains some photos of my 30" long 36' MLB, the Chatham lifeboat.  I had the good fortune to actually "pilot" the Chatham boat as well as a couple of 44" MLB's. If you view the short films on the 44 MLB site I think you'll agree they are lively little boats(don't eat any spaghetti and meatballs before you go on a storm rescue run on these craft!) Cheers

Mike M.   

Hi Mike;

Thanks for the information.  I love the little Frog and Glencoe boats that started me off on this little tangent.  I don't normally restrict myself to a particular theme or genre in models - I'll build literally anything that takes my fancy.  In the last year I've built a 1:1 Luger pistol, a starship Enterprise and a Japanese WWII sub.  The fascination with lifeboats must come from somewhere but the fact is I've never seen a real one!

I have seen references to the 44’ boats in Australia but have yet to track down anything definite on the net, do you have any sources?  Revell’s two German boats don’t have the same appeal for me, especially the larger one which seems to come more into the fireboat area, but once (if ever) I’ve built all the others I may go back to them, if only to complete the ‘theme’.

Naturally I’d like to see more RNLI boats kitted, such as the Tyne, Trent, Arun and Tamar et al, but I doubt we’re going to see more from Airfix at this stage.  I understand there are resin kits around however.  I haven’t heard or seen mention of a Heller kit but if one exists then I’ll keep a watch for it.

If funds permit I might try to buy myself a Severn for Christmas.

Michael

Michael

I have the same "affection" for motor lifeboats, I haven't come across the British Severn class here in the States yet. The Glencoe 36' MLB can be modified to represent different varients of the boat with a little work. The Canadian CG had a number of the 36 footers and they were painted red hull with yellow top side. If you can obtain one, the Revell "Arkona/Berlin" lifeboat makes up a nice model, very colorful. Also I think Heller made a plastic kit of a French motor lifeboat some years ago. Unfortunately no company has yet to produce a plastic model of the USCG 44' MLB. The 44's have all but disappeared here in the States, most were given away to overseas life saving organizations, the RNLI has given a number of their surplus 44' boats to New Zealand and Australia if memory serves me.

Regards

Mike M.USCG(RET)

Very nice work mate.  I must admit I'd never have thought of using the Preiser figures, I'm not even sure they're available over here which is probably why I haven't seen them.

I have always had something of a fascination for lifeboats and I have the Glencoe 36' American boat and a couple of the old Frog Royal Thames - both the original Frog and the new Alanger release, the latter sadly minus the figures.

I reckon they're all nice kits and I look forward to adding the Severn to my 'theme' collection.

Michael 

Thanks Michael!

The figures started life as Presier 1/87 modern German firemen. 

http://www.reynaulds.com/preiser/temp.asp?item=16351

which, although slightly underscale, are made of hard plastic and thus easy to work with. For four of the three figures, I carved their turnout coats and trousers into immersion suits (though normally, Lifeboat crew wear waterproofs, and not immersion suits, when working abord ocean-going lifeboats such as the Severn-class) and made them all life jackets from Milliput. I also changed the shape of their helmets, and extended their boots further up their legs.

There are plenty of pictures of Lifeboatmen wearing their seagoing gear on the RNLI's website, as well as those of individual Lifeboat stations.

 Cheers,

Chris.

Smashing effort Chris!

Can I ask where the figures came from?

Michael 

I've recently finished mine. I found it something of an uphill struggle, especially as far as fit was concerened - though others have found it a less traumatic experience. I've written fairly extensive build notes - if anyone would like a copy, please let me know. Meantime, here are some piccies of the completed model:

Cheers,

Chris. 

As far as being the model to re-launch the Airfix brand is concerned you have to realise the Severn was actually almost ready for market by the 'old' Airfix when the money ran out.  Therefore it's only fair to judge it by their standards which by all accounts it seems to exceed.  I have one on order for when it finally reaches the nether regions of the world.

That's a beautiful job above but I'm disappointed on two counts - no crew figures (maybe someone will oblige in resin) and Airfix's old type of stand, which date back to the 50's.  A nice one-piece stand with name-plate would have looked good.

Michael 

I agree that it is an accurate model and will look good when complete, as your example shows, but my point was that as a re-launch of the Airfix brand, surely they could have made an effort to attain "TamiHawa" standards, more expensive yes, but Airfix was a major player in the model industry and any potential customers want the high standards expected today.

As for my build, I did the superstructure separately, I want it to be removeable to show the detail on the inside, this may have had an impact on the fit as I held the parts in place temporarily as I built it up. However, the fit is not that good and still using filler before I can paint the superstructure. I noticed that you also knocked off the spotlights above the windows, that is an area that needs filler too. I did get the hull together and painted the hull bottom red, will do the blue tomorrow night.

Your comments are welcome as I cant find any other reviews on the web

Dave

And a very nice build you there TonyO. Haven't started building mine yet so I can't say much about the fit. The painting breakdown you chose (superstructure fitted after building and painting) was more or less what I have planned and the hull can be masked off simply enough I would presume. I mentioned before in a another thread here that the details are not as sharp as TamiGawa models but lets be fair: this isn't the most expensive model around now is it ? Just my

Julian

I must say I disagree with a lot of your comments .I found the fit excellent with no need for filler at all .The model is not for a beginner but I don't think you could get a more accurate model.I assembled the superstructure then fitted it after painting with no problem at all.This is my first nautical model for over twenty years and I am very happy with it.

Painted using Halfords car paints,Ford Galaxy Blue and Volkswagen Brilliant Orange which are perfect matches for the RNLIs colours.