80 Years of Airfix GB

Hi modelcrazy,

Looking good, don't enver you the masking work...

Today’s mid afternoon update. 

First up, I finished the cradle and mount. The parts are for the most part nicely detailed, but mold seam lines are prominent and require lots of clean up. Thankfully, the plastic is on the softer side. Also some of the attachment points and directions for certain small parts are ambiguous. Test fit, check reference photos, test fit, check reference again, and test fit again, just to be sure, before applying glue.

anyways here is the completed gun on the cradle and mount

and a close up of some of the details on the mount...

Then, while the glue was drying there, I built up one of the Bronco crew figures and posed him with an Airfix 32nd scale figure... as you can see, they are fairly close in stature and should work for this....

Next to a 1:35 scale ruler (left side) both stand at around 1.8M tall...

Then I started work on the carriage. There are stil a lot of detail parts to add there before final assembly...

Then a test fit all together along with the Bronco figure

More tomorrow... This is progressing faster than I expected...

That actually looks pretty darn good for a vintage kit.  Keep up the good work.

There is a great variety of kits being built here, and they are looking great.  It's really interesting to see all the different things Airfix has produced--and learn how well they do or don't go together.

I've progressed this far:  undersurface is painted; dark earth is applied; I masked that yesterday; and have now applied the dark green.

Kensar,

The P-40 looks great! 

Bish,

The S.M. 79 is coming along nicely. It is a unique looking aircraft. Can't wait to see it in paint.

Steve,

I hope you've got an Eduard mask for that canopy.  Looks like I'll be adding a Blennie to my stash as it was used in the Battle of Britain and I have decals for it.

CMK,

The Spit is looking good.

I was planning on starting off with the 109 so I went to YouTube to check out some build videos for inspiration. I watched several, including one by a certain Waggish American, and was inspired to pull the kit out and see where I had left off (I started this kit several years ago for my BoB group build). Everything was where I had left it except the cockpit, I have no idea where it went. I'll do a more extensive search in the morning but if I can't find it, I'll either paint the canopy black to hide it or find a resin replacement.

There's a lot of good work going on here, keep it going.

Stik - looks like a lot of parts on that gun- sufficiently busy.  Are they all the same base color?

Thanks, Lewbud.

Mopar, it is a good kit, that just needs a little extra effort. Especially in checking references and comparing them to the instructions....

Kensar, this kit is molded in the typical gray Airfix plastic. The coloring just changes due lighting and my photo edits.

so for my next update:

Last nite after dinner, I added the gun shield and the final fiddly bits to the trail legs... 

But I waited to let the glue dry overnite to do the seam clean up on the trail leg recoil spades. Which I did today at the midday. I also added the tow cables to the shield. And cleaned up the seams on the rounds that the kit includes.

Gunner Tommy Atkins standing by, and awaiting the rest of his Guardsmen gun crew to help hold Nijmegen bridge from counter attacking Panzers...

Construction is now 98% complete. I have left the cradle mount separate from the carriage, and the wheels, to aide in ease of painting, which it is now all ready to commence on my days off next week.

Thats come on really well Stik, looks like a nice kit.

checkmateking02

There is a great variety of kits being built here, and they are looking great.  It's really interesting to see all the different things Airfix has produced--and learn how well they do or don't go together.

I've progressed this far:  undersurface is painted; dark earth is applied; I masked that yesterday; and have now applied the dark green.

 

Agreed, geting some good insight into a range of Airfix kits. Thats loking good, i like how you have masked that.

Svenne, some nice work there, but looks like its not amking it easy for you.

John, looks like you going to need a drop on filler in there, be interesting to see how the rest of it goes together.

Steve, loks like you got to grips with that pit. Looking nice.

Bish

Thats come on really well Stik, looks like a nice kit.

 

Thanks Bish, aside from “modeling skills required”, I think that this is a great kit. It’s not shake and bake, but it’s not dog either. I would love to see Airfix do more 32nd or 35th scale armor kits of their own.

checkmateking02

There is a great variety of kits being built here, and they are looking great.  It's really interesting to see all the different things Airfix has produced--and learn how well they do or don't go together.

I've progressed this far:  undersurface is painted; dark earth is applied; I masked that yesterday; and have now applied the dark green.

 

Some work done on the Stuka

stikpusher

 

 

Bish

Thats come on really well Stik, looks like a nice kit.

 

 

 

 

Thanks Bish, aside from “modeling skills required”, I think that this is a great kit. It’s not shake and bake, but it’s not dog either. I would love to see Airfix do more 32nd or 35th scale armor kits of their own.

 

I like kits like that, you don't want a battle with it, but you want sopme challenge. And i will second that.

Looking nice castel. Does that kit come with an engine?

Just reviewed the last 3 pages I've missed.

I have a keen interest in Airfix, and can't wait to join in the fun this spring. Having never seen an Airfix kit in person, it's great to be able to see all of these various kits in progress.

Thanks to you all for sharing your progress, and I'll be watching.

Greg

Just reviewed the last 3 pages I've missed.

I have a keen interest in Airfix, and can't wait to join in the fun this spring. Having never seen an Airfix kit in person, it's great to be able to see all of these various kits in progress.

Thanks to you all for sharing your progress, and I'll be watching.

 

My experience with Airfix goes back to mainly the 70’s and early 80’s. Their kits then weren’t exactly the best. Stopped building Airfix then, and went more towards Hasegawa, Tamiya etc. Good to see that the new Airfix is on the right track . Will give Airfix a go again one of these days. 

Edwin

 

My experience with Airfix goes back to mainly the 70’s and early 80’s. Their kits then weren’t exactly the best. Stopped building Airfix then, and went more towards Hasegawa, Tamiya etc. Good to see that the new Airfix is on the right track . Will give Airfix a go again one of these days. 

 

Compared to today’s new tool moldings, not much that was molded back then is ”very good”. But many kits from that era need just a little extra effort to make them shine.

Cockpit is coming together nicely on the Mustang:

Bish

Looking nice castel. Does that kit come with an engine?

 

yes it does but i will build it with engine covers closed. I may build the engine as a separate piece. If I paid for it may as well leave no piece unused 

Edwin

 

 

Greg

Just reviewed the last 3 pages I've missed.

I have a keen interest in Airfix, and can't wait to join in the fun this spring. Having never seen an Airfix kit in person, it's great to be able to see all of these various kits in progress.

Thanks to you all for sharing your progress, and I'll be watching.

 

 

 

 

My experience with Airfix goes back to mainly the 70’s and early 80’s. Their kits then weren’t exactly the best. Stopped building Airfix then, and went more towards Hasegawa, Tamiya etc. Good to see that the new Airfix is on the right track . Will give Airfix a go again one of these days. 

 

being in the UK, Airfix were what many of us grew up with. For years i avoided them, but these last few years i have been buyong them again and the new kits are certainly leaps and bounds ahead of what we used to have. Give them a try.

castelnuovo

 

 

Bish

Looking nice castel. Does that kit come with an engine?

 

 

 

 

yes it does but i will build it with engine covers closed. I may build the engine as a separate piece. If I paid for it may as well leave no piece unused 

 

I just thought that bulkhead looks a bit to detailed not to have the option to have it on view.

stikpusher

 

 

Edwin

 

My experience with Airfix goes back to mainly the 70’s and early 80’s. Their kits then weren’t exactly the best. Stopped building Airfix then, and went more towards Hasegawa, Tamiya etc. Good to see that the new Airfix is on the right track . Will give Airfix a go again one of these days. 

 

 

 

 

Compared to today’s new tool moldings, not much that was molded back then is ”very good”. But many kits from that era need just a little extra effort to make them shine.

 

Yeah, back then, Airfix made kits that weren't made here in the U.S. It was Airfix that enabled me to add a B-17G and a B-24J and a B-29 to my shelf.

I recently found out that all those 1/72 aircraft that I built from MPC that came in the white boxes with three marking options were actually Airfix molds. Back then I could care less who made them, I just built them. 

Then US Airfix came along... and I built plenty of those.

stikpusher

I recently found out that all those 1/72 aircraft that I built from MPC that came in the white boxes with three marking options were actually Airfix molds. Back then I could care less who made them, I just built them. 

Then US Airfix came along... and I built plenty of those.

 

When I was young I didn't realize that either, but those were some of my favorite airplane kits back then 

Got started on the BP Defiant - assembly so far has been a joy, on par with anything Tamiya/Hasegawa etc. 

Nice start on the cockpit John.

Excellent start on the Defiant office John. Nice work.