Anyone any thoughts on Airfix’s upcoming new 1/24 mossie? To me it sounds like a winner but I’d love to see one of the kits.
There are photos, kicking around on the net, of an incomplete test-shot at the Nuremburg Toy Fair. Couldn’t care less what the Airfix knockers say, I’ll be getting (at least) one; Airfix/Hornby usually attend the Yeovilton model shows, and there’s one on Saturday, so maybe we’ll be able to get an update then.
Edgar
Its quality remains to be seen. The one thing we know for certain is that it will retail for GBP130.00, a 62.5% increase on the originally-posted price. On Airfix’s recent form (Nimrod, Canberras, TSR-2s), it is likely to have its share of accuracy, fit and detail issues, and the decals may well be unusable.
If I buy one, it won’t be until I’ve read several reviews.
Cheers,
Chris.
I picked up the Revell Mossie in 1/32 on Ebay. Big enough for me, and a quarter of the price. $250 for a kit ? Not in this lifetime.
I’ve seen that built up test shot up close. and considering it was a test shot it looked good to go already. it looked stunning. good detail on the engines, undercart and cockpit, no fit issues to speak of from what I could tell. The thing is the price, now if Trumpeter had anounced this one with that £130 price tag no one woulf have even raised an eyebrow. because Airfix announced a reasonable price not forseeing the recent economic climate and then had to alter the price there’s loads of complaints, I do think they underpriced the kit at first if I’m honest and yes over a 60% price hike is a bit much and if I’m being honest WILL stop me from buying one and will doubtless stop others too. As for decals only time will tell. Airfix are aware of their problems and I hope they can address them before the release of this kit.
All the best.
Greg
Greg - the last thing Airfix wants is Trumpeter’s reputation for scale accuracy and value for money in their large-scale kits, I’d have thought! As to price, dosn’t your argument apply to all new-mould kits announced in the last year or so, and not yet released? Are they increasing in price by 60%?
Dimensionally, the Mossie in 1/24 is only about 15% larger than the Ju.88 in 1/32, available in your LHS for £29.99, and for about £25 if you know where to look. Similar number of parts to the RoG 1/144 Fletcher-class destroyer, available in your LHS for less than the price of an Airfix 1/72 Nimrod.
As to the decals, well, this is Airfix’s chance to show they can get thngs right. Maybe they’ll use Cartograf to print them, like they now have for the Club Edition kits this year (pity about the kits themselves…) We both know that Airfix have been aware of their many and various decal issues for the last five years and more, but have chosen not to spend the money required to do something about it.
Like I said, I’ll wait for the reviews…
Cheers,
Chris.
Saw the master in a sealed perspex box at Telford in November. It looks very nice. Also running was a CAD programme of the parts ‘assembling themselves’ into a completed model. I hope to buy and build at least one, and I do remember seeing somewhere that the price was around the £80 mark, not £130. Time will tell…
IMO I think the idea of a 1/24 scale Mossie is awesome. To decide weather it is worth the price I would probally have to build one. As for a Trumpeter comparison I would trust Airfix to do a much better job than Trumpeter. Yes they have somewhat of a reputation for some fit issues and lack of detail on some kits but nothing that has ever wanted to make me want to rip my hair out like Trumpeters 1/32 P-38. Trumpeters knack for ill fitting sub assemblies incorrect lines and worthless and incorrect color call outs and poor research has convinced me that they believe close is good enough just because they have offered something no one else hase in large scale. The price of that Mossie is enough to probally make most people hesitate and ask themselves do I really want this one bad enough. I would have to think the poor economy had alot to do with the price increase. Tine will tell if this kit is woth the asking price.
Soulcrusher[oX)]
Also, from what I`ve read on Brittmodeler, they are using a differant co. for thier decals. Suposed to me much better…Harv
The £80 price appeared on Hannants website, last year, but a direct enquiry to the Hornby staff, at last year’s autumn Yeovilton show, brought a planned price of £100. Since that time the £ has lost over 25% of its value against the $, and, since virtually everything (certainly anything bought from China) is priced in dollars, costs, for Hornby, have rocketed. Many do not realise, too, that everything, from China, has to be paid for in advance, including transport. You’ll notice how the diatribes always say “Airfix this, Airfix that,” when, as is well known, Airfix, as a company, no longer exists; it’s Hornby (spelt H-O-R-N-B-Y) who own the name, and Airfix is just one of their brand names, but hammering at a company that’s only been in the plastics business for two years doesn’t have the same ring about it. For years Airfix was run by people with little knowledge of(and even less interest in) the model business, and I’m completely mystified by this continuing association of Hornby with the rotten management decisions of the past. This year, Hornby are replacing three old 1/72 moulds with brand new kits, MiG-15, Me109, and Spitfire IX, but do we ever read that they’re being given any credit? Of course not; let’s slam them for the other old moulds (that they can’t afford to replace all in one go, especially in these economic times,) and don’t forget those poor decals, even though they’ve already started to get better ones done. As for reviews, maybe I’m lucky with him living close by, but the only person’s views that I’ll take any notice of is Peter Cooke, who scratchbuilt 1/24 Mosquitos in resin. As for comparison between the price of the Ju-88 (the mould for which was produced in the EU, so no dollar worries,) at the last count the Mosquito was due to have 858 parts, against how many in the Ju?
Edgar
Hi Edgar.
Well said. I couldn’t agree with you more. If I came across as denigrating Airfix/Hornby then I apologize, that was not my intention at all. All I was pointing out was the problems they have with the current economic climate and it’s unfortunate effects on sales. £100 sounds about right for the Mossie going by pre economic crisis prices. I suppose if Airfix had announced this price instead of roughly £70 in the first place then non of this debate would have taken place about pricing. I have been considering my options for the Mossie kit and I may end up getting one anyway. I want to have a collection of all the Airfix 1/24th superkits and I only have the Hurricane to get and when the mossie comes out doubtless I’ll really start to want one. That one at Telford last year really looked the puppy’s pouches (see, I’m talking myself into buying one now !!! ) Airfix’s poor decal reputation came from the days when the decals were printed in France where quality control seems shall we say rather lacking in some industries ( I have worked with items shipped from France as a spray painter and almost everything had to be re-painted) Is it a case of French dislike for anything English?. One wonders because that was the attitude of some French workers who I met. Their attitude was (and I quote) “If it’s for France or Europe it is given good job, for English it is ****”. Don’t know if that is a minority attitude or not though. Airfix Decals are much better than those days and they are still improving, The new TSR2 decals look great. The replacement Nimrod ones are damn good too. Hornby are taking the Airfix brand to a good place. long may it continue.
All the best.
Greg
Edgar - tell me, please, where, apart from the Club Edition FAA set, are the better decals? The new Airfix decals I’ve used in the last year were either so pixellated and lightly-printed that they had to be replaced, covered over by a coninuous carrier file, so that you had to cut every single stencil out individually (and these were pixellated too), or shattered on contact with water.
And Hornby were solely rsponsible for these things. No way in which previous management can be blamed. Happened on their watch. In fairness, though, at least they’re in register now.
And I take your point about the fall in the £ against the $, but have you seen what’s happened to the £ against the Euro (in which RoG invoice) lately? And as for parts, in the last year, I’ve built two kits which had over 1000 pieces (both Dragon 1/35 tanks). Both retailed, at the time, for less than £30. And included etch, turned metal gun barrels, formed metal parts, wire tow cables and Cartograf decals. Only a very loose correlation between price and number of parts.
And if the Airfix Mossie really does have 850+ parts, and it’s as per the video on their Youtube site, then it’s parts for the sake of it, and way over-engineered. The RoG 1/32 Ju.88, incidentally, has 251 parts, roughly the same as the Airfix 1/72 Stirling (Series 7) or NImrod (Series 12) or HMS Belfast (Series 4). Like I said, no correlation between price and number of parts. If memory serves, the Airfix Dr. Who Tardis ‘Wecome Aboard’ kit
has barely 50 parts, and retails for the same price as the RoG 1/32 Ju.88.
Dragon kits. incidentally, are made in China, like the Airfix Mossie will be. So, invoiced in $ for which you have to pay up front. They’ve increased in price over the last year or so, sure. But by at most 20%, not over 60%.
Cheers,
Chris.
No, Greg, I wasn’t getting at you; I’ve read a lot of your stuff, and believe that you’re fair in your assessment. Funny, isn’t it, though, how the Airfix Nimrod was roundly criticised for lack of detail, and weapons, in the bomb bay (which can only be seen if you pick up the model, and point out the “errors”) and now, since Hornby seem to be trying to cover every eventuality in the Mosquito, it’s “over-engineered.” Can’t win, can they? As for the decals, I’m going by reports from my fellow club members, who’re building the Canberras and 1/48 TSR2 and say that they appear to be faultless; certainly I have one Canberra sheet in front of me, now, and it appears to be the equal of many other manufacturers.
What I find really sad, Chris, is that I know that you are a superb modeller, so you have the skills to correct any faults there might be in any kit, but you persist in waging this “war” against Airfix, even on a kit which isn’t available, yet. Incidentally, I’m sure that there are modellers, here, who didn’t notice the “coincidence” of your “review” of a 3-year-old kit, already known to have fit problems and which has long vanished off the shelves, produced by a defunct company, just as a 1/48 kit, from a different company (but still using the Airfix brand name,) happens to appear. One of the problems with getting old is that you (well, alright, I) tend to get a little more cynical with every passing year.
Edgar
Edgar - I’m not waging a war, as you put it, against Airfix. I’d have a similar attitude to any comapny which provided such generally poor quality products at such relatively high prices, and traded on its name to enable it to do so. Problem is, in the world of plastic scale modelling, I can’t think of any.
As to my TSR.2 build, I started it some six weeks before the 1/48 kit hit the shelves, as part of an Airfix GB over on Hyperscale. My findings as to the kit’s fit and detail are nothing more than has already been pointed out in numerous reviews. I actually thought my comments were generally supportive, and showed how the model could be improved with only a modicum of modelling skills and aftermarket add-ons.
Maybe the Nimrod’s lack of detail, in the weapons bay in particular
, isn’t such a big deal for you. But if other companies can provide accurate, well-detailed, similarly-sized weapons bays in models half the price, why should Airfix be set to a lower standard?
This is what gets me about Airfix apologists. They think that it’s OK, somehow, to hold Airfix to a lower standard, because they’re Airfix. Maybe if you grew up, as I did, in the 1950s and 1960s, making Airfix kits, you’re happy to make allowances. Unfortunately, markets don’t work that way, and if you persistantly provide a poor-quality, obsolete product at an uncompettitve price, you eventually go the way of British Leyland and Woolworths.
Apart from apparently being over-engineered, if the YouTube video is accurate, I haven’t yet criticised the Airfix Mossie as a product. It’s just that, when it comes to plastic scale models, a firm’s past achievements are a reasonably reliable predictor of future performance. Nothing would please me more than for it to be definitive Mossie, and well worth the £130 price tag.
Cheers,
Chris.
“Airfix apologist” Well, I’ve been called many things, but that’s a new one. The daft thing about it is that I make no effort to defend the old Airfix management, since it’s impossible to defend the indefensible; total lack of interest in(and knowledge of) the subject ruled, in fact I was told of one former board member, who complained loud, and long, about the inclusion of 3 Messerschmitts in the catalogue. The fairly marked (at least to us) differences, between the Me109, Me110, and Me262, had to be pointed out to her. I totally fail to see what can be gained by continually harking back to Airfix, when, at least in my view, Hornby (there’s that name, again) are to be commended in rescuing a dead company, and not resting on that, but investing huge amounts of money in new kits, even to beginning the long process of replacing old, worn-out, and inaccurate moulds (something the Airfix management never contemplated.) As far as I’m concerned, associating (even by implication) Airfix’s faults with Hornby is rather like blaming BAC for the difficulty that the Spitfire V had, in coping with the Fw190. Oh, and I did grow up during the 1950s (born in 1940,) and well remember the delight (for my Mum, too) in no longer covering the dining table in balsa shavings, balsa dust, and my blood, while trying to hack a wooden model into shape with a single-edged razor blade. I’m sure that’s the main reason for the rose-coloured view, for so many, of the Airfix name.
Edgar
wait long enough and prices will drop. The Nimrod is currently on sale at Great models for half price (35$ USD). I see a lot of high end kits drop in price dramatically after couple years.
I much appreciate the insight from you more experienced modelers. I grew up in the 60s and 70s. To me at that time Airfix - Frog - Matchbox - Revell oh and Tamiya were the only names I knew. I Took a break from modeling from the mid 70s to a couple of months ago when the interest was stired in me again. Now there are more names available and Im having fun trying to find out which ones are good and which ones to avoid. For me the standard is/was who is better than those I remembered? I guess the answer to that is quite a few of them. Airfix kits on a whole have not advanced much but as has already been pointed out, now Hornby own the brand name things are changing.
I always wanted a Tamiya model when I was younger but could never afford them. (I see nothing much has changed there). But I see today that there are some manufacturers who are equally as good or better for less. I read somewhere recently that tamiya has not changed its molds in years either? not sure how true that is.
As to the Mossie- I always had a few planes which were my favourite to build back in the early 70s. The mossie being one of them. I think the £130 price tag may be to high but only time will tell on that. But as far as my limited knowledge is concerned, I belive its the first 1/24 scale model of anything more than a single engined plane? So Im sure it will attract a lot of interest.
Having seen the test shots its a big project with close to 700 parts being tooled. I dare say more news will be posted on www.airfix.com or the Airfix Youtube page as and when it becomes available.
I’m a great fan of these kits, but an evolution seemed to occur in the line The Bf109E is loaded with detail but engraving & molding soft and heavy. The Fw190 has much better finish, it is repleat w/ gobs of accurate details. Now the Stuka (I’m coverting mine to a “Kanonen Vogel” G model.)at something like 20 yrs old stands well amidst any of the modern large scale a/c kits. In my opinion one of the finest kits ever produced. If Brit model co’s favor thier own weaponry anything like the British historical & research publishers do, the mossie should be a masterpiece.
Some pics taken at Cosford of Trevor Snowden’s build up of the first test shots - all the detail on the CAD animation is there.
http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32411&hl=mosquito