Airfix

[Gondor]

To call the Club Membership kit disappointing is to flatter it. Very poor decision on Airfix's part. I don't really know who  they are aiming  it at.

I have personally no interest in biplanes of any kind and, if I wanted a Viggen, I'd go for the Special Hobby kit.

Very unimpressed. My continuing membership will depend on what is on offer  in 1/72 for 2026 (and possible membership discounts thereof ) but, if this is an example, I might as well save my money.

Unless of course it's a BRAND NEW VIGGEN and, they're winding us up by making us think its the ancient 1971 kit? 😉😂

It's the old Viggen, no dog tooth in the wings for a start, which was a sign of the early prototypes.

[Beermonster58]

To call the Club Membership kit disappointing is to flatter it. Very poor decision on Airfix's part. I don't really know who  they are aiming  it at.

I have personally no interest in biplanes of any kind and, if I wanted a Viggen, I'd go for the Special Hobby kit.

Very unimpressed. My continuing membership will depend on what is on offer  in 1/72 for 2026 (and possible membership discounts thereof ) but, if this is an example, I might as well save my money.

Unless of course it's a BRAND NEW VIGGEN and, they're winding us up by making us think its the ancient 1971 kit? 😉😂

It's the old Viggen, no dog tooth in the wings for a start, which was a sign of the early prototypes.

Ah well. It was worth a try!

[Weaver]

It's the old Viggen, no dog tooth in the wings for a start, which was a sign of the early prototypes.

No area-rule bulge on the spine either.

[Weaver]

Okay, let's be positive and good whiffers here for a minute. Let's say you join/rejoin the Club anyway, for reasons other than the Club kit, and the pretty-but-wrong Viggen duly drops through your door.

What do you do with it?

My instinct would be to drop the plastic in the spares box and put the decals on something else. The scheme was done to mark the transition of  F10 Wing (the ghost being 1st Squadron's symbol) to the Gripen in 2000, so it would have to be something that Sweden might operate up to 2000, and also something fairly big (the wing ghosts are not small). My first thought is the Phantom. Maybe the Swedes had a British-style "buy American" phase in the late 1960s, building or finishing Phantoms under licence, perhaps with Swedish-designed afterburners. I'm pretty sure they studied it as an alternative to the Viggen.

[Charlie_c67]

Or plonk them on a Eurofighter?

[Weaver]

Or plonk them on a Eurofighter?

Eurofighter didn't enter service anywhere until 2003, so unless you change the meaning of the scheme, it doesn't work for F10 in 2000.

[Charlie_c67]

Or plonk them on a Eurofighter?

Eurofighter didn't enter service anywhere until 2003, so unless you change the meaning of the scheme, it doesn't work for F10 in 2000.

Or say the Swedes became a partner to replace the French and it was one of their development craft in the scheme? Would have a knock on effect on the Gripen programme of course, but this is whifworld...

[Weaver]

Or plonk them on a Eurofighter?

Eurofighter didn't enter service anywhere until 2003, so unless you change the meaning of the scheme, it doesn't work for F10 in 2000.

Or say the Swedes became a partner to replace the French and it was one of their development craft in the scheme? Would have a knock on effect on the Gripen programme of course, but this is whifworld...

You could make that work with the back story. You could say that they painted one of the old aircraft (whatever they were) AND one of the new Eurofighters in the same scheme: "the show must go on" makessense in that context.

[jcf]

Do the Viggen up in a civil register scheme as a sales demonstrator as Gloster did with the Meteor?

Overall silver, or white, with blue and yellow trim, cheatlines etc. but black registration so you don't have to faff about trying to do white codes or match the blue/yellow?

Yellow over blue, blue over yellow?
The last needing some thought so
it doesn't look like the Blue Angels.
🤣

[Weaver]

That's a good idea Jon.

At the same time as the red Viggen, a JA-37 of F16 Wing was painted blue with yellow trim and christened "Bla Petter" - "Blue Peter" (which will make UK members smile). Of course, this was a production version and far too late for any sales campaign.

Good article on IPMS Stockholm: https://www.ipmsstockholm.se/home/saab-ja-37-viggen-bla-petter/

[Mossie]

I had the 1/48 Airfix kit (ex ESCI) which had that scheme on the box.

[scautomoton]

That's a good idea Jon.

At the same time as the red Viggen, a JA-37 of F16 Wing was painted blue with yellow trim and christened "Bla Petter" - "Blue Peter" (which will make UK members smile). Of course, this was a production version and far too late for any sales campaign.

Good article on IPMS Stockholm: https://www.ipmsstockholm.se/home/saab-ja-37-viggen-bla-petter/

Now, to be fair, I could happily build a Viggen in THAT scheme. I think it suits it beautifully! But I'd use the Special Hobby kit.

I some times toy with the idea of joining the Airfix Club, but in reality, I have most of their stuff that I want to build (I do 1/72 jets not spinny props), and their recent focus seems to have been 1/35 & 1/48 stuff, 1/72 helicopters (which I have some of), or clunky old "Classics", the subjects of which I have alternative (read better) kits of mostly. However, if a handful of topics I desire appeared in any given year I would obviously buy them provided they're the best offering of the subject matter.

Its unfortunate for Airfix that their focus of recent years seems to be mainly British or WW2 subjects, which is fine, but the market for those is only so big. Plus the expectation of a modern kit is for highly accurate, nicely detailed parts (quite rightly with LIDAR etc) which takes time to develop. So their output of new topics is going to be low, with accordingly low variety which means pleasing less of the customer base. Its quite a poisoned chalice really.

I think they need to take a good hard look at the global market. Do some proper market research with customers worldwide, using both online questionnaires and in person conversation at model shows. In fact, sending someone around to different club meets would probably be warmly welcomed in general. Then decide what their position needs to be and be open with us, the consumer, about their intended direction.

[Weaver]

Now, to be fair, I could happily build a Viggen in THAT scheme. I think it suits it beautifully! But I'd use the Special Hobby kit.

Funnily enough, I couldn't. There's something about the shades of blue and yellow that strikes me as "queasy". I can't remotely justify that logically, but the gut feeling is undeniably there.

There is a delightful detail pic in the article showing an oil drip-catching bucket hung from the point of the ventral fin, Bla Petter's being, of course, painted blue and yellow to match. If I ever build a Viggen (and I do have ideas), I'm definitely including that.

I some times toy with the idea of joining the Airfix Club, but in reality, I have most of their stuff that I want to build (I do 1/72 jets not spinny props), and their recent focus seems to have been 1/35 & 1/48 stuff, 1/72 helicopters (which I have some of), or clunky old "Classics", the subjects of which I have alternative (read better) kits of mostly. However, if a handful of topics I desire appeared in any given year I would obviously buy them provided they're the best offering of the subject matter.

It's a complicated calculation.

I joined because one year they were selling old memberships cheaply, just before a revamp, and I could use the Club Kit (two Hawks). I rejoined for 2025 because I was in the middle of helping somebody use their Flying Hours to get stuff when my membership came up for renewal. One reason I've let it lapse this time is that I want to get away from having my membership expire just before they announce the new range and new Club Kit.

You either need one of the following things to be 100% true for you, or (far more likely) a mixture of them to apply, for a £35 Club membership to be worth it:

1. You want the Club Kit and you think it's worth £35

2. You intend to use your 10% discount to buy over £350 of Airfix kits this year

3. You intend to use Flying Hours to get more than £41 worth of Airfix kits (£41 because you still have to pay £6 p&p for the "free" kits)

To complicate it a bit further:

4. Don't forget that Hornby's Hobby Reward Points system applies on top of the Airfix Club discount, but the structure of it means your reward points are based on what you bought in the past. You don't need to be a Club member to use Hobby Rewards.

5. On the other hand, don't forget that Hobbycraft's 3 for 2 deal on Airfix & Revell kits MIIGHT get you better deal, depending on how you structure the order. Also, if you join Hobbycraft's club, you get money-off vouchers based on what you spend, similar to Hobby Reward points.

This year I don't want the Club Kit and I don't anticipate spending £350 at Airfix, but I do have a ton of Flying Hours, so it wouldn't take many desirable kits in the 2026 range to make it worthwhile.

Its unfortunate for Airfix that their focus of recent years seems to be mainly British or WW2 subjects, which is fine, but the market for those is only so big. Plus the expectation of a modern kit is for highly accurate, nicely detailed parts (quite rightly with LIDAR etc) which takes time to develop. So their output of new topics is going to be low, with accordingly low variety which means pleasing less of the customer base. Its quite a poisoned chalice really.

And also, limited production for a limited customer base means they're more vulnerable to one product being a turkey, which in turn makes them more conservative, which in turn limits their customer base, etc, etc in a vicious circle.

I think they need to take a good hard look at the global market. Do some proper market research with customers worldwide, using both online questionnaires and in person conversation at model shows. In fact, sending someone around to different club meets would probably be warmly welcomed in general. Then decide what their position needs to be and be open with us, the consumer, about their intended direction.

Before they do any of that, they need to get their international distribution sorted out. I've lost count of the number of times overseas members on here have complained of not being able to get Airfix kits at all or having to wait six months to get new ones.

[PR19_Kit]

......and christened "Bla Petter" - "Blue Peter" (which will make UK members smile)

Obviously one they'd prepared earlier................ 

[Weaver]

......and christened "Bla Petter" - "Blue Peter" (which will make UK members smile)

Obviously one they'd prepared earlier................ 

Wonder what the Swedish for "get down Shep!" is ...