Airfix

[Weaver]

I've updated my Flying Hours Value chart to reflect the new range:



Not much has changed, but a couple of things of note:

1. The inclusion of lower-priced kits in higher series has increased the range of Flying Hour values per series. This is particularly striking at the bottom of Series 1, where the inclusion of a £5.99 kit, for which you'd have to pay £5.95 postage, reduces the value of your 16 Flying Hours to about a 1/3rd of a penny, which has caused the spreadsheet to round it down to ZERO.

2. Be particularly careful if the kit you want costs £24.99, because there are now kits at this price in both Series 4 and Series 5, but the two series need different amounts of Flying Hours to claim. This meansthat if you choose a £24.99 kit in Series 4, then your 30 Flying Hours are worth 63p each, but if you choose a £24.99 kit in Series 5, your 40 Flying Hours are only worth 48p each.

Note that it says on the passports and the website that the £5.95 p&p charge is per passport submitted, however I've established with them in the past that it's per order, even if the order involves mutliple passports and/or multiple kits.

[Captain Canada]

Speaking of Flying Hours, I still have a bunch somewhere if you want them ! Shoot me a PM.

[Weaver]

Also speaking of Flying Hours, they've definitely got stingier with them over time. Just had a look at my two (well, 1.9) Rotodynes:

Old "rainbow skill levels" boxing = 2 Flying Hours
New Vintage Classics boxing = 1 Flying Hour

Both Series 4 as well, so that wasn't a factor.

They've changed the schedule of how many Flying Hours it takes to get a kit in each series at least once as well.

The old scale was:

Series 1 & 2: 12
Series 3 & 4: 24
Series 5 & 6: 36
Series 7 & 8: 48

The current scale is:

Series 1 & 2: 16
Series 3 & 4: 30
Series 5 & 6: 40
Series 7, 8 & 9: 60

[Rick Lowe]

Ooh, a 1/35 Saracen... I could seriously be tempted... as long as the exchange rate isn't too crippling...

And maybe a Dinah, too...

[zenrat]

Saracen tempts me too.  Memories of TV news footage of them on the streets of Belfast.

No more 1/43 cars.  Maybe they didn't sell?

Catalina brings back memories.  I brush painted one badly with matt white Humbrol enamel about 50 years ago.

Canberra?  Maybe, but i'm more likely to look out for a cheap old one to whiff.
Will the Ju-52 have floats?  I doubt it.  Which will be a shame.  I checked and according to Scalemates the last time there was a new tool Ju-52 was the Heller in 1979.
Call me a cynic, but I think Airfix, feeling forced to tool up new 1/72 kits because of complaints, made sure they chose subjects the same size in the one true scale as a 1/48 Spitfire or Me109...
I might get another Skyvan but i've had the one i've got for a while and inspiration hasn't really struck yet.

I give them a  .  Mainly for the Saracen.

[NARSES2]

Must admit none of the new tools really interest me, although the Canberra and Ju 52 will be popular no doubt. I do fancy some of the re-pops though    and the OO/HO figure re-issues really have hit the "Oh I remember those when they first came out" button and trying to convert some for wargamming purposes  . From what I've seen on-line the "Armour Fraternity" seem to be quite happy with the releases.

The masks range is an interesting development.

So, all in all Well done Airfix 

[NARSES2]

Does the Bader set come with a set of 48th scale legs in white metal?

I'll get me coat.

I'll help you 

I met the man once. We had a lad at school who'd lost a leg and one of the masters knew Bader from his RAF service days and arranged for him to come to school and meet the lad and give a speech at assembly. The whole school, 600 boys, were in awe 

[George the Cat]

Airfix are finally doing a 1/72:Canberra B2!

I will break the bank to have several.

[scautomoton]

Does the Bader set come with a set of 48th scale legs in white metal?

I'll get me coat.

I'll help you 

I met the man once. We had a lad at school who'd lost a leg and one of the masters knew Bader from his RAF service days and arranged for him to come to school and meet the lad and give a speech at assembly. The whole school, 600 boys, were in awe 

Beyond the fact he was an Ace, the thing I find impressive is that he was an accomplished squash player as well. Genuinely an example of achieving greatness despite some serious physical disabilities.

[kitbasher]

Like Zenrat I too had an Airfix Catalina many, many moons ago.

1.  It didn't float in the bath, and

2.  It was destroyed by a mode of public transport (but I'm not going to divulge which and how for fear of setting a bad example to children).

[Old Wombat]

Not too shabby! 

Particularly;

1/48 Phantom FG.1
1/48 Fairey Gannet AS.1/AS.4 (has RAN markings, unlike the first issue)
1/48 SEPECAT Jaguar T.2 & T.4
1/35 Alvis Stalwart Mk.2 Limber (possibly)
1/35 Alvis FV603 Saracen Mk.5 (interesting but unlikely to buy)

Pellson might like this one;

1/72 Swedish Air Force 100th Anniversary Set (A40004)







No sign of a 1/350 Black Swan-class sloop, though, I notice.   

[Weaver]

I might have fancied the Catalina but Sod's Law, I bought an Academy one a few months back because it had surplus ASV radar aerials in it, so I'm covered should inspiration strike.

The masks range seems an entirely sensible thing to get into as long as they can make a profit on it. Might be an idea for them to get into other kinds of accessories too: after all, they know what kits they're going to release well before the rest of the industry does, so they can have the extras on sale as soon as the kit is, thereby capturing a share of the market before anyone else can react. Timing matters for extras: once I've bought one set of improved exhausts for my one Wessex, I'm not going to buy somebody else's set that comes out two months later, even if it's batter still.

Speaking of extras, the Skyvan comes with a scheme for the "Pink Skyvan" (that's the company name: the aircraft isn't always pink) that operated out of Austria for dropping parachutists. That Skyvan has been fitted with 5-bladed props at some point in it's life, and Airfix have said they're going to make 3D printing files for then available FREE to download from the website. That's an interesting move.

[The Wooksta!]

Bader wasn't a particularly nice man.  The guy who carried him about at one of the POW camps was injured himself and could have been repatriated, but Bader put the block on it as "who else will carry me about?" and he referred to the man as his "beast of burden".  No, he was an arrogant bully, much like Guy Gibson.

[Old Wombat]

Bader wasn't a particularly nice man.  The guy who carried him about at one of the POW camps was injured himself and could have been repatriated, but Bader put the block on it as "who else will carry me about?" and he referred to the man as his "beast of burden".  No, he was an arrogant bully, much like Guy Gibson.

That could be said about quite a few, Leonard Cheshire being another, but that ability to totally focus on the job at hand that made them exceptional in what they did frequently comes at a cost, & that cost is often an exceptional arrogance & a complete disregard for the sacrifices made by others for them to acheive their aim(s).

[Weaver]

Apparently the 1/48th Lightning F.6 is already in stock.