Airfix

[Thorvic]

News on Britmodeller suggests the 1/72nd Canberra has been moved back from a Summer release to late November so not even SMW, The kits been signed off so its either  production backlog or the new bean counters running it now.

[zenrat]

Now, if they make the Ju-52 floats available as an add on kit (like the Valiant PR set) then we can all just buy them on their own without having to bother with another Ju-52 we don't really want.

[Gondor]

News on Britmodeller suggests the 1/72nd Canberra has been moved back from a Summer release to late November so not even SMW, The kits been signed off so its either  production backlog or the new bean counters running it now.

They don't half manage to talk about stuff over there.

Now, if they make the Ju-52 floats available as an add on kit (like the Valiant PR set) then we can all just buy them on their own without having to bother with another Ju-52 we don't really want.

Now that is a great idea 

[Beermonster58]

With three Ju-52 kits already, I certainly don't want or need a new Airfix one. The only thing that might persuade me otherwise would be the bomber variant.

[Weaver]

The Skyvans are in stock now, and my pre-orders just showed up.

First impressions:

1. They're moulded in dark grey plastic, which is going to make painting the mostly white Olympic Airways scheme a pain. Fortunately I have no intention of using it...    

2. The mouldings are nice and crisp with no obvious flaws that I can see on a quick inspection. There's a little flash on some of the fiddly parts (and there are a LOT of fiddly parts in this kit) but nothing to worry about.

3. As pre-trailed, you can't build Scheme B (the Pink Skyvan skydiving bus) accurately without 3D printing 5 or 7 blade props. The STL files are free from Airfix, but you still have to either print them yourself or get somebody to print them for you. From a whiffing POV, you could just use the 3-blade props in the kit and call it a what-if. Alternatively, they're generic props for Garret TP-331s, so you could use the STL files to print out more for other aircraft. A 7-blade prop Shorts Tucano was the first thing I thought of.

4. It's the full original moulding (of course) so it has the military pilots and canvas bench seats of the military version, just no instructions on how to use them. No problem getting them online I'd imagine (I'd be happy to scan my old ones for anyone who'd stuck).

Overall, as a Whiffer I'm very pleased. If I was a nostalgia builder who really wanted to do the Olympic one, or I'd really set my heart on the skydivng one for some reason, I might be less pleased. Still better to have it than not though.

[Beermonster58]

Can't say I'm enamoured of (a) the idea of Airfix selling what's effectively an incomplete kit and, (b) being perhaps a little presumptuous in their assuming that we all own or, have access to 3D printer.

The "Pink" Skyvan scheme is an atrocity. Whoever designed it deserves to be dropped out of the back at altitude without benefit of a safe descent assistance device 😉😂.

That said, I'd rather have this kit than not. I'll feed the decals to the bin monster and happily accept the three blade props. I've already got a couple of fictional schemes in mind😊

[Weaver]

The "Pink" Skyvan scheme is an atrocity. Whoever designed it deserves to be dropped out of the back at altitude without benefit of a safe descent assistance device 😉😂.

Agreed. I think they've done it because there are very few Skyvans around now, and that's by far the most well known example still flying.

[Beermonster58]

The "Pink" Skyvan scheme is an atrocity. Whoever designed it deserves to be dropped out of the back at altitude without benefit of a safe descent assistance device 😉😂.

Agreed. I think they've done it because there are very few Skyvans around now, and that's by far the most well known example still flying.

  Well, that's a fair point . Actually, upon reflection, I have a potential use for that large "mouth" decal! .The rest will become the bin monsters lunch though!.I'm sure however some enterprising manufacturers will come up with alternatives to the kit options!

[Weaver]

The "Pink" Skyvan scheme is an atrocity. Whoever designed it deserves to be dropped out of the back at altitude without benefit of a safe descent assistance device 😉😂.

Agreed. I think they've done it because there are very few Skyvans around now, and that's by far the most well known example still flying.

  Well, that's a fair point . Actually, upon reflection, I have a potential use for that large "mouth" decal! .The rest will become the bin monsters lunch though!.I'm sure however some enterprising manufacturers will come up with alternatives to the kit options!

26 Decals have already jumped in with seven different civvie ones.
Blackbird have a radar nose on the way.
KV Models have a mask set on the way (be careful, because they also do a 1/144th scale one for the A&A Models kit).

All from Hannants.

Skyvans were used by lots of small militaries, so there's some really interesting options there too for one of the decal manufacturers.

[The Wooksta!]

I doubt you'll see anything again from Blackbird, given the recent passing of the owner.