The Unofficial Airfix Modellers' Forum

Hi Guys,

I haven’t done one of my ‘discussion threads’ for a while now, so here’s one for you (just a bit of fun)

I know we all love old kits (my stash is full of old Airfix and Matchbox) and I know on this forum we generally love to build anything that goes together, things that others wouldn’t touch with a very long barge-poll (Daz’s Grafix Spitfire is a case in point), vacform, short-run, resin, spares bin kits, balsa – hell EVEN Starfix kits – you name it, we’ll build it, fill it, sand it, fill it, sand it, fill it, sand it…

But…

Do you guys EVER feel the urge, just once in a while, to build something that actually fits? You know, one of those nice shiny modern things – maybe even from (gasp) Japan? I’m not talking about getting all AMS, or even JMN – Just about taking the easy option for once.

Here’s where I am at the moment – over the weekend I started building a Airfix 1/72 Tornado GR.1 (Because I really needed anther WIP on the bench) – and for the life of me I just can’t get into it, The shape is ok, and I think it’ll look good once its finished, but the cockpit is just plain awful – really basic – which has killed my interest in it so much, that I’ve actually gone out and bought the Revell kit, which I said I wounld't do, but am now really looking forward to getting my hands on.

And I feel like this in general at the moment, I fancy putting aside those old kits and building some new tool stuff for a while (not that I’ll ever stop loving CBKs mind you).

What about you guys – Ever feel the need for modernity?

Cheers

Stuart

P.S – Weirdly, The imminent arrival of new plastic has renewed my interest in sorting out my Airfix kit , go figure – so the poorly SB cockpit is coming out and a new one is going in – Perhaps I’ll start a thread akin to Andrews Tale of two Seahawks….

I do at times feel the need for modern kits but I usually manage to fight the urge off.

Oh, yes - all the time.......

I think it is safe to say I am having a love/hate relationship with Classics at this point. The filling and sanding - while not exclusive to Classics - has become rather tiresome. The lack of detail and finesse - while also not exclusive to Classics - has also become a bit tedious to fix. And I have to fix it....

Still, I have had issues with brand new mould Airfix kits recently, so it isn't just the old kits! I'd really like to break out my Tamiya 1/32 Spitfire, as I know that fits well, but that is a major project that I simply don't have time for at the moment.

I always find the Tornado a fairly uninspiring design, to be honest. So, whether it is a modern state of the art kit or a venerable relic from times past, the subject matter rarely shouts "build me".

Yes and then decide to build a vacform anyway.

JamesPerrin wrote:Yes and then decide to build a vacform anyway.

- too true

One of my next double build projects will be the new tool Airfix Spitfire F.22 with a Pegasus F.22
Should be interesting...

Also in dual build pipeline:

Italeri and Matchbox Sea Harriers
Valom and Matchbox Walruses
Eduard and Frog Hellcats

AndrewR wrote:One of my next double build projects will be the new tool Airfix Spitfire F.22 with a Pegasus F.22
Should be interesting...

Also in dual build pipeline:

Italeri and Matchbox Sea Harriers
Valom and Matchbox Walruses
Eduard and Frog Hellcats

It's actually an interesting thing to do - I built the old airfx blue plastic Spitfire alongside the NT mk.I a few years ago - funny, I actually preferred the old tool one

Sir T wrote:What about you guys – Ever feel the need for modernity?

Not so much for modernity as for a nice, relaxed, shake and bake build. Typically after I've dealt with a project with major issues, I feel the need to coast for a bit (while I line up my next dose of self inflicted plastic torment )

It's actually an interesting thing to do - I built the old airfx blue plastic Spitfire alongside the NT mk.I a few years ago - funny, I actually preferred the old tool one

Strangely enough, last year I built the NT Mk1 followed closely by the older MkVc and definitely preferd the older kit.
Thats not to say the new tool wasn't a dream to built.

As far as modernity goes, after an eternity of scratchbuilding, filling, sanding and scribing, I just need something quick, that goes together easily. If its modern, well and good.

Absolutely Sir T.

I thoroughly enjoy building a CBK or an offbeat short run kit but I would quickly go of the deep end if that was all I built. I have a decent size stash that is a mix of old and new and different scales. So if I get bogged down with a build and I know I'm losing interest then I'll put it aside and crack open something completely new and different. I'll eventually lose interest in that too (if I don't get it finished first ) but it will have re-fired the mojo sufficiently to go back to one of my stalled builds.

Its haphazard, and a nightmare when building something for a deadline (Telford anyone??) but its the only way I've found to deal with my mayfly attention span.

Regards

Tom

Hi!
I have a lot of old plastic kits. I have a lot of cardboard models older than me! And you know what I do with it? So what now - I have a glass with a small drink and ... I watch these "antiquities". I like them, I like to look at them. But I glue mainly (90%) of these new ones - Japanese, Korean.
Rarely glue old matchbox and novo-frog. Because glued, painted, washed and additives - they are no longer "old"...
I like old books, old models ... but only with a small glass of good whiskey;) Not in the workshop.
Fortunately, this is not the rule. Especially if I have some of the same models. I do not feel sorry for one use ... ;)
Regards!
Przemek

My first build was around 1956 and I think it was a Hawk AT-6 Texan. My uncle would get me Airfix in polybags. When I got serious about the hobby I skipped all over with different subjects. There are times that even the "shake and bake" kits give me problems. What I enjoy about CBK's is getting back to basics and trying to make them like like something. But I still try other genres. I can't quite come to terms with Auto building. I think it is the glossy finish that is hard for me to do.

But this site has done wonders as far as bringing joy back into the hobby again. The old Airfix kits of my youth come out soooooo much better now. A good Tamigawa can cure the blues.

For me it's the subject that matters rather than the kit. In my stash I have all sorts, Airfix to Dragon, Trumpeter to Eastern Express. But definitely no more Ace.
Currently building Dodge Charger Daytona. By amt. So I for one apparently don't learn.

I build all kits, old or new, just about any genre, Jack of all trades, master of none