The Unofficial Airfix Modellers' Forum

Why is it that in 1/72 - 1/76 scale, there is a distinct lack of British AFV on the market?

Apart from some short run resin models, I can’t find any of the FV432 family or apart from the Scimitar/Sabre any of the rest of the Scimitar family. More worrying the lack of post war MBT’s like the Chieftain.

I know Airfix did the Chieftain and Centurion but they are getting hard to find and expensive.

Post Cold War British AFV’s seem to be well covered by Revell/Matchbox and Trumpeter.

It’s just the 50’s - 80’s that’s missing by the main kit manufactures.

Agreed. Although Ace ( limited run but getting better) are starting to make some, Centurion Mk 3 and Mk 5 ( completed the 5 and it's a lovely kit ) and the Scorpion and Scimitar oh and a beautiful FV-622 Stalwart ( I know, not an AFV) , and the monstrous FV-4005 ( one at Bovington) . Hopefully they will add more to the range.

The Ace centurions are wonderful kits. Don't let the short run nature scare you off. They may have big sprue gates and a bit of flash (but not really), but they're well engineered. Better than any afv kit Airfix ever made.

Agreed, the 4005 is a cracking kit, and a vast improvement over the only other Ace kit I've built. But we definitely need more British machines.

There were a few resin kits kicking around in the '90's that were pretty good (but very expensive). I have a Warrior, but forget who made it. I converted the Airfix Chieftain back in the day to a MkX and another to a MkXII, but it was a lot of work!

Just remembered who made these but not sure if still available: ebay maybe?

http://www.onthewaymodels.com/kitlists/ ... models.htm;

Matador Models do the FV432. Not cheap though I'm afraid.

Milicast have a few items that might be of interest

... http://www.milicast.com/shop/search.php ... rch&page=1;


Matador (mentioned in the post before by Dazzled) however are not really set up for mail order... they don't have online ordering or a phone number you can even call to talk to anyone... You have to post them a letter reciting all your card details and the security number off back .. Or send a cheque .... and as for postage well ... sort of guess at it I guess,

I gave up with Matador, the bloke who runs it seems stuck in the dark ages as far as ordering goes. I did phone him a few times and got excuses that I am sure teachers are all too familiar with for lack of homework! (He didn't use the excuse that "the guinea-pig ate my order" though!). Finding the phone number was quite a challenge and required lateral thinking, but I got there in the end. For all the good it did me.

TeeELL wrote:I gave up with Matador, the bloke who runs it seems stuck in the dark ages as far as ordering goes. I did phone him a few times and got excuses that I am sure teachers are all too familiar with for lack of homework! (He didn't use the excuse that "the guinea-pig ate my order" though!). Finding the phone number was quite a challenge and required lateral thinking, but I got there in the end. For all the good it did me.

Same as Navwar, the naval wargaming supplier of 1/3000 scale ships. Not only does he not have any e-commerce facility at all, he seems proud of it, as if he were single-handedly holding off the march of progress. It's amazing the eccentrics you find running a business in our hobbies. After all, we're only trying to give them money, why make it difficult?

Add Cromwell to that list, any "stockist" ( that term is used in the loosest possible sense ) has a backlog of approx. 250 kits on my last conversations with them so can't even give you a waiting time. Shame as some of Mr. Brown's stuff looks rather nice.

Kitaholic wrote:Add Cromwell to that list

The Cromwell stuff is superb with astonishing levels of detail; but as you say, availability is at the whim of the man who makes them pretty much as a hobby. He does seem to have a thing about Israeli AFVs, but his cold war Brit stuff is also very good; I have a Tracked Rapier, FV432, Abbot and Spartan in my collection:





B.W. also used to be superb, but the man who made them retired a few years back, although I have seen a few resurrected in resin from a chap in Cornwall:

Here is the B.W. Stolly, along with the JB/Airfix Saracen and Saladin:



and the B.W. Ferret:



and the B.W. Bv206:



I also have one of his Supacat Jackals still to build - waiting on a rainy day!

More here:

http://www.gengriz.co.uk/Tankweb/darksidebrits.htm

FredT

Hi Splash mate. I don't really build AFVs but this post is very interesting. One thing I picked up on that ties in with another discussion on Small Talk was:

splash wrote:I know Airfix did the Chieftain and Centurion but they are getting hard to find and expensive.

Would some re-issues of these kits, from Airfix, at a reasonable price, help with this? I guess so......

Regards,

Zee28

In my small stash I still have a bagged Centurion Mk8 (paperheader). If this one ever will be re-released be aware that it is not up to modern standards. It is a nice classic though and I am sure that there is a market for it.

bassman wrote:In my small stash I still have a bagged Centurion Mk8 (paperheader). If this one ever will be re-released be aware that it is not up to modern standards. It is a nice classic though and I am sure that there is a market for it.

I have managed to get two Airfix centurions on eBay, as you say they aren’t up to modern standards but at half the price of the only other kits I can find.

Regards Splash