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A few years ago, while I was still a member of the Airfix Club, I emailed Airfix and asked them if they were ever going to re-release the 1/72 HP Hampden because I wanted to build one but at the time they were fetching silly prices on ebay. They categorically stated that they had no plans to reissue the 1/72 HP Hampden at any point in the foreseeable future. They re-released the 1/72 HP Hampden within about eight months of my query.Eric Mc wrote:Airfix will not be releasing any 1/144 airliners anytime soon (if at all).
When I attended a talk given by the Airfix production team a few years ago they categorically stated that they had no plans to issue new mould airliners in 1/144 scale.
I know it is completely different between a new tool and a re-release but I just found it amusing how they said that "No way" would they be re-releasing the Hampden then did the opposite a few months later. Never say "Never"Eric Mc wrote:A re-release is one thing. Investing in brand new tooling and the related research is another.
I suspect that Airfix have realised that most dedicated modellers will buy older kits via online sellers or at shows etc., which means that for them (Airfix) to be competitive means selling older kits at prices that don't justify the overhead producing and stocking them entails. Whilst it is true that the toolings will have paid for themselves over the years, it still costs exactly the same to produce an older kit (raw plastic, cost of moulding etc.), transport it, store it and sell it as it does to sell a new-tool; except that the new-tool can be sold at a higher price and therefore greater profit. There is also a chance that their new suppliers don't have presses capable of utilising the older tools?Ratch wrote:Their current policy seems to be new tools only. There's hardly any pre-2006 kits in the range this year