Just had a look at that excellent link re Gerald Wingrove. Incredible work there. The clever way some of those photos have been taken, with Gerald at a suitable distance in the background, its nigh on impossible to tell the vehicles are small models instead of the real thing. The Ferrari 250 GTO pic looks like he is actually leaning his arm against a full size real car.
Nice.
Battleship looks good, though I see that rigging is still the fluff magnate it was when I was making that sort of thing
It was the bane of my biplane models. The biggest problem was always storage, particularly when I started with 1/48 and larger and they need to be undercover to keep dust off.Nice tank too. Your son really has a feel for weathering.
One of the three airworthy Spits in Australia (two IXs and an VIII) has the markings of the late Bobby Gibbes with the large shark mouth; looks cool and menacing at the same time. One of dad's late friends flew the Mk V in Darwin, the VIII in Morotai for the RAAF and thought the VIII was just beautiful to fly but lacked range and ruggedness compared to the P-40.
Unfortunately it's no easy thing to convert the Airfix IX to a Mk VIII; as well as the retractable tail wheel - Airfix does provide the pointed rudder - the VIII had extra fuel tanks in the wings and a few other differences from the IX.
Space or no space, a 1/24 Airfix VIII will be on my Xmas list, but I have no hope of doing such as lovely job as the one pictured in this thread.
Geoff
There's no better holiday pastime, Geoff, than sitting round a crackling log fire on Xmas day, counting the rivets on a new mould 1/24 scale Spitfire!
Seriously though, I'd be quite content with a present of the Airfix Vintage Classics 1/24 scale Hawker Hurricane Mk.1, pictured below, which would be an easier build for a ham-fisted, kit-basher like me!
Seriously though, I'd be quite content with a present of the Airfix Vintage Classics 1/24 scale Hawker Hurricane Mk.1, pictured below, which would be an easier build for a ham-fisted, kit-basher like me!
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Presently, I'm re-visiting the original mould Airfix aircraft 1/72 scale kits (if available as re-releases) that I built as a boy. For nostalgia's sake!
I wonder if @StevenCrook was around when polythene bagged Airfix aircraft kits were stocked by Woolworths and cost a pocket money friendly 2 shillings?
I wonder if @StevenCrook was around when polythene bagged Airfix aircraft kits were stocked by Woolworths and cost a pocket money friendly 2 shillings?
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If you have an original issue of that kit, don't build it! Will be worth much more if you keep it.
Airfix included a 'free' re-release of that kit with its original issue 1/48 Mk 22, it was rubbish by comparison.
The 1/24 Hurricane is a nice kit, the moulds seem to have held up better than the Spit
Geoff
Airfix included a 'free' re-release of that kit with its original issue 1/48 Mk 22, it was rubbish by comparison.
The 1/24 Hurricane is a nice kit, the moulds seem to have held up better than the Spit
Geoff
I think that is the re-released BTK Spitfire which I keep as an ornament in my man-shed.
I've certainly built the 1/48 Mk 22 Spitfire, so may have obtained the BTK as part of the package as you say.
The re-release version is distinguished by its danger of suffocation warning on the poly bag, and I believe was a later moulding than the original.
Below, is the 1955 original - no warning on bag!
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A truly awful kit, although there were worse around; the Airfix Mk IX 'JE-J' was almost as bad, with thin wings, rivets as big as scale tennis balls, way oversized exhausts, etc. Airfix' latest products are excellent and every bit as good - and expensive - as the famous Japanese companies.
To be fair, BTK (Build This Kit?) was made to be built quickly by people like me who wanted to be Biggles in the Battle of Britain, mine ended up in the sandpit...
No chance of that with a new Mk VIII
Geoff
To be fair, BTK (Build This Kit?) was made to be built quickly by people like me who wanted to be Biggles in the Battle of Britain, mine ended up in the sandpit...
No chance of that with a new Mk VIII
Geoff
He was. Living in Slough, just down the road from a Bike shop (Eric Stowe IIRC) that stocked Airfix and some Revell kits. They had a wall 'o' bags and another of boxes. It was mesmerising to my 9 or 10 year old self. Apart from Maynards wine gums it was where all my pocket money went. A lot of Christmas and birthday presents and my early bikes came from there...
I kept the instructions from many of those I built. Still have them, can't bring myself to throw them away...
Do not touch that kit!!!!! A work friend had a copy of the first Rupert Bear annual, in it's original box, book never opened. Thought I might be interested as I was into comics. He brought it in, we slid it out of the box and it was pristine. Didn't open it. I told him to contact the Daily Mail, they paid him £400 for it - this was in the mid 1980s.
To be clear, I don't have the first Airfix Spitfire (BTK) which was released in 1953, but have the re-release packaging which contains a 1979 Mk 1a moulded in blue plastic.
The original BTK had many shorcomings and was quickly replaced in 1955 by the Spitfire IX.
The original Spitfire BTK featured the 'flying head', the pilot being represented simply as a head moulded above the fuselage line - see attachment.
The original BTK had many shorcomings and was quickly replaced in 1955 by the Spitfire IX.
The original Spitfire BTK featured the 'flying head', the pilot being represented simply as a head moulded above the fuselage line - see attachment.
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Like all model kits, the first Airfix Spitfire is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.
One is currently being offered for sale on ebay at a buy it now price of £400. It looks pukka, but this one is moulded in grey plastic.
The attached photos are from the ebay listing - note the inclusion of the four under-wing bombs.
One is currently being offered for sale on ebay at a buy it now price of £400. It looks pukka, but this one is moulded in grey plastic.
The attached photos are from the ebay listing - note the inclusion of the four under-wing bombs.
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I have both the original 1/24 spitfire and hurricane kits unmade, but i doubt they are worth anything are they
I have a stack of the 1/72 Airfix (and some Revel) models waiting patiently since their construction was interrupted by having children.
I find that many sellers ask ridiculous prices for vintage Airfix kits. Overpriced kits tend to remain unsold.
The ones that sell are those with a low starting bid which can promote a small bidding war if they are particularly desirable - like the Airfix 1/24 Super Kit series.
Of course, collectors can be prepared to pay more for a vintage boxing than for a modern boxing of the same kit.
I paid a reduced price of £29.99 from Argos some years back for my 1/24 scale Airfix Spitfire Mk Vb like the one pictured below.
From what I observe at auction, if I offered it a a starting bid of, say £10 (+p&p), I would at least get my initial purchase price back, and may even double that.