MG Writer 2

MG K3

…maybe some simple diorama bases? e.g. a car cornering at speed on a circuit or road race, or a pursuit (police car?)…

1933 MG K3 Magnette Mille Miglia

MG RV8 MG EX182 (‘MGA’) Le Mans MGC GTS Sebring Ford Cortina Mark II 1600E Austin Healey 100/4 Aston Martin DBS / V8 Jaguar Mark II (including Inspector Morse) Morris Minor family Mini Countryman/ Traveller Jaguar XJC Rover P6 (2000 and 3500) Lotus Elan Morris Marina 1.8 TC

Beautiful! Shame they longer sell them new.

….and all the detailed research they do for Scalextric and Corgi could surely come in useful for plastic kits too…?

Some classic car models please!

Nearly 14,000 views!

1955 MG EX182 Le Mans ‘MGA prototype’ - team of three cars entered plus a practice car, gives a potential choice of race numbers. Variants could cover other MGA races through the period 1955-57, in particular the 1956 and 1957 Sebring 12-hours race entries.

I would suggest that probably 90% of the plastic car kits on sale internationally are to 1:24 scale. You only have to go back around 25-30 years to see 1/24 Airfix car kits albeit often from loaned sprues

1/24: Triumph TR6 Rover 2000TC Rover 3500 SD1 Ford Cortina 1600E MGB GT Morris Minor Traveller 1955 Le Mans EX182 (“MGA”) Austin Healey 100/4 MG Midget Mk III Ford Capri GTXLR/ 3000E MG RV8 Austin A40 Jensen Interceptor & FF Aston Martin DBS/ V8 MGF Hillman Imp

If Hornby can engineer copies of their old Corgi models from the sixties and seventies could they reverse engineer their old Airfix kits?

Well I would like Ford Cortina Marks II and III Austin Healey 100/4 BMC 1800 rally car Ford Capri Mark III Morris Minor MGC GT and Sebring MGC GTS Jensen Interceptor / FF AC 428 Lamborghini Miura MG EX181 record breaker MG RV8 Austin Allegro Panda Car Aston Martin DB4 Zagato Rover P6

exactly - they were brilliant and got better; I too reckon I built most of them and quite a few of mine came from my local branch of Woolworths! But then they ran out of steam and all we got was reboxing of old stagers. It would be nice to see something new apart from the 1:43 models they’ve been making

Yes - how about the TR6 in stunning ‘Group 44’ Bob Tullius guise, Kas Kastner’s blue TR6, or Paul Newman’s silver and black car?

I know what you mean and of course some people have been known to create their own; I think one of the problems is that those original Airfix kits that you mentioned have separate bonnets and other bits - the Herald for example has a super lifting bonnet that I guess would need to be glued shut for Scalextric slot car purposes! Another point is the progress that has been made in other areas; for instance the Airfix MGB kit dates from 1966 and has an opening bonnet and no chrome (other than the rare US Airfix kit) whereas the more recent Scalextric MGBs are better detailed with nice chrome parts.

I know it was tried some years ago as a short-lived ‘Hornby kits’ experiment but is there any chance of taking the bodies of suitable brilliant Scalextric cars and offering them with additional sprues as Airfix kits? They’d be great for trackside static models to supplement a Scalextric circuit and be a great extension of the sister Airfix brand at the same time. Mark I Lotus Cortina? Mini Cooper 1964/5? MGB? Jaguar Mark I? Aston Martin of all eras?

To kick off the thought process it seems reasonable to ponder if some of the research that has been carried out and taken forward through Corgi and Scalextric could translate across to Airfix? And maybe simplify assembly in some way that is a halfway house to the easibuild approach?

Airfix is to be congratulated on creating some new car kits, even if they’re 1/43 like many diecasts; however the company made its name in the model car kit field with its 1/32 scale ‘modern cars series’ which we’ve seen reissued in part - for example the MGB, Triumph Herald and TR4, Jaguar S-Type, Bond Bug, Ford Escort and several others. Some great classics from their back catalogue seem unlikely to return - some moulds were modified to create some ‘custom cars’ back in the seventies, some moulds were poorly stored and with some others nobody knows what became of them. Altogether though it could be the basis of a new range with more new models added gradually over time. The questions are therefore - is there an appetite for more 1/32 kits, if so what subjects and linked to this are the costs of creating the moulds as high as they were in the old days of analogue mould creation and higher volumes, or is it less costly to create these with modern technology?

Triumph 2.5 PI BMC 1800 ‘Land Crab’ Austin Healey 3000 MGA Lotus Cortina Mark II MG Midget post 1961 Hillman ‘Arrow’ Hunter (London to Sydney winner)

here is a race version

Yes, a good comparison. A certain French kit maker whose name we must not mention has done well with the Citroen 2CV and variants…

Over the years there have been some great Airfix 1/24 scale car kits - I remember the Aston Martin DB6 with affection. Wouldn’t it be fantastic if this area of the market were to be rediscovered by our favourite kit maker? It’s a shame to leave this market to the rivals…

It’s an interesting point. In the diecast world the Corgi people have been recreating classic Corgi toy subjects from the fifties, sixties and seventies - reverse engineering new tooling better suited to modern manufacturing techniques and output volumes. Someone did the sums and decided that it was worthwhile…

The MG RV8 would make a nice subject - and there are hillclimb and race car liveries too. These are my own photos…