Bentley 1/12th scale...terrible moudings...in new version...

[BH1707822455]

I built the original Bentley back in 1972/3...I seem to remember satin chrome and full shiny chrome supplied. I'm now making the 'new' version, I don't remember so much 'chrome' on the engine (but that may the passage of 50 years !!)...also the plastic mouldings (I presume from the original moulds) are really not good enough on a kit costing nearly £100....I certainly don't remember having to spend hours scraping and filing back so much extruded plastic flash...still, wallowing in yesteryear is making me happy....Here's a snap of me with the earlier 1972 version with a Matra car...both long long gone (but where ??)

[peebeep]

Thing is it's not a 'new' version, it's decades old tooling that is probably past its best. I'd think the options are building a kit with parts that require fettling, or no kit at all. This most recent issue is labelled as a Vintage Classic, so it's a case of caveat emptor.

[Gary-763780]

Yes its a shame about the mouldings. The kit is 50 years old or more, and the cost of the tooling has been amortised many times over - in fact it must be among the most profitable Airfix kits ever produced, given how many times it has been released. It could certainly be put out at half the price or less and still show a decent profit. Wake up Airfix - if you are going to keep it in the range at least tidy up the tooling, and maybe make some new wheels with modern technology and materials. There are lovely real wire wheels available for the Bentley from an aftermarket supplier, so improvements can be done.

[Ratch]

The kit is 50 years old or more, and the cost of the tooling has been amortised many times over - in fact it must be among the most profitable Airfix kits ever produced, given how many times it has been released.

Do you know how much the mould cost, and what the sales have been since 1971 (when the kit was first issued)?

Airfix's TOP 10 BEST-SELLING KITS as at 07-12-07 were:

1 - Spitfire Mk 1

2 - Hurricane Mk 1

3 - Lancaster

4 - Messerschmitt BF-109G

5 - Mosquito

6 - Sea King

7 - Landing Craft LCM3 & Sherman Tank joint kit

8 - Heinkel 111 Bomber

9 - 1911 Rolls-Royce

10 - Golden Hind, Classic Ships Range

No mention of the Bentley.

[peebeep]

The price is the price on what is to all intents and purposes luxury goods. You, the consumer, get to make (hopefully) an informed choice, to buy or not to buy. If Airfix have already shifted their production run of Bentleys to retail outlets (I suspect they have), then they made a good business decision.