QuickBuild Beetle

[Hurricane Boy]

Just supervised two QuickBuild Beetle car model builds with my granddaughters aged 6 and 3. The girls did really well with their first model and the kits went together quite easily and really looked the part when completed. The Lego style attachment was familiar to them and therefore not very intimidating. Parts attached to sprues were few and literally fell off so no hobby knife required.

I have seen some negative comments regarding the QuickBuild kits on this forum but I think that they are brilliant!

They are near fool proof in construction (and you can take them apart to correct any mistakes), instructions are good and finished product is excellent ….. better than some Asian cat kits that I have built.

By guaranteeing a positive experience for the newbie modeller they will likely be back to buy and build more and growing into the standard kits with a love for the Airfix brand.

Tim

[Ratch]

Well said Tim, and well done girls.

[Kenneth ONeill]

My biggest complaint about QuickBuild kits is the unstated 1:"fit the box" scale. The Bugatti Veyron is about 1:24 scale as close as I can measure.

[Ratch]

I think the point of this Quickbuild range is that they're not scale models per se, but an introduction to younger people into modelling where an easily assembled kit can be done quickly, without glue or paint.

[Hurricane Boy]

Hi Ratch

Agreed.... these very impressive scale renditions of the VW Beetle don't need to be in a constant scale (as Airfix used to say) of 1/24th, 1/25 or 1/20th since they are meant to be an introduction to plastic modelling for young people.

It looks like the Beetle is about 1/22nd scale and the parts are of a good size for youngsters to handle.

The decals are stickers that are easy to handle and can be re-positioned if not quite right on the first application...... much more forgiving and less frustrating than the water slide decals.

Finally I was amazed at how rugged this kit is. As soon as the 3 year old's model was complete it was down on the floor being "driven" around with all of the Vroooom, Vroom noises that a 3 year old can make. Not broken axles or other parts.

I am very pleased with the purchase of these two kits and will follow them up with an old or new Ford Mustang or a P-51 or Spit.

As far as the constant scale discussion goes, we can talk about that all day with plastic model manufacturers coming out with a 1/35th scale Me-109, 1/72nd scale Main Naval Batteries and 1/35th scale secondary naval armament. It is mind boggling! I know that earlier decisions where to some extent made based on the size of the injection molding equipment but there seem to be more and more diversions from some of the old standards.

What if ..... Revell and Italeri had followed Airfix in 1/600th scale ships and the Japanese manufacturers had done the same instead of standardizing on 1/700th. And all manufacturers had embraced 1/350th and 1/1200th scales for ships as well.

What if.... Armour had standardized on 1/32nd scale which some manufacturers used in the 60's. What if Airfix and others had originally offered small armour kits in 1/72nd and standardized on it (I know the OO gauge root of the 1/76th scale decision).

Constant scale of Aircraft kits has been more successful with well established groups at 1/24th, 1/32nd, 1/48th, 1/72nd and 1/144th. There have been and still are some releases in 1/50th, 1/96th, 1/100th and 1/200th that have either not gained any traction or are continuing as small segments of the market.

Many of these "what if's" would have resulted in a lot more opportunities to complete a collection.... be it a naval task force, a naval battle engagement or an armour/aircraft diorama.

Cheers,

Tim