RAF Vignettes

[Ratch]

I found these languishing in a box of spares, and decided to re-paint them.

They're from the Airfix Control Tower.

[Ratch]

These are the figures from the Airfix 1/72 Bristol Bloodhound set. I have swapped the heads of two figures and the right arm of one of them.

[Ratch]

Of the seven figures in the Airfix HO/00 RAF Refuelling Set (A302V/A03302), four are to be found in the 01747 R.A.F. Personnel set, the other three are new poses. One is standing with arms half raised, the second is feeding ammunition, which would seem an odd choice for a set depicting 'refuelling', although rearming is also what the majority are doing. The last new figure is a truncated driver for the Matador and AWOL from this ensemble.

All the newcomers are dressed in the same way as the rest, with the RAF version of the standard battledress and the sidecap. The detail is slightly less sharp than on their cousins in the soft plastic figure set, but they are perfectly serviceable for all that. These do not represent much of an expansion on the full figure set, but they are decent figures and every little helps. Their uniforms were in use from 1940 to 1976 with little alteration.

[Ratch]

Airfix HO/00 RAF Emergency Set (A304V/A03304).

The doctor wears regulation RAF jacket and peaked cap, and holds a stethoscope to the patient, who seems to wear a flight suit and boots but has been relieved of his helmet and any other items of kit. The bearers are the same pose, but are poorly moulded. They wear the RAF version of the army battledress, called 'Suits, Aircrew' in 1940 and then 'War Service Dress' in 1943.

The fire crew consist of the man holding the end of a hose, another with a fire extinguisher and a third wearing the standard asbestos suit for rescuing crews from burning aeroplanes. The two fire-fighters wear the same uniform as the stretcher bearers, including the side cap, a steel helmet and quite possibly other protective clothing would have been better. The asbestos suit is a good representation of the real thing, although the man himself is in a very static pose. The bases are quite unnecessarily small, so these figures are not without their challenges, but they remain a popular subject and certainly rank amongst the more memorable figures found in Airfix kits.

[Ratch]

These are painted as RAF Dispatch Riders

They are from the RAF Recovery Set

[SD45elect2000]

I found some WAACs. I’m not totally happy with all of them..

[Ratch]

Are they 1/72 Randall? Who make them?

[SD45elect2000]

Hi Ratch,

Yes, they are 1/72 from Special hobby CMK. What do you think of them? Since they are resin I was considering stripping them and trying again.

Randall