Dane-379796 Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 So what are everyone’s (realistic) wishes or predictions for 2024 surprise announcements? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailorman Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 What I'd really like to see is a 1:144 Orion + Artemis .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marto Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 Wasp 1/72 mod to the 1/72 A-4 to allow other marks to be built.Texan/Havard II, in use with RNZAF, RCAF, USAF, RAF, Argentina and others. Likely quite a popular modern airframe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hurricane Boy Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 The 1/72 vintage Hampden kit release morphs into a new tool Hampden kit with decals for a Canadian-built Hampden serving with 408 Sqd or 420 Sqd RCAF. prayCheers,Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dominic Thomas Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 This is similar to playing ‘spot the ball’. It also requires a prediction which should be nothing to do with personal wish lists.With that said, I have three predictions for aircraft releases following three predictions of aircraft that would not be released.The first aircraft I don’t think will be a surprise release is the Fairey Battle, While the favourite of many with a lot of colour/markings options, I can’t see Airfix management going with this yet. The second non-event would be the Harvard. A trainer with a variety of colours/markings, country service, and modification states, this surely would return some significant profit for Airfix, yet it doesn’t seem to have that secret ingredient to tempt Airfix, yet.Finally, I just cannot see the Hampden appearing this year in a new tool. The case has been made repeatedly for a new tool, with detailed business cases explored. The appearance of the vintage classic, for me, eliminates a new tool release this year.As for the release predictions, my first is a 1/48 Hawker Seahawk. My reasons are that there are a variety of colour/country options as well as modification states, and it follows the Fleet Air Arm trend established by Airfix recently.Secondly, I would select the Fairey Barracuda, in 1/72. Never part of the Airfix catalogue, a quality model of this FAA aircraft would give a profitable return for Airfix.Finally, a return to the golden age of the interwar period with an updated Hawker Demon in 1/72. While this has received the Vintage Classic treatment some 5 years ago, it would give Airfix a chance to demonstrate their latest skills as showcased in the 1/48 Bulldog in a small scale biplane with numerous release options based on colours and country use, plus the future options of releasing rest of the ‘Hart’ family.As I said at the start, these are my predictions. They are not a wishlist even though I would be happy to see any of them released. But as with all my attempts at Spot the Ball, I won’t be surprised if I get none right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marto Posted February 16 Share Posted February 16 Thinking about it the Airspeed Oxford is very conspicuous by its absence from Airfix. Would be very welcome in any skill. Had many users too pre ww2/post ww2 and a few different marks/engines available for multiple sale to same purchaser potential. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john redman Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 Thinking about single kits, if I were second guessing the likeliest candidates for re-release I would be looking at subjects that have not seen the light of day for a long time, and have also never been retooled - so they're both rare and not obsolete. Kits that meet these conditions include: Westland Scout SA Gazelle Starfighter Storch Hs123 Helldiver Bronco Viggen Draaken Devastator Dauntless Dinah and many others. Especially notable would be a reissue of the Hawk, Eagle or Starcruiser kits. Yes the related TV series is very old, but so is a lot of the Airfix demographic. Some of the car kits like the Lanchester Landaulette also meet the not seen / never retooled test as well. Other possibilities - well, maybe some of the small classic ships. We have not seen HMS Shannon in years. If this risks confusion with the new RNLI Shannon, they could always reissue it as USS Constitution, which is what the tool was originally badged as when Gowland and Gowland first issued it in the 1950s. Airfix copied and renamed it. The 1/32 Grant tank is quite collector-y, and given the Crusader sells well on eBay even though it's been reissued several times, might do well. We haven't seen any of the Cold War tanks for a long time - Chieftain, Centurion, Leopard, Sheridan - and given what's up in the world these feel quite topical. Had I to bet I would say, based on the potty prices it has been fetching on the 'bay, that we might see the Cessna O2A come out again. They are about £30 usually, which makes no sense when they should be £7.99. It has not been in the catalogue since about 1980 or thereabouts. The Dogfight Double issue of it with a MiG21 (the wrong variant, but hey, all the post-WW1 DFDs were a bit sus) is not a way to get hold of a cheap Cessna either. It regularly goes for £50 to £60, and one just sold for a crazy £312. The obstacle to reissuing any of the other DFDs, as they just have with the Bristol and Fokker combo, is that in most other cases they've retooled one or both of the kits in the box. The Spitfire / Me110, 109 / Beau, FW190 / Sturmovik, Mosquito / Me262, Mirage / MiG and Cessna / MiG all have this pitfall. The WW1 pairs don't, but Airfix have given a lot of Sopwith Camels away as make'n'takes so I doubt we'll see that one. The Roland C.II / RE8 pair is a possible though, depending on how the Bristol / Fokker pair goes. I've suggested to Airfix that they could perhaps create new DFD pairings of vintage kits. The Me163 and the P38 Lightning haven't seen the light of day for a while, and would make a pair; ditto the Dinah and the Hellcat; ditto the SPAD and Hannover. It has been a delight to see Airfix digging out stuff you never thought would see the light of day - the Bond Bug, the SRN1, the P1127. I'm now hoping they'll hit us up with something we were totally not expecting. The Beach Buggy? Free Enterprise? Scharnhorst? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailorman Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 Interesting John ........Incidentally the Beach Buggy was in fact re issued last year. I bought one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ratch Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 Potty prices on e-bay are no guide to re-issues. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john redman Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 @ Sailorman I missed the Beach Buggy - I don't really 'do' cars so it wouldn't have grabbed my attention. I was under the impression the Bond Bug tool had been lost so I now wonder if any others - the SR53 for example - might now turn up? The interesting thing to me about this year's reissues is that a number are things nobody's been clamouring for, that I've ever noticed. The P.1127 is a Harrier prototype which, for much of the time it was in the catalogue, was in there alongside a pukka Harrier. Back in the day, if you wanted something Harrier-esque you could buy a Harrier in preference to the P.1127 because it was almost the same thing, but plus weapons. With that said, I can remember buying a P.1127 because it was in silver plastic meaning I didn't need to paint it. The Guards figures are essentially non-military military figures, so whomever they sell to it, it won't be the usual railway modellers or wargamers. The criteria are perhaps "not been seen for a long time" + "not been retooled" + "mould in good condition". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailorman Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 Actually, the P1127 was a kit many wanted ....i want it and I still haven't managed to get it! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hangartime Posted March 3 Share Posted March 3 Possibly the Bf109F in 1/72 will come out in 1/48 too. Last F from Airfix came out in early '70's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john redman Posted March 4 Share Posted March 4 Actually one thing I probably would buy if they reissued them are the soft-poly ready made tanks and vehicles. They were sold separately, but also came with the various assault sets. For some reason, these always contained anachronistic vehicles for their apparent date. All the assault sets were Western Desert or around D-Day, so you typically got a Patton tank (introduced into service in 1952), an M40 GMC (one saw action in Europe in 1945), a Centurion Mk VII tank (entered service in 1959) and an M113 / FV432 APC (entered service in 1960). Wot?! Why this was done, when there was the DUKW, Sherman, T34, Panther, Tiger, Elefant, and possibly others I've forgotten. I always thought it was a bit weird that they made 1/76 modern vehicles but no modern figures. If these came up I think I'd load up and use them for Arab-Israeli battles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jopres57 Posted March 4 Share Posted March 4 Regarding the SR 53, I understand the original Airfix molds have been re-released by various eastern European companies over the years. I wondered if any of the old kits that are thought to have been lost actually have molds that have been stored abroad for years. Might it be financially viable to search them out and buy them back? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john redman Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 IIRC there have been Eastern European knockoffs of the Airfix original, but the sprue layout is different. They can be had for about £25 at shows, typically more on the 'Bay. A reissue with conjectural RAF decals would be fun, maybe in a diorama with a Bloodhound - the infallible air defence weapon that was going to make fighters obsolete... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peebeep Posted March 6 Share Posted March 6 14 hours ago, john redman said: IIRC there have been Eastern European knockoffs of the Airfix original, but the sprue layout is different. They can be had for about £25 at shows, typically more on the 'Bay. A reissue with conjectural RAF decals would be fun, maybe in a diorama with a Bloodhound - the infallible air defence weapon that was going to make fighters obsolete... AZ Model have four SR 53 kits on their catalogue with prototype and what-if schemes. It's not a knockoff, it was new tooling in 2017, see here. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jopres57 Posted March 6 Share Posted March 6 I have a kit of the SR 53 made by Ursus of Poland which, according to the net, is a re-boxing of the Airfix tool. Unfortunately I haven't got an Airfix original to compare it with. The AZ model is still simple in layout but has much better detail, although I do like to build old Airfix kits now and again, especially those that I missed back in the day. Wouldn't it be good though if something as rare as the Guideline missile set turned in an Eastern European factory. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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