...Airfix went bust today.
Well alright, they didn't make the real thing, but many a young lad from my generation fueled his lust for motors by gluing those little kits together. I can remember a Renault Dauphine, a two tone Sunbeam Rapier with whitewall tyres plus an E Type all suffering under my attempts with a tube of stringy Bostic. I had become quite expert by the time i got round to an Ariel Arrow, even the paintwork was impressive.
Their slot car racing sets were better than Scalextric too, as the track was a light grey colour on which the tyres would eventually leave a distinct racing line, very impressive as it drifted out on the bends.
Another sad day as we watch our motoring heritage is disappearing.
--
Robin Reliant, formerly known as Tom Shaw
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ditto here. Very sad day for boys of a certain age.
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"a tube of stringy Bostic."
And it played havoc with the propellors on all those lovely old aircraft - Spitfires, lancaster, Mosquito, Halifax etc. Actually bought some cheap Airfix car/truck kits 20 years ago when my son was little - he enjoyed watching me build them! Still got some up in the loft, untouched - maybe worth something in a few more years.
--
Phil
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as they said on the old cats whisker today
i used to build them and crash them or set fire to them for the desired affect.
ive still got some unbuilt ones in the loft as well
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Droop the flag, a national day of mourning.
A King Tiger, HMS Hood, Mitsubishi A6M Zero Fighter, 770K Mercedes Limousine WW2 staff car, where are you now!
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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A King Tiger, HMS Hood, Mitsubishi A6M Zero Fighter, 770K Mercedes Limousine WW2 staff car, where are you now!
HMS Hood has been lingering in landfill somewhere near Princes Risborough since 1978.
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more than one of them. I got banned from buying any more.
JH
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OM
That was a brilliant piece on Today this morning, so very very British. Self deprecating, ironic, humorous and informative all in the space of a minute.
I remember gluing a Morris Marna together, a 1.8TC with fancy wheels, even that rusted !
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If you were using Bostik no wonder you got into grief.
Polystyrene cement was the answer - didn't glue but melted the parts together. It took me til the age of 35 to discover the stuff in a bottle that you could brush on carefully without ruining all the parts around the one you were glueing!
(Still managed to ruin the windscreen of my Revell Honda Prelude though - but it's still on the mantelpiece).
RIP Airfix - I well remember all the fiddly OO scale model railway accessory kits I built.
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Oh and an Austin Maxi, I painted brown........
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Of the few models I put together, I didn't initially realise you had to soak the decals in water to remove them from the carboard backing. I just cut around them with scissors and glued them on, cardboard and all. That'll teach me to RTFM.
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Can I ask the last time anyone in the BR actually bought an airfix kit ?
I've never bought one, Tamiya for me !
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Can I ask the last time anyone in the BR actually bought an airfix kit ? I've never bought one, Tamiya for me !
i always bought the Matchbox plastic kits, they were much better than the Airfix ones. I've still got half a 1944 Panzer division in the loft.
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Marks & Spencer did some Airfix models a few months ago. I bought a kit of WW2 fighters for my boys and ended up doing it myself about 25 years after I last built a Concorde!
Brought back great memories. What a shame.
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2 years ago brought the Airfix TR7 kit, also have the jap version Gunzo ....... which is identical in all but name. Cost me £10 & £15 on ebay respectively.
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Of the few models I put together, I didn't initially realise you had to soak the decals in water to remove them from the carboard backing. I just cut around them with scissors and glued them on, cardboard and all. That'll teach me to RTFM.
Nothing you have said to date more clearly explains why you drive around in Vauxhall Vectras
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Something else we can blame on the French!
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Nothing you have said to date more clearly explains why you drive around in Vauxhall Vectras
:^D Wahahaha. Auto's too. Asbestos suit at the ready.
[/flame]
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Sad to hear about airfix. Must confess, I preferred Frog models myself, though I can't remember why.
Anyway, it was aircraft rather than cars that I made. For cars, it tended to be Matchbox.
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Those of you who still have unmade Airfix kits, hang on to them! Certain kits already make a tidy price at toy auctions, depending on how rare they are. To retain their value, all parts should be present on the plastic sprues and they should include the box and instructions. Better still if the package is in mint condition.
The classifieds section of a magazine such as the Railway Modeller will give you a good idea of which kits are in demand and what the going prices for them are.
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Still have the Tamiya CX500 Eurosport and CB900F I built when bored sometime in the mid 1980s. To be fair, they were better quality than Airfix - but a lot dearer too.
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>>The classifieds section of a magazine such as the Railway Modeller will give you a good idea of which kits are in demand and what the going prices for them are.
And there was me thinking is was the only Railway Modeller reading BackRoomer.....one lives and learns.
I'd say eBay completed listings was a better guide these days, Railway Modeller classifieds seem abit think on private sales, due to ebay no doubt.
To keep vaguely on topic the last Airfix kit I built ( not including railway stuff I'm still building) was a rather nice Lincoln car kit, oohh must be nearly 30 years ago now!
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On the upside...
Did anyone see the 1:1 scale Avro Vulcan being rolled out yesterday at Bruntingthorpe on the news.
More details and pics here: www.vulcan558club.com
--
Was Charles {P} but someone c o p i e d my name with spaces.
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Bruntingthorpe
If you put the above into LiveLocal you'll see a lovely sat. shot of theVulcan and other types including a number of Meteors and a Victor. That'll keep the Russians guessing !
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How did Airfix come unstuck? - were they just insolvent?
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stick around and everything may fall into place
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In the days when I bought Airfix kits, the cheap series 1 kits - small aircraft etc., cost 2 shillings (10p). When I last looked, similar kits cost £5. A 50-fold increase in price.
Plus, I think the interest in WW2 fighter planes has probably waned, while those who want realistic model cars buy Burago, ready made and gleaming!
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