2021 - An Airfix retrospective
Even though we have only recently moved to our new weekly Workbench publication format, you didn’t think we would leave you without one final Airfix blog this year, did you? In support of the 2021 Airfix Advent Calendar and for the first time since December 2019, we are bringing you our Airfix year in review, looking at some of the many developments the Workbench blog has brought readers over the past twelve months, whilst at the same time also taking a slightly alternative look at some of the behind the scenes goings on here at Airfix. It has been another busy yet extremely successful year both for the Airfix team and for the wider modelling community, so please allow us to discuss a few of our personal highlights with you now, in addition to paying tribute to a true ‘Airfixer’.
Before we begin, as the writer of our Workbench blog, could I please just take a moment to acknowledge the small army of Airfix people who help to ensure each edition of Workbench is as feature rich as it can possibly be. Every single member of the Airfix team contributes hugely to the success of the blog and without their guidance, input and pictures, Workbench simply would not be a functioning entity. From our Development Manager who keeps us all on the straight and narrow, to our Product Designers who always give their time so selflessly, they are all modest to a tee, preferring to stay in the shadows even when their unique talents bring them right into the spotlight - sometimes, we do push our luck a little in this regard, because it is always nice to put a name to a particular model. In truth, my job is made really easy because I get to write about these talented and passionate people who strive every day to make their latest project the best it can possibly be, always having modeller build enjoyment high on their list of priorities.
My gratitude also goes out to the many modellers both in house and externally who work so hard to build pre-release sample models of the kits we have been following throughout the year, the sight of which is a real blog highlight and puts us all on notice that the new kit will be in model shops in just a few weeks’ time. On a similar theme, our small team of hard-working photographers are absolutely instrumental to the success of the blog, because as we all well know, a picture says more than any number of words could possibly hope to do, especially in the eyes of a modelling enthusiast. Basically, our Workbench blog is a massive team effort and we include our loyal readership in this group, as many of you have been with us right from the start. We have always been so fortunate to be able to rely on the support of so many readers that we never have any doubts about whether the information we are bringing you is of interest and this is genuinely the only encouragement we need to keep creating this content.
As we head towards another year of modelling updates, we will be maintaining our weekly production schedule, whilst at the same time looking to see how we can make our Workbench blog even more enjoyable for our incredibly supportive readership.
Starting the year with a BANG!
With the design and development of new model tooling projects taking anywhere from eighteen months to two years to complete, new models announced the previous year have their initial kit releases whilst we are following the development of the latest crop of announcements. The Bristol Beaufort announced last year arrived in model stores during 2021.
For the Airfix modelling enthusiast, the start of any year is a time of great excitement. Not only are we just returning to work after enjoying a nice Christmas break, but we also have the joys of the latest Airfix range launch to look forward to and all those lovely new models to ogle. No matter what your modelling subjects of choice might be, the thrill of inspecting the latest selection of new Airfix models is something that never diminishes and whilst we will rarely be announcing a collection of new kits which will meet with absolutely everybody’s overwhelming approval, we like to think that we usually have something which will appeal to most people.
Of course, Airfix range launch day is not all about new tooling projects, as we also have a multitude of appealing kit re-issues featuring new decals and scheme options to announce, as well as the excitement of seeing which classic kits have made it back into the Vintage Classics hall of fame. We have to say that the nostalgia and Airfix kit heritage associated with these models has taken us all by surprise and when we recently asked the throw away blog question, ‘Which models would you like to see added to the Vintage Classics range’, we were absolutely inundated with suggestions. We will have more on that particular modelling phenomenon early in the New Year.
For the purposes of this review, rather than simply list all the new models we announced last January, we have picked one new tooling and one returning classic to represent the Airfix kit class of 2021.
Having the distinction of being the first aircraft type designed and built by de Havilland Canada, the first Chipmunk took to the skies in May 1946 and almost immediately gained interest from the military. By April 1948, the Royal Canadian Air Force had taken delivery of their first Chipmunk, but they were not the only ones admiring the qualities of this extremely capable aeroplane. The vast majority of the 1,283 de Havilland Chipmunks built would be manufactured under licence in the UK, in factories at Hatfield and Chester, with around 735 of these going on to see service with the Royal Air Force, again as the direct replacement for the venerable old Tiger Moth. In RAF service, the British built machines were known as the de Havilland Chipmunk Mk.10 and they would go on to provide basic flight training support many thousands of future military aviators, in addition to providing air experience opportunities for many more as part of the University Air Squadron organisation.
Although this aircraft was very much a Canadian design, the Chipmunk has become one of the most recognisable Royal Air Force aircraft of the post war era and has enjoyed a military career which began in the early 1950s and continues to this day. The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight still operate two Chipmunks regularly, providing currency training for aircrew assigned to fly the unit’s historic ‘taildraggers’ and also to allow crews to reconnoitre new display venues in advance of their show appearance. In other situations, the aircraft can be used to deliver replacement aircrew or spare parts, whilst the Flight’s Spitfires and Hurricanes are out on display duties during the Airshow season. These two Chipmunks have ensured that the aircraft must now be regarded as one of the longest serving types in Royal Air Force History.
With such an impressive military pedigree as this, it is also interesting to note that the Chipmunk has gone on to become one of the most popular aircraft types on the civilian aviation scheme and it is estimated that well over 300 aircraft are still in airworthy condition worldwide. Sometimes unfairly described as ‘The poor man’s Spitfire’, the Chipmunk surely now has to be regarded as a historic aircraft in its own right and one which continues to underline the effectiveness of its design. With aircraft formerly serving with the RAF, Army Air Corps, Royal Navy and the mount of several RAF display teams, there is no shortage of attractive schemes available for you to present your Chipmunk in if you are lucky enough to own one, not to mention the fact that the aircraft would also be operated by several overseas air forces all over the world.
As a training aeroplane, it is obvious that more people would have experience with the de Havilland Chipmunk as opposed to the more glamourous front line aircraft types which are so popular with enthusiasts, however, the opportunity to still fly in one of these historic aeroplanes ensures that it continues to be held in great affection by owners and enthusiasts alike. Importantly, the Chipmunk is still fulfilling the role for which it was originally designed when making its first flight 74 years ago, providing basic flying training and allowing people to experience the thrill of flying for the first time.
Beautifully created by our Design Manager Matt, the first release from this magnificent tooling included no fewer that four different scheme options for modellers to consider finishing their kit in, including markings for RAF, Navy and Army operated Chipmunks. It remains to be seen what Matt has been working on over the past few months!
Throughout the rich history of Airfix, there are some kits which occupy a very special place in the hearts of many thousands of modellers from all over the world, usually because they were popular subjects when we were first captivated by this all-consuming hobby and usually going hand in glove with a particularly impactful piece of Roy Cross box artwork. One such kit was the Aichi D3A1 ‘Val’ dive bomber, a really interesting model of a less well known subject for most of us, that of Japanese aircraft from WWII, but one which was responsible for getting lots of us to stray from our more usual Spitfire and Messerschmitt subject matter. A kit which originally entered the Airfix range back in 1965, the 1/72nd scale ‘Val’ has recently joined the growing ranks of the Vintage Classics range, making this the ideal choice to place the review spotlight on this popular range.
The Aichi D3A1 began operational carrier trials aboard the Imperial Japanese Navy carriers Akagi and Kaga during 1940, with many of the assigned crews working the type up destined to play their part in one of the most devastating raids of the Second World War and arguably the most significant action in determining the ultimate outcome of the conflict, the Pearl Harbor raid. Considered the most advanced carrier borne strike aircraft in the world at that time, service acceptance and further training in an area which closely resembled the topography of Oahu and the Pearl Harbor complex must have led crews to realise they were destined to play a significant role in future world history.
For naval commanders, the threat posed by effective and well flown enemy dive bombers was significant and they were considered the most lethal maritime strike weapons they would have to face during any conflict. This was because the attack runs of torpedo bombers had to be made at low altitudes, where they were much more vulnerable to defensive fire and the targeted ship had at least the possibility of evading the torpedo, or destroying it prior to or during its run to target. With a dive bomber, once the aircraft had entered its dive attack, there was very little the ship could do about the situation, other than watch and hope. Even if the aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire or its crew black out during the dive, if the attack profile was executed correctly, the aircraft and its bomb would still hit the target vessel, potentially inflicting significant damage to the ship. Despite the fact that the Aichi D3A1 had no internal bomb carrying capability, it would prove to be a devastatingly effective weapon and a significant aircraft in the Japanese Navy’s offensive inventory.
The Aichi D3A1 ‘Val’ has the infamous distinction of being the first aircraft to drop bombs on US targets in the Second World War and after the Pearl Harbor raid, would go on to be at the forefront of every major Japanese carrier operation for the ten months following the raid, including the Battle of Ceylon, where the Japanese Navy scored a victory against the Royal Navy by sinking a light carrier, two heavy cruisers and two destroyers. The ‘Val’ would be responsible for sinking more Allied shipping than any other Axis aircraft during WWII.
A truly classic addition to this popular range, we won’t have to wait too long now to see which models from the extensive Airfix back catalogue will be taking their place in the 2022 kit range.
150 up and heading towards 200
The very first edition of Workbench included the exclusive announcement of not one, but two new tooling projects in 1/72nd scale, the British Aircraft Factory BE2c and its nemesis, the Fokker Eindecker.
When the idea of producing a regular Airfix blog was first discussed during one of our development meetings back in the spring of 2015, we could have absolutely no idea just how popular a feature this would turn out to be. A web-based way for us to provide modellers with Airfix related information and new product exclusives in a much more open and transparent way to how we had communicated in the past, the very first edition started with exclusive details of two new tooling projects and quite honestly, we have never looked back since. Readership numbers were impressive right from the start, but over the first few months, we watched with absolute amazement as web stats and worldwide readership numbers just went through the roof - it seemed as if the modelling community were quite fond of our new idea.
Since then, Workbench has been fortunate enough to obtain incredible ‘time on page’ statistics, which suggest that people are taking the time to read most of our content and as we now enter our seventh year of publication, our many previous Airfix blogs have now been read many millions of times. From a production perspective, the Workbench team couldn’t be more grateful for the unstinting support our loyal readership has shown us over the years, especially as we know many of you have been with us right from the very start. Clearly with all this experience, we have gained a really good idea of what topics our readership likes to hear about most and indeed which model ranges are the most popular, purely from a web hits perspective, however, as we have such a vast current and back catalogue range of kits to focus on, we think it is important to look across these ranges when putting our blogs together and you all seem to allow us that indulgence, so thank you. In fact, the blog only works because of your support, so may we take this opportunity to send a big thank you out to everyone who has contributed to a blog feature over the years and indeed to everyone who has spent time reading one or all of our Workbench blogs - you really are the best!
One of the most recent new tooling projects featured within Workbench were the simplified Bae Hawk and Spitfire V starter set models, two kits which have a big part to play in the future of the Airfix brand.
In the Spring of this year, we posted the landmark 150th edition of Workbench, something which filled the team with an immense sense of pride and a renewed determination to keep our blog content rich and relevant to our readers, as it now takes its place within the wider framework of Airfix social media content. With that in mind, October saw another significant development in the history of Workbench taking place, as we moved to a new weekly publication format. The idea behind this change was to make the blogs a little more user friendly for our readers, with slightly less features per edition, but also making them a little shorter in length. As we always have plenty of development information, designer features and product updates to bring you, we won’t be short of content in the future, however, we would be keen to hear your views on the subject. Do you prefer the new format, or did fortnightly editions work better for you? Perhaps giving it a little more time in the new year before commenting might be a good idea, however, we are always keen to gauge readership opinion, so if you would like to drop us a line, please use our workbench@airfix.com conduct details.
Despite chalking up our 150th edition earlier in the year, we are now standing at 170 not out and speeding headlong towards the 200 mark, a milestone it will not take us too long to achieve bearing in mind our new weekly publication schedule - we would be delighted if you would join us on this continuing blog journey.
It’s all about our designers
The stunning MiG-17 ‘Fresco’ was Tom Alderman’s first major Airfix design project, but one which would turn him into something of a classic jet specialist.
It would be fair to say that Workbench is all about bringing the incredible talents of our Product Design team to an Airfix blog audience and without them, we really would be struggling. Being in the enviable position of having the ability to follow their unique set of design talents from the decision to embark on a particular project, right up until that kit arrives on the shelves of model stores the world over, we are not only allowed access to their computers to see screenshots of every stage of the design process, but they are even so generous as to allow us to hear their thoughts on the project at hand in addition to how their Airfix career is progressing in general. These insights are truly fascinating for anyone with even the slightest interest in modelling to find out about and as the team are usually designing at least one project whilst steering another through engineering, there is never a shortage of scoops to bring you.
With so many models featured over the past six years, we have decided not to simply list the projects Workbench has covered during the past twelve months, but instead to mark the design contribution made by one of our designers who has recently decided to move on to pastures new.
Workbench first introduced readers to Tom Alderman back at the beginning of 2019, when he was kind enough to talk us through his work on the recently announced Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 ‘Fresco’ project, the first one he had led exclusively from the beginning. Clearly excited by the challenge of recreating this aviation classic in scale kit form, Tom enthusiastically described how he designed the engine intake of the jet, such a distinctive feature of the MiG-17 and one he was determined to get right. In fact, one of the most memorable things about speaking to Tom was his enthusiasm and how he would always come out with one-liners which were as prophetic as they were humorous - Tomisms we used to call them.
Moving up to 1/48th scale, Tom will forever be associated with the Airfix Tiger Moth, the de Havilland Vampire and also this classic, the Canadair Sabre.
As we were interviewing a designer right at the start of their Airfix career, we wanted to find out if there was a particular project he wanted to put his name to, during his time with the company, such as leading on one of our 1/24th scale kit designs? In true Tom style, he responded by telling us that in his view, it’s not always a case of bigger being better and for him, it is more about being involved with kit projects which are both user friendly and popular with modellers. If a kit he has worked on brings pleasure to modellers and is an enjoyable build, then that is a design badge of honour he will wear with pride. We told you Tom had a bit of the poet in him, didn’t we!
In addition to his MiG-17, Tom also has such projects as the impending Hawker Tempest V and Sherman Firefly in 1/72nd scale to his name, along with the Tiger Moth, Canadair Sabre and de Havilland Vampire in the large 1/48th scale, quite a kit CV, we think you would agree. Although we are clearly sad to see someone of Tom’s character and ability leave us, we wish him well for the future and think him for all the help he gave us when producing blog updates which featured one of his designs. He has also played his own significant part in the ongoing heritage of this fantastic brand, something he will be able to carry with pride throughout the rest of his working life and beyond. Thanks Tom, we are all looking forward to building your Tempest.
Airfix takes the small screen by storm
The recent Hornby : A Model World series allowed viewers behind the development scenes of several recent new tooling projects, including a research trip to undertake a LIDAR scan of this de Havilland Mosquito.
Over the past ten weeks or so, some of the people who help to make the Airfix brand as relevant today as it has been for the past sixty-seven years have not only featured heavily within our Workbench blog, but have also spent some time in front of the TV cameras. The recently aired ten part series entitled Hornby : A Model World was featured on the Yesterday Channel (and via the UKTV Play app), allowing viewers the opportunity to gain a fascinating glimpse behind the scenes of the Hornby Hobbies empire, with Airfix featuring prominently. Showing at 9pm every Monday evening, the programme not only showed the dedication of the many people involved in producing our various scale masterpieces, but also how their work is appreciated by so many modellers and collectors the world over.
The programme highlighted how some of our people have a natural flair for small screen exposure, whilst others would probably be better off staying resolutely behind the camera. You know what they say, we all get our 15 minutes of fame, or should that be five fleeting minutes when it come to some of us and the broadcasting of this latest programme. All indications were that the series was received extremely well and considering both the filming and more importantly the post production work was all completed during this year’s restrictions, we think they did a fine job in what were really quite challenging circumstances and should be commended. It remains to be seen if the cameras will be back at Hornby HQ in the future, as they look to follow some of the next model projects destined to be appealing to modellers and collectors in the years to come - we are sure the production will have already drawn up their list of ‘natural performers’ for future stardom.
Scale ModelWorld, but not exactly as we know it
An elevated view of the competition tables at this year’s Scale ModelWorld show, which was situated in a different location for this slightly trimmed down event.
For modellers across the country and indeed across the wider world, the massive Scale Modelworld show is the modelling event of their year, the one which is pencilled in to many a new diary before we head back to work at the end of the Christmas holidays and the one wild horses couldn’t keep us away from. Unfortunately, like so many public events during 2020, last year’s show fell victim to the nationwide restrictions we all faced and as we headed towards the final months of 2021, it again seemed as if the challenges facing the organising team from the IPMS (UK) might prove to be insurmountable. In the end, thanks in no small part to their herculean efforts, the show did take place and whilst it may have looked a little different to Telford shows past, we were back at a model show and it felt fantastic.
For the Airfix team, the event did prove to be a little surreal, as we were subject to our own company rules regarding event attendance at the moment, so only a small team were in attendance for blog/social media content gathering purposes and for one rather important reason - the adjudicating and presentation of the latest Airfix Trophy. Our recently appointed Brand Manager and his Lead Researcher were given the sizeable responsibility of scoring a plethora of beautifully presented model builds, each one of which appearing to be impressive enough to merit consideration for this prestigious award, but there could, as they say, only be one winner and they selected a beauty!
With so many Airfix model kits released over the past 66 years, it is always interesting to find out which ones have a special place in the hearts of modellers everywhere and which ones they enjoyed making during their formative years. For this year’s Airfix Trophy winner Garth Nicholson, that model happened to be the Bristol Bulldog, originally released in 1969 and one he remembers enjoying building as a young man. He described the model as being quite impressive to build, with appealing levels of detail and looking really attractive when finished, even when not painted.
What makes this winners story all the more interesting, Garth told us that he actually picked up an original bagged version of the kit at the 2018 Scale ModelWorld show and his original plan was to make few changes to the standard kit. He intended to use new decals, add a little extra detail to the cockpit and to use bare metal foil and polish sections of the model, making the Bulldog look like an accurate representation of this much loved inter war Royal Air Force fighter. He describes the most impressive feature of the model being its engine detail, which is really rather good and he wanted to carry this level of detail right through the build.
As usual, once he embarked on the project, some aspects of the build went as planned, whilst others caused a little head scratching to be done. Some of the most interesting features of the build included scratch building cockpit detail using items from his spares box, adding wing rib detail to the model, which added an incredible level of realism, fully rigging the model and using chrome and aluminium bare metal foil on the forward section of the fuselage. Other fine detail included the scratch building of machine guns from brass tubing, the use of similar items to produce a new strut mounted pitot tube and the use of a new acetate windscreen. The final details included detailing the twin bladed propeller and producing new bombs which were first modelled in CAD and then produced in resin using a 3D printer.
Garth’s build was truly magnificent and a worthy winner of the 2021 Airfix Trophy. It was also nice to see a classic kit taking the accolade this year, underlining the rich heritage of the Airfix brand and the sheer number of impressive kits which make up our back catalogue.
Judging duties aside, it was so nice to get back in the company of fellow modellers, even though the Airfix stand was not occupying its usual position in the corner of Hall No.1 and we look forward with some optimism for a more traditional SMW show in 2022.
Range launch 2022
No sooner are we closing the curtains on another busy year for Airfix, that we have to make you aware of a rather important date in our new year calendar - the launch of our 2022 model range. Arguably the most important day in our entire year, the entire Airfix team, along with the on-line team, our product photographers, retouchers and many other people have all been fully engaged in this massive project for several months now and we are excited to unleash our latest product range on the modelling world very soon.
A time of great excitement for anyone interested in the modelling hobby, everyone will be keen to see which new model tooling announcements will be joining the range next year and indeed if it is the subject matter you had personally been hoping for. A huge undertaking for our on-line team, the launch date for the next Airfix range has been set for 4pm on Monday 10th January, so once we have enjoyed a relaxing and feature packed Christmas holiday, we have the excitement of an Airfix model range to shepherd us into the new year. Save the date, set your phone alarms and clear the decks, a new collection of Airfix models are coming!
Sad farewell to a dear friend and colleague
Mr Burge giving us his best ‘Reach for the Sky’ pose whist sat in the Historic Aircraft Collection’s Spitfire Vb BM597 at Cosford Airshow.
The past twelve months have been incredibly challenging for a great many people and the Airfix family have been no exception. At the beginning of the year, we lost two dear friends and colleagues, gentlemen who were real assets to our business, but more than that, just genuinely nice people to be around. Many readers will have been fortunate enough to meet Darrell Burge over the past few years, the Airfix and Humbrol Brand Manager and a man who represented both brands with professionalism, humility and bags of character. Darrell was a life force, a lovely man who may well have been our boss, but was always there for everyone, putting himself out for us even when he had the significant pressures of his own senior position to contend with. Everyone loved Darrell, a real character and someone you liked after only being in his company for a few seconds - he was, as anyone fortunate enough to have met him will attest, a thoroughly decent bloke.
For those of us who worked closely with him, we still can’t believe that Darrell isn’t with us anymore and a Hornby without Darrell just doesn’t seem right. First and foremost, he was our friend, someone who always made us smile and would keep our spirits up in whatever situation we found ourselves in - he was someone we would do absolutely anything for. If you are ever lucky enough to have someone like Darrell in your life, you know that you are truly blessed and this man definitely left his mark on us all. The fact that so many people are truly devastated at his passing is testament to the character of the man … he was definitely one of the very best. They always say that the chap upstairs takes the good ones first and that certainly proved to be the case with Darrell. Having said that, Darrell will no doubt be providing them with plenty of entertainment up there as we speak, nothing could be more certain!
We would like to dedicate this review blog and indeed the Airfix year past to our friend Darrell, a man whose love of this fantastic brand we will all be attempting to carry forward for many years to come.
On behalf of everyone here at Airfix, may I take this opportunity to thank you for your tremendous support throughout 2021 and to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Please keep an eye out for all those new models coming on 10th January.
If you have any free time over the holiday period, the Airfix website home page is the central hub for all product information, blog and news links, in addition to providing link access to all our social media channels.
