Hawk flies NHS flag and Mosquito exclusives

Welcome to this latest edition of our Workbench blog and all the news, updates and modelling exclusives from the fascinating world of Airfix. 

We have some fascinatingly diverse subject matter for you in this latest blog, as we catch up with several current projects which are either scheduled for imminent release, or are continuing through their development journeys. We begin by looking at an interesting project which was first announced in the middle of last year, one which very much relied on the creativity of younger Airfix fans who due to the national situation at that time, found themselves with a little more spare time on their hands - we were hoping they would spend this time imaginatively and we were not disappointed. For one lucky winner, they would be making their own a rather unique mark on the current Airfix range and this project is just about to come to fruition.

We follow this up by looking at a real Airfix Vintage Classic, a kit which is a scale representation of a true civilian aviation heavyweight and one which benefits from particularly iconic Roy Cross box artwork. We have the latest update from our new 1/72nd scale de Havilland Mosquito B.XVI tooling, complete with an exclusive selection of imagery and benefitting from the views of the designer responsible for the project, as he guides us through the important first ‘Test Shots’ stage of this new project. Finally, we have another of our popular reader supplied features, this time involving a military vehicle model and a really imaginative fire-breathing diorama build. We have much to get through again, so let’s make a start straight away.

Flying high for NHS heroes

Spectacular new box artwork produced in support of this very special and rather poignant summer release

As a nation, we have relied on the security and support provided by our National Health Service since its inception in the years immediately following the end of the Second World War, as it provided everyone in the UK with the security of excellent healthcare which was free at the point of delivery, something which became the envy of the world. Over the past year or so, the affection in which we all hold the NHS and its hard working, heroic staff has increased exponentially, as we have all admired the way they strove to protect the population from a hidden enemy which has changed all of our lives probably for many years to come. For most of us, we have simply had to sit back and watch how these special people were forced to endure a nightmare scenario, but who ultimately would steer us all to a much safer future, with the only positive thing we could physically do being to adhere to official instructions and to clap our appreciation in a coordinated manner - in truth, how can we ever thank them enough?

Not to trivialise this very serious situation in any way, a rather special impending Airfix kit release will in its own way play a very small part in illustrating how everyone young and old was sending their thoughts and support to the NHS front lines at that difficult time, even though it doesn’t represent a machine which was actually helping them in their work, but was a high-flying illustration of the affection in which they were all held. As the Government instructed the vast majority of the nation to stay at home and to avoid social interaction outside of the family unit wherever possible, most people found themselves with a lot more free time on their hands. In order to help take their minds off this incredibly distressing situation, if they were lucky enough to have a hobby to turn to, this would prove to be a huge benefit, but in many cases, the most pressing problem was to keep younger members of the family occupied.

Like many other people, members of the Airfix team had youngsters at home and whilst we still had work to keep us occupied, they knew that lots of people would not and attempted to help in some small way. Members of our marketing and on-line teams quickly designed, created and launched additional pages on our various websites, in an attempt to try and provide some free entertainment for people, making puzzles and downloadable colouring pages available for all, which is where the idea for an unusual and rather creative initiative first started to be discussed. Before long, our NHS Livery Competition was live on the Airfix website and had youngsters all over the country reaching for their crayons, felt-tipped pens and coloured pencils - the challenge was on!

Where it all began. The basis of the entire project was this downloadable pdf line drawing of a BAe Hawk trainer and the rest was down to our entrants. Designs could be as conservative or flamboyant as you wished, but the dramatic use of colour was something as a prerequisite and we were not disappointed by the results

The competition was to design a livery to grace the rather distinctive profile of a scale British Aerospace Hawk jet, the like of which had never been seen before, but one intended to mark the affection in which we all held the NHS workers battling so hard to turn the tide of this pandemic. Anyone interested in getting involved could download a blank pdf four aspect line drawing of a scale Bae Hawk jet and then it was over to you, time to let your imagination and creativity run wild. There was absolutely no restriction placed on colours to be used, intricacy of detail or design flamboyance, everyone had a totally free design rein and we couldn’t wait to see what you all came up with. Completed entries could either be e-mailed in to our marketing team, attached to social media posts on any of our official channels or posted in the time honoured manner, but importantly, each entry would be admired by members of our team, who would ultimately also have the difficult task of having to choose a winner.

This scheme layout is a representation of the winning entry submitted by the Elliot family and the subject of this very special release. Anyone buying this kit will not only have a truly unique Airfix model kit, but will also know that a donation is being made to NHS Charities Together for each kit sold, something everyone who submitted an entry should be rightly proud of

We have to say that we were lucky enough to be sent some really beautiful designs, although it does have to be said that not all of our budding young designers felt the need to be constrained by the outlines of the Hawk’s profile supplied - they were clearly in colouring mode and nothing was going to stop them! We were humbled to receive hundreds of stunningly creative entries and you certainly didn’t make our job of choosing a winner an easy one, however, this was a serious business, as that winner would be seeing a representation of their design appearing as a livery option on a future Airfix kit release. After much deliberation and a ‘potential winners’ table which resembled something from an episode of the X-Factor, we settled on a winning design and that was one submitted by Mr Geoff Elliot. In actual fact, we suspect that Mr Elliot was simply the envoy in this situation, as we were lucky enough to receive several entries from different members of this talented family, who all clearly committed to this task with some enthusiasm. The mental image of the family all seated around their dining table admiring their individual designs is quite a pleasant one and one which highlights how resilient and resourceful people have been over the past few unprecedented months.

We are delighted to report that this very special NHS Charities Together liveried BAe Hawk jet kit has now been manufactured and is therefore on track for an early July release. It will certainly make for an attractive, if slightly unusual addition to many a model shop display up and down the country in the weeks to come and it is interesting to note that each kit sold will result in a donation being made to the extremely worthy NHS Charities Together cause. We would like to sincerely thank everyone who took the time to enter our NHS Charities Together competition and for helping to make this a unique, colourful and successful tribute to our NHS heroes. For everyone who took part, this new model is something you were all involved in bringing to market and is therefore something of which you should rightly be proud of - now all we have to do is to see if the RAF fancy decorating one of their full size Hawks in this attractive scheme.  

Leviathan of the skies

The classic artwork of Roy Cross needs absolutely no introduction to Airfix enthusiasts, with this one being as evocative as the Handley Page H.P.42 Heracles is elegant

The world of aviation is littered with important and impressive aeroplane types from over the past 117 years of powered flight and all modellers and enthusiasts will undoubtedly have their own particular favourites, however, there are some which really do cross aviation boundaries and demand you pay them a little attention. One such aircraft type was the Handley Page HP.42 Heracles, a gigantic aeroplane in its day and one which helped to establish the civilian aviation network we all hope can get back to something close to normality in the months to come.

A stunningly elegant four engined, unequal span sesquiplane airliner from the very early days of passenger air travel, the Handley Page H.P 42 was designed to serve the Empire air routes into the Middle East, Africa and India, carrying its passengers in style, comfort and at that time, speed. With the engines mounted well away from the passenger cabin, travel in the H.P 42 was impressively quiet and was likened to travelling in a first class pullman railway carriage, which is just as well, because the aircraft’s cruising speed of just 105 mph meant that any journey was likely to be a long one. Having said that, the lower altitudes which these aircraft flew would have afforded their passengers a fabulous view of any country they were flying over, with many famous landmarks visible if the weather was favourable. These land based aircraft were operated by Imperial Airways in conjunction with their existing flying boat service, but with more airports opening all the time, they definitely pointed to the future of passenger air travel.

The pride of Britain’s pioneering Imperial Airways fleet, this giant airliner was an attempt to regain passenger flight supremacy from the German aviation industry and at the time of its introduction, it had the distinction of being the largest passenger aircraft in regular use anywhere in the world. In total, only eight of these magnificent machines were ever built, four with larger freight and mail carrying capabilities to serve the longer range Eastern Empire routes, with a further four designated H.P 45 built to carry more passengers and intended for use on European routes - two of these would later be converted to H.P.42 configuration. Crucially, these majestic aircraft would achieve an exemplary safety record during their years of service, carrying many thousands of passengers safely at a time when scheduled air travel was still very much in its relative infancy. This is made all the more impressive when considering that some of the more wide reaching routes flown by these aircraft included destinations such as Cape Town, Calcutta and Brisbane.

Entering service in 1931, the H.P.42 was described as offering 24 hour service and embarked of its passenger flying duties at a time of great expansion for civilian aviation. Operating from London’s Croydon Airport, the capital’s main airport at that time, these massive aeroplanes must have made for a truly impressive sight and for those lucky enough to be able to fly on one, they must have felt rather special. Over the next few years however, the world would also see the introduction of such aviation classics as the Junkers Ju52 and Douglas DC-2 monoplane airliners and by the mid 1930s, Croydon Airport would be a service hub for all three of these classic types. Even though the Handley Page airliner may have looked like an aircraft from an earlier era of flight compared to these new monoplane designs, it would still surely have cut the most impressive figure of the trio to anyone viewing the days flying activities.

Earning a reputation for comfort and safe operation, the record holding H.P.42 became a hugely popular aircraft with the British public, many of whom dreamt they might one day be able to take a flight on one of these magnificent aeroplanes, in much the same way Concorde captivated the nation many years later. During a nine year service period with Imperial Airways, their eight aircraft Handley Page fleet would amass a combined service miles flown record in excess of 10 million miles, with not a single passenger fatality to its name. The H.P.42E (Eastern) variants of the aircraft were intended for use on the longer African and Middle/Far Eastern routes, with less seats for passengers and more room for the aircraft to carry luggage and mail. The H.P.42 W (Western) aircraft were configured slightly differently and were intended to service the shorter European routes. These aircraft were fitted with more seats for passengers and required less room for luggage and freight, however, two of the four constructed this way were later converted for service on the Eastern routes. The majority of these aircraft would be based at Cairo Airport whilst serving this popular route.

A true British civilian aviation classic, the return of the H.P.42 Heracles airliner to our Vintage Classics range will be popular with many modellers

With war in Europe looking increasingly likely, several of the remaining Handley Page H.P.42 airliners were pressed into Royal Air Force service, but were of only limited use by this time. G-AAXC ‘Heracles’ would mainly be employed on the London-Paris-Cologne-Zurich routes and by the summer of 1937 had safely amassed an impressive record of flying one million miles on these routes. She would be pressed into RAF service early in 1940, but would later suffer severe damage at Bristol Whitchurch Airport, when a storm lifted the aircraft and brought her crashing down on another H.P.42 - both machines were subsequently scrapped.

G-AAXF ‘Helena’ was constructed as a ‘Western’ route aircraft, but subsequently converted to the longer range Eastern configuration. She too was later pressed into RAF service following the outbreak of WWII, but after suffering a particularly heavy landing, the aircraft underwent structural inspection which discovered some corrosion. A sad but historically predictable ending for these majestic early British airliners, she was also unceremoniously scrapped, as the nation had more pressing issues than potentially preserving one of these historic aeroplanes.

From the perspective of Airfix history, our beautiful 1/144th scale tooling of the Handley Page H.P.42 Heracles first appeared in a kit range back in 1965 and immediately found favour with modellers as one of the more interesting aircraft types produced in scale model form. As an added bonus, it also benefited from stunning box artwork produced by the maestro himself, Mr Roy Cross, a man who was probably responsible for introducing many hundreds of thousands of people to the modelling hobby over the years. The artwork shows one of these beautiful aeroplanes flying over a classic Egyptian landscape which includes a pair of pyramids, an attractive and evocative image which ensured the enduring popularity of this particular kit. We are delighted to confirm that this popular kit will be a late summer addition to our Vintage Classics range and is surely destined to bring the many virtues of this historically significant early British airliner to the attention of a new generation of modellers. This is one aircraft kit to which the word ‘Classic’ seems to be completely appropriate.

‘Wooden Wonder’ advances to plastic

Announced with the launch of our current 2021 model range in early January, our new 1/72nd scale de Havilland Mosquito B.XVI kit was one of three impressive new tooling projects intending to immortalise classic de Havilland aircraft designs as scale plastic model kits, something which really does serve to underline the influence this company had on British (and Canadian) aircraft design and production during the 20th Century. In respect of the new Mosquito, so far Workbench readers have seen the early development stages of this model, as the kits designer Paramjit guided us through his work, from receiving the scan data from a preserved museum example of the aircraft, to sight of computer rendered images of the completed model, images which were taken straight for his CAD files. In between, he showed us how the correctly scaled scan data helped in the creation of his skeleton model files, from which every aspect of the new model kit’s individual part design could be developed.

As this first Mosquito development review edition of the blog has proved to be our most popular of the year so far, we know that many readers will be delighted to hear that we have spent more time with Paramjit this past week, as he talked us through the exciting next stage of this much-anticipated new model’s development. With more exclusive insight and a further selection of exclusive imagery, we will be attempting to describe the excitement a designer must feel when he is about to receive the first plastic test frame components from a model tooling he has designed - the ‘Wooden Wonder’ has advanced to plastic!

A exclusive first Workbench look at the first full kit build using initial test frame components from the new 1/72nd scale de Havilland Mosquito B.XIV tooling, the culmination of a feverish period of activity for the model’s designer Paramjit  

Clearly, when you have been working hard on a new design project for between six and nine months, the prospect of seeing the fruits of your labours in the ‘plastic’ for the first time must be a time of great excitement, if tinged with just a little understandable trepidation. We can only imagine what this situation must be like for one of our Product Designers, so this just had to be the first question we put to Paramjit - ‘What is it like when the first test frames arrive at Airfix HQ from the manufacturing plant?’

He told us that this is a big day for the entire Airfix team and once the usually rather large box is brought to their office, everyone drops what they are doing and huddles around the box of delights. The honour of actually opening the box and taking out the first parts will always go to the designer responsible, but once this design etiquette has been observed, everyone dives in to have a good look at what has been produced. In actual fact, this free for all is a crucially important stage of the design process, as there is a huge amount of combined knowledge and experience within this group and they will all immediately switch into ‘review mode’, looking at any areas their colleague should be looking to concentrate on in the near future.

In the case of the new Mosquito, the current national situation and the fact that Paramjit was working from home meant that there couldn’t be the usual office huddle when the parts arrived, even though the situation was no less exciting for him personally. He told us that on the day of delivery, every time he heard a car outside his home, or the sound of a door closing, he jumped up to look out of the window to see if his parcel had arrived - he must have done this a dozen times or more before the doorbell finally rang, confirming that his new ‘Eagle’ had landed.

From his design work, Paramjit knew that the Mosquito design required three separate tools, one for the fuselage and wing parts, one for the undercarriage, cockpit and smaller components, with a third needed for the clear parts. In most cases, the component frames would be supplied bagged with frames for three complete kits in any one bag - in total, there would usually be 3 or 4 of these bags sent, which allowed him quite an amount of flexibility when undertaking this next vital stage in this particular phase of the model’s design.

Our next question was, ‘How important is this stage and what specifically will you be checking?’

As you might expect, Paramjit told us that it is vital, the first time you actually get to see plastic parts and the start of a hectic period of evaluation for the designer. At this stage, it is likely that you will be making the most significant and the largest number of changes to the new model’s design, which could be either to the design of individual parts, or to the tooling layout itself. Importantly, this stage can often see the designer returning to his CAD design files to make some alterations and whilst these are rarely wholesale changes, there can often be quite a few of them to work through. Specific things the designer will be looking for are general shape and surface detail accuracy, general structural integrity of the parts on frame and if any have become detached during transit, sign of any flash or ejector pin/sink marks and areas where the plastic may have shot either too thickly or too thinly. These details in particular could be around the locator holes and pins on larger components and are crucial to a successful build experience and must therefore be shot correctly.

We are so lucky to be allowed to show these images, which were taken by Paramjit whilst he was producing his first Mosquito test frame review document and show areas of the tooling design which he wasn’t happy with and required modification 

This image shows both fuselage sides and the interior cockpit detail representation. One side was acceptable, whilst the other was definitely in need of extra design work  

To most of us, this does sound like quite a lot of information to process correctly, with not only elements of the kit’s design needing to be checked thoroughly, but also the tooling layout, manufacturing issues and build enjoyment of a kit which is still in the early stages of development, all of which have to be considered at the same time. It’s a good job we leave such matters to the experts.

In truth, Paramjit described how this is not actually all that difficult, as you are already completely immersed in the project and your experience will guide you through the process as soon as you clap eyes on the parts for the first time. Just by looking at the frames, you can immediately see areas which are going to need your attention and then it is just a case of making notes and working through them effectively. From the images Paramjit sent us to illustrate these points, he let us have details from his actual tooling report, which he produced after reviewing these two test fames. One image shows how a tooling inaccuracy has created an area of concern on the rear of the model’s fuselage and must be re-worked to follow the CAD files supplied to the tooling manufacturers. A further area of concern was the detail representation on the interior of the cockpit walls, where one side appears to have shot correctly, whilst the other is a little light and requires modification. Interestingly, when detail needs to be made a little more pronounced, this is much easier for the toolmaker to undertake, as they will be removing material from the tool, as opposed to having to do the opposite, a much more complicated engineering task. If detail is too pronounced and needs to be reduced, this is definitely more challenging.

Another area of the new Mosquito kit’s design which caused Paramjit some concern was the representation of the distinctive block tread tyres on the mainwheels, which initially were nowhere near detailed enough at this first stage. Indeed, this particular feature would continue to be an issue throughout further test shot reviews and would take a while before Paramjit was happy with how they looked.

Once again, we are given an exclusive insight into the fascinating world of an Airfix Product Designer and for the first time, we are showing Workbench readers images taken straight from Paramjit’s first Mosquito tooling review document, still representing a really early stage in the development of this new model

Another area of the tooling first shot inspection which revealed detail on the kit components which had not been replicated as intended. Further work would be required on both tyre and cockpit detail 

How often will projects require wholesale changes at this stage?

Paramjit told us how this is quite a difficult question to answer, as wholesale implies that there is something significantly wrong and will have the entire team in a bit of a spin. Although this is a crucial stage in the development of a new model and an extremely busy time for the designer, it is a necessary process they know they are going to have to negotiate and as such, it’s simply a case of logically working through it. They know that in almost every case, there will be quite a number of changes required to the CAD and tooling at this stage, but these will decrease in number dramatically with the receipt of subsequent test batch production. It is very rare and almost unheard of that a tool produces frames which are so wrong that it necessitates a full tooling re-design, although he did hope that making such a statement didn’t jinx the team for future projects.

Talking specifically about the new Mosquito, Paramjit told us that he requested no fewer than 66 tooling modifications at this first test shot stage, 37 changes to tool 1 (fuselage and wings) and 29 to tool 2 (cockpit, undercarriage and detail parts). This may sound like a lot, but it is not unexpected following the delivery of first test frame parts from any new tooling project. In almost every case, this stage will result in the highest number of changes, either to the model’s design and/or to the tooling blocks themselves and will usually see the designer diving back into his CAD files to make one or two necessary tweaks. At the end of the day, they definitely have a clear picture of what the new model kit they have designed should look like and if it fails to meet those expectations in any regard, they must be improved.

Following test frame inspection, what is the next stage of this process?

After inspecting all the parts received and making copious notes of any areas of concern along the way, it’s time for the next crucial stage of the process and a little photography for the designer. Now with a clear understanding of what is going to be required, pictures of all the part frames and individual component details are taken, before a full test build is started. This is also of vital importance, as it will highlight any further areas of the kit’s design which need to be improved, more from the aspect of construction ease and fit of parts, something which will be a particular consideration when it comes to build enjoyment and consumer perception of the new kit. Once again, as Paramjit advances through the test build, he will continue to keep a photographic record of his progress and of any areas of particular concern. He also knows that all of this information gathering is leading to the production of a critical document in the development of every new model tooling, the first test shots report.

Another important aspect of this crucial stage of the new model’s development id where the designer will number the individual parts on the various frames, something which will be required by our illustrator as he starts producing his instruction booklet files

Produced in Powerpoint, this fully illustrated document usually takes the designer at least a full week to produce and is intended to be reviewed by the entire Airfix team at one of their regular meetings. Eventually, once everyone is happy with the content and its evaluation recommendations, it will also be sent to the toolmaker to act as guidance for the modifications being requested and for the lead designer, it will be time to get back to the other new project he will already be working on. In between the various stages of tooling shots, there will be regular communication between the designer and the toolmaker, usually sending clarification, pictures and even videos to ensure that this current revision will be as accurate and comprehensive as possible.

For a major new tooling project such as the new 1/72nd scale Mosquito, the designer would typically expect to receive three of even four separate test frame revision deliveries before the project is in a position to be signed off, with each successive run requiring less design modification requests from Paramjit. Finally, once everyone is happy with the design of the new kit, the toolmaker is contacted and told to make their final manufacturing settings, before then sending the tooling blocks on to the manufacturing plant. Once they arrive there, they will be thoroughly checked, all manufacturing settings applied and a test run undertaken, just one final assessment before the tooling is used to produce the first batch of the new kit. This is a fascinating stage of any new model’s development and something we have yet to cover fully in one of our blogs, however Paramjit has promised to help us put that right in the near future and will assist us in producing a new article for publication a little later in the year.

For now though, that’s where we are going to leave the current status of our new de Havilland Mosquito kit, as it takes another important step towards release. Paramjit has asked that we stress the fact that all the images we have used here feature the early development stages of the new kit’s design and have undergone further changes since the evaluation of these test frames. This caveat also extends to our exclusive first look at the complete sample build, which was constructed using these first components. The new Mosquito is already looking like being a spectacular addition to our kit range and as always, we look forward to bringing you further updates once we are in a position to do so.

A final look at the new Mosquito B.XVI kit at initial test frame build stage. We do have to stress that these images show the model whilst it is still very much in development and some aspects of its design have already been the subject of some modification. Nevertheless, they do show that this beautiful model is advancing nicely towards its scheduled late summer release 

The particular variant of Mosquito Paramjit has modelled was originally conceived as a high speed bomber for the Royal Air Force, the final major bomber variant of de Havilland’s famous multi-role aircraft, one which only started arriving at front line squadrons from very late in 1943. This was a development of the earlier B.IX variant and one which had been optimised for high altitude operation, incorporating a new pressurised cabin. Another unarmed version of the Mosquito, the B.XVI could carry a 3,000lb bomb load, however, all but the first 12 aircraft from a total production run of 402 machines incorporated modifications to allow a 4,000lb ‘Cookie’ or blockbuster bomb to be carried internally, a weapon which possessed devastating destructive capability. Combining the power of these fearsome weapons with the legendary speed and bombing accuracy associated with Mosquito operations allowed Bomber Command to keep the pressure on the enemy throughout the latter stages of WWII. Interestingly, these huge bombs were exactly four times the weight of the original bomb load this exceptional aircraft was actually designed to carry, which is testament to the strength of the Mosquito’s construction techniques.

The service impact this variant of the Mosquito had on RAF operations cannot be overstated, as it allowed Allied military planners to maintain the pace of the bombing offensive against Germany by day and night and in all weathers. This pressurised Mosquito was equally at home bombing from 50 feet as it was from 35,000 feet and with the adoption of the latest navigational and targeting technologies, could bomb with unerring accuracy from these altitudes, in conditions which kept other aircraft types on the ground. Significantly, the two man crew of a Mosquito bomber could deliver the same bomb load as a B-17 and its ten man crew, however, the extra speed of the Mosquito would actually allow it to do the job twice in the same amount of time, should that be required. When used by crews from the other side of the Atlantic, the wooden construction of the aircraft led them to colloquially refer to the Mosquito as the ‘Termites Dream’, however, when they were flying operations in the aircraft, they knew they had a real war winner as their steed.

Without doubt, the Mosquito is one of the Second World War’s most impressive aircraft and our new kit will serve as a fine scale tribute to the legacy of one of Britain’s most famous aeroplanes. The new Mosquito is currently on target for an August release.

Churchill Crocodile diorama is ‘Red Hot’

Modeller Dave Mitchell felt that what his Churchill Crocodile build needed for that little but extra, was a representation of the feature that made it so feared on the battlefield 

We end this blog with the latest contribution from one of our Workbench readers and an interesting model build which captured our attention on an enthusiast social media site recently. As a result, we were fortunate enough to make the acquaintance of Dave Mitchell, a modeller from Humberside who has only recently returned to the hobby after a 25 year period where life and specifically a career in the Army got in the way. His current modelling subjects of choice are military vehicles, which is the reason why we got in touch with him on this occasion. He recently posted pictures of a Churchill Crocodile build, one which featured a rather striking addition, a representation of the flame jet this feared tank was notorious for and we simply had to find out more.

Dave told us that his approach to modelling is quite simple. He starts every build with the intention of doing something which is more than just an effective kit build and something that will definitely appeal to his kids and grab their attention. At the end of the build, he will ask himself two questions - does the model look alright and did he enjoy building it? If the answer to both is yes, then job done! 

He also told us that he is a great believer in using things that he has readily to hand when modelling and not to fall into the trap of spending a fortune on specialist after market components and additionally, how trial and error plays a big part in his modelling. For this Churchill Crocodile build, he wanted to try and replicate the fire jet coming from the tank, but how could he do it? Initially, a shaped piece of acetate provided an appropriate flame arc for the model, but it didn’t look particularly fire-like and there was much still to do. The initial idea was to use some craft rubber solution someone had bought him as a gift and whilst this certainly added some much needed volume to the flame feature, everything was just a little bit wet and unstable. Just as a test, Dave next mixed the rubber solution with glue and paint and miraculously, the result proved to be unexpectedly effective - it turned into a quick setting jelly which could be worked into the required shape.

Building up the effect and adding additional paint detail, everything was finished off by painting the solution on a piece of glass, which was then scraped off once nearly dry and added in sections to the flame arc as required - it was all starting to look rather good.

This is actually a two part build story, as the Churchill diorama was initially part of a larger display and one which was a representation of an Allied attack against a bunker in the ground operations following the D-Day landings. This was part of a display arranged by his local Bridlington & Wolds Scale Model Club, but after the show, it suffered damage after another display was dropped onto it - Dave rescued the Churchill determined to use it another day. That day came only quite recently, when he visited his local hardware store and discovered that the owner was trying to establish a modelling section to his store. The two men got talking and the upshot was that Dave was asked to supply a couple of model builds for display in the shop window and he immediately thought of his Churchill, knowing that it was going to require a little TLC beforehand. 

With the old base no longer usable, Dave requisitioned an old picture frame, added a suitable base to serve as an effective diorama and thought about how he could apply an unusual finishing touch. He had an idea for where the flame hit the wooden edge of the frame and as the real thing would have burned it, what better than to set fire to that area! The effect was completed by the addition of some cushion fibre filling to represent steam and burning spray, finishing this by applying black, red and yellow paint in varying amounts. We think you will agree with us that what Dave has managed to achieve is really quite effective and if he was looking to produce a build which possessed impact, he most certainly succeeded.

Now serving as a display to attract young modellers to the hobby, could Dave have possibly chosen a more effective subject to grab people’s attention?

Now illuminating the window display of his local hardware store, it certainly seems to be having the desired effect and it is interesting to report that this new initiative is going really well. At a time when model stores appear to be closing at a depressingly alarming rate, this is a welcome move in the opposite direction. Dave told us that the last time he went in the shop, a saw a young chap admiring the display and they got into a conversation about modelling and whether he fancied having a go himself. He told Dave that as a result of seeing the display, he had already taken the plunge and had a couple of completed builds already under his belt and was really enjoying the hobby. It also transpired that he was becoming quite the expert on Tiger tanks, which is such a great end to this fascinating story.

We would like to thank Dave for allowing us to show these pictures and for taking the time to discuss the build with us this week. He also told us about a couple of interesting future projects he has planned, so this might not be the last time we hear from him in Workbench -  we also hope to meet him in person when modelling shows return to the circuit and the Bridlington & Wolds Scale Model Club are in attendance at the show. For any younger Workbench readers who might be inspired by Dave’s build, please speak to your parents before you start thinking about re-purposing any picture frames in your own home, just in case they have any understandable objections.

We are afraid that’s all we have for you in this latest edition of Workbench, which we hope you found enjoyable. As always, if you have any suggestions for particular subjects you would like to see covered in a future edition, please do drop us a quick line, using this workbench@airfix.com link to contact us.

In between new editions of our blog, the Airfix conversation continues over on our Airfix Forum Workbench thread, with further discussions taking place on our official social media platforms - Airfix Facebook, Airfix Twitter and Airfix Instagram – please do get involved in the discussions and let us know what you think about Workbench.

Whenever you decide to visit, the Airfix website is always the place where you will find all the latest model availability information, previous editions of our blog, a selection of modelling tips and much more.

The next edition of Workbench is scheduled to be published on Friday 28th May.

Thanks’ again for your fantastic support.

The Airfix Workbench Team