Instructing on a BIG Airfix Spitfire

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

As this is the season for giving, we wanted this latest festive edition of Workbench to be just that little bit special, so with this in mind, we asked a certain member of the Airfix team if they would help us achieve this aim and thanks to him, we think we have a cracking edition for you. As 2022 has definitely been a Spitfire year for us here at Airfix, we wanted to end the year by taking one final look at this important 1/24th scale addition to the Airfix kit range, but from a slightly different angle. Rather than focus on the design, production or manufacturing of the new Spitfire Mk.IX, we thought readers might be interested to discover the contribution our illustrator made to the project, particularly as the document he is charged with producing will become familiar to many thousands of modellers over the next few years and may well be being studied by hundreds of Workbench readers at this very moment.

Having been granted an interview audience with our hugely talented illustrator Richard Petts earlier this week, we had the opportunity to ask him the questions we thought readers might like to hear the answers too, but all with a leaning towards his work in producing the instruction booklet for the new 1/24th scale Spitfire Mk.IXc. We will see how digital technologies play a significant role in the production of these files, but how there is no substitute for years of experience and close collaboration when it comes to the creation of this essential modeller's support document. As 'Airfix' as our kits and iconic artwork, its high time our instruction booklets came under the Workbench microscope once again and this one is as BIG as they come.

Just another work project, only BIGGER

2022 was a real Spitfire year for us here at Airfix, but would our new 1/24th scale kit present illustrator Richard Petts with any particular challenges?       

As far as modelling enthusiasts and Workbench readers are concerned, it can sometimes be surprizing to learn just how small the team behind the production of our kits actually is and whilst many people may think that the Airfix office resembles something like images of the old drawing offices at Avro or Austin Motors they have seen, nothing could be further from reality. There are no rows of draughtsmen's desks and hundreds of people beavering away, just a relatively small team, some powerful computers and lots of big monitors, however, what you will be pleased to hear is that our small but talented team of product designers, illustrators, graphic designers and managers are all extremely experienced and totally committed to the task. Even if they are actually the only person in their particular field, this group work seamlessly together and are always happy to help a colleague as and when required.

Many Workbench readers will remember that we have already featured the unique talents of illustrator Richard Petts in a 2017 edition of the blog, but as that seems like such a long time ago now, we thought his work on the recently released 1/24th scale Spitfire Mk.IX presented us with an ideal opportunity to speak with him again, to find out what it takes to produce one of his now famous instruction manuals for a project in our largest aircraft subject scale and what specific challenges this brings. Clearly, our initial question had to refer to the beginning of this project and his feelings on learning that his next job would be to produce the instructions for a new 1/24th scale tooling of perhaps the most famous aircraft ever to take to the skies. As 1/24th scale projects include so much more detail and come along so infrequently, did this new task bring with it feelings of excitement, intimidation or perhaps just a little trepidation?

Richard's reply might initially come as disappointment for us as Workbench readers, but on reflection, should probably serve more to reassure us. He told us that although working in this larger scale will require him to produce a larger set of instructions and will be the longest project he is ever involved with from a time allocation perspective, it really is just another illustration task and as such, he sees his task as producing the most concise, easy to follow guide he possibly can. His aim is to help modellers negotiate the various construction stages of this impressive new kit efficiently and assist them in producing a stunning scale representation of this beautiful aeroplane. As far as Richard is concerned, if his instructions are clear and easy to follow, they will rarely receive a second thought from the modeller and in that regard, it is a case of job done for him!

Richard hard at work producing one of the Airfix instruction booklets modellers are so familiar with - not a Spitfire in this image, but a 1/48th scale Hawker Sea Fury.

Although Rich is hugely experienced in this type of work, familiarity never breeds contempt when it comes to his instruction illustrations and he views each and every project that comes his way as an opportunity to improve. Indeed, that sentiment extends right through the Airfix team, with everyone bringing new skills and ideas to their regular review meetings and if they are judged to be improvements, will find their way right across the development process, from design innovations to instruction booklet modifications and everything in-between. 

Going right back to the start of Richard's involvement with the new 1/24th scale Spitfire project, during the production of any instruction sheet/manual, he will work in tandem with the kit's designer right from the outset and even though he will have been assigned the project by the Development Manager, all his actual project dealings will be with the kit's designer. The designer of the new Spitfire, Chris Joy, initially presents Richard with a robust project brief file for him to refer to, an impressive support file which includes CAD data, exploded detail files and even a suggested build order guidance, because who better than the designer of the kit could there be to inform us all on how it should go together?

As we touched on earlier, little improvements are always finding their way into every aspect of how a new Airfix kit is designed and produced, including how instruction guidance is produced and the Spitfire was no exception. During regular team meetings, everyone presents an overview of their current project and introduces any ideas for improvement they may have. These are discussed between the team, with this unselfish attitude ensuring that any innovation discovered by any member of the team may actually have an instant impact across all the projects currently being worked on.

An example of just one page of the 1/24th scale Spitfire design brief Richard was presented with at the very start of his involvement with this project.

An illustration of how this impacted Rich and his instruction manuals was how during a recent team meeting, the designer of the new 1/48th scale Buccaneer suggested that it might be helpful for modellers if the instructions included specific guidance on the placement of internal cockpit decals and where in the build order each decal could be found. In addition to this, more robust painting reference could also be included at this earlier stage, just because on these larger scale kits, the painting of internal sections can be quite a prominent feature of the build process, with this support proving helpful for the modeller. These features were incorporated into the instruction manual design for the Buccaneer and were also carried over to the new Spitfire.

Another feature which has only recently been added to the brief files provided to Richard at the start of any project also resulted from discussions at one of these meetings and has proved incredibly helpful for him. With some of the more complex new tooling designs, the sheer number of smaller components can create some challenges and see him consulting the kit's designer more often than would usually be the case. Designer Paramjit Sembhi thought it might help Rich if designers included part and frame number details in the briefing files provided to him, so that if required, he could reference these individual parts in the master CAD file, calling up the part image if required, providing him with the information he needs when replicating it in his build illustrations. All briefing files provided to him now include this feature.

The briefing document provided to Rich at the outset of any project is quite an impressive reference tool and due to the incredible amount of experience possessed within the design team, will rarely have to be altered once it has been presented to him, even though this is not inconceivable. If an improvement can be made, then it certainly will, however, any improvements or innovations have usually been incorporated before the files are presented to him.

Do you build the new kit as part of your role and does this help?

Illustrating and modelling go hand in hand, but with some extremely talented modellers within the Airfix team, Richard sometimes thinks he's better sticking to the illustration side.

This is quite an interesting question and one which helps to position the work Richard does. By the time he started working on the Spitfire project, it really was quite advanced - not only had designer Chris finished his main design work, he had actually received at least two full sets of frame components produced from the tooling itself. Although he was still working through his list of required tooling amendments during the tooling assessment phase of the project, these parts allowed him to build sections of the kit and to make any alterations to the briefing document he was producing for Richard as a result. As later test frame components become available and the ever decreasing list of tooling modification requirements is down to just a handful of issues, the designer will encourage other members of the team to construct the kit, maybe not the entire build, but certainly sections of it. Their feedback can be crucial to the success of the project, but they also have the opportunity to inspect how innovations and advancements Chris has incorporated into his design have been reproduced in kit form and crucially, how these may be beneficial to their own projects.

Richard informed us that when he is working through particular build sections of his instruction guidance, it can be incredibly helpful for him to build that relevant section of the kit, just to check that everything in the instructions is clear and intuitive, and crucially, to discover any areas which may require additional guidance to be provided. In most cases, when the work he is doing is linked to a smaller scale kit, Rich will build the entire kit, as he can have this done in no time, but in the case of 1/24th scale, he often finds that section builds are much more helpful. At this stage, the frame parts available in the office are close to being signed off for production, so the ones Richard gets to build are as close to production parts as possible, so are therefore unlikely to significant changes. 

One of the working IsoDraw files Richard uses to convert to designer's CAD files into a format he can use in his illustrator software, but including all the information that particular construction stage image requires.

Most Workbench readers will be familiar with the layout of an Airfix instruction manual and will therefore be interested to learn that Richard produces them in sections, usually fully completing three or four pages, before submitting them to the designer for review and feedback. These files are usually also inspected by the Development Manager, design manager and other members of the Airfix team and whilst major change requests are rare, they can happen from time to time, but always with a view to ensuring a pleasurable build experience for the modeller. Once this has been done, he will either get straight on with the next few pages, or be asked to work on another, smaller project, as he is the only member of the team doing this important work. Rather that finding a short project break frustrating, Richard told us that this can be a really positive thing, allowing him to do something a little different for a while, before returning to the Spitfire with a fresh set of eyes and renewed impetus.

On the subject of building the latest Airfix kits he is working on, Richard told us that this is definitely one of the perks of his position and in many cases, he can often be just the second person in the world to build a newly tooled Airfix kit, something he regards as a real privilege. In the case of the new Spitfire, he had a particular interest in this project, because he remembers building the original 1/24th scale Airfix Spitfire as a teenager and how he was so impressed with the level of detail that kit included. He told us that he could hardly believe that 44 years later, he was now involved in releasing the latest incarnation of a 1/24th scale Spitfire kit to the modelling world and hopefully playing his part in impressing a new generation of modellers, just as he remembers being all those years ago.

A team effort from beginning to end

Another Spitfire IsoDraw screenshot, this time showing how individual parts can be dropped into the main image as and when required. This is the preparation stage for the build stage images we are all so familiar with.

Richard told us that when he is working on the instructions for any new Airfix kit, he works incredibly closely with the designer responsible for the project, from opening his project brief file, right through to proof submission sign off. In addition to the designer providing Richard with the essential brief document and initial project overview, the two will normally speak on a daily basis, with the designer coming over to Richard's workstation to see if he needs any help with that particular stage, but also meeting less frequently to conduct a project review. In the case of a small 1/72nd scale kit, these interactions might be a little more desk based, as Rich can rattle one of these off in just a few days, but for a more complicated 1/48th or 1/24th scale kit, the meetings are perhaps more structured and a little more formal.

When it comes to producing instruction manuals, experience is definitely the key throughout the process and with Richard and the majority of the design team having many years of experience between them, everyone has safely negotiated this stage many time before, so this experience helps them to instinctively know what is required and crucially, where any particular perils may lurk. Having already spent many weeks perfecting the design of their latest kit masterpiece, the designer will already have a good idea of how he wants the kit to come together and if any aspects of its construction are going to require specific guidance or build clarity in the instruction manual, something they will work closely with Richard on.

A little Spitfire firewall action this time as Rich prepares some of the cockpit fine detail for inclusion in his instructions.

Again talking specifically about the Spitfire, during his time at Airfix, Richard now has no fewer than four new 1/24th scale toolings under his belt, starting with the Mosquito back in 2010 and moving on to the Typhoon in 2014. More recently, the Hellcat in 2019 saw designer Chris and Richard working together on a 1/24th scale project for the first time, so when the new Spitfire came around, this pairing already had a successful collaboration behind them and knew exactly what was expected of them. Even so, close collaboration between the entire team is essential when working through any new tooling project, sharing ideas and looking for improvements wherever possible. 

Central to Richard's thinking when engaged in his latest instruction manual production project is to put himself in the position of the modeller who will eventually be building the kit. If he were that modeller, what areas of the build might he struggle with, or is there anything he would have found helpful at any stage of the build, then to incorporate this visual support into his illustrator design - if the modeller is happy, then Richard is happy.

Time is of the essence

That looks more like it! With the image files now in Illustrator, Rich can now start working his magic and produce images that all Airfix modellers are so familiar with.

One area we knew Workbench readers would be interested to find out a little more detail was the subject of timings, specifically how long it would typically take Richard to complete a 1/24th scale instruction manual project. Having spoken many times to various designers about new tooling project timings, we know that the time allocated to projects can be quite tight for them and how project overruns can be hugely detrimental to the project as a whole and may even result in a deferral or cancellation. We wanted to know if Richard had any particular constraints put on him at the start of the Spitfire project and if he was ever worried about project complexity resulting in unforeseen delays. As everyone is quite experienced in the process now, Richard is never really given a timescale within which he must work, although the rest of the team would expect him to let them know if he was having any difficulties.

Typically, a 1/24th scale kit project will always be the most challenging and time consuming undertaking he will face, simply by virtue of the number of parts the kit will feature and consequently, the additional number of build stages the instructions will have to provide support for. Therefore, Richard might expect a 1/24th scale project to take him up to twelve months to complete, however, this does come with a rather significant caveat - during that period, he might be working on several different projects. At certain periods during any project, Rich may have to turn his attention another smaller project, or there is a natural break in a larger scale project, so the ability to be a little flexible is always advantageous. In fact, as we have already learned, Richard sees these project breaks as a real benefit for him, especially when it comes to a large scale project, meaning he can return to it refreshed and with renewed vigour.

On pressing Rich for the length of time he actually spent working on the new Spitfire instructions, he told us that it was probably somewhere between three and four months, but certainly no more. Contrast this with a small 1/72nd scale project, which he said he could usually rattle off inside a week and you can see the amount of work involved. 

As an illustrator, one thing Rich told us that he always likes to do when working is to doodle and with this in mind, he is never too far away from his notepad. When he gets an idea he would like to suggest to the rest of the team, or finds something he thinks might require more robust explanation later in the build order, he will make himself a little sketch to illustrate the point, as he finds this much more effective than a written note. He can doodle on paper exactly what he is envisioning in his mind and how it might look when replicated in the instructions - basically, Rich told us that old habits die hard, but this one really can be quite useful.

Now things are really starting to take shape and in this screengrab, we can clearly see some of the powerful graphics tools he has at his disposal when producing his instruction guidance files.

In essence, Rich views the production of his instructions as being all about helping the modeller get the most out of building the fabulous new kit one of the Airfix designers has produced, making every stage as clear as possible and avoiding any opportunity for confusion. This includes the clear and concise inclusion of part references and guidance annotations, so the modeller knows exactly what stage he is at in the build sequence and which parts he should be dealing with. A major consideration is to avoid making any of the construction illustration panes too busy, with so much information in there that it's just a recipe for creating confusion, so as far as he is concerned, if it’s getting a little busy, introduce another step.

Another consideration is to keep all related build sections within the same double page layout and not to have build sections already completed carry over onto a new page, unless they are an integral part of that next process. This is definitely an area where Richard's experience comes to the fore, but is again aimed at providing that construction clarity he deems so important in his work. In summary, Richard described how even the smallest part is treated with the same level of importance as the largest and when it comes to Airfix instruction illustrations, shortcuts are never allowed in his opinion. 

One of the most distinctive features of these construction illustrations are the parts coloured in red, which clearly signify their importance to the modeller. In actual fact, these red parts are the ones added in the previous stage, but show how they relate to the current stage of the build. Again, this is mainly for build continuity, but intended to provide the modeller with the reassurance that they are still on the right track.

Software support

The final stages now and Richard's completed Illustrator files imported into Indesign, where everything is laid out and prepared for final instruction booklet assembly.

As the work of a designer and illustrator is now very much in the computer age, we wanted to ask Richard about the software he uses to produce his instructions and whether technology allows him to use just a single program to help him do everything he needs. He informed us that unfortunately, that was not the case, but how the past few years have been extremely kind to the illustrator. Although illustrating is all about skill and hand/eye coordination, that doesn’t have to be on paper or canvas, with the computer now offering so much more in the way of functionality and creative flexibility. Rich would typically use three different software programs in the production of an Airfix instruction manual, from one which allows him to open and manipulate the designer's CAD files, to one which allows him to export the completed document for publishing. Let's take a look at each one now:

IsoDraw

A vital tool in the production of these booklets, this piece of software is a 3D technical drawing program which allows Richard the ability to import the designers master CAD files, but more than this, offers an almost unlimited ability to inspect, manipulate and position these files from individual parts, to more complete sections. Crucially, it allows him to take the designers CAD files work them into a format which he needs, converting on-screen images into 2D grab shots which he can then import into his most trusted and most used piece of software.

A page from the actual 1/24th scale Spitfire instruction manual, showing how Richard helped us all negotiate the perils of the Spitfire's iconic elliptical wing construction.

Illustrator

A piece of software which Richard describes as his digital comfort blanket, illustrator is the program he has used every single day for more years than he cares to mention and is the one where all the instruction booklet magic happens. This program allows him to take all the imported 2D screenshots from IsoDraw and create all the graphics we Airfix modellers have all become so familiar with, clear build images, accurate part numbers and the annotation guidance we have all come to rely on. This is the tool which allows Richard to achieve his aim of providing clear and concise guidance for the modeller and the one he will use most heavily.

Indesign

This programme effectively pulls everything together, desktop publishing and page layout design software which allows Richard to arrange the final manual as he intends, adding all the image, text and information details and laying them out in pagination for proofing and ultimately printing. The files can be exported in pdf format and once the completed manual has been checked and signed off, the files can be sent to the printer for publishing and Rich can get back to his desk and start another project.

The work completed on Richards computer will find its way into tens of thousands of Airfix kits and help guide modellers from all over the world through their latest enjoyable build project - not bad for a doodling illustrator from Kent.

Prototyping, or proofing in illustrator speak.

244 construction steps, no wonder Richard spent four months of his life immersed in all things 1/24th scale Airfix Spitfire!

The final stage of the process for Richard is when he has completed all his illustrations and laid out his proposed pagination for printing, but we were interested to find out if this was quite an intense stage, or if everything had more or less been done by then. We have learnt over the years how the prototyping stage for Airfix designers can be extremely challenging and is a time of feverish activity and great attention to detail, often going through several different stages before the designer is happy to sign off the tooling and release to model for production. As these stages may introduce changes which have to be incorporated in the instructions, we were also interested to know how often this impacts on Richard's work and if it does, how much trouble does it cause him.

Richard had already described how he would usually produce three or four pages of instructions before passing these to the designer for checking and feedback and by adopting this process, most changes can be initiated well before he gets to proofing stage. It has to be remembered that these are all quite mature projects by the time Richard starts working on them and if there are any concerns the designer might have when presenting Rich with his brief, these will all have been noted and both will be expecting to make changes to that section.

During regular reviews, the team might suggest slight build order changes, or the inclusion of additional illustrations or annotations, however, this is usually much earlier in the process and again, rarely when it get to the final proofing stage.

Proofing itself can be quite a stressful time for Richard, as the proof pdf of the completed instructions will ultimately be printed off, with one copy for him, one for the designer and a third for the Development Manager. They will all then pour over every last detail in an exercise which demands real concentration, a methodical workflow and absolutely no interruptions, with each using their experience to see if any additional construction steps might be needed, or clearer explanations required for a particularly tricky section of the build. 

Oh that engine detail! If you are designing a large scale Spitfire kit, you know that a Merlin engine is going to be playing a big part in proceedings. 

Before he reaches this stage, but following the completion of his work, Richard has his own proof checking regime and a proof checklist which has been perfected over the years and fine-tuned after learning some painful lessons. As you might imagine, the instructions for a 1/24th scale Spitfire contain lots of information and there will be plenty of opportunities to miss little inaccuracies, so a robust checklist and a keen eye are very much the order of the day here. Rich told us of a project many years ago where he spent an entire weekend pouring over some instructions which needed to be cleared early the next week and despite checking them time and time again, quite a significant error managed to get through. The instructions were checked and cleared and sent for printing but when they came back, right on the front page and immediately noticeable to everyone was the kit scale - it was wrong! (1/76th printed instead of the actual 1/72nd scale).

From that day forward, ensuring the correct scale for the kit is at the top of the instruction booklet is the first point on Richard's proofing checklist. 

The proofing process can be quite an intense time for the team members involved and in the case of the Spitfire took a full day to complete. Although no build order changes were requested, some additions were required, but as the document as a whole had been checked, once the changes had been incorporated, the next proofing sessions were much less onerous. Once the instructions were signed off, the new Spitfire was well on the way to production and its release debut, with Richard's instructions (although he always attributes his work as a team effort) soon to be helping thousands of modellers negotiate this beautiful new kit and to produce a stunning scale representation of arguably the world's most famous aircraft.

The Quickfire round

A thing of modelling beauty, if only Richard could make his Spitfire build look like one of Paramjit’s! 

We wanted to end an enjoyable couple of hours spent with Richard by asking him a couple of quickfire questions about his time with the new 1/24th scale Spitfire kit and what he recalls about specific aspects of his involvement.

What did you find most challenging?

It didn't take Richard long to reply to this one - Engine build step guidance. One of the benefits of working in this scale is that it allows the designer to incorporate lots of detail into his kit and if you are a Rolls Royce Merlin fan, this is definitely the kit for you. Clearly, with this level of detail, most people will want to construct the model with panels removed and the engine displayed in all its glory, but that might not apply to everyone and the design duly provides modellers with that option. The problem this created for Rich was in how he could visually get across the fact that this option was available and if this was the direction you wanted to go, you didn't need to use as many parts in your build.

He mentioned before how he hates cluttered build images and will avoid them at all costs, but with this stage requiring additional specific guidance and extra annotations, he remembers this as being quite a 'busy' challenge. Also, having completed the layout to his satisfaction, the team felt that additional information would be required if modellers wanted to finish their kit in one of the alternative schemes and in order not to introduce the busy panes he hates so much, additional steps again had to be added altering the pagination - all in an illustrator's day's work.

What proved to be the most time consuming?

We should have known this was going to be engine again, simply by virtue of the sheer amount of detail Chris managed to incorporate into his design. The problem Rich faced was that because this is such a complex feature with so much detail, it does look a little busy and there is nothing you can do about it. In addition to this, with so many parts making up this section, the team tried several different ways of representing this section of the build order before they were happy and as you can imagine, this involved a lot of design work and took up a lot of time. Importantly, they were happy with how it came out and that's all that matters.

What, if anything, did you find most frustrating?

Well, I have to say, we didn't see this one coming. Rich told us that the most frustrating aspect of his involvement with the new Spitfire project was in relation to building the kit and how he was frustrated by the fact that his modelling skills weren't in the same league as Paramjit. Ordinarily, when he has previously worked on projects in this scale, he tended to only build sections of the model and particularly those sections where he wanted to check the effectiveness of the instruction guidance he was working on. In the case of the Spitfire, because he has such fond memories of building the original 1/24th scale Airfix Spitfire when he was a teenager, he was determined to finish the full kit and whilst he thoroughly enjoyed the experience, when he placed it next to the kit expertly finished by Paramjit, he was frustrated by his lack of modelling skill. Unfortunately, where Paramjit is concerned, most of us have exactly the same feelings Rich, so you are definitely not on your own there.

What did you find most rewarding?

From a professional perspective, the top of this particular list would always be satisfying his original brief and producing something he was proud to put his name to, but personally, it is definitely being part of the fantastic Airfix team, a great bunch of people who are as generous with their time as they are expert in their particular fields. It's always satisfying to see how everything comes together and how input from several members of the team are all intended to ensure the modeller's build experience is as complete as it possibly can be.

As already mentioned, Richard also counts himself particularly fortunate to be amongst a select group of people who have the opportunity to build the very latest newly tooled Airfix model kits before anyone else and how often, he is only second to the model's designer himself, something he will always regard as a real privilege.

Last but not least, Which aspect of your involvement do you think modellers will appreciate most when building the new Spitfire kit?

A final look at one of the pages from the new 1/24th scale Spitfire instruction manual, including how Richard guided modellers through the optional pilot's access door positioning. 

This one was easy - he hopes that every aspect of the Spitfire's instruction booklet will help people as they work through its construction and how each and every illustration does what it was intended to do, provide the information and guidance the modeller needs when negotiating that particular section of the build. If people are completely immersed in building the Spitfire and desperate to get onto the next stage, then hopefully they will hardly be giving the instructions a second thought and if that's the case, then Rich will be satisfied that he has done a good job. With several new ideas incorporated into the design of this manual, he hopes that it is the best set of instructions the team have produced for an Airfix kit to date, but how it will only serve as a design stepping stone for continued improvement.

At the end of the day, this is a stunning new kit and Richard just hopes that everyone thoroughly enjoys building it. Rich did end by telling us what he was currently working on, but if we included that information here, there might just be a festive P45 heading in my direction, and we certainly don't want that at Christmas.

We hope you have enjoyed this look at Richard's role within the Airfix team and how there is more to the production of our instruction manuals than meets the eye. From a Workbench perspective, we would like to thank Rich for helping us put this feature together, for being so generous with his time and for providing us with this fascinating selection of design images from his Spitfire instructions files. 

See, I told you I wouldn’t let the new project cat out of the bag Rich! 

What's Christmas without a little Airfix competition?

In a Spitfire year for Airfix, we had to have a Spitfire prize for our Christmas competition .... but there's more!

As we are fast approaching the big day itself and with new Spitfire instructions fresh in our minds, we couldn't think of a better way to end this latest edition of Workbench than with a little Christmas competition. As we rarely get the chance to feature Richard's specialist talents, we thought it would be nice if his Spitfire instructions were used for something more than guiding us all through this impressive model build and to create a little piece of unique Airfix memorabilia. What we have asked Rich to do is to select one of his favourite double page spreads from the new Spitfire instruction manual and have him and the entire Airfix team sign, date and frame the artwork as a little Airfix time capsule, something only our lucky winner will be able to hang on their wall. As we are talking new 1/24th scale Spitfires, we may as well throw one of the kits in as well, just so you can see the booklet in all its glory, even though it will be bereft of signatures.

In order to be in with a chance of winning this unique prize pairing, all you have to do is e-mail your answer to this simple question to us at workbench@airfix.com, with the message title being Instructions. 

Question - How many 1/24th scale Airfix new tooling projects has Richard been involved with during his time at the company? The answer can be found somewhere in the text above, but you could always ask Rich yourself if you bump into him over the Christmas holidays.

All e-mails containing the correct answer received by Tuesday 3rd January 2023 will be in with a chance of winning and our lucky winner will be selected at random and informed of their good fortune as soon as possible. Once informed, if we have had no response after 14 days, a new winner will be selected at random. Normal Airfix competition rules apply and there are no alternative prizes available.

Good luck to all who enter and thank you for taking part.

That's yet another edition of Workbench in the can, however, we will be back as usual next week with our final blog of the year - how time flies when you are having Airfix fun! 

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