New Gustav ‘Superkit’ makes debut at Scale ModelWorld 2025

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

Well, what a spectacular weekend that turned out to be. With the latest instalment of the Scale ModelWorld phenomenon now done and dusted, we can confidently confirm that this modelling hobby we all enjoy so much, and the army of enthusiasts who consider themselves amongst its ranks, are both in a very good place right now, with the future of the hobby looking as bright as it’s ever been. As we reflect on a busy, but extremely enjoyable weekend, and allow our voices a little recovery time, we will be spending this latest edition of Workbench covering some of the activities team members were involved with over the weekend, in an attempt to share some of the atmosphere of what was a thoroughly enjoyable event once again.

With a selection of exclusive images taken by members of the Airfix team over the weekend to illustrate the points under discussion, you can look forward to seeing the Airfix stand in all its glory, a quintuple of built Messerschmitt Bf 109 Gustav debutantes, competition winners entries and a fantastically imaginative Display of the Day/Show winner, along with the impressive people behind them all.

As we try to keep the Scale ModelWorld ‘highs’ going for just a few days more, please join us as we review our show experiences at SMW 2025 in this latest edition of Workbench. 
 

Ladies and Gentlemen, may we introduce ‘Gustav’

Visitors to the Airfix stand at Scale ModelWorld this year were present for the debut of the new 1/24th scale Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-5/G-6 tooling, the latest addition to our ‘Superkit’ range.

For those of us who have scale modelling in our blood, the annual event we know as Scale ModelWorld is an unashamed celebration of all the good things about our hobby, an event which encompasses everything the modelling world has to offer, and an opportunity for us all to come together for one very special weekend. From an Airfix perspective, the show is an opportunity for our team to display all our latest model kits, and to allow members of the modelling community to discuss issues of the day with the people who organise, administer, design and market models which are part of our continuing modelling heritage, something we always embrace as a privilege for us.

Of course, the highlight of our attendance will always be the opportunity to unveil a new tooling project addition to the Airfix range, and to allow attendees at Scale ModelWorld to be the first people in the world to inspect them in person, something which usually sees our display stand busy with people for the duration of the event. This year was a continuation of this tradition, but saw us announcing something BIG this time around, the latest new tooling addition to our iconic ‘Superkit’ range of 1/24th scale models, our stunning new 1/48th scale Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-5/G-6 kit.

Although every modeller will have their own suggestions when it comes to the kit which had the biggest impact on their hobby journey, from a wider hobby perspective, few kits could claim to have had the impact Airfix 1/24th scale ‘Super Kits’ models did following their release almost 55 years ago now. For those of us with a few years invested in this hobby, we will probably still be able to remember our excitement when seeing the Airfix Supermarine Spitfire Mk.1a in this impressive scale for the very first time, a model which was unleashed on the modelling world in 1970, and one which immediately went to the very top of everyone’s ‘wants list’ that Christmas. 

The continuation of a 1/24th scale Messerschmitt Bf 109 hobby tradition which stems back to 1973.

With impressive levels of detail as standard, and featuring such innovation as retractable undercarriages, moving control surfaces, sliding canopy and eventually, the ability to motorise propellers, this kit was viewed by millions of people as the most impressive scale representation of Britain’s most famous fighting aeroplane to date, and only served to leave modellers wanting more of the same, with different aircraft subjects covered.

Although the impressive new Spitfire Super Kit was clearly a hobby development which the Airfix design engineers at the time were rightly proud of, particularly as it seemed to possess something of an irresistible allure for modellers of all abilities, in those early days, it was viewed very much as being the domain of older, or slightly more experienced modellers. Occupying a prominent position in any catalogue in which it appeared, this stunning kit may have appealed just as much to the younger, novice modeller, however, from a pricing and construction complexity perspective, you were unlikely to be allowed one of these beauties unless your dad was going to build it for you, and what would be the fun in that? 

Perhaps this is the reason why these kits continue to have such a special place in our hearts, because when we eventually did manage to get our hands on one of them, we probably had a good few years of modelling under our belts by then, with the kit psychologically confirming our ever increasing capability as a modeller.

The 1/24th scale Spitfire Mk.I proved to be an incredibly popular addition to the range and immediately encouraged the company to go to the significant expense of adding to this new range, with both the Hawker Hurricane Mk.I and Messerschmitt Bf109 ‘Emil’ appearing just three years later, to the absolute delight of modellers everywhere. It was also no coincidence that the first three releases were ‘Super Scale’ representations of the main single engined fighter protagonists which contested the Battle of Britain during the summer of 1940, aircraft which for Britain’s modellers at least, were probably the three most famous aircraft types they knew.

That brings us right up to date and our latest new tooling announcement made at this year’s Scale ModelWorld show. Workbench regulars would have noticed that we had a few problems publishing last week’s blog, but for very specific and quite understandable reasons. With the announcement of our new 1/24th scale Messerschmitt Bf 109G scheduled for 10am on Friday morning, we were unable to publish the blog on Thursday evening as usual, because we would have given the Gustav game away if we did. Indeed, in order to avoid inadvertent spoilers being published, we couldn’t even start to populate the blog post until after the announcement had been made on Friday.

Under the modelling spotlight, the new Bf 109 Gustav proved to be a popular addition to the Airfix range.

If only we had a pound for every time someone asked if our over-scale Daimler Benz DB605A engine was going to be available as a standalone kit! It wasn’t a bad idea though.

A gathering of Gustavs. The backbone of the Luftwaffe during the Second World War was the talk of the town at Telford this year.

The problem with that was that everyone and their dogs were on the Airfix website from 10am last Friday morning, and try as we might, we just couldn’t get the blog to load before being locked out of the website – it was so frustrating. Thankfully, at the third time of asking and a good hour later than planned, the blog finally did go live and we were able to provide all the subject and scheme choice details behind the launch of our new Superkit release, which has to be regarded as a WWII Luftwaffe classic. Since then, ordering activity for the new model has been spectacular and whilst we’re hoping to have stock of the kit leaving our warehouse by the end of the month, we’ve already had to place a further order to cope with the overwhelming demand.

With a huge selection of beautifully finished kits from the current Airfix range across our display tables at Scale ModelWorld, as you might well imagine, the most popular section of our display proved to be ‘Gustav Alley’, as our new 1/24th scale tooling was unveiled to the modelling world in all its scheme options glory. With models finished in all FIVE of the scheme options included with this impressive new kit on display, in addition to a full test build in unpainted plastic and a separate engine build to admire, there will be thousands of pictures of these models doing the social media rounds at the moment, so we should probably make our own contribution to that.

Airfix Development Manager Matthew Whiting had the inspirational idea of scaling up the CAD files for the Daimler Benz DB605A engine from the kit, and using these to produce 3D printed parts which were three times larger as an interesting additional table display, something which proved incredibly popular over the weekend. If we’d had a pound for every time someone asked if this was going to be available in kit form at some point, we’d have been able to make a sizeable donation to the Royal British Legion, and whilst this isn’t currently in our plans, modeller requests and suggestions are always taken seriously over SMW weekend, so never say never.

The ’upscaled’ engine really did highlight just how much detail is contained within the new 1/24th scale Gustav kit’s design, and how the technology behind its creation has brought our ‘Superkit’ range right up to date, and in some style. Our teaser posts when unveiling the new kit did make playful reference to those amongst us who like to suggest we’re only ever interested in Spitfires when designing new model toolings, with the close up of the underwing RAF roundel which features on the third, captured scheme option being prominent. We hope you’ll forgive us that little tongue in cheek rouse, as it was all just a bit of fun.

Even our large scale Spitfire had to pay second fiddle to the Messerschmitt this year, although it was keeping an eye on proceedings, just in case Gustav got a little lively. 

Such a beautiful scheme. The unusual presentation of this Gustav will surely make this a popular finish option when building this impressive new kit.

This does, however, bring us nicely on to the subject of the FIVE scheme options to be included with the first release from this tooling, and which ones proved to be the most popular over unveiling weekend. Our extremely talented researcher Clint did a great job in unearthing an interesting variety of schemes for this ambitious new tooling project, including the first three schemes which all feature the same aircraft, but at different periods during a turbulent ten month period for this aircraft, a period where it represented the Luftwaffe, the USAAF and the Royal Air Force.

All five schemes would make for an appealing build project for any WWII aircraft fan, and Clint certainly hasn’t made our lives any easier by selecting such interesting options. As a Messerschmitt nutter myself, I think I will be going with schemes 1, 3 and 5, but probably attempted in reverse order. The RAFwaffe scheme is just such an interesting story that this is a must for me, but there would be little point me doing this without first having the aircraft in its original Luftwaffe presentation for the finished model to sit alongside. That being said, with the final scheme option being so unusual, presenting a Bf 109G in a non-standard scheme which would support both day and night fighter operations, in addition to specialist high altitude sorties, this will definitely be the first scheme to be getting my build attention, and I can hardly wait to get started.

By way of a little Gustav scheme reprise after all the announcement excitement of the past week, let’s take another look at the details behind this extremely appealing scheme option, the one which will be getting my attention following release of this impressive new kit.

Scheme Option E – Messerschmitt Bf 109G-5 W.Nr. 27119, ‘Yellow 11 + I – operated by 9./Jagdgeschwader 54, Feldwebel Emil Hecker, Ludwigslust, Germany, February 1944.

The airfield at Ludwigslust Mecklenburg was initially established to undertake the sizeable task of helping to train the large numbers of pilots the Luftwaffe were going to require over the coming years of conflict. With its positioning near Hagenow, not far from the northern German coast, it would also become an important airfield for the training and deployment of nightfighter pilots, and for the testing of night interception equipment, technology the Germans were initially lagging well behind the Allies in.

As was the case with many wartime airfields, a great many units and different operational roles had to be performed at Ludwigslust, but as the war progressed, this also included Defence of the Reich responsibilities. With its position on the run in towards Berlin, aircraft based at the airfield would be required to challenge Allied bombers by day and by night, as the war moved inexorably towards its increasingly inevitable end.  This particular Messerschmitt is arguably the most attractively presented of the five included with this spectacular first release from this newly tooled model kit, with its unusual camouflage markings suggesting it would have been equally well equipped to mount both day and night sorties.

Underlining the increasing pressure Luftwaffe pilots found themselves under by the early months of 1944, this particular aircraft is known to have been flown by several different pilots on the unit, including 3 victory pilot Emil Hecker, Gerhard Kroll and Fritz Unger, all men who didn’t have the luxury of learning their trade whilst their fellow, more senior pilots were in the ascendancy – they were forever hunted by Allied fighter squadrons. Other than Hecker, it isn’t known if any of the other two pilots managed to score any victories during their service careers.

Such an unusual scheme, this option with prove difficult to resist for many.

Full scheme details for an aircraft wearing non-standard camouflage, and one which could have been used as a day and night fighter, in addition to being used for specialist high altitude interceptions. 

This aircraft was constructed at the Erla works in Leipzig during October 1943 and was the subject of some detailed photographs during its time with JG54 at Ludwigslust, sometime between December 1943 and late February 1944. Flown by several different squadron pilot, it was reported as being shot down on 8th April 1944 with Unteroffizier Gerhard Kroll at the controls and whilst he did manage to survive the incident, he did require treatment for the wounds he sustained.     

So, there you have it, one spectacular new model kit and five thoroughly appealing scheme options to consider finishing your model in. Our researcher has moved heaven and earth to provide something different for Messerschmitt and Luftwaffe fans to get their teeth into with these options, and even though the three linked abandoned, captured and Allied operated schemes will be irresistible to many, the fourth and fifth options are both 100 percent Messerschmitt, and could therefore easily turn our heads at any stage.

We’re delighted that so many people appear to be pleased with this latest new tooling addition to the Airfix range, and how it represents the continuation of a ‘Superkit’ legacy which marks its 55th anniversary this year – welcome Gustav!

Airfix Competition winners for 2025 – The Airfix Trophy

This beautiful Westland Wessex modelled by John Wilkes was the winner of the Airfix Trophy at this year’s Scale ModelWorld show, inspired by an Air Cadet camp he went on to Cyprus as a young lad.

Of all the many delights the Airfix team look forward to when attending any Scale ModelWorld show, our involvement in the model competitions is something we all hold dear, and as they are always keenly contested, we take our adjudicating responsibilities very seriously indeed. As SMW attendees will be only too aware, when it comes to the model competition at the Nationals, some of the world’s most accomplished modellers contest the various categories under the judges microscopes, and whilst any rivalry is friendly and always good natured, make no mistake, these competitions are fiercely contested.

Our involvement gives us the opportunity to inspect the modelling talent on display each year, and I’m sure that I’m not the only one in attendance who considers this to be art in modelmaking form, and the finest example of art you’re likely to see anywhere in the world at that. Some of the talent on display is simply breathtaking and we have no idea how the judges manage to pick their way through all this excellence to eventually arrive at their winners.

That being said, our own judging task at Scale ModelWorld is challenging enough, and we always send two or three people to ensure this is a shared responsibility, if an extremely enjoyable task. We have two categories to find winners for, the Airfix Trophy and the Darrell Burge Trophy, with the only criteria being that the models under consideration must all be Airfix kits. Historically, we have only ever awarded a single winner’s prize for each category, but as we’re seeing ever more entries in both categories each year, this may be something we have to look at for future competitions.

Development Manager Matt Whiting presenting John with his trophy and prize haul.

As always, the standard of modelling on show was truly exceptional and we had a tough job simply narrowing the entries down to a shortlist for further consideration. Each member of the team had highlighted models they thought should be on our shortlist and a case really could be made for each one taking this year’s title, but that wasn’t the brief and difficult decisions had to be made. Taking the Airfix Trophy first, the team would like to thank everyone who entered this year, and to commend them on the standard of modelling on display, which was extremely impressive.

There were at least six or seven models which could have taken the title on any given year, but were so closely matched that it was difficult to separate them from a quality perspective, but in the end, our decision was unanimous, as we felt the 1/72nd scale Westland Wessex expertly modelled by John Wilkes should take the title this year. In fact, this wasn’t the only award John’s beautiful model scooped at this year’s show, even though ours was the only one which saw him staggering around the awards hall weighed down by an impressive haul of Airfix kits.

John has been a modeller for many a year and told us that he was so impressed with the Wessex kit when he received it on pre-order from Airfix, that he started work on it straight away, and had it almost completed just four days later. Only straying from the kit build by using an old set of Modeldecal decals he had in his collection, the scheme choice was made to remind him of when he was a young Air Cadet in the 1980s and was sent on detachment to Cyprus. He remembers being really taken with the yellow Wessex helicopters based there during his visit, and with one of the aircraft covered by the decal set featuring an aircraft from that period, there really was only one finish option for him.

From a judging perspective, we were really impressed with the incredible standard of the paint finish, which was so subtle that every panel detail had been retained, and really must have required a high level of skill to achieve. We were drawn to this model right from the start, but after making the decision, it began to seem as if this was fated somehow. The kit’s designer Ethan was part of the Airfix team over the weekend, and in addition to having one of his recent projects take the accolade for this year, Ethan and John had the chance to meet and discuss the kit, which was a really nice thing for them both.

With his huge Airfix kit haul now back at home, something tells us that John might be up for consideration at next year’s show competition as well.

Airfix Competition winners for 2025 – The Darrell Burge Trophy

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the cancellation of TSR-2.

For those people who were fortunate enough to know him, they will know how important the Darrell Burge Trophy is to the Airfix team. Darrell was a wonderful man, a man who had the Airfix brand running through his veins and a man who had time for everyone, with Scale ModelWorld truly being his domain – he loved everything about it. He loved nothing more than standing on the gantry above the Airfix stand with his speaker and microphone, working his way through a pre-new tooling launch pre-amble, stretching it out for as long as he possibly could, but definitely not making the announcement until at least until a couple of ‘Get on with it’ shouts had been heard coming from the crowd below.

Tragically, we lost Darrell in 2021, but knew he would still be with the team at every Scale ModelWorld we ever attended. We wanted to ensure that he still continued to be part of the Airfix story, so came up with the Darrell Burge Trophy, a competition which was all about everything Darrell stood for – Airfix and its heritage. Darrell was instrumental in establishing the Vintage Classics range of Airfix kits, and whilst those around him were sceptical to say the least, he was steadfast in his conviction – of course, he was proved right.

The criteria for the Darrel Burge Trophy is essentially any classic Airfix kit, one introduced prior to 2007, or in other words, a kit that Darrell would certainly have approved of. Knowing Darrell as we all do, we very much approach this competition as if he were stood with us looking at the models, and knowing what would have appealed to him.

We think Darrell would have approved of this year’s winner, as it was something just that little bit different, and this was a kit he helped to bring to market during his time at Airfix.

Piers took his trophy (and associated Airfix items) to meet the real TSR-2 at Cosford on the Monday after the show.

The model with its winners certificate – well done Piers.

This year, the standard was incredibly high once again, and there were several entries which made our job an extremely difficult one, but looking through Darrell’s glasses, there was one which really stood out for us. ‘BAC TSR2 XR219 – The End’ is a really imaginative interpretation of one of the most incredible aircraft to have ever been produced by Britain’s aviation industry, an aircraft which was so futuristic looking that it wouldn’t look out of place if it was still flying today.

Unfortunately, this year marks the 60th anniversary of the cancellation of the TSR2 project, making this model representation all the more poignant. It’s also significant for us as a team, as this particular kit was one that Darrell was involved with in bringing to the Airfix range. For those reasons, we were delighted to award this model the Darrell Burge Trophy for 2025, and Darrell would have enjoyed the fact that the winner, Piers Taylor, wasn’t at the award ceremony to claim his prizes – the lack of a recipient following the result announcement is definitely something that would have tickled Darrell.

Thankfully, Piers did come and speak with our Head of Brand Dale Luckhurst before the end of the show, where they shared a few stories about Darrell. It transpired that Piers knew Darrell quite well, so was therefore moved and delighted to have been our winner this year. He sent us a couple of photographs he took at Cosford the following day, when he went to visit the real thing, complete with his trophy and various Airfix goodies.

Well done to both our winners – your successes were thoroughly deserved.

Scale ModelWorld 2025 – Display of the Day

Worthy winners. Airfix Head of Brand presents the Models for Heroes team with their Display of the Day award at Scale ModelWorld.

A show award which may well be under the radar somewhat in terms of ‘official organisational recognition’, but is one which is really important to the Airfix team, our Display of the Day trophy was conceived to allow us to pay our own tribute to the club, SIG or group display we felt to be the most engaging of the day, be that at a regional show like Bolton, or at the Nationals in Telford, the most important show of the year.

Although our clear priority at any Scale ModelWorld show is to present our latest models and spend time talking to stand visitors, we usually have time to enjoy the wider displays at the event, with some team members having a more direct brief to gather content for future blog and Club Magazine use. Over the years, we’ve seen just how much effort so many people go to when presenting their displays at Telford, usually starting the planning for next year’s attendance before this year’s show has ended, and we felt that effort needed to be recognised.

Our Display of the Day trophy is voted for by members of the Airfix team in attendance at the show in question, and as far as Scale ModelWorld goes, this is the big one – this is our biggest award of the year.

Of course, as we are at the Nationals, the displays are of the very highest standards and the modelling on show is exemplary, so we always have our work cut out in that respect. Accepting the fact that every display will have beautiful models as far as the eye can see, it can often be down to the themes, or innovative ideas as to which displays attract the most attention, and as ever, we will all have our own particular favourites, meaning we all have to be on the ball when pitching our suggested winner.

For this reason, it’s always better when several members of the team suggest the same display be considered, which proved to be the case this year, a display which was positioned right at the back of Hall 3, but one which was impressively busy for the entire weekend. Everyone within the modelling hobby will be aware of the fantastic work carried out by the Models for Heroes charity, an impressive group of people who have such an important support message to share.

Such a clever idea, no wonder the Models for Heroes stand was mobbed for the duration of the show.

How many would you have correctly identified?

The mindfulness and stress relieving benefits of modelling have long been understood, so having an organisation dedicated to making current and former members of the armed and emergency services aware of this, and how to take their first tentative steps in the hobby can be incredibly important. Everything about Models for Heroes is geared around support, providing a network of like minded people who all find some enjoyment, relief or distraction in modelling, or simply value the time spent with people who have shared experiences, people who may well be going through the same challenges they are, or have been.

The one thing you will always feel when visiting the Models for Heroes display at any show is welcome. Everyone is smiling and everyone has time for everyone else – it really is so refreshing. For this year’s display, they came up with something which was particularly imaginative and once we saw it, there really could only be one winner – a built model recognition competition.

Their main display tables were covered with a huge selection of model subjects, mainly aircraft and military vehicles, but all assembled and painted in black, similar to the old Air Ministry supplied Episcope silhouette cards used for recognition during the post WWII era. This was a fantastic idea and saw people queueing up to test their recognition skills and take part in this fun competition, but at the same time, finding out a little more about the vital work undertaken by this impressive group of people. 

Trying to keep our award secret from the team until the very last moment, whilst attempting to get everyone together to make the award (which was like herding cats, because they were always talking to people), we were invited to have a go ourselves, but had to graciously decline, as we had another award commitment to go to in the next few of minutes. It didn’t matter though, because there were plenty of other people waiting to have a go, highlighting just how popular an attraction this proved to be over show weekend.

A group of people who do great work in the name of modelling. Congratulations on a really excellent display.

We did finally manage to get the team together, and we were delighted to make them our latest Scale ModelWorld Display of the Day winners, an award which was very well deserved. To find out more about the incredible work done by the Models for Heroes team, please use this link to be taken straight to their website. Any help and support you can offer them would be greatly received.

So that’s it, another Scale ModelWorld in the event history books and confirmation that our beloved hobby is thankfully in a really good place at the moment. Congratulations to all our competition winners for 2025, because you all helped to make this a very special one for the Airfix team. We would also like to extend our thanks to everyone who built a model, manned a display stand and entered a competition at this year’s show, because you all made it the spectacular success SMW 2025 was, and a real treat for all us mere mortals, who you kindly allowed to enjoy your efforts.

We would also like to extend a particularly heartfelt thanks to the IPMS(UK) team behind the show, who once again were responsible for creating something very special indeed. It must take an incredible amount of work, stress and planning to allow an event of this magnitude to work as well as it does, so on behalf of everyone in attendance, thank you one and all. I’m sure the Airfix team won’t be alone in considering 2025 to be a vintage year for Scale ModelWorld.

Now, having said that, this is no time for resting on your laurels, there’s a show to plan for 2026! We’re all looking forward to a repeat of the modelling action next November.

We're afraid that's all we have for you in this latest edition of the Airfix blog, but we will be back next Friday with more project development updates and the very latest Airfix kit exclusives. In the meantime, we're always keen to hear your views on all things Airfix and in particular, any thoughts and opinions you may have regarding our Workbench blog. If you would like to drop us a quick line, could we please ask that you use our workbench@airfix.com email for all correspondence. 

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