New kit for Airfix Club Members in 2023
Welcome to this latest edition of our Workbench blog and all the news, updates and modelling exclusives from the fascinating world of Airfix.
Before we make a start on bringing readers another year of weekly Airfix product development updates, as this is our first blog in 2023, could we please start by wishing everyone a very happy, safe and prosperous New Year, in the hope that we find you all well rested and with plenty of recent kit additions to your respective model stashes. With so much already happening in the world, it seems as if 2023 is going to be just as challenging as last year, however, by way of a little modelling respite from all of this, your Workbench team are looking forward to bringing you our usual weekly schedule of updates and exclusives over the coming twelve months, as we chart the progress of all the latest Airfix model releases.
By now, most Workbench readers will no doubt be aware that the traditional New Year launch of the latest Airfix range will be taking place at 16:00 on Tuesday 10th January, an occasion which has modellers from all over the world heading for the Airfix website to see our latest model collection. With our usual selection of all new model toolings, additional parts for recent tooling additions, new schemes and re-introductions, this is an exciting time of year for all modelling enthusiasts, and we know that many of you will be looking forward to seeing what the coming year has in store for Airfix fans. One thing you can rely on is the fact that Workbench will be bringing you all the latest project development details throughout 2023, including more exclusives than you have kits in your stash!
For this first edition of the year, we start with a rather impressive bang and details of the new kit which will be available to new and renewing members of the Airfix Club. With a host of exclusive image reveals, we will be looking at all the details behind this new kit, the two scheme options it offers and why this makes an appealing option for Club members. We also have several built model images to help underline the appeal of this fantastic new kit. It's new Airfix kits all the way, as we head into a new year of Airfix Workbench blogs, always your first port of call for all the latest Airfix updates.
Inquisitive Meteors always up for a fight
Our first blog exclusive for 2023 and a first look at built sample models finished in both of the scheme options available with the Airfix Club kit for this year, the Gloster Meteor FR.9.
When re-launching the Airfix Club back in 2020, everyone here at Airfix was determined to deliver something really special for members. Not only would membership give people closer access to this famous modelling brand, it must also deliver many features and offers which members would regard as tangible benefits, something which would deliver real value for their ongoing support. To date, members have had existing benefits bolstered by the addition of exclusive discounts both on the Airfix website and through our support partners, access to competitions and the opportunity to register for Members Only events and experiences, features which continue to evolve on an annual basis.
At the top of this list of benefits, membership of the Airfix Club also includes access to the Exclusive Airfix Club Limited Edition kit, a model which is only available to Club members and one where the subject choice may be on the slightly more unusual side. This can often mean that the kit offering may not have made it into a main Airfix range under normal circumstances, despite its appeal to the modelling community, something which undoubtedly makes it all the more attractive to Club members. Last year's kit proved to be incredibly popular and featured Hawker Siddeley/British Aerospace Hawk T.1 XX154 at either end of its impressive service career, with its first scheme featuring the distinctive red, white and grey of RAF Training Command, and the other marking her final days of service with the Empire Test Pilots’ School at Boscombe Down. This historic jet would spend her entire service life as a test and development aircraft, helping to secure the legacy of this magnificent post war jet trainer and as befits an aircraft of this stature, is now lovingly maintained as part of the Boscombe Down Aviation Collection.
The legions of active Club members will no doubt be keen to find out which kit exclusive will be replacing the Hawk when they renew their membership this year and we are delighted to confirm that it will be a scale representation of another classic British jet type, one from an earlier era, but one which was only made in relatively small numbers, the Gloster Meteor FR.9. The Meteor occupies such an important position within the history of British aviation that it is always a popular subject with modellers, particularly those with an interest in the birth of jet powered aviation and within the history of the Meteor, the F.8 was considered by many to be the definitive variant - the FR.9 modelled here was an offshoot development of the F.8, obviously in scale form.
Development of Britain's first jet powered fighter was administered under the highest possible levels of security, something which became all the more difficult to achieve once the Gloster Aircraft Company were ready to proceed to the test flying stage. On test flying days, all non-essential personnel would be dismissed from the airfield and members of the local police would be required to cordon off surrounding roads, in an attempt to stop prying eyes from discovering the details of this closely guarded aviation secret. If anyone did catch a glimpse of this strange new aircraft in the air, they would have no doubt wondered why it didn't appear to have any propellers and equally bemused by the strange sound it made. By the summer of 1944, the secret was out and as No.616 Squadron prepared to take the Gloster Meteor F.1 to war from its base at RAF Manston in Kent, the Royal Air Force were now proud to boast the existence of their first jet fighter and the dawning of a new era for British aviation.
Another look at these fighting photo reconnaissance variants of the famous Gloster Meteor, a variant which was only produced in relatively small numbers.
Britain’s first jet fighter was still quite a primitive design and indeed the reason why it proceeded as a twin engined aircraft was down to the fact that those early jet were not overly powerful and rather slow to respond to the pilot’s power input requests. The view from the cockpit was however superb, with no propeller to obscure the pilot's view and plenty of power available once the aircraft was up to speed. Undergoing almost constant development, the early marks of Meteor were all based around the first aircraft to enter service, however, the service arrival of the F.8 variant in 1950 saw the Meteor maturing into a truly exceptional early jet, one which would not only see service with the RAF, but also with several other air arms across the world. Slightly longer than its predecessors, the F.8 featured uprated engines, greater fuel capacity and the inclusion of an ejector seat. To counter some instability issues discovered during development, the new aircraft also featured a redesigned tail unit, something which really serves to identify this later mark of Meteor.
For five years following the squadron introduction of the Meteor F.8, the aircraft formed the backbone of the RAF’s fighter defence force, a jet powered equivalent to the Spitfire’s which patrolled Britain’s skies during the Battle of Britain just ten years earlier.
Despite the fact that the Gloster Meteor was a first generation British jet design, it would prove to be an incredibly stable and reliable aircraft in service, which is particularly impressive considering this was all very new technology at the time. Going on to enjoy a relatively long service career, it transpired that Meteor's design possessed plenty of development scope for designers, something which would result in just under 4000 aircraft eventually being produced between 1943 and 1955, with several variants seeing service with the Royal Air Force and several overseas air arms.
The art of aerial reconnaissance has been an essential military requirement since the early days of powered flight, with its success being reliant upon a number of significant factors – a stable photographic platform, speed, stealth and serviceability were all essential. Possessing all these attributes in abundance, the Meteor proved to be an ideal candidate to improve the reconnaissance capabilities of the Royal Air Force and the Gloster design team had several attempts at producing a suitable variant, before succeeding with the FR.9, a development of the successful F.8 variant. Equipping the aircraft with a modified nose section which housed three remotely controlled Williamson F.24 cameras, each one could capture images through one of three window positions in the nose, a feature which allowed the aircraft's pilot to obtain the best possible images of his intended target.
The latest Airfix Club kit box artwork which will be in the possession of renewing and new members from this point forwards.
Significantly, these aircraft retained the cannon armament of the F.8 variant, so were able to switch from a reconnaissance to an offensive role at any time and was also capable of defending itself from enemy attack should the need arise. Operated extensively from RAF bases overseas, the FR.9 was also equipped with additional fuel capacity in the form of external underwing and ventral fuel tanks, greatly increasing the range and loiter times over which these aircraft could operate. At the time, the Meteor FR.9 was one of the most effective aircraft of its kind currently in service and as such, it is rather surprising to learn that only 126 of these aircraft would eventually be constructed.
As a kit offering, the new Gloster Meteor FR.9 presents something truly unique for Airfix Club members, not only a fantastic new kit featuring two appealing scheme options only available to them, but also an additional frame of parts to allow this relatively rare variant of the Meteor to be modelled. Based on our new Gloster Meteor tooling which was only introduced to the range last year, the Club kit has parts to allow one of two FR.9 Meteor options to be built, with the modified PR nose and additional rocket projectiles, should you decide to model the Ecuadorian Air Force example.
Let's take a closer look at the two decal options which will be tempting Airfix Club members over the coming months.
As the RAF's first jet powered fighter, the design team at Gloster Aircraft Company had been attempting to produce a reconnaissance variant of the aircraft for some time, however, it wasn't until the introduction of the FR.9 during the summer of 1950 that they had a truly successful aircraft. Based on the F.8 fighter variant, the FR.9 was designed to perform a low altitude tactical armed reconnaissance role, relieving the ageing Spitfires and Mosquitos which had previously been providing this support. The altered nose of the aircraft extended the length of the FR.9 by 22cm over the F.8 and gave it quite a distinctively different frontal profile.
The Meteor FR.9 made its first flight on 22nd March 1950 and began arriving at RAF Squadrons in July of the same year, with No.208 Squadron based in Egypt being the first to receive the aircraft. Due to the prying nature of these fighting reconnaissance jets, they would see most of their operational service away from the UK mainland, most noticeably in Germany, the Middle East and the Far East, where they kept a watchful eye over some of the world's potential military hotspots.
In Aden, RAF No.8 Squadron would use the Meteor FR.9 in their important role from November 1958 until 1961, but during that time, would often be required to deploy to airfields across the Middle Eastern region, as and when their specialist services were required. No.8 Squadron reformed at RAF Khormaksar, Aden in September 1946, following the re-numbering of No.114 Squadron and were initially tasked with flying fighter bomber sorites using the de Havilland Mosquito FB.6. This was a time of great change within the RAF and over the next few years, the unit would exchange their aircraft regularly, eventually entering the jet age with the de Havilland Vampire in 1953.
Full scheme details of this handsome RAF No.8 Squadron Meteor FR.9, an aircraft which plied its trade from bases in the Middle East, an aircraft which was later classified as being beyond economical repair, following an accident at RAF Khormaksar.
At one stage during the 1960s, Khormaksar was home to no fewer than nine squadrons, making this the busiest station in the Royal Air Force, in addition to being an important staging post for units heading out to, or returning from Singapore. Many of its based units would be required to send detachments of aircraft to other airfields within the region, particularly the armed reconnaissance Meteors of No.8 Squadron. The military airfield at Sharjah opened in 1940 and was expanded continually from that date, both in size and facilities, coming under the administrative control of RAF Bahrain from 1950 onwards. It was replaced by Sharjah International Airport in 1976, the first major airport in the United Arab Emirates.
Gloster Meteor FR.9 VZ603 was delivered to the Royal Air Force in early March 1951 and would go on to serve with No.79, 208 and No.8 Squadrons, one of only 126 examples of this armed reconnaissance variant of the Meteor produced. She would be struck off charge following an accident at Khormaksar in May 1960, with the airframe classified as being beyond economical repair, even though she was stripped of all useable parts to keep other aircraft in the squadron flying. A sad end for this hard working 'specialist' Meteor.
With its proven operational history and availability at reasonable prices, the specialist attributes of the Meteor FR.9 proved appealing to several overseas air arms who were looking to upgrade their aviation capabilities. The Ecuadorian Government approached Britain with a request to buy sixteen Canberras and twelve Meteor FR.9s, as they intended to become only the third South American nation to enter the jet age. They were supplied with twelve former RAF Meteor FR.9s in 1954, with this particular aircraft, the former RAF serial numbered WB136, being amongst those allocated.
Given the new serial FF-114, the aircraft was initially used by Escudrón Tactico 13, but would later serve with Escudrón de Combate No.2111 at Taura Air Force Base in a slightly more offensive role than it had been during its service with the Royal Air Force. It appears that many of the Ecuadorian Meteors were rarely called upon to perform reconnaissance duties and indeed some or all of the camera window ports may have even been painted, or faired over during operational use. A long running border dispute with neighbours Peru would see the aircraft equipped with a much more potent ground attack capability, in the form of eight unguided rocket projectiles mounted in two banks of four under the outer sections of each wing.
Although Ecuador would turn out to be one of the smaller Meteor operating nations, it would go on to operate the type far longer than most countries. Taking their twelve FR.9s in 1954, they would operate the Meteor until they were replaced by the SEPECAT Jaguar in the late 1970s, a service career which spanned more than twenty successful years. During that time, four of the No.2111 Squadron Meteors were also used to form an aerobatic display team known as the 'Aguilas' or Eagles, who went on to perform at many public and ceremonial events, the pride of the Ecuadorian Air Force.
A really unusual scheme option, the Ecuadorian Air Force only operated twelve former RAF Meteor FR.9s, but they would use them for over twenty years operationally.
The Meteor presented here was first allocated to the Royal Air Force as WB136 in July 1951, but was later one of the twelve aircraft which made up the order for the Fuerza Aérea Ecuatoriana in August 1954. In Ecuadorian Air Force service, the aircraft were allocated the serials FF-111 to FF-122, with this aircraft obviously being FF-114. It is thought that this aircraft still exists and is preserved to this day in an unknown condition at Cotopaxi Airport in Ecuador.
The new Airfix Club kit takes a recently released new model tooling and provides members with a fascinatingly unique modelling project option, a variant of the Gloster Meteor which was only produced in relatively small numbers and in the case of the Ecuadorian Air Force option, one of only twelve such aircraft. This new kit also marks the continuing development of the Airfix Club as its own entity and how membership allows members access to a continually evolving list of appealing benefits.
The new 1/72nd scale Gloster Meteor FR.9 kit is now available to all new and renewing members of the Airfix Club and as this feature is being written, so the respective Club page on the Airfix website is being updated to include all the latest details.
A Club offering which will appeal to many a modelling enthusiast, the new Airfix Club Limited Edition model features our new 1/72nd scale Gloster Meteor tooling, with additional parts to allow the relatively obscure FR.9 variant to be modelled in one of two interesting schemes.
Models finished in both of the scheme options included with the new Airfix Club kit offering.
A kit offering which is only available to members of the Airfix Club.
From a blog perspective, we are delighted that we have been able to start the new year with yet another Workbench exclusive and news of a new Airfix model kit for the year. Don't forget that we will have much more from where this came from this coming Tuesday (10th January) at 16:00, as details of the new 2023 Airfix range are unveiled on the Airfix website. With thousands of people accessing the website at the same time, please do bear with us if things start to run a little slow on Tuesday, but please do join us for our second blog of 2023, when we will be taking a closer look at some of the range highlights announced earlier in the week. Until then, we hope you have enjoyed spending a little quality time with the new Airfix Club Gloster Meteor FR.9 kit and this rather unusual addition to our model collections.
That's it for this first edition of Workbench for 2023, but we will have another edition available next Friday and every Friday throughout 2023, as we chart the progress of all the new projects which constitute the soon to be announced Airfix 2023 range. As ever, we are always keen to hear your views on all things Airfix and in particular, our Workbench blog and therefore, if you would like to drop us a quick line, please do so using our workbench@airfix.com email for all correspondence. To re-visit any of the Airfix blogs produced over the past seven years, please head to our main Workbench hub and scroll through the available pages.
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