The LNER Encyclopedia

I got started in Kit Building on Airfix and Revel. I find this experience helped when starting my first loco kit. The good thing about Aircraft kits is you can pick them up from about £5 so it is not as expencive if you make mistakes.

When I say not very expensive, for me its getting there. I now have a Vulcan, Victor, Shackleton MK3, Whitley, Wellington and 2 1:48 scale Buceneers. Iam not mad on bucaneers there was 2 in the box (The Airfix one if anyone fancys having a go) I ve got 1 in RAF and 1 navel verient. That meens 2 more british ones to do, Desert Storm and Early navel White and Blue.

Does anyone know if a kit manufacture produces the following as I would like to add them to my collection:
A shackleton MK2 (AEW)
A sea vixen (1:48)
A nimrod
Anternof AN70 (I need a seperate room for that one I think lol)

I also do truck kits as well. Is there a Scania 580 V8 topline on the market with a 6x2 or 6x4 wheels base.

Any help well recived

Tom Quayle wrote:navel White and Blue

If your navel is white and blue you should probably seek medical attention

I get all misty-eyed when I think about Airfix kits. I remember my first one as clearly as if it were yesterday (although it was probably about 40 years ago): it was a Boulton-Paul Defiant, and it came in a plastic bag with the instruction sheet stapled to the top. It cost 2s/3d (that's about 22p) from Woolworths. My Dad helped me build it, but he made me bite the end off the little metal foil tube which the glue came in (it was probably lead. Thanks, Dad).

Like most kids from that generation I went on to build Airfix "Dog Fight Doubles" (Mosquito and Me 262, Spitfire and Me 110, etc), those 1/12th scale famous people (Henry VIII, Richard the Lionheart, etc.), WW2 warships and medieval galleons, and AFVs (I remember the boredom of fitting all those little wheels to the Churchill, and trying to bond the ends of the flexible "tracks" together over a burning match). My friends and I all collected those 1/76 scale Eighth Army soldiers - some of which ended up in the Hoover, whilst others are probably caught between the floorboards somewhere waiting for an order from MiniMonty which will never come. Oh, and of course there were the railway models too - the engine shed, the footbridge, the station canopy, "Harrow", "Evening Star". Every year when the new Airfix catalogue came out there'd be a lot of excited speculation about what the latest releases would be. The sense of disappointment if it was something peaceful like Concorde or a Saturn V rocket was almost tangible.

My favourite Airfix aircraft kit was the Short Sunderland. But I think I get the biggest nostalgiablast from 1/76 scale AFVs like the US half-track, Sherman tank, 25-pounder gun, Panther, Tiger, and so on. I never liked helicopter kits much (too vulnerable - see below), or cars, or jet aircraft although I remember making an F-86 Sabrejet and thinking it was OK - nice and colourful.

Of course, even the planes that were suspended from the ceiling never lasted long. They always ended up getting trodden on, or the fragile detailing bits got snapped off. Helicopters were a complete disaster. This meant that the aircraft were saved up until Guy Fawkes' Night, stuffed with bangers, and consigned to a spectacular end - preferably in a pile of fresh dog poo. It was important to stand well back.

I remember the little complaint slip that came with every Airfix kit. We discovered pretty quickly that if you sent it in and said that there was a part missing from your Mustang or whatever, you got a complete new kit. I can even remember the address you sent it off to: Haldane Place, somewhere in London. I suspect that I may have contributed to Airfix's eventual collapse, as they were devoting a significant proportion of their production to keeping me supplied with battalions of plastic American Marines.

I later graduated to 1/48th scale Monogramme aircraft and Tamiya AFVs - I particularly enjoyed building and painting a P47-D "Bubbletop" Thunderbolt, with invasion stripes and interior detail. A fantastic aircraft (RAF pilots used to the Spitfire joked that you could avoid hostile fire by running around in the cockpit). Occasionally I hanker after building another of these just for old time's sake, but at my age the neighbours would be upset on Bonfire Night if I observed every aspect of "tradition"!

Does anyone remember Subbuteo?

Tom Quayle wrote:Does anyone know if a kit manufacturer produces a Nimrod?

See http://airfix.com/cs/blogs/articles/arc ... 27228.aspx

I do helicoptors from time to time but I tend to take alot longer over them. Rotors give me headache . Best helicoptor I did was a 1:48 scale Aptche. One Id like to forget is the Airfix Chinok and then a few hours later

Navel White and Blue hehehe

As for seeking medical attention I think I need my head inspecting first the glue may have had an affect

I reckon that instead of giving surface-to-air and air-to-air missiles names like Rapier, Stinger and Sidewinder they should call them things like "Dusting Mother", or "Small Brother with a Tennis Ball". If my experience of Airfix models is anything to go by, these have a 100% kill rate.

I think airfix are bringing a nimrod out not sure which version though. Did matchbox or Revell make the Shackleton?

I too am a victim of friendly fire. My mothers duster is way over scale. Has any one got a 1/72 scale drawing of a bottle of pledge? Ive made a duster to scale, so now hopefull she wont destroy my lovelly new spitfire. Not sure how to stop my brother dropping books on my models though. The encyclopedia of aircraft makes a great precision guided weapon. At least my model railwy is safe in the loft.