Some of our old Airfix WW1 friends are coming back in 2009

[Pete Hill]

Hi Guys,

Have just read on the Unofficial Airfix Modellers Forum that Airfix/Hornby have announced that 4 of the 1/72 range of Great War aircraft are scheduled for re-release in 2009.
(So far, only 4 have been announced but that does not mean that others in the range will won't appear next year or in 2010.)

The kits coming back in 2009 are:-

A01080- 1/72 Bristol F2B

A01050- 1/72 Hannover CL-III

A01076- 1/72 RE8

A01078- 1/72 Albatross DVa

The F2B and the Albatross were last available about 5 years ago. The RE8 was last released in 1995 although it has more recently been available as part of the multi-kit Royal Air-Force set. The Hannover hasn't been available since 1993.
There has been no word on whether Hornby/Airfix will re-release the other kits of the WW1 range- The Sopwith Camel, Sopwith Pup, SPAD, Fokker Dr 1, Roland C-II & DH4.

As I mentioned in another thread about the re-release of the Airfix WW1 1/72 figure sets this year, Airfix/Hornby seem to be relying a great deal on the 'Nostalgia' market as old kits are re-released without any updating or new tooling. The Airfix F2B, although a nice little kit, looks a poor cousin when compared to the more recent Roden version.

However, given the current economic climate, the cheaper prices of Airfix kits is a considerable attraction. (When I was in the UK in 2004, I visited a few hobby-stores and I was amazed to find that Airfix kits were actually more expensive to buy in their native land than they were back home in Australia!). Another appeal, at least down here, is their ready availability. A hobby-store owner told me recently that Australia forms only about 2 or 3 percent of the world's plastic kit market and therefore many manufacturers rank us as a low priority in terms of supplying stock.

Many hobby retailers down here are very frustrated with the difficulty in obtaining stock from even the major European manufacturers such as Revell, Italeri, Roden etc. Airfix is one of the exceptions and hobbystores always seem to have plenty of them on the shelves. It is the Asian manufacturers that are generally more readily available- Dragon, Tamiya, Academy which may explain why 1/35 Armour is perhaps the most popular of the plastic kit ranges in this country.

Interestingly, in 2009 Airfix are actually updating two of their older kits with new toolings arriving of the Me-109G and the Spitfire IX. That is very welcome as the previous edition of the Spitfire IX, together with the Mitsubishi Zero and Messerschmitt-262, would rank as the worst 1/72 aircraft kits they ever released in terms of accuracy, detailing and ease of construction.
Airfix/Hornby re-released a swathe of old kits this year, including kits that were re-packaged ones from other manufacturers. The new edition of 1/72 WW2 British Infantry is merely a re-issue of the Esci version, for example (a set that is also currently sold under the Italeri label)

Interested to hear your thoughts. Regards Pete