# Airfix's New Tool Spit F.22 - not how it looks!



## Faust (Dec 1, 2012)

Years ago, I swore I’d never build another Airfix. However, when they were reborn, and I saw some of their new kits, I decided to give them another chance. From what I’ve read, most people are very happy with the new kits, and the reviews I’ve seen are largely positive.

All I can assume is that no one has actually tried to BUILD one of these things. For a slightly different take, check out my out of box review of the *1/72 Airfix Spitfire F.22*. 

It’s not all it seems to be, I can tell you! Buyer beware!


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

I don't know... I built their new PR XIX kit and thought it was pretty nice for the price.

I have not noticed the new kits to be in overly soft plastic , nor have I had any problem cutting the parts out. But I use two or three new knife blades per kit sometimes. 

The small tabs on the parts are annoying but are not uncommon these days. Have you looked at a Dragon kit lately? One roadwheel in a tank will have two big sprue points and four of those molding pips. They are part of modern injection molding. They help eliminate mold knock out marks on smaller parts.

The Spit XIX had minimal fit issues. I think getting the clear camera windows in place was the biggest hurdle. 

With a lot of 1/72 kits costing $40-$50 these days, a $9 Airfix kit is not that bad of a deal for anyone with any kind of modeling skill.


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## Faust (Dec 1, 2012)

Normally, I'd be able to overlook some flaws especially when it comes to price, but the fact is that Academy's excellent 1/72 offerings are just about the same price but far, far superior. 

Now, the F.22 is made in India (I don't know about the PR you have) and it's nicely detailed, but I just can't get over the bad fit. When I finish building this thing, and get all my in-process shots up, you'll be able to see just what a dog it is. I've got a gap of 1mm at a wing root (one side only) and over 1mm on one side of the undernose intake! What the???

The plastic on mine is so soft that I've bent many of the parts inadvertently. 

I have plenty of modelling skill, don't worry. I've built numerous old Heller, Starfix and FROG kits; however, given that this kit is decades newer than all of those, it is still, in my mind, a cruel waste of potential, if nothing else. Sure, it might be a passable value for the price, but I won't pay $40 for a 1/72 prop job anyway. 
I'm having to work as hard on this kit as I do on one 40 years its senior. How is that progress?

That's my take, anyway!


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## S4Simon (Dec 24, 2006)

Nice write up 

I have to concur with the mozzarella cheese plastic being used by Airfix. I've just finished their 1/24 Mosquito and found that it was quite difficult to work with. Some parts were in a semi flexible state. The engineering work that has gone into the kit was excellent, it was only the plastic and molds that let the kit down. Overall it was not an enjoyable kit to build. The end result was still a fine model just not a great experience.


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

A lot of the recent stuff is made in India although I think production may have shifted. I know the Humbrol paints are now made back in the UK

The XIX kit had some minor fit issues but nothing that a little timming and sanding before assembly, and a touch of filler, didn't fix. 


Academy's 1/72 Spit may build nice but its grossly inaccurate. I suppose you can have two philosphies at work here.... clean, easly to build kits that are not very accurate, versus fairly accurate, inexpensive kits, that take more work. With just a couple of exceptions, like the F8 Crusader and Curtis Helldiver, the Academy 1/72 stuff is pretty poor. 

I can't say I have really had an issue with "soft" plastic, but there may be a reason behind it. Old (50s and 60s) molds were made of harder metal. The molds were also run at much stronger pressures, and kits also had less detail. parts were flatter, more simplistic, and could drop from the mold cavity much more freely. Thats why old kits have fewer and smaller sprue points too. New molds are made of softer metals, or even are cast in epoxy resin. Molding pressures are much lower, hence the need for larger, thicker sprue points. With more detail you need those little molding pips to help get the parts out of the molds, and softer plastic helps too. Modern kit parts have a surprising amount of 3D detail, relief, and even undercutting. Softer plastic makes the parts easier to get out of the mold with less damage to the parts, and less wear on the molds.


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## Faust (Dec 1, 2012)

I don't know about the inaccuracies of the Academy Spit, I've only ever built this Spitfire (I only like bubbletops). 

I know all that about the new plastics and so forth, but what I don't understand is that other companies aren't producing kits with parts the consistency of cheddar. I mean, I just finished the Hobby Boss Surcouf, and it's fine, and so seems to be the plastic on their N/AW-A10 (there are other issues there, but I'm just talking plastic quality here). 

My older Revell Germany kits (E.55, Richthofen Phantom, Typhoon 2-holer) are certainly as well detailed and perhaps even more finely detailed than the Spit 22, and their plastic is harder and far better quality. Same with my Academy P-51C, Storch, Bf-109K, Komet and OV-10D. I've built a couple of those so far, and they're all better fitting by far than this wreck of an Airfix.

I guess I must be the single voice of dissent then, in the Airfix debate.

Still, I like to stir up discussion, and I'm glad that others here aren't finding the kit(s) as bad as I am! 

When I finish this guy (a month or two, maybe) I'll post the results with in-progress shots, so you can see just how bad things were.


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## KUROK (Feb 2, 2004)

I truly enjoyed the new tool Airfix Mustang i built recently. However the landing gear legs were bent and were never fully able to get straight. Otherwise fit was superb!


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## Faust (Dec 1, 2012)

I'm glad your fit was better than mine, Kurok!

I know I've raised quite a furor in suggestging that an Airfix could be less than perfect, but this little spit really was awful for fit. Now, it sands beautifully, due to the soft plastic, so in the end, it's no big deal. It's just that I thought fit would be more Revell Germany than Eastern Express. 

I'm a bit worried about the gear on the Spit. They're straight, but I don't think they look too strong, so I hope they don't collapse holding the thing up!


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

No their kits aren't perfect by a long shot. But they are not awful. Revell has some pretty crappy kits too. Their new Mosquito is bad and their B-17G is a let down for sure. The Halifax... lets just say don't get rid of your Airfix or Matchbox kits any time soon.


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## Faust (Dec 1, 2012)

I don't mind imperfect, and I'm even okay with awful if the kit's cheap or interesting enough!

I find it sad about the Halifax, though. Actually, with all the CNC equipment and well-documented source material, I do find it disappointing that most kits put out by big names aren't nearly flawless. It seems to me that it shouldn't be so hard to get something nearly perfect this day and age. 

Maybe I'm missing something.

What about the Trumpeter Halifax? I thought they made one too. Maybe I got confused somewhere.


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

Bugler doesn't do the Halifax although they do a fairly decent Wellington. One of their odd kits that just sort of popped out. Although lacking in detail, the Matchbox kit is actually rather well done too. Revell has reissued that one somewhat recently.

The problem with a lot of kits oddly is companies still work from 50 year old Paul Matt drawings, etc. Stuff that has been superceded decades ago by newer, better research. Or, they work from a museum example, usually unaware that it has been cobbled together from parts. I can see if it were some esoteric plane used by Albania in the 1930s, but usually its something like a Corsair or Mustang. One of the new Copy Boss USN Corsairs has clipped wings since they use common sprues with a Royal Navy kit. That is just wrong for a US plane... Even Monogram got that right 50 years ago.


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