WARNING! This video is not an invitation to have a go at Airfix or indeed me personaly. please keep coments related to the subject of the video and be respectful or your comment will be removed and you me blocked from my channel.
Jason i agree polite conversation is the correct way to debate anything (although we can all het a little passionate and heated at times). However airfix is a corporate not a person and it is very reasonable to debate their collective operational judgements (another spitfire ! Etc) and strategy. The Customer is always “king” in retail as no customers = no business.
When Airfix say "...there is _no_ market for ships...", they don't mean absolutely *NO* market, but simply that the market for ships is minscule compared to that for aircraft and armour etc. Airfix are not a rich/large company so they cannot take a risk on something that will sell just a few hundred copies. They need to sell tens of thousands of copies or it's not worth the investment in new tools etc. It is simple economics. Why do you think most new model companies always start with yet A.N.Other Spitfire or Tiger tank? Because they sell. Kotare is a prime recent example. Simples.
Whilst i agree in principle the ever expanding number of niche subjects coming onto the market suggests smaller, agile companies without the corporate overheads can and do indeed make money. If i didnt hate resin, I would certainly own quite a few Atlantic Model UK frigates and destoyers
Making an injection mold die is still a very expensive proposition. Now with modern tech it is no longer as much as £100000 a die like it used to be, but it is still a significant cost to invest along with design, packaging, marketing and distribution. Generally it is not impossible to conceive of sinking a third of a million on a new kit before it hits the shops. And with 5-10% profit margin for the manufacturer, you are looking at shifting 6 or 7 million quid of product at wholesale prices before you start seeing return on investment. Modern tech means wargames companies can make CAD sprues, cut molds that can only be used with certain styrene plastics for a fraction of that and the wargames community is a repeat/bulk buying customer they can get a return on their investment in a year or two. Airfix and their like, you are talking a decade or two.
@ practically the cost of the plastic and boxing is nothing compared to the tooling and the design. As a business you’re paying the design team anyway and each designer will have a number of ongoing projects that come to fruition every year. Once payback is achieved, each new sale of an old product is essentially 90% profit margin and it seems tooling will last 20 years if looked after (more really). So if youre building a new 1/350 ship and spend £200,000 on tooling and design you need to sell 2000 units at £100 to break even and you have you a year or two to achieve that out of a single production run. With a bit of effort you can probably do sister ships and through out life versions with relatively little life. I really dont think its as difficult as you make out to generate profits…. Why doesnt Airfix do a decent F-35 or F-15, 16 Tornado, Jaguar, in 1/48 scale ? These are ling lived globally used aircraft with plenty of variants and upgrades. The money making options from global sales are surely endless ? But not for Airfix. They’ll stick to another Spitfire variant.
For the first few examples - ask yourself though - how many sailing ships have you seen at a recent model show or on display in shops? Then compare it to how many AFVs, WW2 planes or modern jets you see. The market for sail is tiny.
I'm mostly a tank and plane fan, but I do make ships sometimes. I especially like pre-dreadnoughts warships. It's a shame that a British company didn't release the HMS dreadnought as a model. 😅
Several years ago I wrote to Airfix that they needed to add more ships, particularly sailing ships. I noted that their line of sailing ships was far more interesting than any others, including those of Revell. I was told the same arguments. I countered with the argument that I had bought all of Airfix's sailing ships. Indeed, I asked about the number of kits of the Victory I was expected to buy given that they keep releasing the same old kit that I already had. I also added that I had joined several websites for ship modelers, all of which had memberships of over 40,000 people. I was again told the same business arguments, especially that sales were down. I again countered that one reason that sales were down is that Airfix keeps releasing the same ships that the builders already had; there was simply no need for us to purchase any more when we already had them all. I was then told to wait, that there was soon to be another release of something new. Unfortunately, that new sailing ship was a 1/350 Mary Rose. In other words, it was so small that it really did not fit into my collection. But, I bought several just to show that there was a market. That was the last I heard from Airfix about my request.
Hi Jason, Interesting video. People have to realize that any model company, not just Airfix, have to operate at a profit, or they will not be around long. Just because we want something specific, doesn't mean that the manufacturers are willing to accept the risk of producing it. Thanks for sharing. Have a great day. Jeff
The question is far too often about the profit earned when a company decides to release a new model kit. Perhaps the companies should consider the costs of failing to release new kits. After all, one cannot sell what one does not produce.
@@billmorrison3993 Hi Bill, you make a great point. We will never know just exactly what makes some companies accept the risk of making the investment in producing a new kit and others for coming to the conclusion that the risk isn't worth it to them. Have a great day. Jeff
Revell can pump numerous U boat kits in various scales. So many other manufacturers release new tool items every year, but Airfix? I get the impression they just don’t have the resources. Hornby need to ditch the brands that are dragging them down.
I have built a couple of Airfix 1/600 scale warships with White Ensign PE and they bring new life to the old kits and adds a level of detail which compares well with modern kits.
1:350 scale Iron Duke, Orion, Tiger, Dreadnaught, Queen Elizabeth and an "R" class, the last two in original construction form for me................PLEASE!
Why does it always have to be a warship? Besides the Titanic, there are so few merchant ship kits out there. If you are risk averse, make RMS Carpathia to complement all those Titanics out there.
I agree, there are many vessels of interest in the merchant service but most modellers of today seem more interested in machines of war so it is understandable that is what is produced.
Good point. Back in the day I remember making the Cutty Sark for example and I'd love to have another go now I've more experience, appropriate tools and particularly an airbrush!
Hi Jason, it's definitely not a pop at Airfix, but a balanced explanation of where they are as a company in the current global financial situation. Having worked for a large company in the UK, in many different roles, companies will not risk their business sustainability on projects that can have an adverse effect on the balance sheet.
Hi Jason, it would be nice if Airfix decided to revisit some of the ships in the future, but their explanation for the strategy they have is perfectly understandable. They have to look at the bigger picture and after their business. From my perspective as a mainly plane modeller Airfix does a great job with recent releases. Great video, thanks for sharing your balanced views. Have a great day, Dom
A lack of choice of model ships, plus the cost recently got me into scratch building and that got me into RC sailing and i haven't bought another kit since. Now i just see a boat i like and build one ...and then have fun playing on our boating lake with other like minded people . Better than a placky model gathering dust on the shelf. Currently building 3 boats, a 5ft pilot cutter, a 3ft swift boat and a 2ft 6 hardy 18 motor sailor. ...next is a replica orca from jaws .now i can pretty much build any boat out of 1 sheet of 2x4ft 4mm ply at a cost of £8.. opened up a whole new world for me 👍
Italieri have been successful with large scale E-Boats & M.T.B.'s, be nice to see a Fairmile D or even a Donald Campbell Bluebird. I still remember the Victory as a major kit to tackle.
Hi Jason. I remember writing an email to Airfix asking if they would do a large scale 1/64 18th century Royal Navy bomb vessel. There could be different variations to the ship such as a rocket vessel, and it would be something new that no other plastic model ship manufacturer has done. I also suggested producing aftermarket accessories and photo etch upgrade kits for their ship models. They were very polite in letting me know that there is no market for model ships. I'm building the Airfix 1/72 scale Golden Hinde right now when I have time from my oil paintings. I was able to purchase the Zvezda 1/72 scale Medieval Life Boat that I will add to the Golden Hinde as her shallop. I enjoyed watching your review of the Airfix Golden Hinde kit and it would be very nice to watch you super detail the model ship after you finish the Trumpeter 1/200 Scharnhorst.
The ship kit-builder market is so different now. The standards & expectations are just so high compared to the toy ship model kits like Airfix or old Revell. And let's be honest, sailing ships are just too niche to sell widely enough for the big manufacturers.
how can we say ships don't sell when the kits don't really exist? (in conventional scale, in recent tooling) and if the risk is too high, just start smaller. it's bizarre that we're in this situation, in a country with the strongest affinity for both modelling and ships
I really like the 1/600 as it is not too big on the shelf yet not so tiny as the 1/700 scale. Their re-release of HMS Ajax was inspired. I would like re-toolings of Graf Spee and Bismarck (both low-risk kits), as well as a WW2 HMS Exeter. They would easily make money off a 1/100 HMS Shannon (1812).😊
Explains a lot was always hoping to see more ships like the 98 gunner HMS Temerair. But I can see why ship models can be considered a riskier venture compared to something like the bulldog, and the spitfire. Thanks for another great video Jason
The problem with Airfix is most of their kits are British. The UK has a population of around 68 million, not 340 million like the USA. Even Japan has a larger population than the UK with 125 million... When I was a child about the only World War II British ship kits available in most American stores were HMS Hood and HMS Prince of Wales, as well as the German ship kit Bismarck... On the other hand there were several World War II American ship kits available from USS Lexington, USS Missouri, USS Arizona, USS Enterprise, among others...
@@ModelkitStuff Exactly. The WW2 French and Italian ships are crying out for some love. If Airfix want some re-releasability then HMS Warspite alone went through many changes, and then there's her sisters. That's possibly a dozen releases with all the options. HMS Dreadnaught likewise.
When it comes to ship building, I do 1/700 WW2 ships. I agree with you that there are many ships that either have never had been done or currently do not have one in the market. HMS Royal Oak and the U.S. New Mexico class are a couple that come to mind.
I used to make a lot of ships, mainly Airfix 1:600 WW2. When the supply of new ships dried up (though I never got King George V or Repluse as other interests intervened) I switched to aircraft and tanks, but to me those were second best. What I like about 1:600 is it a good scale for most ships, a battleship is only about 15" long while a destroyer about half that. A 1:350 destroyer is a fair size but a battleship takes up a lot of shelf space. I did make the Revell 1:720 Ark Royal and Tribal class destroyer twice, once on a base as a diorama, but there was little else for the Royal Navy in that scale at the time. I understand Airfix's quandary, but a completely new kit might excite a lot of interest. How about HMS Warrior? She is preserved at Portsmouth and receives thousands of visitors each year.
I really hope they re-release the Saint Louis as that is a beautiful ship. In terms of risk, I think Airfix is smart to create the “Vintage Airfix” line because that attracts interest. Plus, the tooling on vintage kits should not require as much capex as a brand new subject.
As a U.S. ship modeler. I’m very happy, generally speaking, with US options. However for my tea and crumpet consuming brethren there’s not much oth there. I’d love to build Renown, repulse or a mini fleet of tribals but the options aren’t great.
It is understandable why Airfix is reluctant to develop new ship kits, it is a huge investment, although they did release a Shannon Class Lifeboat this year.which you did not pick up on. But that said they are sluggish in releasing those which they have already have tooling for. I am hoping that they are going to continue to do annual releases in their classic kits range. For example I would like to see HMS Shannon which has been absent for over 30 years and even the newer ones like HMS Illustrious or the Trafalgar class submarine.
The airfix Bounty was the first ship kit I ever built in my early teens - and it immediately caused me to lose interest in any other type of modelling. And in my adolescence I did build every plastic model and lamented the lack of interesting subjects. While I fondly remember painting the Golden Hind from airfix, the truth of the matter is that only plastic ship kits ever made that are worth displaying are pretty much the Heller Victory and Soleil Royal and Revells old 96 scale Constitution and, to lesser extent, Cutty Sark. And even those need a lot of help out of the box with addition of wooden blocks and where possible, metal bits (photo etch was not a thing back then). But I do remember hating the fact that all the plastic models available where of models that are either done to death, or quite frankly, just a bit ugly as they represents the big lumbering platforms like the Victory. But I suppose most ship enthusiasts move to wooden models sooner or later as the offerings are just that much better. It's been two decades since I built a plastic model, but I would be happy to give it another go if there was a model that I'd actually want to have in my home. Currently, there are no such offering by any manufacturers. For me, relatively modern civilian ships would be where most potential for plastic is.
I've always wondered about that, and it's good to get an explanation from a source within Airfix. It would be nice to see some new UK ships coming from Airfix, though, and some modifications to the existing ones if possible to bring them a bit more up to date instead of straight reissues as Vintage Classics.
I would love to built a Battleship of the Queen Elizabeth Class in it's WW1 configuration. And in their WW2 config too. I also would love to have SMS Seydlitz, Derfflinger just to name a few.
I am shure a reoffering of PRINCE 1670 with a redone moulds and some small addition in resine. By this step a new decoration sprue could do an other XVI century first class ship.
This video popped up in recommended which was nice as it was a question i always had. The lack of airfix ship kits was the main reason i moved away from them. I wanted to buy airfix kits because they are cheaper being more local. But ships specifically must have a good amount of diversity as theyre a different kind of model generally. The differences in some ships of the same class is drastic at times. Which gives a nice amount of variety. Scales also plays a factor. I started taking modelling seriously with the airfix 600 HMS Repulse. Had to move to 700 kits outside of airfix simply due to lack of variety. Loved building japanese ships for a while. And now that im older with a bit more talent im diving into more and more 350 scale ships despite any flaws they have. An inaccurate kit is better than no kit. And wooden decks and photo etch can make any inacurate model look good. Im just on the finishing stages of Trumpeters 350 HMS York. Sister to HMS Exeter. Yet the ships are radically different in appearance. I even switched from humbrol paint to tamiya paint because i love that the paint doesnt immediately require thinning to use. Airfixs biggest problem now is that they are so far behind the trend now that its almost impossible to catch up. But the way to do it is with Niche ships. Ones that have never been done before. The courageous class for example have never been done properly in either their aircraft carrier or battlecruiser form. HMS Renown has never been done in 350 scale and id love a 350 Renown to go beside my 350 Repulse. An HMS Vanguard model would also fill a gap in the market. You could do dreadnought and vanguard as the first and the last of battleships. They cant keep wallowing in the middle ground of vintages. Either kill ships and focus on on other areas. Or retool/develop something new. A choice must be made.
I would love to see Airfix retool HMS Victory, perhaps in a more common scale such as 1:192. This would make it compatible with many excellent plans such as those found in the Anatomy of The Ship series books. As for increasing the variants possible from a single kit, what about including options to make the model into HMS Royal Sovereign, 100? These might include different figureheads, focsle and quarterdeck armaments, boats, nameboards, etc. - just a thought. Another suggestion for Airfix, should they ever do ships again, would be to make companion kits for HMS Victory of different rates IN THE SAME SCALE. A 74-gun ship of the line would be especially appreciated; there were sixteen 74's at Trafalgar, so here's another possibility for multiple variants from one kit instead of a "one and done" kit.
There were 38 '74's if you include the Allied fleet, and many of the British ones were prizes taken from the French at some point previously. The only '74 kit I know of is the Superbe/Glorieux, which is pretty good but I'm sure Airfix could do better ! But I love the idea of doing companion kits in the same scale. Things like sloops and brigs would be less expensive for tooling and design, and would hit the market at a low enough price they should be popular "starter" kits.
You have go give it to Airfix. They do what would you like Polls now and then, and their latest releases do seem to reflect that. For example I've been lucky. I wanted upscaled Seaking, British post war AFV Ferrets, Saracens Pige etc, and we got a ferret, Lysander, so I do record these being popular. The one kit I would love to see Retooled and even in a larger scale is HMS Fearless. So maybe if they put out another wish list. Bombard them with ships so they can gauge the viability. I cut my teeth on Airfix from back in the 70's, even stuck with them over Matchbox, although I did have a few🤫. But Airfix did loose their way a bit and got left behind. However imho theey are back. They are up there with the rest, most of my stash is starting to see more Red boxes, to the point they are all I buy these days depending on subject of course. So I will eagerly my HMS Fearless unless someone else comes out with one
Hi, I am not sure the Airfix approach makes sense, for example some of the moldings for HMS Belfast, could also be used for Colony or other Town class cruisers, thus saving money, but also introducing an increased ship range. It could be argued that the Hornby group itself are focussing on the wrong products, such as the Introduction of the 3mm scale railways.. Retooling & updating IT, should be a normal business running cost. Yes to HMS Victory retooling, otherwise Airfix will lose their ground in the market. Thank you very thought provoking. Tony
The fact that trumpeter is constantly releasing new ship kits and a healthy aftermarket built around these releases shows there is DEFINITELY a market for ships ( They just released a 1/200 Fletcher destroyer). Anyone at Airfix saying there is no market for shps is not paying attention. Just the sheer number of groups on facebook and other social media sites dedicated to the Titanic would justify a new tooll kit of any of the classic liners, let alone the Titanic.
Im sure a few years ago they had a scratch built 1/350 QE aircraft carrier on display at a show and they asked if people would be interested in them doing a proper kit of it in 1/350......and the vote online was overwhelmingly yes..... but, nothing ever came of it, they have their old 1/350 Illustrious, so they can do it
I think you’ll find most of your subscribers are ship builders because most of your channel contains ships. Having said that, I have very happy memories of building the Victory with my dad, all those years ago. I would look a the Roy cross art work for hours
Sorry I dont accept that fully whilst I do always have 1 plastic ship on the go I have only compleated 1 plastic ship in 2 years the other 12 compleated builds were not ships
Would be nice to see some WW1 battlecruisers and some WW2 British Cruisers in 1/350 scale. My particular wish however is for a 1/35O Type 42 batch 3 destroyer, such as HMS York or Gloucester. Probably the most handsome ships the RN has ever had, but sadly ignored by model manufacturers
Agreed. Airfix, like most kit makers, have to produce 'bread and butter' subjects - they won't survive without them, and it funds future projects. The upshot is that the financial risk is (like you correctly say) too great to carry. Notwithstanding that, the older Airfix ship moulds are still viable in my opinion. Most of the plastic ship builders I know, still buy them (at some rediculous prices), and spend their time researching and modifying them to portray them at a particular time during their service life. Airfix do need to conduct research into the ship market, and see what the people want. Or don't.
Its strange, Britain built some of the most important and famous ships in history yet they are hard to find in model form, ships like warrior, lusitania, dreadnought, great Britain, Holland to name a few.
I remember the release of the Airfix HMS Cossack ,and all the subsequent 600th scale ships which at the time were decent enough models especially for the price. My only wish at the time was the lack of railings and no option of building them as water-line models. Eaglewall did release a whole rang of 1200 scale ships with the water-line option and in my opinion the best Graff Spee model even better that Airfix with its very chunky moulding especially the main guns, The Trumpeter and Dragon 1/350 models are totally inaccurate in the basic lay-out that I binned the Trumpeter one in disgust, and left the Dragon one on the shop's shelf as they'd made the same errors. Probably the best release of the Graff Spee was the Aurora release in her pre-war fit. The later Airfix ship releases were far better than those early releases, just look at the likes of KG5, Prinz Eugen, HMS Belfast, etc, all fabulous models well detailed accurate and well moulded, and even today they still stand-up against modern mouldings, just maybe add PE railings. But those early kits could now really do with some retooling and more modern detailing like on the previously mentioned kits, And if the price is right I can guarantee they'd sell even in 600 scale, just add the options of PE railings and water-line. After-all Airfix can include various options in many of the aircraft kit with parts and/or weapons that'll just end-up in the "spares" box. Just looking at the Tribal class there were 16 built plus the Australian and Canadian and most had some differences, so variation could be included or released with extra parts. The same goes for cruisers, and think of all the variations to the Queen Elizabeth class of battle-ships, Warspite etc, and I'm sure a new decent ACCURATE Graff Spee would be well appreciated just remember the fore-mast was telescopic to enable it to clear the bridges in the Kiel Canal as virtually all model have this mast in the retracted position. As for the Airfix tall ships, HMS Victory is the obvious choice and many could be sold in the souvenir shop in Portsmouth, to gether with the little baby starter versions. Personally I'd love to see the re-introduction of those small simple sailing ships as they were relatively quick and easy to build and made up into beautiful little models that took virtually no room to display. So, come on Airfix there's a whole new market out there just waiting with money to spend in their sweaty little hands. I've only brought one new kit in about the last three years, and that was the Vintage Classic HMS Ark Royal, but a new tool 600 scale destroyer or cruiser ( HMS Ajax, Exeter, Suffolk:) might just be toooo tempting to resist. Just don't take too long as I might be at the great modelling bench in the sky.
I think thr addition of a model tool extra sprue to provide better detailing would make a massive difference to all these classic kits (ships and aircraft).
I understand the Airfix strategy of not taking a risk with releasing or re-releasing maritime kits particularly when the Airfix arm of Hornby Hobbies is essentially propping up the other brands. That being said it would be welcome to have a new tooled maritime subject sometime in the near future when market conditions allow. Thanks for sharing this Jason.
This is a very thorny problem. I love the old 1/600 kits, but, in 2024, this scale is pretty unique. I think that we of the older generation have to be realistic and accept that we now have a far greater choice of manufacturers and, ultimately, they all want to be profitable. Three cheers if Airfix brings out a new naval tooling, but the money is in aircraft. Cheers Phil
Perhaps Airfix need to think laterally in terms of scale and subject. Although I appreciate it might upset a few people, rather than sticking with current scales they could make ships in scales that are compatible with wargaming scales, and design them so they can be made for display or as waterline models and with options for simplified construction to withstand the rigours of the wargames table. As an example, I've seen wargamers buy three, four or more Revell Viking Ships (which are quoted as 1/50 scale) for Dark Age wargames. 1/150th is close to N gauge, and used by 12mm wargamers, and 1/100 is 15mm (although scale creep is an issue). I can see Liberty Ships in those scales selling well. For Age of Sail vessels, a 1/150 scale generic "74" with enough optional parts to make it for periods between 1750 and 1815 would appeal to customers across Europe not just in the UK, and small ships (brigs, sloops, etc) in 15mm scale. 28mm or 15mm Napoleonic ship's longboats would be a low-cost, low risk item which would likely sell incredibly well to wargamers. The nearest is the Zvezda medieval lifeboat, which I've sold more of than any other Zvezda kit with a lot of them going to wargamers looking for anything they can use as boats for games representing an amphibious landing.
I must be a similar age to you and I too grew up building Airfix and Matchbox kits and loved them. I have been away from modelling for a while but coming back I was upset to see Matchbox long gone and seriously want to support Airfix, however I tend to only buy there later offerings as I am shocked that they still get away with releasing 40, 50 year old kits that are an absolute nightmare in terms of fit, accuracy, quality etc - I would love to build Victory, Hood, Illustious etc so much but there is no way I am risking my limited hobby funds (I am in New Zealand so they cost even more) on kits I know are basically rubbish and at my level I will not be able to build satisfactorily. Yes it is a balancing act I totally get that - but I often feel Airfix are damaging their brand by continually releasing kits that youngsters and newbies are going to be unhappy with and give up on. They are not alone in this the American model car and truck manufacturers are the same. I will continue to support Airfix as like you I love them - but generally only their later offerings and as I personally don't care for planes it is difficult.
Problem, you talked about warships and Victory. What about all those existing civilian ship models that Airfix has; S.S. Canberra, Queen Elizabeth, QE2, Mauritania, Free Enterprise, SRN-4; sadly no longer a S.S. France. They did release recently the SR-N1. Surely these moulds exist and can be cleaned up for not too much cost. And was so surprised that Airfix didn't produce a 1/600 scale "new" MV Queen Victoria or Queen Elizabeth cruise-ships.
There are some fascinating modern day cruise ships out now that would be great to build as model kits. The last new one I remember was the Queen Mary 2 and even that is nearly 20 years old now. I guess it's getting permission from the owners of the cruise lines etc that may be holding that back.
I fully agree with you. There are so many ships Airfix could put on the market, like they did during the 60-70's. Even Heller (France) is doing better.
I am pretty sure Airfix's issue is money, the lack of it. It's not the market. There is a significant market for ship models. Just look at YT and the channels devoted to ship models, the resale market on eBay, and look at the very impressive aftermarket dedicated to ships. It's not the lack of or a soft market for ships but possibly the weakness (or lack of) of airfix marketing and research to identify the market. There are subjects that, no matter how many have been released, they always sell. The Tiger tank, Me-109, spitfire, P-51, and Corsair are examples of "go-to" subjects for new manufacturers or existing legacy manufacturers for sure sales. Regardless of how many are released, they sell. The same applies to ships. Subjects like Bismarck, HMS Hood, Illustruos, Yamato, Titanic, and Missouri will always sell. I am pretty sure Airfix will find an eager market for subjects of the Royal Navy. 1/350 releases are the sweet spot for these ships, like 1/48 aircraft and 1/35 armor. Also include at least a minimal PE set of railings and details. I would recommend a 1/350 Bismarck (or Hood) and a 1/350 Lusitania as new entries into the ship market. I'm not sure if re-tooling 50 year old kits is worth the expense due to the amount of work on the tools. If the HMS victory tools are in that bad of a condition it just might make more sense to do a new tool with modern design and engineering. Sailing ships are making a come back (see secondary markets), but may be more of a limited market. However, a new tool victory would be huge not only in the home market of the UK but globally. The thing is these ship kits don't need to be a low end entry level price. The builders of these ship kits are used to paying a premium price already. New sailing ship kits can afford to be priced higher, same for larger (1/350 and above) battleships and cruisers.
If there's no market for ships, as you say Trumpeter and every other cottage industry firms still make them, i have been hoping Airfix would have done the HMS. Prince of Wales in 1/350 scale, but having said that i just can't afford to buy Airfix kits any more? The last kit i bought was the Austin Ambulance in 1/35th cost me over £35 to me that kit was worth about £12 for the spruces you got, But Airfix need to come up with something soon as 3D stuff is now taking over!
1/350 or 1/700 emeracey wartime class depending how you do it will make RN about 10ships then there is norway Belgian dutch indian pakistan greece which used these ships after ww2
I like armour and Aircraft and cars predominantly but I do build ships and submarines here and there. I do like the ocean liners. Argos should fix up the molds for Mauritania and the Queen Elizabeth as well as their old SS France and put them out again.
Interesting video. For me model kits have always been expensive even back in the early 80s yes people would argue they aren’t and the of things are relevant for the times. Think though if you want to do a HMS Hood with a good detail set it’s a lot of money. Anyway I would really like to see HMS Vanguard in 200 scale a beautiful ship also better versions of the King George class a 200 scale Iowa in 80s refit would be nice as they are interesting to many my age and they would sell there’s market for plenty of kits that aren’t available even aircraft 32nd scale Buccaneers and Jaguars. Anyway great videos sorry for whining on..
The problem with Airfix js their customers tend to want planes and vehicles. No wooden shop modeller like me would never build a plastic version of a period ship if they fancied a change from wood to plastic.
I dont agree that Airfix have a problem. there customers can only buy what they sell. I am a wood modeller as you will know from the channel and I love the plastic tab ships, its a difrent challange, and I know other like me so I am afraid I dont agree with you at all on this one.
I made a couple of new Airfix 1:72 Lifeboat kits this year. Ideal for my model railway harbour scene. (Shannon & Severn types). So premise of video not entirely true.
Dec uls is pronounced dēˌkal over here in the states- it took a couple hearings for me to make the connection. To make matters worse I am an ex pat from Britain, mind you my move to the states in '63 was a while ago.
I would like to Majestic as different countries operated aircraft carrier class, HMAS Vampire n HMAS Onslow again different countries operated these vessels. I would prefer build fleet. Modern fleet maybe T26 or Hobart DDG but able modify by adding more VLS n enlarge hellopad, you do similar with Meko 200 there are so many versions that would by RAN n NZ fleet. Anzac 150 i would do full warfighting version which it miss out on. Even offer different helicopters, loadouts for T26 "the what if versions".
Hi Jason It's great that you got to speak to Dale of Airfix and really appreciate that as your channel is top notch. I can get regards the financial side IF HORNBY HOBBIES aren't doing well, but in all honesty it's one excuse after another for the last don't know how many years from Airfix regards to building at least 1 new sailing ship or ships. Myself personally i don't want a re-tooling but a brand new one that isn't on the market. I am now at the point where i couldn't care less about them, as much as it hurts because they do hold a place in my heart bk in the day. That may seem harsh but, they have totally ignored the ship builders for way way too long and with so many excuses, and I for one are done with them. I now spend good money elsewhere be it Wooden kits like Occre, Mamoli, Caldercraft, Model shipways or Heller in plastic, I have actually now ventured into the likes of Fujimi, Aoshima, Hasegawa and Pitroad-Skywave regards to ww2 Japanese Battleships etc. Imho Airfix now, will always come up with excuses not to build new ships or even re tool the older ones, they have dug there tunnel too long regards to aircraft. It's not the way I want it to be, but it's what Airfix has done themselves.
As part of the Hornby group Airfix may well be struggling as I would think any profits they may make are being swallowed up by Hornby railways. Have you seen the cost of locomotives? At what must be great risk they launched their new TT gauge range which must be putting a fairly large strain on finances. I don't want to see Airfix disappear but I will not purchase any more of their "classic kits" they are terrible and certainly not doing them any favours by keep releasing very old tooled kits. The kits are just going to get worse as the tools wear out.
I want US warships from the 80s. Ships that I served on like the California and the Conyngham. Not that I don’t like WWII ships but I agree about a larger verity to build.
Why on earth would you want Airfix to remake ships in 1/600? Whether you like it or not, the 1/700, 1/350 and 1/200 scales are the norm for the vast majority of ship modellers. If you have a collection of 1/700 ships, placing a 1/600 scale ship next to them is something that would be a constant niggle to me. Perhaps, the niche 1/600 scale was part of the problem for Airfix in the recent decades?
I last made a model aircraft kit decades ago. i have no talent or skill that i know of, i found this kit at home, a series 9 model i want to do it but boy oh boy, it will look bad.
Personally i think its highly likely Airfix wont last too much longer. They are living of reissues and reboxings too much, have too many holes in their range and have too many QC issues. I spend much more elsewhere and increasingly with niche players releasing more unusual subjects. When(if perhaps) DB Models releases its Scimitar I’m an almost immediate buyer (unless reviews make it clear its poor quality).
What about a 1/350 liberty ship , the 2 from trumpeter are awful, don't forget the new Royal Navy ships that are currently being built, the list is endless. Also it's the same with 1/35 railway items not much going on there Also......
Maybe they are busy designing/making my 1/48 B-47 and C-119B!!! Why there is not ALREADY a 1/48 of these aircraft is ridiculas. As for ship models, companies need to stick to less "scales". Maybe 1/350 and 1/72. Personally, I like larger scales of smaller ships where the detail can be on a human scale. In 1/72 a human sailor is small, but gives the option of an interior if designed with removable decks....not just a solid hollow hull and surface details.....as tiny as they are. 1/700 is crazy small for a 800 foot ship. 14" guns are like plastic toothpicks. Too me, a waste of time.
WARNING! This video is not an invitation to have a go at Airfix or indeed me personaly. please keep coments related to the subject of the video and be respectful or your comment will be removed and you me blocked from my channel.
Jason i agree polite conversation is the correct way to debate anything (although we can all het a little passionate and heated at times).
However airfix is a corporate not a person and it is very reasonable to debate their collective operational judgements (another spitfire ! Etc) and strategy. The Customer is always “king” in retail as no customers = no business.
When Airfix say "...there is _no_ market for ships...", they don't mean absolutely *NO* market, but simply that the market for ships is minscule compared to that for aircraft and armour etc. Airfix are not a rich/large company so they cannot take a risk on something that will sell just a few hundred copies. They need to sell tens of thousands of copies or it's not worth the investment in new tools etc. It is simple economics. Why do you think most new model companies always start with yet A.N.Other Spitfire or Tiger tank? Because they sell. Kotare is a prime recent example.
Simples.
Whilst i agree in principle the ever expanding number of niche subjects coming onto the market suggests smaller, agile companies without the corporate overheads can and do indeed make money.
If i didnt hate resin, I would certainly own quite a few Atlantic Model UK frigates and destoyers
Making an injection mold die is still a very expensive proposition. Now with modern tech it is no longer as much as £100000 a die like it used to be, but it is still a significant cost to invest along with design, packaging, marketing and distribution. Generally it is not impossible to conceive of sinking a third of a million on a new kit before it hits the shops. And with 5-10% profit margin for the manufacturer, you are looking at shifting 6 or 7 million quid of product at wholesale prices before you start seeing return on investment.
Modern tech means wargames companies can make CAD sprues, cut molds that can only be used with certain styrene plastics for a fraction of that and the wargames community is a repeat/bulk buying customer they can get a return on their investment in a year or two. Airfix and their like, you are talking a decade or two.
@ practically the cost of the plastic and boxing is nothing compared to the tooling and the design.
As a business you’re paying the design team anyway and each designer will have a number of ongoing projects that come to fruition every year. Once payback is achieved, each new sale of an old product is essentially 90% profit margin and it seems tooling will last 20 years if looked after (more really).
So if youre building a new 1/350 ship and spend £200,000 on tooling and design you need to sell 2000 units at £100 to break even and you have you a year or two to achieve that out of a single production run. With a bit of effort you can probably do sister ships and through out life versions with relatively little life.
I really dont think its as difficult as you make out to generate profits….
Why doesnt Airfix do a decent F-35 or F-15, 16 Tornado, Jaguar, in 1/48 scale ? These are ling lived globally used aircraft with plenty of variants and upgrades. The money making options from global sales are surely endless ? But not for Airfix. They’ll stick to another Spitfire variant.
A British model company not having a recent tooling for a HMS Warspite is quite astounding.
Difficult to believe that ships like Mary Rose, HMS Victory, USS Constitution and HMS Dreadnought wouldn't sell.
Golden Hind.
The real question for manufacturers is "How many".
For the first few examples - ask yourself though - how many sailing ships have you seen at a recent model show or on display in shops? Then compare it to how many AFVs, WW2 planes or modern jets you see. The market for sail is tiny.
If they re-released the German E-Boat, it would be a winner imho.
I'm mostly a tank and plane fan, but I do make ships sometimes. I especially like pre-dreadnoughts warships. It's a shame that a British company didn't release the HMS dreadnought as a model. 😅
be great to see a 1970's Ark Royal in 1/350
Several years ago I wrote to Airfix that they needed to add more ships, particularly sailing ships. I noted that their line of sailing ships was far more interesting than any others, including those of Revell. I was told the same arguments. I countered with the argument that I had bought all of Airfix's sailing ships. Indeed, I asked about the number of kits of the Victory I was expected to buy given that they keep releasing the same old kit that I already had. I also added that I had joined several websites for ship modelers, all of which had memberships of over 40,000 people. I was again told the same business arguments, especially that sales were down. I again countered that one reason that sales were down is that Airfix keeps releasing the same ships that the builders already had; there was simply no need for us to purchase any more when we already had them all. I was then told to wait, that there was soon to be another release of something new. Unfortunately, that new sailing ship was a 1/350 Mary Rose. In other words, it was so small that it really did not fit into my collection. But, I bought several just to show that there was a market.
That was the last I heard from Airfix about my request.
Hi Jason, Interesting video. People have to realize that any model company, not just Airfix, have to operate at a profit, or they will not be around long. Just because we want something specific, doesn't mean that the manufacturers are willing to accept the risk of producing it. Thanks for sharing. Have a great day. Jeff
The question is far too often about the profit earned when a company decides to release a new model kit. Perhaps the companies should consider the costs of failing to release new kits. After all, one cannot sell what one does not produce.
@@billmorrison3993 Hi Bill, you make a great point. We will never know just exactly what makes some companies accept the risk of making the investment in producing a new kit and others for coming to the conclusion that the risk isn't worth it to them. Have a great day. Jeff
@@JeffDonahueScaleModeling Jeff,
Thank you for your kind words. I hope that you also have a great day and a great holiday season!
Bill
Canberra, Spirit of Free Enterprise, SS France, HMS Active, QE2. Upteen kits could be re done.
Revell can pump numerous U boat kits in various scales. So many other manufacturers release new tool items every year, but Airfix? I get the impression they just don’t have the resources. Hornby need to ditch the brands that are dragging them down.
I have built a couple of Airfix 1/600 scale warships with White Ensign PE and they bring new life to the old kits and adds a level of detail which compares well with modern kits.
I think model ship builder are hungry for WW1 vintage Dreadnoughts and battle cruisers. Love to see a 1/350 HMS Queen Elizabeth or HMS Lion.
And their German opponents
@ An SMS Derfflinger would be an amazing kit.
1:350 scale Iron Duke, Orion, Tiger, Dreadnaught, Queen Elizabeth and an "R" class, the last two in original construction form for me................PLEASE!
HMS Tiger please, such a pretty ship.
Why does it always have to be a warship? Besides the Titanic, there are so few merchant ship kits out there. If you are risk averse, make RMS Carpathia to complement all those Titanics out there.
I agree, there are many vessels of interest in the merchant service but most modellers of today seem more interested in machines of war so it is understandable that is what is produced.
@alexbenis4726 trumpeter is releasing a 1/200 Olympic to compliment their Titanic. Hobby Boss has done a new tool 1/400 Titanic.
Good point. Back in the day I remember making the Cutty Sark for example and I'd love to have another go now I've more experience, appropriate tools and particularly an airbrush!
@@mikem67 Like models of the Spitfire I feel Titanic has been done to the point were I personally have no interest.
@@oldfella3919 I made the Revell Cutty Sark some time ago and would like to make another too.
Hi Jason, it's definitely not a pop at Airfix, but a balanced explanation of where they are as a company in the current global financial situation. Having worked for a large company in the UK, in many different roles, companies will not risk their business sustainability on projects that can have an adverse effect on the balance sheet.
Hi Jason, it would be nice if Airfix decided to revisit some of the ships in the future, but their explanation for the strategy they have is perfectly understandable. They have to look at the bigger picture and after their business. From my perspective as a mainly plane modeller Airfix does a great job with recent releases. Great video, thanks for sharing your balanced views. Have a great day, Dom
A lack of choice of model ships, plus the cost recently got me into scratch building and that got me into RC sailing and i haven't bought another kit since. Now i just see a boat i like and build one ...and then have fun playing on our boating lake with other like minded people . Better than a placky model gathering dust on the shelf. Currently building 3 boats, a 5ft pilot cutter, a 3ft swift boat and a 2ft 6 hardy 18 motor sailor. ...next is a replica orca from jaws .now i can pretty much build any boat out of 1 sheet of 2x4ft 4mm ply at a cost of £8.. opened up a whole new world for me 👍
Italieri have been successful with large scale E-Boats & M.T.B.'s, be nice to see a Fairmile D or even a Donald Campbell Bluebird. I still remember the Victory as a major kit to tackle.
Hi Jason. I remember writing an email to Airfix asking if they would do a large scale 1/64 18th century Royal Navy bomb vessel. There could be different variations to the ship such as a rocket vessel, and it would be something new that no other plastic model ship manufacturer has done. I also suggested producing aftermarket accessories and photo etch upgrade kits for their ship models. They were very polite in letting me know that there is no market for model ships. I'm building the Airfix 1/72 scale Golden Hinde right now when I have time from my oil paintings. I was able to purchase the Zvezda 1/72 scale Medieval Life Boat that I will add to the Golden Hinde as her shallop. I enjoyed watching your review of the Airfix Golden Hinde kit and it would be very nice to watch you super detail the model ship after you finish the Trumpeter 1/200 Scharnhorst.
The ship kit-builder market is so different now.
The standards & expectations are just so high compared to the toy ship model kits like Airfix or old Revell.
And let's be honest, sailing ships are just too niche to sell widely enough for the big manufacturers.
how can we say ships don't sell when the kits don't really exist? (in conventional scale, in recent tooling) and if the risk is too high, just start smaller.
it's bizarre that we're in this situation, in a country with the strongest affinity for both modelling and ships
Airfix should be ashamed the Chinese have a Queen Elizabeth Aircraft carrier out and it doesn’t.
I really like the 1/600 as it is not too big on the shelf yet not so tiny as the 1/700 scale. Their re-release of HMS Ajax was inspired. I would like re-toolings of Graf Spee and Bismarck (both low-risk kits), as well as a WW2 HMS Exeter. They would easily make money off a 1/100 HMS Shannon (1812).😊
I agree regarding scale but just wish for updated retooled releases.
@@ukdave57 Granted. The Airfix kit of Bismarck and Tirpitz is absolutely horrible! It desperately needs to be retooled!
Explains a lot was always hoping to see more ships like the 98 gunner HMS Temerair. But I can see why ship models can be considered a riskier venture compared to something like the bulldog, and the spitfire. Thanks for another great video Jason
The problem with Airfix is most of their kits are British. The UK has a population of around 68 million, not 340 million like the USA. Even Japan has a larger population than the UK with 125 million... When I was a child about the only World War II British ship kits available in most American stores were HMS Hood and HMS Prince of Wales, as well as the German ship kit Bismarck... On the other hand there were several World War II American ship kits available from USS Lexington, USS Missouri, USS Arizona, USS Enterprise, among others...
There is a huge gap in the market for European ships, pacific ships are well caterd for
@@ModelkitStuff Exactly. The WW2 French and Italian ships are crying out for some love.
If Airfix want some re-releasability then HMS Warspite alone went through many changes, and then there's her sisters. That's possibly a dozen releases with all the options. HMS Dreadnaught likewise.
@@hammondpickleplenty of UK ships as well
We enjoy building Brit ships here in the States, too. I would love a model of the Carpathia.
When it comes to ship building, I do 1/700 WW2 ships. I agree with you that there are many ships that either have never had been done or currently do not have one in the market. HMS Royal Oak and the U.S. New Mexico class are a couple that come to mind.
Probably the best (unintentional?) explanation of "business 101" I've heard. I hope to return to my "love" for ships in 2025. Merry Christmas Jason.
I used to make a lot of ships, mainly Airfix 1:600 WW2. When the supply of new ships dried up (though I never got King George V or Repluse as other interests intervened) I switched to aircraft and tanks, but to me those were second best.
What I like about 1:600 is it a good scale for most ships, a battleship is only about 15" long while a destroyer about half that. A 1:350 destroyer is a fair size but a battleship takes up a lot of shelf space. I did make the Revell 1:720 Ark Royal and Tribal class destroyer twice, once on a base as a diorama, but there was little else for the Royal Navy in that scale at the time.
I understand Airfix's quandary, but a completely new kit might excite a lot of interest. How about HMS Warrior? She is preserved at Portsmouth and receives thousands of visitors each year.
I really hope they re-release the Saint Louis as that is a beautiful ship. In terms of risk, I think Airfix is smart to create the “Vintage Airfix” line because that attracts interest. Plus, the tooling on vintage kits should not require as much capex as a brand new subject.
As a U.S. ship modeler. I’m very happy, generally speaking, with US options. However for my tea and crumpet consuming brethren there’s not much oth there. I’d love to build Renown, repulse or a mini fleet of tribals but the options aren’t great.
1/700 and 1/350 are currently the dominant and popular scales NOT the ancient 1/600
It is understandable why Airfix is reluctant to develop new ship kits, it is a huge investment, although they did release a Shannon Class Lifeboat this year.which you did not pick up on. But that said they are sluggish in releasing those which they have already have tooling for. I am hoping that they are going to continue to do annual releases in their classic kits range. For example I would like to see HMS Shannon which has been absent for over 30 years and even the newer ones like HMS Illustrious or the Trafalgar class submarine.
Simple. Ships are NOT Airfix's main market. That's it. That's all there is to it.
True, I'd say it's the same with cars where Airfix is concerned as well.
The airfix Bounty was the first ship kit I ever built in my early teens - and it immediately caused me to lose interest in any other type of modelling. And in my adolescence I did build every plastic model and lamented the lack of interesting subjects. While I fondly remember painting the Golden Hind from airfix, the truth of the matter is that only plastic ship kits ever made that are worth displaying are pretty much the Heller Victory and Soleil Royal and Revells old 96 scale Constitution and, to lesser extent, Cutty Sark. And even those need a lot of help out of the box with addition of wooden blocks and where possible, metal bits (photo etch was not a thing back then). But I do remember hating the fact that all the plastic models available where of models that are either done to death, or quite frankly, just a bit ugly as they represents the big lumbering platforms like the Victory.
But I suppose most ship enthusiasts move to wooden models sooner or later as the offerings are just that much better. It's been two decades since I built a plastic model, but I would be happy to give it another go if there was a model that I'd actually want to have in my home. Currently, there are no such offering by any manufacturers. For me, relatively modern civilian ships would be where most potential for plastic is.
I've always wondered about that, and it's good to get an explanation from a source within Airfix. It would be nice to see some new UK ships coming from Airfix, though, and some modifications to the existing ones if possible to bring them a bit more up to date instead of straight reissues as Vintage Classics.
I would love to built a Battleship of the Queen Elizabeth Class in it's WW1 configuration. And in their WW2 config too.
I also would love to have SMS Seydlitz, Derfflinger just to name a few.
I am shure a reoffering of PRINCE 1670 with a redone moulds and some small addition in resine. By this step a new decoration sprue could do an other XVI century first class ship.
Prince 1670 would be great as well as other XVII ships.
This video popped up in recommended which was nice as it was a question i always had.
The lack of airfix ship kits was the main reason i moved away from them. I wanted to buy airfix kits because they are cheaper being more local. But ships specifically must have a good amount of diversity as theyre a different kind of model generally. The differences in some ships of the same class is drastic at times. Which gives a nice amount of variety.
Scales also plays a factor. I started taking modelling seriously with the airfix 600 HMS Repulse. Had to move to 700 kits outside of airfix simply due to lack of variety. Loved building japanese ships for a while. And now that im older with a bit more talent im diving into more and more 350 scale ships despite any flaws they have. An inaccurate kit is better than no kit. And wooden decks and photo etch can make any inacurate model look good.
Im just on the finishing stages of Trumpeters 350 HMS York. Sister to HMS Exeter. Yet the ships are radically different in appearance.
I even switched from humbrol paint to tamiya paint because i love that the paint doesnt immediately require thinning to use.
Airfixs biggest problem now is that they are so far behind the trend now that its almost impossible to catch up.
But the way to do it is with Niche ships. Ones that have never been done before. The courageous class for example have never been done properly in either their aircraft carrier or battlecruiser form. HMS Renown has never been done in 350 scale and id love a 350 Renown to go beside my 350 Repulse.
An HMS Vanguard model would also fill a gap in the market. You could do dreadnought and vanguard as the first and the last of battleships.
They cant keep wallowing in the middle ground of vintages. Either kill ships and focus on on other areas. Or retool/develop something new.
A choice must be made.
I would love to see Airfix retool HMS Victory, perhaps in a more common scale such as 1:192. This would make it compatible with many excellent plans such as those found in the Anatomy of The Ship series books. As for increasing the variants possible from a single kit, what about including options to make the model into HMS Royal Sovereign, 100? These might include different figureheads, focsle and quarterdeck armaments, boats, nameboards, etc. - just a thought.
Another suggestion for Airfix, should they ever do ships again, would be to make companion kits for HMS Victory of different rates IN THE SAME SCALE. A 74-gun ship of the line would be especially appreciated; there were sixteen 74's at Trafalgar, so here's another possibility for multiple variants from one kit instead of a "one and done" kit.
There were 38 '74's if you include the Allied fleet, and many of the British ones were prizes taken from the French at some point previously. The only '74 kit I know of is the Superbe/Glorieux, which is pretty good but I'm sure Airfix could do better ! But I love the idea of doing companion kits in the same scale. Things like sloops and brigs would be less expensive for tooling and design, and would hit the market at a low enough price they should be popular "starter" kits.
Did he say anything at least about re-releasing some more ships under the Vintage Classic range?
Prince, Royal Sovereign, Discovery, Saint Louis etc??
Nope , but they must know everyone and his dog wants a Prince
@@ModelkitStuffbut do they care Jason ?
@nickbrough8335 it's not they don't care, it's lack of money and probably the condition of the tools.
@mikem67 I can see that but it doesn't worry them when they keep churning out the ancient Victory, and I doubt the Cutty Sark is much better.
@@mikem67 how difficult or expensive is it to make a new sprue though or add 3D printed resin details and charge £10 extra ? (Or whatever).
You have go give it to Airfix. They do what would you like Polls now and then, and their latest releases do seem to reflect that. For example I've been lucky. I wanted upscaled Seaking, British post war AFV Ferrets, Saracens Pige etc, and we got a ferret, Lysander, so I do record these being popular. The one kit I would love to see Retooled and even in a larger scale is HMS Fearless. So maybe if they put out another wish list. Bombard them with ships so they can gauge the viability.
I cut my teeth on Airfix from back in the 70's, even stuck with them over Matchbox, although I did have a few🤫. But Airfix did loose their way a bit and got left behind. However imho theey are back. They are up there with the rest, most of my stash is starting to see more Red boxes, to the point they are all I buy these days depending on subject of course. So I will eagerly my HMS Fearless unless someone else comes out with one
Hi, I am not sure the Airfix approach makes sense, for example some of the moldings for HMS Belfast, could also be used for Colony or other Town class cruisers, thus saving money, but also introducing an increased ship range. It could be argued that the Hornby group itself are focussing on the wrong products, such as the Introduction of the 3mm scale railways..
Retooling & updating IT, should be a normal business running cost. Yes to HMS Victory retooling, otherwise Airfix will lose their ground in the market.
Thank you very thought provoking.
Tony
The fact that trumpeter is constantly releasing new ship kits and a healthy aftermarket built around these releases shows there is DEFINITELY a market for ships ( They just released a 1/200 Fletcher destroyer). Anyone at Airfix saying there is no market for shps is not paying attention.
Just the sheer number of groups on facebook and other social media sites dedicated to the Titanic would justify a new tooll kit of any of the classic liners, let alone the Titanic.
Im sure a few years ago they had a scratch built 1/350 QE aircraft carrier on display at a show and they asked if people would be interested in them doing a proper kit of it in 1/350......and the vote online was overwhelmingly yes..... but, nothing ever came of it, they have their old 1/350 Illustrious, so they can do it
I think you’ll find most of your subscribers are ship builders because most of your channel contains ships. Having said that, I have very happy memories of building the Victory with my dad, all those years ago. I would look a the Roy cross art work for hours
Sorry I dont accept that fully whilst I do always have 1 plastic ship on the go I have only compleated 1 plastic ship in 2 years the other 12 compleated builds were not ships
Wonder if their choice of 1/600 is an issue? The "market" has decided on 1/700, a problem for anyone looking for a constant scale collection.
I would love to see old ww2 aircraft carriers like the furious and the Hermes, I would also like to see the post war Hms Ark Royal
Would be nice to see some WW1 battlecruisers and some WW2 British Cruisers in 1/350 scale. My particular wish however is for a 1/35O Type 42 batch 3 destroyer, such as HMS York or Gloucester. Probably the most handsome ships the RN has ever had, but sadly ignored by model manufacturers
Agreed.
Airfix, like most kit makers, have to produce 'bread and butter' subjects - they won't survive without them, and it funds future projects. The upshot is that the financial risk is (like you correctly say) too great to carry. Notwithstanding that, the older Airfix ship moulds are still viable in my opinion. Most of the plastic ship builders I know, still buy them (at some rediculous prices), and spend their time researching and modifying them to portray them at a particular time during their service life.
Airfix do need to conduct research into the ship market, and see what the people want. Or don't.
Its strange, Britain built some of the most important and famous ships in history yet they are hard to find in model form, ships like warrior, lusitania, dreadnought, great Britain, Holland to name a few.
sounds like Airfix is in the same situation as Leyland truck & bus to British Leyland cars ,a profit making section propping up a loss making section
They can release the Thermopylae, which is basically the Cutty Sark with a nicer paint scheme...😊
I remember the release of the Airfix HMS Cossack ,and all the subsequent 600th scale ships which at the time were decent enough models especially for the price. My only wish at the time was the lack of railings and no option of building them as water-line models. Eaglewall did release a whole rang of 1200 scale ships with the water-line option and in my opinion the best Graff Spee model even better that Airfix with its very chunky moulding especially the main guns, The Trumpeter and Dragon 1/350 models are totally inaccurate in the basic lay-out that I binned the Trumpeter one in disgust, and left the Dragon one on the shop's shelf as they'd made the same errors. Probably the best release of the Graff Spee was the Aurora release in her pre-war fit. The later Airfix ship releases were far better than those early releases, just look at the likes of KG5, Prinz Eugen, HMS Belfast, etc, all fabulous models well detailed accurate and well moulded, and even today they still stand-up against modern mouldings, just maybe add PE railings. But those early kits could now really do with some retooling and more modern detailing like on the previously mentioned kits, And if the price is right I can guarantee they'd sell even in 600 scale, just add the options of PE railings and water-line. After-all Airfix can include various options in many of the aircraft kit with parts and/or weapons that'll just end-up in the "spares" box. Just looking at the Tribal class there were 16 built plus the Australian and Canadian and most had some differences, so variation could be included or released with extra parts. The same goes for cruisers, and think of all the variations to the Queen Elizabeth class of battle-ships, Warspite etc, and I'm sure a new decent ACCURATE Graff Spee would be well appreciated just remember the fore-mast was telescopic to enable it to clear the bridges in the Kiel Canal as virtually all model have this mast in the retracted position. As for the Airfix tall ships, HMS Victory is the obvious choice and many could be sold in the souvenir shop in Portsmouth, to gether with the little baby starter versions. Personally I'd love to see the re-introduction of those small simple sailing ships as they were relatively quick and easy to build and made up into beautiful little models that took virtually no room to display. So, come on Airfix there's a whole new market out there just waiting with money to spend in their sweaty little hands. I've only brought one new kit in about the last three years, and that was the Vintage Classic HMS Ark Royal, but a new tool 600 scale destroyer or cruiser ( HMS Ajax, Exeter, Suffolk:) might just be toooo tempting to resist. Just don't take too long as I might be at the great modelling bench in the sky.
I think thr addition of a model tool extra sprue to provide better detailing would make a massive difference to all these classic kits (ships and aircraft).
I would like to see HMS Ark Royal, HMS London and HMS Mohawk (1977/78) in 1/600 scale.
Model warships are the best models, especially model Royal Navy warships.
The trouble with Hornby... is Hornby. Their locos are waaaay too expensive. And Airfix are partially funding Hornby's losses.
I understand the Airfix strategy of not taking a risk with releasing or re-releasing maritime kits particularly when the Airfix arm of Hornby Hobbies is essentially propping up the other brands. That being said it would be welcome to have a new tooled maritime subject sometime in the near future when market conditions allow. Thanks for sharing this Jason.
This is a very thorny problem. I love the old 1/600 kits, but, in 2024, this scale is pretty unique.
I think that we of the older generation have to be realistic and accept that we now have a far greater choice of manufacturers and, ultimately, they all want to be profitable.
Three cheers if Airfix brings out a new naval tooling, but the money is in aircraft.
Cheers
Phil
Perhaps Airfix need to think laterally in terms of scale and subject. Although I appreciate it might upset a few people, rather than sticking with current scales they could make ships in scales that are compatible with wargaming scales, and design them so they can be made for display or as waterline models and with options for simplified construction to withstand the rigours of the wargames table. As an example, I've seen wargamers buy three, four or more Revell Viking Ships (which are quoted as 1/50 scale) for Dark Age wargames.
1/150th is close to N gauge, and used by 12mm wargamers, and 1/100 is 15mm (although scale creep is an issue). I can see Liberty Ships in those scales selling well.
For Age of Sail vessels, a 1/150 scale generic "74" with enough optional parts to make it for periods between 1750 and 1815 would appeal to customers across Europe not just in the UK, and small ships (brigs, sloops, etc) in 15mm scale. 28mm or 15mm Napoleonic ship's longboats would be a low-cost, low risk item which would likely sell incredibly well to wargamers. The nearest is the Zvezda medieval lifeboat, which I've sold more of than any other Zvezda kit with a lot of them going to wargamers looking for anything they can use as boats for games representing an amphibious landing.
I must be a similar age to you and I too grew up building Airfix and Matchbox kits and loved them. I have been away from modelling for a while but coming back I was upset to see Matchbox long gone and seriously want to support Airfix, however I tend to only buy there later offerings as I am shocked that they still get away with releasing 40, 50 year old kits that are an absolute nightmare in terms of fit, accuracy, quality etc - I would love to build Victory, Hood, Illustious etc so much but there is no way I am risking my limited hobby funds (I am in New Zealand so they cost even more) on kits I know are basically rubbish and at my level I will not be able to build satisfactorily. Yes it is a balancing act I totally get that - but I often feel Airfix are damaging their brand by continually releasing kits that youngsters and newbies are going to be unhappy with and give up on. They are not alone in this the American model car and truck manufacturers are the same. I will continue to support Airfix as like you I love them - but generally only their later offerings and as I personally don't care for planes it is difficult.
Would like to see HMS Sovereign of The Seas. Made it over 40yrs ago but it got smashed in one of our moves about ten years ago.
Problem, you talked about warships and Victory. What about all those existing civilian ship models that Airfix has; S.S. Canberra, Queen Elizabeth, QE2, Mauritania, Free Enterprise, SRN-4; sadly no longer a S.S. France. They did release recently the SR-N1. Surely these moulds exist and can be cleaned up for not too much cost. And was so surprised that Airfix didn't produce a 1/600 scale "new" MV Queen Victoria or Queen Elizabeth cruise-ships.
There are some fascinating modern day cruise ships out now that would be great to build as model kits. The last new one I remember was the Queen Mary 2 and even that is nearly 20 years old now. I guess it's getting permission from the owners of the cruise lines etc that may be holding that back.
I go to Takom, Hobby Boss, I Love Kit, and Border Models for my ship kits. As for Airfix it's aircraft only for me.
I fully agree with you. There are so many ships Airfix could put on the market, like they did during the 60-70's. Even Heller (France) is doing better.
Less of a market than endless spitfires? Really?
I'd pay to get a reissue of the old Airfix RMS Mauretania and RMS Queen Elizabeth
If only
I am pretty sure Airfix's issue is money, the lack of it. It's not the market. There is a significant market for ship models. Just look at YT and the channels devoted to ship models, the resale market on eBay, and look at the very impressive aftermarket dedicated to ships. It's not the lack of or a soft market for ships but possibly the weakness (or lack of) of airfix marketing and research to identify the market.
There are subjects that, no matter how many have been released, they always sell. The Tiger tank, Me-109, spitfire, P-51, and Corsair are examples of "go-to" subjects for new manufacturers or existing legacy manufacturers for sure sales. Regardless of how many are released, they sell. The same applies to ships. Subjects like Bismarck, HMS Hood, Illustruos, Yamato, Titanic, and Missouri will always sell. I am pretty sure Airfix will find an eager market for subjects of the Royal Navy. 1/350 releases are the sweet spot for these ships, like 1/48 aircraft and 1/35 armor. Also include at least a minimal PE set of railings and details. I would recommend a 1/350 Bismarck (or Hood) and a 1/350 Lusitania as new entries into the ship market.
I'm not sure if re-tooling 50 year old kits is worth the expense due to the amount of work on the tools. If the HMS victory tools are in that bad of a condition it just might make more sense to do a new tool with modern design and engineering.
Sailing ships are making a come back (see secondary markets), but may be more of a limited market. However, a new tool victory would be huge not only in the home market of the UK but globally.
The thing is these ship kits don't need to be a low end entry level price. The builders of these ship kits are used to paying a premium price already. New sailing ship kits can afford to be priced higher, same for larger (1/350 and above) battleships and cruisers.
I would certainly get a Victory in either 1:144 or even 1:350
If there's no market for ships, as you say Trumpeter and every other cottage industry firms still make them, i have been hoping Airfix would have done the HMS. Prince of Wales in 1/350 scale, but having said that i just can't afford to buy Airfix kits any more? The last kit i bought was the Austin Ambulance in 1/35th cost me over £35 to me that kit was worth about £12 for the spruces you got, But Airfix need to come up with something soon as 3D stuff is now taking over!
1/350 or 1/700 emeracey wartime class depending how you do it will make RN about 10ships then there is norway Belgian dutch indian pakistan greece which used these ships after ww2
I like armour and Aircraft and cars predominantly but I do build ships and submarines here and there. I do like the ocean liners. Argos should fix up the molds for Mauritania and the Queen Elizabeth as well as their old SS France and put them out again.
I here what your saying but I live in hope that 1 day they will re- release HMS Prince, my fav ship.
Interesting video. For me model kits have always been expensive even back in the early 80s yes people would argue they aren’t and the of things are relevant for the times. Think though if you want to do a HMS Hood with a good detail set it’s a lot of money. Anyway I would really like to see HMS Vanguard in 200 scale a beautiful ship also better versions of the King George class a 200 scale Iowa in 80s refit would be nice as they are interesting to many my age and they would sell there’s market for plenty of kits that aren’t available even aircraft 32nd scale Buccaneers and Jaguars. Anyway great videos sorry for whining on..
The problem with Airfix js their customers tend to want planes and vehicles. No wooden shop modeller like me would never build a plastic version of a period ship if they fancied a change from wood to plastic.
I dont agree that Airfix have a problem. there customers can only buy what they sell. I am a wood modeller as you will know from the channel and I love the plastic tab ships, its a difrent challange, and I know other like me so I am afraid I dont agree with you at all on this one.
@ that’s ok. We all have our opinions. So it’s best just to disagree.
There is no market for ships = There is no (or too little a) market for _Airfix_ ships.
I made a couple of new Airfix 1:72 Lifeboat kits this year. Ideal for my model railway harbour scene. (Shannon & Severn types). So premise of video not entirely true.
Dec uls is pronounced dēˌkal over here in the states- it took a couple hearings for me to make the connection. To make matters worse I am an ex pat from Britain, mind you my move to the states in '63 was a while ago.
There is a lot of mispronunciation of English outside the UK
I would like to Majestic as different countries operated aircraft carrier class, HMAS Vampire n HMAS Onslow again different countries operated these vessels. I would prefer build fleet. Modern fleet maybe T26 or Hobart DDG but able modify by adding more VLS n enlarge hellopad, you do similar with Meko 200 there are so many versions that would by RAN n NZ fleet. Anzac 150 i would do full warfighting version which it miss out on. Even offer different helicopters, loadouts for T26 "the what if versions".
If you think ships have it rough, try Real Space!
Hi Jason
It's great that you got to speak to Dale of Airfix and really appreciate that as your channel is top notch.
I can get regards the financial side IF HORNBY HOBBIES aren't doing well, but in all honesty it's one excuse after another for the last don't know how many years from Airfix regards to building at least 1 new sailing ship or ships. Myself personally i don't want a re-tooling but a brand new one that isn't on the market. I am now at the point where i couldn't care less about them, as much as it hurts because they do hold a place in my heart bk in the day. That may seem harsh but, they have totally ignored the ship builders for way way too long and with so many excuses, and I for one are done with them.
I now spend good money elsewhere be it Wooden kits like Occre, Mamoli, Caldercraft, Model shipways or Heller in plastic, I have actually now ventured into the likes of Fujimi, Aoshima, Hasegawa and Pitroad-Skywave regards to ww2 Japanese Battleships etc.
Imho Airfix now, will always come up with excuses not to build new ships or even re tool the older ones, they have dug there tunnel too long regards to aircraft. It's not the way I want it to be, but it's what Airfix has done themselves.
As part of the Hornby group Airfix may well be struggling as I would think any profits they may make are being swallowed up by Hornby railways. Have you seen the cost of locomotives? At what must be great risk they launched their new TT gauge range which must be putting a fairly large strain on finances. I don't want to see Airfix disappear but I will not purchase any more of their "classic kits" they are terrible and certainly not doing them any favours by keep releasing very old tooled kits. The kits are just going to get worse as the tools wear out.
@@ukdave57poor decision making through out the group imo.
I want US warships from the 80s. Ships that I served on like the California and the Conyngham. Not that I don’t like WWII ships but I agree about a larger verity to build.
Why on earth would you want Airfix to remake ships in 1/600?
Whether you like it or not, the 1/700, 1/350 and 1/200 scales are the norm for the vast majority of ship modellers.
If you have a collection of 1/700 ships, placing a 1/600 scale ship next to them is something that would be a constant niggle to me.
Perhaps, the niche 1/600 scale was part of the problem for Airfix in the recent decades?
I last made a model aircraft kit decades ago. i have no talent or skill that i know of, i found this kit at home, a series 9 model i want to do it but boy oh boy, it will look bad.
I am so Sick of Tirpitz and Bismarck kits across the board, Why not one of the German Raiders! Atlantis, Comet, Stier etc. in a larger scale!
I kind of think Airfix have lost their way.
I think airfix days are numbered .
They simply are not competitive enough in the market place.
Check pronunciation of 'Lysander'.
Personally i think its highly likely Airfix wont last too much longer. They are living of reissues and reboxings too much, have too many holes in their range and have too many QC issues. I spend much more elsewhere and increasingly with niche players releasing more unusual subjects. When(if perhaps) DB Models releases its Scimitar I’m an almost immediate buyer (unless reviews make it clear its poor quality).
they should experiment with 1 200 scale for destroyers and frigates
Too large imo. I/350 and 1/144 scale are about right display space wise.
What about a 1/350 liberty ship , the 2 from trumpeter are awful, don't forget the new Royal Navy ships that are currently being built, the list is endless. Also it's the same with 1/35 railway items not much going on there Also......
Maybe they are busy designing/making my 1/48 B-47 and C-119B!!! Why there is not ALREADY a 1/48 of these aircraft is ridiculas. As for ship models, companies need to stick to less "scales". Maybe 1/350 and 1/72. Personally, I like larger scales of smaller ships where the detail can be on a human scale. In 1/72 a human sailor is small, but gives the option of an interior if designed with removable decks....not just a solid hollow hull and surface details.....as tiny as they are. 1/700 is crazy small for a 800 foot ship. 14" guns are like plastic toothpicks. Too me, a waste of time.