Andre Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 Good evening, I know Airfix is to come out with 1/72nd Canberra B(I).8 and PR.9 kits this year, but: 1. are these new kits of their own molds, or repops of the earlier Frog and Xtrakits (or even Matchbox..?) kits? 2. do they have 'fishbowl' canopy versions in the pipeline? TIA, Andre Quote Link to post Share on other sites
peebeep Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 1. are these new kits of their own molds, or repops of the earlier Frog and Xtrakits (or even Matchbox..?) kits? 2. do they have 'fishbowl' canopy versions in the pipeline? 1. As I understand it they will be Airfix's own tooling. 2. No, but MPM has a B2 listed for issue. peebeep Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andre Posted April 21, 2008 Author Share Posted April 21, 2008 Thanks! Cheers, Andre Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Chox Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 Seems to be a fairly safe bet that the 72nd kits are smaller versions of the 48th kits. You have to wonder if MPM will bother releasing their B2, although until we see the Airfix B2/6 in 48th or 72nd, there's always the worry that they might not get it right. The B8 is a pretty decent kit though despite some inaccuracies. There was a story going round that the 72nd Meteor was a rebox of the Xtrakit F8 but I'm assured that it's actually a new mould, so the Canberras will doubtless be new too. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Barr Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 There was a story going round that the 72nd Meteor was a rebox of the Xtrakit F8 but I'm assured that it's actually a new mould That's interesting; when the Xtrakit came out several sites said it was in co-operation with MPM, seems odd that they would turn around and do a second new tool of the same aircraft. I wonder if they did the leading edges of the wings different, I always thought they look too rounded and fat on the Xtrakit. Regards Jim Barr Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Chox Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 (edited) I believe the Xtrakit Meteor was indeed the same as the MPM kit wasn't it? I'm talking about the projected new Airfix F8 which people were assuming (wrongly) would also be the same Xtrakit/MPM mould. Evidently it isn't. I'd aleady bought two Xtrakit F8's before I heard about the Airfix kit. Like you, I think the outer wings do seem a little fat and I'm not entirely convinced that the nose isn't too fat too (I'm gonna check it against a real F8 soon as I get around to it!). On the assumption that the Airfix kit will be better (no guarantees of course), I also bought a couple of Xtrakit night fighters (the old Matchbox mould) so I can use these to combine with parts from the Xtrakit F8's and make a couple of good night fighters, and wait to see if the Airfix kit will be a better basis to produce some F8 models. I don't fancy building F8's from two different manufacturers! Edited April 25, 2008 by Chox Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Barr Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 I'm talking about the projected new Airfix F8 which people were assuming (wrongly) would also be the same Xtrakit/MPM mould. Thanks for the clarification, yes will be interesting to see how the Airfix compares Regards Jim Barr Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Red Dot Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 Can I modify any of the new Airfix Canberras in 48th or 72nd to make it a B-57A? Thanks Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Chox Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 (edited) Guess you'd need to wait for the B2 release and use that as the basis. Think you'll need to make some small mods though (like the fairing under the engine intakes) etc. I assume the 48th B2 kit will eventually appear in 72nd scale too but I haven't heard any official mention of this as yet? Edited April 29, 2008 by Chox Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JasonW Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 Guess you'd need to wait for the B2 release and use that as the basis. Think you'll need to make some small mods though (like the fairing under the engine intakes) etc.Or.....Get the 1/72 High Planes B-57A kit. High Planes kits are not for the faint of heart. They require a lot of work. A lot of work sanding, filling and fitting, but overall not a bad kit when you're finished building them. They can be a bit on the pricey side, but nothing that bad considering what kits go for these days. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Chox Posted May 6, 2008 Share Posted May 6, 2008 Test shots of the Airfix 48th B2 and the B-57 are floating about now, and it looks like your best bet will be to wait until the B-57 appears - I guess they will scale it down to 72nd eventually too. It looks like the kit has a completely different fuselage and wings so it has all the necessary bits to make a good B-57. The B2 looks promising too - no tedious forward fuselage insert as in the B(I)8 kit. Only slight disappointment is that the clear section is only the same as on the real aircraft - ie there's no one-piece clear nose to avoid a troublesome joint line. Shame they didn't stretch the clear section further back so the joint could be smoothed out easily and painted-over, but hopefully the clear part will fit to the nose without too much difficulty. Overall, these new Canberras are pretty impressive. Much better than those Classic Airframes kits. Not exactly overflowing with minor detail, but they've got some good scribed panel lines and overall they're pretty good in terms of shape. The only ugly bits are the wing tips (which are the wrong shape) and the forward sections of the tip tanks which are also wrongly shaped. And of course those hideous grooves cut into the rudder! But nothing that can't be put right fairly easily. Definitely worth waiting for I'd say. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jonathan Mock Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 Good evening, I know Airfix is to come out with 1/72nd Canberra B(I).8 and PR.9 kits this year, but: 1. are these new kits of their own molds, or repops of the earlier Frog and Xtrakits (or even Matchbox..?) kits? They are entirely all-new tooling, not repops of anyone's elses kits. 2. do they have 'fishbowl' canopy versions in the pipeline? I would hope so, I guess either SMW 2008 or the toy fairs will yield news one way or the other. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jonathan Mock Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 Test shots of the Airfix 48th B2 and the B-57 are floating about now More specifically they've been featured here over on Britmodeller, Spencer Pollard is building them for Military In Scale. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Julien (UK) Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 Airfix Meteor F8, xtrakit F8 and MPM F8 are all the same kit in different boxs. I have the MPM and it has some resin and PE in there. I have 2 xtrakits and looed in the airfix box and it is the same kit. Airif have cut the sprues to fit in a smaller box thats all. Have been told the canberas are new tool. Julien Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bafke Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 It was about time someone would come out with some new - and decent - Canberra models . I know there are 72nd models out but those come at a price . Can't wait . Stef PS got a date with the Meteor Wednesday ... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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