pigsty Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 (edited) I was in Guildford (Surrey, UK, for our overseas listeners) at the weekend and visited Antics and Muddlezone. In the latter a bloke up a ladder was busily changing prices on Airfix kits because, apparently, they've just put up their prices. Randomly, as far as I can tell. But around the corner in Antics they have the three current Canberra kits (Mk.8/12, Mk.9 and Mk.2/6/20/62) at different prices. Can't recall exactly which but I think it was the Mk.8/12 for £28, the Mk.2/6/20/62 for £30, and the Mk.9 for £22.50. Considering the amount of new tooling the Mk.9 needed, that's a bargain. Plus, Antics' website lists them all at £29.99, so I presume something has gone a bit wonky in the shop. And they have a tall stack of them - or at least they did three days ago! So if you can get to Guildford you may be able to pick up a bit of a steal. Edited February 17, 2009 by pigsty Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Digity Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Surprising that Antics would have any bargains - they're usually the most expensive shop round my way! Be warned though that the 48th Canberras ain't exactly wonderful, regardless of the precise price. They need an awful lot of work to make them look like Canberras - sadly! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jonbryon Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 Antics in Guildford is always worth checking out for a potential bargain. I picked up a new Tamiya 1/48 F-117 there once for £15! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Digity Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 Antics is a waste of space round my part of the world. £100 for a Trumpeter Lightning that you can pick-up for less than £80 a few miles away! Modelzone is a much more pleasant experience - wish they'd stop selling-off Revell Hunters for a tenner though as every time I see one I feel obliged to buy another... and another... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
spellbinder99 Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 the 48th Canberras ain't exactly wonderful, regardless of the precise price. They need an awful lot of work to make them look like Canberras - sadly! That opinion would seem to be at odds with pretty much every review I have read and the B1/8 I have in my stash. What is wrong with them in your opinion? Cheers Tony Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Digity Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 (edited) The wing tips are completely mis-shaped towards the trailing edges, the tip tanks are wrongly-shaped, the rudder is covered in hideous grooves, the engine cowlings are too bulbous at their widest point. On the B2 the canopy is too flat and sits too low, the forward nose is too fat/bulbous on the underside. Then there's the over-done panel lines (you can barely see panel lines on operational Canberras), the over-sized "detail" inside the flaps, the strange case of the missing air brake engraving on the B2's lower wings, the wierd oval-shaped DV windows on the canopy (and the B2 only had one in any case!) the very odd substitution of the B(I)8's lovely all-clear nose (which avoided an ugly joint line) for a "stick-on" nose in the B2... the annoying ridge inside the intake which has to be cut/sanded away... and that's just the major snags... don't even think about those house bricks on the PR9 wing which are supposed to be vortex generators... There's nothing truly show-stopping with the kits but it's very disappointing that having waited for them for so many years, they turned-out to be pretty poor by current standards. I'd be inclined to take a more philosophical view if the kits were cheap but when they cost nearly thirty quid a time, I think we're entitled to something a little better to be honest. But hey, it's a 48th Canberra so I guess we're better-off than we were - just! Edited February 23, 2009 by Digity Quote Link to post Share on other sites
scooter Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 I was in Guildford (Surrey, UK, for our overseas listeners) at the weekend and visited Antics and Muddlezone. In the latter a bloke up a ladder was busily changing prices on Airfix kits because, apparently, they've just put up their prices. Randomly, as far as I can tell. But around the corner in Antics they have the three current Canberra kits (Mk.8/12, Mk.9 and Mk.2/6/20/62) at different prices. Can't recall exactly which but I think it was the Mk.8/12 for £28, the Mk.2/6/20/62 for £30, and the Mk.9 for £22.50. Considering the amount of new tooling the Mk.9 needed, that's a bargain. Plus, Antics' website lists them all at £29.99, so I presume something has gone a bit wonky in the shop. And they have a tall stack of them - or at least they did three days ago!So if you can get to Guildford you may be able to pick up a bit of a steal. Sean - you seem like a Canberra expert.. I have a question: Which version of the Canberra can I use to make an Argentine Falklands version? Is it the Airfix 1/72?.... (my research has been somewhat confusing on this due to the lack of front-on photos) Thanks in advance. AC Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Digity Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 You need a B2 so your best bet would be the 48th scale Airfix kit, despite its faults. The decal sheet even includes an Argentine AF option. If you want 72nd scale, I think your best plan would be to wait for the impending release of the Airfix 72nd B(I)8 kit - you'd need to add a "greenhouse" canopy (Aeroclub?) and fill the nose windows, and alter the intakes/bullets slightly, etc., but nothing too time-consuming. The test shots of the B(I)8 look encouraging - looks like a better kit in 72nd with the panel lines and details (and inaccuracies!) all on a smaller scale. Airfix seem to be tight-lipped about any plans to release a B2 in 72nd scale although I guess it will appear sometime in the future, but if you can't wait that long, converting the B(I)8 would be fairly easy. Certainly a better option than the High Planes kits, or converting an Italeri B-57. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
scooter Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Thank you... ................ands thats why I did the post. I will wait then. AC Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Digity Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 There used to be a really nice B2 nose conversion (resin/vacform) that Airwaves did, for the Italeri B-57 kit. Dunno if you can still get it from Hannants but it would be ideal to stick on the Airfix B(I)8 when it's released. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pigsty Posted February 24, 2009 Author Share Posted February 24, 2009 (edited) Sean - you seem like a Canberra expert.. I have a question: Which version of the Canberra can I use to make an Argentine Falklands version? Is it the Airfix 1/72?.... (my research has been somewhat confusing on this due to the lack of front-on photos)Thanks in advance. AC Expert? Me? Nah, I'm just reading the words off the side of the box. Having said that, Digity's pretty much right. The Argentine B.Mk.62 was a refurbished B.Mk.2 (I'm getting this off Wikipedia) so the options are a 1/48 B.Mk.2 or a converted Something Else in 1/72. Classic Airframes too made a B.Mk.2 in 1/48 and I have a faint memory that it included some foreign markings, so it's probably a viable alternative if you can bear the price and the scratching around looking for one. Edited February 24, 2009 by pigsty Quote Link to post Share on other sites
madmanrick Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 the rudder is covered in hideous grooves, For the life of me, I cannot figure out exactly what the folks at Airfix were attempting to replicate with those grooves on the rudder?? I've looked at hundreds of pics of Canberra's, even the prototype didn't seem to have those grooves. Any idea where they came up with the idea that the rudder was grooved? Or was that simply a botched attempt to replicate the thin skin (similar to fabric covering) and framing under the rudders surface? If so, they ought to fire that guy! My reference sources are Midland's "British Secret Projects - Jet Bombers Since 1949", Aeroguide 7 - "Canberra", Putnam's "English Electric Aircraft and their Predecessor's" and all the online pics I could find. Rick Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Digity Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 (edited) It's a mystery. I saw the grooved rudder on the test shot and I figured that more than enough people would have commented on it, to ensure that it wouldn't be in the production kit but nope, there it was! I guess it's no big deal - you can fill and sand it in minutes - but it's just one of a whole list of annoying faults. No kit is ever perfect but at around £30 I think it reasonable to expect the fundamentals to be there, even if you have to add your own exra details. As it is, there are too many niggling faults which you can't even overlook if you want the kit to look like a real Canberra. I think the worst fault is the wing tip which is so mis-shaped, and yet nobody seems to have even noticed. Likewise, the tip tanks are just wierd. The nose contours ain't bad, and you could simply sand the lower fuselage under the nose so it isn't quite so fat, and having seen the Aeroclub canopy, I hope John Adams puts it into production as it's a simple way to put-right that particular problem. It's annoying that they reverted to a "stick-on" clear nose when the B(I)8 kit has a lovely clear full nose section which can be painted-out, thus avoiding the usual clear/solid joint line - why the hell did they abandon this for the B2? It's crazy! I guess you have to take a philosophical view and conclude that even with all the faults, you have the basis to make a good model, even if it isn't exactly an inexpesive kit. However it's certainly better than the afore-mentioned CA kit which would take even more work to make it look right. The good news is that the 72nd kits don't look bad at all - scaling everything down seems to have made all the faults less obvious. Just seems odd that Airfix claim that they have no plans to release a B2 in 72nd scale. My hunch is that they will release one eventually as they'd be mad to do a PR9 and a B(I)8 and not produce the variant that has the most potential. Maybe they're just doing the old commercial trick of pushing the PR9 and B(I)8 first in the hope that everybody will buy them, and then buy the B2 as well if it comes along later. It's just very frustrating when you've waited for the kit for so long (must be about ten years or so since it was first mentioned, and back then there was talk of following-on with a 48th Hunter and Meteor...) and when it finally appears, it's a bit of a disappointment! But it's better than nothing certainly and if Aeroclub produce a replacement canopy, everything else can be put right with a bit of filler, cutting and sanding. Wonder if Revell will ever produce a really good 32nd scale Canberra? It would fit-in with their German interests... Edited February 24, 2009 by Digity Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pigsty Posted March 12, 2009 Author Share Posted March 12, 2009 Leaving aside all questions of accuracy, I can confirm that there are still a few left at that price - it doesn't appear to be an aberration. Antics Online has all three flavours of Cranberry listed at £29.99 so this may be the only cheap PR.Mk.9 in the country. If you ask nicely, I may be able to slip across to Guildford and pick one up for sending on... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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