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New Airfix 1/48 Buccaneer


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Hey All,

 

I just got the new 1/48 Airfix Buccaneer.  I had read a few negatives about this airplane, in addition to all the superlatives, and I thought I'd pass on my very initial thoughts.  Some folks had said that the box/plastic had a strong, awful smell.  I did not notice that upon opening the box.  There was a bit of smell, but no different than the smell I would say is present when opening any other new model box.  Next, others had noted that some parts were short shot.  I took a cursory look at the sprues inside their sealed bags, and found nothing that was obviously short shot.  I see that Airfix appears to be following Tamiya's lead in providing large, full color prints of the painted planes (all 4 options for decals), and a separate page showing all the stencil locations.  Pretty cool!  The decal sheet is huge, filling almost the whole bottom of the pretty large box.  Of course, the proof of what constitutes a good model doesn't happen until the parts go together.  I'm hoping the build is as nice as the details I've noted thus far!

 

I know I've not provided anything significant here, but thought I'd pass on my first impressions.

Edited by Curt B
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3 hours ago, Crash Test Dummy said:

Do you have all the sprues?  Missing sprues is another issue I've seen some people report.

Wow, I didn't even think to check that, but upon further review, yes I have all the sprues.  They are REALLY well packaged in big plastic bags, with a LOT of excess plastic hanging over the sealed edges of the bags, which acts as kind of cushioning for the sprues inside the box.  I have to give Airfix a big thumbs up for good packaging and protection of the parts.  And several of the sprues are the same size as the box, which means HUGE.  For a 1/48 scale kit, these are the largest sprues I have ever seen!!!

Edited by Curt B
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On 11/18/2022 at 7:44 PM, Crash Test Dummy said:

Do you have all the sprues?  Missing sprues is another issue I've seen some people report.

From what I've read someone started the rumor allegedly saying ALL shipped Buccanneers were missing sprue G & H, but upon verification Squadron is the one receiving all the claims and looks like they're the ones that received a defective lot or batch of kits. Airfix is shipping the sprues to them. Looks like everyone else's kit is ok, including mine.

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I bought and built the model upon it’s release. Mine was purchased from Hannants and was in perfect shape. In a nutshell, this is a solid “good” kit. Everything about it is “good” except the decal and plans which are  “great”. Be prepared to fill a bit, get the wing folds to align (wing spread)and contemplate how to deal with seats and harnesses. Attention must be paid to the back seater’s position as there are multiple variations depending on version and time frame. Even a good google search didn't get me conclusive answers to that.

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My kit was bought in the UK (Hannants) from the first batch and shipped to me privately - it is complete as far as I can tell, at least runners G and H are present.

The only gripe is, again, the canopy. It's so facetted and distorted it looks like it came straight from the '70s. I think some good solid sanding and polishing is in order, hopefully that won't reveal any inclusions or flow marks...

J

Edited by JeffreyK
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4 hours ago, phantomdriver said:

Anyone have a sprue F?

Mine has all the rest

I don't think you need the Sprue F.  Mine doesn't have it either.  I checked the instruction and I could not see any F parts.

j

Edited by solher1
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