Airfix Model Railways

From 1975 to 1981, Airfix also manufactured a line of ready-to-run (i.e. non-kit) model railway stock in OO gauge (1/76.2 scale). These models were based on British prototypes and at the time of introduction, they represented a significant improvement in detailing and prototype accuracy compared to British outline model railway stock from other British ready-to-run manufacturers such as Hornby. The product range expanded fairly rapidly in the first few years. A model of a Great Western Railway (GWR) 0-4-2 autotank steam locomotive and GWR autocoach are amongst some of the many memorable and important product releases. Airfix also offered an analogue electronics-based multiple train control system (MTC) allowing independent control of multiple locomotives on the same track. Airfix produced a large number of plastic kits for both railway stock and scenic items. Some of these such as the footbridge and engine shed became instantly recognizable to almost every railway modeller in the UK.

The brand label was changed to Great Model Railways (GMR) in 1979, although the Airfix name was still included. However, Airfix left the model railway business in 1981. The models were sold to one of its main competitors, Palitoy who produced the Mainline range of products. The former Airfix moulds together with the Palitoy designed 2P 4-4-0 and Class 56 diesel were later re-sold to Dapol Ltd and then subsequently to Hornby. Dapol provided new chassis for the 14xx and Castle. The remainder of the Mainline Railways had been produced for Palitoy by Kader Industries and ownership of those tools remained with Kader, being later used to form the basis of the Bachmann Branchline models. Dapol continues to produce (but not promote) most of the kits but as the moulds (some now over forty years old) wear out the kits are being discontinued. Hornby continues to make 4mm/ft scale models from the Airfix mouldings.

A monthly magazine, Model Trains, was published by Airfix from January 1980. The magazine included especially good articles aimed at newcomers to the hobby and also included many articles about modelling US and Continental European railways, as well British prototype railways. The publication of Model Trains continued for some years after Airfix ceased ownership in 1981. A change in the editorial team saw the original Model Trains editorial staff launch a new title as Scale Trains, in April 1982. A slight name change followed in April 1984, as Scale Model Trains following the final issue of Model Trains in December 1983. Scale Model Trains ran till June 1995, when a new publisher was found and the magazine was relaunched in 1995 as Model Trains International, the November/December issue being issue number 1. As of 2007, it continues to be published bi-monthly.

Airfix Dogfighter

Airfix Dogfighter is a fun, simple, action-based flight simulator with model airplanes. The scene is a large house where all of the family has gone away except for you. You take the role of a prank-loving, imaginative, Home Alone kind of kid, roaming around with your self-made airplane and pretending to be a fighter pilot in World War II. As the reality changes into true scenarios, the house and its interior come alive, transforming into inspiring battlegrounds and action-packed missions such as dogfights, bomb raids, and furious multiplayer games.

Airfix Dogfighter also lets you create your own houses and areas for multiplayer games with the House Editor (included). The Paint Editor allows you to create your own terrifying symbols to decorate your plane.

To download the demo click here

Airfix Dogfight Video

Check out this fantastic new Airfix animation in HD featuring two new kits for 2010 in a "Dogfight", the Spitfire Mk1a and Bf109E. Make sure you subscribe to the Official Airfix YouTube Channel.

Airbrushing Versus Hand Painting

You love to assemble model cars. It has become a favored pastime. You have even decided to display your completed cars where everyone can enjoy them. You are just having one issue. You cannot decide whether you should show your hand painted cars or your airbrushed ones. While one set has a lot of love and dedication in it the other showcases your skill and technique. So how do you know which is better, airbrushed or hand painted? Much of your answer will depend on exactly who you ask. Some expert modelers will tell you that hand painting is the hardest technique to master while others will say the same thing about airbrushing. The best way to decide is to look at the pros and the cons to both and decide for yourself.

People have been hand painting model cars for many long years. As the only method of adding color to their otherwise monochromatic models hand painting was the only choice that was available for most. Airbrushing was something that only body shop owners had the means to accomplish. Home airbrush kits were not made available for some time. So, they learned to do with what they had. From a bland beginning hand painted models soon became very beautiful works of art. With experience came better techniques and greater detail. Those who have been painting their model cars for some time now can apply a paint job that will easily rival any that would be available commercially for a full size car.

One drawback to hand painting is the time it takes. You must apply a bit of paint and wait for what seems like forever. Slowly building layer upon layer could take quite a bit of time. Some strokes such as feathering can seem almost impossible to those who do not have the skill. An upside to hand painting however is the easy at which you can paint small parts without having to worry about spreading the paint around where you don't want it.

Airbrushing is the new kid on the block relatively speaking. Home airbrush kits have only been available for a short time considering the age of the model car building hobby itself. At first the kits were extremely expensive and had to be special ordered. Paints were difficult to work with and as the methods of using airbrushing was relatively unknown there was a very steep learning curve. Modelers soon began picking up the pace however when they figured out the upsides to airbrushing.

One of these is the reduced drying time. When you airbrush your model car now it takes very little time to dry due to the small amount of paint that you are able to put down. This allows model builders to add layer after layer both quickly and efficiently. An airbrush is also very consistent with the amount of paint you are applying. The amount of control you have over your techniques is very handy as well. You can feather like a pro once you practice a bit and you can add most any detail you want.

Whether to airbrush or hand paint model cars is something that will continue to be debated as time goes on. Many people will choose sides just as many people will defect from one camp to the other. As to which method is right for you is something you will have to find out for yourself.

Victor Epand is an expert consultant for model cars, model trains, and model trucks. You will find excellent hobbying and trading resources here for model car kits, model trains

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Making Radio Antenna Wires For Your Model Airplanes

Airplane scale model kits for certain aircraft models don't include radio antennas in the package. You have to make these radio antennas yourself. You can simply use a sprue for making these.

Learning to build model airplanes entails patience and dedication but once you've put your best effort into this activity, the results are astonishing. These days, more and more people - from kids to adults are into this activity.

Before you start building model airplanes, it is important that you research and know more about the original aircraft. You can find references on your scale model kit. You will fins photos, documentation, the color schemed, time period, details, pilot, markings and even the necessary modifications for the particular version of aircraft model.

For this activity, materials you need include the glue, paint, thinner, decal setting solutions, tools and others. As soon as you begin building your plastic scale model airplane, make sure you read its instructions carefully.

The first thing you'll set-up are its interiors. This will include the seatbelts, seat, gauges, instrument panels, oxygen tanks, engine, dials and other fine detailing for the interior section of your model airplane. From this part will affect the overall accuracy of your scale model. For experience modelers, they utilize after-market parts for these detailed areas. They also magnify the original photos for reference.

Although it will be hard for beginners, once you've mastered the techniques, you'll find building model airplanes interesting, enjoyable and easy. Even your scale models will look authentic. As a rule, don't regard your plastic scale model as a toy. These aircraft models are very delicate to handle. For model airplane hobbyists, holding a legendary airplane, even in its miniature form, is a rewarding experience. With the wide range of model airplanes to choose from, you'll surely find a plastic scale model that pokes your interest.

Radio Antenna Wires

Radio antenna wires are essential pieces for your model airplane but these are actually not included in scale model kits. This means, you can only build a radio antenna from scratch.

A "sprue" is the extra material used in holding the parts of the model airplane together. Before you start making a radio antenna, cut a straight piece with about 4 to 5 inches of sprue.

Light up a candle and then hold the sprue about ½ - 1.5 inches far from the flame. Next, hold the plastic on each end in-between your fingers so that you can rotate your sprue back and forth. Once the sprue becomes glossy, you'll feel it soften ad would appear to sag.

Move your sprue far from the flame and start stretching it. With careful and steady paces, expand the sprue until you've reached the desired thickness. Just be patient. It will take 10 minutes for the sprue to completely harden.

The next step is to cut the required length for your model airplane. To attach the ends to your scale model, use super glue. Glue one end first and wait 10 minutes before you start on the other end. You can cut off excess sprue with a clipper.

For aircrafts like the Me109, you'll find ground wires from the aircrafts main antenna towards the fuselage. It is important to replicate these details. Just use a sprue from the model airplane for the details. You use the same technique mentioned above.

Just glue one end onto the main wire with the Tenax-7R. This will result to a slight melt appearance in the plastic. By applying some pressure through tweezers, you can secure the attachment. It will take 15 minutes until it dries completely.

Lastly, use a pin vise to drill a hole to the fuselage of your model airplane prior to attaching the other end. To attach your ground wire's other end; utilize a tiny drop of Tenax-7R. A good alternative is super glue.

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How To Wet Sand Your Model Tank

Have you ever sat down to paint one of your model tanks just to have a lump of paint fall in just the wrong spot? This can happen when painting by hand or even when airbrushing. If all the paint is not cleaned from your equipment and the new paint properly mixed it can come back to bite you. Now that it has happened, what can you do? Do you just paint over it? The best answer to that question is to wet sand the part.

If you were to sand your model with dry paint you can run the chance of ruining your model tank. By wet sanding you can better control the removal process by slowing down the amount of heat created by the friction. This will help you prevent the need for a major fix. By dry sanding alone you could possibly even have to replace the model itself due to damage.

Before you can begin the wet sanding process you must first prepare the model. Using a damp cloth, wet the model in the area to be sanded. If you wish you can use a bit of soap but it is not a necessary step. One thing you will not want to do is to submerge your tank. You could have to wait several days to dry out if you do.

You will next need a sanding block for your paper. This is a tool that will help you to hold the paper against the area to be sanded. It can be most anything that you can wrap the sanding paper around that will keep its shape when you add a bit of pressure. For wet sanding purposes a small piece of semi-firm sponge would be ideal. It can help hold just enough water to keep the paper moist.

The sandpaper you will need to use should be between 400 and 1000 grit wet sand paper. It should also be a mesh or cloth backed paper so that it doesn't fall apart during the sanding process. Once you are ready to begin sanding you should use a small spray bottle to mist water onto the model from time to time.

Start by rubbing slowly in a circle on the part you are removing the paint from. You should work toward accuracy rather than worrying about speed. Keep adding a bit of water as you sand to help keep debris from accumulating. Soon you will find your model tank spot free and ready to begin again.

Victor Epand is an expert consultant about model rockets, model tanks, and model spaceships. You will find the best shopping at these sites for model rockets, sanding model tanks.

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The Airfix Brand - A Brief Company Background

The Airfix company was founded in the 1930's by a man named Nicholas Kove who was a Hungarian refugee. He originally began the business by producing inflatable toys made from rubber. He originally chose the name Airfix as the toys were actually inflated with air to make them fix. He had some success with these items but the real success story of Airfix did not actually come about until after the Second World War. After the war ended Kove began to produce plastic combs and to assist with the efficiency of this process introduced a plastic injection moulding machine.

The company were approached in the late 1940's by Harry Ferguson the maker of the Ferguson tractor. He asked if Airfix could produce a small scale model of his tractor to assist his salesmen in showing off the tractors which were for sale. It is a lot easier to have a small scale model than a real life size tractor when trying to tout for business! At first there were problems making the tractor but after trial and error it was discovered that it was actually easier to make up the tractor in a series of small individual parts and then actually have them fixed together by individual workers.

These kits proved very popular and an agreement was made to allow Airfix to sell the kits as toys rather than business promotional goods. It was very apparent that there was a market for this type of toy so Airfix began to sell the Airfix Model Kits as an unmade kit along with assembly instructions.

These kits proved to be very successful and Airfix were soon approached by the Woolworths store to broker a deal. This deal was struck and Airfix began to produce cheap small scale models for Woolworths. One of the first of these models was a small scale version of the Golden Hind which was launched in 1952. The Woolworths sellers then asked Airfix to widen the range of model kits they were able to produce and then the future path of the company was set. They began to expand the range of Airfix Model Kits and it was in 1953 that one of their most famous models was produced the ever popular Spitfire Aeroplane.

Airfix continued to grow and expand through the 1960/70's as the modelling hobby increased in popularity. The range had by now expanded to include many different types of models such as military vehicles, trains, figures, modern and vintage cars, rockets,spaceships, various classical ships, and motorcycles. They were to prove very popular for both children and adults and provided a relatively cheap but endearing hobby which if the person was interested they could build up into a sizeable collection.

However things were to take a turn for the worse. In the 1980s the plastic modelling hobby went into decline and a number of reasons were given as the reason why. If anyone really knows the answer is not clear, but it may be purely that the market interests had changed and with the advent of the new computer type games peoples interest shifted. As a result of this big change along with other factors the company were forced into bankruptcy. After this the company were taken over and sold on several occasions throughout the 1980/90s.

But the good news is that the company are now under the ownership of the Hornby company and things are looking much brighter. In recent years they have released various new Airfix model kits. In fact during 2009 they released over one hundred new Airfix model kits. So it looks like the coming years are hopefully going to prove very busy for the Airfix company.

Gary A Miller knows a lot about Airfix and his help and information have over the years assisted many people increase there knowledge and enjoyment of this hobby. There is lots more information and reviews available regarding airfix model kits and accessories at our website. For help, information and all your requirements just visit Airfix Model Kits

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