Airfix 1/72 Handley Page Hampden

[Eric Mc]

It's not an awful lot bigger than a 110.

[Eric Mc]

Making progress -

[Yertis]

Eric Mc said:

It's not an awful lot bigger than a 110.

And yet Series 4 rather than Series 2.

Whereas the Invader was Series 5 but could easily have been Series 4, or even Series 3, without all the extra parts.

sorry - as you were

[Eric Mc]

Whenever I see early boxings (1960s) of Airfix kits I'm always amazed at how small the boxes were compared to today.

[Simpo Two]

Eric Mc said:

Whenever I see early boxings (1960s) of Airfix kits I'm always amazed at how small the boxes were compared to today.

Marketing people call it 'perceived value' and think it's very clever.

Mindful of posh chocolates where the box is huge but you open it to find it has a 6" perimeter all round and about four chocolates huddling together for warmth in the middle...

[RichB]

Eric Mc said:

Whenever I see early boxings (1960s) of Airfix kits I'm always amazed at how small the boxes were compared to today.

I remember when they were in plastic bags with paper instructions stapled to the bag with a picture on the front.

[Eric Mc]

Series 1. In the mid 70s they switched to blister packs as they were easier to package for transportation reasons. I hated the things.

By 1980 even Series 1 kits were in boxes.

[Yertis]

Eric Mc said:

Series 1. In the mid 70s they switched to blister packs as they were easier to package for transportation reasons. I hated the things.

By 1980 even Series 1 kits were in boxes.

I wonder whether the blister packs were also a reaction to the new Matchbox kits being boxed? Also did Frog use bags until the end for their smaller kits?

[tangerine_sedge]

Yertis said:

Eric Mc said:

Series 1. In the mid 70s they switched to blister packs as they were easier to package for transportation reasons. I hated the things.

By 1980 even Series 1 kits were in boxes.

I wonder whether the blister packs were also a reaction to the new Matchbox kits being boxed? Also did Frog use bags until the end for their smaller kits?

I love those blister packs - real nostalgia!

[Eric Mc]

The problem with the blister packs was that, once opened, they couldn't be re-sealed again so it was much easier to lose bits.

Airfix only used them for a couple of years before switching to small boxes.




FROG themselves never used blister packs as they went bust in 1976 right in the middle of the blister pack explosion. However, as FROG was gradually sold off and the moulds began to be scattered around the place, some of their bagged kits did appear in a blister pack but branded as "Remus Play Kits".



When they started appearing under the Novo brand, they retained the poly bag and card header - similar to the older FROG method.

[Eric Mc]

Making (slow) progress -

[Yertis]

Question not criticism – I thought the fin flashes wrapped around the leading edges of the fins?

[Eric Mc]

They did sometimes but the ones provided by Airfix don't and I didn't want to force the issue as they would probably tear and split.

[Eric Mc]

FINALLY got this one to the end. If the real Hampdens had taken six months to build Britain would have well and truly lost the war.

The tractor is from the Stirling kit.

Overall I'm pleased with the kit but I really must build a modern kit next as bashing these geriatric mouldings into any sort of shape can be very trying.

[Simpo Two]

The guy in the tractor looks like he's escaped from Thunderbirds.

[Eric Mc]

He looked to me like he’d just turned up and is asking”I’m here, where’s everybody else?”

[46and2]

Looks great, nice work!

[Eric Mc]

Thank you.

The next kit I build will be a nice modern one.