I always find it a bit of a downer when I look forward to putting on some colourful decals and then find they don’t settle well (especially if they are fairly expensive after-market ones). I was impressed by the quality of the decals, they adhered to awkward surfaces with no problems, as do Airfix decals usually. This was a model of an aircraft I’ve never built before.Ī Frog kit I did build back in the day was the dewoitine d.520, but this is the much more recent HobbyBoss offering. I always like building these old kits, another one was the Macchi Folgore by Frog. The underside should be grey but I decided to paint it ‘duck egg green’ as per the instructions. The Mosquito is the original Airfix issue from the 1950s, the only change on this seventies release was two new crewmen, who I had to replace anyway because they were two big for the cockpit. The kits accomplish three specific goals: a low bar for entry into the hobby plenty of play value after they’re built and promoting quality time between older modelers and novices.Īfter he had put the Apache and Raptor on his shelf, my son asked me, “Please, can you keep getting me more models?” I think that says it all.Ī version of this review appeared in the February 2014 FineScale Modeler.These are three kits that I have enjoyed building over the last few weeks, although only one is Airfix. Then he proudly displayed them on his mother’s computer desk, regaling her with stories of how we built them together.Īge 5 is at the very outside range for these kits, with the sweet spot being 7-10. Once we were finished, my son flew them around the house for nearly an hour. What’s more, they have incredible playability. All of the connection dots are hidden and the parts fit securely and require no cleanup. The finished models look great - they have smooth finishes, some panel lines, and, in the Apache’s case, a rotating main rotor. Markings for both models come as a simple but nice set of stickers that adhere well. Fifteen minutes later, he added a helicopter to his collection. No sooner was it finished than my son immediately wanted to build the Apache. So, with me interpreting and guiding and he building, the two of us assembled the fighter and stand. One or two parts going together in a single step would have been better than the three or four most often shown. The illustrations are small and the parts tend to look the same, making placement for kiddos a bit tough. The instruction sheet, while simple for an experienced builder, can be confusing for youngsters. As enthusiastic as my son was, I realized right away that this was going to be a team effort. The parts are the right size for small, inexperienced fingers to grasp and push together and would definitely be easier for older children. Upon opening the Raptor’s box, the first thing we noticed was the parts don’t come on sprues but rather in plastic bags, looking, feeling, and building very much like Lego or Mega Bloks. Both are molded in durable, smooth, glossy plastic - primarily gray for the Raptor, dark green for the Apache wheels, canopies, and rotors are molded in black. He was the perfect test subject for two of Airfix’s new kits: the F-22 Raptor and the Apache helicopter gunship.
Lucky for me, I have a 5-year-old son who enjoys sitting at the workbench. With its new Quick Build system, Airfix aims to lower the bar for novices as young as 5 years. However, these have been mainly targeted at the 8-and-older crowd. Snap-together kits of popular subjects have been a mainstay for decades. Introducing boys and girls to the scale modeling hobby remains a constant goal of most model manufacturers, and, indeed, many hobbyists.
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