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I am going to have a go at something I have never done before, an "Open the box and see what we get" review. I have been inspired to do this as I feel I need to get a few prejudices out of my system.

I will apologise now as I have no doubt I will ramble on as always so, should you wish to read this, go to the loo now and also fill ya glass.

Airfix.... Love them or hate them, Airfix is the company that got a fair few of us into modelling. The excitement of running into Woolworths clutching your pocket money to get another kit in a plastic bag sealed with a folded card artwork and instruction sheet, it was a Saturday thing to do.

However, after coming back into modelling late in 2009, I was automatically drawn to the Airfix kits. They were what I knew, I would be safe with them. Also, as I had no tools or paint, the 'Gift Sets' complete with brushes and tiny pots of Acrylic paint were the obvious choice.

It was not the experience I had hoped for though. Out of the five kits I bought, two were unbuildable, two were not so bad but lacked detail and the fifth, well that was a really nice kit.

So what had happened to Airfix? Had they gone down the pan? Well, probably not but my illusions were shattered and I vowed never to get another Airfix kit as long as I lived. The thing is, I had not spotted at the time what made the one kit look good and the others look so bad. It wasn't until I decide to have a go at the decent kit, a Harrier in 1/72 that I realised what it was. The Harrier was a 'New Tool' kit. Some of the others, were as old as me and, as rough as they were, probably looked marginally in better shape. So I built the Harrier and it was a delight, until I brush painted it with paint that was too thick and ruined it

Since then I have kept well away from Airfix even though I knew that companies like Eduard were re boxing old Airfix kits of the EE Lightning and with a few extras, turning it into a classic kit. Since then, with the sterling help of James May (Top Gear presenter come 'little boy') Airfix has risen from the doom and gloom of relying on selling kits that are so old, they really don't work anymore.

Their 'New Tool' or sometimes partly new tooled kits are starting to be admired again. One such kit is a very recent release of a brand new 1:48 scale Messerschmitt Bf109E-1 which can be modelled as an E3 or an E4 if you wish. With this kit, I believe Airfix has set a high standard for 1:48 aircraft that, should they keep it up, will drag them back on equal terms with the likes of Hasagawa, Tamiya and Eduard. A bold statement but one I believe to be true.

So. Let us take a look at what has brought me back to Airfix.

You cannot fail to spot and admire the great artwork on the new red packaging top and tray style box The picture of Adolf Gallands Bf109E-4 doing battle with a Spitfire over a Church steeple in the English countryside just make you want to make rattat-tat noises of the machine guns. The artwork is big, bold and beautiful.



Enough of the box, what about the kit I hear you cry. Well, on opening the box you get a single large poly bag containing two large sprues, they really fill the box, moulded in light grey plastic. Also in the bag is another poly bag containing the clear parts, no chance of them getting scratched.







You then find a folded A4 instruction booklet that has large, well detailed, drawings of the assembly stages and the optional stages that you can have to make the model in the various Mks. Finally, a really clear, well registered and finely detailed set of decals, including the Adolf Galland set depicted in the box artwork. Sadly, Airfix have decided not to include Swastika symbols on the Decal sheet. Tucked away in the instruction booklet is a four page pullout printed on glossy paper which, on the back, shows the sprue plan and on the other three pages, full colour painting guides and decal plans, very Eduard.









Looking at the parts on the sprues, there is a quite nicely moulded pilot figure with separate arms. Good to see this as it means you can build it 'in the air'. Also, there is a set of undercarriage sets with doors and wheels moulded together for having the wheels up. The bits for the cockpit look good with nicely moulded trim wheels although the moulded on seat belts may need removing or very well painting to make them look good. I have read somewhere that the top edge of the seat is too narrow compared to the real thing. Well, I suppose I will just have to lose a couple of nights sleep over it then get on and build it. The tyres are very nicely moulded with slight flattening and bulging to represent the weight of the aircraft.











One nice touch, although not everyone will agree is the moulded in engine halves as part of the fuselage. The distinctive framework that extends past the engine as part of its mounting are separate items so I am convinced that a very dark grey spray over the engine, a bit of drybrushing and detail painting will look great when the frames are fitted on painted in the interior colour for the engine compartment. Before anyone says that the engine should be separate, remember this is a new kit retailing at £13.99. How many 1:48 kits at that price have an engine at all never mind a nice sharp moulding like this?



The proof of the pudding now is the build. I have a good feeling about this kit so if you want to see what the new generation, well priced Airfix 1:48 kits are like, you could do a lot worse than this Bf109 available now at a shop very near us.....

Cheers Tony, do you have any idea what colour would show if they were extended, as in the inside of the wing so to speak?