they are capable but can they afford to?
a plastic injection moulding tool for this sort of thing would cost £8-10k, and something like a large aircraft kit would require multiple tools for each sprue.......how many sprues do you get in a box? 6? 8? dont forget the clear sprue......so thats 50 to 80 grand...........then you have to take in to account the r&d....at least
Airfix now have a 3D scanner, as long as you have real aircraft to scan, but that is still a cost in terms of wages etc,,....so before you even make a single kit you are talking 100+ grand.....the dont forget to add stuff like
decals and pe design and sourcing so that adds even more....the only way of reducing tooling costs is to either use cheaper tooling material (which dosnt last long, false economy) or simplify the product (as in reduce the quality of the finished product)
injection moulding has very high set up costs but slow returns that takes a long time to pay off those initial costs
a company like
Airfix has gone through multiple bankruptcies in its history and are by no means as affluent as people think.........wouldnt take much to take them, or indeed a similar company, under again
maybe the mega large companies in china/japan can afford it as they punt out zillions of kits paying lower wages to the work force? thats one reason why companies outsource to far eastern moulding firms, however the QC is normally lacking...why
Airfix moved its production back to the UK from India a few years back
for them to make that sort of financial comittment they would have to absolutely be guarenteed a return to pay off the costs and make enough of a profit t make it all worth while.....and i doubt the market is there for them
why do i know such things?.....spent a life time working in Quality Assurance in manufacturing.....last 2 jobs involved injection (and extrusion) moulding specifically for the automotive industry