For me, here talking of the Phantom, owning a kit that old, I'd leave it. Every time I removed the lid it would remind me of what should have been happier times. Certainly I remember that, had I had the money (which I never really did) I'd have gone to the cycle shop heated by paraffin and the constantly half empty paint rack, or to Woolworths to look longingly at the kits I could never afford. That said, someone did give me the Phantom kit around 1974 which I made. What excited me was the fact it was in white, not silver (or black), plastic. I did make it, and as was normal practice, was painted in only the paints I had so that was black and silver, with the transfers going on to the bare plastic since that was white anyway.
I have not purchased a model aircraft kit since joining up with an indoor scale flying model group decades ago.. But today........I splashed out £9.00 on a limited edition WWII Hawker Typhoon 1/72 kit. This has the markings of RB396 which is being rebuilt to flying status by the Typhoon preservation Group.
I made a lot of Airfix kits when I was a young lad back in the sixties, the last ones I remember doing were the Blackburn Buccaneer, the F4 Phantom and a 1/48 scale Aurora kit of the Northrop N156 Freedom Fighter, which was the only non-Airfix kit I ever did. Happy days 😊
Beaties! I remember the first time one opened in Leeds. Before that we relied on Carters of Bradford. (I could spend a day there). Before that it was Woollies and local Newsagents. Just a few old pennies for an Airfix kit and life was sweet. When the price increased to 19p, I had to get a second Paper Round. I still have my Airfix Phantom built and on display, together with countless other kits. The 1960s & 70s were a grand time to be a child, provided you were into modelling. Nice one cheers.
Great video; I've missed you! The Airfix B-17G kit was about as good as any B-17, and I remember making at least 3 of them back in the day; one I painted in the exact same scheme as the Revell B-17F Lady Luck. I also had the Airfix Phantom. Good point about the box art; they didn't have to worry about OSHA in those days. As I may have told you before, the Mosquito Mk. VI was the first Airfix kit I ever made, and I've been a fan ever since. I also made the B-25 in 2 different versions: the bomber and the gunship with the 75 mm cannon in the nose; great kit.
I think the longest serving kit in my unbuilt stash is the Airfix Short Skyvan which was given to me as a present back in 1977. I have some older kits in the stash but a lot of these have been bought second hand in more recent times.
WOW! I used to have the Eurofighter & Spitfire kit years ago - my parents bought it for me as a gift if I remember correctly. Takes me right back looking at the box art. Cheers! 👍
Nice video and a great theme. I have some of these old red stripe kits. If I open them and look inside they take me back to the sixties / seventies. They are my little time machines. I have enough other kits to build.
Love those old Airfix kits mate ,Dad would get one every friday for my brother and I, here in Australia Airfix ruled the model market Revell and the others were just crap in those days but anyway thanks for the great memories mate .
This has sparked memories of struggling with the red decal on the Phantom, would have been in the late 60s when I don't remember setting solutions being around. Thank you for the memories Pete, take care and keep warm!
Hi pete. There is a model shop in Bexleyheath called kit krazy, it's a treasure trove of kits going back decades, this video makes me feel like going back there for a good look. I finally finished the two lidl 1/72nd spitfires this weekend, made up a basic diorama of them on sitting on a grass and concrete runway, would love to show you but I don't use any social media stuff. all the best to you and Joe Anthony.
Aaaah the Phantom! I built it as a kid in the seventies, thanks so much for showing, dwelling on and opening the box to show the parts, it brought back an avalanche of emotions, it took me right back...!
Love these vintage kits...recently picked up 2 mint in box vintage airfix kits....the E.E. lightning from 1963 and the panavia M.R.C.A (the Tornado before it was the Tornado) from 1975......as for a new Jag from Airfix i wouldn't hold your breath pete
Built the Phantom , the B-25 and the Mosquito back in the day. I remember the Mosquito to be of outstandingly fine detail for Airfix at the time. The B-25 and Phantom were more of the quality you'd expect from Airfix.
The oldest kit I've made was an eBay special. A 1/72 Frog/hasegawa A-6 Intruder made in the mid 70s. The kit was ok but had the most basic cockpit and seats I've seen. And the decals were all yellow. I used some left over USMC decals that came with a Harrier GR7/AV-8B I did in RAF scheme.
I still have the F-4B Phantom, I have bagged untouched Golden Hind, Grumman Hellcat, and about 10 more. I guess my oldest is an Aurora box scaled Thunderchief . If only Arifix would make the damned Ark Royal that payed off in 79/80, Phantoms, Buccaneers, etc, why have they not done this famous RN Carrier!!!! I still have many Frog kits, and Matchbox kits basically mint, I now believe I have to build some and part with the others. At my age, time to build what I have ,and where the heck to you put finished kits ???
The oldest in my personal stash (or Dad's) is the 1/28 Revell Sopwith Camel from the early 1970s. However, I have "inherited" from a good mate his fate father's collection of largely Airfix Red Stripe Series 1 and 2 kits - no flash, and easy to build. These are mainly biplanes, including several of the plastic bag kits. Plus, the 0/400. I finished a Roland Walfisch, and the original (55 yo) decals worked well.
I'm actually in the middle of building the old tool airfix B 17 right now, it was a late 90's boxing, but it had a date stamp of 1963 on the inside of one of the wings! and also I still have kits with beatties price tags on I bought in the early to mid 90's, plus I still use a nearly 30 year old badger 200 airbrush also bought from beatties
Nice one (or is that 5) Pete. I built the F4, I love the "colourfull era" of US Navy AC, and the Jag, oh for "smellyvision" eh and the old Mossey (and I picked one up in the chatity shop this year too). I built my B25 as the 75mm cannon version. My 262 was the Revell offering. My longest in the stash (mainly because I've had over 40 years off!) is the Airfix Tomcat, the Matchbox JU188 and Matchbox F4K (British). All the rest is 2 years or less.
I think that one was released before the type entered service so is inaccurate for an RAF Jaguar, it might pass for a French version though. I hope if they do a re-release they do the second version with the characteristic laser nose.
Good luck with that B-25, it's 'orrible! Built one a few years ago, the fit of some components was atrocious. If I recall correctly, the interior bulkheads and floor were the worst bits, I should have just left them out. Maybe mine was a 'Friday afternoon' example, but never again. Sooooo glad they brought out a new tool. Dave Bailey
For me, here talking of the Phantom, owning a kit that old, I'd leave it. Every time I removed the lid it would remind me of what should have been happier times. Certainly I remember that, had I had the money (which I never really did) I'd have gone to the cycle shop heated by paraffin and the constantly half empty paint rack, or to Woolworths to look longingly at the kits I could never afford.
That said, someone did give me the Phantom kit around 1974 which I made. What excited me was the fact it was in white, not silver (or black), plastic. I did make it, and as was normal practice, was painted in only the paints I had so that was black and silver, with the transfers going on to the bare plastic since that was white anyway.
You nailed it! ...lol
I have not purchased a model aircraft kit since joining up with an indoor scale flying model group decades ago..
But today........I splashed out £9.00 on a limited edition WWII Hawker Typhoon 1/72 kit.
This has the markings of RB396 which is being rebuilt to flying status by the Typhoon preservation Group.
I made a lot of Airfix kits when I was a young lad back in the sixties, the last ones I remember doing were the Blackburn Buccaneer, the F4 Phantom and a 1/48 scale Aurora kit of the Northrop N156 Freedom Fighter, which was the only non-Airfix kit I ever did. Happy days 😊
Beaties! I remember the first time one opened in Leeds. Before that we relied on Carters of Bradford. (I could spend a day there). Before that it was Woollies and local Newsagents. Just a few old pennies for an Airfix kit and life was sweet. When the price increased to 19p, I had to get a second Paper Round. I still have my Airfix Phantom built and on display, together with countless other kits. The 1960s & 70s were a grand time to be a child, provided you were into modelling. Nice one cheers.
I can smell the age on those boxes right through the screen!! Thanks for posting this Pete!! Loved it!! 👍👍
That Phantom was one of the first kits I built. So many great memories of going to Woolies and buying a new kit with my pocket money
Great video; I've missed you! The Airfix B-17G kit was about as good as any B-17, and I remember making at least 3 of them back in the day; one I painted in the exact same scheme as the Revell B-17F Lady Luck. I also had the Airfix Phantom. Good point about the box art; they didn't have to worry about OSHA in those days. As I may have told you before, the Mosquito Mk. VI was the first Airfix kit I ever made, and I've been a fan ever since. I also made the B-25 in 2 different versions: the bomber and the gunship with the 75 mm cannon in the nose; great kit.
I built that F-4 back in 1967/8 - Remember the lightning stripes (!).
My father Served on the USS Forrestal while he served in the Navy during the Vietnam war. Seeing the F4 Phantom model was very nice.
I think the longest serving kit in my unbuilt stash is the Airfix Short Skyvan which was given to me as a present back in 1977. I have some older kits in the stash but a lot of these have been bought second hand in more recent times.
WOW! I used to have the Eurofighter & Spitfire kit years ago - my parents bought it for me as a gift if I remember correctly. Takes me right back looking at the box art. Cheers! 👍
Nice video and a great theme. I have some of these old red stripe kits. If I open them and look inside they take me back to the sixties / seventies. They are my little time machines. I have enough other kits to build.
Love those old Airfix kits mate ,Dad would get one every friday for my brother and I, here in Australia Airfix ruled the model market Revell and the others were just crap in those days but anyway thanks for the great memories mate .
Great content Pete!
This has sparked memories of struggling with the red decal on the Phantom, would have been in the late 60s when I don't remember setting solutions being around. Thank you for the memories Pete, take care and keep warm!
Hi pete. There is a model shop in Bexleyheath called kit krazy, it's a treasure trove of kits going back decades, this video makes me feel like going back there for a good look. I finally finished the two lidl 1/72nd spitfires this weekend, made up a basic diorama of them on sitting on a grass and concrete runway, would love to show you but I don't use any social media stuff. all the best to you and Joe Anthony.
As ever Pete. A wonderful episode. Love your stash and love how your B-17G is coming along. Great work mate.
Aaaah the Phantom! I built it as a kid in the seventies, thanks so much for showing, dwelling on and opening the box to show the parts, it brought back an avalanche of emotions, it took me right back...!
SEPECAT Jaguar, surely? Quite fancy building the 1:48 Airfix version
Love these vintage kits...recently picked up 2 mint in box vintage airfix kits....the E.E. lightning from 1963 and the panavia M.R.C.A (the Tornado before it was the Tornado) from 1975......as for a new Jag from Airfix i wouldn't hold your breath pete
Built the Phantom , the B-25 and the Mosquito back in the day. I remember the Mosquito to be of outstandingly fine detail for Airfix at the time. The B-25 and Phantom were more of the quality you'd expect from Airfix.
Just building the original Airfix Phantom now quite a challenge personally but the final result will be worth it
I can remember building that phantom when o was a young boy I loved 😊 thanks for sharing 👏
The oldest kit I've made was an eBay special.
A 1/72 Frog/hasegawa A-6 Intruder made in the mid 70s.
The kit was ok but had the most basic cockpit and seats I've seen.
And the decals were all yellow. I used some left over USMC decals that came with a Harrier GR7/AV-8B I did in RAF scheme.
I still have the F-4B Phantom, I have bagged untouched Golden Hind, Grumman Hellcat, and about 10 more. I guess my oldest is an Aurora box scaled Thunderchief . If only Arifix would make the damned Ark Royal that payed off in 79/80, Phantoms, Buccaneers, etc, why have they not done this famous RN Carrier!!!! I still have many Frog kits, and Matchbox kits basically mint, I now believe I have to build some and part with the others. At my age, time to build what I have ,and where the heck to you put finished kits ???
Hi Pete, I enjoyed your review of the older kits in your stash, I have a fairly large stash but most are fairly new. Take care 😊
That jaguar was the first kit my wife to be bought me! In the 70s
The oldest in my personal stash (or Dad's) is the 1/28 Revell Sopwith Camel from the early 1970s. However, I have "inherited" from a good mate his fate father's collection of largely Airfix Red Stripe Series 1 and 2 kits - no flash, and easy to build. These are mainly biplanes, including several of the plastic bag kits. Plus, the 0/400. I finished a Roland Walfisch, and the original (55 yo) decals worked well.
Well tidy video Pete,my stash consists of the three V bombers and the Nimrod by Airfix.
The phantom is definitely Roy Cross I've got his book.
80p for a kit! If only I had a Time Machine!
2 shillings (10p) when I started building kits in the 60s
I'm actually in the middle of building the old tool airfix B 17 right now, it was a late 90's boxing, but it had a date stamp of 1963 on the inside of one of the wings! and also I still have kits with beatties price tags on I bought in the early to mid 90's, plus I still use a nearly 30 year old badger 200 airbrush also bought from beatties
Nice one (or is that 5) Pete.
I built the F4, I love the "colourfull era" of US Navy AC, and the Jag, oh for "smellyvision" eh and the old Mossey (and I picked one up in the chatity shop this year too). I built my B25 as the 75mm cannon version. My 262 was the Revell offering.
My longest in the stash (mainly because I've had over 40 years off!) is the Airfix Tomcat, the Matchbox JU188 and Matchbox F4K (British). All the rest is 2 years or less.
I have 1/72 Novo kit(ex Frog) P-47 Thunderbolt, razor back with a price tag of 24p…..all bagged and original packaging..
Hi Pete, the phantom certainly a blast the past for me, love American highly coloured aircraft of that period, keep up the good work.
"Smell that plastic"... Brilliant
I had the exact same Jaguar kit in 1974.
I think that one was released before the type entered service so is inaccurate for an RAF Jaguar, it might pass for a French version though. I hope if they do a re-release they do the second version with the characteristic laser nose.
"I'm gonna build it one day". Amen
I can remember building the jag and painting all grey 🤷🏻♂️ my friends took the pee out of me 😊 who would of known 🤔
Yes yes I totally agree with you a new tool of the Jaggggg would be great
I have a few kits in my stash, not all Airfix-but does anybody know if the Coet Racer is worth anything? ( Blister pack version)🤔
A model kit that stays on built in a box just may as well be an empty box read into that what you will
Good luck with that B-25, it's 'orrible! Built one a few years ago, the fit of some components was atrocious. If I recall correctly, the interior bulkheads and floor were the worst bits, I should have just left them out. Maybe mine was a 'Friday afternoon' example, but never again. Sooooo glad they brought out a new tool.
Dave Bailey