NEW FROM AIRFIX 3 NEW KITS Battle of Britain 1/24th scale Super Kits

We end this latest bumper Airfix model update by featuring a trio of impending model releases which many Airfix devotes have been waiting patiently to see re-issued – those same modellers will probably also proclaim that in historic aircraft kit terms, we have definitely saved the best until last. For those modellers who have quite a number of years invested in the delights of building Airfix kits, the 1/24th ‘Super Kits’ models first introduced back in 1970 represent not only a nostalgic trip down modelling memory lane, but also something of a modelling rite of passage, as they allowed the improving modeller to demonstrate his increasing proficiency. With the original Supermarine Spitfire Mk.I, Messerschmitt Bf109E and Hawker Hurricane Mk.I incorporating levels of detail which took everyone’s modelling to a different level, it seemed as if every new release in this impressive scale was irresistible to anyone who had ever pitted their wits against these impressive large scale kits and the ultimate scale representations of the aircraft modelled.

1/24 A12001V – Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Ia – Number of Parts 156 -Expected: Autumn 2020

Without doubt the names Airfix and Spitfire are inextricably linked and for 65 years, we have had a Spitfire kit in our range, with this aircraft always maintaining its position as one of the most popular subjects in any Airfix catalogue. Viewed by the British public as the aircraft which won the Battle of Britain, there is no doubt that the dogfights which raged in the skies above southern England during the summer of 1940 secured the legacy of an aircraft which must be considered one of the most famous in the history of flight, even though they were outnumbered in squadron strength by the Hawker Hurricane. Despite this, the Luftwaffe learned to respect the fighting qualities of this graceful looking aeroplane, to a point were every aircraft they lost was usually (and in most cases incorrectly) attributed to the much vaunted Spitfire.

  • Scheme A – Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Ia, P9390 KL-B, flown by Pilot Officer Edward Jack Coleman, RAF No.54 Squadron, Hornchurch, Essex, July 7th 1940

  • Scheme A – Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Ia, LO-B, RAF No.602 (City of Glasgow) Squadron, Drem Airfield, East Lothian, Scotland, November 1939

1/24 A12002V – Messerschmitt Bf 109E – Number of Parts 146 – Expected: Autumn 2020

  • Scheme A – Messerschmitt Bf 109E-3, 9/Jagdgeschwader 26 ‘Schlageter’, France, Summer 1940

  • Scheme B – Messerschmitt Bf 109E-4, Aircraft flown by Oberleutnant Helmut Paul Emil Wick, 1/Jagdgeschwader 2 ‘Richthofen’, France/Belgium, October 1940

One of the truly great fighter aircraft of the Second World War few aircraft in the history of flight can claim to have the notoriety or aviation credentials of the Messerschmitt Bf 109, the most heavily produced fighter the world has ever seen and one of the most important aircraft in the history of warfare. This highly advanced monoplane fighter made its first flight in May 1935 and unusually, due to the delayed development of its intended Jumo engine, this first flight was made under the power of a British Rolls Royce Kestrel Vl engine. Entering Luftwaffe service at the beginning of 1937, the fighter was first blooded in action during the Spanish Civil War, but by the opening day of WWII, was now the mainstay of the Luftwaffe fighter force. As Germany swept through Poland and on through Western Europe, the seemingly invincible Bf 109 appeared to have mastery of the air, earning a fearsome reputation for ruthless effectiveness as it went.
By the time the Germans reached the French channel coast, they would be pitted against the organised and well trained airmen of the Royal Air Force, flying their Spitfires and Hurricanes in defence of their homeland. For the first time, the much vaunted Messerschmitt would be at a tactical disadvantage and despite possessing greater numbers, Luftwaffe fighter pilots would soon see that their fighter was not quite as invincible as they had previously thought.

1/24 A14002V – Hawker Hurricane Mk.I – Number of Parts 161 – Expected: Autumn 2020

  • Scheme A – Hawker Hurricane Mk.I, Aircraft flown by Flt. Lt. Ian Richard (Widge) Gleed, RAF No.87 Squadron, Exeter, Devon, August 1940

  • Scheme B – Hawker Hurricane Mk.I, Aircraft flown by Sqn. Ldr. Peter Townsend, Commanding Officer RAF No.85 Squadron, Church Fenton, North Yorkshire, October 1940