The interesting marketing slogan displayed above could easily be attributed to our rugged Quickbuild series of models, but is actually associated with the subject of this next feature, the purposeful Ford Ranger Raptor. A range of vehicles which began as a series of successful compact pickup trucks, the Raptor is as its name suggests, a little more ‘exciting’ than your average pickup truck and one which people of a more adventurous nature may be hoping to own.

A quick look through the promotional material supporting the current range of Ford Ranger vehicles leaves you in absolutely no doubt that this muscular vehicle is targeted at multiple market opportunities. Clearly, businesses which require the lugging of heavy loads, often in off-road conditions, will be the main target for Ford here, whether that be as a hard-working agricultural vehicle with endless applications, or as a go-anywhere mode of transport for people working in more rural locations. Having said that, once cleaned up, this stylish pick-up would certainly not look out of place in any city centre, as it takes its driver to their latest business meeting, with its stylish exterior matched by interior fittings which make this as luxurious as any executive car.

And then there is the Raptor – all of that and so much more! A top of the range vehicle, the Raptor is a real head-turner and one which you could imagine being driven by ‘cool people’, or those wishing to appear so. Owning a Raptor is a real statement of style and adventurous nature, people who don’t necessarily like to conform, or have interests which may be a little more active than most – even if you are not a rock climber or former SAS soldier, if you own a Raptor, people will think you might be. The ultimate incarnation of the Ford Ranger line, the Raptor is aimed at those who are looking to combine the ability to take their lives ‘off the beaten track’, without having to compromise on either luxury or performance.

Even though our new Quickbuild Ford Raptor will look fantastic when fully constructed, it has been designed to be built, taken apart and built time and time again

With the ability to go where other forms of transport wouldn’t dream of venturing, the Raptor has been designed to perform in these challenging environments and is described as a street legal derivative of an off-road competition vehicle – how could you not want one of those? Even though it possesses all the credentials to be an off-road winner, it is surly on our normal roads where this vehicle will find its strongest sales support, as it is the very embodiment of a ‘don’t mess with me’ vehicle. With its stunning good looks and purposeful styling, you would expect to see footballers, athletes and aspiring boxers behind the wheel of a Raptor, because just like them, this beast has been bred to perform.

Everything described above could easily translate into how the unique attributes of the Quickbuild model range plays a slightly different, yet no less important role in the overall Airfix product range (ok, we might struggle with the footballer and boxer bit). A robust and rugged range of model kits, a Quickbuild model has to go together in a logical, relatively simple manner, using a brick type construction, without the need for glue, but once completed, has to produce a faithful representation of the vehicle, aircraft or tank on which it is based. Quite a tall order for our product designers, in many cases, a Quickbuild project can be more challenging for them than a ‘traditional’ Airfix kit.

Although hardly featuring in Workbench prior to this year, 2020 has seen our Quickbuild range come under the spotlight on several previous occasions, as we have taken readers on the development journey of a new kit from initial design, right through to release. As the new Quickbuild Ford F-150 Raptor has already been released, we don’t intend to cover the same development ground as we have already done with projects such as the Jaguar I-PACE and F-35 Lightning II, but as this is such a distinctive addition to the range, we certainly wanted to give it some blog airtime.

Having had the opportunity to speak to several of our designers who have Quickbuild experience on their CV’s, we now know that designing a Quickbuild kit can in most cases, actually be more challenging and time consuming that working on a ‘traditional’ Airfix kit. With a very specific set of design criteria to adhere to and with these products intended for a particular target market, these kits have to build into an attractive display model, but have the ability to be taken apart and built all over again, time after time – everything about a Quickbuild has to be tough.

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