larrygre Posted December 27, 2011 Posted December 27, 2011 Just about all the E-type kits on the market are long in the tooth and would benefit from being replaced with more accurate, state-of-the-art tooling. Despite the Revell kit being old as the hills and twice as dusty, it does have some plus points, not the least of which are a good engine and optional left or right hand drive dashboards. It's buildable, but its not the easiest kit to build that's for dang sure. Gunze notwithstanding, I am surprised that no manufacturer has taken up the task of kitting the most iconic British sports cars. We're still waiting for a decent MGA, Triumph TR4/4A/250, Austin Healey 3000 (not the 100-Six that Revell has had since 1959), and so forth. It would seem logical for the revived Airfix to do these, ifno other reason as a source of national pride. However, Airfix seems committed to continuing their automotive line in the smaller 1/32 scale. It seems the British kitmakers prefer the smaller scale, and have for years (Matchbox too, and those 1/32s were darn nice kits!) - but I doubt that in 2011, the same preference is the case amongst British car modelers. Just my .02, folks.
Matt Bacon Posted December 28, 2011 Posted December 28, 2011 I agree, Larry! However, I did take this up with Airfix's former new products development guy, and he said that the problem is that as a kit manufacturer, you need to have a "range" in the catalogue - it's not just tooling up one 1/24 car... you'd need at least three or four. And this is expensive in an untried market for you as a manufacturer. Airfix has an established range of 1/32 cars, including some real gems from the 70s, like the Vauxhall Prince Henry, Alfa 8C and MG TC. Plus, these days, the owners of Airfix are also the owners of Scalextric slot cars, so Airfix also has access to research and CAD models of a whole lot of subjects in 1/32 (as well as trademark licences for, say, McLaren). The latest kits of the Jaguar XK and Aston DBR9 GT cars are not just kits of the Scalextric models, but they have a lot in common, as does the forthcoming Mini Cooper. So although _I'd_ like to see Airfix tool up a "Top Gear" cobranded collection of state of the art 1/24 kits of British Classics and modern supercars (Aston 1-77, McLaren MP4-12C, Jaguar C-X75), I don't think it'll happen any time soon... bestest, M.
Don Sikora II Posted January 8, 2012 Posted January 8, 2012 As others have said, the Revell Jaguar roadster is the old circa-1962 Revell 1/25-scale kit. It was in a Road&Track 3-pack in the 1980s, then in SSP with original box art. I think the last issue, at least in the U.S. was as the Austin Powers Shaguar. Monogram and Revell/Monogram have reissued the old Aurora coupe at lest three times since the late 1970s (think it last appeared in SSP using the old Aurora box with Revell logos). The Aurora roadster has never been reissued by Monogram or Revell-Monogram.
Craig Irwin Posted January 8, 2012 Posted January 8, 2012 Gunze notwithstanding, I am surprised that no manufacturer has taken up the task of kitting the most iconic British sports cars. We're still waiting for a decent MGA, Triumph TR4/4A/250, Austin Healey 3000 (not the 100-Six that Revell has had since 1959), Add a TR-6 and I'm a buyer for all.
Rob Hall Posted January 9, 2012 Posted January 9, 2012 Add a TR-6 and I'm a buyer for all. A TR-6 kit would be neat... my ex-brother-in-law had one long time ago, I remember riding in that car..neat little car.
Junkman Posted January 9, 2012 Posted January 9, 2012 (edited) The Revell kit is basically sound. One of its biggest drawbacks is the headlamps. Why no aftermarket supplier has jumped on this in all those decades is beyond me. A bit of photoetch and vacuum forming may work wonders here. Also, you can combine the Revell kit with the upper rear bodyshell from the ex-Aurora, now Revellogram, kit to create a quite plausible coupe. This requires surprisingly few modifications. I did this once and it turned out so nice, that the model was immediately taken off me by the owner of a real XKE coupe. The model was indeed inspired by his real car. The IMO best XKE kit around is the Gunze Sangyo (or Mr. Hobby in new money), but it is a curbside. I'd say this can be remedied with the Revell or said ex-Aurora/ Revellogram kit. The Heller roadster is quite nice, too, if you can live with 1:24 scale, but has a similar issue with the headlamps as the Revell kit. The Heller coupe is unfortunately badly proportioned, i.e. the windscreen/greenhouse area is too high relative to the lower body. It really puzzles me why no manufacturer has jumped on the other iconic British sports cars. It appears to be such a no-brainer. Edited January 9, 2012 by Junkman
The Creative Explorer Posted January 9, 2012 Posted January 9, 2012 The IMO best XKE kit around is the Gunze Sangyo (or Mr. Hobby in new money), but it is a curbside. I'd say this can be remedied with the Revell or said ex-Aurora/ Revellogram kit. The hightech isn't curbside.
Junkman Posted January 9, 2012 Posted January 9, 2012 The hightech isn't curbside. Sure not, but it is expensive. You could yield a good result by combining the curbside with the Revell for much less money.
sjordan2 Posted January 9, 2012 Posted January 9, 2012 Sure not, but it is expensive. You could yield a good result by combining the curbside with the Revell for much less money. I can't find the Gunze Sangyo for under $150 USD.
Junkman Posted January 10, 2012 Posted January 10, 2012 I can't find the Gunze Sangyo for under $150 USD. Yep, the high tech. The curbside usually sells for a lot less: http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?rt=nc&LH_PrefLoc=2&_nkw=gunze%20jaguar&_dmpt=UK_ToysGames_ModelKits_ModelKits_JN&_fln=1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m283
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