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Post by plasticpanzers on Mar 12, 2020 20:00:59 GMT
I purchased 2 packs of the RHA WW1 sets last year and they disintegrated once out of the box. These were the Airfix ones. The plastic was terrible and had the attributes of brittle resin. Is the HAT 7005 RHA reissue produced at the same time with
the same quality plastic? Gun barrels snapped, carriages broke, wheels shattered. And these were in the new boxing, not old figures from Airfix.
Thanks!
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Post by Ironsides on Mar 13, 2020 15:53:46 GMT
How old were the Airfix RHA ? some of the older reddish brown sets have a tendency to be brittle now so its pretty much pot luck with them, cant speak for the newer ones as I have plenty of the old and never needed more, the Hät sets are a different plastic and no problem as far as I know, I have a few sets of those as well...
A few of both...
Edit: I now realise you meant brittle New Airfix RHA... I do believe though that the Hät Airfix reissues were moulded in the Heller plant in France, I believe recent Airfix sets proper would have come from India or possibly China, I dont know how or if this would make a difference but the Hät reissues were produced in a completely different time and place, and to all intensive purposes by a different company... 
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Post by davidmac on Mar 13, 2020 17:35:59 GMT
I find that sets which have been stored in high temperature areas (like an attic) tend to deteriorate.
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Post by plasticpanzers on Apr 5, 2020 9:44:01 GMT
I bought these online. They are the newer box figs. I contacted Airfix and they
told me they are made in India (?) and that they are not responsible for the plastic
used by them....
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Post by waynew on Apr 5, 2020 15:29:11 GMT
I bought these online. They are the newer box figs. I contacted Airfix and they told me they are made in India (?) and that they are not responsible for the plastic used by them.... I have some original Airfix RHA bought in 1969 that at last check were holding up well; wish I could say that of the other sets (entire WW1 line) I bought at the same time. But that's been a few years back I checked on them. I think the answer you received from Airfix reflects poorly on their business ethics. IMHO, if THEY'RE name is on the package they should feel some sort of responsibility as to the quality of the product. But I might be a tad old fashioned? I think not. Experiences and anecdotes like this, which are not unusual to you makes me really think twice before buying from a company. JMO. That is sad for me as it was Airfix figures that really got me interested in 1/72 figures even though I'd had a few bags of GIANT figures before it was discovering the Airfix WW1 sets in a little toy shop in Belgium that got me seriously into the hobby of collecting 1/72 figures. Prior to that the idea of toy soldiers were the 1/32 scale playsets we got for Christmas or the occasional bag of soldiers bought at the "Dime Stores." For years my 1/72 figures were "Airfix Men." I am sure many of my fellow hobbyists in my generation have similar experiences. So to hear this about Airfix is particular sad for me. |
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Post by Ironsides on Apr 5, 2020 15:41:42 GMT
I bought these online. They are the newer box figs. I contacted Airfix and they told me they are made in India (?) and that they are not responsible for the plastic used by them.... Really.... theres such a thing as "fit for purpose" its part of consumer protection in the UK, but generally its only worthwhile pursuing if a large sum is involved.... still I would have expected better from the big A.... |
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Post by richard on Apr 9, 2020 8:51:16 GMT
I bought a new box of the Airfix First World War French last summer. I could not believe how poor the quality was. I've never encountered a set with so much flash and the plastic seems so soft yet all guns etc very brittle. That is a set that will stay in its box for ever...
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Post by waynew on Apr 9, 2020 13:28:57 GMT
I bought a new box of the Airfix First World War French last summer. I could not believe how poor the quality was. I've never encountered a set with so much flash and the plastic seems so soft yet all guns etc very brittle. That is a set that will stay in its box for ever... That's sad. I bought my first set of Airfix First World War French in 1969 - it was one of the first two Airfix 1/72 sets I bought. The original sculpts remain (IMHO) one of the finest examples of what a 1/72 set should be (but I might be biased). The problem is those molds had been in use a couple years (according to PSR, they came out in 1966) when I bought them. I think Airfix is probably using the same molds - or more recent molds somehow copied off the original molds. Either way, those things are worn out and need to be somehow retooled. I would like for them somehow to completely retool this (and other sets) and re-issue a decent set as I think the sculpts hold up rather well after over fifty years considering. But I don't see Airfix doing that as it appears 1/72 figures or even new 1/32 scale figures is at the bottom of their list of priorities. |
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Post by Ironsides on Apr 9, 2020 13:52:04 GMT
I bought a new box of the Airfix First World War French last summer. I could not believe how poor the quality was. I've never encountered a set with so much flash and the plastic seems so soft yet all guns etc very brittle. That is a set that will stay in its box for ever... If you compare the quality and detail of the Airfix WW1 French to the earlier issues, those from the 1960s when the tooling was still in good condition and less worn, theres a world of difference they are so much more crisp and much was lost as these tools probarbly turned out 100s of 1000s of sets if not millions..... Fast forward to today the tooling has doubtless been renovated numerous times as well as languishing in dusty damp warehouses for decades, small wonder its no longer at its best...
Needless to say the only reason to buy the newer issues is nostalgia I'm not that nostalgic and in any case I have a multitude of originals and Hät reissues already..
There is one exception the RHA set is still as good as the original release to my eye, at least my Hät reissues are, likely because they were never produced in the same quantitys as the others in the series...
I've not noticed any brittleness in the one new issue from Airfix that I do have the RAF personnel, they seem fine so I recon its pot luck what you get, I think its possible the plastic is different in some new sets, there was I think something about using some other resin ie not PP or PE that doesn't have the placticiser in it, but this may only apply to the 1/32 figures... they also suffered from a little fragility so I hear... theres alot of reasons why the plastic may be fragile, excessive flash and poor detail though... trying to set an old tool up to fit and run properly on a new plastic injection machine must come with its own peculiar set of problems as well...
I did have similar issues with some of the earlier Zvezda Ancients sets with thin areas being somewhat fragile as well, likely for the same reason, they seem to have changed plastic in later sets which is more flexible and less fragile...
Waynew, I was given my first Airfix set in 1961 Native Americans, must have been a first issue.... as I recall a little later the cowboys and indians were given away as freebees in cereal or soap powder...
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Post by Graeme on Apr 9, 2020 15:02:01 GMT
I went today to spend a bit of money to support the LHS in these difficult times (as it happened the place was full of people looking for something to do in the lockdown, never seen it so full  ). One of my purchases was the Airfix WWI RHA.This is the very latest Airfix reissue with the "Vintage Classics" logo on the box; released, I think, this year or last year (see picture). The plastic is fine, very flexible, I could bend everything without breaking. I even pushed the dished section of the wheels in with my thumb without any sign of the spokes breaking. Airfix reissues do tend to be flashier than they used to be but the moulds are very old and have passed through a lot of hands over the years. These have a slight fringe around all of the mould lines and those horrible extractor pin marks are quite pronounced but I think they're not too bad for the age of the set. The only noticeable issue was that one of the guns had racked quite severely when the plastic cooled (see first picture) but a bit of hot water fixed it up immediately (see second pic).   |
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Post by waynew on Apr 9, 2020 21:34:23 GMT
"Waynew, I was given my first Airfix set in 1961 Native Americans, must have been a first issue.... as I recall a little later the cowboys and indians were given away as freebees in cereal or soap powder..."
Ironsides, I admit I was late to Airfix. The first time I saw them was when we went with my Dad to Belgium when he was stationed at SHAPE, NATO HQs. It was love at first sight.
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