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farmroad38
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 Posted: Wed 02 Jul 2008 20:24 pm Post subject: Here's one for the historians - Airfix Picture Kit |
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I bought a couple of job lots from Vince at modelsforsale.com last week. Various bits & bobs in it, including this little oddity:
It seems to be an entire set of kit sprues for a traction engine, plus a felt background. The instructions detail how to lay out a 'picture' using some of the kit parts, plus the included wool & thread:
As you can see, the box is a bit tatty, but it still has the original paint pots and glue sachet! The box is dated 1977. So, have I finally found the kit that will fund my retirement, or is it just a worthless curio?
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ColinM
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| Posted: Wed 02 Jul 2008 21:11 pm Post subject: |
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The box is tatty and has been scribbled on, the paint and glue will be rubbish after 30 years so I would immediateley put it on eBay with the caption RARE AIRFIX KIT with a starting price of £59.99...
Failing that, why not just build the kit, hang it on the wall and enjoy it?
Alternatively, post it on the ATF swap shop.
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farmroad38
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| Posted: Wed 02 Jul 2008 21:24 pm Post subject: |
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I might build the kit as a proper traction engine, but I certainly won't be doing the picture. Dare I say it, but it looks really... naff!
Just curious as to it's origins really - never seen anything like it before. I wonder how many different types they made?
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Digs
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| Posted: Wed 02 Jul 2008 21:40 pm Post subject: |
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That really is a child of its time isn't it! Wonderful.
It'll go nicely on the wall between the Woolies pictures of the excessively large eyed child and dusky latin beauty, the whole lot tastefully lit by your lamp made of a large wine bottle covered in ceramic mosaic tiles.
I wonder where the actual kit came from? Airfix never released a proper traction engine kit did they? The forgotten Museum series kit perhaps?
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Loll
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| Posted: Wed 02 Jul 2008 22:51 pm Post subject: |
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Would it actually build into a model ?
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farmroad38
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| Posted: Thu 03 Jul 2008 07:36 am Post subject: |
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| Loll wrote: | Would it actually build into a model ?
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It certainly seems to have a full set of sprues - looking at the instructions, only a very small number of parts get used in the picture. It doesn't have any instructions to build the model stand-alone however.
| Digs wrote: | ...
I wonder where the actual kit came from? Airfix never released a proper traction engine kit did they? The forgotten Museum series kit perhaps?
Paul |
That's what I wondered - I had a look in the history section and I couldn't see anything that matched.
Edit: Looking at the sprues again, I'm beginning to wonder if it's a completely different kit, and they've just used some bits to make the picture. With those spoked wheels and what looks like suspension, it could be one of the old (1/24th?) car kits. It has a driver too, although his body is missing - the only part that is by the looks of it.
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Last edited by farmroad38 on Thu 03 Jul 2008 07:39 am; edited 1 time in total |
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mattbacon
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| Posted: Thu 03 Jul 2008 07:37 am Post subject: |
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It's not a traction engine kit... That's a mixed collection of sprues from different kits. I can see at least a couple from the Vauxhall Prince Henry, but I don't recognise some of the others. I reckon it's bits from various 1/32 car kits, motorbikes and maybe railway parts...
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farmroad38
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| Posted: Thu 03 Jul 2008 07:40 am Post subject: |
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Beat me to it Matt!
So actually different kits?! How odd. I think there are even some sprues where none of the parts are used, so why on earth would they include them? Very peculiar...
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mattbacon
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| Posted: Thu 03 Jul 2008 08:42 am Post subject: |
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Looking closely, I think it's only two kits: the 1/32 Vauxhall Prince Henry (without the bodywork parts) and the 1/16 Ariel Arrow motorbike (without the main chassis). It seems a bit of a shame to take two such desirable kits (the Prince Henry is a great, accurate, detailed model from the 70s tooling standards) which are hard to find these days, and sell them as such a dubious concept!
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M. |
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tempestfan
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| Posted: Thu 03 Jul 2008 09:32 am Post subject: |
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| mattbacon wrote: | Looking closely, I think it's only two kits: the 1/32 Vauxhall Prince Henry (without the bodywork parts) and the 1/16 Ariel Arrow motorbike (without the main chassis). It seems a bit of a shame to take two such desirable kits (the Prince Henry is a great, accurate, detailed model from the 70s tooling standards) which are hard to find these days, and sell them as such a dubious concept!
bestest,
M. |
I'm not so sure about the Arrow (but it's a 1/16th bike anyway) because the set above has sprue frames. IIRC, the Arrow had simple (and rather thick) "trees", so I'd go for another one. Besides, all Arrows from the 70s I can remember (T4, T4a/T5, T5 and T6 boxings) are moulded in a deep cream colour. The exhausts look quite distinctive, and with just three kits to choose from, this should not be too hard.
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farmroad38
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| Posted: Thu 03 Jul 2008 09:50 am Post subject: |
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| mattbacon wrote: | Looking closely, I think it's only two kits: the 1/32 Vauxhall Prince Henry (without the bodywork parts) and the 1/16 Ariel Arrow motorbike (without the main chassis). It seems a bit of a shame to take two such desirable kits (the Prince Henry is a great, accurate, detailed model from the 70s tooling standards) which are hard to find these days, and sell them as such a dubious concept!
bestest,
M. |
I guess at the time, both kits (or whatever else they may be) were in plentiful supply and this was a possible way to break into another market.
From looking at the web (mostly eBay), it looks like there was also a steamship picture kit. The ones I found were all non-sellers at 99p starting prices though - not going to be retiring on the basis of this one then 
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hippo
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| Posted: Thu 03 Jul 2008 11:05 am Post subject: |
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| tempestfan wrote: |
I'm not so sure about the Arrow (but it's a 1/16th bike anyway) because the set above has sprue frames. IIRC, the Arrow had simple (and rather thick) "trees", so I'd go for another one. Besides, all Arrows from the 70s I can remember (T4, T4a/T5, T5 and T6 boxings) are moulded in a deep cream colour. The exhausts look quite distinctive, and with just three kits to choose from, this should not be too hard. |
It's the Honda CB450. |
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Beaufighter
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| Posted: Thu 03 Jul 2008 15:25 pm Post subject: |
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| hippo wrote: | | tempestfan wrote: |
I'm not so sure about the Arrow (but it's a 1/16th bike anyway) because the set above has sprue frames. IIRC, the Arrow had simple (and rather thick) "trees", so I'd go for another one. Besides, all Arrows from the 70s I can remember (T4, T4a/T5, T5 and T6 boxings) are moulded in a deep cream colour. The exhausts look quite distinctive, and with just three kits to choose from, this should not be too hard. |
It's the Honda CB450. |
agree, the fuel tank and wheels ID it.
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jezbrook
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| Posted: Sat 05 Jul 2008 17:12 pm Post subject: |
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"Picture Kits" was a range of Arts and Crafts kits introduced in the 1977 "Arts & Crafts" catalogue and a full list of these catalogues was included in CS32 along with some of the crafts.
I have one of these Picture Kits and it does indeed use some runners from a couple of kits (Vauxhall PH, etc). They are not particularly rare and were easy to find in 1977 but few modellers probably looked at them.
More details on these and other Airfix Arts and Crafts should be in the next few issues of CS.
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Owen
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| Posted: Sat 05 Jul 2008 18:51 pm Post subject: |
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What an oddity! Looks like this one slipped through the net - a very odd way of reinventing chopped up sprue 
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feanor
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| Posted: Sat 05 Jul 2008 19:01 pm Post subject: |
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Ayup All...
Really, its an MPC Millennium Falcon kit in disguise...
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