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COMPETITION RESULTS

The winner of our adult competition in Issue 11 is Mr Roger Hull, Member 504211 fromBerkshire. Congratulations. You have won an example of the A05120 Messerschmitt Bf109Ein 1:48 scale. And the answers to our competition questions were:

1. Werner Mölders. 2. Douglas Bader, Johnnie Johnson and Robert Stanford Tuck. 3. AdolfGalland died in 1996, aged 83. Your prize is on its way with the compliments of Airfix.

Our junior competition winner, carrying away an example of the A50015 RAF Battle of BritainAirfield set is William Bond, aged 9, Member 503650 from London. Well done, William!

And the answers to the questions were:

1. 18th October 2007. 2. Operation Black Buck.

More superb Airfix prizes are waiting for the winners of ourcompetitions this time, including an exclusive opportunityto visit the Fleet Air Arm Museum inYeovilton, hosted by the Royal Navy.

COMPETITION TIME

Our junior competition winner, who must be 14 years or under can expect to receive afantastic example of the newly tooled 1:32 scale A50111 Jaguar XKR GT3/Aston MartinDBR9 Gift Set as well as one of the 1:76 scale A03306 Bedford QL Trucks, also brandnew into the Airfix range.

JUNIOR COMPETITION TIME

You can now use your membership card to obtain 10% discounton purchases featured on the Airfix Direct Sales website:www.airfix.comFollow the step by step guide to the checkout and give your validAirfix Collectors Club membership number to claim your discount,quoting Code: AFCLUB

NOTE: YOU MUST BE A CURRENT MEMBER WITH AFULLY PAID UP SUBSCRIPTION TO BENEFIT FROMTHIS OFFER!

ANOTHER BENEFIT OF AIRFIXCLUB MEMBERSHIP!

10% DISCOUNTFOR CLUB MEMBERS

NORMAL PRICE £59.95

£24.99

In 2007 The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight celebrated its 50th year now performingup to 700 flights a year in remembrance of those who fought in World War II.This limited edition canvas print has been stretched over a wooden frame and hasbeen signed by the crew of today’s BBMF.This limited edition run of 250 prints, is sure to make a perfect gift.

BATTLE OF BRITAIN CANVAS...

Airfix have secured four pairs of tickets to visit the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm Museumat Yeovilton in Somerset. Each ticket is for a Club member and a guest. If the guest isa child, they must be over eight years of age.The visit is fixed for Tuesday 26th October 2010 and the winners will be met on site byan Airfix representative, who will accompany the group throughout. The winners will beresponsible for arriving and departing from the venue at their own expense.The programme will be as follows: Arrival at 10.00 am and begin tour with a visit tothe RN Historic Flight, a front line squadron and the Control Tower, followed by lunch ataround 12.45 pm in the Officers’ Mess. 2 pm. Visit to the Fleet Air Arm Museum, afterwhich visitors are free to depart.

The Of f ic ia l A ir f ix ClubMagazine

IN THIS ISSUE

ASTON MARTIN DBR92 X AIRFIX MODEL BUILDS...

& THE 1:76 SCALE BEDFORD QL TRUCKS

RULES OF ENTRY FOR BOTH COMPETITIONS

1. The winners of the competition will be four adult Club members/one junior (aged 14 or under), whose entriesare drawn at random from the all-correct entries received by the closing date of 11th October 2010.

2. The competitions are limited to one entry per current member of the Airfix Club.3. Duplicate entries will be disregarded.4. The results of the competitions will be announced in issue 13 of the Airfix magazine and the winners notified

by post. In the case of the Adult Competition, we will telephone the four winners.5. The competitions are not open to employees of Hornby Hobbies Ltd., their agents or families.6. No correspondence to be entered into in conjunction with the competitions.7. No cash equivalent is available.8. The Airfix Club accepts no responsibility for entries lost or damaged in the post.9. Entries defaced or altered in any way will be deemed null and void. The judges’ decision is final.

To enter either of our competitions, all we want you to do is answer the followingfour questions – you’ll find all the information you need in this issue of the Airfixmagazine.

1.Who were the three drivers of the Aston Martin DBR9 – No.007 - that raced in the 2008 24 Heures Le Mans event?

2.Which racing team has permission from the manufacturersto race the new Jaguar XKR GT3?

3.The A03306 Bedford QL with the suffix T – QLT - was usedfor which specific purpose?

4. When did the Bedford Company cease manufacture of the QL?Put your answers on a postcard with your name, address and membership number.Entrants to the Adult Competition also need to give us a daytime telephone number.Junior Club members must include your age. Send to: Airfix Issue 12 Competition,PO Box 25, Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire LE13 1ZG. Closing date for entriesis 11th October 2010.

BUY ON-LINE NOW WWW.AIRFIX.COM

2

The key features in this issue major on the newly tooled Aston MartinDBR9 and the Jaguar XKR GT3 both in 1:32 scale, due out shortly. Weare sure these prestigious marques will appeal to racing enthusiasts,

as well as those of you who are just top of the range car aficionados.

Editorial

For military collectors, the appearance of the brand new Airfix Bedford QL Trucks will addfurther authenticity and atmosphere to your WWII diorama.

ContentsBook Review............... 2

Diary Dates.................2

Exclusive Hawk Offer ...3

Forthcoming Releases..............................4 - 5

Aston Martin DBR9 &Jaguar XKR GT3 .....6 - 7

Aston Martin DBR9Model Build ...........8 - 9

Hornby Visitor Centre.10

Bedford QL Truck ......11

Bedford QL TruckModel Build .......12 - 13

Key Publishing LaunchesAirfix Model World ....14

Advertorial ................15

Competition Time......16

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Consultant Editor:Susan Pownell.

Design & Production:DSP Limited.

Membership Organiser:Sarah Woodhouse.

2010 Subscription Fees:UK POSTAL Version £24.99.UK DOWNLOADABLE Version £15.99.EU DOWNLOADABLE Version £19.49.Rest of the World DOWNLOADABLEVersion £21.49.

Cheques made payable to:Hornby Hobbies Limited.

Visa, Access, Mastercard, Maestro& Switch accepted with validexpiry date.

Club Address:

Airfix Collectors Club,PO Box 25, Melton Mowbray,Leicestershire, UK. LE13 IZG.

Tel: 0870 062 4001Fax: 01664 480 257

The Airfix Club Magazine ispublished on behalf of Hornby plc,Westwood, Margate,Kent CT9 4JX.

The Club accepts no responsibilityfor errors or ommissions or forviews and opinions expressed bycontributors to the magazine.

DIARY DATESWhy not have a trip out to one of the following attractions,promising an interesting day out?We recommend where possible that you contact the organisersconcerned to confirm the details, which are correct at the timeof going to press.30th October: This is a World Record Attempt on the numberof models made in one place in one day, with talks and displays

'The most beautiful aircraft ever designed' is how many woulddescribe the Spitfire today. Together with the more numerousand legendary fighter of the era, the Hurricane, in tandem theseaircraft were successfully used to halt the advancing Germanwar machine.

The Hurricane was often 'the pilot's choice', being a sturdyaircraft that was also an excellent gun platform. But otheraircraft too played their par t in defending the British shoresduring the summer of 1940.

This 80-page hardback book, by John G Bentley, takes a closerlook at all of the aircraft that fought during the Battle of Britain,both British and German.

This special edition has been produced for Airfix enthusiasts.

from many Airfix related people, including Roy Cross, ArthurWard and various Hornby personnel. More par ticipants arebeing added all the time.13-14th November: IPMS Scale Model World - InternationalCentre, Telford. Airfix will be at the event for the duration, socome along and meet the team. For more information, log onto the website: www.ipms-uk.co.uk

BOOK REVIEW...BUY ON-LINE NOW WWW.AIRFIX.COM

Their Finest Hour...Aircraft of the Battle of Britain.

Special pages are included which show illustrations of Airfixmodels that have been released over recent years representingaircraft which fought in theBattle of Britain.

A Special Limited Edition book by John G Bentley. PLUS POSTAGE£6.99

EXCLUSIVE AIRFIX CLUB KIT

1:72 SCALE

BAE SYSTEMS HAWK T.1A...with two decal options included!

XX307, No.208 (R) Squadron, Royal Air Force Valley, 2009.Aircraft specially painted for the 2009 display season to mark the 90thanniversary of the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund.

Buy now for only £7.99P&P is £2.94 for any number bought (up to a max of 3).

Please photocopy the order form if you don’t wish to cut your Club Magazine.

Yet another fantastic benefit of being an Airfix Club member!

IT’S SO EASY TO ORDER!... Simply fill in this order form and post to: Airfix Club Offer, Hornby Hobbies Ltd, Margate, Kent, CT9 4JX or phone our Credit Card Hotline on01843 233 519. Alternatively, visit the Airfix Club members area at www.airfix.com to order online. If you do not have access to this area, please email club@airfix.com

STEP 2 – Your details

Mr/Mrs/Miss

Address

Postcode

Email

Tel No. Club No.

STEP 1 – Order details

Item Qty Each Total

A73000 BAE Systems Hawk T.1A Club Special* £7.99

P&P is £2.94 for any number bought for UK address only. Airfix Club members outside the UK please call us for your P&P price. P&P Total £

Order Total £

STEP 4 – Payment details

I enclose my Cheque/Postal Order for £ payable to ‘Hornby Hobbies’ Visa Mastercard Maestro

Please charge my Credit/Debit Card for £ Card No.

Expiry Date Switch Issue No. Signature

On the back of your card near the signature is a 7 digit security number.In order to authorise your card transactions, we require the last 3 digitsYour order should be despatched within 10 days but please allow 28 days for delivery. Offer not open to anyone under the age of 18. Mainland UK and Northern Ireland only.

STEP 3 – Delivery details

Please complete the following if the required delivery address is different to that enteredin Step 2

Mr/Mrs/Miss

Address

Postcode

*Only 3 kits per Airfix Club member, offer while stocks last!

XX184 “Spithawk”, Royal Air Force Valley, May 2008.Aircraft specially painted for the 70th anniversary of 19(F) Squadronequipping with the Spitfire.

For the first time you lucky Airfix Club members are able tobuy an exclusive kit specially produced for you.

This is a one-off chance to buy this limited edition modeland the maximum number each member can buy is 3.

AH2899

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FORTHCOMING RELEASESWe review the models available

during the current quarter of theyear, either recently released or planned for releaseover the coming quarter of 2010.The selection includes a lot of the new toolingpromised for 2010, bringing you some superb Airfixkits across all categories and levels of expertise, fromStarter and Series 1 kits right up to highly detailedand intricate model building projects.

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Military Aircraft – 1:72 scale

A01071A Supermarine Spitfire Mk1a.This new tool in 1:72 scale comes with one finish option – that of the 610 Squadronas flown in 1940. The brand new kit celebrates the first real combat version of thebrilliant WWII fighter plane, probably the most evocative of all the WWII aircraft whichflew during the conflict. The Spitfire was the brainchild of R J Mitchell, developedand built at the Supermarine Works at Southampton. The Spitfire was the only Alliedwarplane kept in production throughout the conflict, with over 40 variants beingdeveloped and put into service. But it nearly didn’t make it. Initially, it was wantedby neither the Government nor the RAF but Mitchell’s persistence and his faith inthe brilliantly designed aircraft ultimately paid off, with it entering service just in timeto play such a major role in the Battle of Britain and beyond.

A03081 Messerschmitt Bf110E. New Tooling.With its extended fuselage holding a life-raft at the tail, tropical filter to help preventdust entering the engine, larger wheels for rougher airstrips and bomb racks addedto the underside, the ‘E’ version of the Messerschmitt Bf1110 served throughoutthe Mediterranean and North Africa from 1941. The Airfix kit comes with two finishoptions – as flown by ‘8/JG26; or 3U + FR of 7/.ZG 26, Derna in May 1942.

A03082 North American F-86F Sabre. New Tooling.The North American Aviation F-86 Sabre was a transonic jet fighter which enteredservice with the USAAF in 1951. This new Airfix kit comes with two finish options– as ‘The Huff’, 39th FIS, USAAF, Korea or as flown with the Italian Air Force.

A03083 North American Sabre Mk 4 – Canadair. New Tooling.This version of the Sabre was built under licence from the North American AviationInc. Many went into service with the RAF. The two finish options include an RAFversion or as flown with the Greek Air Force.

A02048A Messerschmitt Bf109E. Two new finish options.

A02082A Hawker Hurricane Mk1. Two new finish options.

A03007 Junkers Ju87-B. Two finish options.

A03030A Junkers Ju88. Two finish options.A03032 Fairey Battle. Two finish options.A04011 H P Hampton. Three finish options.A04005 North American B-25 Mitchell. Four finish options.

Military Aircraft – 1:24 scaleThis well detailed series of WWII and post-war military aircraft has also beenrefreshed with fur ther finish options.

A18003 Hawker Siddeley Harrier GR3. Three finish options, two of which are RAFand one from the USA.

Military Aircraft – 1:48 scaleA05122 Messerschmitt Bf109E Tropical. New Tooling.This ‘Tropical’ Airfix version of the Messerschmitt Bf109E follows on from A05020,which included the E-4 variant, reviewed extensively in Issue 11 of the Clubmagazine.

The E-7 was the next major production variant after the E-4, entering service inAugust 1940. The E-7 had a longer range than the E-4 – a marked improvement -and was also the first to carry a drop tank.

There are three finish options to choose from.

New finish options on existing Airfix tooling in this category include the following:A05100 Junkers Ju87-B Stuka. Three new finish options to choose from.

Military Vehicles – 1:76 scale

A03306 the Bedford Truck. New Tooling.See our main features in this issue for the full story behind this new addition to theAirfix series of military vehicles.

Military Figures – 1:32A02709 Australian Infantry. 1:32 Scale.Comprising 14 pieces, this set features the Australian Army in the jungles of SouthEast Asia.

A04710 British Infantry Support Set. 1:32 Scale. 14 pieces.A04713 German Mountain Troops. 1:32 Scale. 14 pieces.A04704 Russian Infantry. 1:32 Scale. 14 pieces.

Dioramas – 1:76 scaleThese newly tooled readymade resin ruined buildings come unpainted but completelybuilt, apart from window glazing. We are pleased to announce the availability of afurther two in the series.

A75003 European Corner House Ruin. A75004 European Country Cottage Ruin.

Cars – 1:32 scaleTwo newly tooled cars join the 1:32 Scale Airfix series of prestigious marques – theA03410 Jaguar XKR GT3 - APEX Racing and the A03411 Aston Martin DBR9 in theGulf Oil racing colours, as driven in the 2008 Le Mans 24-hour race. Read the fullstory in this issue of the Airfix magazine.

Battlefield Diorama Gift Sets – 1:76 scaleTwo new sets have been introduced into this gift set range. Both include the paints,cement and brushes to enable you to start constructing your models straight away!

A50009 Battle Front depicts a typical WWII battle of Northern Europe in 1944 with aSherman and Tiger Tank, British Paratroops and German Infantry, a Forward CommandPost and a base to set it all out on.

A50060 WWI – The Western Front. With a diorama base typical of a trench layouton the Western Front, you can complete the scene by constructing the tanks andtroops included in the set, which also comes with paints, cement and brushes.

Battle of Britain 70th Anniversary Gift Sets– 1:72 scaleA50022 Battle of Britain - 70th Anniversary.This new set contains the four aircraft that epitomise the Battle of Britain, whichwas to become the turning point in WWII. With one finish option, decorateyour own Spitfire, Hurricane, Messerschmitt and Heinkel to commemorate theaction of the summer of 1940.

The Royal Navy – 1:350 & 1:72 scaleA50021 Trafalgar Class Submarine. 1:350 scale. Newly tooled this year, we havefeatured this model extensively in Issue 10 of the Airfix magazine. It comes with 7finish options to complete any of the submarines in its class.

A50017 Sea Harrier FA2. 1:72 Scale.Both these models come with 1 finish option and include the paints, cement andbrushes to complete the kit.

A03306

A

MODEL KIT • MAQUETTE A MONTER • MODELLBAUSATZ • MODELLO A SCALA • BOUWMODEL • MAQUETA PARA MONTAR • PLASTBYGGSATS • RAKENNUSSARJA • MODELO PARA CONSTRUIR • MODELBYGGESÆT • ΣΥΝΑΡΜOΛOΓOΥΜΕΝO MONTEΛO

Starter Sets – 1:32 & 1:72 scaleEach comes with paints, cement and brushes.

A50098 Eurofighter Typhoon Gift Set. 1:72 Scale.A50114 BAe Hawk T1 Gift Set. 1:72 Scale.A50109 Jaguar XKR GT3 APEX Racing. New Tooling. 1:32 Scale.A50110 Aston Martin DBR9 - Gulf. New Tooling. 1:32 Scale.A50111 Jaguar/Aston Martin Twin pack. New Tooling. 1:32 Scale.

8 Acrylic Paints

1:72 scale

Sea Harrier FA2

•• MAQUETTE A MONTER •• MODELLBAUSATZ •• MAQUETA PARA MONTAR

Model kitOfficial Licensed Product

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A03410 Jaguar XKR GT3 APEX Racing For the first time for manyyears, Jaguar enthusiasts are now able to cheer on an officially backed Jaguar. ApexMotorsport, based in Buckinghamshire have developed the XKR for racing in the FIAGT3 European Championships, a sports car racing series, organised by the StéphaneRatel Organisation (SRO) and regulated by the FIA (Federation Internationale del’Automobile).

It is a championship derived from the international FIA GT contest but, launched in2006, it was seen as a way in which manufacturer involvement in motor sport couldbe linked to help amateur drivers across Europe, in which the competitors drove inmore or less production cars.

Unlike the other GT Classes, the GT3 Class cars are not allowed to be developed bythe manufacturers, who simply provide a ready to race car for a customer – in thiscase - APEX Racing. The teams are also restricted with regard to modifications tothe production specification.

Against this background, the project, under the direction of APEX Motorspor t’sRichard Lloyd, is independent of Jaguar but has their agreement to the use of theXKR on the racing circuit under the APEX Motorsport banner. The car made its firstGT appearance on the Rockingham Speedway during the final round of the 2007Championship, almost as a test run for its debut in the FIA GT3 EuropeanChampionships. It finished in 15th place overall.

The XKR GT3 specification retains the same supercharged 4.3 litre quad-cam V8engine as the road going car, as well as its aluminium body. Beyond that, it complieswith the rules with permitted modifications to some components to fulfil the needsof high performance racing.

The launch of the newly tooled 1:32 scale Airfix A03410 Jaguar XKR GT3 – APEXRacing now means you can enjoy constructing your own model, which comes withone finish option.

Two of the most prestigious marques in the UK motor industry – those ofAston Martin and Jaguar – roar into the Airfix range this summer,in authentic racing livery options.Both newly tooled this year, they are modelled in 1:32scale and comprise fully detailed construction kitsfor painting and decorating.

SPEEDING INTO THE AIRFIX RANGE...

ASTON MARTIN DBR9 & JAGUAR XKR GT31:32 SCALE

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A03411 Aston Martin Racing DBR9 Gulf Representing the car thatperformed superbly in the 2008 Le Mans 24-hour race.

The 2008 24 Heures Le Mans was the 76th Grand Prix of Endurance, held over theweekend of 14-15th June at the Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans in France.

Aston Martin were returning to Le Mans to defend their GT1 title, won in 2007 whencars 007 and 009 had worn their traditional green livery. 2008 was also the 40thAnniversary of Gulf Oil winning Le Mans back in 1968, when Pedro Rodriguez andLucien Bianchi drove the No. 9 Ford GT40 in the famous powder blue and orangelivery. Aston Martin therefore saw it as a fitting tribute to the Gulf sponsors to enter007 and 009 into the 2008 race in the iconic orange and blue colour scheme, at thesame time looking to emulate Gulf’s first victory in the 24-hour race, 40 years on.

Driven by David Brabham – son of the legendary Australian racing driver Jack Brabham– the Number 009 car came first in the GT1 Class and 13th overall. Team-mateswere Antonio Garcia and Darren Turner. Aston Martin Racing’s second DBR9 drivenby Heinz-Harald Frenzen/Andrea Piccini and Karl Wendlinger just missed a podiumfinish, being pipped at the post by Corvette Racing to come fourth in their class and16th overall.

The Aston Martin DBR9 specification is awesome! The car uses the DB9 road car’saluminium chassis and the V12 engine’s cylinder block and heads to develop therace unit. After this, the car is re-engineered for competition use. In the cockpit, acarbon composite dashboard, lightweight racing seat and the driver’s instrumentpanels have replaced all the original car’s trim.

The aerodynamic package of the car has been developed using computational fluiddynamics (CFD). All the panels have been hand crafted to fit the DBR9 and are allmanufactured in carbon fibre composite to save weight (except the roof). The largerear wing is also made from carbon fibre. To complete the aerodynamic features,the underside of the car is flat from the front to the rear diffuser.

Performance0-60 mph in 3.4 secs. 0-100 mph in6.2 secs.

ConfigurationFront engine, rear wheel drive.

ChassisModified DB9 aluminium chassis.Aluminium roof. All other body panelsin carbon fibre composite.High strength steel roll-cage.

DimensionsLength: 4687mm + 80mm.

Width: 1978mm.

Wheelbase: 2714mm.

Weight: 1125 kg

EngineAston Martin Racing V12 based onAston Martin DB9 aluminium blockand cylinder heads.Dry sump, quad overhead cam, fourvalves per cylinder.

Capacity: 6 litres.

Power: 600 bhp

Torque: > 700Nm

ECU/Data system: pi data system.

Engine ECU: Pectel.

TransmissionXtrac 6 speed sequential gearboxlongitudinally mounted at the rearaxle.

ClutchFour plate carbon clutch.

SuspensionDouble wishbone suspension frontand rear with adjustable Koni dampersfitted with Eibach springs.

WheelsOZ forged magnesium.

BrakesFront and rear Brembo six potcallipers with 330mm diametercarbon discs.

Aston Martin DB9 Facts & Figures...

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1:32 SCALE

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The last time Airfix released their own tooled 1:32 scale model car was way back in 1977, producing the MG K3Magnette. Now thirty-three years on, we can look forward to two brand newly tooled cars– the 1:32 scale Aston Martin DBR9 and the Jaguar XKR GT3, both of whichare racing versions of the road going cars.

This build will show you how I made the Aston Martin. The kit comes as fivesprues comprising the body shell and windows and three sprues of carcomponents. The first thing I did was to lightly sand down a moulding line onthe rear quarter panels (pic 1). After that the body shell was primed with whiteprimer and then sprayed light blue. Paint the front fascia now as well. The colourlisted in the instructions is Humbrol H47 Sea Blue which is the closest match inthe range. To get the colour slightly more authentic you could add a very smallamount of white (Humbrol H22 Gloss White) to lighten it up (pic 2).

The three main component sprues were then sprayed with Humbrol H1 Primer.The wheels were sprayed H11 Silver, as were the brake discs and the interiorfloor. (pic 3, pic 4). The final sprue was completely sprayed with H33 Matt Black,as this included the main floor pan, wheel arches, wiper, aerials and steeringcolumn. (pic 5).Once the paint on the body shell had fully dried it was masked leaving the sillsand the bottom portion of the rear valence that were painted H33 Matt Black.(pic 6).

The wheel, brake and hub assemblies were painted before gluing. Note that onthe DBR9, the rear wheels are larger than the front. The tyres were carefullyhand painted matt black. You need a steady hand for this so as not to get blackpaint on the wheels rims. When it came to the brake discs, I painted the disccentres and the brake callipers H171 Antique Bronze to make them stand out.The wheel hub mountings were painted silver and black. (pic 7). The parts wereall fitted together - be careful to make sure that the brake callipers are glued inopposite sides in the wheels because on the real car the rear brake callipers faceforward and the front callipers face towards the rear of the car. Finally I scrapedaway the paint where they needed to be glued. (pic 8).

The wheel assemblies were glued to the floor pan (don’t forget the big wheelsare at the back) and then the wheel arches are fitted. (pic 9, pic 10). Before theinterior floor was added, I detailed it with some H85 Semi Gloss Black on thefloor and the stepped area and the panel with the hole was H130 Semi GlossWhite. (pic 11) The four parts to the roll cage were constructed then paintedH11 Silver. (pic 12).

One thing I wanted to do when building this car was to replicate the gloss blackwindow surrounds. Most modern cars have these particularly on the windscreenand rear windows. My method was to stick the windows onto post-it notes andthen draw a line around the windows (pic 13). Then using small sharp scissorsI carefully cut about 2mm inside of my line (leaving maybe 3-4mm on the bottom

edge of the windscreen which would include the hole for the wiper) and re stuckthe post it notes back on the inside transparencies leaving an equal gap. (pic 14).I then painted H85 Semi Gloss Black on the inside edges of the windows. (pic 15).

Once dry the post-it notes were removed and any errors or paint seepagecleaned up with a cocktail stick as this wouldn’t scratch the clear parts. Theywere then fitted to the body shell. (pic 16). The tail lights were painted silver onthe inside then Humbrol 1321 Clear red on the lenses and finally light blueinser ts. (pic 17).

Now I paid some attention to the dashboard and instrument panel. The dashwas sprayed matt black and the switches on the centre console were pickedout in silver and a little red, blue and yellow for the upper switches. There isn’tany detail for the instrument binnacle and I found it hard to find good interiorimages on the Internet so I used a little ar tistic licence and painted twoinstrument dials. These won’t really be seen once completed anyway. (pic 18).

The seat and pedal box were added (pic 19) and then finally the dashboard androll cage were glued in place. (pic 20). Before the front fascia was fitted it wasmasked and the lower section painted Matt Black and the air intake area on thetop of the part Semi Gloss Black (pic 21). Just before the body was mated tothe chassis the headlamps were fitted (Semi Gloss Black with Silver lamps). It’snow starting to look like a car! (pic 22, pic 23)

All that was left to do now was add the decals and then finish up with the doormirrors, aerials and headlamp lenses. What a great kit of a fantastic supercar!

Model build by: Brian Canell

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The Bedford QLD was the GS (general service) cargo truck version of the QL series,which Bedford Vehicles manufactured for use by the British Armed Forces duringWWII. The QLT was the troop carrier version and between the two variants, Bedfordproduced approximately 52,250 before they ceased manufacture in 1945.

Bedford started work on the Bedford QL 3-ton truck back in 1938, following theirengineering department suggestion of a 4x4 truck with off road ability. The designhad its advantages, particularly for military use and the War Office approved thedesign just before the outbreak of WWII. From 1941 onwards, the Bedford QL wasat the forefront of any Allied battlefield where they performed a number of uses.The Bedford variants, mounted on the basic QL chassis were identified by whichbody was fitted to the chassis.

The first letter indicated the model and the second letters indicated the version.

H and later S indicated a short wheelbase.

L indicated a long wheelbase.

A third letter indicated a sub type.

D usually indicated a Dropside Cab

T indicated an End Tipper but in military versions it indicated Troop Carrier.

W indicated that the chassis was constructed to wartime specifications.

R again for wartime use – indicated that it carried a radio

After that, numbers were added to indicate the tonnage.E.g. 0 = under 1 ton. 1 = 1 ton etc.

Therefore the QLB was a Bofors gun tractor, with capacity for ammunition and

stores; QLD was the general-purpose dropside truck; QLR was a signals vehicle(with radio); and the QLT was the Troop Carrier, with bench seats along each sidefor the troops. Each featured the long wheelbase. Their capacity was 1 driver and11 passengers and had an operational range of 156 miles (250 kms). They werenot armoured. Even though manufacture ceased in 1945, the Bedford QL serieswas used in later conflicts including the Korean War and was in service until asrecently as the 1970s in peacetime army activities.

THE BEDFORD QL TRUCKS

1:76SCALE

The Visitor Centre, located through a separate entrance on the right hand side ofthe company’s main headquarters on the Westwood Industrial Estate in the town,has just opened this summer and has already welcomed enthusiasts from aroundthe world. Its design and development is all the work of in-house expertise andwhilst not every model ever produced is on display – there is simply insufficientspace - you are treated to a carefully selected cross-section of products spanningthe years of Hornby history, across each of the brands now under the Hornbyumbrella. Each section is attractively displayed behind showcase windows, withincredibly effective LED lighting, carefully aimed to illuminate key features of theexhibits. One of the attractions of the exhibition is that because the Hornby archiveis so large, future plans include periodically rotating and refreshing the displays bybringing out the untapped material, so visitors can come along more than once andsee something different.

Each of the brands under the Hornby Group has its own exhibition area, includingHornby trains, Scalextric, the recently acquired Corgi and - of course - Airfix, whichfeatures prominently in this walk-through exhibition. At the start of your tour, youare looking through a period toyshop window, reminiscent of those that many ayoung nose must have pressed against with longing and expectation in days goneby. The clever graphics encompass the evolution of products and packaging overthe years across all the Hornby brands. Information panels of text, detailing thehistory of each Hornby brand stand alongside the model displays at intervalsthroughout the exhibition, which takes about two hours of comfortable browsingbefore reaching the end of your tour – the Hornby Shop.

The first Airfix showcase, complete with background graphics from the period,reveals the first ever kit, made especially for the Ferguson Tractor Company in 1949.This kit was not on general sale but was a promotional and exclusive item forFerguson’s themselves. The Airfix archive example is still in kit form, so it wasamazing to have one of the first visitors to the Centre remark that he had an exampletoo, as a completed kit. He has kindly donated his model, which now standsalongside the Airfix original. Another ‘first’ on view is the Golden Hind, representingthe first Airfix kit that sold in Woolworths in 1952. Look out, too, for the unusualBristol SuperFreighter, a 1:72 scale kit of an aircraft car transporter, for the use ofpeople who did not take the sea ferry.

The original Airfix magazines are given pride of place too, dating from Number 1,dated June 1960, with examples on display going through to the early 1980s. It isinteresting to compare the artwork through the different eras of design, as well asthe content of each issue. The exhibition features some highly detailed Airfixdioramas, including tanks, ships, military and naval personnel and aircraft. Thescenes portrayed bring to life a WWII Bomber Command, the Cold War of theearly 1960s, and a WWII Rescue Mission with a Catalina and Short Stirling, amongstothers. The display of 1:32 scale Airfix cars is superb. They are so accurately puttogether and well decorated, you could mistake them for diecast metal, such is theperfect finish.

The highlight of the Airfix section of the Visitor Centre must be a 1:24 scale DeHavilland Mosquito, which has over 617 pieces. Fully decorated and evocativelyilluminated with the special LED lighting, it is a fitting subject in the collection,adding to those subjects commemorating the 70th Anniversary of the Battle ofBritain this year. A showcase window devoted to design and development showshow your Airfix models are conceived, designed and developed to perfection priorto manufacture using the injection moulding technique, from which the kitcomponents emerge on sprues.

The Gallery is a must for Airfix art lovers. Here you can appreciate the box art of thelate Gavin MacLeod, noted for his airbrush work; John D Jones, famous for hisaircraft and ships artwork; and Mike Trim whose Airfix box art speciality was ships.Examples of all these different subjects and styles hang on the walls around the

HORNBY’S NEW VISITOR CENTRE!

Military vehicle enthusiasts and collectors of WWII models will be pleased to see the introduction of the newlytooled 1:76 scale Bedford QL Trucks into the Airfix range, which is planned for release any time now.A03306 Bedford QL Trucks give you the option ofconstructing the two vehicles that were produced inmost numbers during the period between 1941-1945,namely the troop carrier (QLT) as well as thegeneral-purpose cargo truck (QLD).

A03306

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MODEL KIT • MAQUETTE A MONTER • MODELLBAUSATZ • MODELLO A SCALA • BOUWMODEL • MAQUETA PARA MONTAR • PLASTBYGGSATS • RAKENNUSSARJA • MODELO PARA CONSTRUIR • MODELBYGGESÆT • ΣΥΝΑΡΜOΛOΓOΥΜΕΝO MONTEΛO

The Bedford QL...at the forefront of any Allied battlefield.

Other SpecificationsWeight: 7,225 lbs (3,277 kg) when empty.

15,400 (6,985 kg) loaded.

Length: 19ft 8 ins (5.99 m).

Width: 7ft 5 ins (2.26 m).

Height: Just under 10 feet. (2.54 m).

Engine: Bedford 6 cylinder 3,519 capacity (214.7 cu in). 72 hp (54 kW).

Payload capacity: 3 tons.

Suspension: Wheel, 4 x 4.

After months of hard work on this exciting new project, Hornby Hobbies have opened the doors to a fantastic newVisitor Centre at the Hornby headquarters in Margate.

gallery, each being so perfect, it looks more like a photograph than a painting.

We have deliberately only touched the surface in reviewing the new Visitor Centreas we want you to go along and enjoy the experience firsthand. The Centre is anongoing project, with plans still to be realised, including restaurant and a coffeeshop facility; and an area for visiting exhibitions such as private collections, to behoused in the Gallery area, which also chronicles the life and times at Hornby’sMargate factory. Round off your tour with a visit to the Hornby Shop, where AirfixClub members qualify for a 20% discount upon presentation of your membershipcard. Entry to the Visitor Centre is £4 Adult; £2 Children and Senior Citizens; £10family ticket (2 adults and up to 4 children). Here again, Club members qualify fora 20% discount against the ticket price but bring your membership card.

For opening times, visit the website at www.Hornby.com/visitorcentre or telephone01843 233500. Seasonal opening hours apply, so please check before setting off onyour visit. In addition, there promises extended opening in the lead-up to Christmas.

TAKE A WALK THROUGH AIRFIX HISTORY AT...

You will really enjoy the Hornby/Airfix experience at the Visitor Centre, whichis aimed at pleasing all the family. Come along soon!

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At the time of this pre-production build, the decal sheet was not yet available. Howeverartwork provided showed that the sheet contains serial numbers for one of each truckversion, along with 4 different British Army divisional markings as well as 3 unitmarkings all for use in the North West European Theatre of operations in 1944/45.The parts themselves are cleanly moulded and nicely detailed with a few ejection pinmarks that require dealing with, more on that later.

The fit of parts is exceptional with no sloppy/ill fitting joints requiring filling. This isprobably due to the CAD origination of the kit's design. However, in a couple of placesthe fit of parts is a little on the "tight" side and required a swipe of a sanding stick. Iwill highlight these few areas during the build. But if you use the rule of testing the fitof parts first before applying glue, you shouldn't have any real problems.

Now to the build itself.As with most soft skin vehicle kits, the first stages of construction involve the chassisand suspension as well as all those dangly bits usually hidden out of sight from above.(You can tell I'm no DIY car mechanic.) Both kits comprise a single piece chassis sothere is no risk of building upon a warped or twisted chassis that you only discoverat the last stages of construction when the cab and body seem to be leaning inopposite directions. How often does that happen - or is that just me?

The suspension parts all fit together with very positive locations.The only issue I hadwas that of the mounting lug on the chassis front end plates (parts A28 and C10)which seemed a little too long and required about 1mm of the mounting lug to beremoved. The "tight fit" issue came to the fore when mounting the QLT's two petroltanks (part B12) to the chassis support brackets.

The brackets needing a very light sanding on their sides so that they slotted into thegrooves on the tops of the fuel tanks.When completed the chassis sub assemblieswere test fitted with their wheels on to ensure that the "weighted" wheels (a nicedesign touch by the way) sat on the ground properly. When checked these were putaside to dry.

Before starting on the vehicle cabs, I tackled the issue of the ejection pin marks thatare on the inside surfaces of the bodywork and the rear cab wall of both trucks. Ratherthan try and fill these shallow indentations with model filler I use correction fluid (ieTippex or similar) This comes in a pen like dispenser with a fine metal tip. It's then justa matter of dispensing the fluid into each depression by "drawing" round the insideof the ejection pin circle. Apply enough so that the liquid foms a "dome" inside thedepression. This extra amount is required as it tends to shrink a bit when it dries. Whenhardened off, provided each depression has been "filled", this can be sanded/scrapedlevel with the surrounding area. One thing to remember though - give the correctionpen a good shake/rattle before use to ensure its properly mixed. As can be seen inthis picture the white circles are the Tippex filled ejection pin marks.

The cabs of both vehicles are almost identical, the only difference being in the cabroof styles, One is a standard version, the other is the type with an open "manhole".Both cabs come with transparency parts for the doors and front windows.The frontwindows are a little on the thick side - more like 6 inch armoured glass but they dofit rather well. I elected to fit these clear parts at the end of the build but in the end Ineeded to sand the edges of them to get them to fit properly as the build up of paintand varnishes during construction had "shrunk" the window apertures.The instructionswould have you fit the windows as the cab is built, which will require them to bemasked off for painting later on.

I painted the cab interiors with the same colour as the outside bodywork - Khaki Drab(H159). The seat cushions were painted with a 50/50 mix of Khaki Drab (H159) andOchre (H93) which makes a rather nice military khaki colour. The steering wheel anddashboard instruments were painted satin black (H85) - gloss black being a bit tooshiny in this scale for the steering wheel. All the detail was then drybrushed with mymixed khaki/ochre colour to make the edges stand out a bit more. Both vehicles comewith an optional canvas tilt. These were assembled as well as the vehicle bodies. TheQLT comes with a set of troop seats. Again these parts just fell together, the designof the joints ensuring a good square corner.

After leaving overnight for all the sub-asemblies to harden, painting was commenced.

This being an overall coat of the main camouflage colour Khaki Drab (H159), a secondand third coat was applied where necessary. Canvas tilts on WW2 trucks were dyedrather than painted green. Being canvas and exposed to the elements, these tendedto fade and wear quite easily. For a more realistic look I elected to paint the canvastilts a slightly different lighter shade of green. Having looked at several WW2 vintagephotographs, I decided that Light Olive (H86) would be a good choice. This gave adecidedly lighter, faded effect when compared to the main camouflage green. TheCamouflage on British vehicles during the later stages of the war was Khaki Greenwith what looks like black "Mickey Mouse" camouflage. This dark colour wasn't infact black but a very very dark grey/charcoal colour.

I mixed up my own batch of this dark "charcoal grey" using a 70/30 mix of Sea Grey(H27) and Matt Black (H33). This produces a distinctly faded black shade. This wasapplied in a couple of coats by brushing over the green in the distinctive MickeyMouse ears pattern.

The tyres for the trucks had also been painted in my black/grey mix again for a morerealistic look. Sometimes matt black is quoted a colour for vehicle tyres but whenwas the last time you ever saw a vehicle with pure black tyres? When dried the tyreswere given a wash of a light grey/tan mud colour. This was done using an inexpensivewater colour set, courtesy of one of my daughters. The water paint mix had a drop ofwashing up liquid added to reduce the surface tension, enabling it to be applied in allthe tread of the tyre. When dried, as it was only water colour, some of it could bewiped away to leave the "mud" in the tyre tread.

The chassis, cab, body and canvas tilts were all dry brushed with Sea Grey (H27) toenhance the edges and add some depth to the detail. At this point the separate chassis,cab and wheels were all glued together. After a little drying time, an overall coat ofgloss varnish (H35) was applied. This would provide a base for the subsequent darkdetail washes onto which the decals would be applied. This was then left overnight toharden. A dark wash was applied next to darken the shadows in the surfacedetailing. This combined with the earlier drybrush highlighting, gives the detail a real3D effect.

The wash comprises a heavily thinned mix of Humbrol enamel thinners plus a dropof gloss black (H21) , Brunswick Green (H3) as well as a few drops of glossvarnish (H35).

What you are aiming to mix is a dirty thinners look rather than a thinned paint look.I find that the paint pigment in gloss paints seems to be finer than that found in mattpaints and so more suitable for extreme thinning for wash purposes. After the washhad been applied a couple of times and allowed to dry between applications, thedecals were applied.

The production decal sheet wasn't available in time for this build. Using the PDF ofthe decal artwork I had been provided with I intended printing off my own decals usingmy Alps printer. However time was getting short so I scavenged the Allied stars andone serial number from my spare decal box and, using a paper printed copy of thedecal sheet artwork, I cut out the unit markings and applied those with some glossvarnish to bed them down. Final detail painting was applied as and where required.The Bren Gun, having been painted, was attached to its mount and the miltary bicyclewas also attached, as well as the wheels. A couple of overall coats of Matt Varnish(M49) dulled everything down to a more realistic appearance.

The wndows were then installed using clearfix. Before installation, the edges of theclear parts were gently sanded so they fitted into the window apertures, test fittingall the time. Before committing glue to them, the edges of each of the clear parts werecoloured using a black permanent marker. This helps reduce the internal reflectionof light within the plastic which would otherwise make the edges of the clear parts"silver" and become more noticeable.

And there you have it. Two very enjoyable vehicles to make. There are some nicetouches like the weighted wheels. The design of the kit makes for speedy assemblyand would be ideal for someone new to the hobby wanting to branch into militaryvehicles.

I think that these are excellent value for money with two vehicles in the box. I certainlywill be treating myself to more of these and can only hope that we don't have to waitanother 30 years for the next addition to the range.

This Bedford QL twin kit is the first all new Airfix designed small scale military vehicle kit to be released since the Opel Blitzand PAk 40 kit was released back in 1979. This all newly tooled kit comprises 4 sprues upon which are a total of 136 cleanlymoulded parts. 62 parts make up the QLD General Service truck and the remaining 74 parts for the longer QLT Troop carrier.

1:76 SCALE

The Airfix Bedford QL Trucks...Model build by: Adam Cooper

PRESS RELEASE...

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As Europe’s leading publisher of aviation magazines with sector dominant brandssuch as FlyPast, Airliner World and AirForces Monthly, Key are ideally placed tobring this title to market due to their knowledge of the subject area and thepromotional oppor tunities afforded by their current por tfolio.

“We are absolutely delighted to have formed this partnership with Airfix in order tolaunch Airfix Model World. Airfix is a massively strong brand with a great historyand following and we are relishing the opportunity to bring something very freshand vibrant into the market,” stated Adrian Cox, Managing Director of Key Publishing.

Darrell Burge, Airfix Marketing Manager said, ‘’We are very excited about the launchof Airfix Model World which further expands the Airfix brand into the magazinemarketplace. Key are the perfect partners for us as they have so much experiencein publishing high quality market leading specialist leisure titles. I am confident thatwith the strength of the Airfix brand combined with Key’s publishing expertise, wewill have an absolute winner on our hands.’’

Airfix Model World will cover all modelling genres but will focus on aviation, thelargest sub-sector within this market. The 100 page magazine, which launches on4 November 2010 with a monthly frequency and superb production values, willhave a cover price of £3.99.

Key Publishing Ltd are delighted to announce thelaunch of Airfix Model World, an exciting newmagazine for scale modellers, published under licencefrom Airfix.

AIRFIX MODEL WORLDKEY PUBLISHING LAUNCHES...

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News of a great Airfix Club Membership subscription rate will be madeavailable soon!

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