THIS is how Plastic Model Kits are MADE! I spent a day at the UK Airfix Factory!

[@callumboyd5122]

I didn't realize how hands on it is, I had always kinda thought a big chunk of it would be automated. Cheers to them for producing the kits!

[@ModelMinutes]

Yeah, i thought it was more automated, surprised about the level of care and attention put in to this

[@mh53j]

Adds jobs to the local community. May be mundane work, but it is a job.

[@joelynch1059]

I understand the prices now.

[@taupathfinder657]

@@mh53jan actualy very complicatet job

[@reasonerenlightened2456]

​@@ModelMinutes It is labour intense because It is cheaper than automation. They EXPLOIT the employees hard. Picking and packing is a very difficult job to do for 40 years of ones life and MUST pay enough for a DIGNIFIED EXISTENCE during the ENTIRE human life i.e from death to birth. Why you never show the reality?

[@Pattonias]

I love how excited he is to talk about his products. He is proud of all their effort, and he knows every detail (even the boxes).

[@ModelMinutes]

well said

[@57Jimmy]

I think I will have to replay this at 1/2 speed just so I can understand him!😂

[@djvycious]

Agreed! The guy is coming in with a blazer to give the tour, but there he is on the machines explaining every process start to finish. It's great to see upper management know every intricate detail.

[@mauricematla8379]

Nope thus guy does not know ALL the details.

[@weefek]

@@mauricematla8379 Agreed these "quality control" and "inspection" processes are LAUGHED AT in the automotive plastics industry. I could build a camera inspection station for these for about 10k in about a week (after all the parts have been acquired). This is nothing against Airfix, this is completely on the manufacturer. They seem to turn a good business and must be making a profit, but it still irks me.

[@juancho420]

Airfix has really upped their game these last years. Amazing new kits. Great job everyone involved.

[@ModelMinutes]

they are lovely kits

[@TeddyBear-ii4yc]

The core message from the suit guy was quality control. Airfix kits used to be ok but Tamiya handed them their arxe. These new kits now from Airfix look competitive... maybe world class? A bonus is everything, except for some tooling, is made/sourced in England and I'd rather pay an English guys wages than a ?

[@NickThompson-n2p]

@@TeddyBear-ii4yc Agree about Tamiya. I recently did a Tamiya mosquito (1/38) and was pleasantly surprised with the detail and how everything fitted together so well. I've also just finished an Airfix Lancaster and Stuka and they remined me of the Tamiya quality.

[@moonshinepz]

and the box art is still as wonderful as ever

[@alex35agm]

I am surprised there is still a demand for model kits today because in Canada there are few places left to buy kits and they are quite expensive. I have built models my whole life,and I am 63 now,and I still have about 20 to build.It's a fun hobby and it takes time and effort to do which it seems alot of younger people don't have.It's good to see that the guys running this plant are younger and obviously interested in keeping the hobby going.

[@ModelMinutes]

I think it depends on the circles that people run in, running a youtube channel I see all variety of people leaving comments, young and old. There is still a massive market and fan base for this hobby - it's probably in one of the strongest places it's been in to be honest

[@Averageairfixmodeler]

I'm 15 and I've been doing models since I was seven and alot of my friends do it as well alot of young people still have interest in the hobby

[@coltenharrison1213]

My dad got me into the hobby, and Im 24.

[@geeeeeee3]

Here as well. Seemed you could buy models everywhere including drug stores.

[@ThomasTherianos]

Nah you just gotta look around, know tons of young people who love this hobby:)

[@masonharper4220]

I for some reason have been under the impression that scale modeling was getting old and uncommon but the way these big machines work and the amount of effort that a apparently huge company does to bring these kits to us is really cool to see thanks for the video

[@ModelMinutes]

I think there is a lot of "doom and gloom" about the hobby, but actually i feel that it is possibly in the strongest shape that is has ever been

[@davidkavanagh189]

There are just less kids and teens doing modelling but the business as a whole is probably bigger than it's ever been.

[@joelynch1059]

I'm getting back into it after a 45 year break. Fascinating how things have progressed.

[@ModelMinutes]

@@joelynch1059 welcome back!

[@notagoodsitrep]

It is probably cheaper to have people do the boxing by hand than it is to buy a customised machine to do the packing.

[@wswift7611]

It's such a prestigious tour to see and get your hands on, knowing how the models we love are produced. Thanks all in Airfix to keep the fun for all big old boys.

[@ModelMinutes]

Thanks for watching 😊

[@reasonerenlightened2456]

It is a typical factory run 24 Hours. It is shift work, low pay, repetitive work, noise levels slowly destroying the hearing, standing on your feet all day destroying the body, residual fumes and smells from the chemicals, etc. All that is to make a commodity that would bring profit to the Owners. But you do not comprehend that , do you? Instead, You think it is "prestigious" to be there.

[@unit0033]

@@reasonerenlightened2456 do you like building the models

[@reasonerenlightened2456]

@@unit0033 Only if it is profitable.

[@jarradmoore6939]

@@reasonerenlightened2456 ….bet you’re real fun at parties

[@matrixbadger]

Wow, I learned a thing or two! Very impressed by the scale of quality control, the recycling, and the fact it's being made here in the home of Airfix. Thanks Matt, really enjoyed this video.

[@ModelMinutes]

Thanks for watching!

[@cefnonn]

I like the way that the factory manager keeps suppliers local where possible. As a modeller I've often wondered how kits are produced. This behind the scenes video is a real rarity. Great stuff! Thanks.

[@ModelMinutes]

Good point! Thanks for watching!

[@selwyn500]

I used to build Airfix kits back in the late 60s to late 70s. Hundreds of them. Watching these vids makes me want to do it again.😁🇦🇺

[@ModelMinutes]

You should! 😊

[@65tosspowertrapl36]

Me too!😊

[@starshipgus8578]

Great video,I’m 73 now and have been building plastic kits ever since I was a kid,but never knew what it took before I got it in my hands.Thank you guys.❤

[@ModelMinutes]

Very cool!

[@rogerprice7704]

@@starshipgus8578 have you tried the quick fix range it’s pre coloured and a bit like a Lego kit but goes together nicely and then stickers … great for getting grandkids into models

[@ModelMinutes]

To purchase or view the Airfix 1/24 Scale Spitfire featured in this video - use this affiliate link: prf.hn/l/znWxW5X It helps the channel at no cost to you! Also, If you enjoyed this video - take a look at this one where I spent a day at the Airfix HQ in Margate - being shown things that aren't normally visible to the public! kzbin.info/www/bejne/aZirfauIn52iY68

[@FlankCobra]

Please ask them to make a new game! I have fond memories of it! :D

[@baskoroari3641]

I was remembered to my dad,he bought a spit fire 1/ 72 first time, and he teach me to build, and than I got hooked for so on.

[@nunyabusiness8538]

that bit about the small sections being filled at the same time as the big parts on the same sprew blew my mind. the amount of tuning and engineering in this is crazy

[@ModelMinutes]

yeah, it has a lot of interesting design aspects that are taken into consideration

[@jobamasux]

I was surprised to see model kits being made anywhere but China! Oh and i was checking on Ebay and your kits are priced quite nicely!

[@ModelMinutes]

I don’t have any kits on eBay…

[@rogervonschleusingen4603]

@@ModelMinutes YES YOU DO, CHINESE KNOCK-OFFS...OPEN YOUR EYES SHEEPLE !!!

[@ModelMinutes]

@@rogervonschleusingen4603 you know I’m not Airfix right?

[@bionicgeekgrrl]

Quite a number of the airfix kits are made or have been made in India for a while now, it used to be China, but they moved to India to reduce costs. The hornby railway models are pretty much all made in China.

[@rcaso9561]

Wonderful vid! I remember the old Airfix kits which were not very good by today's standards. BUT, you have to remember also the molds were made by hand or by very primitive CNC machines. Great to see Airfix back with state of the art kits.

[@ModelMinutes]

Thanks for sharing

[@theoriginalbuggins]

Oh my. I haven't made a kit for about 45 years. But it used to be my main hobby, and in 1/72nd scale, Airfix was the name I'd look for. Fantastic to see they're still going.

[@ModelMinutes]

you should take it up again :D

[@runner3033]

About 35 here - Airfix were rare and expensive, but were such a pleasure to build compared to the Revell kits of the day. Details were a bit finer, but seemed you were fighting the Revell kits every step of the way.

[@nivid01]

Simply amazing process. I am now 70 and I used to love Airfix models when I was a kid! Now finally, I know how they are made!!!!!

[@ModelMinutes]

Great to hear!

[@briggsbughouses6291]

Superb video and great to see some Airfix kits being produce in the UK again!

[@ModelMinutes]

Thanks for watching!

[@CoIoneISanders]

Airfix is my new go to brand, the quality of the molds and plastic are very nice. I used to skip passed them at the hobby isle because the packaging looked like it’d be low quality, I picked one up because it was on sale and now I only look for Airfix brand products. Much love from America 😁

[@ModelMinutes]

Yeah, a lot of people remember "Airfix that was" but actually in the last 10 years they have made some amazing kits

[@grumpyoldsodinacellar3518]

The amount of engineering that goes into the tooling is insane, that's why the tooling is so expensive and the amount of kits that have to be sold, just to break even, is eye watering.

[@ModelMinutes]

definitely!

[@jerrymail]

Lately I've been buying a lot of Airfix kits: Lancaster, Boulton Paul Defiant, RAF airfield vehicles set ... It's very interesting to see how it's all made. Thanks for sharing :)

[@ModelMinutes]

thanks for watching! Good luck with your diorama!

[@fjs_forfjun1107]

This has been something I’ve been curious to know for many years. Thank you! Would love to see more about the development and the model design process, please.

[@ModelMinutes]

Will do!

[@hazonku]

I was just as impressed as you at the insane amount of "bad" bins they had. The quality control there is absolutely AMAZING! I was also surprised to see bagging & boxing is still all done by hand. Thought for sure that would have been an automated process with a series of jigs & workers doing little more than moving stuff form one station to another.

[@ModelMinutes]

yes, I was pretty impressed with the care they put into their work

[@reasonerenlightened2456]

Clearly, you are completely ignorant about 24 hour factory work.

[@ModelMinutes]

@@reasonerenlightened2456 well, thanks for sharing those pearls with us

[@feline3462]

Not the QC is amazing. But the machine is shit and old.

[@Lucien86]

I* saw a video of the Bandai production line a few years ago. There in the production stage everything is pretty much automated. There are still people watching over everything and doing some of the work, but also handling robots and things like machine vision doing primary quality inspection.. They're also producing the moulds in the same factory..

[@thorick590]

Airfix was such an important part of my growing up. 50 years later, I can still remember every kit that I built. Glad to see that this is still happening.

[@ModelMinutes]

Sounds like some good memories!

[@mikebuick2332]

Great video. I work for a model railway manufacturer and people really don't understand what goes in to getting a model from initial idea to the finished article. This is just one part of the process.

[@ModelMinutes]

That must be a really fascinating job!

[@cjimcook]

A big shout-out to the folks at Plas-tech and Airfix for the tour, the attention to detail, and the care they show. As an engineer, I am really impressed.

[@ModelMinutes]

Thanks! It was a great day :D

[@thoughtful_criticiser]

Now I understand why a new kit at 1:24 scale costs £95, designed and produced in England, worth every penny.

[@ModelMinutes]

:D

[@stephentyas4698]

your kidding me.2shillings back in the sixties.

[@nortoncommando770]

And I'm going to buy one, mainly because it's made in England.

[@p81631]

Excellent topic for a video, thank you! 30+ years of on/off modeling hobby and this is the first time I get to visit the actual factory!

[@ModelMinutes]

thanks so much for watching!

[@sisyphuscranerigging7792]

Never again will I gripe about the price of a kit! Lovely video. I've always had a question - how do they make patterns for the parts, and transfer them to the mold? You end up with a perfect image in steel, rather amazing really. Perhaps a future video?

[@ModelMinutes]

i'd certainly like to look into making a video on that :D

[@BenjWarrant]

Pieces are designed on the computer, and then the moulds are produced directly through CNC.

[@500gigawatts-hora9]

Gostei muito desse vídeo. Se puder, continue trazendo essas curiosidades. Foi muito bom para mim. Certamente será bom para o hobby! Parabéns.

[@ModelMinutes]

thanks for watching!

[@johnriggs4929]

So good to see this firm is as strong as ever. About 60 years since I made my last kit - I think it was a 1/72 Hurricane, because my dad flew them in WWII - and I often used to look at the parts and wonder how they were made.

[@ModelMinutes]

Thanks for watching and sharing your story :D

[@captainm8556]

Fascinating video. Always assumed the kits were moulded in China so delighted to see they are made in the UK. Very impressed with the level of quality control. Great company, great product.

[@ModelMinutes]

Thanks for watching!

[@bionicgeekgrrl]

Not all kits are made in the UK. A fair amount is made in India. Hornby moved production from China to India a number of years ago. I think it is the older tooling items made in India. Incidentally, almost all of the model railway ranges sold in the UK is made in China by comparison. Plastech would not I expect be able to easily compete for that sadly due to the much more intensive labour requirements due to assembly and painting required.

[@BlackAce-zr2ms]

For decades I've wanted to see how they manufacture our beloved kits that we have the pleasure of building... Matt you're a very lucky chap to see all this in action up close! Fantastic video and well documented... to be honest I'm astounded as to how much care they put into making each kit in every individual box... I'm mind blown! 🤯 Also looking forward to your 1/24 Spitfire Mk.IX (OOB) review! That's going to seriously be something to look forward to. 😄 All the best mate!

[@ModelMinutes]

Thanks very much! It was an amazing experience

[@reasonerenlightened2456]

​@@ModelMinutes It is staggering the amount of people commenting here that seem clueless about what factory work is like. They see a commodity and do not care who had to suffer for it to be made. The dude in the suit is the one who sees people as farm animals that must produce the quota of the required product.

[@ModelMinutes]

@@reasonerenlightened2456 it's staggering that you continue to push this uninformed opinion without backing up your claims. The UK has pay and rest laws that employers are not allowed to break. This factory is in the UK and the people who work here have a choice, get paid a reasonable wage in relation to that work, and can leave at any time. They are not being exploited The only thing being exploited here is the comments section of this video for your own agenda

[@reasonerenlightened2456]

@@ModelMinutes The jobs do not grow on magic job-trees as you seem to imply. WHERE are the magic-job trees?

[@ModelMinutes]

@@reasonerenlightened2456 I want to thank you for giving me a good laugh today, your comments are some of the funniest I’ve read in all my years on KZbin 😂

[@stucorbett]

Thanks for showing us this. It's nice to see there's still people involved in this work and not just machines.

[@ModelMinutes]

Thanks for watching!

[@crazylocha2515]

Matt opens his Spitty sample and finds an extra clamp from Mos'? 😜 Well done 👍. Will definitely watch if you put more together from this and other visits. Very nice of f Airfix to bring y'all in and share. Have to commend them for that.

[@ModelMinutes]

Thanks 👍 Yes, i was very fortunate. I bet Mos put one of his 3D printed pegs in there haha. I'll look at making more on the other topics in the future

[@HAL-vu8ef]

Very impressed, as a CNC programmer and machinist (over 30 years) currently in military aerospace, I have to say I was very happy to see how much care went into their quality control. I know how much tooling cost and it hurts. Would like to see more of the design and tooling. The detail, number of parts and size was mind boggling. Also, impressed how the manager (suit) seems to know every detail and how to do it himself.

[@ModelMinutes]

Thanks! More to come in the future

[@rsvihla]

Hey, HAL 9000, did you know that the 1968 movie "2001: A Space Odyssey" features a malevolent computer named HAL 9000??? What a coincidence!!!

[@ThePierre58]

Loved this video. I made my first model at 10 years of age, Flying Tiger, Curtis P-40. Tamiya which I won in a raffle. I was hooked, love Airfix as they used to make a wide range of models. In my 60 s now and this vid has me going online to order a kit.

[@ModelMinutes]

Awesome! I hope you pick something good :D

[@abledog006]

You look at the product & you don't realize the kind of heavy machinery that's necessary to produce it. I've loved plastic model kits since I was a child... this video makes me love them even more! Thank you for this!!! Now I'm going to lovingly look at some of my collection, appreciating the amount of precision work that went into them. 🥰

[@ModelMinutes]

Excellent point - such hefty and industrial machines make such delicate and detailed parts

[@abledog006]

@@ModelMinutes Kinda' mind boggling, as my wife would say, "I'm gob-smacked'! 😉

[@spikespa5208]

Would like to see the actual design work and machining of the molds themselves. IMO the most important part of model kit making. And maybe how it was done decades ago before the advent of CAD/CAM

[@1stSgtSoulStealer]

This is absolutely fascinating to me. I appreciate AirFix SO much more for this detail! I would love to visit the factory, but being in the US, that's a smidge difficult. Do you know if they offer walk-thru's to the standard folk?

[@ModelMinutes]

The airfix HQ in margate has a visitor centre (a bit like a museum with a shop and cafe) but the factory which was featured in this video is Plastech - a company that Airfix employs to mould their products and as such not open to visits without prior agreement from them

[@thomaswhitelake]

It's great to have Airfix back! It was a part of my childhood and is again part of my life. The new toolings are excellent! Well done!

[@ModelMinutes]

Couldn't agree more!

[@richardsmith9609]

Thanks so much to the people who create these kits. I am working on a model right now of the U.S. Navy Battleship New Jersey. My dad served on the New Jersey during the Korean War in the early 1950s. Thanks for posting this video!

[@ModelMinutes]

That's awesome! Thanks for sharing :D

[@bjornh4664]

My father-in-law (1929-2022) served on a USN support vessel during the Korean War. Never got to meet him, but my wife has his photo album and his service medals.

[@garys_stuff]

Nicely edited Matt! You should do more stuff to camera - you're a natural!

[@ModelMinutes]

Haha thanks! Perhaps in the future :P

[@heatbill1261]

Great work everyone. I'm a injection molding process engineer and seeing a family mold in production brings back memories of the challenges of custom injection molding.

[@ModelMinutes]

Thanks for sharing!

[@brianmosse]

When I was a kid I ran out of ceiling space Airfix was a huge part of why I became a maker. Without getting emotional , thank you guys for this .

[@ModelMinutes]

thanks for watching!

[@bravo0105]

What an incredible operation; I'm happy to see Airfix manufacturing in the UK where it belongs. I'll be getting that Mk IX.

[@ModelMinutes]

awesome!

[@D-Rock420]

I've been doing plastic mold injection here in the US for about 10 years now. My current employer should see this video to understand our machines are highly uncared for 😆 This facility has very nice molding machines. Well kept and maintained. I like.

[@ModelMinutes]

Thanks!

[@Violinist_PL]

15:30 - the stickers sheet is already curved and after you placed it in the box you put the bag with parts. What comes to my mind is that the sticker sheets got bent badly (I hope not :P ) The rejected molds are reused but if using them again reduces the plastic quality or it's the same as completely new plastic?

[@ModelMinutes]

Oh no! I hope I didn’t ruin that product for someone 😯 Mark said that 10% of the plastic can be made from reground sprues, but 90% had to be brand new stuff. None of it gets wasted though as it all gets recycled in some way

[@captainnemo247]

I noticed that. Hopefully the sticker sheets are usually put the other side of the instructions before the bag of parts are inserted.

[@Pannemat]

Definitely ruined those stickers.

[@Bonypart]

Maybe the stickers should have been put in after the bag?

[@quattro4s]

I remember as a kid that Airfix kits were the ones to be avoided due to their age and only bought the new then Lightning in 1:48 scale because of it's amazing detail. I' am glad that Airfix took the decision and managed to renew all of their catalog and deliver quality model kits. My latest buy, the mighty Buccaneer, has tremendous detail and I can't wait to build it. I enjoyed the video and hope to see more visits to other manufacturers such as Revell, Italeri, Hasegawa and hopefully one day can visit one of them

[@ModelMinutes]

thanks for watching!

[@boon1580]

yeah those days ppl were told to use boiling water to heat up the kit in order to adjust the distorted parts haha. nice to hear they improved.

[@maximsiddy40]

Very impressive! Thanks a lot to you and the Airfix team for the tour!

[@ModelMinutes]

:D

[@Ptpop]

Wow! This is fascinating. I haven’t built a scale model since I was a kid. I always wondered how they were made. Thanks for the video. Great work.

[@ModelMinutes]

Perhaps now you should start again :D

[@anitaharris9909]

Thank you very much for providing this video! I have been building models all my life, and never realized what it took to put one of those kits together… Thanks again!

[@ModelMinutes]

Thanks for watching!

[@banumathimanickavelu8421]

Best 17 odd-minutes i spent. Lovely video...and yes i have new-found respect for the Model-Kit now...and for everybody who played a part in its production every step of the way. Bravo Airfix & thank you for posting this video.

[@ModelMinutes]

Thanks so much for watching, glad you enjoyed 😊

[@jamiesale9460]

Airfix is good reasonably priced stuff. I’m impressed to see the science and human involvement, although I couldn’t do that job too awfully long.

[@ModelMinutes]

Yes, they have improved a lot in recent years

[@Driver0378]

Incredible to see how hands on that was. I was also surprised when they said they were 24/7. Never would’ve thought there would be enough demand for model kits to run constantly. Like the saying, you learn something new every day. 😊

[@ModelMinutes]

yes, I suppose they have to be 24/7 in order to meet deadlines and shipping dates

[@bionicgeekgrrl]

​@@ModelMinutesprobably each model has a set number per run that needs to be on ship in a specific time period for reaching international retailers on time followed by the next model and so on. Any disruption to this could be very costly. I know from my contacts within the model railway companies that they have very tight windows for their models to go through the factory, anything that jeopardises those slots is a major problem and a missed slot might not be possible to rearrange for that year. Apparently this has lead to some difficult decisions when issues are discovered and they have to decide what work around will work or if they delay for a year. I imagine that it would be similar for plastech and airfix, airfix will be just one customer and if they have any problems then I would expect plastech would not be able to accept much delay for risk of knock on impact on other products and customers so a very fine balancing act probably.

[@GoobertownHobbies]

VERY cool! I love seeing this kind of stuff :-)

[@ModelMinutes]

Glad you enjoyed it! Edit: I enjoy watching your content too! :D

[@brucesmith1383]

Wonderful video! I loved how much work goes into making our favourite plastic model kits. From Canada 🇨🇦

[@ModelMinutes]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Do_Odles]

Great video, thank you! I haven't built an Airfix kit for many, many years, but I love to see that its now a much greener process: using recyclable plastics, eco friendly packaging tape etc. Well done Airfix! If only more companies could follow your lead!

[@ModelMinutes]

Thanks for watching!

[@MOS6510Models]

Great video matt.. with my Cameo.. lol

[@ModelMinutes]

Lol yeah, I kept that in just for you 😂

[@MOS6510Models]

@@ModelMinutes 😄😄

[@kenkingsflyingmachines2382]

I have built plastic kits since childhood and ran wet-offset and flexographic web printing presses for 25 years in a manufacturing environment very similar to the Airfix shop. This video was gratifying in ways I didn't expect...like I want to go apply for a job at Airfix!!! The QC inspection and hand packing are crazy. The kits are always a delight and the passion and competence of the workers have earned Airfix a sterling reputation. Five stars!!

[@ModelMinutes]

Thanks for sharing!

[@deano6912]

Great video. I was impressed how passionate the guy showing you around was about his product. Great to see the local input in producing a model.

[@ModelMinutes]

Much appreciated!

[@montedaestrada3563]

I was a very keen model maker in my youth and fortunate to do my apprenticeship with a leading maker of injection moulding machines in the early 1970s. I visited one of the original Airfix factory's professionally many times.

[@ModelMinutes]

That sounds like an amazing experience!

[@tykellerman6384]

Pure genius had no idea how it all worked … great video🤠👍

[@ModelMinutes]

Thanks 👍

[@chrisneville9665]

Thanks Matt...that was probably the most interesting KZbin vid i've seen this year. Glad your quality content is getting the recognition that allows this kind of thing to happen!

[@ModelMinutes]

Thanks Chris! I’m glad you enjoyed it 😊

[@northstar9797]

I been a modeler as long as I can remember, but I did not realize how much manual handling was involved in producing a model kit. I erroneously thought the plastic molds for all sprues was shot all at once!!! Thanks for this video, it is informative and entertaining. I will never look at a kit in the box the same way again!

[@ModelMinutes]

thanks! It was certainly an eye-opening day :D

[@Workerbee-zy5nx]

Airfix kits been around for a long time. They are very detailed. Without model kits mechanics and designers wont get inspired..👍

[@ModelMinutes]

Well said!

[@ubiratancardoso5923]

That brings me so great memories when I was a child in the 70's. That was one of my favorite type of toys. I had a great collection of WWII war birds. I believe the scale was 1/32 and I was so amazed by those details. I would paint every single piece individually before putting them together. The result was fantastic. I loved those models.

[@ModelMinutes]

sounds like a lot of fun!

[@calibear569]

I'd like to see it in more details. 🙂

[@ModelMinutes]

Awesome! I may put together another video on the presentations that Luke and Chris did

[@calibear569]

@@ModelMinutes The video was very educational. I thought that kit making is much more automated.

[@ModelMinutes]

@@calibear569 yeah, I thought it would be too! It’s much more hands on

[@calibear569]

@@ModelMinutes I think I'll get my hands on an Airfix kit. And it's totally Your fault. Thank You. 🙂

[@ModelMinutes]

@@calibear569 😂 I hope you enjoy!

[@GrahamWalters]

Correction, this should be titled "How plastic kits were made in the 80's and 90's, When producers like AMK, Takom and Meng are producing slide moulded fuselages and weapons, you realise how far Airfix are behind in CAD design and production.

[@ModelMinutes]

Parts of the spitfire are slide moulded though… Edit: The designer (Chris) did discuss this in his presentation but not all the parts are slide moulded, only the clear parts if I remember correctly. This was done in an attempt to keep the price under £100 as doing slide moulding for all the sprues would push that up

[@GrahamWalters]

@@ModelMinutes Strange, AMK produced a kit of the Foxhound with slide moulded fuselage, weapons and other parts with an RRP of £52.99, Ok it wasn't the same scale as this, it was however more and better detailed, with a choice of canopies (smoked or clear), @Airfix do really need to up their game.

[@ModelMinutes]

@@GrahamWalters the price to manufacture the kits in the uk is higher than overseas. This was one of the big concerns that people have raised about how they should be making them here. People can’t have everything and compromises have to be made. To produce a kit with more slide tools would be cheaper overseas and the QC would probably suffer (as it has done in the past) There are a lot of people who love to “Airfix Bash” whilst they have demonstrated that they are improving and willing to listen to their customers, sadly they have a lot of obstacles to overcome to try and please everyone. Let’s not forget that many of their products also take 3 or more years to develop so we are only seeing the “best” of what they can do from that time in the past - they are already working on their 2027 releases now so I imagine those will be incredible if this new spitfire is anything to go by

[@ronaldderonde]

Building since 1958,lately build the WW2 diorama with Spitfire. Enjoyed glueing(that smell)and painting. I will not win a price for my work. It is for me the personal fun of it. Btw,love the artwork on the boxes. Enjoy as me,builders.

[@pauladams286]

Max from Max's Models recommended your video, and I can see why. Thank you for a great look around the factory, and the production process. Just wish I had room for one of those monsters - 1/72nd scale for me.

[@ModelMinutes]

Awesome, thank you!

[@JBGaming617]

I work in an injection moulding factory making medical devices as a tool maker and matainance engineer, so it will be interesting to see how airfix runs their factory.

[@ModelMinutes]

that sounds interesting!

[@damien5748]

@@ModelMinutes Howdy Mat.great video....can i ask if you know where i might be able to get decal paper to make my own....i downloaded a set of decal stencils from scalenates for the Indian Airforce "Thunderbolts" Aerobatic team Hawker Hunter.

[@ModelMinutes]

@@damien5748 I got some off Amazon a while back, but googling “inkjet transfer paper” or something like that should get the results you want

[@damien5748]

@@ModelMinutes thank you Mat.. youre a champ.thank you for the tip.much appreciated.thank you sir.👍👍👍

[@MrSebfrench76]

When i was 10, in my birthplace city of Dieppe, we used to have a kits shop named "Techniloisirs" . It was packed with hundreds of kits, Monogram, Tamya,Hasegawa. But the ones with their incredible art packagings were the Airfix ones. So good memories at 55 of age, after 35 years as a miniature modeler in architecture .😁

[@ModelMinutes]

yes, Airfix has had really good artwork :D

[@jean-marcaudirac2329]

Airfix : « nos jeunes années..." (air connu !) . Souvenirs de gamins !

[@milosit]

Just bought a 1/48 Airfix Gloster Javelin to build during the holiday break. Fascinating to see the production process.

[@ModelMinutes]

I've got one of those in the stash from the original production run when it was released - looks like a good kit!

[@Ozarktrains]

Wonderful tour. I would say the quality is so much better today than it used to be. I applaud Airfix. They are still fun to build.

[@DutchDaveModels]

Very cool to see and hear about kit production. Very educational! Thanks for sharing 👍

[@ModelMinutes]

thanks for watching!

[@glencwilson]

Great video that gets everything across about the process. Seen a lot of the videos from others that were there and they were good but this one had the balance of length.information, etc. Airfix must be confident about their manufacturing process to let people in to see it in such detail. Looking forward to getting my kit now. Nobody wants to produce shoddy products but their other manufacturing places may not be so caring and less quality conscious. Quality control is obviously high on the agenda throughout the design and manufacturing process which will add to the cost but knowing the kit will be as good as it can be is worth avoiding the hassle of getting replacement parts.

[@ModelMinutes]

Well said! I tried to keep my video as short and punchy as possible because like you said, other channels have already uploaded the "long form" stuff

[@isaac9220]

it’s amazing to see any brand take a high level of care for their product from the precision of it to the packaging

[@ModelMinutes]

thanks for watching!

[@wekapeka3493]

Wow, they are still making them! I still have some I enjoyed making sixty years ago.

[@ModelMinutes]

Yes, Airfix is the largest UK based scale model company :)

[@machineman6498]

Manager seems genuinely enthusiastic about the job.

[@ModelMinutes]

Mark loves his job :D

[@king77703]

I didn't realise how satisfying n enjoyable this video was, excellent 👍

[@ModelMinutes]

Thanks for watching! 😊

[@Emtbtoday]

Let's see how fast you pack a normal kit haha trying to repack some of your own kits and can't get the lid on definitely isn't easy lol I've done packing all my days I'd love this job!

[@ModelMinutes]

😂 I need more practice

[@therebeginner]

Interesting and nicely edited video. Would sure like to see more on the research and dev of the kit 👍

[@ModelMinutes]

Thanks! I may look at editing something together on that 😊

[@broadbaker7811]

why does the guy explaining things slightly remind me of delboy from only fool and horses?

[@ModelMinutes]

Probably a similar accent. Mark was very helpful and passionate about his work though and I’m grateful for the tour and his expertise

[@broadbaker7811]

I didn't mean any offence or anything, if that's what you thought, it was just something I noticed from one of my favourite programmes 😄

[@cjryan4097]

Cushty.

[@vindolanda6974]

I thought it was great when he was giving his opening spiel. Proper small/ medium business man.

[@huatongleong3674]

Great video! First time able to see how intricate plastic kits are made after over 70 years of building them! I was able to visit Tamiya headquarter in Japan 40 over years ago , but the production area was completely off the limit! Thanks guys! Good job!

[@ModelMinutes]

thanks for watching!

[@kswsquared]

I don't build scale models myself but I enjoy watching others' builds especially here on KZbin, with all the amazing attention to detail. I didn't realize injection molding had its tiny little details to keep on top of like optimum temperature. Thank you for putting this out! Very informative.

[@ModelMinutes]

I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@boerharms2209]

you should try building one! its a fun hobby

[@superbmediacontentcreator]

Gee, that was a terrific video and while I realized all the work making a kit, I never thought about pulling together 10,000 of them, wow...

[@ModelMinutes]

yes, it is a lot of work :)

[@michaelwills1926]

I’ve always found injection molding to be a fascinating process and now even more. Brilliant vid thank you

[@ModelMinutes]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Twister051]

Wow!, that Spitfire looked beautiful with all that hidden detail. Well done, Airfix!

[@keithnoneya]

The amount of tooling and the complexity of it is totally amazing. It would be nice of you to make a separate video of what was shown at the start of this video on how the models are researched and programed into the CAD software. Thanks for a wonderfully done video, and to the staff at AirFix for allowing such access and detail to their amazing factory and talented staff. Best Wishes & Blessings. Keith Noneya

[@ModelMinutes]

thanks very much! glad you enjoyed :D

[@331SVTCobra]

I loved my Airfix B-17g and B-29. Once I bought a P-47 kit from Lindbergh Line. (I was a kid). Their quality control was garbage. It didn't have landing struts or the canopy. Next week I bought another of their kits, a USN Kingfisher. That kit had all its parts.... plus the P-47's canopy. I still chuckle about that.

[@ModelMinutes]

its almost as if they knew and put the missing part in a box you would buy

[@Eigil_Skovgaard]

It's always a pleasure to watch and listen to dedicated people.

[@VFCproductions]

I hope they paid you an appropriate hourly rate for that kit you packaged! Unless they made you do it under the promise of a free Spitfire...

[@ModelMinutes]

Well . . A spitfire was received lol . . .

[@lordstephen7813]

Took me back to 1967 The model club at Boarding school. Going down with the house master to the model shop to get our Airfix kits. Thanks for sharing.

[@ModelMinutes]

Sounds great!

[@ScaleModelIncLIVE]

Come on mate, put a bit of enthusiasm into it, dont you know that you're supposed to be bouncing about shouting 'YIPEE IM AT AIRFIX WATCHING THE KITS GET MOLDED!' and clicking your heels together, whilst trembling in anticipppppppppppp-ation?

[@ModelMinutes]

lol if you get to go to the next one and don't replicate this I will be sorely disappointed haha

[@ScaleModelIncLIVE]

@@ModelMinutes CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.

[@Compliment_Thief]

This is great thanks for sharing! Thats so cool its all designed and still manufactured in England and they use all local businesses too for printing and packaging! It genuinely males me want to buy only Airfix kits from now. I’d read they were made in India!

[@ModelMinutes]

Only certain kits are manufactured in the UK, you are right that there are those that are made in India

[@Compliment_Thief]

@@ModelMinutesok, that’s cool I like Indians they’re our best migrants they are proud of their British culture, hardworking both physically and academically and dont despise us like others do…😊

[@stephenpike3147]

A fascinating behind the scenes tour and much appreciated technical know how being disclosed which makes it doubly enjoyable to watch. Interesting to see how you need to progressively debug the mould as you ramp up production but vitally ensuring consistent quality to the customer. Good to see quality records generated and proactively used to enhance the process. It would have been a bonus to know how long they took to stabilize the mould and move to sample/ reduced. inspection. Is there any scope for automated camera and image inspection or is a human eye always superior and if so more cost effective? Thanks , best regards Stephen

[@ModelMinutes]

Thanks for watching!

[@davidaguilar7498]

One question: HOW ARE THE Masters and Molds are made? Is h an original model made by a craftsman or is it all generated by CAD computers? If computers do all the work today, HOW were model kits made in the 50's, 60's 70's 80's 90's before CAD???

[@ModelMinutes]

an excellent question, something I'd like to explore in a future video

[@chriscullen5656]

Ive got to say that was a really great video thank you to Airfix for opening there door's and showing the really high standards they operate to... I really enjoyed the whole tour. The guy was so good at explaining the whole process and you could tell he was really good at what he does ... its a labouriuse and painstaking process to check EVERY model they sell, and I think thats why Airfix has such a fantastic reputation as a brand ... thank you for the video !!! Wetted my appittie to start modelling !

[@ModelMinutes]

Glad you enjoyed it :D

[@MRB1157]

Wait. Did Airfix really fly you all the way out to China. That guy in the suit is the most least convincing Chinese man I've ever seen.

[@ModelMinutes]

Lol, nope, not China - South East England

[@nomadicbehemoth2830]

This is XXX p*rn for model hobbyists, it’s just mind blowing how much goes into creating the models generations love. Thank you for sharing your amazing experience and thank you Airfix for showing and explaining everything in detail.

[@ModelMinutes]

Thanks for watching!

[@High_Caliber]

I really gotta get back into modelling, that guy's enthusiasm was contagious and the quality looks incredible.

[@ModelMinutes]

You should go for it!