Kit(s) of the Day - The MPC Profile Series

In the early 1970's, there were some indications that interest plastic model aircraft was waining on the western side of the Atlantic. This was probably for a variety of reasons, though the biggest was that many of those youngsters that had started building these kits in the 50's and 60's had now aged, and many of the gimmicks that were used to sell the kits back then were failing. In the UK, of course, it was a slightly different story, with both Airfix and Frog booming along.

MPC was known stateside mainly for model cars in 1/24 scale. In the mid-1960's, they began to import, and later produce, Airfix kits. They used some unusual methods to get people to buy their kits, such as including chromed parts and wild custom decals for a while.

Obviously, that didn't work.

So, they took what can only be described as a more English approach. In the UK, a series of booklets had been published for a while known simply as "Profile Publications". Each of these booklets contained information on a single aircraft or variant, complete with, you guessed it, full colour profiles. When I was young, I would stand, mesmerised, at the book rack in Art's Hobby Shop, staring at the vast number of them he carried.

Anyway, MPC decided to use the Profile booklets as a starting point for a new line of Airfix kits. Each kit would come with decals for three different aircraft, allowing the modeller to choose which aircraft he wanted. In a way, it was akin to the customising that American car modellers had enjoyed for a few years at that time. Some kits even came with parts to allow different variants to be built, though this could be traced back to the dies that Airfix had tooled originally.

Suffice to say, the new line of MPC kits were a hit.

They weren't perfect, however.

Take the Wildcat, for instance.

When this model was being sold by Airfix, it contained markings for two aircraft; one Fleet Air Arm, the other US Navy. The plane itself represents an FM-2, the very last Wildcat variant built (and made by General Motors, not Grumman). This plane was a bit different than the original F4F-3 or -4. That didn't stop MPC from including decals not only for an F4F-3, but for an even rarer G-36, Grumman's early export model that the British ended up with.

This wasn't the only time they dropped the ball where that was concerned.

Then, there were the decals. My biggest complaint for years was how light the blues tended to be. Other decals, namely from later kits, were printed on material that was very thick and refused to adhere to anything but a perfectly smooth, flat and very glossy surface.

Still, the Profile Series from MPC introduced many people to the hobby. They were usually sold very inexpensively at outlets ranging from convenience stores to department stores. The line finally faded from public view around the mid-1970's, with the author seeing the last few kits vanish from our local Woolco's around 1978.

For the collector, the boxes are pretty nice, with information lifted directly from the Profile booklets. Sometimes, the colour information on the instruction sheets left something to be desired. The models themselves were almost always moulded in white, though I have heard reports of other shades such as silver and light blue being used. Beyond that, they were still Airfix kits, though under cover.

MPC would once again become involved with Airfix in the early 1980's, when they produced a number of kits as Airfix was going through some difficulties. These were a far cry from the old Profile series, basically being American reboxing's only. This would be MPC's last foray into military models. By the end of the century, MPC itself would be gone, to emerge later as simply a brand name only.

Building the Classic Airfix Hurricane Mk.IV

I decided that it was time to put together the Airfix Hurricane Mk.IV, and to treat the model with respect. In doing so, I decided to use techniques and materials that a model builder in the early 1960's would have had access to. I chronicled the build at the Unofficial Airfix Modellers Forum, and the images are up at Picasa. To say the least, I am very happy with how this has turned out. In fact, this model looks better (to me) than many of my more modern kits.

Pleased I am!

Airfix Hurricane Mk. IV

The Great Spitfire Mk.I/II Quad Build of 2010

There are just some models that have to be built. You know the ones; they have been sitting in your collection for years. For me, it was my two Hasegawa Spitfire Mk. I's. I had planned on building one up as the Spitfire prototype, but there were too many issues.
The fact is, while these models look nice enough, they have numerous issues, the most noticeable being the lack of the "gull wing" underside.
Then in April of 2010 I located a Heller Mk.I.
With the purchase of the Heller kit, I decided to compare the different early Spitfire kits, which I of course had to blog about.
A couple of weeks later, I managed to obtain the Revell Spitfire Mk.II (really a Mk.I), primarily for its decals. Aside from the Frog kit (which is the oldest Mk.I Spitfire), I now had four classic birds.
That's when I decided to build them all simultaneously.
I chronicled the build at the Unofficial Airfix Tribute Forum and also posted the images on Picasa (link below).
Was it fun? Certainly. For a couple of weeks, I was fifteen again. Like all my builds, I build for myself and not for contests. This build may not have produced prize winning models, but it sure was nice to just build for the sake of the build.

Rob's Four Way 1/72 Spitfire Mk. I Build

Spitfire Quad Build

Modelology

If someone were just getting into plastic model aircraft today, they would be startled at the sheer abundance of kits. This was not always the case; when I built my first model airplane in 1970, there were mostly injection molded and vacuformed kits and conversions. Resin parts were still some time off, and while there were some metal components available, photo-etch was nascent.
For us, it was styrene stock, plasticard and what we could salvage from other sources. Decals were just coming into their own. We relied upon the manufacturers to provide us with usable kits.
Not that the manufacturers made it easier.
Often times, they had kits that were not carefully researched. Take for instance the classic Hawk SBD Dauntless. The kit came with markings for an SBD-3, circa 1942. The model also came with national markings molded into the model, by the way; I suppose one could go back and simply paint the roundels on. The problem is that, aside from being quite simple, the kit is actually an SBD-5 (which later Hawk kits actually claimed on the box art). The navy markings are simply wrong for that make. Converting it to an SBD-3 involved a little work, most notably adding that scoop to the top of the cowling.
Airfix, to their credit, did a better job than most for us 1/72 modellers. Many kits had optional parts (their original Hurricane Mk. II is literally a spares factory, with parts that they never bothered to provide markings for!). Their SBD kit contained parts for both a -3 and -5. If one wanted to model both aircraft accurately, you now had the ability to do so, perhaps even swapping the Airfix -3 cowling for the -5 cowling on the Hawk model (it boggles).
A few other companies jumped on the bandwagon, but the good folks at Airfix made it an art.
But, before I go off and make this an article about the thrill of collecting spare parts for the bin, let me get back to my main point. The parts article will be another time.
Many of these early manufacturers have to be forgiven for their occasional poor choices. Frequently, the access they had to information was scant and often plain wrong. Perhaps they had drawings for one aircraft variant but wanted to produce another. Then came the task of marketing the subject; they needed to make it popular. Hence the wrong markings on the Hawk Dauntless. The SBD-3 from the Battle of Midway was far more interesting than a later SBD-5, certainly braver. Hawk also did this again with their Spitfire F.Mk.22. The model represents an early Mk.22, probably a prototype based upon the fin, yet the markings seem to depict... nothing. The later Testors release of this kit repeats that sin; this is a plane that did not exist. But it is still an important variant and for many of us filled a void.
Frog was another company that made these faux pas quite often. They sold their first Spitfire (originally labeled a Mk.II) as a Mk.Ia/Va. There are minor differences between those variants, yet it allowed Frog to model two very important aircraft; a Mk.I from 19 Squadron and Douglas Bader's Mk.Va.
Lest we think that the trail ends there, that these older companies have been shuttered and their products relegated to the waste bin of history, they still live on, and not only in their influence. The Frog dies, for instance, were divided between Revell-Germany and Novo, a Russian company that has long since bellied up and given us Eastern Express. Not only that, but Frog's Spitfire Mk.I/Va seems to have influenced (if not, almost been copied by) PM Models Spitfire tropical Mk.Vb/Vc and all of its variations. While I've not seen it, I also suspect that the same might hold true for their Sea Fury. Academy of Korea has also copied a number of Frog kits, notably the Wildcat, P-40B, TBF and Lockheed Ventura. Many of the older Airfix dies have been acquired by Bilek, an eastern European concern. And, of course, many of Hawk's models live on through Testors, and lately Lindberg (which is a whole other subject).
That is what we had to work with back then.
This searching for the roots of these models and model building can be best described as "modelology", the science of styrene divination, the archaeology of the plastic model. This goes beyond simply collecting and comparing the kits to drawings and newer offerings. This also involves the building of the kits, using the techniques that would have been available to the average modeller of a given period, to see if, indeed, better models could be created. The period I've chosen is the mid-1970's to 1980. A model made after that point is subject to newer techniques, and indeed there are probably better models available. There may occasionally be better research and decals, as well as correcting the issues with colours (namely those pesky Luftwaffe aircraft), but if the model dates or was available during a given period, it should be built as if I were in that period.
There are a few compromises, though. I discovered acrylic based wood fillers in the 1980's, and they have been my filler of choice since, but otherwise work, for me, as well as the putties available in my youth. I also have to use non-toxic cement (the citrus smelling stuff) due to chemical sensitivities, but this has been available for a few decades now and indeed was used when I was a lad.
So, welcome to modelology, and enjoy modelling the way we used to. Feel free to set the resin and the photo-etch down now.