Their fortunes waned in recent years, the sophistication of Asian kit models relegating Airfix to "has-been" status.
However - there are indications that fortunes are reversing with a lot of favourable comment about recent offerings, in wingey things, all scales and 1/48th AFVs. Airfix were never afraid to have a punt and produce kits of relatively obscure subjects. It was something of a surprise when they announced a retooling of the LCVP previously available in 1/76. Presumably the 70th commemoration of D-day was big incentive
The new kit in 1/72 is truly a complete retool. It arrives in an attractive box with first rate instructions.
Decals are provided for Royal Navy and US Navy boats in schemes appropriate to D-day 1944
Construction is entirely straightforward. There is no flash and the moulding is delicate and precise throughout. Sprue attachments are small and well placed, unlike Airfix practice from yesteryear.
Fit is perfect and easily on a par with any modern AFV kit
A particularly nice touch is for the stand to come as a scale trestle that presumably these boats would have sat on out of the water to be transported
My biggest SINGLE criticism of this kit and one which seems inexplicable considering the finesse of the rest is that Airfix have omitted to mould the mooring bollards
They are represented as rectangles of raised plastic. It is a comparatively simple job to use a hemispheric file to create a semblance of a mooring cleat, but it would have taken little effort to present them more accurately.
There are some raised mould marks on the drop-door which some careful chiselling will remove
And as a very small point the lifebuoys supplied seem markedly under-scale
