Airfix Bristol Type 170 Mk.32 Superfreighter 1:72 – build review

Feature Article with Geoff Coughlin

Really? Are you sure?

Well, yes, I am! It has been a long time coming and I am so pleased that we are starting down the road of picking off iconic models of the past and giving them a new lease of life today :)

Don’t ask me to define ‘iconic’ in this context – popular, hugely popular, ones we remember with fondness building when we were much younger? Anything like that will do as a possible subject.

---

VIDEO DEMO

---

And so…

All these builds will be styled in SMN as Classic Kit Builds so that you’ll be able to easily identify them.

This build, like others to follow is not about taking on crappy kits (sorry!) for the hell of it – ones that were just bad, a nightmare to build and not enjoyable – what’s the point!? No, this is about, as I say, finding, cherry-picking, the best ones we can – best being any that anyone of the team and you too of course really want to go back to and have another look at. Using the skills you have today, go back and take on that project again and see what you can do, but above all, have FUN!

Putting my money where my mouth is

And so… I’ll kick this one off and I hope that you’ll drop me a quick e-mail if you have done or plan to do something similar that would fit in with this theme. Onto e-Bay and I secured this Airfix Bristol Type 170 Mk.32 Superfreighter in 1:72 for around £25.00 and I’m so pleased that I did.

The kit duly arrived and it was much as I remember it – loads of rivets, big wheels that work, not to mention those great big clam-shell doors at the front end – I could drive my dinky cars up the two ramps provided and get two of them on board before closing everything up and taxiing off down to the other end of the sitting room ready for take off. Wonderful memories and such fun – hours of fun and exactly why I loved modelling in those days. I still love modelling, it’s just different now as I have so much more in the way of experience and skills now. I just can’t wait to get started!

What is you attraction to this aeroplane?

Mostly, it’s just the shape – reminds me of a friendly elephant, lumbering around doing good work. Then there’s that shape – all square and solid – just love everything about it!

What’s the plan this time around?

I’ll try not to play with it too much along the way :) although the plan is definitely to have fun once more – not to go mad super-detailing everything but I do want to model my Superfreighter with those big doors open and add some internal detail to the inside of the front fuselage. I can’t see a lot of point going a lot further back as much of that won’t be seen, but enough to create interest.

I’ll definitely want to sand off those rivets and do some re-scribing of the panel lines, as far as I can work out where they go, but this will be subtle I hope, just enough to break up all those flat surfaces on the wings and fuselage. Some riveting too and this should make all the difference to the finished model – we’ll see!?

New decals for sure – I have some British United (see photo) markings just arrived from S&M so the plan is to add them, although I did see a great build of this kit on a forum where the builder is using BAF markings.

About this aeroplane…