ALY MORRISON'S "BUTTERFLY" ADVENTURES IN THE WORLD OF WARGAMES AND TOY SOLDIERS

Sunday, 21 November 2021

New Toys… Classic ‘Airfix’ buildings.

Greetings…

Okay… not original Airfix buildings… but the currently available Dapol Kitmaster buildings.

https://www.dapol.co.uk/shop/model-accessories/self-assembly-oo-kits?page=2

I picked up a brace of cottages and a windmill…

They are nice little kits… very simple and very much of the time they were first made…

The only update/redesign that I noticed was the addition of numbers on the pieces, something I don’t remember from when I first built some as a young lad.

The moulds do look like they are starting to get a bit worn and there was some flash on a few bits… although having said that I have seen worse on more modern kits that I have had in the past…

And of course being the big kid/butterfly I am I had to get one built… now!

It’s turned out rather well…

The only additional thing I have done is fix a piece of cardboard to the bottom so I have a surface I can stick to a handle of some sort to hold it while a put the paint on…

I’m not sure when the painting will happen… but it will be sooner rather than later…


All the best   Aly



34 comments:

  1. Excellent, great to see these still in production and still appreciated.

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    Replies
    1. They have been around for quite a while…
      One year less than me in fact 😳

      All the best. Aly

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  2. That brings back memories - I think we all fought round those back in the day.

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  3. Replies
    1. It’s not what it used to be David…

      With a bit of tweaking it would probably fit in well with A Very British Civil War or Operation Sealion…
      The windmill looks like it was based on one in Norfolk…

      All the best. Aly

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  4. IIRC, these moulds were dumped (Cardiff bay?) when Airfix no longer had any use for them and were then rescued by Dapol. The moulds are very old and rather worn, hence to flash in many places and poor fits etc. However they are great value and paint up well.

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    Replies
    1. Gosh… I’m surprised they would just dump them… apart from the scrap value a working mould will always be worth something… as Dapol has proven.
      Given their age…1958…they have actually worn quit well.
      I’m looking forward to painting mine…

      All the best. Aly

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  5. Being mainly an 'Ancients' person I didn't fight around these! However, today I'm more appreciative - they look like useful buildings.

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    Replies
    1. They do look useful Rob…
      As youngsters we used them for everything…ACW… Romans and Britons… and Robin Hood and his chums …

      This time round I will be a bit more sensible 😂

      All the best. Aly

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  6. Had that thatched roof building when I first started 50 + years ago - used for everything from Ancients to WW2 via the ACW !.

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  7. Nice buildings: what scale are they and how many pieces are they composed on average?

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    1. They are OO/HO scale in railway modelling terms… which is 1/76 scale in toy soldier model tank terms..
      There are 22 pieces in the cottage and 31 in the windmill…

      All the best. Aly

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  8. Great looking building. Should look grest with a lick of paint!

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    Replies
    1. Yes… I think that they will scrub up rather well…

      All the best. Aly

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  9. Blast from the past there Aly. Ah yes…jumpers for goal posts… Dont s’pose they make the golden hind? First kit I ever made <>.

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    Replies
    1. You had jumpers?!!! 😲
      I am assuming you mean the little model rather than the 1/76 scale on they do now…
      I haven’t seen that for years and years…
      I remember we filled the keel of one with plasticine to see if we could get it to float…
      I had a clever big brother…

      It…..

      Sank like a sieve filled with rocks…. 😂

      All the best. Aly

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  10. You need the inn as well!

    A rocket landing on that roof will be a real fire hazard!

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    1. I was tempted by the Inn Steve… but it reminded me too much of a Berni Inn we went to when I was a kid…😂

      Now where did I put that rocket battery….

      All the best. Aly

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    2. Some of my first wargames buildings were the Airfix cottage, inn and church - plus a strange rubber building I seem to recall.

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    3. “a strange rubber building”…
      That may have been a Triang OO/HO Countryside Series building… pre-painted and made from some sort of rubberised material… I first saw these in Donald Featherstone’s War Games…

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  11. They are classics. Sadly I've never seen one in the flesh. (hmm in the plastic?)

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    Replies
    1. You don’t know what you are missing…
      You could always get one from Dapol… with postage and tax it should cost you as much as the original cost to build 😳

      All the best. Aly

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  12. Oooo I do like the look of that windmill!

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  13. It’s a very nice windmill Mark…
    I’ve owned a few over the years… I will try and hold on to this one.

    All the best. Aly

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  14. Nice and easy to build. Pity, they don't do these in a larger scale.
    Looking forward to seeing them painted.

    Best wishes,
    Jan

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    Replies
    1. They are probably a bit small for most modern 28mm figures…
      But having said that… if you don’t mind a smaller footprint on your buildings they would probably look okay…
      If I remember I will take some pictures of the painted buildings beside some 28’s

      All the best. Aly

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  15. Nice looking collection of buildings Aly....glad you will be decorating it soonish...I look forward to seeing the results

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    Replies
    1. I have another couple on the way to me, then I should have enough for all my needs…
      ‘enough for all my needs’… I’m not sure what that actually means, but I heard a grownup say it once and I thought it would make me look clever if I said it as well. 😁

      All the best. Aly

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  16. Nice ….I still have my original 👍 a classic

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    1. It is indeed Matt…
      I seem to remember that my original cottage was blown to pieces with fireworks 😳

      All the best. Aly

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