fubar57
General
I thought this might be a design to packaging video but still interesting
THIS is How Plastic Model Kits are Made
- Thread starter fubar57
- Start date
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special ed
2nd Lieutenant
- 5,847
- May 13, 2018
I'm beginning to see why the high cost. At approx 8:35 on the video, what is the large mallet used for?
Admiral Beez
Major
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
And here it is at RAFM Cosford in 2011.
special ed
2nd Lieutenant
- 5,847
- May 13, 2018
The huge amount and smell of the glue was my first thought.
I once visited a factory in Netherlands making fibre glass pipes and fittings, you just brought back the memory, the smell was unbelievable, the workers must have been high all the time, because I was lol.
In an unrelated to aircraft story, you've reminded me of the time that I was filming a story at the Applejack distillery in New Jersey. I asked the pr person if I could climb up the ladder to the top of the vat to get some shots of the whiskey…they said sure…never telling me that I'd risk life and limb if I did so. I, like an ignorant fool, went up to the top where the lid was open…I don't think I was there more than a few seconds and was so intoxicated by the fumes that I had trouble getting down. I was blitzed for a while after that. The take away…let someone else be the hero once in a while.
Ralph Haus
Tech Sergeant
Like you, I was amazed on how 'manual' the operations are. I would rather pay more per kit and have some reassurances that it is all there. This is evidenced by the latest kits that they are producing; good fits and complete. Automation has its place but maybe not in this business. Thanks George for the insight.
Builder 2010
Staff Sergeant
Great video. I linked that video on my FB page. I've known about injection molding for ages, but never realized the quality control aspects about it. Gives me more confidence in Airfix. Unfortunately, my Typhoon came with two wing bottoms, but no wing top. Human error obviously. Also interesting that when you're buying a British kit you're still getting Chinese dies. Might as well buy Takam, Meng, or Trumpeter.
PlasticHero
Senior Airman
But in this case, you get Airfix DESIGN and RESEARCH. As I posted in a vid about the design of this Spit, his passion for the subject is obvious.
Ralph Haus
Tech Sergeant
I worked with a team of engineers, I being responsible for thermal and acoustic performance, procured various computer components from all over the far east and europe. The important part was that there were speifications to be met. So regardless of who finally won the contract, the product (in theory) would be the same. Tying this to whoever makes the dies, I would expect Airfix to have tight controls over the final product. Now there are some more difficult places to work with, but that usually translates to schedule concerns.
This video was fascinating from three perspectives, the first is obvious, how models are made. The second, during my 40 years of working in tv news I had done dozens of stories about how things are made. That's an education that thankfully came with the job. The third…I worked in a 78rpm record factory during my college holidays. They used a carbon based medium to press the records. On one particular time, the factory was doing an inventory and we had to climb up shelves that went about 8 feet high. Climbing..not a problem…breathing…that was a problem. This was in the late 60's before there was any pollution regulations, maybe even before OSHA was established. The carbon dust covered every surface In every corner of the building. When I got home…I had breathed in what felt like a hundred pounds of black dust. Would I do that again today…not in a hundred lifetimes. Do I regret it…I guess not, I'm still here telling the story.
