Airfix

<p> </p><p>Welcome to the latest edition of our weekly Workbench blog, and all the news, updates, and modelling exclusives from the fascinating world of Airfix. </p><p> </p><p>We have a real Airfix treat for you in this week’s edition of Workbench, as we pay our first blog visit of the year to one of the new tooling projects joining the range in 2026, the latest classic addition to our incredibly popular 1/35th scale military vehicle range. With the Ferret Scout Car having successfully completed its scale reconnaissance mission for future 1/35th scale projects, were delighted to be welcoming the third in our series of classic post war British military vehicle kits to the current range, with the impending release of our Alvis FV603 Saracen Mk.5, and she’s a beauty! </p><p> </p><p>As we pay our first visit to this exciting new project, we will be bringing you designer insights, exclusive CAD imagery, and a run through of the three scheme options which will be supporting the initial release of the new Saracen, a kit we already know a great many Airfix fans will be looking forward to rumbling on their own workstations. </p><p> </p><p>There’s nothing quite like a new tooling project review to usher us into another Workbench weekend, and with the British Army’s <em>Combat Caravan </em>in our sights, we’ve got an absolute cracker for you this time around. </p>

<p>Welcome to the latest edition of our weekly Workbench blog, and all the news, updates, and modelling exclusives from the fascinating world of Airfix.</p><p>In a week which has been nothing short of momentous in the history of human space exploration, there really could only be one subject for this week’s edition of Workbench, and that would be for us to continue reaching for the stars. As the crew of Artemis II set new records in space exploration history, the return to earth of the Orion capsule (Integrity) on 10th April will also serve as the precursor to another significant NASA anniversary to be celebrated just two days later, the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://uk.airfix.com/products/space-shuttle-gift-set-a50200"><strong>45th anniversary of the first Space Shuttle mission launch.</strong></a></p><p>In this latest edition of Workbench, we will be <em>‘going for launch’ </em>on our own blog tribute to the NASA program which came between Artemis and Apollo, marking the world’s return to the fascinating subject of human space exploration, and the incredible technology behind it. Of course, as we are Airfix, we will be including several model kit representations which have helped us to <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://uk.airfix.com/space"><strong>commemorate the incredible machines</strong></a> which have taken mankind into space, but in impressive scale form, kits which are thankfully in plentiful supply in this momentous year for NASA and their current space program.</p><p>Without doubt, one of the most impressive machines ever created by man is the subject of this latest edition of Workbench.</p>

<p>Welcome to this first edition of our Workbench blog for 2026, and all the news, updates, and modelling exclusives from the fascinating world of Airfix.</p><p> </p><p>Having just completed another year of bringing our loyal readers weekly Workbench development updates, and with our latest range launch now just days away, we thought that we might try something just that little bit different for this latest edition of our blog, particularly as new models and new model tooling projects are going to be dominating our attention over the coming weeks. With a full year of numbers and statistics now available for evaluation, we thought it might be an interesting exercise to discover which kits proved to be the most popular releases over the previous twelve months, and whether new toolings totally dominated this chart, or if the re-introduction of some updated classics managed to muscle their way in there.</p><p> </p><p>Taking this final opportunity to reflect before we embark on our 2026 modelling voyage of discovery, we will be looking at TEN of the most popular kits from 2025, featuring box artwork, built kit photography and details behind at least one of the scheme options available with each kit release. For those of us who have one, or several of these kits either in our stashes, or already in our display cabinets, this will serve as clear confirmation that we really do have our fingers on the pulse when it comes to modelling matters, and for those yet to sample these scale delights, what on earth have you been doing all year?</p>

<p>Welcome to the latest edition of our weekly Workbench blog, and all the news, updates, and modelling exclusives from the fascinating world of Airfix.</p><p>Read the blog: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://uk.airfix.com/community/blog-and-news/workbench/british-army-bid-farewell-their-iconic-land-rovers">https://uk.airfix.com/community/blog-and-news/workbench/british-army-bid-farewell-their-iconic-land-rovers</a></p><p>For this week’s edition of Workbench, we will be entering the fascinating world of <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://uk.airfix.com/search?resultType=product&amp;langPath=airfix-uk&amp;category=all_products&amp;sub_category=combined&amp;q=land%20rover&amp;sort_by=0&amp;page=1"><strong>iconic British military vehicles</strong></a>, as we mark a poignant and rather sad occasion in the history of the British Army. Over the previous few days, the Ministry of Defence have announced the impending retirement of the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://uk.airfix.com/shop/vehicles?langPath=airfix-uk&amp;filters%5Bmandatory_filter_by%5D%5Bproduct_headless_category%5D=Vehicles&amp;page_id=923&amp;sort-by=8&amp;page=1"><strong>Land Rover</strong></a>, an incredibly successful series of utility vehicles which have faithfully supported British troops wherever they’ve been deployed since their introduction back in 1949.</p><p>In addition to looking at how the Land Rover made the successful transition from rugged, no-nonsense civilian utility vehicle, to <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://uk.airfix.com/shop/vehicles?langPath=airfix-uk&amp;filters%5Bmandatory_filter_by%5D%5Bproduct_headless_category%5D=Vehicles&amp;page_id=923&amp;sort-by=8&amp;page=1"><strong>dependable military mechanical warhorse</strong></a> in service for seven decades, we will also be looking at the wider subject of how commercial vehicles were successfully adapted for military service, and how these vehicles are definitely the unsung support/transport heroes of any armed force and their associated operations. As you would expect, we will also be taking this opportunity to look at our scale model kit tributes to these vehicles which whilst usually in the shadows of military operations, were actually the life blood of any exercise or military deployment.</p><p>We’re racing into British summertime by paying tribute to the incredible military service of a British automotive phenomenon in this latest edition of Workbench.</p>

<p>Welcome to the latest edition of our weekly Workbench blog, and all the news, updates, and modelling exclusives from the fascinating world of Airfix.</p><p>We find ourselves returning to the subject of significant aviation related anniversaries in this week’s edition of Workbench, as we bring you not one, but two blog posts connected to two of the most significant aircraft to have ever performed on the UK Airshow circuit. In this post, the focus of our attentions will be the last flight of a famous aircraft type in Royal Air Force service, one which served as a British icon throughout the Cold War era, and one which would relinquish its official RAF display duties, only to later take its place on the UK Airshow circuit in private hands. Incredibly, for a seven year period, she would become the world’s most complex aircraft restoration project ever to return to flying condition, <strong>referred to by millions of people simply by her military serial number XH558</strong>. Captivating the UK Airshow scene for seven truly unforgettable years, not only did she command record crowds wherever she performed, but she would also be known as <strong><em>‘The Spirit of Great Britain’,</em></strong> and arguably, the most famous aircraft to ever appear on the UK Airshow scene.</p><p>In our second, separately published post for the week, we will be marking another significant British aviation anniversary, but one connected to an enemy aircraft from an earlier era of flight. Flown operationally by the Luftwaffe at the end of 1942, this aircraft was captured by Allied troops just a few days later, and was subsequently flown by the RAF’s enemy aircraft flight back in the UK. This historic machine would eventually take its place on the UK Airshow scene as the only original German combat aircraft flying anywhere in the world, following the completion of a 20 year restoration project which became the life’s work of a very special man a handful of volunteer professionals.</p><p>Two of the most famous aircraft to have ever flown on the UK Airshow circuit are our Workbench subjects for this weekend, as both celebrate significant anniversaries this month, and both will help to get us all a little excited for the coming Airshow season.</p>