Airfix

<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>When it comes to important dates in the history of aviation, there can be few which command the significance of the one which took place on an airfield near Southampton 90 years ago today, so important in fact that it requires the early publication of this week’s edition of Workbench.</p><p>When a select number of people gathered at Eastleigh Aerodrome on 5th March 1936, they had done so to help facilitate, or possibly to document, the first flight of a new single seat fighter aircraft designed and constructed by the Supermarine company. What none of them could have realised, however, was that when they saw that rather tatty looking <strong>Supermarine Type 300</strong> aircraft taking to the air for what proved to be a short eight minute maiden flight that day, they would all be witnesses to the birth of an aviation legend, an aircraft type which would still be flying in some numbers 90 years later, and one which would come to symbolise Britain’s defiance in the face of staggering adversity. Was it actually possible for an aeroplane to do that? The Spitfire certainly could.</p><p>In this latest, rather special edition of Workbench, we will be paying our own blog tribute to the maiden flight of the <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=supermarine%20spitfire&amp;sort_by=0&amp;page=1"><strong>Supermarine Type 300</strong></a>, but rather than following suit with the multitude of other articles scheduled to be published on this subject over the coming few days, we will be taking ours in a rather personal direction, our enduring scale association with the magnificent Spitfire. In fact, it happens to be our opinion that no group has made more Spitfires than Airfix modellers over the years, and that’s not a bad place for us to start.</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>The title of this week’s edition of Workbench leaves us in no doubt whatsoever that we have something rather special in mind this time around, and will see us delving into the inspirational world of one of Britain’s favourite sons, a man who helped galvanise a nation to its task during some of its darkest days. As the past few days have seen history marking the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://uk.airfix.com/products/legends-douglas-bader-triple-pack-a40101"><strong>116th birthday of Douglas Bader</strong></a>, and particularly because goodness knows we could all use a little inspiration at this moment in time, we couldn’t think of a finer subject to stir our modelling passions this weekend. That being said, the main focus of our attentions is going to be the flying career of this incredible man.</p><p>To those who knew him, Douglas Bader was often described as being reckless, headstrong and often difficult, but for a nation who came to know him through his spirit and deeds, they saw him as inspirational, determined and fiercely patriotic, just the sort of man you needed when facing a threat to your very way of life. <strong>Douglas Bader</strong> was an ordinary man who achieved extraordinary things, but more than anything else, was an inspirational leader of men, in the days when leaders needed to do so from the front.</p><p>A man who overcame incredible physical adversity to do his duty, we’re entering the world of a very British hero 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>Our subject area for this latest edition of the Airfix blog sees us venturing into the fascinating world of post war rotary aviation, but more specifically, our model tributes to some of the most significant examples of these aircraft to ever see British service during that time. Taking our 1/48th scale modelling tributes as our focus, the lead subject is the latest release addition to this impressive range, one of the most agile helicopters to have ever taken to the skies, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://uk.airfix.com/products/westland-lynx-ah-7-a09101a"><strong>the incredible Westland Lynx AH-7.</strong></a></p><p>In addition to looking at the history of the Lynx and the <strong>THREE scheme options</strong> available with this latest kit release, we will also be taking this opportunity to feature some of its 1/48th scale rotary brothers in arms, kits which are also currently available on the Airfix website, kits which really do have to be considered as some of the most impressive modelling projects to have ever worn the Airfix badge. </p><p>There isn’t a fixed wing aircraft in sight as we head into <strong><em>‘Rotary Weekend’,</em></strong> with the incredible Westland Lynx at its vanguard.</p>

<p>As this weekend will see millions of people around the world celebrating Valentine’s Day, and our undying love for that special someone, or something in our lives, there really could be only one subject for this latest edition of Workbench, even though we’re probably going to be requiring the use of your imagination at points along the way. Will we be able to produce something which encompasses love, Airfix and the hobby we all hold so dear, or will our blog gift end up being a little wide of the Valentine’s mark? As ever, you will be the judges of that, but you can rest assured that we’ll be giving it our best shot, and like the Milk Tray advert of years past, <em>it will all be because we know Workbench readers love Airfix model kits.</em></p><p> </p><p>So, as we start to create this latest edition of Workbench, the first one since marking our 400th edition last time around, we’re not exactly sure which subject direction we’re going to be taking, but what we do know is that we will be featuring a few Airfix scale model kits along the way. Hold on tight, this might turn out to be something of a wild ride.</p><p> </p><p>Going back to the subject of our recent 400th edition for a moment, as our previous blog was published late on Saturday evening for the first time in almost eleven years, if you haven’t already read that edition, please do so, as we announced a rather spectacular competition last Saturday, with a mega kit bundle worth £400 being up for grabs. Please use the link above to be taken straight to the competition page.</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 seem to have started this year with a succession of different kinds of blog updates, with the vast majority not conforming to our usual format, but all celebrating the Airfix brand and the simple pleasures of the modelling hobby. We’re pleased to confirm that we remain on that slightly more unusual blog trajectory with this latest edition, but with our ultimate destination being earth’s stratosphere, or to be more precise, an Airfix model kit being sent stratospheric. This is also the reason why we have an extremely rare Saturday evening publication for Workbench this time around, as we play our small part in this fascinating, record breaking project.</p><p>With our recently launched <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://uk.airfix.com/products/sls-artemis-gift-set-a50202"><strong>SLS Artemis kit </strong></a>being the focal point for this project, we will be bringing you all the details you will need to have you up to speed with a project that’s out of this world, and a new video presentation that we see us quite literally shooting for the stars. As we create this latest edition, we’re currently T-Minus 2 days and counting until publication launch, but by the time you will be reading this, Lift-Off will have already taken place.</p><p>The other big news for the week is that we’re celebrating the <strong>400th edition of Workbench</strong>, an Airfix blog phenomenon which began back in the summer of 2015. We know that many of our readers will have been with us since the very beginning and we’re truly humbled by your loyal support, so we wanted to mark this occasion with a little competition, with a spectacular kit bundle being up for grabs. You’ll find details about the competition in the blog section after the main event, so please do stick with us right till the end.</p><p>At 400 not out, we have an edition of Workbench aiming to go where no Airfix blog has gone before.</p>