Welcome to this latest edition of Workbench and all the news, updates and exclusive announcements from the fascinating world of Airfix modelling. The latest edition to our growing and incredibly popular range of 1/35th scale armoured fighting vehicle kits, the HMC M7 Priestis scheduled for imminent release and should be available in model shops over the next few weeks. Final Battle of Britain 80th Anniversary release Nevertheless, with a modest combined total of around ten Zeppelin raids against London and a further forty against other targets around the UK, the real value of the Zeppelin offensive against Britain was in the psychological impact it had on the British public, with the constant call for large numbers of Home Defence squadrons to provide an effective defence against these terrifying bringers of destruction. By the end of the war, there were around 55 active Home Defence Squadrons in operation, a significant number of men and machines which were not available for use on the Western Front - from this perspective, Germany's night raiders certainly achieved their aim. Little and large, our Dogfight Doubles Bristol F2B Fighter pays tribute to an aircraft which is on display at the Imperial War Museum Duxford.

Full scheme details for this No.39 Squadron Bristol F2B Fighter, which served in a Home defence role prior to becoming one of the prized exhibits at IWM Duxford. Initially, the aircraft assigned to home defence squadrons were not really suited to the task at hand, taking aircraft such as the much maligned BE2c from training units and pressing them into service, however, more capable aircraft such as the Bristol F2B Fighter were soon allocated to these units. Although Germany's Zeppelin offensive certainly posed the potential for widespread and indiscriminate destruction and indeed kept the population of Britain terrified, the actual effectiveness of these raids was questionable at best. With the Zeppelin force proving incredibly expensive to maintain and drawing huge resource away from the front lines, more bombing raids were actually mounted against Britain by Gotha Bombers, even though their shorter range limited incursions to the southern counties of Britain and London.The next edition of Workbench is due to be published on Friday 24th July, when we will have more interesting features from the world of modelling. Welcome to this latest edition of our Workbench blog and all the news, updates and modelling exclusives from the fascinating world of Airfix. The origins of No.39 Squadron began with No.19 Reserve Aeroplane Squadron and how in February 1916, they were assigned to fly Home Defence duties, protecting the greater London area. In April, the unit was renumbered No.39 (Home Defence) Squadron, initially based at Hounslow, but also operating from satellite airfields at Hainault Farm and Suttons Farm. In August 1916, the Squadron's 'A Flight' relocated to North Weald, where they were joined by the rest of the Squadron early the following year. Due to changing requirements and constantly altering the design of the ship, a later refit was to take an unacceptably long eight years and whilst initially intended that a complete carrier air group would be embarked on the ship, the ever increasing size of aircraft dictated that no more than 28 aircraft (both fixed wing and rotary) were ever deployed on the ship. After a glorious service career, the end for Victorious came with distasteful haste towards the end of the 1960s and a withdrawal which was confirmed at extremely short notice. Scrapped in July 1969, this was a sad end for a ship which had served so valiantly and with such distinction. Full scheme details of the final aircraft flown by Manfred von Richthofen and the one in which he flew his final sortie.

The first of the squadron’s Defiants were made operational towards the end of March 1940, but even at this early stage, there were misgivings about the aircraft’s ability to survive in combat against the much vaunted Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter in a daytime role. This uncertainty appeared to continue throughout the following few weeks of training, as crews embarked on an intense period of flight training in both day and night fighting tactics. His opponent was clearly an experienced pilot and May simply could not shake him from his tail - his only chance of survival was to dive for the ground and try to make it over Allied lines, in the hope that his enemy would not follow. What he didn't know at the time was that he was being chased by the distinctive red Fokker Dr.1 of Manfred von Richthofen, the greatest air ace the world had ever known. Airfix’s Dogfight Doubles series has a new item, with the adversaries being the company’s new-tool 1/72 North American P-51D and Messerschmitt Me 262A-1a – the latter being known as the Schwalbe (Swallow) by the Luftwaffe. These two popular kits, featuring praiseworthy detail, come with decals for all-new liveries and a multi-pose display stand that accommodates both models. Also in the box are acrylic paints, two paintbrushes and a tube of Poly Cement.Although the Bristol F2.B Fighter would go on to be regarded as one of the finest fighting aeroplanes of the Great War, its combat introduction on the Western Front was inauspicious to say the least. Intended as a replacement for the much maligned Royal Aircraft Factory BE2c, the Bristol Fighter was rushed into service so that Britain's latest combat aircraft could take part in the Second Battle of Arras in April 1917 and demonstrate the advancement in Allied aircraft design. During its first operational sortie on 5th April, six aircraft from No. 48 Squadron RFC, led by famous Victoria Cross recipient William Leefe Robinson, were bounced by Albatros fighters of Jasta 11, led by Manfred von Richthofen, the famous Red Baron. During the ensuing melee, four of the new fighters, including the one flown by Robinson, were shot down, with a further machine suffering serious damage. Messerschmitt Me 262A-1a, Wk Nr 111711, test flown by Hans Fay and surrendered to the Allies at Rhein-Main, Frankfurt, Germany, on March 31, 1945

We begin by looking at a pair of Vietnam War classics brought together for an Airfix modelling tribute, before featuring arguably the most eagerly anticipated aviation addition to the Vintage Classics range in the current catalogue. We follow this up with articles looking at a pair of 20th century warships and a Second World War military vehicle which went by a distinctly ecclesiastical name. Relying heavily on our extremely busy photographer David, we are hoping to end with exclusive build images of a recent release which is the third of our 1/48th scale Battle of Britain 80th Anniversary releases, but this will definitely be going right to the wire if we do manage to include them. OK, we have a lot on our modelling agenda, so we had better make a start straight away. Agile adversaries clash Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 Fresco Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17F Fresco-C Không quân Nhân dân Việt Nam (Vietnam People's Air Force 1959-now)Airfix Gift Sets are ideal for more advanced modellers and include glue, acrylic paints and brushes. Bristol F2B Fighter E2581 initially served with No.1 Communications Squadron at Hendon, but was later transferred to No.39 Squadron at North Weald in a Home Defence role. Interestingly, she is now preserved and on display as part of the Imperial War Museum's collection at Duxford. As the kit is based upon a mere legend, its accuracy cannot be determined, detail has been derived from photos that are blurry at best. The plan outlines that survive were drawn up after the war from supposedly accurate sources that have never been confirmed as being anything other than conjecture. So, as far as this kit is concerned it is as accurate as any other. Revell's more recent re-working of the kit has crisper mouldings of the various components such as portholes, 20mm cannons &c but the proportions on the old Airfix kit look 'just right' whereas the Revell kit is a bit dumpy and bloated in comparison to the older offering.

Both of these magnificent ships were popular additions to the Airfix model range and their inclusion in the growing Vintage Classics range has been welcomed by many. We are pleased to announce that both are now ‘on the water’ and scheduled for imminent release. An armoured minister of wrath The two kits together? A surreal scene that marks the closing of the war, the supposed numeric and qualitative superiority of Allied fighters once again challenged by the power of the Luftwaffe in a battle that "might-have-been". Instead of an earth-bound battle between such utterly different technologies Hitler squandered his resources in an attempt to conquer other worlds but ultimately succeeded only in placing all his remaining military assets in a location where they could be destroyed by one decisive atomic blow. History cannot tell us how these craft would have fared against each other as we have no historical knowledge and no extant craft to analyse. In the absence of this we can only surmise." Due to the huge variety of kits produced by Airfix over the years and the way in which each new catalogue presented these models to an already captivated audience, it is unlikely that many modellers were strong enough to resist straying from their usual modelling subject area from time to time. With temptations ranging from Space and Sci-fi to dinosaurs and historical figures, there was always something to have us considering a diversion from our more usual fare of Spitfires and Lancasters. One range which could always be relied upon to captivate a massive modelling audience, our ships allowedactive young minds to build scale representations of the sailing ships which were involved in the discovery of new worlds, as well as some of the most powerful warships the world had ever seen. If you enjoyed doing a little research alongside your modelling, these floating wonders became almost irresistible as modelling projects. This latest Dogfight Double kit is due for imminent release and should be available through your usual model supplier over the next few weeks. Italian ‘Sparrowhawk’ a classic addition

BRITISH COMICS REPRINTS & REFERENCE

The above is an account of undoubtedly one of the most famous incidents in the history of aviation and when this is combined with the fact that this new release also occupies quite a historic position in an Airfix modelling sense, could there be a more appropriate build project for us to embark on this year? With this kit destined to be the first Dogfight Double kit to be inducted into the Vintage Classics hall of fame and with it boasting a restored version of its original iconic artwork, we think this release will strike a chord with many a modeller in the weeks and months ahead.