Airfix dinosaur kits

[Derek.McManus]

Just wondering, does anyone remember the Airfix dinosaur kits from the 70s / 80s? My mother bought me the Triceratops along with green enamel paint which I did not even realise had to be stirred, with the result that my kit looked a bit washed out! I also recall the model department in Lesiureworld in Belfast having an assembled and painted Pteranodon on a base made to look like water...very nostalgic!

[amargasaurus cazaui]

Just wondering, does anyone remember the Airfix dinosaur kits from the 70s / 80s? My mother bought me the Triceratops along with green enamel paint which I did not even realise had to be stirred, with the result that my kit looked a bit washed out! I also recall the model department in Lesiureworld in Belfast having an assembled and painted Pteranodon on a base made to look like water...very nostalgic!

I still have the old models, myself, many of them I believe I own a protoceratops, anklosaurus, and perhaps and maybe a few others. We used a corythosaurus for a Turok diorama that you can view in the retro thread

[CityRaptor]

I rather recently obtained the 1993 re-issues of the Triceratops and Stegosaurus.

[Justin_]

Those little tins of really glossy Humbrol enamel paint! I still remember the slightly sweet smell of them, and white spirit that was starting to go yellow with a layer of painty sludge at the bottom.

My brother had the Tyranosaurus even though he wasn't much of a dinosaur fan. I don't think the completed model lasted very long, and I inherited just the head which made a good finger puppet.

I had an ankylosaurus kit but I'm pretty sure it was Revell, not Airfix. I also the fat-legged brontosaurus with really smooth skin that, according to recent research, was made by Pyro but I don't remember that company name. It might have been marketed in the UK by someone else.

[CityRaptor]

The Brontosaurus was likely a Lindberg re-issue.

[Andrew T]

The dimetrodon was the first model kit I ever had, I remember my dad building it with/for me when I was about 4 or 5! Must try and track one down on ebay some day. I had most of the Airfix kits at some point, apart from the corythosaurus. The pteranodon with the coelocanth was one of my favourites.

[STORMnlNIJMEGEN]

i had them all,,sell them last year

[AROARA]

Airfix did make a Brontosaurus, which I had until last year.  http://airfixtributeforum.myfastforum.org/1982_Brontosaurus_about1391.html
Pyro made the smooth skinned Bronto.  IMO, the Airfix Bronto was the best! 
Airfix, to my knowledge, never made a Protoceratops kit.  Again, Pyro did. 
My two cents

[Crackington]

I had a few of the kits as a child when they came out - the Rex, Triceratops and the Ankylosaur, which was quite an ugly critter! They kind of complemented my Auroras and were similar size to the Pyros, but with better skin texture. I always wanted the Pteranodon, which I believe is the rarest of the kits now. They were re-issued in 2 sets of three about 10 years ago, but stupidly, I passed on buying them and even these are a bit pricey now when they come up on e-bay. Airfix was a classy company and there is competition from more than dino-fans for these models. The new Prehistoric Times has an article on them with some interesting customising!

I also had a Spitfire, which I understand is the biggest ever selling UK model kit, over a million sold!

[Crackington]

There is some interesting news on the Airfix kits. Hornby who are now producing them have just launched a crowd-sourcing project whereby Airfix fans can request that old kits are reproduced. If there is enough support, they will put them in to limited production. The details are here:

http://www.airfix.com/uk-en/forum/kitstarter/?p=1

I've joined their forum and posted a dinosaur thread, so if anyone would like to see this please spend a few minutes to generate some support!

I also took the opportunity to plug our Forum and Prehistoric Times magazine!

[bigbear]

Aroara is quite correct. Airfix did/do six dinosaur kits - Triceratops, Stegosaurus, T. Rex, Dimetrodon, Brontosaurus and Pteranodon. All available on ebay for not too much cash.-

Pyro did 8 kits - Triceratops, Stegosaurus, T.Rex (a tail dragger...), Dimetrodon, Brontosaurus, Ankylosaurus, Protoceratops and Corythosaurus. The skin detail on the original kits was non-existant, being totally smooth with just a few lumps and bumps. These originals also came with a base, name board and cavemen figures(!). Later, they were re-issued by Lifelike, both boxed and in polythene bags with a header card. Lindberg have since re-issued all except the T Rex with increased skin detail and some were also released in Jurassic Park boxes too.

The Airfix kits are more detailed, but the Pyro kits hold a special place in my heart and were also the first commercially available dinosaur plastic kit, I believe!

Hope this is of interest.

[bigbear]

As a follow up to my previous post, I've just found that Lindberg HAVE re-issued the old Pyro T. Rex, alongside a newer, more Jurassic Park looking version! Probably best not to display them next to each other, though! :-)

[AROARA]

Aroara is quite correct. Airfix did/do six dinosaur kits - Triceratops, Stegosaurus, T. Rex, Dimetrodon, Brontosaurus and Pteranodon.

Don't forget, they also made a Ankylosaurus and Corythosaurus.  Don't know of their availability but that should make a total of 8

[bigbear]

Somehow I had overlooked these! Thanks for adding them to my list. The other 6 kits were re-issued in two 3-packs, but there's no sign of the other two in recent years. Might be an expensive buy?

[japfeif]

Aroara is quite correct. Airfix did/do six dinosaur kits - Triceratops, Stegosaurus, T. Rex, Dimetrodon, Brontosaurus and Pteranodon. All available on ebay for not too much cash.-

They did 8...also a Corythosaurus & an Ankylosaurus. I have all but the Bronto & Pteranodon in their original versions. Been having trouble finding those last two (but I understand they were the last to be made & had the most limited run...and therefore are the hardest to find).