Airfix is to re-release its 1/72 scale Avro Lancaster B.III (Special) to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of Operation Chastise

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Thanks!

Cool to see this one back! So... which is the best 1/72 Lanc out there - Airfix, Hasegawa, or Revell?

Tim, I've owned the Airfix and Revell kits (the new releases, but I've also built the the older ones too--which I built as a kid in the 60s). I think the Hasegawa kit is a Revell or Airfix re-box-- I wasn't aware they released thier own yet in 1/72 scale (not an unusual practice among these three major model manufacturers-- Airfix released thier mid-series B-17 a few years back, but what was in the box was the Academy kit, but now Airfix has released their very nice B17G). These new Airfix and Revell Lancaster kits are beautiful and awfully close in detail-- both are excellent models with nice interiors, but I traded the Revell kit and kept the Airfix kit. I think the Airfix kit is just a bit more "crisp" in detail than the Revell kit-- especially in the bomb bay, which is especially important in the Mk III "special" version. Revell's is very nice too though, you really can't go wrong with either one.
VR, Russ

So I stand corrected-- I have owned the Hasegawa kit too and it IS NOT a reboxed kit. I went and looked it up, and recognized the boxing of the "Special" version. It came out about the same time as thier B-26 I think. It's a nice model, but I didn't build it and traded it instead (as I said in another post elsewhere, I had an awful lot of kits--upwards of 2000, and have sold or traded many in the last fifteen years). I do remember comparing the Revell, Hasegawa and Airfix kits, and I kept the Airfix kit. As I recall my decision process at the time was based on the kit with the most complete detail inside and out. The Hasegawa kit was really expensive too, compared to the Airfix or Revell kits, for less detail. I still maintain you can't go wrong with any of the three kits though. They are all very nice and a big change from the 1960s kits.
VR, Russ