¹⁄48

Airfix has posted images on ‘Workbench’ of the CAD’s and renders of their 1/48 scale de Havilland Tiger Moth

Many Workbench readers will no doubt be familiar with the fact that the Airfix range benefitted from the addition of a newly tooled 1/72nd scale version of the De Havilland Tiger Moth in 2014, which replaced an original tooling which helped to establish the plastic modelling hobby back in 1957. This recent 1/72nd scale DH.82a Tiger Moth project would actually prove to be the starting point for this new larger scale version of the kit and whilst you might think this would hand Tom a distinct project advantage from the perspective of designing the new model, the process of ‘upscaling’ a kit is nowhere near as simple a process as it may appear. Tom did have the opportunity to inspect a mass of research data which had been gathered in support of the earlier project and even had access to all the CAD files and individual component drawing which had been produced in support of the earlier project, however, this is effectively where this advantage ended and a completely new project began. There are some significant challenges facing a product designer when inheriting existing development material and upscaling to a new, larger version of the same kit, but thankfully, the current development team have a wealth of prior experience in this process to call upon. For them, there is no magic upscaling programme on their computers which would turn a 1/72nd scale kit into a new larger alternative and they are understandably keen to point out your error should you ever suggest such a thing.

Although inheriting accurate base model data from the earlier Tiger Moth project, everything about the new 1/48th scale kit is different and requires much time consuming design work to effectively represent the greater levels of detail associated with models in this larger scale. This ‘base model’ is a complex series of mathematical calculations and design software plots, but only contains the basic shape of the subject aircraft and accurate placement of all its key design elements. The reassurance of having this accurate scale sizing data is incalculable, however, the real work starts now, as every aspect of the new kit has to be designed from scratch, paying close attention to the greater amount of detail and more accurately represented scale thicknesses which must be incorporated. When working at 1/72nd scale, the minimum component wall thickness achievable during the manufacturing process can often mean that some compromises have to be made on certain areas of the model, which can present problems when designing such areas as the trailing edge of the wing, but as this minimum achievable wall thickness stays the same regardless of scale, there is much less compromise needed when working in larger scales. Crucially, as the base model will have been designed with a specific scale in mind, wall thicknesses and radiuses will have been designed to the minimum possible values, values which may not translate when trying to increase the size of the files.

Once Tom was happy with the accuracy of his shapes and dimensions, he began working on individual sections of the model, trying to incorporate as much detail as possible, frustratingly, some of which would not be seen on the final constructed model kit. The skill here is trying to figure out what level of detail could be accurately represented in the design, whilst at the same time making the finished kit look right for the modeller. The Tiger Moth is such a familiar aeroplane to so many people and even in this slightly larger scale, it was still going to result in a comparatively small model – the design challenge on this project was always going to be just how much detail could be incorporated without spoiling the overall appearance of the model. This sounds like something of a dichotomy, but when considering the wing ribs and how the fabric attaches to them, this proved to be something of a nightmare to represent and required the combined experience of the entire design team to resolve. With access to all the original research data and engineering drawings, Tom and his colleagues were also granted access to an airworthy Tiger Moth at Headcorn aerodrome, an aircraft which is operated by Aero Legends, allowing members of the public to have flight experiences and trial flying lessons in this aviation classic. This visit gave them the opportunity to take plenty of photographs and to closely inspect various details of the aircraft’s design, comparing this against the modelling project which Tom had already started. Perhaps more than any other aircraft, this trip confirmed that this classic 1930s biplane is still very much in the public eye and one which hundreds, if not thousands of people will be extremely familiar with – no pressure there then, when producing a scale representation of one.

This exclusive series of development images was kindly supplied by Tom to illustrate this feature and show screenshots from the final CAD assembly of the new 1/48th scale Tiger Moth tooling at various angles, affording some appreciation of the detail levels he has managed to incorporate. Although just a training aircraft, the Tiger Moth is unquestionably one of the most famous aircraft of the 20th century and will be a popular addition to our growing range of 1/48th scale kits
The new model design processes undertaken by the Airfix team are now extremely familiar to Workbench readers, so we will not go over similar ground again here, however, what we thought would be of significant interest was to ask Tom specific questions about how he will remember his first Airfix design project. Regarding the project as a whole, he described it as a steep learning curve, but one which was extremely rewarding. Always having the backing of the entire team, he was given the opportunity to use his skills in finding solutions to individual design problems, reviewing his progress regularly and able to call on their guidance and experience at any time, should he need it. Indeed, he is quick to describe this as a group achievement and one which proved to be more of a challenge than anyone had initially envisaged – the further the project advanced, the more design issues seemed to present themselves and it really seemed as if the Tiger Moth was fighting them at some stages. In what has turned out to be a rather fortuitous anniversary for us, Tom told us that this week marks two years since he was first given the Tiger Moth project, his first major design job for Airfix.

Determined that this new Tiger Moth kit was going to be as accurate as possible, improvements and re-designs have been a feature of the model, with early test shots revealing a number of areas which were in need of further refinement and therefore delaying its scheduled release date. One of the areas which posed particular challenges was the distinctive engine cowling, which did not lend itself at all well to upscaling and required input from several members of the Airfix team before the desired representation could be produced. Also, when the first test samples were received, the team were not entirely happy with how the fabric detail was represented on the kit and what had initially seemed like being a relatively minor design alteration turned out to be a significant and time consuming re-design. Tom was also forced to spend a lot of time considering how best to design the top wing assembly, retaining the same levels of accuracy adopted throughout the project, but also making this robust enough not to cause problems for modellers building the kit. The wings would also provide him with an opportunity to incorporate a clever design feature which will hopefully please anyone undertaking a build of this fantastic new kit, particularly those intending to fully rig their model. The wing internals have tiny and rather discrete indentations which serve as a guide to the placement of rigging holes, should you decide to go for total authenticity with your build, holes which are not visible if you elect not to rig the model – this feature has been designed so well that it cannot be seen on the computer rendered images which have been used to illustrate this review.
In Summary, Tom described his Tiger Moth experience as extremely rewarding, one which threw up plenty of challenges, but one which taught him much about the world of Airfix product design. Without doubt, the most enjoyable aspect of the entire project was working closely with his design colleagues and the collaborative nature of the models development, all of which has resulted in the production of a magnificent scale representation of this classic aeroplane. Despite being one of Britain’s most famous aircraft, the Tiger Moth is a relatively simple aeroplane and Tom wanted to reflect this in the design of the new kit, not overcomplicating its construction and making it an enjoyable build experience for everyone.

As an aircraft type which has been flying since the early 1930s, hundreds of thousands of people will have come into contact with this effective pilot trainer over the past 88 years and many will have a strong affinity with the venerable Tiger Moth. With future Warbird pilots still relying on the many virtues of this magnificent aircraft and several companies allowing members of the public to experience what it was like for the trainee wartime pilot as he progressed towards squadron service, we think this new 1/48th scale kit will have huge appeal for a great many people, especially as there will be no end of scheme options for modellers to consider finishing their models in. Tom and his colleagues have produced a beautifully accurate scale representation of this famous aeroplane and they are all very much looking forward to seeing if it meets with the approval of modellers all over the world.

It’s scheduled to be released this Autumn and we look forward to bringing you further updates from this exciting kit in the next few editions of Workbench – this one looks like being a little cracker.

A04104 - de Havilland D.H.82a Tiger Moth – 1/48

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