1:72 AIRFIX GLOSTER GLADIATOR
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MALTA DEFENDER!
One of the first Gloster Gladiator plastic kits was from Airfix in 1956 following their Spitfire Mk.I released three years previously , the very first aircraft kit produced by the company that became a runaway sales success. Despite the worn paper header, this example is complete down to the original transfer sheet ; early style display stand and a packing slip that will bring back fond memories for many older modellers. The kit parts are clean and surprisingly most of them have remained on their runner after all these years inside the original polythene bag. For kit collectors, this now rare early Airfix product is a true classic and something of a novelty...
ONE of the first 'Airfix Products in Plastic' aircraft subjects was the Gloster Gladiator Mark II 'Faith' issued in 1956. This is a genuine example of the pioneering kit moulded in the same pale blue plastic employed in preceding Spitfire kits: Mk.I in 1953 and Mk.IX in 1955.' Pattern No. 1335' was a relatively simple affair although those eight individual wing struts may have proved a challenge for youngsters. Detail is basic with the pseudo Bristol Mercury engine forming part of the cowling; a modest transfer sheet ,which may not be readily usable, and a one-piece combined windscreen/canopy transparency. Like the first Spitfire, the Gladiator was bereft of cockpit detail, just a solid platform incorporating a pilot's head as part of the fuselage halves!
Our example is complete and includes the original rectangular clear display stand bearing the brand name. The airscrew gave up one of its blades over the years but this has since been repaired and all parts are sub-divided in zip-lock sleeves for safekeeping within the original polythene bag. Paper wrapper-with art and design by Charles Oates- shows its age and is well worn with scattering of staple pinholes. On an historical note the complaint slip lists other early kits available around the mid fifties with five sailing ships (including the first 'proper' Airfix kit, the 1952 Golden Hind) plus 1911 Rolls Royce, the ultra rare Ferguson Tractor and 1:500 scale cruise liner SS Southern Cross circa 1955. The 'Gladdie' is equally rare and offered as a collectors' curio from the days when Airfix were at the very outset of their long and illustrious journey...