Short Skyliner - Conversion of Airfix 1/72nd Short Skyvan + Arctic Decals and IPMS Austria aftermarket set

 

That the Shorts Skyvan is a very popular kit -that is actually built in numbers instead of being attic insulation- is a testament to Airfix’s choice of subject, yet the kit is showing its age as it was released in 1975… fifty-one years ago. You can see many models online either in the kit’s decals or using the various aftermarket ones. The kit depicts one of the types, but other versions (and the cute prototype) used different power plants, multi-blade props, and had cabin doors on both sides associated with other window arrangements. The latter is called “Skyliner” and had other details that differ from the kit. Even “normal” Skyvans differ from each other, so some of the kit’s details may not apply, especially if you venture with aftermarket decals.

I selected the specific subject for my build attracted by the possibility of making some of those changes and representing a plane dedicated to SCIENCE and the ENVIRONMENT. This plane for many years served as a Laboratory of Space Technology for the Aalto University/Helsinki University of Technology (Alvar Aalto was a famous Finnish architect and designer). This plane went through some changes in equipment and appearance, depending on the mission.

The modifications to the kit and the step-by-step build can be seen here:

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2025/11/shorts-skyvan-laboratory-of-space.html

The decals are from Arctic Decals, a Finnish decal maker (same as the plane’s registration, as it happens 😊)

The Airfix kit, as mostly any other kit, has its quirks, some you may live with, some need to be addressed. Airfix is re-releasing it, unfortunately without bothering to improve it or add anything to it (just a downloadable file to 3D-print alternate props…instead of providing them). While some of the Airfix kits being re-released are really not good (some I personally consider abominable), this one with some work -and until other manufacturer can provide a modern version of it- will have to do. I only wish that aftermarket manufacturers offering 3D-printed articles or resin, could release sets with the different power plants, props, and maybe windows/doors conversion sets to represent other versions.

For this build I acquired a set from IPMS Austria (thanks Rainer, Sönke and Christos) containing photo-etched parts, masks, and pre-cut windows. Not all parts were used as some do not apply to this subject, but it’s a nice set. Pity the current completely absurd tariff situation perpetrated by president stupid and his obsequent zombies, that severely hinders or makes impossible international orders in many cases.

As I was building this model, LACI released landing flaps for the Skyvan. They are 3D-printed and designed to be posed deployed. They involve some surgery that is better performed by experienced modelers. The detail on the actuators is lacking. The flaps will no doubt lend the model additional interest, but I wish they would have done instead the different engines (maybe a detailed one to expose in the nacelle?), props and spinners the Skyvan used along its life. As the flaps need to be imported for US customers, the same inane, dumb tariff situation will affect their purchase.

My most relevant piece of advice for modelers building this plane or any other Skyvan subject with complex color separation/masking, would be, retrospectively, to sand down all those too-prominent rivets and re-do them with a riveting wheel, sunken, instead of popping. Or at the very least sand them down up to a point where they do not protrude the way they do. Otherwise, no matter how cautious you are doing the masking, those rivets will encourage seeping and over-spraying leading to tedious and not always totally effective touch-up sessions.AND DO NOT forget to add nose weight. I added as much as I could in the space between cockpit and floor (as I displayed the nose hinged up and could not get any weight there) and a breeze would still make the model sit on its tail. 

In spite of the absolutely well-deserved criticism, Airfix’s Skyvan with some TLC can be rendered into a credible model, and the changes needed to make this particular plane using the beautiful Arctic Decal set are not beyond the capacity of the everyday modeler, needing basically the addition of a couple windows and doors.

Most of the changes are listed here (you don’t need to do all of these; a simpler approach will render an equally interesting scientific research plane*)

Addition of two windows and opening two cabin doors (conversion to Skyliner)

Closing fuselage aft ramp and practicing a new opening following photos

Removing beacon from fuselage top and fabricating and install new one

Modifying beacon on belly

Installing small light on nose landing gear

Providing wing and tail nav lights

Opening right cockpit door

Modifying interior to reflect photos of the subject, providing new bulkhead and proper number of seats, adding photo-etched parts from the IPMS Austria set

Detailing aileron and flap hinges

Replacing kit’s Pitot probes for home-made ones

Replacing all antennas for the ones seen in the subject photos

Adding a resemblance of structure to the interior of the aft fuselage to be seen through the new opening

Fabricating and installing a resemblance of the scientific equipment on the aft fuselage bay

Replacing all cabin windows

Preparing the separate nose to be posed open, fabricating an adding the thimble radome

Discarding kit’s nose bulkhead and fabricating and install an accessories section to be seen at the fuselage front

Discarding kit’s engine exhausts and fabricate new ones from metal tube

Adding small angular blister seen in photos under the radome

*You can mark the new cabin doors as an outline, no need to open the cockpit door, the back fuselage is seen closed in some photos (i.e. no instrumentation or new bulkhead needed), the cabin interior can be painted black, you can keep the hinged nose closed, etc.)

My thanks go to the above-mentioned people for producing the necessary items that made possible this model.

In a world that seems to be suicidal, criminally disregarding science and environment, be this my minuscule homage to the people that still believe in them, care about them, and work for them.

A note about the decals: the Arctic Decals set provides very nice decals for the props, but mine were finished (with paint) before the decals arrived, so they were not used on the model. After photographing the model I realized I had forgotten to add some minute decals that were still on the sheet showing connecting ports and the fuel type placard. These were added after the photos were taken. Not visible in these photos is the registration under the left wing (can't do an "in flight" shot as all the doors are opened).

Kennedy Center - 👏

 

 

 

 

👏 

Propeller: One-Way Night Coach - John Travolta's movie

For those of us "of a certain age" and somehow, someway, connected to the aviation realm, this will be a treat.

I saw Travolta's plane several times parked at LAX and knew he flew routine airline "surprise" flights that surely delighted his passengers.

Like most of you, I watched his movies, and admired many of his roles. Pulp Fiction does it for me every time, among others.

As I said, for many of us of a certain age this will be a treat, and our stories will often be similar to his' in this or that regard.

I flew for the first time with my parents as a 3 year old on a Vickers Viscount. According to my mother, as we were deplaning, I said "Wow, it's great to fly on a Vickers". But take that with a pinch of salt...

As my father died when I was four, my childhood wasn't too dissimilar to his, and my mother very much resembled his' too. 

Tavolta's is more of a personal "racconto" than a movie in the full sense of the word, is gentle story telling. 

Perhaps no other person than an old aviation enthusiast may get it. 

 

Now...where is that Heller Connie...

(The Viscount from Mach 2 I think I will give it a wide berth, and Glencoe's 1/96th is certainly not my scale cuppa, unfortunately) BUT there is an Airways 1/72nd scale vac that I would gladly build. If you have one and want to sell/trade, please drop a line! 

If you haven't watch it, do it. It's lightly-paced, it's not an action movie (but it has spark) and will take you down memory (sky)lane for a nice flight...

Oh, Airfix...

Oh, Airfix…

Like scores and scores of modelers I owe a debt of gratitude to many kit and hobby products’ manufacturers. What would we do without them. In Airfix's case this is especially valid for the period of my childhood. So many hours of delight, fun, excitement and dreaming awake.

But not so much lately, as the hobby universe expanded and many other players came to the field, and Airfix seemed to struggle to remain relevant.

Of course, I have purchased and happily built to satisfaction a number of their newer releases, but also out of nostalgia tackled some of the civil classics of yore. I must say: I was struggling to keep a smile. 

Now we know that Airfix loves for some reason to bestow upon the unaware modeling masses “Modeling Refried Beans”. Generally, I don’t blame people for wanting to make money, if it is in the right way. We know those Airfix molds are looooong amortized. And yes, many modelers, me included, love a trip down to Memory Lane. But it needs to be done with dignity, and criteria, not just cranking up sub-par dodos. I am ashamed to see their old DH Comet still "in print", among many examples. What have newcomers -perhaps kiddos- done to deserve that kit?

You will find in this blog some Airfix nostalgia builds. Unfortunately I utterly regretted a couple of them, like the Fairey Rotodyne, which is a despicable kit by today’s standards in so many regards: bad fit, non-existent accuracy, faulty instructions, bad transparencies, inadequate decals, etc. If Airfix has to choose a subject for their “Refried Beans” program (instead of concentrating in keeping up with the rapidly improving and evolving modeling universe) please be that a reasonably good kit…and at least bother to improve it a little bit, purge the instructions of mistakes, and add a part or two, plus new decal options.

So, here is my current build of the Airfix Shorts Skyvan, started many months ago, a conversion to a modified sort of Skyliner with the addition of an aftermarket set from IPMS Austria (thanks Rainer and Sönke again) and an “in the works” Arctic Decals set:

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2025/11/shorts-skyvan-laboratory-of-space.html

In that post the desire is expressed that aftermarket manufacturers would provide new engines/props/details for this very old kit… in need of help. Or that some valiant kit manufacturer will take it upon themselves to provide a new Skyvan, as it is high time for that indeed…

Today I saw that Airfix will be soon re-releasing this kit, again as part of their “Refried Beans” program. For what I can see on Airfix's site/blog, it will come with nothing new regarding the old, tired, outdated, ill-fitting parts, dubious transparencies and too prominent rivets. Even the decal sheet has still an old, arch-seen option, together with a new one that will drive modelers mad with its utterly complex masking (masks NOT provided). Of the literally hundreds of beautiful schemes available, is that the one to provide? I also look forward to see how the "mouth" decal of this second option will wrap around the complex volume of the nose. This second scheme was perhaps chosen for a reason as inane as looking like a quasi-military camo. And the cherry on top of the cake, Airfix will finally “include” (not) new prop options… in the form of 3D-printing files to be downloaded! because you know, every modeler has a 3D-printer at home? … I mean, C’mon! Hey, why don’t you print or mold those props yourself, lazy Airfix, surely won’t break your piggybank? and what about a thimble radome, like the one many of them used? Better wheels? Better “normal” props? Cabin windows that won’t look like a distorted jello? The molds have paid for themselves ages ago; invest a pound or two, will you?

The old Skyvan kit has no doubt been a success, many of them can be seen built online and seemingly are amongst modelers’ favorites. Including me. It deserves better than a release that fixes none of the known and many kit´s issues, and adds nothing to it but a cheeky “DYI” and a “faux camo” scheme. "Exciting" marketing is not a substitute for quality. 

I don't mind old kits. I don't mind simple kits. On any media. This blog is full to the brim with them. I like and enjoy a challenge. But please notice that we are in 2026. If you are doing a re-release, work a bit on it, add something, fix something, don't just pull a fast one with colorful marketing. You are no small one-man outfit or cottage industry. You (Hornby Hobbies Ltd/Hornby PLC) are a corporation. You have the means and resources. (And, as you also own Humbrol, would you please have a look at color/density/formula consistency of the enamels? lately the tinlets -that I have used all my life, many decades- are driving me nuts).

 

What have I learned in 58 years of scale modeling

What have I learned in 58 years of scale modeling

Like many of you, I started modeling as a little kit. My family didn’t have money to spend on luxuries, still, maybe twice a year, birthday or xmas, I would get an Airfix of Matchbox kit (no money for paints or tools, though, just cement. I would use my granny’s scissors and nail sanding sticks and my granddad's razor blades, to their dismay). After the usual hiatus -early youth and then growing a family- I got back on track as an adult.

So, what did I learn in all these years of stubbornly making scale models?

First and foremost, humility. Facing my own limitations with every single build, and seeing the wonderful work of so many exquisitely talented modelers.

I also learned about friendship across geographies and demographics. The generosity, camaraderie, witty humor, and vast knowledge of my fellow model builders.

I learned a lot about aviation history and about many airplane types, besides a bit about the hobby industry and its manufacturers, the different media available and how you really have to check your references before trusting the accuracy of your kit to most kit manufacturers.

I learned about tools and materials and how to dig something interesting from the Net.

I learned that in spite of trying to avoid politics, sometimes you have to speak up from whatever platform you may have, when a corrupt, inept, lying, cruel government and its corporate cronies try to trample on our rights and steal from us.

The one particular field I still have quite a lot to learn about is... building scale models 😉

These images are from many years ago. The collection has reached now 500+ models, about 20% of them in other hangars all over the world.

You may play now "NAME THAT PLANE!" 

A modeling medium I love perhaps the most is vacuum-formed kits. I have build dozens of them. And lately I was fortunate enough to acquire these two. I think a bit of nostalgia is involved in this taste. They also taught me a lot:

It will of course be built as a civil plane, maybe Catalina Airways or Fish and Wildlife Service.