A look at the classic Roy Cross Airfix box art publication. For more similar content, please check out my channel: / @peter-oxley-modelling... . Please like, share, comment & subscribe!
Agree with you on the 190 Peter, it just doesn't look right somehow. As a kid I was, like you, convinced this was a Pacific theatre scene with the aluminium-finish Fortress and what I also took to be a Zero. Was surprised much later to discover A Bit O' Lace was in fact ETO.
Peter I am in my early 60s I rember building a lot of these kits in this book 😊 thank very much for taking me down memorie lane very good of you 👏 good vlog agin Peter 👏👏👏
Another great trip down memory lane. From my recollection Roy Cross also did excellent portrayals for Airfix of the Handley Page Halifax and the Lancaster in 1/72. The Lanc was a favourite of mine because one of the kit variants was 'G for George,' Australia's most famous bomber (420 Sqn) in RAF Bomber Command. 'G for George' is on display in the Australian War Memorial, with a Me-109G, an Me-262, and an Me-163 all next to each other in the air force portion of the memorial.
Because of your earlier Roy Cross video, I went and bought "The Art of Roy Cross" which arrived today! Looking forward to perusing that after work. Regarding the Comet, Dan Air never had any issues with their Comets regarding fatigue failures as they only started acquiring their fleet in the 1960s, well after the issues had been sorted. Regarding WHY the early Comets had these failures, "square windows" wasn't the problem as such. The Comet 1s didn't actually have square windows at all. They were "rectangularish" in that they had straight tops/bottoms and sides but the corners were curved or radiused to prevent fatigue developing. Where the apertures WERE flawed wasn't so much in their shape but the fact that corner strengtheners were left out of the final design to save weight. Probably more important was the thin gauge aluminium that was used for the aircraft skinning. The only accident Comet where they could precisely see which part had failed was G-ALYP which crashed off Elba. Its failure wasn't at a passenger cabin window but rather in the RDF aperture in the roof. The Comet that was used for testing in the water tank at Farnborough (G-ALYU) did inded have a window failure - but that was in simulated rather than actual conditions. As far as the Whirlwind helicopter is concerned, Roy Cross' first artwork was the Antarctic Red and Blue version. The Admiral's Barge green and white artwork was a later release. You mentioned that the art had to fit Airfix's box formats. That indeed is true. Quite a few of the paintings also had to fit the paper headers of the plastic bagged Series 1 kits too. That's not an Empire flying boat - it's a Boeing 314 Clipper. BOAC also operated them and a BOAC decal set is also included. The artwork for the Vanguard is not correct because, even though some Vanguards survived in service long enough to be painted in British Airways colours, they were the cargo carrying Merchantman versions so had no passenger windows. And, of course, the Vanguard was powered by four Rolls Royce Tyne turboprops (not piston engines).
Fantastic that was Peter for Roy. 12 out of 10 for both of you. Definitely a book to have on the shelf for scale modelers. Each fabulous image took me back when I was younger and in some cases where I was at the time. Sometimes I used to look or stare at the paintings and take in the action. At times putting aside the build of the actual model for another day. Thanks again Dean.
Hi Peter the Rotodine went know are because it was too noisy they needed civilian sales to make it worth while for the military, but it was just too noisy for commercial use. I guess he had to balance accuracy with what you got in the kit as, with the rotodine especially there is a lot missing form both the kit and the picture. great video as always.
Peter, the Sunderland artwork is my favourite of Roy’s pieces. It is a pity the book publisher decided to lay it out across two pages like that - spoils the image for me. I have hunted down the Airfix kit just for the box-art. I’m not sure if prints of Roy’s work are available to buy but I would be up for several of them if they are. And yes, that spinner on the FW-190 in the B-17G artwork is much too flat but understandable since it was painted in the sixties or seventies when there was no Internet for referencing. RIP Mr Cross and thank you Peter for this tribute. 😊
Peter, on a similar but different subject, have you checked out "Celebrating Aviation with Mike Machat"? He covers many aviation subjects, but he was the Douglas in house artist, and his aircraft paintings have to be seen to be believed!
The spinner on the FW-190 looks about the right size diameter wise, - but it seems 2 dimensional - it should protrude a lot more - it's as if it were almost flat.
I'm shouting at the screen again... That Fokker was a Ford! And for the love of bay jeebuz - it's Push ME pull YOU! I insist that you go and immediately watch Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang. PS The Henschel 123 - (which really needs a nice new ICM kit) wis in actually in great demand un until the end of the war, but the Germans stupidy stopped production in '38. They saved the best for last. The mighty Puma!
I can't help but wonder, when in the boardroom what criteria the rejected drawings were based on? And what did they say to Mr Cross that it wasn't good enough?
Generally they seemed to want to see most of the plane like engines at least on one side, plus show the essence of the design, not overcrowd the image...but of course all that is very subjective. 🤔
Peter ones should buy two books, one for the shelf, and from second pull as much as it is possible pages out and frame these beautiful paintings and put them all over the walls in the house. But one thing remains what will the missis say on that😅
I remember some off the artwork as an avid Airfix modeller in the late 1950s, sadly you seem to stumble a bit on your aircraft recognition 😀 Johnny Johnson was a dambuster not a Spitfire pilot.
@@paulhemmings9245 Sorry to correct you Paul, there were two famous JJ's! One was not only a Spit pilot, but an ace. ☺️ see: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnnie_Johnson_(RAF_officer)
This kit from airfix was bad one side was crush rest not bad of build but the other side was not up to standard tried to fix but was out of shape did the best on this one
I knew that but literally mis-spoke (3 times, D'oh! I only realised later when I played back the vid😖) it still has the spinner depicted a bit too big.😉
At 1 piont Airfix were owned by Mguire and Patterson from Ireland who are probably best known for making boxes of matches.....no joke and how ironic as their biggest competitor was Matchbox@@Peter-Oxley-Modelling-Lab
@@Peter-Oxley-Modelling-Lab I don't think you mis-spoke to be honest as the fighter depicted is a bit vague as to what it is supposed to be. It certainly resembles a Zero more than anything else, followed by an Fw190 and maybe (as you said) a 109. It's not really anything that is directly indentifiable. In 1939 Poland was most definitely NOT under Soviet control - well not at the time of the action depicted in the box art. Poland was attacked simultaneously by both Germany AND Russia - so they were fighting AGAINST the Russians in September 1939.
