AIRFIX VICKERS VALIANT DISPLAYED AT NUREMBERG TOY FAIR

SMN report

Today's the last day of this year's Toy Fair, and it has certainly lived up to expectations, with many attractive kits due for release through 2011.

British nuclear bomber

Here’s the hotly awaited 139-part Vickers Valiant V-bomber kit from Airfix, just seen on display on the Airfix stand at Nuremberg Toy Fair 2011. The display model has been finished in anti-flash white overall, with the pale RAF roundels that went with that finish. Markings for the ‘Val’ are included for four versions, including a camouflage scheme.

Valiant available soon

The Valiant has been largely ignored by mainstream manufacturers over the years, so it’s good to see the gap filled, at least in 1:72 scale. To this reviewer, the Valiant has always been the Plain-Jane of the British V-bomber trio, but none the less important for all that. The kit will be available soon.

More info from Airfix here.

Thanks to our friends at Toy Collector for the heads-up on this model.

THE TAMIYA TOYOTA LFA 1:24 SCALE KIT AT THE NUREMBERG TOY FAIR 2011

David Jefferis looks at the show and the kit

The German city of Nuremberg’s annual Toy Fair is far and away the biggest of its kind anywhere, with sheer size something of a mind-boggler - the venue boasts some 160,000 square metres (nearly 40 acres!), providing room for nearly 2700 hobby, toy and craft manufacturers to display their wares. Whether your thing is plastic kits, radio-control, model trains, diecasts, they’re all at Nuremberg for your delectation, as are clear pointers to the latest trends in upcoming products.

Visitors at the Nuremberg Toy Fair 2011

This year is the the 61st such show and the organizers are expecting 76,000-plus visitors to visit before the turnstiles close tomorrow. And many of those showgoers will be poring over the wares of long-standing exhibitor, Japan’s Tamiya, which is at Nuremberg this year for the 44th time in succession.