A MODELMAKER’S LIFE: AIRFIX 1/48 JAGUAR INITIAL IMPRESSIONS

This is not only the best Jaguar kit now available, this is, head and shoulders, the best kit Airfix have ever released in this scale. Indeed, were it not for the 1/24 Spitfires, this may be the best Airfix kit, full stop.

1st April 2025.

AIRFIX SEPECAT JAGUAR GR.1/1A

Despite the fact that the SEPECAT Jaguar fits neatly within my top-two favourite RAF aircraft, it shames me to admit that I have never built one in miniature – at least none that I can remember. I know that I dabbled with an old Matchbox kit and may have played around with the Airfix 1/72 offering from around the same time, but nothing has come close to completion as far as I know. With the release of this new 1/48 Airfix kit, that is about to change.

Look, no-one could have been remotely surprised by the announcement that Airfix were going to release a brand-new Jaguar, least of all me. They seem to be working their way through the RAF’s post-war jet fleet with some enthusiasm, so having seen the Buccaneer arrive on the country’s model shop shelves within the last couple of years, it was a fair bet that the Jaguar, a perennial member of the “how about doing this next please, Airfix?” club, was going to be looked at sooner rather than later.

So now that it’s here, what are my first impressions?

Well, it’s a big box to begin with, crammed full of dark grey plastic parts. Despite this, the kit appears to be relatively straightforward with a sensible breakdown that not only deals with the GR.1/1A variants offered initially, but also points tantalisingly towards a two seater, down the line. No doubt as well we will see foreign variants with French machines seeming to a be a distinct possibility. Speaking of foreign variants and if Airfix decide to read this all-too brief initial appraisal, can we also have an Indian Darin III, you know, just because it’s a stunning looking variant! I digress…

From the off, you cannot help but be impressed by the quality of this new kit from Airfix. Moulded in their now standard dark grey plastic, the levels of detail across the board are simply superb, especially the panel lines and other delicate surface features. I’ve built a number of Airfix kits recently where the panel lines appeared to be variable: not so here. Each is sharp with no discernible fading as the lines wrap around curved surfaces. Indeed, such is the quality of the panel lines, I was enthused enough to suggest to Drewe Manton that the panelling was “Tamiya Tomcat levels of sharp” an initial opinion I’m seeing little reason to change.

Smaller details fare equally well, the cockpit interior with its optional seat marks 2 & 3, delicate instrument panel, console and bulkhead detail, look like creating a realistic looking ‘pit with little need for additional work. The only thing missing – and already commented on across the Interwebz – is the lack of seat straps. Eduard’s old set for the first Airfix 1/48 Jaguar might fill that void or you can wait for others to arrive in due course. Or, you could do as I plan to do and paint up one of the two pilots that are supplied in the kit. Do you now see what I mean when I suggest a two-seater might be on the way? Decals incidentally, are included for the panel and consoles, though why you would want to cover up all of that lovely detail is beyond me…

The kit offers plenty of options when it comes to set-up, with dropped flaps and slats in the box as well as separate airbrakes, open and closed canopy – that kind of thing. None of this is particularly earth-shattering, but it is nice to see the model offering these options. Speaking of options, the model seems to be designed to have its undercarriage down and slats akimbo and nothing else. Should you wish to model the aircraft ‘in flight’ so to speak, it looks like you are in for some work to have everything retracted. As I never model machines in flight this is of little consequence to me, but may well cause consternation elsewhere, for modellers keen to model their aircraft in the air, rather than on the ground.

As well as detail options, the kit also offers both the early pointed nose GR.1, as well as the later glazed nose that was such a recognition feature of the type throughout its service life. As supplied, the nose is moulded to create that later glass window, a clever template that you use as a cutting guide, allowing the nose to be modified so that you can glue the pointed tip in place. Simple and elegant.

Your final port of call before painting a decalling will be the underwing and in the case of the Desert Storm machine, overwing, stores. Unlike a certain pair of Jaguar releases from a company that shall, for now, remain nameless, this kit contains a suite of whizz-bangs that are specific to the RAF machines on the decal sheet. They include 1200L tanks, 1000lb ‘freefall’ and ‘retarded’ bombs, PHIMAT pod, AN/ALQ-101 Pod, EMI Reconnaissance Pod and a pair of AIM-9L Sidewinders. The only thing I would have liked to have seen in the kit, would have been a couple of practice bomb dispensers that seemed so ubiquitous in images of the type in service, but I suppose that we can’t have everything.

Decals are supplied for four different machines, the choices being as follows:

• SEPECAT Jaguar GR.1, No.54(F) Squadron, RAF Lossiemouth, Scotland, 1974.
• SEPECAT Jaguar GR.1A, No.6 Squadron, RAF Coltishall, Norfolk, England, 1990-94.
• SEPECAT Jaguar GR.1A, Operation Granby/Desert Storm, Muharraq Airport, Bahrain, 1990-91.
• SEPECAT Jaguar GR.1, No.11(AC) Squadron, RAF Laarbruch, West Germany, 1976.

The superb decal sheet supplies all of the necessary national and squadron markings, as well as a large collection of stencils, both for the airframe and the weapons/tanks. As it stands, I haven’t really made my mind up about a squadron, the No.II (AC) squadron machine from RAF Laabruck, Germany, being an initial favourite. I’ve always fancied a Jaguar carrying an recce pod, so this might be a good opportunity to fulfil that wish. As ever, time will tell if I stick to that plan, or go for something else…

FINAL THOUGHTS…FOR NOW.

It must be obvious by now how impressed I am with this new kit and how pleased I am as well, that we finally have a state of the art Jaguar to build in 1/48. With only the ancient Airfix kit and the deeply flawed Kitty Hawk offerings for company (oh, did I forget the ESCI kit?!) it was about time that another company stepped into the breach with an up-to-date replica of this superb, Cold War aircraft. 

Airfix’s Jaguar is a kit that modellers have been asking for, for years, so its arrival was anticipated with great excitement. I’m pleased to say that that excitement was not misplaced. This is not only the best Jaguar kit now available, this is, head and shoulders, the best kit Airfix have ever released in this scale. Indeed, were it not for the 1/24 Spitfires, this may be the best Airfix kit, full stop. Time will tell if my initial impressions are confirmed when glue hits plastic, but so far I see little reason for that not to be the case. Yes, it’s that good.

Thanks to Airfix for the sample reviewed here and I will see you again, tomorrow.

JUST A LITTLE INSPIRATION…