Airfix's "Wallace & Gromit Motorbike & Sidecar Model Kit"

by Michael Kendix

Wallace & Gromit are the "stars" of Nick Parks' claymation films from the 1990's. Three of these high quality short films have been released and are available on video cassette: "A Grand Day Out", "The Wrong Trousers" and "A Close Shave", the latter of which provides the inspiration for this kit. Wallace (the man) and Gromit (the dog), live in a small house in the North of England. In this film, Wallace & Gromit operate a window cleaning business; their mode of transport being the motorcycle and sidecar. I will not dwell on the subject matter of the various stories but suffice to say that these short films are funny and the claymation is technically brilliant.

The kit contains a large double-sided piece of folded paper with clear instructions, ten sprues of plastic parts, ten small transparent plastic containers of different colour paints, a tube of polystyrene cement and one number 3 brush. The contents are packaged in a cube-shaped cardboard box with multiple views of the built up kit and the box's contents. The plastic is thick, shiny and resistant to all but the most serious efforts to sand down flash marks and other imperfections. Its robustness, however, is a plus since this is advertised as a kit for persons aged eight and above. On the other hand, most eight year olds will need some degree of assistance in assembling a kit containing approximately 60 pieces. Furthermore, some of the construction process requires drilling and cutting holes through the plastic, so supervision by an older person may be necessary at those stages.

The quality of the molding is average at best. Some of the parts do not mate really well; for example, the motorcycle frame, engine, and petrol tank, which are all contained in two left and right hand side pieces. Masking this part in order to airbrush the different parts their respective colours is a challenge few builders would accept. Brush painting is, therefore, likely to be the order of the day for most of this kit. Most children, however, are unconcerned with parts that do not mate one hundred percent and leave small seams. They are also spared the task of assembling large numbers of tiny parts.

The kit contains decals for the front and rear number plates, a tax disc on the front wheel, and a speedometer. The builder has a choice of building the sidecar with a closed panel on its front or to build the cannon that shoots soap onto the windows, and in another part of the film, is loaded with, and shoots, porridge when the sidecar converts to an aeroplane. The latter is the subject of the other Airfix kit; namely, Gromit flying in his aeroplane.

In general, this looks like an entertaining kit but it is not a trivial undertaking, being comprised of two figures and a fairly detailed motorcycle and sidecar. For the older, and possibly more serious builder, it offers the opportunity to have a bit of frivolous fun and relax a bit. For the younger builder, this is a robust kit that provides somewhat of a challenge, while at the same time building an instantly recognizable and likeable pair of characters. My kit cost fifteen pounds from Hamley's toy shop in London's West End, so while the kit is somewhat self-contained in terms of supplies (paints, glue etc.), it is not inexpensive.