Some kits are time machines twice over. This is Airfix's 1973 Puma tooling, returned in the Vintage Classics range with its original Roy Cross box art — a kit that was hugely popular on first release, back when the real Pumas were newly arrived at RAF Odiham. Build it today and you get both the aircraft and the era: 112 parts of honest, satisfying classic Airfix, with a main rotor that turns on the finished model and a choice of British or French markings from the type's early service years.

The First of Its Kind

The Puma HC.1 entered RAF service with No.33 Squadron in 1971 as the product of the first Anglo-French aircraft collaboration of its kind — Aérospatiale's design, built under the partnership with Westland. It was fast, agile and remarkably capacious for a medium support helicopter: 16 passengers, 12 fully equipped troops, or two tonnes of cargo carried internally, underslung, or both at once. The type proved so sound that its descendants were still flying with the RAF more than five decades after those first deliveries.

Two Nations, Two Schemes

The decal sheet lets you build either side of the collaboration: an RAF Puma HC.1 of No.33 Squadron as based at Odiham in 1973, or a French Army machine of GALDIV 7 from the same year. Both wear the camouflage of the type's Cold War heyday, and the French option makes this a rare mainstream kit for ALAT subjects.

A Vintage Classic, Honestly Sold

Vintage Classics means exactly what it says: this is the original 1970s tooling, not a modern retool. Expect the character of its era — simpler cockpit detail and heavier surface engraving than a new-tool kit — alongside the qualities that made it a favourite: a well-shaped airframe, a manageable Skill Level 3 build, and the plain fun that classic Airfix delivers. It suits nostalgic builders revisiting an old friend, helicopter fans wanting an affordable Puma, and improvers ready for a step up from starter kits.

What's in the Box

• 112 plastic components
• Decals for 2 schemes: RAF No.33 Sqn (1973) and French ALAT GALDIV 7 (1973)
• Instruction sheet and paint layout sheet

Needed to Complete

• Plastic model cement
• Paints (scheme callouts on the layout sheet)
• Basic modelling tools