Airfix Dogfighter Preview

Supermarine Spitfire MKVb
Few aircraft have gained as much fame as the legendary Supermarine Spitfire. Its classic shape combined with a superb engine, produced a fighting machine with few equals. Designed to Air Ministry specification as a day and night fighter, the Spitfire evolved around a new 1,000 h.p. Rolls Royce 12 cylinder V engine which was later to become the famous Merlin.

Fiat G50-BIS
The Freccia (Arrow) was one of the first Italian monoplane fighters. It proved to be an adequately designed, low-wing monoplane with enclosed cockpit and retractable landing gear. Oddly enough the enclosed cockpit was not used on the production aircraft, as can be seen above. The Italians made 780 in total.

Lots of goodies are pouring from the broken jar's...

Explosion and fire consuming a plane!

Focke Wulf Fw 190A
The Focke Wulf Fw190 single seat fighter first flew on 1st June 1939. Following exhaustive evaluation and development the first Fw190A-1s and 2s were assigned to Luftwaffe units based in France in 1941. The new fighter enjoyed a marked ascendancy in speed over the British Spitfire Vs and its pilots could break off combat at will with this advantage.

Messerschmitt Me262
First practical German jet fighter of the Second World War. Prototype first flew in 1942 with production aircraft in service in November 1944. A two-seat night fighter version was introduced in 1945 designated Me 262B-1A/UI. Approximately 1,300 Me 262s were completed before hostilities ceased in 1945.

Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero
The Zero was the best known of all the Japanese aircraft, and was the first shipboard fighter to prove superior to its land based opponents. The original specification issued in 1937 was so demanding that only Mitsubishi Company would accept the requirements, calling for high speed and great maneuverability. They went ahead, and the first prototype flew in April 1939, followed by a more powerful version, the first A6M2 in 1940.

Messerschmitt Bf109E
Classed as one of the outstanding aircraft of the Second World War, the Messerschmitt Bf 109 was the Luftwaffes standard day fighter from 1938 until 1945. A low-wing, single-seat monoplane, the Bf 109 was designed by Prof. Willy Messerschmitt in 1934. The type first saw combat during the Spanish Civil War in 1937 and two years later formed the spearhead of the Luftwaffes fighter units in their Blitzkrieg across Europe. In September 1940, the Battle of Britain saw the Bf 109 pitted against the RAFs Spitfires and for the first time Germanys much-vaunted fighter met its equal in combat.

Junkers Ju-87B Stuka
The Junkers Ju87B Stuka spearheaded the German Blitzkrieg (Lightning War) in the early years of WWII and is best remembered for its high pitched scream used during dive bombing operations. The B variant incorporated various refinements and although achieving considerable success during the attack on Poland, France, and the Low Countries, the Stuka units were decimated during the Battle of Britain.

The game concept was used before, for other arcade simulations, but Airfix Dogfighter brings something completely new to this genre, and is fun to play, too. The plane is controlled in third person view, and flying the plane is made easy. All the player has to do is move the plane left or right, and control the throttle. Since you are flying inside the boys' house, maneuvering between shelves and walls will be difficult. Don't sweat it if you often "crash" the plane into walls or doors, while getting used to the controls. The damage that the plane suffers from such impact is minimal, since this is an arcade sim. The speed is the main asset of the planes, and acceleration is essential, or as the pilots would say "speed is life". The main tricks to give you the edge in a dogfight are sudden turns to pick the power-up from the shelf or under the bed, or some risky maneuver to give you an advantage in combat. The power-ups are in the form of glue and paint, blueprints of a new plane, armor and fuel. In an encounter with the enemy, your weapons are your only hope. You start off with machine guns, but with the help of pick-up bonuses, the power of the weapons and the volume of the arsenal is enhanced; there's a lot to pick from: rockets, guided missiles, free-fall bombs, cannon, even mini atomic bombs (hey, easy on the plates and vases in the house!). Except the weapons mentioned here, some special surprises are expected. My personal favorite is a weapon assembled from two batteries that zaps the enemy with electricity. The use of weapons is depicted with great graphic effects-explosions that leave scorch marks; guided missiles leave a trail all the way to the dumbfounded enemy, which turns into a ball of fire, plummeting in circles downward.

The game is divided into several modes. The campaign contains 10 missions for each of the opposed sides, Axis & Allies. The missions vary from bombing and dangerous dogfights, to spying on the enemy territory (where it is necessary to steal the blueprints for enemy aircraft). The terrain is, as I mentioned before, the house, and the furniture serves for tactical and strategic displacement. The 1st floor is where Axis has its base, while the Allies have the 2nd floor for themselves. The house looks very attractive, but to the great dismay to interior designers it will turn into a pile of glass and damaged furniture after the 10 missions. Every room is available for maneuvering and combat: bathroom, garage, garden, the pool, kitchen and the many bedrooms. Normally, there are Single player and Multi player modes, as well as many fun options that the model fans will appreciate. The house editor will allow the creation of your owl levels to fight on, but the real challenge will be the Plane Editor. In this mode the players can paint the airplanes and paste their own insignia on them. The multiplayer mode will be something very interesting in this game. Using furniture as cover, opening doors with machine gun fire, making the enemy plane hit the mantelpiece with a swift maneuver, killing light by shooting switches and other escapades you cant see in any other flight sim. Airfix Dogfighter will bring memories back to a lot of model fans. With all the possibilities, this promises to be a good flight sim.