Airfix are in an awkward position regarding these carriers in my humble opinion..If the produce a 1/350 kit, it will have to be in the £140 to £180 price bracket due to the sheer size of the beasts. I base my pricing on their big 1/24 modern kits and the approximate price of similar kits from Trumpeter. you can discount Tamiyas Enterprise from this little exercise as the toolings have been about for the best part of thirty years, so no up front costs involved. Will it sell? Over the lifespan of the carriers, of course it will, and they will get their money back. But can they afford that sort of up front investment in something that, lets be honest, isn't their core product line?
Plan B; 1/700 scale...nope, don't even go there! Airfix have almost never touched this scale and have no experience producing their own product at this scale. Everyone else has more experience at producing the finer scale models down at this size, let Trumpeter or one of the more specialist manufacturers cover them at this scale.
Plan C; 1/600........! Some old 'die hards' have campaigned for new 1/600 scale models. Problem is it is a dead scale, only covered by at best a dozen ancient moulds. Don't do it.
So, it is all down to 1/350 and if we will stump up the cash..will we? I am glad I don't have to make that decision, cos if it was me I would tool up a Type 26 and Type 31, licence box Trumpeters Type 23s and Astute class subs, do another run of Type 45s, then start working back through the Falklands conflict..all those lovely variations of Leanders and Rothsays, getting to the old 1970s Ark Royal, and stop there....not too expensive or a gamble surely?