Post by madhatter on Sept 3, 2006 13:32:07 GMT 1
Romour is that hornby hobbies might buy Humbrol/airfix.
"
Model and collectibles group Hornby has snapped up German model railway accessories distributor Heico Modell.
The deal means Hornby is taking on Heico's liabilities of 200,000 euros (£134,589; $256,235), as well as paying a nominal sum for the firm.
Hornby said the German group, which has more than 1,200 active customers, would help expand its reach in Europe.
Hornby also operates in France, Spain and Italy, allowing it to overcome a tough trading environment in the UK.
In June the group attributed an 8% rise in annual profits to £8.2m - albeit on turnover falling 2% to £44.1m - to its overseas expansion.
Strong market
"The acquisition of Heico is a really important step in the development of our strategy to expand in Germany," said chief executive Frank Martin.
"The model railway market in Germany is the biggest in Europe and is estimated to be six times larger than the UK market."
Heico will be renamed Hornby Deutschland, the group added. Hornby already operates under the Lima, Arnold and Rivarossi brands in Germany.
Meanwhile, speculation was growing that Hornby - most famous for its model trains and Scalextric racing-cars - might be putting together a rescue package for the troubled model-making company Airfix.
On Thursday, the model firm's parent company, Humbrol, called in the administrators, while Hull-based Airfix axed 31 of its 41 staff.
Hornby's chief, Mr Martin, used to work at Airfix's parent company Humbrol, which bought the company in 1949 and manufacture the paints used by model collectors.
A deal would bring together two of the best-loved toy brands in Britain. "
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/5304986.stm
Airfix
Airfix is a UK manufacturer of plastic model aircraft and other kits. In Britain, the name Airfix is synonymous with the hobby, a plastic model of this type is often simply referred to as "an airfix" even if made by another manufacturer.
Founded in 1939, and purchased by Humbrol in 1986, the future of Airfix is now in doubt after Humbrol's declaration of financial collapse on 31 August 2006, although Hornby expressed interest in buying the company on 1 September 2006 [1].
History
Airfix was founded in 1939 by a Hungarian businessman called Nicholas Kove, initially manufacturing rubber inflatable toys. The brand name Airfix was selected to be the first alphabetically in any toy catalogue. Due to the war the company didn't start to grow until 1949, when it was commissioned to create a model of the Ferguson tractor. The model was initially moulded in cellulose acetate plastic and hand assembled for distribution to Ferguson sales representatives. To increase sales and lower productions costs, the model was sold in kit form by F.W.Woolworth's retail stores.
A few years later in 1954, Woolworth buyer Jim Russon suggested to Airfix that they produce a model kit of Sir Francis Drake's Golden Hind, then being sold in North America as a 'ship-in-a-bottle'. The kit would be made in the more stable polystyrene plastic. In order to meet Woolworth's retail price of 2/-, Airfix changed the packaging from a cardboard box to a plastic bag with a paper header which also included the instructions. It was a huge success and led the company to produce new kit designs. The first aircraft kit was released in 1955, a model of the Supermarine Spitfire Mk.V, in 1/72 scale. This was a scaled down copy of the Aurora 1/48 Supermarine Spitfire. Kove initially refused to believe the product would sell and threatened to charge the cost of the tooling to the designers.
Expansion
During the 1960s and 1970s, the company expanded greatly as the kit modelling hobby grew enormously. The Airfix range expanded to include vintage and modern cars, motorcycles, figures, trains, trackside accessories, military vehicles, large classic ships, warships, liners, engines, rockets and spaceships, as well as an ever-increasing range of aircraft. Most kits were created at the "standard" scale of 1/72 for small and military aircraft, and 1/144 scale for airliners. However Airfix's range of military vehicles though packaged as 1/72 are generally accepted as actually being OO or 1/76 scale.
In the mid 1970s, larger scales were introduced, including the dramatic 1/24 scale models of the Spitfire and Hurricane and Harrier "jump-jet", which featured unusually extensive detailing at this scale. All the kits were manufactured using injection moulding of polystyrene. The growth of the hobby launched a number of competitors in the field, such as Matchbox, as well as introducing new manufacturers from Japan and the US to the UK. During this period the company Humbrol also grew, supplying the paints, brushes, glue and other accessories for the finishing of the kits. Airfix themselves also published an annual and a monthly magazine, Airfix magazine, supporting the hobby.
Decline, purchase by Humbrol
In the 1980s, the plastic kit modelling hobby went into a rapid decline. Some think this was due to the rise of computer games, others that new manufacturing techniques such as precision diecasting took away the market for toys, where a person was less interested in the construction and finishing of a model, but simply wanted to play with the finished product, others the declining birth rates leading into smaller generations and declining numbers of potential enthusiasts. However, the decline may simply be a side effect of large increases in the sticker price of plastic models following the oil crisis of the late '70's which led to high inflation as well as an increase in the price of plastics. This also may explain why the emphasis of the modelmaking hobby is today on adults rather than children.
Due to large losses in Airfix's other toy businesses, even though the model business was still profitable, Airfix was forced to declare bankruptcy in 1981. The company was bought by MPC with the kit moulds being shipped to Trun, France. At one point it looked as if they might go out of business altogether, but eventually they were bought by Humbrol in 1986. This was a logical merger, since the companies had hitherto largely depended on one another. While the hobby declined from its 70s heyday, it still has a significant following to this day. Today plastic modelling is considered an adult hobby instead of children's, and many modelmakers are in their 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s.
50th anniversary
In 2003, Airfix celebrated the "50th" anniversary of its first aircraft kit, the Supermarine Spitfire. The celebration was two years early due to an incorrect 1953 date commonly accepted at the time. As the moulds for the original kit were long gone, Airfix reissued its 1/72 Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Ia kit in blue plastic. The kit also included a large Series 5 stand (the moulds for the smaller Series 1 stand having been lost) and a copy of the original plastic bag packaging with paper header.
Demise of Humbrol
On 31 August 2006, parent company Humbrol went into administration, with 31 of 41 employees being made redundant. Grant Thornton, the firm dealing with the administration, plan to sell the brand name and intellectual property of Airfix as assets to recover some of Humbrol's losses.
Model railways
From 1975 to 1981, Airfix also manufactured a line of ready-to-run (i.e. non-kit) model railway stock in OO gauge (1/76 scale). These models were based on British prototypes and at the time of introduction, they represented a significant improvement in detailing and prototype accuracy compared to British outline model railway stock from other British ready-to-run manufacturers such as Hornby. The product range expanded fairly rapidly in the first few years. A model of a Great Western Railway (GWR) 0-4-2 autotank steam locomotive and GWR autocoach are amongst some of the many memorable and important product releases. Airfix also offered an analogue electronics-based multiple train control system (MTC) allowing independent control of multiple locomotives on the same track. Airfix produced a large number of plastic kits for both railway stock and scenic items. Some of these such as the footbridge and engine shed became instantly recognizable to almost every railway modeller in the UK.
The brand label was changed to Great Model Railways (GMR) in 1979, although the Airfix name was still included. However, Airfix left the model railway business in 1981. The models were sold to one of its main competitors, Palitoy who produced the Mainline range of products. The vast part of the moulds were later re-sold to Dapol Ltd. while some were sold to Hornby. Others were sold to Dapol and then by Dapol to Hornby. Palitoy also sold moulds to Bachmann Industries for Bachmann Branchline models. It is not clear if any of those models were originally Airfix moulds. Dapol continues to produce (but not promote) most of the kits but as the moulds (some now over forty years old) wear out the kits are being discontinued. Hornby continues to make OO gauge models from the Airfix mouldings.
A monthly magazine, Model Trains, was published by Airfix from January 1980. The magazine included especially good articles aimed at newcomers to the hobby and also included many articles about modelling US and Continental European railways, as well British prototype railways. The publication of Model Trains continued for some years after Airfix ceased ownership in 1981.
Product ranges
* Aircraft - 1:24, 1:48, 1:72, 1:144 and 1:300 scales, covering aircraft from WWI to the present day. Perhaps the most well known range of Airfix models.
* Rockets and Spaceships - 1:72 and 1:144 scales. A small range from the Lunar Module to the Saturn V. Science fiction spacecraft were usually in an odd scale.
* Famous Warships - 1:400, 1:600 and 1:1200 scales. From WWI to modern.
* High Speed Boats - 1:72. A small range of mostly WWII boats.
* Classic Historical Ships - A number of 15th to 19th century ships in small scale (about 1:600) and large scale (from 1:96 to 1:180).
* Cars - 1:12, 1:24, 1:25, 1:32 and 1:43 scales. The range includes a series of Veteran and Modern cars.
* Motorcycles - 1:12, 1:16 and 1:24 scales. Includes bikes from the 1960's to present day racing bikes.
* Trains and Trackside Accessories - 1:76 scale. Includes a number of ex-Kitmaster kits. The moulds for these kits were sold to Dapol in the 1980's.
* Military Vehicles - 1:32, 1:35, 1:72 and 1:76 scales. Airfix was the first company to release small scale military vehicles in 1960 with the 1:72 Bloodhound. The following vehicles were in 1:76 or OO scale.
* Figures - 1:76, 1:72 and 1:32 scales. Sets of mostly military figures, 20 or 30 to a box, of subjects such as WWI, WWII and Modern Infantry, Waterloo, Arab Tribesmen, etc. These are made in polythene, a soft durable plastic. Some vehicles of simpler casting and detail than their polystyrene equivalents were also available and included in larger sets, e.g., the Coastal Defense Assault Set which included polythene tanks and infantry for either side plus a polystyrene Coastal Defence Fort kit.
* Multipose Figures - 1:32 scale. A small range of WWII figures in polystyrene that could be assembled in different poses.
* Collector Series - 54 mm. These were plastic kits of single figures, mostly from the Battle of Waterloo, American Civil War, and English Civil War. Some kits have a rider, e.g., George Washington, on a horse.
* Historical Figures - 1:12 scale. Famous figures from history, mostly from the British Isles, e.g., Anne Boleyn, Black Prince, and Oliver Cromwell.
* Wildlife Series - 1:1 scale. Models of British garden birds in a diorama form, e.g., two bullfinches on a branch.
* Dinosaurs - A small range of kits of pre-historic dinosaurs, e.g., Tyrannosaurus Rex.
* Engines - A small range of motorised engines. Includes a Beam and Four Stroke Cycle Engine.
* robogear-mechs and humans and planes that fight. starter kit contians all you need to begin.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airfix
"
Airfix has gone into administration, prompting an outpouring of nostalgia for the kit models. For many, memories of assembling models of Spitfires and Lancaster bombers epitomise a lost childhood.
News of the shadow over Airfix's future will be greeted with an audible groan by millions who grew up in the 1960s and 70s and spent their weekly pocket money on plastic model kits and polystyrene cement every Saturday morning.
The artwork on the boxes enticed us to glue, assemble and paint anything from Spitfires, Saturn Five rockets, soldiers and sailing ships, to railway rolling stock, armoured vehicles, classic cars and even dinosaurs; the range was vast.
Then came the mock battles across the bedroom floor with painted tanks, planes and infantry; aircraft hung from the ceiling, suspended by cotton thread. Occasionally you pushed a Stuka dive-bomber out of the window that you had set alight, but it never quite exploded as in the films.
Eventually you moved on, and the kits (made and unmade), paints and polystyrene cement were consigned to a box in the attic with the Matchbox trucks and Action Man. The days of scrubbing away the accidentally-painted fingertips and glue spilt on clothing were over.
If they were to admit it, there is a whole generation that owes much to Airfix and their fellow manufacturers of plastic model kits.
Although Airfix were the market leaders (their first kit was a Spitfire, launched in 1955), they became a sort of generic name for any plastic, injection-moulded model kit - usually of some kind of military machine. There were other brands, which included Revell and FROG, which started in the 1930s and stood for Flies Right Off the Ground. Airfix was as popular in the United States, France and Germany (where the swastika transfers on Heinkels and Messerschmitts were banned).
The Battle of Britain still continues between aircraft types. Frances Gatwin, head of retail at the RAF Museum in Hendon, which sells many thousands of aeroplane kits every year, says Airfix Spitfires outsell all other aircraft in the museum shop "by ten to one".
History channelled
But "war" meant nothing sinister to a 10-year old in the 60s, despite what your father (who had fought in World War II) and grandfather (who'd served in 1914-18) said.
Old black-and-white photographs of tanks, planes and ships rarely captured combat action, whereas the colour artwork on the Airfix box always depicted them in the act of dog-fighting or opening fire. Dramatic stuff - smell that whiff of cordite.
This artwork and the kits triggered many a career in the military, writing, history, media or design. Personally, I learned about the Napoleonic wars, the Battle of Britain and moon rockets from the kits I made, not the books I read or the (then) very limited selection of daytime television shows.
Airfix unwittingly misled, too. It was only years later that I learned the uniforms of soldiers on campaign soon wore out, became soiled and that 19th Century battles were fought by rag-tag armies in a mixture of torn and shoddy clothing - not the immaculate ranks of red or blue the boxes suggested.
I believed that all troops were led into battle by officers wearing shirts, ties, peaked caps and waving a menacing revolver - as on the box of Airfix WWI British Infantry - but this truth died even before the Battle of the Somme in 1916. These myths endure, and arguably, Airfix helped shape the perceptions of warfare for a whole generation.
Stickler for detail
This all sounds a very violent, male-dominated world, on the verge of Anorakdom, but for all that, Airfix kits were absorbing, educational as you learnt what each fiddly bit actually did in real life, and taught important skills ranging from reading detailed assembly instructions (useful later in life for flat-pack furniture), painting and craftwork, to patience (also handy for flat-packs).
Using the completed kits in subsequent war games and dramas taught youngsters to develop their imagination and understand tolerance and restraint when confronting an opponent, in a way Monopoly never could.
Eddy Fawdry, of Pollock's Toy Museum in London, is not surprised that Airfix has suffered. "[Traditional toys] take longer to make and play with, whereas modern children's toys tended to be instant."
As a parent myself it occurred to me that toy weapons and aggressive games might trigger violent trends later in life. But according to the UK's National Toy Council, there is no evidence linking aggressive toys to children's attitudes towards war or violence. The council reassuringly observes that it's normal too - in the UK, USA, Germany, Italy and Holland, up to three-quarters of all boys and a third of girls play with aggressive toys at home.
War games
So what's happened to the kit-makers? Despite moving with the times to include Star Wars spaceships, Airfix's problem is that a new generation of children have instead turned their attention to computer games.
Ironically, they're enticed to interact with the same tanks, ships and aircraft familiar to the kit-assembling generation, but in a new form of distorted reality - and where fewer practical life skills are taught.
Woolworth's, who still stock Airfix, are sorry to hear the company has gone into administration but remain convinced that there is a market for creative play toys like the plastic kits.
"Kids still love them and often parents enjoy playing with the kits with their children as it brings back memories from their own childhood. Retro-toys such as Airfix can help in promoting parent-children relationships in this way," says spokesman Daniel Himsworth.
For speciality shops like the Swindon Model Centre, it's "really terrible news". But a spokesman adds that Airfix has been losing ground to computer games for about seven years (the company has also stopped introducing new kits and is just repackaging old ones). Airfix prices have also risen sharply in recent years.
But this has done nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of those grown-up youngsters from the 60s and 70s who now compete for Airfix kits in online auctions. Perhaps the original purchasers stayed loyal as they grew older, and Airfix simply failed to engage the following generation.
But this is a sad recognition that the two-shilling kits have moved from being toys to becoming collectors' items, with the accompanying status of a valuable antique. Airfix itself has become a piece of history. "
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/5304780.stm
"
Model and collectibles group Hornby has snapped up German model railway accessories distributor Heico Modell.
The deal means Hornby is taking on Heico's liabilities of 200,000 euros (£134,589; $256,235), as well as paying a nominal sum for the firm.
Hornby said the German group, which has more than 1,200 active customers, would help expand its reach in Europe.
Hornby also operates in France, Spain and Italy, allowing it to overcome a tough trading environment in the UK.
In June the group attributed an 8% rise in annual profits to £8.2m - albeit on turnover falling 2% to £44.1m - to its overseas expansion.
Strong market
"The acquisition of Heico is a really important step in the development of our strategy to expand in Germany," said chief executive Frank Martin.
"The model railway market in Germany is the biggest in Europe and is estimated to be six times larger than the UK market."
Heico will be renamed Hornby Deutschland, the group added. Hornby already operates under the Lima, Arnold and Rivarossi brands in Germany.
Meanwhile, speculation was growing that Hornby - most famous for its model trains and Scalextric racing-cars - might be putting together a rescue package for the troubled model-making company Airfix.
On Thursday, the model firm's parent company, Humbrol, called in the administrators, while Hull-based Airfix axed 31 of its 41 staff.
Hornby's chief, Mr Martin, used to work at Airfix's parent company Humbrol, which bought the company in 1949 and manufacture the paints used by model collectors.
A deal would bring together two of the best-loved toy brands in Britain. "
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/5304986.stm
Airfix
Airfix is a UK manufacturer of plastic model aircraft and other kits. In Britain, the name Airfix is synonymous with the hobby, a plastic model of this type is often simply referred to as "an airfix" even if made by another manufacturer.
Founded in 1939, and purchased by Humbrol in 1986, the future of Airfix is now in doubt after Humbrol's declaration of financial collapse on 31 August 2006, although Hornby expressed interest in buying the company on 1 September 2006 [1].
History
Airfix was founded in 1939 by a Hungarian businessman called Nicholas Kove, initially manufacturing rubber inflatable toys. The brand name Airfix was selected to be the first alphabetically in any toy catalogue. Due to the war the company didn't start to grow until 1949, when it was commissioned to create a model of the Ferguson tractor. The model was initially moulded in cellulose acetate plastic and hand assembled for distribution to Ferguson sales representatives. To increase sales and lower productions costs, the model was sold in kit form by F.W.Woolworth's retail stores.
A few years later in 1954, Woolworth buyer Jim Russon suggested to Airfix that they produce a model kit of Sir Francis Drake's Golden Hind, then being sold in North America as a 'ship-in-a-bottle'. The kit would be made in the more stable polystyrene plastic. In order to meet Woolworth's retail price of 2/-, Airfix changed the packaging from a cardboard box to a plastic bag with a paper header which also included the instructions. It was a huge success and led the company to produce new kit designs. The first aircraft kit was released in 1955, a model of the Supermarine Spitfire Mk.V, in 1/72 scale. This was a scaled down copy of the Aurora 1/48 Supermarine Spitfire. Kove initially refused to believe the product would sell and threatened to charge the cost of the tooling to the designers.
Expansion
During the 1960s and 1970s, the company expanded greatly as the kit modelling hobby grew enormously. The Airfix range expanded to include vintage and modern cars, motorcycles, figures, trains, trackside accessories, military vehicles, large classic ships, warships, liners, engines, rockets and spaceships, as well as an ever-increasing range of aircraft. Most kits were created at the "standard" scale of 1/72 for small and military aircraft, and 1/144 scale for airliners. However Airfix's range of military vehicles though packaged as 1/72 are generally accepted as actually being OO or 1/76 scale.
In the mid 1970s, larger scales were introduced, including the dramatic 1/24 scale models of the Spitfire and Hurricane and Harrier "jump-jet", which featured unusually extensive detailing at this scale. All the kits were manufactured using injection moulding of polystyrene. The growth of the hobby launched a number of competitors in the field, such as Matchbox, as well as introducing new manufacturers from Japan and the US to the UK. During this period the company Humbrol also grew, supplying the paints, brushes, glue and other accessories for the finishing of the kits. Airfix themselves also published an annual and a monthly magazine, Airfix magazine, supporting the hobby.
Decline, purchase by Humbrol
In the 1980s, the plastic kit modelling hobby went into a rapid decline. Some think this was due to the rise of computer games, others that new manufacturing techniques such as precision diecasting took away the market for toys, where a person was less interested in the construction and finishing of a model, but simply wanted to play with the finished product, others the declining birth rates leading into smaller generations and declining numbers of potential enthusiasts. However, the decline may simply be a side effect of large increases in the sticker price of plastic models following the oil crisis of the late '70's which led to high inflation as well as an increase in the price of plastics. This also may explain why the emphasis of the modelmaking hobby is today on adults rather than children.
Due to large losses in Airfix's other toy businesses, even though the model business was still profitable, Airfix was forced to declare bankruptcy in 1981. The company was bought by MPC with the kit moulds being shipped to Trun, France. At one point it looked as if they might go out of business altogether, but eventually they were bought by Humbrol in 1986. This was a logical merger, since the companies had hitherto largely depended on one another. While the hobby declined from its 70s heyday, it still has a significant following to this day. Today plastic modelling is considered an adult hobby instead of children's, and many modelmakers are in their 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s.
50th anniversary
In 2003, Airfix celebrated the "50th" anniversary of its first aircraft kit, the Supermarine Spitfire. The celebration was two years early due to an incorrect 1953 date commonly accepted at the time. As the moulds for the original kit were long gone, Airfix reissued its 1/72 Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Ia kit in blue plastic. The kit also included a large Series 5 stand (the moulds for the smaller Series 1 stand having been lost) and a copy of the original plastic bag packaging with paper header.
Demise of Humbrol
On 31 August 2006, parent company Humbrol went into administration, with 31 of 41 employees being made redundant. Grant Thornton, the firm dealing with the administration, plan to sell the brand name and intellectual property of Airfix as assets to recover some of Humbrol's losses.
Model railways
From 1975 to 1981, Airfix also manufactured a line of ready-to-run (i.e. non-kit) model railway stock in OO gauge (1/76 scale). These models were based on British prototypes and at the time of introduction, they represented a significant improvement in detailing and prototype accuracy compared to British outline model railway stock from other British ready-to-run manufacturers such as Hornby. The product range expanded fairly rapidly in the first few years. A model of a Great Western Railway (GWR) 0-4-2 autotank steam locomotive and GWR autocoach are amongst some of the many memorable and important product releases. Airfix also offered an analogue electronics-based multiple train control system (MTC) allowing independent control of multiple locomotives on the same track. Airfix produced a large number of plastic kits for both railway stock and scenic items. Some of these such as the footbridge and engine shed became instantly recognizable to almost every railway modeller in the UK.
The brand label was changed to Great Model Railways (GMR) in 1979, although the Airfix name was still included. However, Airfix left the model railway business in 1981. The models were sold to one of its main competitors, Palitoy who produced the Mainline range of products. The vast part of the moulds were later re-sold to Dapol Ltd. while some were sold to Hornby. Others were sold to Dapol and then by Dapol to Hornby. Palitoy also sold moulds to Bachmann Industries for Bachmann Branchline models. It is not clear if any of those models were originally Airfix moulds. Dapol continues to produce (but not promote) most of the kits but as the moulds (some now over forty years old) wear out the kits are being discontinued. Hornby continues to make OO gauge models from the Airfix mouldings.
A monthly magazine, Model Trains, was published by Airfix from January 1980. The magazine included especially good articles aimed at newcomers to the hobby and also included many articles about modelling US and Continental European railways, as well British prototype railways. The publication of Model Trains continued for some years after Airfix ceased ownership in 1981.
Product ranges
* Aircraft - 1:24, 1:48, 1:72, 1:144 and 1:300 scales, covering aircraft from WWI to the present day. Perhaps the most well known range of Airfix models.
* Rockets and Spaceships - 1:72 and 1:144 scales. A small range from the Lunar Module to the Saturn V. Science fiction spacecraft were usually in an odd scale.
* Famous Warships - 1:400, 1:600 and 1:1200 scales. From WWI to modern.
* High Speed Boats - 1:72. A small range of mostly WWII boats.
* Classic Historical Ships - A number of 15th to 19th century ships in small scale (about 1:600) and large scale (from 1:96 to 1:180).
* Cars - 1:12, 1:24, 1:25, 1:32 and 1:43 scales. The range includes a series of Veteran and Modern cars.
* Motorcycles - 1:12, 1:16 and 1:24 scales. Includes bikes from the 1960's to present day racing bikes.
* Trains and Trackside Accessories - 1:76 scale. Includes a number of ex-Kitmaster kits. The moulds for these kits were sold to Dapol in the 1980's.
* Military Vehicles - 1:32, 1:35, 1:72 and 1:76 scales. Airfix was the first company to release small scale military vehicles in 1960 with the 1:72 Bloodhound. The following vehicles were in 1:76 or OO scale.
* Figures - 1:76, 1:72 and 1:32 scales. Sets of mostly military figures, 20 or 30 to a box, of subjects such as WWI, WWII and Modern Infantry, Waterloo, Arab Tribesmen, etc. These are made in polythene, a soft durable plastic. Some vehicles of simpler casting and detail than their polystyrene equivalents were also available and included in larger sets, e.g., the Coastal Defense Assault Set which included polythene tanks and infantry for either side plus a polystyrene Coastal Defence Fort kit.
* Multipose Figures - 1:32 scale. A small range of WWII figures in polystyrene that could be assembled in different poses.
* Collector Series - 54 mm. These were plastic kits of single figures, mostly from the Battle of Waterloo, American Civil War, and English Civil War. Some kits have a rider, e.g., George Washington, on a horse.
* Historical Figures - 1:12 scale. Famous figures from history, mostly from the British Isles, e.g., Anne Boleyn, Black Prince, and Oliver Cromwell.
* Wildlife Series - 1:1 scale. Models of British garden birds in a diorama form, e.g., two bullfinches on a branch.
* Dinosaurs - A small range of kits of pre-historic dinosaurs, e.g., Tyrannosaurus Rex.
* Engines - A small range of motorised engines. Includes a Beam and Four Stroke Cycle Engine.
* robogear-mechs and humans and planes that fight. starter kit contians all you need to begin.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airfix
"
Airfix has gone into administration, prompting an outpouring of nostalgia for the kit models. For many, memories of assembling models of Spitfires and Lancaster bombers epitomise a lost childhood.
News of the shadow over Airfix's future will be greeted with an audible groan by millions who grew up in the 1960s and 70s and spent their weekly pocket money on plastic model kits and polystyrene cement every Saturday morning.
The artwork on the boxes enticed us to glue, assemble and paint anything from Spitfires, Saturn Five rockets, soldiers and sailing ships, to railway rolling stock, armoured vehicles, classic cars and even dinosaurs; the range was vast.
Then came the mock battles across the bedroom floor with painted tanks, planes and infantry; aircraft hung from the ceiling, suspended by cotton thread. Occasionally you pushed a Stuka dive-bomber out of the window that you had set alight, but it never quite exploded as in the films.
Eventually you moved on, and the kits (made and unmade), paints and polystyrene cement were consigned to a box in the attic with the Matchbox trucks and Action Man. The days of scrubbing away the accidentally-painted fingertips and glue spilt on clothing were over.
If they were to admit it, there is a whole generation that owes much to Airfix and their fellow manufacturers of plastic model kits.
Although Airfix were the market leaders (their first kit was a Spitfire, launched in 1955), they became a sort of generic name for any plastic, injection-moulded model kit - usually of some kind of military machine. There were other brands, which included Revell and FROG, which started in the 1930s and stood for Flies Right Off the Ground. Airfix was as popular in the United States, France and Germany (where the swastika transfers on Heinkels and Messerschmitts were banned).
The Battle of Britain still continues between aircraft types. Frances Gatwin, head of retail at the RAF Museum in Hendon, which sells many thousands of aeroplane kits every year, says Airfix Spitfires outsell all other aircraft in the museum shop "by ten to one".
History channelled
But "war" meant nothing sinister to a 10-year old in the 60s, despite what your father (who had fought in World War II) and grandfather (who'd served in 1914-18) said.
Old black-and-white photographs of tanks, planes and ships rarely captured combat action, whereas the colour artwork on the Airfix box always depicted them in the act of dog-fighting or opening fire. Dramatic stuff - smell that whiff of cordite.
This artwork and the kits triggered many a career in the military, writing, history, media or design. Personally, I learned about the Napoleonic wars, the Battle of Britain and moon rockets from the kits I made, not the books I read or the (then) very limited selection of daytime television shows.
Airfix unwittingly misled, too. It was only years later that I learned the uniforms of soldiers on campaign soon wore out, became soiled and that 19th Century battles were fought by rag-tag armies in a mixture of torn and shoddy clothing - not the immaculate ranks of red or blue the boxes suggested.
I believed that all troops were led into battle by officers wearing shirts, ties, peaked caps and waving a menacing revolver - as on the box of Airfix WWI British Infantry - but this truth died even before the Battle of the Somme in 1916. These myths endure, and arguably, Airfix helped shape the perceptions of warfare for a whole generation.
Stickler for detail
This all sounds a very violent, male-dominated world, on the verge of Anorakdom, but for all that, Airfix kits were absorbing, educational as you learnt what each fiddly bit actually did in real life, and taught important skills ranging from reading detailed assembly instructions (useful later in life for flat-pack furniture), painting and craftwork, to patience (also handy for flat-packs).
Using the completed kits in subsequent war games and dramas taught youngsters to develop their imagination and understand tolerance and restraint when confronting an opponent, in a way Monopoly never could.
Eddy Fawdry, of Pollock's Toy Museum in London, is not surprised that Airfix has suffered. "[Traditional toys] take longer to make and play with, whereas modern children's toys tended to be instant."
As a parent myself it occurred to me that toy weapons and aggressive games might trigger violent trends later in life. But according to the UK's National Toy Council, there is no evidence linking aggressive toys to children's attitudes towards war or violence. The council reassuringly observes that it's normal too - in the UK, USA, Germany, Italy and Holland, up to three-quarters of all boys and a third of girls play with aggressive toys at home.
War games
So what's happened to the kit-makers? Despite moving with the times to include Star Wars spaceships, Airfix's problem is that a new generation of children have instead turned their attention to computer games.
Ironically, they're enticed to interact with the same tanks, ships and aircraft familiar to the kit-assembling generation, but in a new form of distorted reality - and where fewer practical life skills are taught.
Woolworth's, who still stock Airfix, are sorry to hear the company has gone into administration but remain convinced that there is a market for creative play toys like the plastic kits.
"Kids still love them and often parents enjoy playing with the kits with their children as it brings back memories from their own childhood. Retro-toys such as Airfix can help in promoting parent-children relationships in this way," says spokesman Daniel Himsworth.
For speciality shops like the Swindon Model Centre, it's "really terrible news". But a spokesman adds that Airfix has been losing ground to computer games for about seven years (the company has also stopped introducing new kits and is just repackaging old ones). Airfix prices have also risen sharply in recent years.
But this has done nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of those grown-up youngsters from the 60s and 70s who now compete for Airfix kits in online auctions. Perhaps the original purchasers stayed loyal as they grew older, and Airfix simply failed to engage the following generation.
But this is a sad recognition that the two-shilling kits have moved from being toys to becoming collectors' items, with the accompanying status of a valuable antique. Airfix itself has become a piece of history. "
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