A Brief History of Airfix
The following is a brief history of Airfix.
- – A Hungarian Jew by the name of Nicholas Kove set up a business in London manufacturing cheap rubber toys filled with air – the company was named Airfix.
- – Airfix manufacturing changed to plastic pocket combs. Kove introduced the first injection moulding machine into Britain. At this time Airfix was the largest comb manufacturer in Britain.
- – Airfix was commissioned to produce a promotional toy – the Ferguson Tractor. Their budget was not sufficient to deliver tractors complete – instead the tractor was produced in kit form. This was the first Airfix kit – 50 were initially made and they sold at 2/11d (two shillings and eleven pence in old pre-decimal British currency). Arthur Ward in his first book claimed in 1984 that only three were known to exist at that time – a statement that was retracted in his second book in 1999; actually hundreds of thousands of Ferguson Tractors were manufactured over many years.
- – Kove hires John Gray as General Manager. Gray was later to lead Airfix through its boom years.
- – Airfix produced their first real construction kit – the Golden Hind. This model was presented to Woolworth in the UK who insisted that it would not sell for anything more than two shillings (2/-), compared with Airfix’s proposed price of over twice that amount. The solution was to package the kit in a plastic bag with a simple two-colour header card. The model was an enormous success!
- – First aircraft release – the Spitfire Mk 1.
- – Spitfire improved and re-released as the Mk IX.
- – The railway Trackside series was launched with Number 1 – The Country Inn.
- – Nicholas Kove dies. Airfix goes public – Airfix Industries formed.
- – First Airfix Magazine produced. Airfix was one of the very few toy companies to have their own magazine. The price for the first issue was one shilling (1/-).
- – Introduction of rolling stock kits with the Tank Wagon and Cement Wagon, followed a couple of months later by the Diesel Railbus.
- – Airfix buy Kitmaster and acquire their range of locomotive kits (plus the Ariel Arrow motorcycle!).
- – First real catalogue issued (there had been earlier leaflets).
- – Airfix expand by acquiring a number of companies:
- Semco Limited (makers of rubber dolls and toys)
- Crayonne Limited (later manufacturers of bathroom accessories)
- Model Road Racing Cars Limited – MRRC (manufacturer of slot cars)
- – Airfix begin re-introducing the Kitmaster range of locos and rolling stock. Of the whole Kitmaster range acquired, Airfix only re-issued 10 of these kits.
- – Short-lived Airfix Corporation of America formed.
- – Award-winning blister packs start to replace the classic Airfix plastic bag.
- – Airfix wins the Queen’s Award to Industry for export achievements.
- – Airfix expand again by acquiring Meccano from Line Brothers, who had gone bust. Meccano was bought for £2,740,000. The very famous Dinky range of metal die-cast toys was also acquired. At this time, Airfix were the foremost British toy manufacturer.
- – First 1/24 scale aircraft kit released – the Spitfire 1a.
- – Start of a complete repackaging programme to remove all displays of violence from the box artwork.
- – The then-circular Airfix logo changed to an oval design.
- – Airfix acquire Scalecraft.
- – January 1981 – Airfix goes bust. The kit range was very profitable, but Meccano and Dinky were in deep trouble. Airfix was bought by Palitoy, a part of the American General Mills toy group. Kit production was moved to France. General Mills also owned MPC, and so many MPC kits began to be marketed under the Airfix logo (especially the MPC range of US car kits). The Managing Director of MRRC buys the company from the Airfix Receivers. MRRC still exists as an independent company today, based in Jersey.
- – Heller and Humbrol become sister companies within Hobby Products Group, a subsidiary of the Borden Corporation of the US.
- – Palitoy commission Arthur Ward to produce the Model World of Airfix book. The June 1984 edition of Airfix Magazine carries a review article of this book.
- – June 1984 Airfix Magazine carries an article on the Humbrol kit range. Humbrol are re-boxing and selling ESCI and Heller kits under the Humbrol logo.
- – Airfix sell the whole railway and trackside ranges to Dapol, except the Airfield Control Tower. The Deltic loco kit passed to Dapol, although it was never issued when owned by Airfix.
- – Airfix/Palitoy in trouble again. Airfix are bought out by Humbrol’s owners Hobby Products Group (HPG), itself owned at the time by the American Borden Corporation.
- – Borden sell Hobby Products Group (including Humbrol, Airfix, Heller, etc.) to an Irish private equity investment company – Allen & McGuire.
- – Arthur Ward produces his second book on Airfix.
- – John Gray dies.
- – Airfix issues 50th Anniversary Spitfire 1 kit using reproduction packaging.
- – June 2003: Humbrol placed under administration by the Royal Bank of Scotland’s Business Development Group (BDG), along with the Airfix and Heller brand names. Airfix’s future uncertain at that moment.
- – Sources suggest that Hobby Products Group is no longer owned by Allen & McGuire, with rumours that Airfix will be run by Heller in future.
- – Heller become independent of Hobby Products Group after a management buy-out in France. However, Airfix and Heller are said to be maintaining a close relationship.
- – Heller SA went into the French equivalent of administration (Redressement Judiciaire).
- – The fall of Heller brings down the whole Hobby Products Group. On 30th August 2006, Grant Thornton were appointed administrators of Hobby Products Group, including the trading companies of Airfix and Humbrol. Airfix moulds are run in the Heller factories in France and, without a product supply, Airfix had to cease trading. The administrators announced 31 redundancies out of a total workforce of 41, and noted that “the brand names and intellectual property of the business was potentially very valuable.”
- – Hornby acquires Airfix for £2.6m. Hornby will take control of Airfix from administrators at its parent firm Humbrol, and the deal also includes Humbrol’s paints and accessories business. Hornby said it will move the distribution, sales and marketing of Humbrol and Airfix to its own site in Kent, and outsource the manufacturing and assembly arm. In 2005, the Airfix and Humbrol brands had combined sales of £6.5m.
- – Airfix introduce a new 3D logo.
- – The long-awaited 1/24th scale Mosquito is due for release.
